TITLE: Soldiers Follow Orders, But--

AUTHOR: Tiv'ester

E-MAIL: tivester@lycos.com

CATEGORY: Angst, Drama

SPOILERS: Multiple

SEASON/SEQUEL: End of 3rd? Definitely before "The First Ones," sequel to "Listen When The Heart Speaks"

RATING: Possibly PG

CONTENT WARNINGS: A few words, attempted parasite possession, kidnapping, a lot of coffee drinking.

SUMMARY: As SG-1 comes to terms with the events brought about by the conspiracy, the search continues for proof of General Thayer's participation.  Can the people who conspired to take over the SGC and murder the civilians be brought to justice before an even worse fate befalls Daniel Jackson?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Stargate SG-1.  Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions.  I have written this story for entertainment purposes only.  No money has exchanged hands.  No copyright infringement is intended. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.  Pictures can be found at Gatewatcher.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is a direct sequel to 'Listen When The Heart Speaks.'  This tale had started out as two separate stories but merged when the muses decided that they could combine and forge a stronger story together.  I hope you like it.

**************************************************

Hurry up and wait is the old soldier's maxim.

From the personal diary of Colonel Jack O'Neill

**************************************************

Part 1

Five weeks after the Dervan attack, early Friday morning SGC time: Washington D.C.

The building was easily identifiable.  Its five-sided configuration expressed its name in its physical form far more eloquently than the human voice could ever describe.

Deep within the walls of the Pentagon, in an office far removed from the main corridors of traffic, sat a man only a few people knew or even knew existed.  He was a shadow figure, following the orders of a shadow government.  He collected and collated data from thousands of sources to be used by his shadow troops when they were needed.  Officially, he did not exist, but unknown to him, his presence had been felt by those he sought to exterminate and by those who aided his would-be victims.  To them, he existed.  They knew his name.  He did not know that they were preparing for the war he was secretly planning to wage against them.  He knew only that his plans had been derailed by unexpected sources and must be dealt with accordingly.  He would not be stopped so easily.

Walking into the office with a thick folder tucked under his arm was another man only slightly better known than his superior.  His goals were the same as his commanding officer's; only his was the hand that executed the brilliant plans developed by the other's inscrutable mind.  He did not sit in awe of his superior for they had been through the fires of hell together and had passed through the flames whole and intact.  There was only respect, unfailing loyalty and a deep abiding friendship that transcended rank.

The first man did not bother to read through the massive amount of paperwork the second man brought to him, the paperwork that listed the catastrophic results of his latest endeavor.  Instead he left the mass lying on his desk.  "Just tell me the highlights, Quint.  How bad is it?"

"Bad.  Hammond was extraordinarily thorough with his housecleaning.  All but three of our operatives have been found out and taken into custody or removed.  We know that Roberts was imprisoned on Abydos, the reason was interplanetary diplomatic relations.  I believe, although I can't confirm, that the President himself agreed to the terms of his incarceration even if I can't find any evidence of a trial for him.  The others were tried by a secret court martial and found guilty of murder, collusion and treason.  They were sentenced to life in prison, but no one knows where they've been incarcerated.  Given the current climate of the SGC, I would venture a guess that they've been taken off-world for safekeeping for the time being.  A few others that escaped the trials have been reassigned to unknown sites.  We're trying to find them now.  They know about our Stargate, but not its location.  They know about the organization, the structure, the backing, many of the personnel.  They know the NID is involved.  And from what Hammond was overheard to say in the gate room when Roberts left, they know my name.  There's no evidence they know about you."

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, his anonymity was gone.  "They know. They're just not broadcasting it yet. Our superiors will not like this outcome.  I've already been contacted about contingency plans to keep Hammond from digging for sources higher than me.  I've been given permission to use any and all means I deem necessary to protect the network."  General Malcolm Thayer paced slowly around his office.  To meet defeat twice at the hands of one person was intolerable.  "What news do you have about Jackson?"

Darby kept a close watch on the General as he explained.  "It's too early for complete Intel.  The first two weeks after his infamous resurrection, he and the rest of SG-1, most specifically Major Carter, were sequestered from the rest of the SGC while they went through the paper trail Roberts had carelessly left behind.  Jackson's main interaction was with SG-1, Hammond and Fraiser.  The following two weeks, SG-1 went missing.  The cover story was that they were attending a diplomatic meeting off-world.  I've found out that they were on vacation in Hawaii.  They only returned this past weekend, and since then Jackson has been catching up on the last nine months.  That means he's buried himself in his office and refuses to be disturbed.  Since he's not interacting with many of the other personnel on a daily basis yet, our information is sketchy.  Reports all say that he has Vaelen's memories, but we only have rumors as to what extent he has them.  Apparently, they are stronger than the memories Major Carter has from Jolinar.  They're more accessible.  He has information that would be beneficial to us, unfortunately, he is being watched 24/7.  A member of SG-1 is always with him.  Currently, he is not a viable target for retrieval and detainment."

"What does he remember about his final moments?"

"There's been no indication that he remembers any of it.  We may be safe on that point."

"Are you willing to risk our lives on that?"  Thayer asked him.

"For now?  We have no choice," Darby reasoned.  "If they had any concrete evidence on us, they would have come after us by now.  I know Hammond's aware of my involvement, and that means the President knows about me as well.  Knowing about me could lead to you, but if they couldn't convict us of anything with the information they gathered from Roberts, then they won't be able to level any charges from us from a man whose memories are suspect.  Jackson was dead, after all."

"Yes.  Dead."  Too bad he didn't stay that way.  Thayer stared at the paperwork sitting on his desk.  "Have you sent word to our people that they are not to try to return to Earth through our Stargate and for Timmons to relocate to the new base site as we discussed?"

"It's done.  I've also temporarily deactivated our Stargate in case the SGC finds a way to track it down.  I've set up a schedule for activation in cases of emergency, but it's contingent upon the times the SGC engage their Stargate."  Darby could see his friend working through another puzzle.

"Jackson has the knowledge we need to keep earth safe.  We're going to need him, but not before we're ready.  I want you to make contact with Colonel Timmons once more.  I want him to set up an extra room in the new base.  Tell him to set up item 1472R.  That way, it will be out of the way of the rest of the personnel.  Do you understand?"

"Perfectly.  Even with the building materials we've sent him, Colonel Timmons has limited resources to work with.  It will be some time before he can have the base stocked and the surveillance equipment up and running.  According to his reports, the area was greatly damaged from the aerial attack.  Repairs are underway, but he won't move his troops in until he can be assured of at least a minimum level of security," Darby told him.

"What's your best estimate?"

Darby thought for a moment, his brow furrowed in concentration.  "I'd rather err on the side of caution.  To be safe, let's say one month."

Thayer sighed audibly.  Time was of the essence, not to be wasted, but what else could he do?  "I'd like to move sooner than that, but we'll plan for a one month time table.  What is the status of the weapon schematics?  Have they been able to decrypt the encoding yet?"

Darby frowned.  "Timmons communicated that they broke the code last night.  He sent his initial analysis a few hours ago.  The plans were good, but they were for weapons we already have.  The schematics our contact transferred were for zat guns and staff weapons.  The people at the SGC have already backward engineered those designs and have been building them as they've collected enough of the raw materials needed to produce them."

Thayer kept a tight rein on his temper.  Anger was not going to avail them anything.  Cool heads were needed.  "That was all we received?  We went through all of that and only received plans for weapons we already had?"

"We were double-crossed as well."

"All of that work for nothing.  We've lost people, weapons and time.  This puts my plan months behind schedule.  Is there any more bad news I don't want to hear?"

"One more item.  Hammond has been making a concerted effort to re-establish a civilian community within the SGC, and he's already recruited scientists from several different fields.  I have no doubt they've been made aware of the fate of the last group of civilians working there."

"And what is the mood of these new employees?" Thayer asked him.

"They've made themselves at home, Malcolm.  We're back where we started."

Thayer had to think.  Everything was spinning out of control, out of his control.  It had seemed so simple: remove the civilians permanently, place his own personnel in their place at the SGC, learn enough to accuse Hammond of any dereliction of duty he could think of, force the Senate Subcommittee and the President to remove Hammond and offer to take command of the Cheyenne base himself so he would have no interference establishing an off-world base under his, and only his, command.  So simple.  So easy.  His spies had gathered a sizeable number of offenses against Hammond when the Kha'ti had appeared and sank all of Thayer's hopes of an easy victory.  To make matters worse, the leader of the Kha'ti had taken Daniel Jackson as a host and brought him back to life, most likely with every memory intact.  That one setback could hammer the nails in his coffin.  "You said we still have three operatives on site.  Are they on their own?"  He did not want any more mess-ups.

"I took the liberty of sending a spotter to the base to deal with any problems that might arise.  If it looks like Hammond is getting too close, our agents will be expedited in the most efficient and expedient fashion."

"Anyone I know?"

"Anderson.  He's done this type of work for me before," Darby informed him.  "Malcolm, even with three operatives and a spotter, the situation is static.  If we move too soon, Hammond will strike.  If we move too late, we lose everything.  If they know more about us than we suspect, it's only a matter of time before they close in.  What do you want to do?"

Thayer sat and thought.  He had to retake control of the situation.  He knew that he had lost any chance of taking command of the SGC, but he had not lost his chance to establish a fully self-contained, self-sufficient base of operations whose main goal was to gather Intel and technology to protect earth from extraterrestrial enemies without the interference of the Government.  Unlike Timmons, his resources were sizeable, but not unlimited.  He knew what needed to be done; it was the planning to get it done that was critical.  "Quint, I want us to work under a new assumption."

"And that would be?"

"That Daniel Jackson does indeed remember his last moments, that he knows who shot him, and that he's told Hammond everything he knows.  Hammond may be trying to lure us into a false sense of security by not coming after us so we'll make a mistake.  I don't have to tell you what will happen if and when we get caught.  It won't matter to Hammond or O'Neill why we've done what we have or that it was in the interests of planetary security.  We won't live to see a trial.

"Standing orders concerning civilians still apply, but put all operatives' efforts in watching every move SG-1 makes.  Once everything is ready at the new base, I want to be able to have Jackson transported there at a moment's notice without any interference from O'Neill, Carter or the Jaffa.  Kill them if you have to.  Once we have Jackson safely secured at the new base, we'll use the technology at our disposal to collect the symbiote's memories for our own use and utilize them to our best advantage.  I want everything operational and completed before I show any results to the Joint Chiefs.  When we have their approval, we'll already have enough personnel and munitions assigned to the main off-world base that would rival the SGC."  Thayer mulled this thought over in his head. He wanted Jackson dead, would even like to pull the trigger himself, but watching him suffer from a memory probe had its advantages as well.  "For now, we will just have to bide our time. Make sure our people are warned to be as invisible as they possibly can and that they have one month to find their time window in which to act.  Since Jackson is under constant surveillance mostly by his own team, they might want to consider a more obvious approach.  I don't think SG-1 will be expecting anything straightforward.  I don't want any more mistakes, Quint."

"Neither do I.  Those replacements were my people.  I trained them.  I don't want to lose any more of them, but I don't think our people will be able to remain invisible.  Hammond's leaving no stone unturned.  If they make one mistake, they're caught.  And we may not be far behind."

Thayer could only agree, and he understood.  After all, he was a soldier, too.  He had led, followed, but he had never gotten the hell out of the way.  It was not his nature to do so.

**************************************************

Same time, SGC

He lay there on the cold, snow-covered ground helpless as the creature slithered its way toward him.  The frigid wind bit into him as death began to chill his very being.  He couldn't move, couldn't scream, his body refused to cooperate.  Muscles could not follow the brain's commands.  The blood kept pouring from the bullet wounds, his life was seeping out of him as each drop of the precious red liquid soaked into the snow.  He felt himself dying, heard his heart valiantly trying to sustain the fragile life left within him.  He saw the creature crawl over the dead bodies scattered on the ground around him, coming doggedly towards him.  He felt it crawl up his stomach toward his mouth.  The darkness was there, clouding his vision.  He could barely see the creature.  It's head reared above his.  He saw its eyes glow.  He--

"Daniel!"

Daniel jerked his head up from his desk.  Desk.  Paperwork.  Office.  SGC.  Earth.  He wasn't a host anymore, and he was very much alive.  It was only a nightmare.  He looked up and saw Jack standing there looking worried.

"Same bad dream?" the Colonel asked him.  There it was again.  There was that look in Daniel's eyes that Jack couldn't describe but was seeing more and more often.  There was a sorrow reflected there that Jack couldn't understand, and Daniel wouldn't talk about.

"Yeah," was the only answer he could articulate at that moment.  He knew that Jack must have been able to hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"You know, it occurs to me that you might not have these dreams if you didn't exhaust yourself by pulling all-nighters like I told you not to do in the first place.  It's your first week back to work and you've already worked two 48-hour shifts," Jack admonished him jokingly.  "I've caught you dozing twice already.  So what's wrong?  Don't like your new apartment?"

"Yes, I like my new apartment.  It's better than my last one.  I've actually spent some time there.  And before you ask, yes, I like my new car, too and, no, I've haven't slept in it because I was too tired to drive to my new apartment."  Daniel assured him as he shoved the paperwork on his desk away from him as if it were offensive.  "The truth is, I've seen what kind of work has been coming out of the archaeological department for the last several months, and there's just too much work that needs to be done along with all of the other work that's just popped up.  I haven't got any time to waste."

"Sleeping is not a waste of time, Danny.  Look, there's a hell of a lot of work that's going to have to be done and redone and resubmitted and whatever else you have to do to it.  Roberts and the others did a crappy job, and when you read some more of the reports, you're going to find out that they cost a few people their lives.  Keeping us healthy wasn't exactly on their agenda, you know."

"No kidding." Daniel pulled up a listing of mission reports on his computer.  "I've found over fifty translations that he deliberately misread.  Deliberately!  There are seven instances here where his misreadings nearly killed you, Sam and Teal'c because you didn't have a clue what you were walking into.  And the archaeological finds!  You won't believe what I've found that he ignored!  There's no way to tell how much information we must have lost because of him.  We've probably missed any chance we might have had at conducting excavations on some of these planets.  He cost the SGC a lot."

You have no idea what he cost us, do you, Danny?  Still can't see your own worth, can you?

"Well, you're back where you ought to be, Hammond's managed to round you up an archaeological staff any dig would kill to have, and every one of you will have to go through this huge mess Roberts and his friends left behind and see what you can salvage.  But," and he punctuated every word with a jab of his finger, "you do NOT have to do it all in one day.  I mean what I'm telling you here.  There's plenty of time to get this stuff done.  You're not going to start pulling all-nighters again.  You've even got Carter doing the same thing."

"I didn't have anything to with that."  Daniel saw instantly that Jack didn't believe him.  "Well, I didn't have much to do with that."  He got up and, of course, headed straight for the coffee pot.  The General had placed a standing order with the purchasing department for good coffee, and Daniel had been taking advantage of the endless supply of the dark, sanity-saving liquid.  If the truth be told, he was a little scared that Vaelen might resurface if he wasn't 'energized,' so he always had a cup of coffee with him even though he knew that the symbiote was undeniably dead.  How sane did that sound?  What was even worse was that he had discovered the painful way that he had to be more careful when he picked up items like the coffee pot.  He had a little more strength now and found that things broke a little easier if he didn't pay attention to what he was doing.  The more fragile items had a tendency to shatter.  Janet thought that he might be stronger because Vaelen had given his muscles more of a workout hunting for food and gathering wood than Daniel normally gave them studying artifacts.  He was overcompensating, but he'd get used to it.  Given time, he'd get used to any and all of the changes that he was undergoing, even the changes he had not told anyone about.

"Did anyone tell you that we had a visitor last night after you went home who requested that we do some research."

"Anyone I know?"

"Believe it or not, it was Thor."

"Thor?" Jack asked.  That was a switch.  Usually, the Asgaard would only talk to him and convince him that he was the only one that could help them.  Maybe they were learning that the rest of SG-1 could be relied upon as well.  "What did he want?"

"It seems that some Asgaard technology has disappeared without a trace.  The Tollans have been complaining about the same thing.  A lot of items just keep getting misplaced."

Oh, damn.  This sounded familiar.

"And?" Jack prompted him.

"And since you did such an impressive job finding the moles last time, we've been asked to track down the rogue Tau'ri personnel that must be behind the thefts since the Tau'ri are the most recent beings anyone's dealt with who has a history of covert stealing."  Daniel was amused to see Jack just shake his head in disbelief.  "Only this time, no one's going undercover to smoke out the traitors.  Hammond was firm on that point.  He didn't want a repeat of what happened last time, especially this soon after my reappearance.  He didn't think the team could handle much more stress right now.  Anyway, Thor has agreed to let us deal with the situation any way we see fit, so Hammond wants us to track them to the source and put them out of business no matter who the trail leads to."

Jack could almost hear the sarcasm coming from his friend.  "I guess no one told Thor that we already have a good idea who's behind the thefts, huh?"

"Make accusations without proof or based on the non-coherent memories of a dead man?" Daniel said with a grin.  "No. Hammond suggested that there were a few people in high enough positions to mastermind the thefts, but we would have to be given free rein to find out whom the real culprits are. Want coffee?"

"Yes.  Please.  Unless you've got anything stronger?"

"Nope.  You'll have to settle for this."

Taking the offered cup, Jack asked, "So how did Hammond suggest that we track down these robbers since we don't know where they are?"

"Not the robbers.  The source.  Thor told us that there would be 'others' who would take care of the thieves.  We just have to find out how things are being transmitted to and from Earth without using our Stargate and stop it.  I think Thor sees this as a good faith gesture on our part that we'll try to keep this sort of thing from happening again.  Anyway, that's where Sam and me pulling all-nighters come in.  She was asking me about the homemade Stargate again, and I remembered a few more things about it that should help lead us to it."

"Like?"

"Like it was smaller.  The wormhole was green, not blue.  The pitch of the vortex was higher than the one here.  Things like that."  He took a long drink of coffee and refilled his cup.  He still delighted in being able to do things for himself.  The novelty of being able to control his own body had not worn off yet.  "Given those aspects, it's easy to see that there are differences in the quantum shifts accorded to the size and existing power source available to engage the wormhole.  Sam thinks that they should be easily detectable.  She's trying to develop a type of sonic resonator that can track the differences in the harmonic resonances created by incoming and outgoing wormholes.  Once we can distinguish the differences between the echoes, we--"

"Whoa!  Danny, you're Vaelening again." Jack was always too eager to come up with those strange new words that made light of a traumatic experience.  "Try again in English this time, and take a breath occasionally.  It helps."

"Oh.  Okay.  Sorry."  He sat down again and tried to phrase his explanation without the benefit of Vaelen's extensive input.  He still had some trouble remembering where he ended and the Kha'ti's knowledge began.  "Think of the Stargate system like an AM/FM radio.  You have to be on the same frequency and close enough to the source to pick up the station.  If you're not, you just get static unless you have some kind of booster to enhance the signal.  Stargates run on frequencies, too.  Most Stargates begin on the same frequency, but that frequency is altered by the time the transmission reaches its destination depending on where it's located in relation to the galactic center.  The Stargates are designed to compensate for the frequency alteration, but only to a certain extent.  At some point, the distortion would be too pronounced to compensate for, and the two gates wouldn't be able to connect."

"Say what?" Jack was losing the conversation.

Oh.  He had left Jack in the dust.  Daniel tried again.  "Remember the theory that there's a black hole in the center of the Milky Way that balances out the massive gravitational forces exerted by all of the stars?"

"Sure."

"And remember when that black hole caused us so many problems like slowing time down and almost sucking the SGC right into it?"

"You think I'm going to forget that little party?  I did not enjoy myself on that one."

"Never thought you did.  Anyway, if a Stargate is closer to the center of the galaxy, the frequency it sends would be slower than the frequency of a Gate that's closer to the rim of the galaxy, like ours, because it's being affected by the gravitational pull of the black hole that our scientists haven't been able to prove exists yet."

Jack was beginning to see where this was going, he thought.  Now he was getting worried.  Always worry when you can understand Daniel, he thought to himself.

"Now," Daniel continued, "when we dial out, we have to dial out to a Stargate that can pick up our frequency.  We've had trouble dialing to certain planets even when we know they have a Stargate, but it's not always because it's buried or destroyed.  Sometimes, it's because it's tuning in to at a different frequency than ours.  The distortion is too great to be compensated for, so the two can't connect."

"And that's because of how close one of the gates is to the black hole in the center of the galaxy?" Jack asked him.

"Yes.  We can dial to the other side of the galaxy, but we've had trouble dialing to the planets half a galaxy away.  To get there, you'd have to dial to a Stargate somewhere halfway between Earth and the destination because it would be running at a frequency somewhere in-between but able to connect to both Stargates."

Jack had to process this little bit of information.  "You mean it's kind of like a bus schedule.  To get across town, you have to take three different buses."

"More or less."

"But what does that have to do with the homemade Stargate?" Jack asked him.

"It was smaller, pitch was higher, vortex was green.  That means it's running at a much faster frequency than ours.  The faster the frequency, the fewer planets it can connect to, and those planets would almost have to be on the outer rim of the galaxy.  Also, it's too small to handle a large power supply, so that means the eligible planets they can gate to and from would have to have a lower gauged power source on their end.  Remember what Roberts said?  That they could dial out but they had trouble dialing in?"  Daniel waited for Jack to remember that conversation.  When Daniel saw that he did, he said, "Most Stargates would be too powerful for the homemade one to handle.  It would probably explode with that much energy coming through it."

"That could be painful," Jack commented, although finding out that Darby and Thayer had been dealt with by an explosion held some not-too-unpleasing thoughts.

"Very," Daniel agreed with him.

"And all this is going to help us track it?"

"Well, yes.  We know when I was sent through that gate to PTX952.  That planet is on the edge of the galaxy, and obviously its gate can pick up both our gate and the homemade gate's frequencies.  Sam is trying to track down the frequencies that were present during those minutes when their gate was open.  Once she eliminates all of the known wavelengths, we should be able to narrow down the one it runs on and, hopefully, any nearby Stargates that can pick up that particular one.  Then, when she finishes this sonic resonator she's working on, we should be able to detect the Stargate and triangulate its position the next time they use it and determine which Stargate they went to.  We don't have many other choices since it's not big enough to cause an earthquake when it's dialing.  Anyway, that's why Sam's worked double shifts a couple of times.  Simple, huh?"

Jack nodded his head.  "Sure.  When you explain it like that.  So we sit here twiddling our thumbs and wait for them to make a move.  Right?"

"Basically."

"Well, regardless of the fact that we've been drafted to find bad guys again, and we have to wait for them to do something, that doesn't mean either one of you is off the hook.  I don't want anybody on my team going on a mission without a few good nights' sleep under his or her belt.  That definitely includes you."

"Okay, I...what?  Mission?  Seriously?"

"That was one of the reasons I came down here in the first place, Sherlock.  Frazier gave you her medical seal of approval to be returned to active duty.  Personally, I think she just ran out of tests to try out on you, and since she's found out that no one's going to dare ask you to see MacKenzie, she can't keep you grounded any longer.  Anyway, we're going gating on Monday, and you're going, too.  And you can forget about working this weekend.  It'll all be here when you get back."

Back on active duty.  Daniel didn't know what to expect since he came back.  He knew that he still had the job of chief archaeologist and linguist at the base, but since there had been no civilians assigned to the SGC during his unfortunate demise, he felt that he was walking on eggshells sometimes.  Even now, the base population was mostly staffed with military personnel, but Hammond's determination had changed the demographics with the inclusion of civilian personnel at all levels of the SGC.  He had already accepted Daniel's recommendations to hire certain scientists and had already assigned a few to SG teams.   Now, Daniel was really going back to work.

"On Monday?" he asked his friend, still not quite believing it.

"Yep.  Nice little uninhabited planet just begging to be explored.  Incidentally, there are a couple of ruins near the gate, but we're only getting two days for you to go digging in the dirt.  Just thought you might like to know." Jack was grinning ear-to-ear.  There was no way he was going to throw them into a dangerous situation until Daniel had a chance to get back into the swing of things.  This planet seemed perfect to do just that.

Daniel could not believe what he was hearing.  After all, this was Jack O'Neill he was talking to, and this was the same Jack O'Neill who was talking about exploring some ruins.  Should he be worried?  "You think you can handle two days of being bored out of your skull?"

"Sure I can.  Just remember that I do take bribes.  You buy the pizza for tomorrow's hockey game, and I promise not to complain once."

"Not once?" Daniel asked him.

"Not once." Jack replied.

"I guess that means that you're going to complain twice, three times, four--"

"Very funny, Danny.  Buy the beer, and I won't complain at all, but this will be the only trip I won't complain on.  All the others are fair game. Deal?"

"I suppose it would be too much to ask for your help if I happen to find something that needs digging out of the dirt?"

Jack didn't even have to ponder that question.  "Way too much. Way, way too much."

"Okay.  Deal, but I'm going to hold you to it."  Daniel was about to get another cup of coffee when he realized that O'Neill had said something else.  "Did you say that my being put on active duty was only one of the reasons you came down here?"

"Yeah.  Hammond wants us at a meeting in about, oh, ten minutes or so.  Since you weren't at your apartment when I called, I figured you were here."  He grabbed Daniel by the arm and pushed him out of the room towards General Hammond's office.  "And I'm serious about you taking the weekend off. You need to kick back and relax, get away from all of the stress.  What do you think about going hang-gliding?"

**************************************************

General Hammond walked toward his office.  He was not looking forward to this meeting, no matter how necessary it was.  Telling bad news to people who had suffered more than their fair share of it was not his favorite duty.  Sometimes, being a general was not as much fun as they had described it in the brochure.

As he neared his office, he heard the two voices he still had not grown weary of hearing every day.  He had missed the continual friendly banter of the two most stubborn men he had ever met, and now that it was back, he almost never stopped them when they started ripping into each other.  They were just too much fun to listen to.

"Trust me.  It's fun."

"No way.  Forget it, Jack."

"Come on, Danny.  Live a little."

"I plan on living a lot, thank you very much.  I've been dead before, I didn't enjoy it, and I don't want to do it again any time soon.  I know that won't happen if I even thought about trying such a boneheaded stunt."

"It's not boneheaded.  Besides, I would think that anybody who can go scuba diving in shark infested waters--"

"That's different!  They weren't man-eaters.  I was wearing a shark suit, and there was a cage to swim into if things got too hairy.  Besides, haven't you ever heard of underwater archaeology?"

"Sure, but that's a lot more dangerous than--"

"Since when?  At least you can swim in water.  You're talking about falling who knows how many feet--"

"Only if you slip."

"Thank you for making my point."

"Oh, for crying out loud!  I was not making your point!  All I'm saying is---oh, hi General.  What's up?"

Hammond wasn't fooled by the innocent looks O'Neill and Jackson gave him or by the fact Major Carter was trying hard to suppress a laugh.  Even Teal'c was grinning, well, as much as the Jaffa could grin.  He turned to Major Carter and asked, "Anything I want to know about?"

"It's mutiny in the ranks, General," O'Neill sputtered.

Composing herself, Sam said, "Colonel O'Neill is trying to convince Daniel that hang-gliding is a fun and safe sport--"

"It is!" Jack interjected.

"And he's also trying to convince Daniel that it's safer than scuba diving." Carter finished.

"This guy," O'Neill jerked his thumb at Daniel, "went swimming with the sharks when we were in Hawaii.  Didn't even blink an eye at patting one on the head--"

"They weren't feeding," Daniel explained quickly, giving the General that innocent, little boy look that always got him out of trouble.

"And he's complaining about hang-gliding being too dangerous.  Can you believe this?"

Teal'c had learned to include his two-cents worth if he was going to enjoy himself during a Jackson/O'Neill argument.  "I must agree with Daniel Jackson, O'Neill.  The equipment used in hang-gliding is unsafe and inappropriate to the task.  There are no fail-safe measures that may be taken in the event of an emergency."

"There.  See?  Even Teal'c agrees with me.  Go argue with him." Daniel told Jack.

"Thanks, Teal'c.  Now see what you've started?" O'Neill asked sarcastically.

"I have not started anything, O'Neill.  I have merely disagreed with you on the safety of the equipment utilized for the activity." Teal'c said flatly.

"You see, General?  Mutiny!  They used to make folks walk the plank for that."

"Into shark infested waters?" Daniel asked innocently.

"You wouldn't be able to make us walk the plank anyway, sir," Carter told him.  "Your requisition for one got turned down by purchasing last week.  They considered it an unnecessary expense."

Hammond could only grin and shake his head.  You couldn't describe this bunch--you had to experience them.  "As much as I hate to interrupt this highly intellectual discussion, I didn't ask for all of you to report here to debate the merits of swimming with sharks or hang-gliding or walking planks.  Something else has come up."

As the General took his seat, SG-1 took theirs as well.  In an instant, the playful bickering had ceased, and everyone became the consummate professionals that they were.

"What's going on, sir?" Jack asked him.

"I have no doubt that the four of you have been talking, but just to make sure that we're all talking about the same thing, I want us to put all of our cards on the table.  Colonel, is it safe for me to assume that you and Teal'c have been briefed about our visitor last night?"

"Yes, sir.  Thor came calling.  Hear he wants us to play hide and seek again."

"Hide and seek?" Teal'c asked, obviously oblivious about the game.

"Hide and seek," Jack answered.  "They hide, we seek."

"I see." Teal'c agreed.

General Hammond continued.  "In a manner of speaking, yes.  It seems that the SGC has earned the trust of our allies, but our superiors haven't.  The five of us have been requested to root out the people behind this latest...escapade.  Thor did mention that the President should know about the situation from the beginning this time.  I think he wants to establish some trust between the Asgaard Command and the White House."

Teal'c raise an eyebrow at that statement.  "General Hammond, if this mission is to be undertaken in secrecy, is it wise to inform anyone of our intentions?"

"I would say that it isn't, Teal'c, but the President is our Commander-In-Chief and needs to know of any problems we're facing in regards to our alliances so appropriate action may be taken." Hammond told him bluntly.  "I don't like it either because I don't like operating this way, but we do have some advantages that we didn't have before."

"And that would be...?" Jack asked him.

"All of you working together which should have anyone with any intelligence shaking in their boots.  Add in Roberts' confession, and we already know who's behind the thefts.  All we have to do is find irrefutable proof of their crimes, find them and bring them in."

Jack almost laughed out loud.  "Sir, I don't mean to be a wet blanket here, but I don't think Darby or Thayer will have left any bread crumbs for us to follow.  We haven't even been able to link them to the conspiracy yet.  They're not going to make this easy on us."

"No, they're not.   That's why Major Carter is designing a sonic resonator to track down their Stargate which is undoubtedly being used in the transport of illegally obtained technology.  Colonel, in all likelihood, we will never be able to convict them of murder, but we might be able to get them on treason."

"With all due respect, sir," Jack was getting a little irritated, "that stinks.  They murdered 52 people, then dumped their bodies on some ice cube of a planet, and they're going to get away with it?"

"No, Colonel.  They're not going to get away with it.  I have every intention of seeing these people pay for what they did.  It's just that this is one of those times we have to pick the battle we can win." General Hammond felt as frustrated as the Colonel.  He would have loved to complain along with O'Neill, but instead he turned to the younger man.  Daniel had not been very vocal on his wishes for Thayer and Darby.  "Doctor Jackson, what are your thoughts on all of this?  You're the one who's been most affected by their actions."

"General, I'd be lying if I said I liked settling for less, but I don't see that we have any other choice." His voice betrayed his disappointment.  He always knew that the bad guys could get away with murder, with his murder, if the military machine worked the way he had seen it in the past.  There would be diversions and distractions, paperwork and brick walls protecting the perpetrators.  There would be those who would close ranks and circle their wagons around the offenders.  He had not expected it, but he had hoped that Darby and Thayer could be apprehended for the crimes they were guilty of.  He should really know better by now.

"Daniel, don't." Jack warned him.  "We still might be able to get them for murder."

That did not satisfy Jack.  He was tired of seeing Daniel forced to give up on something he wanted because what he wanted was not convenient for everyone else.  Daniel may have not truly desired revenge, but he definitely wanted justice for the 51 people who didn't come back.  Jack had been witness to a few bouts of survivor's guilt Daniel had already suffered through.  Well, he'd gone through that a few times himself, and time doesn't erase everything.  Seeing that Daniel was not going to argue the rights and wrongs of life itself and the fairness of the universe in general, Jack sighed.  "All right. We'll get them for illegal gadget trafficking."  That hurt to say.

"Colonel?"  Sam didn't have to ask the question.

"Alive, Carter.  No zatting or shooting.  No matter how appealing that sounds or how badly they deserve it.  So how are we looking on security right now?"

The General took the advantage of the change in subject.  "Better than we were.  Since Vaelen's death, I've been doing some clandestine research.  What I've found out is disturbing."

"And that would be..." O'Neill ventured.

"We know that there were more people involved in the conspiracy than just the 52 replacements the Pentagon sent in and the ones we rounded up afterwards.  I've been going through all of the personnel records of everyone here at the base, most specifically anyone who has been transferred here within the last year."  He brought out two folders and gave them to O'Neill.  "I've had Major Carter pull a complete background check on these people as I've found them, and I've been making sure that they're not in a position to do any more harm."  His look told the team not to ask about the details.  He'd tell them what he could.  "I think we're narrowing the field down somewhat, but that's just going to make finding whoever's left a good deal harder to locate.  It took me a while to find these latest two.  Major?"

Sam took her cue.  "These people have worked for Darby in the past or had their transfers initiated from the Pentagon by other people under Thayer's command.  There was an almost invisible paper trail the General and I had to follow.  I'm was still working on leads for these two yesterday when I found the connection."

"One of the nurses?" O'Neill asked her as he opened the first folder.

"She was brought in here about three months ago on the recommendation of Colonel Thackery, SG-10's team leader. There's no direct link between her and Darby, but her transfer papers were signed by a Colonel Patterson who is under the command of Colonel Billings at the Pentagon. Billings' commanding officer is General Malcolm Thayer. All three have served together for quite a few years. And if that wasn't enough, I've heard a few rumors about her treatment of patients. I don't think it would shock anyone to know that her bedside manner leaves a little to be desired especially when she's taking care of a civilian."

"Surprise, surprise," Jack muttered.  "From what I've heard, Thackery treats civilians like they have the plague.  I'd say he's one of Thayer's moles if he's recommending someone who was sent in here by one of his grunts.  If she's anything like him.....what do we do about her?  We can't tip our hand too soon or we'll drive Darby and Thayer to ground."

"I've taken care of her by removing her like I've been able to do with some of the other unfriendlies that I've found," General Hammond said.  "There's been a sudden need for extra personnel at the hospital.  Since this individual have the least seniority, she were sent there.  For the moment, she's out of our way.  As far as Thackery goes, we've found no proof of any collusion on his part.  We are still looking."

Daniel had been glancing at the folders as Jack leafed through them.  "Maintenance personnel?"

"We've found one, so far," Sam answered.  "That doesn't mean that there aren't more."

"And where is he now?" Daniel asked the General.

"He's been asked to help rewire all of the wiring on level one.  It seems that a power surge hit one of the main lines and melted the connectors.  I hear that the job could take a while."

"A power surge, sir?" a skeptical O'Neill asked him.  "Aren't our systems protected from those?"

Sam answered.  "It was a massive one, Colonel.  No one knows how it happened."

Jack nodded his head.  He saw the shifty look in his second-in-command's eyes.  No one knew.  Right.  If a power surge doesn't fall from the sky, get a theoretical astrophysicist to create one.  Nifty.  "That's two of them.  What else have you found out?"

"One of my sources has just confirmed that someone very high up at the Pentagon has been inquiring about the location of the replacement personnel and their friends."

"I hope they have a good long distance service," Jack commented.  "What's the cheapest rate these days?  Ten cents for the first twenty light years, five cents for every light year after that?"

"Only if you call after 5:00 p.m. and on the weekends," Daniel told him.  "General, how certain are we that we're the only ones on Earth who know where they are?"

"Well, Doctor Jackson, I wish I could tell you with absolute certainty that the five of us and Lieutenant Harriman were the only ones, but after everything that's happened, I just can't be sure anymore.  We didn't make a secret of Kasuf taking Roberts, but we did try to maintain secrecy with the others.  I've had security tightened, but undoubtedly Thayer still has people here loyal to him.  He's still getting information.  We may have made things more difficult for the conspirators, but not impossible."

"Roberts is on Abydos, the Tok'ra are keeping the others temporarily," Sam said quickly.  "They can't send Darby and Thayer any information."

"No," Daniel agreed with her, "but Darby and Thayer still have that homemade Stargate tucked away somewhere.  If they find out where their people are, they might be able to gate there--even if they have to make several connections along the way--and pick them up.  The Tok'ra can take care of themselves, but I don't want Kasuf or the other Abydonians in any danger if Thayer is able to get someone to Abydos."

"If he does, we'll be able to capture anyone he sends. Kasuf promised me that he would have the gate guarded 36 hours a day," Hammond told them.  "Jacob has sent six Tok'ra to help out.  They'll stay on Abydos until we catch all of the conspirators."  He knew that this did little to reassure Daniel of the safety of his father-in-law and his people.  "Daniel, even you and Kasuf agreed that keeping one of the conspirators on Abydos was a good idea if it meant a possible rescue attempt by Thayer.  It could be a way to track him."

Daniel nodded his head.  "I agreed to it. I still don't like it.  I wish we could have put an SG team there instead of the Tok'ra.  I don't think they're concerned about protecting the same things we are."

Jack would have laughed had the situation not been as distasteful as he found it.  "No, but think of it as sweet revenge on them.  How many times have we been the butt of some intergalactic joke where the Tok'ra were the only ones who knew the punch line?  There, they get to experience hot, sunny days and cold, teeth-chattering nights while enjoying the finest cuisine of mastage meat in vernala sauce.  They can join in the local pastime of grinding their own yafetta flour.  They can learn about the local customs like sand skiing behind rampaging mastages, a sport made popular by their once-resident archaeologist.  It's not just an assignment, it's an adventure." Jack didn't return Daniel's almost withering glare.  Instead, he threw the folders back on the General's desk.  As Hammond took up the folders and returned them to his desk drawer, Jack added, "All I'm saying is that it's a good thing the Tok'ra like hot, dry desert air.  This could take a while.  We still don't know much more than we did when this whole mess started."

"That's why we're being careful, Colonel," Hammond explained again.  He knew the frustration his best team was feeling.  He felt it himself.  Something was about to happen, no one knew what, but they could all feel it coming.  "Remember, Thayer is Air Force, but Darby is NID.  If we don't play this scam exactly, they'll come after Doctor Jackson again before we can stop them.  You know as well as I do that they'd want Vaelen's memories if they knew how available they were."

"Which they probably already know.  That's not really something we've tried to keep secret.  With all due respect, General, I still say this whole thing stinks," Jack complained.  "I hated all this sneaking around when I was with Covert Ops, and I can tell you, it hasn't gotten any better.  I say we go for the good, old-fashioned frontal attack."

Colonels!  "Sir," Carter interjected, "as much as I wish we could do that, that won't root out all of the conspirators."

"Maybe we shouldn't try," Daniel suggested.

"Say what?" Jack asked.  "You're agreeing with me?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, a silent way of saying, 'Yeah, sometimes it happens.'  "I know there's no way we're going to catch everybody.  Too many of them are too well hidden.  General, the more time we spend trying to find their people gives Thayer and Darby more time to plan whatever they're going to do next.  It'll be bad, whatever it is.  Jack's right.  We're sneaking.  We need to be taking the offensive for a change."

"Conflicting Vaelenism?" Sam asked him.

"Big one," Daniel answered.

A conflicting Vaelenism.  That was the term Sam had started using when Vaelen's memories came forward and conflicted with the military mindset surrounding his former host.  With all of that experience tucked away in his mind, Daniel had an even greater wealth of information to draw from, no matter what the situation.

"What do you have in mind, Doctor Jackson?"  Even the General had learned to listen to the conflicting Vaelenisms.

"They probably think they're safe for the moment.  No one's come after them, and they're still alive.  They'll be making plans.  Thayer will be, anyway.  Darby's just not the type to come up with any coherent ideas."

That was the closest Daniel had ever come to actually calling someone stupid.  Daniel never called anyone stupid.  That was the Kha'ti's influence being felt again.  Jack had learned the hard way that Vaelen, although polite and well-mannered, could be as vocally blunt as himself when the situation warranted it, just not as often.  He even taught Jack a few new words.  It was interesting to note Vaelen's vocally blunt style tempered with Daniel's reserve.

"Darby did a reasonably good job getting rid of all of you," Hammond told him.

"General, how bright is it to kill 52 people at the same time, in the same place, and send them through a homemade Stargate being stored in an unsecured room at Area 51?  And then to have those 52 people murdered by the agents who took their places?  Roberts said that Thayer gave Darby the order to get rid of the civilians, he just didn't tell him how to do it.  Darby chose the method.  The fact that we were all gone at the same time should have sent off warning bells that could have been heard all the way over in Fiji.  Darby should have known that conspiracies work best when only a few people are involved.  He had an army of over 70 people here.  That we know of, that is.  Darby's brain just doesn't fire on all cylinders, sir.  All he does is follow orders.  It's Thayer we have to worry about, and he won't be the easiest to hunt.  He's too good at this game."

Sometimes, lately, Hammond felt that he was listening to Colonel O'Neill when Doctor Jackson was speaking.  He had to keep reminding himself that Daniel was still assessing the damage done to his psyche by events of the past year.  Colonel O'Neill had shared some of the more amusing anecdotes of Vaelen's sarcastic but rarely heard sense of humor and cynicism displayed when they were trying to resurrect Daniel's memories.  Evidently, Doctor Jackson was tapping into those deeply buried aspects of the symbiotes personality and didn't know it.  Amusing as it could be, Hammond did not always know what to expect from the younger man.  "What do you mean?"

"I've only met the man once," he glanced over at the Colonel, "and no, Jack, I still can't tell you anything about that because I was ordered not to by someone the General would call 'sir,' but it seems to me that a lot of people thinks he's a military wizard.  General, you said yourself that you've read a lot of reports concerning him, and even you think he's brilliant."

"He is.  He's initiated new standard operating procedures that have revolutionized modern warfare.  Some of his tactics are ingenious." Hammond had to admire the man regardless of his heinous attempts to kill one of the best people he had ever known.

"Exactly.  He's the mastermind behind everything.  He devises the plans, Darby carries them out. Every bit of paperwork we've found has someone else's name on it.  We haven't found a scrap of paper yet that has Thayer's signature, have we?"

Hammond immediately saw where this was going.  "No.  It's always one of the colonels under his command."

"See?  Thayer can fall under the plausible deniability defense.  We can't touch him.  We can only target the colonels working for him, and they won't roll on him.  We've been so focused on getting his people together and out of the SGC, we've ignored him."

"And in ignoring him, we've given him a chance to create new inroads into his own network." Sam stated.  "He's probably so entrenched behind red tape and paperwork we'll never be able to reach him."

Hammond knew he had been right.  Being a general was not fun sometimes.  Seeing a silent consensus had been reached by the team, he asked, "So what do the four of you suggest?"

Teal'c answered first.  "General Thayer has found anonymity and a sanctuary in his position.  We will not be able to attack him while he is safely hidden within his own territory."

Sam added, "We have to force his hand so he'll be exposed and vulnerable.  The problem is getting him to act.  He must know that we're on to him and will have shut down his operation temporarily.  We have to force him to use his Stargate as soon as the sonic resonator is built."

"The problem is that Thayer's not the type to panic.  He'll have back-up plans for his back-up plans," Daniel muttered.  "We've got to scare him so he doesn't have time to think.  Somehow."

"That's easier said than done," Jack answered him.  "It'll take time just to figure out what would scare him."

"I agree," General Hammond commented.  It was still too early in the morning to think this much about counteracting conspiracies without a major intake of caffeine.  "Our best option may be to exploit his greatest fear.  I'll look into that.  Major, I'd like you to continue researching the personnel records and find anyone else that may have slipped through our net.  I want as few of his people on my base as possible."  He gazed at his first team for a moment.  They seemed to have rediscovered that mysterious rhythm that merged them into the best unit under his command.  Still, there was the specter of the symbiote shadowed in their eyes, the ever-present reminder of how fragile and strong their intertwined lives were.  "As for this weekend, I am issuing all four of you an order to stay away from this base.  You have a mission on Monday, and I don't want any one of you back here until then."  He waited for the protests to start.

"General," Major Carter objected, "I need to work on the sonic resonator.  We may not have a great deal of time before Thayer makes a move."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with her.  "With our assistance, Major Carter could complete her task more quickly."

When Daniel didn't speak, Hammond knew something was up. "Doctor Jackson? Do you have any objections?"

"No, sir," was his answer.  "I'm taking you up on the offer.  I've already made plans for this weekend."  Then, for Jack's benefit, he added, "That do not include hang-gliding."

"You don't know what you're missing," Jack said quickly.

"And I intend to keep it that way," Daniel told him.  "Sometimes ignorance is the way to go."

The General smiled.  He couldn't help it.  "Good.  Like I said, Major, you all have the weekend off.  That means that at 1700 hours today, I can assume that I won't see any of you here.  In the meantime, have a good day."  And he dismissed them.

As they were filing out of the room, Hammond heard Jack ask, "Okay, no hang-gliding.  Have you ever tried parasailing?"

Hammond did not have to hear the rest of the conversation to know how Jackson would answer that question.

**************************************************

Part 2

Eight weeks after the Dervan attack, Monday morning, SGC time: P9X743

Doctor Erin O'Malley, double PhD holder, former nominee for the Nobel Prize, archaeologist/anthropologist/linguist extraordinaire, stood in the midst of the massive ruins standing a few yards from the Stargate on P9X743.  Even from the MALP's pictures, the site was an archaeologist's dream.  The Stargate was positioned on a huge pedestal at the center of the ruins.  Lying scattered and broken around the Stargate were the remains of mighty obelisks, their colossal size not diminished although they lay in pieces around the area.  Ancient stone structures, houses and temples encircled the Stargate pedestal.  Pottery and rotted furniture could be seen through the doorways of some of the buildings.  The most impressive ruin was the remains of what might have been some sort of arena eclipsing the horizon.  Erin would be able to make a better estimate when she got a closer look at the remains.  A lifetime wouldn't be enough time to study what the inhabitants had left behind, and she would probably only have a few hours.

Luckily, she did not have any military personnel bothering her or getting in her way this morning.  Colonel Thackery had taken all of his personnel to scout the area and left Doctor O'Malley on her own.  Thackery was like a few of the officers she had encountered since joining the SGC.  He had no use for civilians or scientists, and he had argued against ever having one on his team.  He had reluctantly followed orders only after General Hammond had put his foot down.  Hammond wanted civilian scientists on the teams, he was going to have civilian scientists on the teams, and any commanding officer who didn't like it didn't have to command an SG team.  So, there Erin was, on the mission but she was all by herself on an alien planet and actually getting some work accomplished.  When General Hammond discovered that a civilian had been left unprotected in an unknown and possibly hostile environment, he would place Thackery on KP duty for a year.

She had been more than a little surprised when she learned that General Hammond had come down so hard on the military personnel at the Cheyenne base after the debacle involving the murders of the civilians working at the SGC.  She had never considered that an Air Force General would have taken the attack so personally.  Of course, at the time she was unaware that the General considered Daniel Jackson as a close friend.  It was evident that he had been appalled by the series of events and was going to make sure that anything like that did not happen again without a trip to hell being the payoff.  52 dead scientists, 52 military replacements, and every one of those replacements had been involved in the plot to 'remove' the scientists.  It had happened Hammond's watch.  This would never happen again.  To prove his point, Hammond informed every person at the SGC that not only would more civilians be stationed at the base, but more would be assigned as permanent members of the SG teams.  No argument.  He was determined to do everything in his power to make things right even though his efforts would not help those who were killed.

Only a few of the officers grumbled at the command.  Many of them had no problems accepting and following Hammond's orders.  They were accustomed to the civilians being a part of the normal routine at the base.  Many of the commanders were begging for certain scientists to be on their teams even if they were already assigned; Erin O'Malley and Joel Frederickson were chief among the civilians being bargained for.  O'Neill would not let the subject of Daniel Jackson enter into the discussions.  He was SG-1's linguist, and that's all there was to it.  Colonel Jason Thackery was one of the most vocal opponents to the idea, although he tended not to be very vocal around superior officers anymore after an argument about the nuisances of keeping civilians around nearly had him getting up close and personal with Jack O'Neill's fist.

Erin had felt the animosity flowing from Thackery since she joined SG-10.  She had tried to follow orders like a "good little soldier," but she always seemed to be in the wrong or in trouble.  She knew that Thackery had complained against her presence on the team, but apparently General Hammond had heard all he was going to in the matter.  As Hammond had told her when she had voiced her concerns, she had come highly recommended by one Doctor Daniel Jackson, the ranking civilian at the base.  Her work had proven to be superb, and she was extraordinarily easy to work with.  Hammond wanted more people like her out there, and no matter what the costs, he was going to have them.

Daniel Jackson.  If he had not been one of her closest friends since childhood, she would have turned down the offer to work at the base.  Erin did not particularly care for the military, but she had been experiencing some bad luck professionally and financially and needed the money.  Daniel's offer had come at just the right time.  She had resisted the idea at first, but when he told her that their friend Joel Frederickson had recently joined them at the base, Erin readily agreed.  The three of them together again might make the military atmosphere more bearable.  Maybe that was the way lifelong friendships worked.  Their companionship had always helped them cope with the foster homes they were placed into when they were children.  Anyway, she couldn't complain too much.  She walked into the job with her eyes open.  Daniel had told her before she started to work there about the murders and that some of the people still did not like having civilians at the base.  She could easily find herself involved in a situation she would rather not be in.  She was just glad that she had not been there when the truth about the massacre came to light.  She did not believe that she could have dealt well with Daniel's death.

Now, here she was some weeks after taking the assignment, alone on an alien planet with a group of people who were indifferent to her safety.  She might not have cared for some of the people, but she loved her job.  She just wished she could have been assigned to a team that worked together as well as SG-1.  Daniel was lucky.  Well, he needed some good luck.  His life had not been a lot of fun lately.

She was reloading her camera to take more pictures of the area when Thackery and the rest of SG-10 came back.  Erin saw that they were not running or shooting, so obviously there was nothing chasing them.

"Pack it up, Doctor," Thackery ordered her.  "We're leaving.  Tompkins, get the Gate."

Erin watched as the soldiers took their positions.  "So soon?  We only arrived twenty minutes ago," she said as she scooped up her pack and stuffed the camera inside.  She never really argued with Thackery, it didn't do any good, but she did want to know why he gave an order sometimes.

"Twenty minutes is long enough, O'Malley.  We're going.  No arguments.  Get moving."

The wormhole engaged, and SG-10 headed for Earth.

**************************************************

Monday afternoon, SGC

Erin waited the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon for Colonel Thackery to finish his mission debriefing with General Hammond.  Since the Colonel felt that her contribution was not needed, Erin no longer attended the debriefings.  She wrote a report on what she observed and studied about the planets they visited and delivered the reports to General Hammond.  The General had promised that he would try to 'adjust' the Colonel's method of operations, but he did appreciate that Erin was trying to avoid causing any friction on the team when they were off-world or any dissension when they were on Earth.  He only asked her to please be patient and try to keep any confrontations to a minimum.  He knew that the Colonel could be difficult, but he was a good soldier.  That was easy for the General to say.  He didn't have to work with Thackery on a daily basis and had no idea how difficult the man could be.  She knew that she couldn't enlighten the General, but she hoped someone would.  She also knew that the request she was going to ask of Colonel Thackery was probably going to create a confrontation that would cause a lot of friction and dissension.

She decided that the debriefing was going to take longer than usual, but she didn't know why.  The planet had nothing to offer anyone except archaeologists.  There were no Goa'ulds, no inhabitants around the Gate, nothing but ruins.  The meeting was taking several hours longer than necessary.  Maybe the General was adjusting the Colonel's method of operations.  She could only hope.

Erin made her way toward Daniel Jackson's office.  There, she could find a sympathetic ear and a hot cup of coffee.  Funny, but their relationship had not changed dynamics much since they were children in the first foster home they had shared together.  He would always listen, always help, always try to protect, yet there was a distance between them now, a masking of certain things caused by time and events.  Given everything that had happened to him, it was natural that he would gravitate toward the other members of SG-1.  He needed them as much as they needed him.  Talk about symbiotic relationships!  It was too bad that there were not more people in the world like him, but could the world stand more than one Daniel Jackson?  If there were more than one, Colonel O'Neill's hair would not only have turned completely gray, but would have probably fallen out by now worrying over more than one errant archaeologist.

She saw that his door was open, and there was movement inside.  Daniel was there, but before she entered his office, she saw Colonel Thackery walking down the corridor.

"Colonel," she called to him.  She saw out of the corner of her eye Daniel looking up at her as she rushed past his door.

"Yes, Doctor?" Thackery turned to her and crossed his arms.  His very stance showed that talking to her was not high on his Things To Do list.

"The ruins on P9X743.  When will we be sending a team back to study them?"

"We're not.  They're just ruins, Doctor.  No one's interested in studying them." Thackery turned to leave, but Erin grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Colonel, the ruins there are unlike anything anyone in the SGC has ever seen.  The writing on the obelisks looks more alien than a variation of any script we have on Earth.  I only saw them for twenty minutes, and I've looked over the pictures I took, but I'm certain that the language didn't originate here.  Some of the evidence I saw suggests that the site wasn't just abandoned.  The people left in a hurry.  The structures show signs of damage indicative of laser weapons.  If we could learn more about what happened to the people--"

"Doctor," the Colonel said tiredly, "the people who lived there are dead, and no one here cares how they died."

"On the contrary, Colonel, it's what we've learned from ruins that even allows us to use the Stargate as effectively as we do.  We've learned as much about the Goa'uld from the records of the people they've tormented as we have in nose-to-nose confrontations with the snakeheads."  Erin waited for a moment, the Colonel had to see sense in what she was asking.

"Doctor," his voice spoke with a hint of snide sarcasm, "if you want to go to P9X743, you can go to P9X743.  If anyone's crazy enough to go with you, you can even lead an archaeological team there if you want to.  Now, we've got some leave time coming, and I don't plan on coming back until Thursday morning.  I don't want to hear anything more about missions until then and neither will any of my team.  In fact, don't look for anyone to be back here until Thursday morning at starting time.  Got it?"

"Got it."  Erin watched him leave, a little confused, wondering why everything had to be a battle.  She turned back toward Daniel's office.

"You heard?" she asked him as she took the cup of coffee he handed her and sat down across from Daniel as he finished packing a few things into his backpack.  She knew he was trying to escape before anyone could stop him with a new project.

"I heard.  I saw the pictures you took.  Impressive."

"I hate to ask this, but did you get a chance to study at the script?"

Daniel shoved a few more indistinguishable items into the side pocket of the pack and zipped it closed.  "Yes. I think you're right--that it might be alien.  It'll probably take a while to translate it."

"Well, since I have to get a team together, you could always cancel your trip and come along," Erin teased him.  She glanced over the top of her coffee cup as her friend gave her a dirty look.

"No way.  I'm going home for a couple of days.  Skaara's coming home, too.  Besides, if we miss any more celebrations, Kasuf's going to have our hides.  He ripped both of us new livers last time we saw him.  He'd like to see his sons occasionally, and he made Hammond and Jacob Carter promise not to stop us from showing up for this festival.  It's a 'let's-celebrate-a-good-harvest' festival.  Those are a lot of fun, and I think Kasuf told Hammond that I needed this after the year I've had.  I think he's one of the few people the General won't argue with."

"Your father-in-law seems to know how to persuade people, even generals.  Look, no one can blame you for wanting to get away for a few days.  SG-1 has had some interesting missions lately."  Erin sipped at her coffee again, then asked, "It wouldn't have anything to do with some hovering team members, would it?"  Everyone had noticed how the other members of SG-1 had kept an eye on Daniel since his last death and especially on missions.  He had a shadow practically from the time he woke up until the time he went to bed.  SG-1 always had to know where he was.  She couldn't blame them, though.  Daniel was too important to lose, and everyone knew it.  She sensed, she did not know for sure, but she believed that they were watching over him because of some local threat and not just out of fear.

"Hovering?  Helicopters hover.  Birds hover.  Bees hover.  This is an entirely new extreme.  Jack earned the title of mother-hen-from-hell, but now Sam and Teal'c are vying for the same role."  He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down with her, his packing finished.  "And it's not that I really mind it.  It's just that I've had to get used to it, and I still haven't gotten used to it.  I mean, you remember what we lived through when we were growing up with the foster parents, orphanages, and social workers.  Neither one of us ever felt like anybody cared.  We got so used to being on our own that we both learned how to deal with things better when we knew nobody cared about us."  Both were quiet for a moment, their memories not the best to reminisce over.  "Now, I've got these friends who are as close to me as any family could be, they're all watching me like hawks--like I'm going to disappear, and they are about to drive me crazy."

"They lost you, and it hurt.  They don't want to lose you again," she told him.  "They care."

"I know."

"And you love every minute of it." Erin finished for him.

"I appreciate every minute of it."  He knew Erin wasn't going to believe that.  "Okay, I'll admit it. It's nice to know that someone cares if I live, die, grow, shrink, or explode from spontaneous human combustion.  I like knowing that there are people out there who'd risk their own lives to save mine.  It's a good thing to have people watching out for me, but I need a break.  Do you have any idea what I had to promise Jack just so I could get three days off to go to Abydos by myself?"

"He made you swear that you'd call home every day?"

"He was trying for every 12 hours.  I told him if I did that I'd be spending all of my time walking from my house to the Gate and back.  I did agree to call every morning.  Every Abydonian morning, that is.  We have 36-hour days back home.  He just worries too much."

"And you wouldn't wish it any other way." Erin grinned.

"No, I wouldn't, but you didn't come here to talk about my trip home.  You want to talk about this little excavation you talked Thackery into."

"Okay.  You got me.  I was wanting to get your help talking Thackery into an archaeological dig since he has a bad habit of not listening to me, but since he's letting us go, I was wondering if you'd do something else for me."

Daniel saw that glint in her eye that meant she was up to something that the higher-ups might not give her permission to do otherwise.  "What?"

"I was wondering if you'd stop by P9X743 on your way home from Abydos on Thursday and pick up the pictures and videos I'm going to take. Maybe you could start working on a translation for me..."

"And give you an idea where the best places to dig might be so you don't waste any time digging in unproductive areas thereby increasing your chances of a successful haul before Thackery pulls the plug on you?  And given my history of getting into trouble, General Hammond and Jack might be a little reluctant to let me visit if we asked them beforehand?"  He had to laugh when Erin almost jumped out of her seat with glee.  "No problem.  I'll have to let Jack know I'll be dropping in on your dig or he'll go ballistic.  I've seen him do that before.  It's not a pretty sight."

"Don't you think your commanding mother-hen will stop you from going if you just tell him?"

"Maybe I could just leave him a note." Daniel and Erin grinned conspiratorially. Just like old times. Almost.

Erin glanced around the room.  It was a much larger office than the one Daniel had been issued before his death.  His possessions had found a new home in the newly installed shelves that Colonel O'Neill had ordered before presenting the room to Daniel.  At least O'Neill had no arguments against civilians being on the base, and he would argue keeping one civilian in particular no matter what.  Erin had heard tales that things were difficult for her friend after Vaelen had died even though O'Neill had gone to extraordinary lengths to help Daniel reestablish his life both on and off base.  Some rumors held that his ability to continue working with SG-1 had been questioned by the Pentagon, but no one believed it.  SG-1 would have moved mountains to keep Daniel on the team.  This office was just one of the small bits of evidence proving how much SG-1were involved with each other's lives.  Erin turned serious for a moment.  "How are things with you these days?  You seem almost fine to me, but you're right when you say that your team keeps watching you like they expect you to blow up any minute.  There's no chance of that, is there?"

That question hit too close to the heart of the matter for him.  Erin noticed his fidgeting right away.  Daniel never fidgeted.

"Almost fine?" he asked her.

"I'd be lying if I said there weren't any differences.  You've changed a little bit."

"Oh, yeah.  I've changed.  In some ways, I'm a lot better.  My allergies are gone.  I'm stronger.  My physical stamina has improved.  If we're being chased by Goa'ulds, I don't have any trouble keeping up with the others.  Janet says that I've got a very unusual protein marker in my system that's not the same as Sam's, so I have no doubt that will have its own set of problems.  I have noticed that my eyesight is getting a little blurry again.  I don't know why that's happening."  Daniel took a deep breath.  Discussing this was hard with anyone except Jack, Sam or Teal'c, but Erin was one of the few people he knew he could trust.  Really trust.  He fought the inclination to keep quiet.  It wasn't easy.

"It was confusing after Vaelen died.  At first, I thought I was fine, then after a few days, some strange things started happening to me.  I mean my experience was nothing like Sam's after Jolinar died.  For a few days, I didn't do much more than sleep and eat and try to look through paperwork.  Fraiser called it delayed exhaustion and told me that it would pass soon enough.  Then I went for a while where I couldn't sleep at all.  After that, I could sleep but the nightmares started.  I had a hard time separating Vaelen's memories from mine.  Once, I was having a conversation with Sam discussing the possible atmospheric conditions of a planet from the pictures a MALP sent back, and suddenly I'm was telling her about the time I was there with Tae'nor fighting the Goa'uld in a vicious thunderstorm.  We had zat guns and taggers; they had death gliders and staff weapons.  We were outnumbered about 15 to 1.  I was five minutes into the tale when I suddenly realized that I was quoting Vaelen's life, chapter and verse, like it was my own.  Sam knew what I was doing, but she didn't say anything about it.  None of them ever did when I got like that.  When I still get like that.  They've accepted it as normal for me since I've got Vaelen's memories.  He was a General, you know.  He left me those memories, too.  I can argue with Jack about military strategy and actually know what I'm talking about and convince him I'm right.  Teal'c and I have been discussing Goa'uld military history like we were the ones that wrote the book.  It's been...confusing."

"But you're better now?" she asked him.  Of course he was.  He had hired her.

"Yes.  I think I had....too much bottled up inside me.  Jack and I had a few too many beers one night about two weeks after I came back, and he said I got talkative.  I remember the first part of the conversation.  I was too drunk to remember the last part of it.  After I sobered up, I seemed to be handling things better.  I must have dealt with whatever it was that was bothering me.  Jack won't tell me what I said.  He said it's for my own good because look at the results.  The memories are there, but I can distinguish between Vaelen's and mine a little better that I was able to for a while.  I know who did what and why.  I go off on my own wild tangents now, not just Vaelen's.  It's made writing down the Kha'ti history a lot easier if I can see it more academically instead of personally.  I seem to be more 'me' these days and less 'Vaelen' than I was a month ago, so things have gone more smoothly than I would have thought."  Then, he added, "But there's still a lot of Vaelen in me.  Sometimes I don't know where I end and he begins."

"How much have you written about the Kha'ti?"

Daniel looked over his shoulder at a separate computer that had been moved into his office.  "That computer holds a 20 gig hard drive.  I've filled up about a quarter of it, and I'm not anywhere near being finished.  They had a very rich history."

"And their military?" she asked him innocently.

"Extensive.  I write it down, Jack looks it over.  He's actually gotten good at proofreading those reports and rewording parts of them into military language.  I know it, I understand it, but it's damn hard to deal with sometimes.  Vaelen lived a soldier's life.  He gave me all of that, too."

"And O'Neill still worries about you?"

"He's going to worry until I really am dead, and even then he'll wonder if I'm okay."

They were interrupted by the ringing telephone.

"Jackson....yes, Lieutenant....I'm on my way.....be there in 5 minutes."  He placed the phone back on its cradle and picked up his pack.  "That's my cue.  I've got to go, and I'll see you on Thursday."

"Right.  I've got to get the team together.  I'm going to take Joel.  He'll enjoy this one.  Colonel Dryer won't let SG-12 ever stay any place long enough for Joel to do any studies.  He said that lately he's just a fifth wheel that takes up space.  I guess I know how that feels."

Daniel paused at the doorway and turned back to Erin, whispering. "Look, you know what's going on here between the civilians and some of the officers.  It's not everybody that's against us.  The best thing you can do is watch your back and keep your mouth shut about everything."

"You gave me that advice when I first came here," she whispered back to him.

"That advice still holds.  If you see or hear anything strange or if anything starts setting off your alarms, tell Jack or Hammond.  Got it?"

"Got it.  Just promise me one thing," she said.

"What?"

"Tell me exactly what's going on here one day?  You know, the part that SG-1's been keeping secret?"

How did she know?  Oh, well.  "I've got to go."  With that said, Daniel turned and left.

Erin could only wonder what her friend was not able to tell her.

**************************************************

Daniel ran into the gate room just as the second chevron was encoding in place.  Naturally, just as he knew they would be, his mother-hen committee was there to see him off.

"Do you still believe that traveling to Abydos alone is a wise decision, Daniel Jackson?"  Teal'c asked him.  He had not forgiven himself for not being there when Daniel was shot.  After all of the pain Teal'c's actions had visited upon the younger man, this one lapse haunted him more than the others.  Now Daniel was to be off-world for three days without the rest of SG-1.  Teal'c's protective instincts were on red alert.  There was no guarantee that Daniel wouldn't be followed by those who had killed him.

"Yes, Teal'c.  I think it's a good idea.  For one thing, I promised Kasuf I'd be there, and I'm not breaking any more promises to him.  I've broken too many as it is.  And second, it's not a good idea for the Elder's sons to always arrive with a tagalong.  Even Skaara has managed to talk Jacob into staying behind.  We're just going home.  Don't worry."

Jack placed two zat guns in Daniel's pack as well as stuff another clip for his 9 millimeter in with it.  "What?  Us?  Worry?  What would ever give you that idea?"

"Oh, I don't know," Daniel told him.  "Could it be because you keep handing me weapons?"

"No.  Has nothing to do with it.  We're just protecting our investment."

"Expect us to worry, Daniel," Sam told him.  "You have a tendency to run into trouble."

"Maybe, but have you ever noticed I only run into trouble when one of you military types is with me?  I hardly get into trouble when I'm by myself.  I mean, I've never been mugged at the gas station."

Jack wasn't going to let that challenge go unanswered.  "You don't called getting shot and killed with 51 other people trouble?"

"That doesn't count.  I was with a bunch of you military types at the time.  Who knew?"  That stopped Jack from his expected retort.

The fifth chevron was encoded.  Daniel remembered his promise to Erin.  "Jack, I'm going to be stopping by Erin's dig on the way home on Thursday.  She wants me to pick up some photos from her so I can start work on a translation."  The sixth chevron encoded.

"Now wait a minute.  I put our deal about you going off by yourself in writing.  Stop-offs are definitely not anywhere on the page."

"You didn't read the fine print," Daniel said smugly with a mischievous grin on his face.

It was too late for Jack to do anything now.  Since Vaelen, Daniel had been a lot more fun to argue with even if Jack lost a lot more arguments.  That didn't matter.  He'd lose every argument if that meant he could still have Daniel around.  Besides, he was a grown man, non-military and could make his own decisions even if those decisions royally pissed off his commanding officer--like making a last minute stop-over at another SG team's location without permission beforehand.

The seventh chevron locked, and the wormhole engaged.  Daniel took off up the ramp, ignoring Sam's laughing and Jack's protest on his change in his itinerary.  Just before he went through the gate, he turned back and yelled up at the control room.

"Lieutenant Harriman?"

The lieutenant spoke into the microphone.  "Yes, sir?"

"Put me down for five dollars."

"Sir?

"Five dollars in the will-he-or-won't-he-get-hurt betting pool.  Put me down for 'just before he goes through the Stargate on his way home'."  And he stepped through the wormhole toward Abydos.

The remaining members of SG-1 heard the snickering of the other people in the gate room.  "He knew," Jack muttered to himself, although everyone in the room could hear him.  "The little bugger knew."

**************************************************

Tuesday morning, SGC

Jack threw another folder into his "OUT" box and stopped himself from looking at his watch.  Again.  There were hours left before Daniel had to check in with him.  Quit worrying, he kept telling himself.  He'll be fine.  Right. Daniel could find a way to turn a paper cut into a trip to the emergency room.  Jack knew what was worrying him.  For the first time in two months, Daniel was not in a place where the rest of the team could back him up in case of an emergency, and Jack just knew that trouble was heading their way.  That was the way their luck ran.

So what was he going to do?

The General had given them all a few days down time, and given the stress levels of their recent missions, Hammond had ordered them to relax.  However, he also mentioned, down time was a good time to catch up on overdue paperwork. 

Hint, hint, Jack.  George could be as subtle as a brick falling on your big toe. 

The backlog of paperwork was not entirely his fault.  Their last few missions had been nerve-wracking, time-consuming, Goa'uld-escaping marathons.  The mission they had returned from on Saturday had been a five-day-long diplomatic nightmare.  Daniel's negotiating skills had been put past the test and threaded through the wringer.  They had been captured by the locals who thought that SG-1 were demons come to capture their souls.  Daniel, being Daniel, talked their way out of another situation that could have easily turned into a bloodbath.  For days, he spoke with the leaders, tried to get them to understand that SG-1 were peaceful visitors.  For days, he explained over and over again their purpose, and, in typical Daniel fashion, he had done all of this negotiating with a slight concussion.  After he had finally convinced the chieftains that SG-1 was not a threat, they had been given a feast in their honor.  Jack had to admit that their hosts even outdid the Abydonians when it came to throwing a party.  Even though the rest of the team got to enjoy themselves, Daniel had suffered through some sleepless nights and exhausting hours working to ensure the agreement between the two worlds was satisfactory.  Sam told Jack that, in the end, the work was worth it.  The trade negotiations had borne a fruit (Jack swore it was a silly fruit) that would produce many positive ramifications.  The locals would trade many of their medicinal plants for (Jack still couldn't believe this) clothes.  The natives went nuts over fatigues!  Five days to exchange baggies for beans!  By the time they had returned to the SGC, Daniel was mentally and physically exhausted.  He needed a couple of days off desperately, and O'Neill had promptly asked the General for a few days downtime that just happened to coincide with that festival on Abydos.

So there sat Colonel Jack O'Neill, savior of planet Earth, friend of the Asgaard, team leader of SG-1, chief SGC cynic, doing paperwork and wondering if his friend was going to remember to call.  That thought brought back some bad memories.  Don't go there, O'Neill.  This time, he WILL call because he's NOT dead.

He glanced over at the coffee pot, thinking that now would be a good time to replenish his caffeine level, when he saw a folder lying there.  More work?  He decided that he definitely needed the caffeine and promptly headed for the coffee pot.  Once his brain got a jolt of energy, he picked up the folder.  He saw instantly that it wasn't anything he had to sign, fill out or forward to anyone.  It was from Daniel.  The first page was covered with his friend's strong handwriting. 

     Jack, you wanted to know more about the third battle Vaelen fought against Heru'ur a few thousand years ago.  I finally had enough time to write down a rough outline.  I'll tell you more about it when I get back.

Outline?  Daniel's idea of an outline would probably be someone else's idea of a dissertation.  Forty pages did not an outline make.  He reread Daniel's note.  He finally had enough time?  Oh, boy.  After Vaelen's death, Daniel had devoted much of his time to writing down the Kha'ti history, but lately he had been forced to help the other linguists with the artifacts that were brought back from other worlds.  Daniel had been conscripted to translate instead of transcribe just to keep up with all of the work that was coming through the Gate.  The Kha'ti project was falling by the wayside.  Jack recalled a recent conversation they had shared.

    "Hey, Danny-boy.  Let's go.  We've got just enough time to grab a pizza and some beer before the game starts.  You ready?"

    "Uh, no, I've got to catch up on some work here.  You go ahead."

    "Uh, uh.  No way.  I've had these tickets for the last two weeks.  We are definitely not missing this game.  What's so important that can't wait until tomorrow?"

    "I've got to work on the Kha'ti project.  I've put it off for the last few days."

    "Danny, you said it would take a lifetime to write it all down.  Even Vaelen took breaks when we were trying to resurrect you which was a lot more important.  So trust me, he wouldn't mind you catching a hockey game once in a while."

    "Jack, I need--"

    "Uh, uh, uh.  We're going.  Switch off you computer and grab your jacket or I'll haul you out of here myself."

They had gone to the game, and Jack did not let Daniel feel guilty about putting off working on his project.  There had also been an ulterior motive.  Daniel had already written so much about the Kha'ti that the people who were utilizing the information were experiencing overkill.  There was detailed writing and then there was detailed writing.  No one could ever say that Daniel Jackson was not thorough in his research.

Jack settled back and started to read the report.  He had been interested in the story ever since Selmac had told him about it.  Granted, SG-1 had pulled off some miraculous last minute saves and rescues, but Vaelen had destroyed four pyramid ships with ten small carrier ships.  After reading the paper for an hour, Jack decided he couldn't wait for Daniel to get the full report written.  This was interesting stuff!

A knock at his door took his attention away from the space battle he was reading about.

"Yeah, yeah.  Come in."

Sam and Teal'c walked in and sat down.

"Don't you two have paperwork to do?" he asked them.

"We have completed our work," Teal'c told him.

"Actually, sir, we weren't that far behind," Carter explained.

"Showoffs," the Colonel muttered under his breath.  "So, did you two come in here to gloat?"

"No, sir," Sam said quickly.  "We were finished with our reports, and thought maybe...."

"We are concerned about Daniel Jackson, O'Neill.  He is quite capable of falling into danger."

"Okay, you two.  For one thing, Danny's a big boy.  He can take care of himself.  A lot of the time, that is.  Abydos is safe enough, and there are people there who will look after him and keep him out of trouble."  That last statement garnered some very suspicious looks.  "All right.  You think that I don't want to go after him?  You think I'm not worried?  Hell, it's taking everything I've got not to dial up Abydos and go check on him, but Daniel doesn't need that right now."

"Sir?"

O'Neill realized that maybe he had said too much, but at least it was to Teal'c and Carter.  They could keep it secret.  "You two know that things were a little rough on Daniel after he came back.  The one thing I don't think he expected, and I never even thought about, was that the trust wasn't there anymore."

"Did Daniel Jackson think he could not trust us any longer?" Teal'c asked.

"Not us, Teal'c.  There were...others...here that felt that Daniel wasn't Daniel anymore, or thought he was a Goa'uld.  Some folks around here treated him like he had grown an extra head.  It used to be that his word alone was good enough for some people.  There have been more than a few times where he's gotten me to give someone an order when before they would have granted his request.  He mentioned to me once that it was like he was being treated by the SGC the same way he was treated by the archaeological community before they booted him out.  And given the way we've been acting, I'm sure he thinks that we don't trust him completely either."

"The way we've been acting, sir?" Carter asked him.

"Yes, Carter.  We're always checking up on him or not letting him go off on his own somewhere.  We've been watching him closer than the gold at Fort Knox.  I know we're all worried that the bad guys are going to snatch him, and in case you haven't noticed, we're driving him crazy.  Add that to the fact that he's practically climbing the walls waiting for Thayer to make his move and you've got one very on-edge archaeologist.   We know he's having a few problems, but he's dealing with things in his own way.  We haven't made it any easier on him.  He needs to know that SG-1 is still the same as it was before Vaelen, and letting him go to Abydos by himself is one way to do that."

"And you are not concerned that he will find trouble?" Teal'c countered.

"Concerned?  I'm expecting it.  Why else do you think I started the pool that Daniel was going to get hurt?  It's just a matter of when, where and how badly.  I think the only thing I didn't put into the pool is the how.  That's just way too many things to bet on."

**************************************************

Elsewhere on the base...

Joel Frederickson was almost bouncing off the walls from excitement.  A dig.  They were going on an actual dig.  An honest-to-goodness, real-life, too-good-to-be-true dig!  It had been a long time since he had been on a real excavation, and he was about to burst from the news.  And the site!  The grounds around the Stargate on P9X743 looked more than promising.  They would get to study some ancient buildings, alien script, and everyone on the team wanted a look at what Erin called The Arena.  For once, the scientists were going to get to do their job.

The only drawback anyone could see was that SG-10 was the military detail going with them.  It was no secret that Colonel Thackery had little to no patience with scientists or anything scientific, and the length of their stay on the planet was in question.  Still, he had told Erin to get a team together, and they would go on Thursday morning.  They would just have to make the best of it.

"I'll just bet you're already packed and ready to go," Erin crept up on him and startled him.

"You'd win that bet," he said.  "It's not every day we get to go digging.  I'm going to enjoy it."

"I wish I could have talked Daniel into joining us, but I think he needs the vacation worse than he needs an excavation."

"You know Daniel.  He might just show up when you least expect it.  You did say he was dropping by, didn't you?"

"Yes.  He'll be there on Thursday to get pictures of the script and start translating them, but I don't think he'll be in on the dig itself.  No, change that.  I don't think SG-1 will let him out of their sights long enough to go on a dig.  That would bore O'Neill to tears."  She thought for a moment, then said, "But it would be fun if they showed up.  O'Neill is a lot more fun to pester when he's bored.  He's such an easy target."

"Him?  Fun?  I've heard stories about O'Neill that would curl your hair.  I don't think 'fun' was ever mentioned."

Erin had to laugh.  She knew she held the enviable position of being only one of two people at the SGC who could argue with Colonel Jack O'Neill and not be ripped apart at the seams.  "He's a good guy.  Granted, he probably knows over one hundred ways to kill the enemy, but he plays a mean game of poker.  He's almost as good as me."

"Well, you watch your Ps and Qs around these folks.  Things still look a little shaky.  You think Thackery's letting us go on this dig out of the goodness of his heart?  Hammond probably ripped into him for leaving you behind on P9X743, and this is his way of apologizing." Joel told her.

"He'll never apologize.  Maybe he's trying to earn brownie points with the General by letting us have this dig."

"You don't trust him, do you?" Joel asked.

"No.  He's out for himself.  He considers me a nuisance and would not be opposed to my being taken as a host.  He won't be leading SG-10 for very long if he keeps up the attitude, especially around General Hammond.  Then we get to go through that wonderful adjustment period of breaking in a new C.O., and around here, there's only a few people here I would trust with my life."

"Maybe you'll get a good one this time." Joel suggested.

"If that happens, I have a feeling that Hammond will ask O'Neill to choose the team leader."

"You think O'Neill can be trusted?" Joel asked.

"Absolutely.  Daniel trusts him completely, and he's made the right decision.  Daniel told us both when we signed up here that we may not always know our friends, but we better be able to pick out our enemies.  I think the bad guys have orders to make our lives miserable.  We have to be careful and pick our allies.  O'Neill is one of the better ones we've found.  He's already helped fight a few of our battles for us.  There's more going on here than anyone's willing to tell us, but if we've got people like O'Neill and Hammond in our corner, we might be all right."

Joel couldn't argue with her.

**************************************************

Tuesday morning, SGC time: before dawn, Abydos time

The little house had never seemed so lonely before.

Daniel knew that he should be sleeping, knew he should be trying to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come to him in his own bed.  There were too many memories there.  There were too many memories in every corner of the house.  He couldn't escape them even in his dreams.

He had first awakened in the middle of the night and had missed the warmth of the other body that had once shared the bed.  He had reached for Sha'uri, then, touching nothing but empty air, he remembered that she was not there anymore.  She would never be there ever again.  Sleep had eluded him since.

He finally decided that lying in the bed was a futile attempt at sleep, so he sat before the hearth, feeding the fire.  More memories came to mind.  Sha'uri laughing, Sha'uri smiling, Sha'uri in his arms--uh,uh. Don't go there, Jackson.  That is not a good place for your mind to be wandering right now.  Luckily, none of Vaelen's memories had disturbed him.  He didn't think that he wanted to deal with them as well as his own.  He had suffered even more grief than Daniel had.

He left his small house and went for a walk.  Few people were milling about his neighborhood at that time of morning.  He saw the lookouts posted on the walls surrounding the city, he heard mothers tending their hungry babies, he smelled yafetta bread sifting through the air from the baker's house.  The neighborhood had not changed since he and Sha'uri had lived there, but he had.  Too many things had happened to him in four years of traveling through the cosmos.  Of course, dying had to be the biggest change he had been forced to endure, and dying several times over was definitely no picnic!  Death, possession, shootings, body switches, addictions, torture, and far too many trips to Fraiser's infirmary had a way of placing their invisible mark on him.  He was beginning to feel the weight life had buried over him.

He kept wandering around the streets until he came within sight of the communal mastage pens.  Every family had their own stables, but not everyone could contribute the time or resources needed to rear their own mastages full time.  Some families rented space in the pens by working for the stable keeper a few days a week as payment.  In return, he fed and cared for their animals.  A great burden was lifted from a great many people who utilized the pens when the stable keeper was given a full-time worker.  His sole task in life was to care for the mastages, feed them, and clean out the pens.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen, Daniel thought to himself as he watched the former Captain Hiram Roberts go about his early morning routine of bringing water from the river for the animals to drink.  The look on his face was one of pure and utter misery.  Then it occurred to Daniel that punishment is sometimes something that is perceived in the mind of the accused, not in the reality of the judgment.  Roberts undoubtedly considered his mundane tasks to be horrendous hardships, but Daniel wondered if he realized the he was doing nothing more than what the Abydonians considered everyday chores.  If nothing else, Roberts would learn how to milk a bovine-like animal.  What amused him the most was the sight of one of the Tok'ra guards petting one of the mastages like the family dog, his nose crinkled up like he couldn't stand the smell.  Undoubtedly, that particular aspect of Abydonian life was a little more rustic than the Tok'ra was accustomed to.  How many of them ever got their hands dirty, Daniel mused.

"Dan-yer?" Skaara walked up behind his brother-in-law and saw what Daniel was looking at.  "Father says that Roberts works well now.  When he first came here, he was a problem.  That didn't last long."

"No, that wouldn't.  Not with Father around."

Skaara noticed how quiet Daniel was.  Knowing how his own recovery after being possessed by Klorel had progressed, Skaara knew that Daniel was still suffering from some of the long-term effects: uncertainty, times of not knowing exactly where or who you are, feelings of helplessness, the aftermath of being kept in a dark place for a long time.  These all pass with time, but since Daniel had been dead when he had been taken host, his symptoms were a little different.  If Skaara had to put a description to it, he would have said that Daniel seemed uncertain of himself at times.  Other times, he was a little too overconfident.  He knew that everything would balance out in time.  When he and Kasuf returned to Earth with Daniel to negotiate a new trade agreement with General Hammond, they would be able to see for themselves how Daniel was coping with his life at his other home.  Maybe they could help him in some way.

"Are we going to stay here all day and watch Roberts or are we going to the Chappa'ai and contact O'Neill?" Skaara asked him.  "The festival starts soon."

"Yeah, I know.  I guess I'd better call Jack before he sends the troops out to search for me."

As the two brothers started to walk toward the city gate, Skaara made an off-the-cuff comment.  "Father told me that Bi'era had invited the three of us to dine with her at the festival.  He accepted, but he said that he could always change our plans if you had any objections."

"Are you two trying to play matchmaker with me and Bi'era again?" Daniel asked him.  At Skaara's indifferent shrug and not well hidden smirk, he said, "She was Sha'uri's best friend when they were growing up.  I was friends with Bi'era's husband.  Sha'uri and I were their daughter's godparents.  I don't think of her in that way.  She's like family to me."

"Maybe she could be family.  Her husband is dead, Sha'uri is gone, and a decent amount of time has passed for both of you to think about finding new mates."

"Whoa.  Hold it.  Mates?  Look, Skaara, I haven't even thought about marrying again.  When I think of a wife, I think of Sha'uri, no one else.  I'm just not ready to consider anything like that yet."  How could Daniel explain the pain in his own heart when he had trouble dealing with it himself?

"All right."

"But it's fine with me if we eat with her at the festival.  She is a friend of the family.  And she's a good cook."

Skaara did not say anything; he just nodded his head and hid another little smile.  Perhaps Daniel would change his mind.  With Sha'uri, his brother had learned that the one rule he had lived by since he was a child was wrong.  There was nothing worse than being alone.

**************************************************

Same day, Abydos, early evening

The sun dipped low in the sky as the festival began to wind down.  It had been an enjoyable event.  After a while, Daniel was able to shake off some of the melancholy that had surrounded him for so long, a feeling he didn't really know he was suffering from until he started to enjoy himself.  Kasuf noticed that Daniel actually laughed at some of the antics going on.  Yes, he had been right.  His son needed to get away from everything that reminded him of his death and Vaelen.  Daniel had been around constant reminders of that dreadful time and did not realize the negative effects it was having on him.  Coming home was not a permanent solution, but it was a beginning.  If Daniel could only have enough time to recover and heal before being thrust back into the position of linguist for SG-1, he would be fine.  His son was strong, of that, Kasuf had no doubt.

Kasuf was also pleased as he watched Daniel and Bi'era together at the festival.  They sat together, talked together, ate together, perhaps something good would take root for both of them.  There was no reason why two young people who were alone and clearly cared for each other should not be together.  Besides, Kasuf approved of Bi'era.  She would be a good wife to his son if and when Daniel decided that it was time to move on with his life.

For now, Kasuf gazed over his small family.  Skaara was sitting in the shade, tired and dozing after the many dances he had joined and the great amount of food that he had eaten.  Daniel sat nearby in much the same condition as his brother.  They seemed contented, the strains of responsibility leaving their countenances for a short while.  Kasuf had been adamant about having his sons with him for this festival and without their shadow-like bodyguards.  It wasn't that he did not trust Jack O'Neill and Jacob Carter.  They were both good men who followed their orders, and they took meticulous care of his sons, but they didn't realize that Daniel and Skaara needed some time to be Daniel and Skaara, not the late Doctor Jackson and Klorel's former host, and Kasuf needed to spend some time with them.  It had been too long since he had known that his children were safe under his roof.  Only one was missing, but she could no longer be there.  There was no sense dwelling on what could not be.

The sun kept on its downward path, and the heat that had been present during the day began to disappear.  Night would fall soon and with it would come the bone-numbing chill.  Being the good father that he was, Kasuf woke his sons and headed them all toward home.

If only he could be the good father every day and not when he had to bully two generals into doing what he asked of them.

Maybe one day.

Maybe.

**************************************************

Wednesday morning, SGC

Sam Carter stood before the screen that showed pictures of the latest planet they were investigating.  General Hammond had asked her to look at the telemetry reports even though she was on down time.  Actually, it was just to keep her busy.  SG-1 had been haunting the base since Doctor Jackson left.  Hammond knew that they were waiting to see who was going to win the pool, each one of them hoping that no one would.  "The readings show that area around the Stargate on PLN869 has received over 400 inches of rain in the last six months alone.  What we're seeing is, in effect, a swamp."

"Oh, goody.  Sounds like a great place to visit," O'Neill said sarcastically.  "Snakes, skeeters, gators, Swamp Thing, Adrienne Barbeau.  Sounds like fun."

"I agree, Colonel," was the answer he received from General Hammond.  "I'm going to send SG-3 to explore this one.  I'll be sure to tell them not to reach down and pat anything on the head, especially if it has teeth."

"Good idea, sir.  Teeth could hurt.  Looked like it did on 'Jaws'."

"All right, people, anything else?"  When he did not receive any answers, he continued.  "Well, I have something.  I want the two of you and Teal'c to go someplace.  Anyplace.  Go into town and get a hamburger.  Take in a movie.  Walk in the park.  Feed the pigeons.  Basically, I want the three of you to go away for the day.  If anything happens, I'll send for you."

Stunned was a good word to use to describe the looks on his subordinates' faces.  "I mean this.  Take a break.  Go out and enjoy yourselves.  Now I know you're all worried about Doctor Jackson being out on his own for the first time, but he is on a planet that he lived on for over a year.  It was his home.  He's safe.  Let him be."  General Hammond stood and started to walk out of the room but turned just as he reached the door.  "That was not a request, Colonel, Major."

Jack and Sam sat there for a few moments, then Jack asked, "So, anything good playing at the movies?"

**************************************************

Elsewhere on the base...

Erin O'Malley stood in the equipment room and glanced over her list and the items she had already collected.  Luckily, everything she was going to need was there and at her disposal.  The other members of the team had already stopped by and packed away their portion of the equipment.  They were ready to go.  In less than 24 hours, they would be doing what they loved.  She still did not know how long they were going to be there, but she kept reminding herself that Thackery did tell her that if she wanted to lead an expedition, she could.  She wondered if he knew just how long an expedition could take, even on the SGC's abbreviated time schedules.

"Anything else, Doctor?" Sergeant Siler asked her as he helped replace the last box of items Erin had been searching through.

"No, that does it.  The only thing we have to do now is wait until tomorrow morning, then off we go."

"Into the wild blue yonder?"

"Oh, yeah.  Have you ever gone through the Stargate, Sergeant?" she asked him, suddenly realizing that Siler was always at the base, but she had never seen him with an SG team.

"A couple of times, but I'm assigned here.  Boldly going where no Tau'ri has visited in 10,000 years might work on a TV show, but I think I'll keep my feet on terra firma.  I don't end up in the infirmary near as much, not that I haven't been there a few times."  Siler locked the cabinets and helped Erin lift the box she had carefully packed.  "Let's face it, the SG teams, one in particular, give Fraiser a lot of business."

"I see.  I can't blame you there.  I've been there once or twice myself."  Then, in a low voice, "So what did you bet on?"

In an equally low voice, he answered, "I bet on an hour after he left.  How about you?"

"I bet on the hour before he comes back.  The funny thing about the pool is that Daniel placed a bet himself."

"He did?" Siler asked her.  "He wasn't angry about it?"

"Daniel?  He appreciates the joke."  She just hoped that no one would win the pool.

**************************************************

Wednesday morning, SGC time: before midnight Abydos time

Daniel would have to return to earth tomorrow.  He gazed out onto the flat horizon beyond Nagada, committing the sight to memory.  He loved this place and these people.  His home.  His people.  The old saying was right.  No matter where you were born, home is where your heart is.  A large part of his heart lay buried in a grave outside the city.  That was the part that he cherished more than any other.  Another part was forever entrenched with the people he could claim as family.  Father, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, even grandparents abounded on Abydos.  A very large part of him wanted to stay.  Another large part of him, a newer part of him, knew that staying on Abydos wasn't the answer.  The dangers hiding in the night sky were too many and too diverse to hide from for very long.  They would come knocking at earth's door one day.  He wasn't alone in knowing the dangers so intimately that the nightmares were more like horrific premonitions, but he was the only one on Earth that knew the extent of the evil lurking behind the stars.

He buttoned up his jacket to protect against the encroaching cold of the desert night.  The stray memories that always crept up on him at moments when he was alone came again--the warmth emanating from the hearth in their little home as he and Sha'uri would snuggle together in front of the fire, the smell of fresh baked bread coming from the homes, the pealing laughter of children as they played in the shadows, the feel of Sha'uri's hand in his as they walked home, the strange feeling of home that was always there whether he was in their own little house or Kasuf's tent.  He had lost so much in such a short time.  That was when other, darker thoughts started creeping into his mind.  Betrayal, pain, loss, death, the political jockeying of a certain Tok'ra for domination of the High Council--stop right there!  He would not let Vaelen's memories interrupt his own.  Later.  He would pull out Vaelen's nightmares and deal with them later.  Not now.  That's what tomorrow was for.

Kasuf had walked out into t