Insect Tsunami

by Ayesha Jen

All SG1 had wanted to do was help rescue some of their new found allies from the Goauld. How did things get so painful and complicated? And what's with this weird world anyway. Rated T for the fighting and a couple of swear words. Final in the trilogy

Disclaimer:

Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret productions, and Gekko productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

The Prelude

Through the sleek ship's bubble canopy Colonel Jack O'Neill could see the velvet black of space above his head. He had never seen a craft this size and shape built for fighting. It was big enough to have a cargo hold but really light and manoeuvrable. A real live flying saucer built for dogfights in space and ought to have the Goa'uld beaten hands down. Below the ship he knew a large ball of emerald and white circled a yellow star. The planet he had agreed to infiltrate by a rather unusual means.

'This has to be the most insane thing I've ever been asked to do. Asked... Right... as if I would say no when people's lives were at stake. They knew we'd try.' Jack stood on the cargo deck of his first flying saucer. The three capsules it carried would take him and two other officers partway to the surface. They rested in front of them now like so many coffins. 'I'd rather face a heavily guarded Stargate,' he thought sullenly. Only that would mean taking men into a hail of fire, something Jack would always avoid where possible. 'And these little babies make it possible.' They reminded him of another time and place. The one way ride to Sokar's moon but these capsules were different. This jump would take them to a planet surface not a moon. 'And it has a Stargate for crying out loud!' he thought forcefully, still wishing there was a way of using it safely.

"Are you OK Jack?" Daniel asked in concern. He eyed the capsules suspiciously. He wasn't going in one but his friends were. "Hammond said you didn't have to do this, it's your choice."

A short, sturdy looking individual with short spiky hair and a brown tunic brushed past them. He stepped on a small stool and opened up the top half of a capsule, moved the stool to the next and repeated the process until all three were open and ready. Daniel still found it hard to believe that this small person represented descendants of people removed from Earth. The Goa'uld had been manipulating size and strength with these people. They had created the perfect miners, small, strong and docile, or so the Goa'uld had thought. On first encounter Jack had referred to them as malignant dwarfs, but then they had attacked them on sight. It had taken a while to make friends with these people. Jack had dubbed this particular malignant dwarf Attila and he had liked the name. As the SGC personnel had found his real name impossible to pronounce, the name had stuck. The four SGC personnel now in the hold strolled around the capsules checking out their latest transport and fingering the heavily padded interiors.

"As soon as you are through the top layer of the atmosphere, the thrusters will fire and slow the capsule's descent," Attila began again. "It will rotate into a vertical position and open at this top end. You will be propelled away from the capsule. Keep your arms crossed so and chin to your chest." He demonstrated the manoeuvre. "The capsule is large enough to be seen by their defensive systems and will probably be attacked. This is good as it will draw them away from you. You should go undetected. You will free fall..."

"Should? We know, we know. We've been over this a hundred times Attila. Are you sure this'll work?" Jack asked as he adjusted the strapping of his parachute.

"All the tests have been successful," he replied, taking a sly look at the obviously nervous Daniel.

"Tests?" Daniel's voice rose an octave.

"It's OK Daniel, he's bating you. Everything is fine. Our own people have been playing around with similar systems for a long time. The capsule just adds an additional twist to start the jump higher."

"As in outside the atmosphere," Daniel responded apprehensively.

"Look, there are three of us," Jack told his worried friend. He indicated the other two soldiers putting on their heat suits and parachutes. "We'll secure the Stargate and send a signal. The rest of you can join us. No one gets shot trying to come through." He changed tack, "we have agreed to rescue these people. You want us to change our minds?"

Daniel's eyes fell and he looked at the deck, this was his fault. He had insisted that the SGC should help free these people. They had made contact and then the Goa'uld had taken them from under their noses. The difference this time was that they knew where they'd taken them. Still he had not expected anyone to be taking this kind of a risk.

Jack took his friend by the shoulders and shook him gently. "It's going to be fine."

"Famous last words," Daniel muttered in response. The dread squirming in Daniel's belly increased as he watched the three people prepare for the jump. He was relieved that neither Teal'c, much to the Jaffa's annoyance or Sam had been allowed on this jump. Hammond had insisted that only the most experienced made the jump. That turned out to be Jack, Coleman and Pearson from two other teams. Still, he knew two who were making the jump really well and he felt a completely unwarranted guilt.

Pearson settled his mask around his neck and glanced up to see Daniel watching him, he smiled in reassurance. They'd been friends for a while and he was certain Daniel was fretting. "Don't sweat it Daniel, we'll be fine," he called.

"You're the one who'll be sweating in all that gear," Daniel responded with a weak grin.

"There, see… you have nothing to worry about," Jack added.

"We'll land the transport as soon as you give the all clear," Attila told them. "Just make sure they can't throw anything lethal our way."

"Now who's worrying?" Jack drawled.

"Just remember, one of your friends will be on board my ship."

Jack frowned at what sounded like a threat, and then shrugged, 'everyone's getting testy. Sooner we make the jump the better.'

An alarm sounded in the hold and the squad was motioned to take their places inside their allotted capsules. Climbing into the top of the capsule was more awkward than it had looked. Jack carefully lowered himself inside, sliding from side to side to avoiding snagging his heat suit on the working parts of the hood. He slid into place feeling the padding close around him. The idea of being trapped inside if it failed to open crept into his mind. A deep breath escaped and Daniel heard it. Jack settled his legs and elbows into place then manoeuvred the mask over his face. Daniel leaned inside and checked everything was secure then he tapped Jack on his helmet and Jack gave a 'thumbs' up sign. Attila checked that he had settled in place correctly.

"May Janus watch over your exit and return," he muttered as he activated the capsule and sealed Jack inside. Attila repeated the process with the other two capsules.

Daniel was leaning over to one side as the capsule folded up to enclose Jack, trying to catch the very last glimpse of his friend. His childlike response to anxiety brought a grin to Jack's face. Then he cleared his mind of all thoughts except getting down in one piece.

Helpless Watch

Daniel lowered himself into the co-pilot's seat as he watched the capsules launch towards the planet. Attila slid into the seat beside him, eyes running over the controls. "They're on course, entry into the upper atmosphere in about five minutes." They kept a silent watch for a while, inactivity stretching the time to a seemingly endless wait.

"Janus? He was the Roman god of gates," Daniel finally commented into the silence.

"Roman?" Attila questioned.

"They were an ancient people of the Tauri world."

Attila shrugged. "He is said to protect the doorways of life, those we enter and those we leave by."

"Birth and death?" Daniel questioned.

"No, not just birth and death, all doorways," Attila explained.

The capsules arrowed into the upper atmosphere and began to heat up. Daniel stared from the monitor to his companion, waiting impatiently. "Everything's working fine," his small companion told him.

The long-range monitor seemed to confirm the statement, but Daniel could not relax. "How long until they're low enough to be ejected?"

"Not long."

"Surely they will have been spotted by now?"

"Even if they have it takes time to get range and angle to fire on them. Stop worrying," Attila answered confidently. A red light began to blink on the side console attracting Attila's attention. A grim look appeared on his face. "One of the capsules isn't responding yet." He began tapping instructions in manually in an attempt to make the capsule run its program. An explosion blossomed below the capsules, close but not high enough to damage them.

"That's close," Daniel commented worriedly half rising from his seat.

"They have time," Attila responded calmly still trying to activate the malfunctioning capsule. Two of the three occupants suddenly became momentarily visible as they were ejected from the capsules. Just behind the fast moving figures the explosions reached the capsules. All three received direct hits and disintegrated.

"One of the capsules did not eject its occupant," Attila confirmed what Daniel had seen on the monitor.

"Which one?" Daniel demanded.

"I am uncertain. We will not know until they contact us at the Stargate."

Daniel dropped back into his seat a sick feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach. 'Who've we lost? Jack, Andy, is one of you dead?' It was his fault, his idea to help these people. The fact that Hammond would have ordered this mission without his plea never occurred to him.

Powerless Drop

The capsules shot from the large fighter downward to the shining ball below them. At first, shoulders took the brunt of the downward force. As it faded away, the men found themselves suspended inside their capsules. The floating sensation was a novel experience for at least two of them. "Very womb-like," Pearson muttered and closed his eyes in response. His breathing slowed as calm began to fill him. 'I could get used to this,' he thought. They had no way to see outside the capsule or to mark the passage of time in the darkness. The luminous dials of their watches were no help as they lay hidden by the position of their arms and the heat resistant suits.

Time seemed endless for at least one man trapped inside his capsule. A remembered torture began a slow replay in his mind. Jack shook his head determined he would not succumb to the past. "At least this one isn't hot," he spoke allowed, his mask muffling a voice no one could hear. It relieved the tension he felt, a little.

They entered the thin outer atmosphere of the planet. Even though protected by the capsules the team could feel both gravity and speed noticeably increase. Heat from the friction began to generate in the lower end of the little crafts, turning the outer surface of the capsules white. Sufficient heat crept into the capsules to gently toast the soldiers' feet. They felt the judder as small jets fired to slow their descent. This, they all knew was their most vulnerable time. Now they would become easier targets, 'we're sitting ducks,' Jack thought as his capsule slowed. Now they all hoped trust in their new friends was not ill founded. Jack began to sweat, either they would be catapulted away to safety first or the enemy would see them too early. If that happened they would all die imprisoned in the capsules. 'Not imprisoned, protected,' he sternly reminded himself.

Something about the capsule changed. Unsure of why he sensed the change but putting trust in his instincts, Jack pulled his elbows tight against his sides and chin down onto his chest and braced himself. As the capsule popped open a sudden thrust propelled him clear of danger. He spread his arms and legs to control his fall as he heard the explosion just below him. The explosive heat rushed up and past leaving Jack a little singed at the edges. He looked down to see the remains of his capsule falling some distance below. 'Timed that a little too finely for my taste,' he thought. Jack adjusted his free-fall and took the time to look around for the others. There was only one member of his team visible. A suspicion that one of the team hadn't made it entered his mind. 'Damn!'

Out of the fading light a darker area appeared. Jack decided to land as close as possible to what looked like good cover. The ground closed rapidly but he waited until the last moment to deploy the chute. A few seconds later he wished he had been a little less cautious. The landing was awkward and in gloom it was difficult to see the ground. Of all the places for Jack to roll out of his landing it had to be over that rock.

His rib broke mid roll and pain erupted in his chest taking his breath away. A scream choked off in his throat. Jack wrapped his arms around the wound and cursed which increased the pain level. Fear of being discovered forced him to move. The parachute began to blow away when he hit the release. Catching it caused him pain but he dragged it down and collapsed on top of it to catch his breath again. Then he heard running feet and a welcome voice.

"What's wrong sir?"

Pearson's voice was a relief on two counts. He could help him with the chute and Jack wouldn't have to tell Daniel his friend hadn't made it.

Pearson Leaned down to help Jack to his feet. As they lifted the chute Jack stumbled and Pearson grabbed an arm to steady him then helped drag the chutes to the undergrowth. They buried the two chutes quickly within the protection of the strange trees. Jack looked up into the branches and realised he couldn't recognise them, "not native to earth,"he murmured.

"Coleman's capsule didn't open," Pearson commented as he began shedding his heat suit to add to the hidden chutes.

"I saw," Jack responded shortly, now wasn't the time to think about it. Pulling the heat resistant suit over his shoulders was a painful manoeuvre, it left him gasping for breath and hurting with every gasp.

Pearson finished his disrobing and gave Jack a hand to get his off. While he finished hiding their gear the Colonel recovered but he couldn't help wondering what they would do next, 'Coleman's dead and O'Neill's injured, how are we going to secure the Stargate?'

All Jack wanted to do was rest a while but they needed to move. Someone would be along to check the debris from the capsules. He wanted to be long gone by that time. "Pearson, help me strap these ribs up and we'll get moving."

"Yes sir," Pearson dragged out the first aid gear from the pack and helped jack remove his jacket.

"We need to hurry," Jack groaned through gritted teeth. "We need to be moving."

"Yes sir," Pearson repeated and passed him some painkillers.

Jack grimaced, but threw them down with a swig from his water bottle. With the initial shock of the injury fading Jack found he was feeling a little better, the strapping helped and the pills would too soon enough. Now he had one good arm that didn't hurt much when he used it, 'guess I have some other bruises.' The other arm he could use, but lifting his gear caused sharp pains in his chest. Jack could only hope that he didn't cause any lung damage along the way. The direction they needed to travel took them through the small stand of trees and out into open country. That was the direction of the Stargate so that was the way to go. At least it was completely dark not even a moon to light them up. The stars gave just enough light to walk by once they were clear of the trees.

The Rift

It had been dark for several hours and they had made good time. Jack's pain had faded to a dull ache as he walked. Discomfort was a familiar bedfellow and for the most part he could ignore it. Pearson kept a close eye on his CO for some time and then decided he was worrying unduly. It crossed his mind that he would not have fared so well with an injury like that. He had been lucky so far on his missions never having suffered more than bruises.

A glow appeared lighting up the horizon. It warned of someone or something dangerous between them and the Stargate. The country was still open and fairly barren apart from the odd stand of trees and some clusters of low bush showing as dark patches on the land. With the horizon so close it appeared there was a ridge running across country ahead of them. Concern for how much darkness remained to hide in caused them to pick up speed. The coming of sunlight would leave them vulnerable on the open landscape.

"We should find cover at the ridge. We can wait for nightfall before continuing," Jack made his first comment in hours.

Pearson nodded his agreement and they made for the protection of the ridge. Daylight came suddenly, it exploded over the ridge and raced across the open ground lighting them up like roman candles. They rushed up the gentle rise and disappeared into the broken ground at its edge.

After shrugging off their packs and hiding them away they crawled carefully to the lip. Jack groaned as he caught his ribs on a protruding rock. He bit his lip and allowed the pain to ebb away again before continuing. It was the first time for hours he'd shown Pearson he was still in pain. A long deep rift faced them. It ran across their proposed path and disappeared into the distance both ways.

"Oh boy!" Jack muttered.

A sluggish river ran through the bottom of the rift and small figures could be seen moving about in the gloom. Sunlight had not yet penetrated to the bottom and light could be seen pouring from an opening in the rift face opposite. "Mines," Pearson explained unnecessarily.

"Huh," Jack grunted in agreement.

"You know they never actually told us what they were being used to mine here," Pearson commented as Jack passed him the glasses to take a closer look.

"Guess its Naquada," Jack commented as he carefully turned over to relieve the pressure on his chest.

"Naquada in its ore form doesn't sparkle does it?"

Jack rolled back over and took the glasses back. Sure enough whatever was being moved in the trucks glittered. Curiosity began to rise as he watched the work below.

"Let's dig in then we can check out what's going on later," Pearson looked at him and he added, "on our way through tonight. We are going to have to go through them. This rift goes on forever and we have to go that way." Jack waved in the direction of the other side.

Pearson backed away from the edge and made his way back to the packs. Jack watched him settle down to take the first rest. Pearson appeared to drop into sleep as soon as his eyes closed. 'How'd you do that?' Jack wondered. Sleep rarely came that easily to him.

Jack settled to keep first watch but what he saw worried him. It would possibly make it easier for them to reach the Stargate but it didn't make a great deal of sense. Not a single patrol came anywhere near; in fact he didn't see a patrol anywhere all day. They had seen no one who looked Goa'uld and no Jaffa either. Possibly the mine was unimportant, but if it wasn't important, why kidnap all those people with such regularity.

Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and his eyes came open immediately. Night was falling and they needed to be heading on towards the Stargate. He felt better for the rest and as long as he didn't over stretch the discomfort in his chest could be ignored. They moved carefully to the top of the ridge, to the point they had picked to start their descent.

"At least it's not in competition with the Grand Canyon," Pearson observed looking at their descent path. "It won't take us long to get down there."

"Won't take us any time at all if we slip," Jack responded dryly.

Pearson grinned. "It's a bit steep," he agreed

"You think? Try not to disturb any of the rubble will you," Jack added.

Pearson looked at the surface they needed to negotiate and realised Jack was right. The hardest part would be preventing a shower of debris from preceding them. It all looked distinctly loose and movable underfoot.

"Wonder what they're digging out of this loose stuff?" Pearson murmured as he started the descent.

To begin with, the night goggles helped in the gloom that had filled the rift. When the area below them became suffused with artificial light the goggles became useless. They settled in a depression high in the rock wall, pulled off the goggles and searched the area with the naked eye. The light had created deep long shadows up the sides of the rift giving them increased cover through which to descend. They merged with the shadows gliding silently ever lower. They proceeded slowly because it was difficult to see underfoot. As they moved close to the bottom Pearson's foot slid away from him. They froze in the shadows as a cascade of dust and small pebbles trickled down between the rocks. A worker directly below them seemed to hear the small noise and looked up. He peered intently into the darkness above him. As they waited not daring to move, the man ducked his head back to the truck he was unloading. An all too familiar figure strode into view.

"Why did you stop work?" The Jaffa demanded as he looked around for the cause of the man's distraction. The slave slowly raised his head and stared at the Jaffa dully, an almost blank expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong?" Another voice drifted up to the hidden men. A second Jaffa appeared.

"I'm tired of this place and these stupid slaves," the first Jaffa commented angrily and kicked a rock expertly at the slave. It caught him in the cheek, but he didn't flinch or respond.

"Our Lord wants these mines running again." the second Jaffa growled. "They are important to him. They will produce as he orders."

"But all this work for baubles?"

"You question our Lord' wisdom?" The obviously senior Jaffa snapped.

"No! Never," the first Jaffa stiffened at the reprimand and forgot about the slave.

They moved on down the rift, leaving the slave to watch them out of sight. He slowly raised an arm and wiped away the blood, then looked back at the shadows and smiled. He motioned for them to come down showing clearly that he could see them even in the darkness. As he had not betrayed their presence, Jack was inclined to trust him enough for them to scramble quickly down to him.

Jack put a hand out to the man, "thanks."

"You'll bring help soon?" the man asked.

"Soon," Pearson responded.

"There are no guards in that direction at the moment," the man pointed across the open ground towards the river. "The water is shallow there. Be careful, I will tell the others that you are here."

"Do I know you?" Jack asked a little suspiciously.

"No. But I saw you in my village with other Tauri before the Jaffa came." The man placed a piece of the rock he had been mining into Jack's hand. "We are forced to mine for these crystals. They are important to the Goa'uld."

"Why?" Jack asked but the man shrugged his shoulders, having given the only information he had.

He dropped the lump of rock with a reddish crystal embedded in it into his pocket and temporarily forgot about it. Jack wondered instead how long his ribs would hold out. A sharp pain was catching him if he stretched too much and he hoped no further damage was being done by all the activity. They reached the river undetected and as they waded out the other side they both glanced down at the wet boot prints they were leaving.

"Hope they dry before someone sees them," Pearson commented.

"If our present luck holds," Jack replied briefly and headed swiftly for cover.

The climb back out of the rift was a lot harder and they sank to the ground for a short rest out of sight just below ridge.

"We need to keep moving, this delay will worry Hammond. Still we have found the people we've come to rescue," Jack commented.

"I guess they'll begin to wonder if anyone made it," Pearson agreed.

"Oh, Hammond won't give up on us for a while yet," Jack replied. "But we do need to get away from here before sunup."

The sound of voices brought the quiet conversation to an end. They hugged the ground as a patrol approached but it past unaware of being watched. They emerged over the top of the ridge and blended with the darkness beyond. There was still a long way to go before sunrise.

The Unexpected Aid

The sunlight filtering through the trees lit the spider's web with a plethora of rainbow colours. Its delicate filaments moved in the gentle breeze, changing the colours in a hypnotic flow. She squatted in the centre of her web. Small multi-faceted eyes stared balefully at the large intruder in her domain. A pair of large, tired, dark brown eyes stared back at her, a puzzled expression appearing.

"The spider's annoyed," Jack murmured quietly to his companion.

"Huh?" was the surprised response. "Spider? I thought you had an aversion to spiders?" A sly grin accompanied the remark.

"Can't you feel it?" Jack asked, ignoring the allusion.

"You feel OK, sir?" Pearson asked with concern. The Colonel had not shown any sign of other injury from his bad landing, but that comment was definitely slightly out of whack.

"Actually, I don't feel so good Pearson. Let's get this Stargate cleared."

Pearson nodded his agreement and moved quietly ahead. Jack carefully skirted around the bush containing the spider and left her undisturbed. Neither saw the shadow following close behind them. It stopped briefly beside the spider then continued to follow them.

The Stargate was clear to see, positioned several yards in front of them. The area between them and the Gate was completely exposed and they crouched in the shadow of the trees scanning the area. A large contingent of Jaffa stood between them and the Gate, but what concerned them more were the two cannon trained on the Stargate.

"Well... We'll have to destroy the cannon," Pearson commented dryly.

"You're a great one for stating the obvious," Jack drawled back. Neither could see how they were going to achieve their mission. The cannon were seated on top of two pedestals and not readily accessible. "Any suggestions?" When Pearson didn't respond Jack continued to think aloud. "The cannons will probably be shielded. We could destroy them, but not through the shields. Unless..."

"Sir?"

"We have a get close, real close. I need to be able to put my hand through the shielding and slap the C4 onto the tower mounting."

"How are we going to achieve that? A diversion isn't going to draw enough of them away."

Movement in the trees to one side of them brought their conversation to an end. They hunkered down waiting to see who was arriving. At first they didn't realise what was moving the greenery, and then...

Insects! Masses of insects of all different types, shapes and sizes began to pour out of the trees directly towards the Jaffa guard. The strange hissing noise the mass seemed to be creating drew all Jaffa attention immediately. The insects swarmed over the closest figure. He dropped his staff weapon and tried to brush them off. Then he tried to run stamping his feet in a crazy dancing attempt to get them off. The remaining Jaffa began firing into the mass moving towards them, but the insects continued to pour out of the trees. The weapons fire had no visible affect on the moving carpet of life. The dead and blackened masses they created were replaced with no loss of momentum. The Jaffa began to back away from the leading edge, then turned and fled. All but the already afflicted Jaffa left the area round the Stargate. Jack stood up and stepped into the clearing.

"What are you doing? You'll be eaten alive!" Pearson hissed after him.

Jack glanced back at Pearson and half-smiled. "Maybe."

To the soldier's horror Jack ignored him and stepped forward. Everywhere he stepped the insects made space for him. A pathway towards the Stargate slowly formed and none of the insects attempted to attack him.

Pearson stepped forward, rather nervously, to follow. The remaining Jaffa had disappeared under a mound of insects. They skirted the heaving mass covering the body and continued towards the cannons.

"Strange allies," Jack mused. "How'd they know to help us? Why would they want to?"

"How did you know they were… helping us?" Pearson asked both puzzlement and awe in his voice.

Jack absently fingered the lump of crystal in his pocket. It was the only unknown quantity in the puzzle and he wondered if it had anything to do with the strange turn in events.

"Sir, if we kill any of them they may attack us. How do we destroy the cannon without antagonising them?"

"I have a feeling we won't need to worry about that," Jack told him as he watched a space around the Stargate begin to clear.

In fact the clear area quickly expanded to include the cannons, which had been deserted by their terrified operators. Explosives were set to destroy the cannon and the two soldiers retreated to a safe distance.

"Shame we have to destroy the cannon," Pearson muttered as Jack activated the explosive.

"Safest option, they can't be used if something goes wrong," Jack replied.

They had watched the insects move away from the towers when they had. 'Some one or some thing is watching us and controlling them,' Jack thought. 'Now how're they doing it? Why are they doing it?' Jack reasoned that the large double explosion would bring the Jaffa back quickly, he wasn't wrong. More afraid of failing their Goa'uld Lord than of the insects, they rushed back towards the Stargate. Pearson hid prone behind the short run of steps to the Stargate and lay down covering fire. Jack dialled home, then ducked and used the DHD as cover. As soon as the wormhole stabilised he activated the homing signal then immediately closed the Gate. He hoped the rescue party would dial in quickly and join them. The insects surged forward again, moving around them and towards the Jaffa. Countless numbers of small creatures appeared eager to help the two figures defending the Gate. The pulsing masses were very successful at hampering the Jaffa attempt to retake the area.

"These creatures certainly don't like them, do they?" Pearson yelled as he fired.

Jack turned his head in time to see him flip back across the front of the Stargate as a blast hit him in the shoulder. Jack dragged him clear of the Gate as the chevrons began to activate. "Thanks sir," Pearson ground out.

A shadow fell over them and they looked up to see the figure of a Jaffa warrior, insects crawling all over his armour and face. He was still on his feet and intent on killing them. The energy spout from the Stargate distracted him momentarily. As he turned to look at the activated Gate, Jack kicked out and took his feet from under him. Immediately the insects swarmed in and over the body and he was lost in a writhing mound. Teal'c and Major Carter were the first to appear through the Stargate, leading SG4 and 7 into the battle. They heard a shout above the sound of weapons fire as soon as they landed on the steps.

"Don't tread on the insects!" Jack yelled at them. "They're friends!"

Then Jack looked at Pearson and smiled, a comical look of surprise appeared on his face. "What am I saying?" Pearson grinned in response, the pain in his shoulder momentarily forgotten.

The fight with the remaining Jaffa was brief; they were out matched and out numbered. A perimeter was quickly set up by the arrivals. Everyone was careful to obey the strange warning not to step on any of the insects in the clearing. The warning rapidly became unnecessary as the area cleared of the masses of life forms very quickly. All that remained in the clearing were Jaffa bodies and numerous patches of blackened and charred insects.

Carter pulled the first aid kit from the MALP and settled on the step next to Pearson. As she pulled out the necessary equipment she could not help staring at the retreating insect mass. "What on Earth goes on here sir?" Sam asked, as she applied a field dressing to Pearson's shoulder.

"We're not on Earth," Jack responded and leaned back against the Stargate and closed his eyes as Jamieson joined them but responded to her question. "I wish I knew Carter. I don't know if I believe what just happened myself." He opened his eyes again and lowered his P90 nodding at Jamieson. Changing the subject while he tried to digest the last quarter of an hour of his life he commented, "we know exactly where the villagers are being kept. We came across them on our way to the Gate. I think the sooner we retrieve them and leave this place to the insects the better." A scratch of his head showed how puzzled he was. "They don't seem to like the Jaffa at all but they do seem to like us. Even so, I wouldn't want to outstay our welcome. They're not nice when they're upset." He pointed towards the dead Jaffa. Jamieson nodded in agreement as Carter finished binding Pearson's injury. He then helped his second in command to his feet as Teal'c redialled Earth. Jack picked his P90 back up and climbed awkwardly to his feet.

"You hurt sir?" Carter asked with concern.

"Nothing to worry about I'm OK." He responded just a touch hastily. Then he close the subject quickly moved away to inspect the closest Jaffa body. It was the man who had almost killed them as the Stargate opened. Carter noticed the awkwardness with which he squatted beside the body, but made no further comment. "You know, there's no mark on him, no lumps or bumps from being stung or bitten." Jack tried opening the Jaffa's mouth and shrank back in disgust. "Mouth and nose are full of insects and spiders. If I didn't know better I'd say he's been suffocated..."

Carter grimaced as she inspected the body. "What a way to die. Your right, it doesn't look like they bit him at all, strange. "Perhaps they're not poisonous," Carter pointed out. "Not all insects are poisonous." Jack noticed a shudder run through Carter. Not that he blamed her for that reaction.

The Pied Piper

Jack watched as Pearson disappeared through the wormhole to the safety of the SGC. He knew that was where he should be going but had a marked reluctance to leaving this unusual world. It was a certainty that they would have a fight on their hands freeing these people. 'Besides,' he reasoned, 'my ribs feel OK... they a bit sore but nothing I can't handle.' He felt Carter's eyes on him and walked away towards the copse. There was the unspoken worry in her eyes that he didn't want to acknowledge. He had no wish to give Teal'c and Carter the excuse to gang up on him. He almost felt, rather than saw a movement and looked down at his feet. A rather large ugly looking bug was trying to beat a hasty retreat from his boot. Jack's immediate instinct was to step on it but he refrained. Instead he bent and carefully picked it up watched by a puzzled perimeter guard. The bug nestled quietly in the palm of his hand, making no attempt to escape his giant captor. Holding his new little friend up level with his face he could see it had a damaged and useless leg.

"So... your buddies deserted you huh?" he asked the little bug quietly. Not quietly enough because the comment drew a puzzled frown from the guard. "Why am I talking to you?" Jack asked no one in particular and shook his head. He kept walking until he reached the bushes at the edge of the copse. He placed the bug under the nearest bush and moved away. The soldier decided the Colonel had flipped, 'after all,' he decided, 'with everything SG1 had been through it was only a matter of time.'

A small man similar to Attila in appearance joined Jack by the bushes. "We still don't know where the weapons that destroyed the capsules are. We can't bring the transport down safely while they are still active," the little Bregan commented.

"We should evacuate your people through the Stargate," Jack told him.

"You like insects," the man stated curiously as he watched the rescued bug disappear.

"Not so's you'd notice," Jack replied absently and lifted the encrusted crystal from his pocket.

"What is that?" his short companion asked.

"It's what your people are being forced to mine," Jack explained.

The Bregan took the crystal from O'Neill and rolled it in his hand. "The Goa'uld are going to all this trouble for a bauble?" he responded dismissively and handed it back.

Jack shrugged and took out his flask. After quenching his thirst, he washed the loose debris from around the crystal. It was flawless, with large natural facets. The crystal flashed red within a deep black glassy depth. Jack was sure that if he could understand why it was the cause of so much Goa'uld interest, they could use it to their advantage. He turned and walked back towards Carter, the little man frowned and followed him.

The guard who thought Jack had lost it now stood with his mouth open as he watched a widening trail of insects follow the Colonel. "Sir!"

The alarm in the soldier's voice caused Jack to spin round. The insects stopped and began to mill around as if waiting.

"What is it soldier?" Jack called out.

"I think they're following you sir," the soldier explained feeling slightly foolish as he did so.

Colonel Jamieson joined Jack and looked down at the heaving mass a few feet from them. "What do we have here? The Pied Piper of the insect world or what?" Jamieson couldn't hold back the grin that wanted to appear. Just like most people who knew the Colonel, Jamieson was aware of the aversion he had developed to spiders and similar crawling bugs.

"Not just insects, spiders, caterpillars and all manner of bugs are in that mass," Carter chirped as she joined the growing group studying the insects.

"It's alright for you lot its not you they're after," Jack responded backing rapidly away from the nearing mass of insects.

"They are following you O'Neill," Teal'c offered helpfully as he watched them with growing fascination.

"Why me?" Jack yelled as he tripped and fell backwards. He could not avoid the yelp of pain as he landed or the instinctive reaction to curl protectively up on his injured side.

Carter, Teal'c and Jamieson immediately tried to help him but found their path blocked by a sudden rush of insects. Before they could reach him a wide band of insect settled threateningly in place around the Colonel.

"Stay still sir," Carter called.

"Why?" Jack groaned as he rolled and sat up. Then he realised he was surrounded. "OK, OK! I'm still."

"So, what do they want?" Jamieson asked. "They aren't attacking him."

"You've got me," Carter responded.

"I believe they are protecting O'Neill," Teal'c stated after a moments consideration.

"Well isn't that dandy," Jack responded exasperated. "I don't want protecting."

A grin began to show on Carter's face, it was a ridiculous situation but Teal'c's commented fitted what was happening.

"Perhaps you're the insect messiah Jack," Jamieson told him gleefully. "Until this is sorted out I think we'd all better be careful not to step on any of your subjects." Jack scowled at the tremor of laughter in his old friend's voice.

"Daniel gets princesses and people to worship him. I get insects! Is there any justice in this?"

Daniel Frets

Meanwhile, high above the planet an anxious Daniel was still waiting to be told if his friends had made it to the Stargate. He sat in the hold studying some old papers Attila had given him.

"Daniel Jackson!" Attila called from above. Daniel slid from the box he had settled on and climbed into the cockpit seat. "Message from the surface, Attila told him. "They haven't found the weapons so we can't land. They are going to get our people out through the Stargate."

"Who's the message from?" Daniel asked anxiously.

"I didn't ask," Attila responded shortly as he prepared to move the ship out of orbit. He looked up and smiled in apology. "But they did say Pearson and O'Neill made it to the Stargate." He was rewarded by the look of relief on Daniel's face. "There's something strange happening though."

"What's that?"

"Apparently there are millions of insects following the Colonel around."

"Huh?"Daniel queried. Attila grinned at something Daniel didn't understand and was left with the feeling that he was a victim of yet another of Attila's pranks and he smiled in response "Yeah right!" He sounded just like Jack.

Attila sent a message telling the larger transport that their part in the mission had been aborted. He requested their fighter be picked up for the flight home. He explained briefly that the Tauri had secured the Stargate and would bring their people out that way as the safer option.

Daniel watched the planet diminish rapidly with a growing impatience. He had been left behind again while the others faced danger. 'Hammond's right... not being with the team, my friends... sucks big time.'

Attila was carefully watching him a touch of sorrow crossing the small man's face. 'I like these people, as strange as they are. It's wrong to use them this way. Still, what should we do? We need those crystals and they can get them for us. Ralla will not allow us to take them but the Tauri are unknown. Our people will bring us new crystals when they are rescued. That is if Ralla doesn't kill all of them first.'

The Rescue

Jack guided all but three members of SG7 back to the rift to rescue the miners and Major Freedman stayed with two others to keep the Stargate secured while they were gone. The rescue party had to take out two Jaffa patrols close to the rift but managed to do it quietly and no alarm was raised. As the group lay along the ridge above the mining camp looking down it was apparent that no inkling of the happenings at the Stargate had reached them. Jack shifted uneasily on a broken rib that still hurt. 'Not the first broken rib you've had,' he told himself. In fact the injury was mild compared to the one suffered in the cold of the Arctic, but it was still draining his energy. He motioned for everyone to move down into the rift. O'Neill wanted the raid swift and silent with no casualties among the Bregan people. He knew the difficulty of the terrain and that the darkness below the ridge would be to their advantage. As long as they were careful they would have the element of surprise. 'The last thing we need,' Jack mused, 'is a lot of casualties slowing us down as we head back to the Stargate.' If they lost the element of surprise now the retreat would get messy. 'We've still no idea where the weapons that destroyed the descent pods are.' Jack thought. He was worried about those weapons.

A trail of insects slipped over the edge of the ridge, crawling down the slope at an astounding speed. The Colonel shook his head, everywhere he went his strange entourage followed or preceded him. They had injured not a single one of his people but to the Jaffa they were deadly. Jamieson, Martins and Travis of SG4 followed O'Neill as he dropped silently over the edge and into the darkness. Several pairs of night glasses rose as the remaining people watched them glide like ghosts to the edge of the lit area. The Colonel took the men upstream of the main mine entrances and away from the brightest area. They crossed the river unnoticed and headed for their own objective, the mine entrance furthest away.

Major Carter waived the remainder forward and then slid over the ridge. At her side and tall dark shape of her Jaffa ally moved with her. They headed for the nearest mine entrance to take out the Jaffa guards and rescue the people within. They were not unobserved however. Two sets of eyes watched from a cage set by the side of the nearest mine entrance. The watchers sat, wrists and ankles chained to the bottom of the cage. As the soldiers moved closer to the entrance, one of the captives called out for water and the group froze in the shadows. Two Jaffa appeared from inside the entrance to the mine. One of them reversed his staff weapon and shoved it through the bars catching one of the men brutally on the chin.

The Jaffa laughed. "No water! Perhaps tomorrow if you behave."

The second Jaffa thrust his staff weapon into the cage hitting the second occupant. Neither even noticed the shadow slide up behind them. Teal'c's large hands fastened on a pair of preoccupied heads bringing them together with sufficient force to crack the skulls. The pair instantly dropped and Teal'c stepped forward to release the captives, while the remainder of the group surrounded the entrance.

"How many more inside?" Teal'c whispered the question to the men as he released them.

"Two further inside the mine, probably sleeping," the one who'd called for water, responded. "The others are in the larger mine on the other side of the river. They have the women and children there so they are not concerned that we will cause them trouble."

"They are being rescued as we speak. Go wait for us up there. Are you strong enough to climb?" Teal'c motioned for the freed men to begin climbing the ridge. They both nodded and crept away. As Teal'c joined Carter at the entrance he didn't notice the men pick up several rocks from a truck and slide them into their clothing. "They believe there are another two Jaffa inside, sleeping."

'Things seem to be going like clockwork,' Sam thought, 'now if only these two are really asleep.' The group quietly entered the mine.

O'Neill watched them enter from behind an empty truck close to the second mine entrance then turned his gaze to the two guards in his way. He rose to move the men forward but was stilled by a disconcerting wail emanating from the mine. It was a thin high pitch sound that clearly belonged to a child. An icy look appeared in his eyes that promised death for the person responsible for inflicting the pain. A quick signal moved his men towards the guards with deadly intent. The lighting threw deep shadows along the face of the cliff and brought them within a few feet of their targets. A knife glinted briefly in O'Neill's hand as it slipped under the unprotected chin. The razor edge severed the vocal cords and jugular vein of the nearest Jaffa. He lowered the body quietly to the ground moving it away from the entrance. A glance over the area confirmed the second guard had been dealt with and they were still undetected. The team crept silently into the second mine.

Small lights swung slowly in the light breeze from the entrance. The low lights threw moving shadows down the tunnel and into the darkness. The low murmur of voices drifted back towards them punctuated by the continued whimpering of a distraught child. They moved cautiously forward searching the dark recesses for the remaining Jaffa.

"Why the children?" Murmured Jamieson.

'Little bodies can crawl in little places,' Jack thought to himself but remained silent. They reached a hole in the floor of the tunnel with the truck rails running to one side. Carefully skirting the shaft brought them to a short curve. The sound of voices was louder now, loud enough to hear conversations. The group hugged the walls as they moved forward, O'Neill moving a little ahead to assess the situation. A small cavern had been hollowed from the ridge, the roof held in place by sheets of metal shored up by beams. He could see women preparing food in one corner small fires spluttering in the gloom. The children were gathered in a miserable huddle beyond four Jaffa guards. One of the guards swung a small child by one arm, casually dragging him along as he moved up and down the little group of misery. The child's arm was broken but this appeared to be an irrelevance to his torturer. The child was whimpering as he tried and failed to keep his feet. A swift glance around showed only the four Jaffa in the cavern and O'Neill signalled the number and position of their targets with a sign to aim high. The group rushed into the open and firing and taking the Jaffa by surprise. Three immediately fell leaving the one holding the child. He swung the now screaming child in front of himself to use as a shield and backed towards the entrance to the lower mine workings. O'Neill pulled a handgun and took aim at the Jaffa's head. Martins glance took in O'Neill's action and he fired at the legs visible below the flailing child. The Jaffa screamed as the bullets smashed his left shin and dropped his shield. As the child slipped from his grasp O'Neill fired once, the Jaffa dropped with a hole neatly planted in the middle of his face.

Martins and Jamieson moved to the lower mine entrance. "I can hear running feet!" Jamieson yelled back.

"Get the women and children out of here!" O'Neill responded. Travis, the remaining soldier picked up the injured child and began shepherding their frightened charges towards freedom.

Jamieson felt a tap on his shoulder and glanced up to find O'Neill nodding for him to give up his place and help with the women and children. As they hustled the women towards the mine exit the first Jaffa appeared further down the tunnel.

"ShowTime!" O'Neill called, smiling grimly.

Martins smiled in response as he settled the sights of his weapon on the advancing group. The sound of faint gunfire echoed along the mine tunnels and into the little cave across the river. The unaccustomed sound caused the sleeping Jaffa to stir. The first one to lift his head instantly regretted his decision. A staff weapon wielded by Teal'c took him under the chin and back into dreamland. An attempt by the second Jaffa to respond to the unexpected was cut short. A knife thrust to his neck silenced him, permanently. Major Carter slid the knife back into its sheath as she peered carefully out of the little room.

"There's no other movement down here," Phillips whispered from a little further down the mine corridor.

"Then let's get these men out of here," she hissed and they ran the final yards to the cages where the male captives slept.

The women and children ran ahead of their rescuers out of the mines and into the arms of the men Carter's party had just freed. The reunion brought a brief smile to her face and she ordered everyone to get moving out of the rift. "Where's the Colonel?" She asked Jamieson.

"Keeping the Jaffa off our backs," he explained briefly.

Inside the mine O'Neill and Martins began retreating towards the exit. They stopped just beyond the downward shaft sending another hail of bullets towards the on coming Jaffa. A check of their way out showed a wave of insects advancing on the beleaguered men. They immediately raced towards their oncoming allies. Martin pulled a grenade and turned to toss it behind them. As he did so, a silver ball rose in an arc over their heads and exploded.

O'Neill barely had time to utter, "stun grenade!" before being blinded by the flash.

The grenade slipped from Martin's fingers and hit the ground. The explosion blew him against the tunnel wall killing him instantly, O'Neill was blown backward into the downward shaft. The roof shattered and a whole section of the roof caved-in. Falling rock, beams and metal sheeting buried Martins and the Jaffa closest to him. Rubble cascaded down the shaft bouncing off the sides and followed O'Neill's body to the bottom partially burying it. Outside they heard the gunfire within the mine cease as the unmistakable sound of an explosion cut it off. The ominous rumbling, rolling out of the mine behind it brought fear briefly to Carter's face. Teal'c turned back in concern followed by Jamieson and Phillips. Carter watched them go but denied her first instinct and concentrated on getting their new charges to the top of the ridge.

Teal'c found the entrance to the mine heaving with insects all crawling into the dark hole in the rock face. He eyed them warily then switched on his flashlight and entered. His two companions looked at each other, following him into a tunnel full of unknown insects was not what they thought of as a good idea but the Major took a deep breath and strode forward, after a moment's indecision Phillips followed. The walls and ceiling were black and moving in a continuous wave into the mine. The three men walked cautiously but the insect continued to ignore them. Within a hundred yards they reached impassable rock as the cave-in had completely closed off the mine.

"O'Neill! Martins!" Teal'c shouted listening carefully for any sound that might tell them the missing men were still alive. He activated his radio and tried again. "O'Neill, where are you?" Only empty static came back through the earphone.

"They're gone Teal'c," Jamieson told him quietly. "We need to get these people off planet."

Teal'c stood silently for a moment but he knew that his indecision was pointless. They could come back and try to dig them out but then the System Lord interested in this place could be here when they returned. He reluctantly turned to leave then stopped. "Then why are the insects still trying to penetrate the rock fall?" Teal'c commented.

"I don't know," Jamieson responded glancing back towards the exit and along the wall at the continuous stream of life.

"Perhaps they know something we do not," Teal'c turned back and began to pull rubble away with his hands. The two soldiers put down their weapons and began to help. It only took a moment for them to find Martins body. His arm appeared from the rubble and they pulled him out. The loose rubble was moving easily and they continued to dig.

"Teal'c!" The radio crackled. "Teal'c, where are you?" Carter's voice issued from the earphone.

Teal'c activated his radio. "There has been a rock fall. We are digging. We have found Martins but not O'Neill."

"Is he badly hurt?"

"He is dead." Teal'c told her unemotionally.

"Sir," Phillips called from where he was digging. "I've found a Jaffa. He's dead, crushed!"

With the discovery of the Jaffa's body the digging stopped. Teal'c realised they were not going to find O'Neill, not alive anyway. Carter had heard the shout through the link. Standing at the top of the rift she stared down into the darkness, a single tear trickled down her face. Sam brushed it away and glanced round at the group of humanity huddled close by. There was a job to complete, people to get off this planet. "Leave it Teal'c. We need to get these people out of here before reinforcements arrive, it's what he'd tell us to do."

Teal'c picked up the body of the dead marine and carried him toward the exit. As the three moved from the mine towards the top of the ridge Teal'c looked back one last time. He did not feel that O'Neill was dead but he had no reason to explain the feeling. The line of insects had also begun vacating the mine, moving with purpose along the rift face. They began disappearing into a small slit near the bottom of the rock face about fifty yards away from the mine entrance. It was a shame Teal'c was too far away to see their change in direction. In the bottom of the shaft O'Neill lay covered in rubble. An arm and part of his head showed but there was no movement or signs of life at all. After a short while a small number of insects began to congregate around the body. Slowly the numbers increased and the shaft began to fill with a seething mass.

Played for Suckers

Daniel watched the fighter being drawn into the larger ship. He still could not understand how this race had managed to keep their advanced technology a secret from the Goa'uld. He knew the parasites would certainly not have tolerated this level of technology. 'If they're constantly raiding for slaves how could the Goa'uld not know?' The question in his mind faded during the boringly uneventful flight back to Attila's home, there was nothing to keep him occupied. He had little to do except fret about his friends until the large ship finally sank through the atmosphere of Brega, to sink below the surface of a large artificial lake. In its depths a set of submerged doors opened to allow the ship to enter an airlock. It settled to the bottom as the compartment emptied of water. Once the process was complete the smaller fighter was released to take its final short journey through the inner doors to the huge cavern beyond. Attila settled his craft into its assigned place and rushed away muttering that he needed to speak to the council.

SG1 had only seen these underground workings after the last Goa'uld raid which had been four months after initial contact. The Bregans had asked for Tauri assistance in rescuing their people, they had shown their secret to SG1 and offered technology in exchange for help. It was technology the Tauri very much wanted to have. The Bregans were offering both mining machinery and space flight capability in exchange for military help. Teal'c and Jack had been enthusiastic about the exchange especially the fighter craft. Daniel remembered Sam's suspicion as to why they would need the SGC's help. With all the time he now had to think about it he realised Sam was right. He couldn't think of a single reason why the Bregans couldn't have rescued their own people. 'And why had Attila become so elusive on their way back? It was almost as if he was feeling guilty about something,' he thought uneasily.

He wandered through the hangar in the direction Attila had disappeared. As he stared up at the roof he realised that the cavern was not natural and quite an engineering feat in itself. Very few traces of the Bregans past or present capabilities were visible on the surface. Daniel knew, but still couldn't quite believe they'd been able to keep their secret. After all, the Goa'uld still regularly raided the planet for mine slaves. The hangar appeared to be deserted and it took him several frustrating minutes to find a worker. A request to go to the surface and contact the SGC was met with a polite rebuttal. He would be taken up later when darkness fell. The man appeared concerned that he not be seen by any uninvited visitors that Brega might have. An uneasy suspicion that he was being deceived in some way took hold of Daniel.

After some time exploring where they allowed him to go he could no longer ignore his permanent shadows. Eventually tired of playing 'follow my leader' with his not so subtle escort he wandered into the recreation room. Slumping into a chair frustrated and a little tired, Daniel settled for a short nap. He hoped they would leave him alone if he pretended to sleep. In fact Daniel was a lot more tired than he realised and real sleep overtook him quite quickly. The sound of angry whispering disturbed him much later. Daniel came alert quickly enough to keep his eyes closed and feign continued sleep. He wasn't certain what had made him pretend to continue sleeping but he did not like what he was hearing one little bit.

"You must let him talk to his people! They will become suspicious if they don't hear from him!"

'Attila's voice,' Daniel realised, 'and he's not happy.'

"We will not risk him warning them of the danger his people face when they try to bring our people through the Stargate," a deep calm voice replied.

"He knows nothing, suspects nothing." Attila hissed in reply. "There is nothing for him to warn them about. The doctor is not stupid your behaviour since his return will make him suspicious."

"We need the crystals. They must not suspect that our people carry them. The Tauri will defend them without knowing why they are attacked, there will be no one to tell them. This is necessary Attila."

"This is wrong! They are trying to help us." Attila growled angily at the unknown man.

"This is not your decision, you will do nothing!" With that order snapped out, one set of footsteps stamped down the hall into the distance.

Daniel opened his eyes slightly to see Attila standing by the door a storm of conflict on his face. He opened his eyes slowly watching his new friend walk across to pick up a drink.

"What crystals?" he threw quietly into the silence.

Attila jumped guiltily. "Crystals?"

"I heard you arguing, what's going on Attila?"

"There is nothing I can do. It is too late. Your people will be home soon." The various comments brought Daniel's irritation to the surface again.

"Take me to the surface Attila, let me talk to the SGC!"

"I can't do that, I am forbidden."

"Something's wrong. You know it is and you know I should warn my friends." It was then Daniel noticed the sudden frozen expression appear on Attila's face. He began to swing round as a heavy object hit the back of his head. Everything went black.

The next thing he felt was the room shuddering to the pounding of an engine, thundering in rhythm with his heart. He could feel the vibrations racing up his body vibrating his teeth and eyes. The noise was like a vicious pressure pulsing in his sore head. Darkness surrounded Daniel, although he was fastened in an upright position it was obvious only from the downward pressure of his weight. He should have been afraid for himself but Daniel was very angry. They had put his friends lives in jeopardy not to rescue their people from the Goa'uld, but to obtain a supply of some crystals from that planet. The possible loss of their people and the Tauri trying to help them was not a concern. It was obvious they considered the subterfuge necessary to get what they wanted. "Necessary to risk lives? What about my friends?" he shouted, venting a little of his anger into the empty room. The noise of the engine drowned out his complaint. He was angry with himself for showing his hand instead of warning the SGC first. He had tried to reason with Attila and started an argument, it was such a stupid thing to do. Others had obviously heard their voices. All he could remember was the brief look of dismay on Attila's face before something hit him. Now he was here, wherever here was, trussed like an animal waiting for slaughter. 'This wasn't Attila's doing,' he thought as he began to calm down. 'But it won't make any difference Attila will not help. He had his orders, in fact he seems afraid.' Daniel could see no way out of his predicament and he knew no one would miss him at the SGC until it was far too late. Maybe it was already too late for his friends.

Ralla

An inky darkness filled the bottom of the mineshaft. Within the mass of insects an odd florescent glow could be seen moving around. Ant-like creatures massed around the fallen rubble slowly digging and moving it aside. A dust-caked body surfaced, almost appearing to move upwards out of its tomb. One leg was pinned under a large fallen beam. After a while the insects began to concentrate around and under the beam, oozing around the pinned leg and undermining it. Slowly the leg dropped into the shallow trench they had excavated. Still their assigned task was not completed. More insects began to push through the side of the shaft level with the body. Suddenly a small area of the wall fell inwards and showered the head with dust. A faint light emerged into the shaft as more insects poured in through the new hole.

Valiant efforts appeared to be in progress beside the still body. A small crystal encrusted with rock and dust was being rolled into place. The insects were settling it against Jack's forehead, manoeuvring it to ensure the crystal had contact with his skin. When it finally settled in place a small red glow began to generate deep in the crystal. The faint light lit up a face caked in blood and dust. A low moan echoed up the shaft, it appeared pain filled and incoherent. Slowly the head rose and the crystal rolled away from it. The body slowly lifted on unsteady arms and the head thrust forward into the opening the insects had created. Dried blood and dust scraped from the head partially clearing the face of debris. The insects worked frantically now making the hole wide enough for the shoulders. Spiders crawled industriously across the face laying down trails of fine silvery web over the reopened wounds.

Jack's eyes blinked open to show a pair of dull lifeless orbs in the faint light. Then the body crawled forward into the enlarging hole, each jerking movement causing a strange inhuman sound to be forced out. The movement and the eerie wailing showed there was life in the body, but the core being that was Jack O'Neill appeared absent. Once completely in the hole the body collapsed rolling onto its back. The face rapidly became smothered in web that laced the eyelids shut over the lifeless eyes. As the spiders continued to wrap silken thread over exposed skin, ripped clothing and puncture wounds, other insects busied themselves sealing up the hole in the shaft.

'Now our brother is hidden from the invaders.' A single palpable thought hung in the air, running through the mass of creatures' bent on protecting the still body. 'He will heal and increase our strength. They will be removed, he will remove them.' Several hours passed with no sign of life in the hidden cell. The insects gradually retreated leaving a few as glowing guards lighting up the walls of the hiding place. Laying the full length of the floor a cocoon of white silk enclosed the body.

Outside darkness began to fall as another day passed. A group of Jaffa entered the rift guarding a figure with glowing eyes. The group stopped in surprise to find the mine apparently deserted. The tall powerful looking Goa'uld marched up to the closest truck and stuck his hand into it. A resounding crash echoed along the rift as he smashed a rock against the truck side. It crumbled to dust with no crystals within. A roar of anger then echoed down the walls of the rift as he tried several others and still came up empty. Jaffa scattered into the mines in search of someone for their Lord to punish. Someone, they hoped was not one of them.

The angry roar and activity penetrated the hiding place and the cocoon within it. A Slow movement began down its silken sides. A quiet ripping sound as the restrictive covering began to part, allowing a hand to escape from its constraint. Clawed fingers began to tear at the substance covering the head and then the arm dropped to the ground again. The eyes fluttered open and stared without understand at the roof a few inches away.

"For the love of..." Jack croaked.

"You must be sssilent," a quiet voice told him. "The invadersss will hear you."

Jack couldn't see where the voice came from. It had a strange timbre, hissing like static and yet familiar. The pain in his chest seemed less but he felt bruised all over his body. When he tried to remember why he was hiding nothing immediately came to mind. "OK," he whispered. "We don't want that, do we?"

He tried to roll over and found it difficult to move but the little lights on the walls came into focus a few inches from his nose. Several sets of glowing, baleful eyes stared back at him. 'No, not baleful… wrong thought. Curious, they're watching me. Just watching me,' his mind repeated warily.

"Thanks for the light guys," he whispered moving his head away again. "I don't think I'm in hell and this definitely isn't heaven, so I guess I'm still alive. Damn, that means I need to do something about getting out of here." Jack pulled at the fibres wrapping his body in earnest. As they shredded the release from constriction dulled the bruised feeling in his muscles. He found the myriad of glowing eyes around the walls unnerving. The little beasts continued to watch unblinkingly and he wondered if any of them had venomous stings. Guessing that unintentionally crushing some of his audience might start an unfavourable reaction he began a gentle wiggling motion. This allowed him to turn over without touching the sides of his hiding place. As he lifted his head to look around his eyes widened in surprise. They fell on the largest spider he had ever seen, 'well apart from the replicator construction from the other galaxy. Now that was huge.' This particular incarnation of his least favourite creepy-crawly looked about the size of a large domestic cat. Its multifaceted eyes stared at him as he tried to ease back away from it.

"That isss the wrong way. The exxxit isss behind me," a small hissing voice whispered.

Jack blinked and gulped, 'was he nuts or was it talking?'

The spider appeared to grow as it unfolded its legs, they doubled its size.

"Oh shit," he breathed. To Jack's immediate relief it turned and moved away from, not towards him.

"It isss dark outssside we should be able to ssslip away unnoticed. They sssearch for cryssstal only. They do not know you are here."

"That's good... I guess," Jack responded. 'The universe just keeps getting weirder every trip. Surprises, damn surprises! If I get out of here I'm retiring!' After a very definite hesitation he crawled after his apparent ally hoping it wasn't into its larder.

The Crystals

"Major Carter, Freedman here, do you copy?" The voice came clear through the radio static.

"What is it Freedman?"

"We have a problem at the Stargate, Major. The insects are crawling all over it in increasing numbers. We are being forced away. Any attempt to get near it or the DHD causes them to swarm all over us."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No, they just seem to be denying us the Stargate. As soon as we move away they leave us alone."

"OK. We'll be with you in about an hour. Don't do anything until we get there."

"Yes, Major," Freedman confirmed. "Major?"

"Yes Freedman?"

"Is there any sign of the Colonel?"

Sam glanced over at the rigid face of the Jaffa and swallowed the little bubble of sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her. "No soldier, the Colonel's dead."

"There's no body. No body, no death. SG1 always comes back."

Sam closed her eyes as she fought for control, the belief this soldier had in O'Neill almost robbed her of control. She stared at Teal'c as she answered, taking strength from her friend.

"Sorry Freedman. Do you think Teal'c would have left if there'd been a chance?" Sam signed off and let go of the radio. "Teal'c?"

"Yes Major Carter?"

"Are you sure O'Neill is dead?"

A twitch appeared on Teal'c's face the only sign of emotion he allowed himself.

"I do not believe anything survived inside the mine, we found bodies buried in loose rock. The whole tunnel appeared to have collapsed. The rock in which they mined did not appear to be stable."

"We have trouble at the Stargate," Sam told him switching to a less painful subject. "The insects don't seem so keen to let us leave."

"Perhaps because O'Neill is not with us," Teal'c commented.

As they neared the Stargate Sam noticed a marked reluctance among the Bregan to continue forward. Eventually this reluctance brought the group to a halt. An argument ensued among the men in the group. Jamieson appeared to be arguing with them and he looked exasperated.

Sam strode towards them and a silence fell. She looked at Jamieson who just shrugged his shoulders. "They don't want to go on."

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"The women and children will not go to the Chaapa'ai until we know it is safe."

"We have control of the Chaapa'ai it is safe there at the moment. There is no telling how long it will be before the Goa'uld arrive. We must move on quickly," Sam told the Bregan.

"There is danger for us there," one of the men insisted.

"What danger?" Sam asked. "All there is at the Stargate are a few insects and they have done my people no harm."

"These insects have already killed several of our people at the mines. There were places we could not go, when the Jaffa tried to make us they were attacked as well."

"What were these places?" Sam asked.

"Places they wished us to dig," the man responded evasively. He wouldn't look at her and it was obvious he was not telling the truth, not all of it anyway.

Sam ran recent event rapidly through her mind. Something was not right. They didn't have any idea of what was really going on here. 'What is it with these insects? Why were they interested in the Colonel and what about us now?' "Take a break!" She yelled. Time was needed to decide what to do, what where her options now? 'It's strange how difficult it's become to function without Jack... the Colonel.' She settled on a fallen tree away from the main party. A frown formed as she tried to concentrate on the problem at hand and not her loss.

"Major Carter," Teal'c interrupted her line of thought.

"Oh! Teal'c," Sam started a little, as she had not heard him approach.

"We must take these people to the Stargate," he stated.

"We need to deal with the insects before we can take them there."

Teal'c settled beside her as she mulled over the problem but her indecision concerned him. It was not the Major Carter he was accustomed to. "Can I be of assistance?"

"Not unless you can talk to these creatures and ask them what they want from us," she responded and then stood up calling to Jamieson. "We'll go ahead to the Stargate and find out what's happening. Bring the Bregan up when we give the all clear."

Jamieson agreed and watched them move off toward the Stargate. Martins had been in his team for a while, a good soldier that was going to be missed. ' But to lose a team member after five years, to lose O'Neill... We'd known each other a long time, but no one had gotten as close to him as SG1. A thing like this could destroy them, how will Carter hold the rest of the team together?'

Without the Bregan to slow them down Teal'c and Carter reached the Stargate within half an hour. The sight that greeted them halted the pair in their tracks. The Stargate was completely black with a moving mass of insects. They had congregated around the steps on the ring and a moving mound covered the DHD. The guard left at the Gate sat completely unmolested several feet away. They watched the Stargate in fascination and decided nervousness. As Sam took in the scene Freedman got up and walked towards the DHD. It was as if the insects extended an arm threateningly towards him in warning. As soon as he began to retreat the arm was retracted into the mass.

"Major! As you can see they don't want us to dial out," he called.

"Yes, I can see that," Sam responded and put down her gear.

Then she moved towards the mass herself and was surprised that no threatening reaction happened. The insects opened up a path for her and the intimidated soldiers moved forward to watch her progress. When she reached the DHD Sam stopped. 'Why let me through but not the others?' A swift turn brought her eyes back to the waiting men. "What have you been doing while we were away?"

"Keeping a lookout, mostly. We did collect and bag some soil samples and picked up a few rocks for analysis."

"Are all the samples on the MALP?"

"No. We put a few on there but then the insects started crawling all over it so we backed off. We have some in our pockets."

He reached into a pocket and drew out a sample bag. Sam walked back and took the bag. Some of the contents appeared to sparkle. When she rubbed the bag between her fingers the dirt broke apart revealing a small crystal. Teal'c watch as a light he knew so well went on in her eyes.

"Teal'c."

"Yes Major Carter."

"See if they will let you go to the DHD." Teal'c's eyebrow rose slightly but he gave his staff weapon to one of the soldiers and walked forward. The insects reacted to him in the same way as Sam, moving out from under his feet and allowing him to walk were he pleased. As she watched Sam nodded to herself. "Put all the samples you collected in a pile away from the Stargate. Make sure you have nothing left on you."

Sam watched them empty their packs and pockets. A collection of oddities joined the pile; some were the crystals she had noticed at the mine. She crouched down to pick up one of the rock samples and absently rolled it in her hand. 'What is causing the insects behaviour to alter?' Something cold and alien crawled into her mind. Although it also brought with it a sense of familiarity, Sam couldn't quite figure out why. Her thoughts focused on this feeling almost of their own volition. As the focus hardened the crystal in her hand began to glow bright and deadly. Sam dropped it as she recognised the jewel's response it was the same as the crystal in the Goa'uld hand devise.

"What's with the crystal?" asked one puzzled soldier.

"They're what're being mined. Perhaps they're the problem," Sam responded.

Freedman glanced at the Major with a puzzled expression then turned and walked straight towards the DHD. This time the insects did not interfere with him.

"Hey you're right! They're leaving me alone."

"They are denying us the crystals," Sam muttered. "They don't want us to take any through the Stargate. We don't carry them; I reckon we'll leave this planet without a problem."

As the insects cleared a passage for Freedman to walk a suspicion rose in Sam's mind and her eyes took on a gleam as hard and bright as the crystals themselves. 'If the Bregans knew how the insects would react, they must know why. Why didn't they tell us?' The only explanation that came to mind began an anger that buried her sorrow for her lost friend. "The Bregans want these crystals as much as the Goa'uld," she spat out. "They wanted us to get them, not their people out. We've been used and Jack…" Sam swallowed and stopped.

Teal'c looked at her with concern. He knew Carter was hurting they both were, but there was something else in her eyes, a light he rarely saw. It was more than pain, 'anger, no fury,' he decided.

'Jack's gone! Gone, and for what!' Sam closed her eyes and took control of her churning emotions. Then she gripped the radio. "Jamieson! Get those people up here now! Don't take no for an answer! If any of them object shoot them or better, leave them to the Goa'uld and the insects, I'm not particular which!"

"Major Carter," Teal'c began.

"They used us Teal'c, they used us! Now I'm getting what's left of our people home. They can do as they're told or stay here and take the consequences!"

By the time the remainder of the party arrived Sam's rage had been simmering for over an hour. She took off towards the Bregans as they appeared at the edge of the wooded area. Teal'c saw her swing the P90 into firing position as she strode towards them and hurried to join her. An angrily barked command found the Bregan surrounded by suddenly hostile soldiers. Sam swung the apparent leader around by the shoulder as Jamieson joined her the concerned look turning to bewilderment at her actions. "I will make this brief and crystal clear. No one is going back through the Stargate until they have emptied their pockets or any other hiding place you may have for the crystals. Our hosts appear to take exception to having bits of their environment removed. I believe they will make that permanently clear to anyone who tries," she finished, a hard sarcastic edge to her voice. "Freedman, you and Benson take the children to one side and make sure they're clean. I don't trust these people to have their best interests at heart. The rest of you, it's your choice, ignore me if you want but be sure of this, not one of my people will help you if you are attacked. We'll just leave you behind." She turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Keep them together and watch them. The sooner we send them back to Brega…" Sam turned away quickly and walked off. Jamieson followed and Sam began to tell him what she suspected. They were both oblivious of the gathering trail of insects following her. An awed murmur went through the group as they watched.

"Ralla favours her, Janus protect us," one of the women muttered and most of the Bregan began dropping their hidden crystals.

Sam dialled Brega without interference and a path opened up to the Stargate. One of the Bregan men broke into a run but never made it to the wormhole. A wave of insects, winged and crawling engulfed him. One of the soldiers started forward but stopped under the combined icy glare of two angry Majors and a Jaffa. "Is there anyone else here stupid enough to try that?" Carter purred viciously. Two other individuals emptied their pockets and then the rescued miners made their way through the Stargate. After the last Bregan had passed into the wormhole unharmed, it shut down. "Dial us home Teal'c," Sam said tiredly, all anger spent and the pain of loss resurfacing. "Get us out of here."

Mourning

Daniel woke with a start, he hadn't realised that he had dropped off to sleep. It took a moment to realise that there was someone in the room. The noise and vibration completely masked the presence until he felt the touch on his shoulder. A suddenly very still Daniel waited to see who or what was in the room with him but no light came on. The ropes binding him loosened and he shook them off. Now the problem was where he should move there was no sense of the size or contents to the room. Then someone took his arm and that irritating voice sounded in his ear.

"Come with me if you want to survive."

"Attila!"

"That's right, tell everyone I'm here." The pilot dragged Daniel across the dark room.

"What's going on?" Suddenly a door opened and he was shoved through. The lights in the corridor blinded him temporarily, but as his eyes cleared Attila dragged him into a storage area. Attila looked distinctly nervous, in fact afraid would be closer Daniel decided.

"We must do this quietly," he was told. "I am taking you to the Stargate and you must go home. I have the devise from your wrist here."

"That doesn't answer my question," Daniel replied stubbornly.

"Our people have been returned through the Stargate and the council is very angry."

"About your people returning?"

"No. They brought none of the crystals with them. Your Major Carter would not let them."

"Way to go Sam," was Daniel's delighted response.

"They said she allowed the insects to kills one of our people who disobeyed her."

"What? Sam?" Daniel asked uneasily.

"Apparently your Colonel O'Neill was killed and she blames us."

"Jack! Dead!"

"Keep your voice down," Attila hissed. "That is what they've said. I think you may be in danger, you must go."

Daniel nodded numbly, "what happened."

"I didn't wait to find out; the council do not like to be thwarted. Quickly follow me."

Attila led Daniel carefully above ground and to the Stargate. 'Colonel O'Neill was killed.' The phrase beat out a tattoo inside his head. By the time they reached the Stargate Daniel was immersed in grief and could think of little else. As he dialled Earth a thought for this man who had helped him broke through. "If they know you let me go, what will they do to you?"

"They will not know. No one saw us and I have no intention of telling them. I must go now, I have been in my fighter all this time," a crooked smile followed the comment. "I have never been here or seen you. Don't think too badly of us, those crystals would have forged weapons even the Goa'uld would have been afraid of."

Daniel tapped in the gate code for SG1 and looked up to find his strange friend gone. 'Weapons?' the word finally penetrated. 'What type of weapons?' The sound of shouting reached him along with the thud of running feet. Daniel ran through the event horizon to escape, he doubted very much if any would follow. He ran down the ramp into the Gate Room as Teal'c and General Hammond came in from separate doors. They stopped at the bottom of the ramp, a look of relief on Hammond's face.

"You alright son?" Hammond asked.

"Attila helped me escape," Daniel responded. "Is it true?" The expression on Daniel's face begged them to not know what he meant.

"O'Neill was buried with Martins in a mine cave in. We did not find his body," Teal'c explained quietly.

Hammond interrupted further discussion as he saw what little colour left in Daniel's face drain away.

"Teal'c take Dr Jackson down to the infirmary. Don't argue son," he continued as Daniel began to protest. "When Dr Fraiser says you're fine, we'll debrief." He took Daniel by the shoulder and turned him towards his friend.

Hammond watched as they left the Gate Room, there was no way he would be able to replace Jack. 'I've lost the best second in command I've had, friend too. With both Sha're and Jack dead, Daniel Jackson may leave. Major Carter is a real worry though. She isn't reacting well at all. No tears, no anger, she's just sat in her laboratory staring at that screen.' He wanted to give her time

but she would have to see Dr McKenzie if something didn't change. 'As for Teal'c, you just can't tell what he's feeling most of the time.' Hammond knew this would seriously affect the moral of the SGC. Then there was the loss of the technology they had been expecting to attain. 'At least they couldn't blame it on Jack this time.'

Strange Allies and Bedfellows

"How did I get into this hole in the first place?" Jack whispered aggressively to himself as he crawled along a very narrow tunnel.

"We put you in this placccce," his companion responded.

"How?" Jack asked again and cursed as he hit his head on a particularly low roof area.

"Mother reaccched you and told you to move."

"Mother? Who's mother, yours?" At that point Jack's shoulders became wedged in a very narrow opening. The more he twisted, the tighter he stuck. "I'm sssstuck," he hissed back at the spider.

The spider turned and stared at the head protruding from the area she had moved through. Then with her forward legs she began to dig, dust and small bits of rock began flicking in his face.

"Hey! Take it easy," Jack said a lot louder than he had intended.

"You must not be sssso loud," was the admonitory response.

Then he could feel a crawling sensation all over his lower body. Nothing bit him but the sensation was not pleasant. He screwed up his face in distaste.

"What are they doing?" he asked nervously.

"They are helping me widen your way."

Jack noticed the last comment had come out without the sibilant stress.

"You didn't hiss," he commented.

"I learn," it responded.

As the tightness eased Jack was sure he could move, but he lay very still.

"Why do you not move forward?" the large arachnid asked as it stared at him. Jack could almost visualise a puzzled expression on its face and let out a laugh.

"I don't want to squash anyone," he explained and felt a sudden speed up in the crawling sensation around him and it quickly disappeared.

"All who can have moved those who cannot have returned to Mother."

Jack twisted himself free and pulled forward into the larger space in front. 'Mother? Mother? Who does it mean?'

He could see clearly now as a bright slit of light filtered into the area. It was obviously daylight outside and he was almost out of this small dark place. He could now see his rescuer clearly and that just made it look a great deal bigger. The large body was dark green and covered with a velvet-like fur. Two large multi-faceted eyes glittered in the light and watched him with disconcerting intelligence. The long legs ran from dark green to black at the feet, 'if you call them feet,' he thought. 'Maybe Sam would know.' It was the first thought of his friends and with it he realised they had left him for dead. Now he could remember the blast, white light and pain and then nothing. If the insects had dug him out then everything probably caved-in and he was lucky to be alive. 'They'll change the GDO codes; I don't have a way home.'

He studied the opening in front of him and hoped it was large enough to get through. The rock that concealed it looked solid enough to prevent insect excavation. A few more feet crawled and he was beside the exit. Movement and distant voices could be heard outside so he carefully levered himself into a sitting position to investigate. "What do I call you?" he whispered, without looking round. He found that if he didn't look at her, 'was it a her?' he didn't get the creeps.

"I am the voice of many. I am the... radio? I am the speaker. Yes, I am the speaker. We have listened to your people since you came through the... Stargate? Now we can speak to you."

"Now that's impressive," Jack muttered as he glanced back. "But it doesn't tell me what to call you."

"The Bregan call us Ralla," she explained.

"The Bregan? They know you?"

"They know we exist. They have called us Ralla. They should not be here and are no longer welcome to take from us."

Jack frowned. That niggling mistrust of the Bregan resurfaced again. "They were brought here by force," he whispered to her.

"This time they were, but they still tried to take from us."

"Take what?"

"To take our speech... our healing... our Mother." The spider lifted one long leg and rested the small black end against a small crystal protruding from the tunnel wall. "They take this... The more they take the weaker Mother becomes."

"What do you want from me?" It seemed logical that something was required of him.

"We wish you to remove the Glowing Eyes. They also take this, when they use it they cause great pain to Mother, to others..." the spider went silent.

Jack stared at her. Her legs suddenly collapsed beneath the large body and she began to hiss. A feeling of dread came over him and fear that built to pain between his eyes. As the pain increased he vaguely heard Ralla speak.

"He uses it again, we are hurt!"

A bright light appeared before his eyes with a churning heat penetrating his mind. Jack recognised the experience as the pain of a Goa'uld hand devise, but he was not the target. Suddenly he understood, this place was where those strange crystals came from or at least one of the places, perhaps the only one. If he could cut off this source then he would be helping Ralla and Earth. The building pain cut off with a sudden flare and Jack realised the victim had died. He wondered why he had felt it not realising that the crystals embedded around him had transmitted the experience. In concern Jack leaned forward and lifted the spider's head. All feelings of revulsion and distaste disappeared in his concern for this intelligent creature in distress. "You OK?"

The spider lifted her head and studied his face. "No more pain, I am tired now... must sleep until the darking."

Jack nodded. "Best time to get out of here and make ourselves scarce. Do you know where the 'Glowing eyes' stay?"

"Yesss," the hissing sibilant expressed the need for rest more than any other word.

Jack led down and closed his eyes as the spider settled into his side for shared warmth. Insects crept back into the area and onto his clothing. They began repairing the wounded areas that had become exposed again. Silken web wove across reopened cuts and grazes in their attempt to heal him. Jack didn't respond. Finally he stretched out an arm and settled it across his new friend an amused smile appeared on his face but he didn't open his eyes. The temptation to move or scratch faded as he became accustomed to their ministrations.

Flicking light from a fire outside found its way into his hiding place. The firelight moving on Jack's eyes stirred him from sleep and he smothered a cough as he came awake. The pressure from the held in breath hurt his chest and he exhaled on a hiss of pain. It was then that he noticed the covering of spider webs. A thin silken fabric covered all his wounds. His new friend squatted next to him her eyes glittering in the firelight. All in all it made for a ghostly awakening. Jack began to brush feebly at his unaccustomed covering. He felt hot and dry. A fever was taking hold and he desperately needed to drink. "I need water," he whispered hoarsely to Ralla.

"We can leave now, if you are careful." The opening was little more than a slit but Jack carefully pulled himself free of his hiding place and crawled forward. He was hot, stiff and shivering. Dizziness attacked him and his head sank to the ground. Ralla stepped astride his body and tucked four of her legs under him, lifting him back to his knees. "You must move!" she hissed vehemently and Jack complied. He had very little option as she was a lot stronger than her size indicated. The strange pair crept along the rift wall and away from the mines. After several minutes Ralla lowered him back to the ground. "You are no longer strong," Ralla commented, no trace of emotion in the strange voice.

"I have a fever. Need water," Jack groaned quietly. With no human to hear him it seemed easier to be honest. Ralla lifted him again with Jack protesting that it hurt. She ignored his complaints and dragged him a little way along the ground. When she finally let him go the fevered man splashed down in the edge of the river. The water felt cool, he lay for a short while allowing it to wash over him. A lift of his head allowed him to breathe and then he dropped it back to the deliciously cool water. After a couple of minutes he rolled completely into it, letting it cool his whole body. A vague worry that they may not have moved far enough from the camp filled his mind and he sat up.

Ralla watched the strange creature from the bank. It appeared that it required much water. She would have to ensure that they did not stray too far from a source. Now he appeared to be rubbing himself it did not seem a good time to preen as they were still dangerously close to the mines. "We should go," she called to him putting her two front legs into the water, and then retreating in a nervous dance.

Jack watched her bemused for a moment and then slowly climbed to his feet. 'Still a little dizzy,' he thought, 'but I'll do.' He was limping badly on a swollen ankle and still felt hot, but he no longer felt as if he was burning up. 'I've felt better,' he judged as he waded back through the sluggish water and onto dry land. "OK. I need to know what I'm getting into here. Where are the Glowing Eyes?"

"You will remove them?"

"First I have to see what you want removed. Then I have to figure out whether I'm crazy enough to try on my own."

"Crazy is good?"

Jack laughed as he glanced down at the large spider walking to heel like a dog. "Well mam, that depends on your point of view."

I'm Gonna Wake Up In A Nice Warm Infirmary Bed

The tree line cast an evening shadow over the rock outcrop. Jack settled his aching body down beside his dark green friend. A large levelled area spread out in front of the hidden duo, it contained only blackened rock and earth. The ship's bright gold pyramid shape stood out in stark contrast to its blackened surroundings. Every bit of earth close to the mother ship had been wiped clean of life. "It's seems they're aware of you," Jack commented dryly as he took in the scene.

"Yesss. We cannot reach them now. They ssstay behind the ssshimmering light and carry it with them." The spider's sibilant accent returned showing its excitement.

Jack settled back resting against their rocky hiding place. 'I need to get out of here! This is crazy!' He turned back rising up slightly to look at the fortified ship then slumped back into place. "Ralla, there's no way I can deal with them on my own. I have no equipment, everything is buried back at that mine."

"You will find a way."

There was no way and he knew it. There were too many of them. But somehow the real people of this world had made contact with him and they wanted his help. Jack couldn't believe he was considering it, but knew he would already be dead if it wasn't for all these creatures. He rose back onto his knees and peered over the rocky outcrop again. 'It wouldn't hurt to have a look around, a little snoop to gain intel. They don't know I'm here, what possible harm can I come to?' "I'm hungry," he told Ralla as he moved back into the tree line. "I need food or I'll keep getting sicker... and will you tell your friends to stop trying to sew me back together for crying out loud!" Jack snapped in an exasperated manner. He began brushing away the gradual build up of cobwebs on his torn clothing.

"You are hurt," Ralla stated.

"Those are my clothes, coverings to keep me warm. They're not part of my body!" Jack moved on through the trees and back towards water. "We'll come back after dark and see what we can find. Maybe there'll be a way in or some food, perhaps even an armoury, that would be a good find. I don't believe I'm doing this, I have got to be crazy," Jack told his companion. They headed higher up the rift valley to a place were the water was cleaner.

'Hopefully the water's fit to drink here,' Jack thought as he stripped his torn shirt off and tried to clean up a little. As he began to feel a little better Jack had a good look around. He decided on a small dry gully close to the river to hide until dark and settled down to get some rest.

Ralla watched as Jack cleaned himself, removed some of the accumulation of cobwebs and then quenched his thirst. Noting that he seemed to be settling Ralla disappeared.

Left alone Jack looked at the ground within the gully. There were spiders and insects crawling everywhere except for the little space he sat in. "That's fine by me," he told them. "If you can also refrain from putting me in a cocoon while I'm asleep I'll be happy." Then he grinned as he lay down. 'Aw nuts! I'm gonna wake up in a nice warm infirmary bed.'

Dusk was falling when Ralla finally roused him. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was a curtain of cobweb all around the gully. Jack eyed the large spider.

"They protect you. They do not want 'them' to see you," Ralla explained. Then Jack noticed the parcels that she had dropped beside him. "I returned to the place were the invaders dig. I saw them eating these," she explained pointing to a couple of the bundles. "I took these from one who wandered away from the main group," the spider continued. Jack cocked his head on one side and looked at her a question in his eyes. "I was hungry," she explained and Jack grimaced. He really hadn't wanted to know that. He had been hoping his new friend was a vegetarian.

Jack reached out and took the objects she offered him. "Zats! Great! That's a start anyway."

"You eat now. Then you will be strong again," she instructed her companion.

Jack tore at the wrapping of one of the food parcels. He didn't recognise anything but it didn't matter. If Jaffa and Bregan could eat it so could he.

When he finally made his way back to the mother ship he feeling a great deal better. One large spider and a swiftly moving living carpet followed every move he made. It wasn't difficult to get close to the force field, even in the dark the burnt area defined where the barrier touched ground. They skirted it carefully looking for the closest point to the ship. Finally they settled to watch an opening around which several Jaffa were still active.

Two figures emerged from the ship a woman with long black hair and a tall slim man. They were dressed for court, not guard duty. As they wandered away into the darkness, a startled Jack wondered how sick he was getting. 'She walks like her, damn at this distance it could be her... She's dead Jack,' he thought sorrow gripping him. He shook his head and concentrated on what he needed to do. "There's no way through here that I can see," Jack whispered. "Let's follow those two, perhaps they will show us a way to gain access." He tracked the couple from beyond the barrier. Silently his strange army followed him and wherever it moved the night sounds died. Except for the eerie hissing Jack was surrounded by silence. Unfortunately the danger hidden in the darkness was also waiting silently for his approach.

When it came, the sound was immediately recognised by him but there was not enough time to react. Jack's last thought, 'at least it's a Zat, not a Staff...' disappeared as he blacked out from the combination of fever, injury and Zat induced shock. Ralla let out a squeal of outrage and leapt at his attacker, knocking him to the ground. A wave of insects surged forward and swallowed the Jaffa guard as the two figures Jack had been following appeared. They halted immediately on seeing the insects and turned to run for safety but the woman saw Jack's prone body and immediately stopped.

"A Tauri!" she gasped at her companion and they ran towards him.

Ralla immediately left the downed Jaffa and leapt protectively across Jack's body, lifting him away from the perceived danger. The man and woman stopped and began to back away as the insects moved towards them. Ralla's hold on Jack was unstable and he rolled within her legs, his head dropping back giving a full view of his unconscious face.

"Jack!" The woman called out and ran forward again despite the threat of being overwhelmed.

"Saya No!" her companion shouted and lifted his Zat in a futile attempt to protect her from the insects.

Just then another Jaffa arrived in response to the commotion and immediately took aim at what appeared to be the biggest threat, it was his last mistake. The woman's companion changed his aim and his Zat fired, once, then twice. The Jaffa died never knowing that he had come face to face with one of the hated Tok'ra. The man stepped closer and fired again removing all trace of the guard he had just killed. The insect advance stopped immediately and an uneasy stillness fell. Nothing moved in the uncertain conditions. Who was enemy? Who was not? Ralla lowered her unconscious friend to the ground. Attack or not attack? Mother was undecided. She was undecided.

"Friend of friend?" she hissed at the intruders into her world.

"Huh? Did that thing just speak?" the man asked.

"Yes, I'm Jack's friend," Saya responded and reached past the spider to check the unmoving body.

"Saya, these things are dangerous. You know what they can do."

"It's Jack. Ahh! He's badly hurt," she crooned kneeling beside him and stroking his hair from his face. Ralla stepped away and watched her carefully.

"We have to go, other will be here soon and they will find him and us," her companion pleaded.

Saya looked up at the spider fearfully then at her friend. "He is sick, he needs healing."

"He was to help us," the spider told them, "but Mother fell on him when she was injured." Saya looked puzzled, but her concern was for her injured love. "I will hide him till he wakes," Ralla told her, "he was not this weak when Mother chose him."

"Where will you take him? I will come to heal him," Saya told her.

"Saya! You can't. We have a job to do here."

To Ralla's sudden alarm the woman's eyes lit up. "I will heal him Ta'mar!" The distorted voice of the Tok'ra symbiot, Jetair emerged.

"You are a Glowing Eyes! You are invader!" Ralla hissed.

"No, we are friends. Friends of your friend," the man responded, fear creeping into his voice.

"We are here to destroy the mines," Saya called out as Ralla caught her arm and hauled her away from the still unconscious Jack.

Why ssshould I believe, you Glowing Eyessss."

"Jack will tell you! There are good Glowing Eyes and bad Glowing Eyes," Saya all but screamed.

An alarm sounded in the distance and Saya hit Ralla beside one eye, fear for Jack overriding her fear of the spider. "You must get him away from here, the others will come and they will kill him!"

Ralla let her go and lifted Jack securely. She moved away from the two Tok'ra spies but called back as she left. "Where the water runs into Mother's mouth. You come, we will find." Then she disappeared with her precious load.

"Come on Saya, we should not be found here," Ta'mar pointed out but before melt into the darkness he used the Zat to remove all trace of the second Jaffa body.

Old Wounds

"Well, that went well." The drowsy whisper drifted round the little gully. It was the first sound Ralla had heard from Jack in several hours. A tiny spurt of regret, she would not be able to consume him after all. 'But then that was Mother's will… so be it. He is strong willed and has survived so many injuries, Mother is wise.'

Jack slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus then realised how much trouble he had to be in. He was definitely hallucinating. A red glowing light hovered over his body. A sweet ghost leaned forward above the light. Long dark hair gently tickled his face. This dear sweet someone he knew to be dead. "Saya…" he whispered. Anguish buried deep in his mind surfaced through his physical weakness. A buried pain far deeper than the ache in his ribs drove him back into darkness.

"You're losing him," a voice he did not recognise penetrated. Energy pulled at him, refusing to allow him to retreat further. Heat penetrated his hiding place, a comforting heat that eased the pain. Then he heard that deep warm voice he'd never expected to hear again.

"Jack… Jack I know you can hear me. Don't fight the devise I am trying to heal you." His eyes flickered opened again and he stared in wonder at a face now in focus and very close to his own. She leaned over him gently following the line of bruising on his face with her fingers. "Jack," she whispered. "I'm here, don't you leave me."

"Saya?" A hand lifted and brushed her hair from her face. "You're dead," he told her with a puzzled frown.

"We didn't die," she crooned. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you I survived. I was coming back when this assignment was over."

"Saya," Jack's puzzled expression deepened. "You're alive?"

"Yes Jack, I'm alive. They placed me in a sarcophagus and then kept me secure until Jetair recovered. Then the Council needed someone who would not be recognised by the Goa'uld and my face is not known."

"Jetair?" Jack sat up. He found it easier to sit now his ribs no longer hurt. The Goa'uld healing devise in Saya's hand became active again and she concentrated on healing his injured leg. Jack stroked the face that had haunted so many of his dreams. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Losing concentration in the moment and the glow in the crystal died. She looked into his eyes begging him to understand and forgive.

"The sarcophagus made Jetair sick," Saya explained. "It took a while for her to regain her sense of who she is now. The council did not think it would be good for you to see us as we were."

"And she's OK now?"

"I am well Jack," Jetair responded for herself. "Now remain still while we finish our work. Then you can tell us how you made friends with this creature who protects you."

"Ralla!" Jack looked quickly around the gully and saw his friend settle a little distance away. She had created a small web on which she perched. It was the first web he had seen her create. The strands looked thick and translucent also beaded with a substance he guessed would be very sticky.

"I am here. They said they were your friends. They sent invaders to join with Mother so I trust them...for now."

"Doesn't Mother dislike being polluted?" Jack asked quizzically. He had finally figured out what Ralla was referring to.

"Mother?" Ta'mar queried.

Jack's eyes alighted on a vaguely familiar face. "I've seen you before."

"I was with Garshaw of Belote when SG1 first made contact with the Tok'ra. I am Ta'mar."

Jack nodded as he placed the face. "There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then. Mother is the word Ralla uses to describe this planet. She also uses it for when something dies, they 'return to Mother'. It took me a little while to figure out but I guess it makes a weird kind of sense."

Ta'mar eyed the large green arachnid nervously. "Why are the Tauri still here?" he asked Jack.

"I'm not meant to be here. I guess I've been left for dead." Jack told them a little sourly. "Not the first time it's happen but seeing as I was buried under a mountain of rock I guess understandable."

"We have to go back to the ship now or they will come looking for us." Saya explained.

"What're you doing there?" Jack asked as he stretched the stiffness out of his arms and legs. He was feeling much better but now the questions in his mind were piling up. A small angry bubble wanted to explode, 'they should have told me you were alive. You should have told me.'

"We are here to destroy the mining complex," Ta'mar commented as he offered a hand to help Saya rise. "It has taken us a long time to find this planet. Few know its location and the System Lords guard the knowledge well."

"Why doesn't that surprise me," Jack responded. "So you destroy the mines, what will that achieve and what about the ship?" Jack asked as he stood up with them.

"If it's possible we will destroy the ship but the mines are the main target."

Ralla climbed from her web and circled the trio. "You will remove the invaders?"

"Yes Ralla, we will remove the invaders," Jack confirmed. "But that won't stop them coming back." Then he turned to Saya, took her hand and played idly with her fingers. "Can you get a message to the SGC and let them know I'm alive. I have no way of returning through the Stargate. No GDO, and even if I had they've probably changed the code for the iris. They could send my team to back us up."

"We will tell them," Saya assured him. "We brought provisions and weapons for you. We will return tonight for a while."

"If we sabotage the ship's main generator it will lose the shield. If we can secure the new weapons battery we could use it to destroy the ship," Ta'mar commented.

"The big guns? Yes I would like to get those too, they took out one of my people," Jack explained. "With the team that will be six of us and that's more than enough to get the job done."

"With the ship gone the mines should be easy to destroy," Ta'mar added.

"Six of us can do all this?" Saya asked doubtfully.

"If we plan well," Ta'mar confirmed and Jack nodded.

"With six and the right equipment Ta'mar's right, it can be done," Jack assured her.

"And this friend's help," Saya added with a giggle as she patted Ralla gently on the head. "Not as big as our dinosaurs."

"Hell no!" Jack responded a reluctant grin appearing at the musical sound, "and a lot friendlier." He wanted to be angry with her, with all of them and knew he had a right to be. Yet Saya being alive outweighed the pain of the months since Jack thought he'd lost her.

Joy and Guilt

General Hammond couldn't believe it and stared at the grinning bringer of the glad tidings. It was the best news the SGC had recieved in the last five days and he could almost feel the lifting of moral as the news spread. 'Jack O'Neill was still alive!' He sent the bearer of the news scuttling away to send a recall message to Teal'c who was off planet visiting his son. All the members of SG1 had been ordered to take leave and they all had left the base as soon as Doctor Fraiser had cleared them. In the end it took several hours to get them all back onto the base. During this time Hammond waited impatiently for further contact from the Tok'ra to arrange Jack's retrieval. Finally he had SG1 gathering in the briefing room wondering what was important enough to get them dragged from their enforced forty-eight hour leave. No one had been allowed to tell them the news, Hammond wanted that pleasure for himself. Sam was the last to arrive and lack of sleep and grief showed in her face and posture. She barely mumbled an apology for keeping Hammond waiting and he looked at her with concern rather than irritation. Sam dropped into the seat beside Teal'c without looking at her team mates. Daniel looked preoccupied and tired as well Hammond noticed. 'Feeling guilty about something he had no control over again,' he guessed. As for Teal'c, 'well Teal'c looks like Teal'c.' Hammond thought, 'you can never tell what he's thinking. What I've got to say should be good for what ails them.'

Sam was the first to notice the smile on his face and wondered morosely what he had to be so happy about. "We have been contacted by the Tok'ra," the General began and then paused for a moment. "It appears they have a couple of operatives on the mining planet you visited."

Daniel straightened up, interest sparked. "Are we going to do something about the mines?"

Hammond smiled briefly, "yes, I've read Major Carter's report on the crystals and it has been the cause of some interest. Although, as Major Carter is the only one who can use the technology it seemed the risks outweighed any possible benefits that might accrue from acquiring them. That's not why you've been recalled. It appears that the Tok'ra on the planet have been in contact with a Tauri accompanied by a large green spider," Hammond told them as a large grin appeared on his face. "Colonel O'Neill is alive!"

"Jack! The Colonel!" Sam and Daniel spoke together. A big rare smile appeared on Teal'c's face. "O'Neill." Hammond watched the dark cloud over his first team disappear with a very real sense of relief.

How?" Daniel asked first. "How did they find him?"

"We don't know that exactly yet, just that he is helping the Tok'ra complete their mission, but asked if they'd let us know he's alive. Apparently he had been badly hurt but the spider was protecting him."

"But, a large spider?" Sam asked in a puzzled tone, "how large a spider?"

"From the description which was unusually clear for the Tok'ra, about the size of a dog with very long legs. In fact they said the creature was going to help them destroy the Goa'uld facilities."

"The size of the spider is unimportant," Teal'c stated drawing everyone's attention. "O'Neill is alive and we left him behind." The smiles immediately disappeared as the implication sank in. He had survived the tunnel collapse and they had left him buried alive in that mine.

"There was no way you could have known," Hammond observed. "Colonel O'Neill will know that. I am ordering you back to the planet as support." Then he smiled again, "you have been asked for."

"By the Tok'ra or Jack?" Daniel responded with the question on all of their minds.

At the assigned time the following morning the Wormhole rippled with energy and three SG1 members walked up the Stargate ramp. Sam had lost count of how many times they had passed through this portal but this time they paused before stepping through. They eyed each other nervously all thinking about Jack, Daniel stroked the event horizon and they watched the fluid patterns shift like ripples on a pond. The emotional roller coaster of the last week made this mission more nerve racking than any other. From the emotional devastation of believing Jack to be dead, to the joy when General Hammond had told them he was alive. Then to that awful sinking feeling as they realised that they had left him buried alive. Now they were going to face him and they had no idea how he felt about a team who had apparently deserted him. They took a breath as one and entered the event horizon.

Reunion

"Look!" Jack hissed at Ralla from behind a large gnarled tree. "We have to do this or my people will walk into the guards or not come through at all. They'll be activating the Stargate in the next couple of minutes. We need to get rid of them now!" He had been watching the clearing for several minutes and the guards were not moving away from the Stargate at all. There was no way to get near them unnoticed.

"The invaders are all ssshielded now, we cannot reach them." Ralla responded agitatedly prancing around behind him.

"Jaffa don't carry personal shields," Jack told her. He peered at the two guarding the Gate and then shrugged his shoulders. "It's probably because it's the only defence they have against all of you. Calm down Ralla you're hissing," Jack muttered as he tried to decide his best firing position. The fully recovered Colonel had made a set of bow and arrows as additional weaponry the previous evening. Now as he watched the guards at the Gate it appeared to have been a worthwhile exercise. 'It seems I made the right decision. An arrow will penetrate the shielding but will it pierce the armour?'

He moved around to get a clear shot at both guards. Carefully laying an arrow within arms length Jack notched a second. He let out a breath and steadied the bow, then released the arrow. Jack picked up the next arrow as the first spread on its way. It was already notched as the first found its target. The arrow sliced through his victim's neck tearing open the main arteries. The second guard spun as he heard the gurgling sound and saw his partner fall. The second arrow sped towards the guards but caught its intended target's shoulder and glanced down his body. A crackling sound reached Jack's ears as the body shield failed. 'Must have damaged the generator,' he thought and grabbed his P90. He raced across the open space as someone began to dial in. A short fire fight ensued and the Jaffa took a fatal wound but continued to fire his staff weapon wildly. Jack let fly with another short burst of fire as something heavy caught him in the back and sent him sprawling in the dust. The Jaffa collapsed as the Wormhole threw energy into the clearing then recaptured it to form the event horizon. The emerging team almost tripped over the two dead Jaffa in front of the Stargate.

Three pairs of eyes went immediately to the figure lying face down a few yards further away. All three raised their weapons to shoot the Colonel's attacker. "Ralla! Will you get off my back! I am not in any danger!" Jack was yelling into the dirt.

His team falteringly lowered their weapons. It appeared that Jack was yelling at the enormous spider nestled on his back in exasperation, not pain. The spider lifted her body and walked over his head to stand between him and the new arrivals. Jack sat up and brushed himself down. "Ralla, how am I supposed to fight when you keep jumping all over me!"

"You are sssoft, you harm easily. These are your friendsss, yesss, I recognise the Ssshe."

Jack stood up and looked over the spider at his team. "Ralla, you're hissing again, calm down."

"Jack!" Daniel called as he walked forward taking in the apparition in front of him. "You look well, I guess, but well... a change of clothes might be in order."

"You brought me some? Maybe it will stop my friends here from trying to repair what I'm wearing."

Sam walked around him and pulled at a large tear in the back of his jacket. As the cobwebs parted she grinned, "is that what they're doing? Not trying to turn you into one of them." The grin broadened, "it's good to see you, sir. We thought you'd bought it."

"Bought it?" Teal'c queried.

"It means dead, deceased, bit the dust..." Jack felt himself relax, 'family'. A lazy smile appeared.

"Don't start him off Teal'c," Daniel grumbled and Jack realised an awkward moment had passed easily thanks to Ralla's protectiveness.

"We need to get going before more Jaffa turn up. They have started to up the guards at the mines, here and the ship. Guess they can smell trouble coming. It would be difficult not to when Ralla's been eating out on all unwary travellers." Jack explained. "To top it all the Jaffa are wearing personal shields, now that's going to make things more difficult."

"Especially if we get into a fire fight," Daniel agreed.

They quickly followed Jack and his strange companion into the trees. The wooded area was very quiet, totally devoid of animal sounds Sam realised. The only thing she could hear around her was a soft hissing and crackling noise which increased rapidly. Looking over her shoulder brought on a shudder of revulsion, the insect mass looked like a slow moving tidal wave travelling in her direction. "Sir?" Sam queried nervously.

Jack glanced back at the heaving mass and shrugged, "Ralla won't hurt any of us."

"Is the spider not Ralla?" Teal'c asked.

"Kinda," Jack responded. "Actually, I think they are all Ralla."

"A collective consciousness?" Sam asked.

"Well I'm not sure, I mean Ralla is one spider, but sometimes she talks like it's all of them together. Hey! I'm not sure what I mean," Jack finished uncertainly. Trying to analyse Ralla confused him. "All I know is the crystals have something to do with the way they communicate and they don't like them being removed."

Sam watched the spider trotting alongside Jack for a while in silence wondering why it had made friends with him. "Are the crystals how they can talk to us?" Sam questioned.

"Dunno, maybe. It would be my guess," Jack responded. "Then again Ralla must be using something for vocal cords... right?"

"Huh huh," Sam responded, "and a pretty sophisticated brain for an arachnid."

"Do we know the Tok'ra you've made contact with?" Daniel dropped into the conversation.

"Yes, it's Ta'mar. We met him when we originally went looking for the Tok'ra."

"I remember Ta'mar, he was a friend of Jolinar's," Sam recalled.

"And Saya," Jack continued quietly, "Saya's here." The surprised reaction from his team wasn't unexpected, like him they had believed she was dead.

"Why didn't she let us know? I don't understand, how could she..." Daniel's comments petered out as he realised Jack might not appreciate having it pointed out to him.

Sam fell silent, concentrating on their surroundings. Jack was grateful that she asked no questions, but all Sam knew was that she couldn't trust herself to speak, not immediately. 'He's dead and then he's not dead. Saya's dead, now she's not dead. Damn I have no reason to be angry, why am I so angry! They should have let us know, she should have let him know!'

"So she's OK?" Daniel asked.

"She is now, but wasn't for quite a while. The sarcophagus saved her but it did something to Jetair. They had to make her well again."

"And is she," Sam paused, "well again?"

"Seems to be," Jack responded and Sam nodded.

To change the subject she asked, "how far have we got to go?"

"Back to the Rift and across. We're heading higher up the rift first to help take out the ship. They've still got those big guns and we're going to capture them. Ta'mar n' Saya are going to sabotage the ship's shield so we can destroy the ship on the ground. After that we destroy the mines. Funny thing is the Tok'ra are quite keen to destroy those mines not just deny the System Lords access to them." Jack commented. "Would have thought they would be as interested in a supply of those crystals as the Goa'uld and Bregans are."

"So, you know about the Bregan?" Sam responded and none of them missed the edge to the comment.

Jack stopped. "You OK Carter?"

"Of course, sir. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well, yes. Ralla told me in her slightly cryptic way. We're meeting up with Saya tonight so we'll have to push it to get back there."

The Hidden World

Major Carter stooped to pick up the dark red crystal she had noticed, it sat glittering in the litter on the bed of a tributary. Although Ralla had noticed her pick it up she said nothing. They made camp in the little gully that had become Jack's temporary home. Teal'c noticed that Carter had become the main focus of the spider's attention. He watched the spider slowly moving around the camp its eyes firmly fixed on Carter. Teal'c wasn't certain what he found more intriguing, the apparent loss of interest in O'Neill or this sudden interest in Major Carter.

They had set a small fire in the gully and now rested around it before their meeting with the Tok'ra. The red crystal was now the subject of Sam's intense curiosity. She rolled it around in her hands and held it up to look through it. Ralla sensed no greed or other negative feelings from Sam and this increased her own curiosity about the She. The large eyes glittered in the firelight as Ralla moved closer to the crystal and stretched a leg out to touch the stone. Startled by the sudden appearance of a large spider's leg in her peripheral vision Sam froze. Ralla still made her nervous as a primal distrust of the arachnid family still fought for dominance in her mind. As the spider gently rested its leg on the crystal a small light began emanating from its centre. To Sam's surprise her surrounding appeared to alter and now looked very alien. The sky was a soft pink with clouds of various shades of purple and the ground around her varied from dark blue dust to various pale blue shades of plant life. Even the fire glowed white and blue, with a hint of violet in the flames. The most amazing sight that held her spell bound was the cobweb spread out around them. It hung like silver lace curtains and actually glowed with an internal light.

"Oh!" Sam gasped and stared down at the crystal. "What am I seeing?"

"You sssee what I sssee," Ralla whispered.

"Sam? Are you OK?" Daniel's concerned voice penetrated the haze that surrounded her.

"I'm fine," Sam responded.

"Do not distract the Ssshe," Ralla hissed at him and Daniel backed a little nervously.

Teal'c and Jack moved closer to see what was going on. "Ralla what are you doing to Carter?" Jack asked uneasily.

"The Ssshe can sssee usss," Ralla explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shush!" Sam suddenly responded. "I can see through the crystal what Ralla can see around her. Do you know we look blue to Ralla, well most of us." She stared at Jack with a puzzled frown. "Except you, you are the same colour as the spider, kinda silver and pink. That doesn't make any sense I know, but she sees a different colour to the rest of us when she looks at you."

"How can you..." Jack began and then faltered as Sam's face changed. It was clear that she was listening to someone else.

"I can hear them," Sam whispered in awe.

"Who can you hear Major Carter?" Teal'c asked her.

"All of them," and Sam swung an arm to encompass all the life crawling around them. "They are Ralla, no she is Ralla," Sam pointed to the large spider. "No it's not that either. I know this is going to sound crazy but I can hear the earth beneath us."

"Yep," Jack agreed, "that sounds a little crazy."

"It's the crystals, they link everything and if you feel the frequency you can join the link."

"So... What's it saying?" Daniel asked with one eye on the now silent spider.

"It's not so much saying anything as groaning. It's in pain I think."

"The planet is in pain?" Incredulity coloured the Colonel's voice.

"Yessss," Ralla joined in again. "The sssame pain as you have felt."

"You have felt this?" Sam asked.

"In the tunnel they hid me in at the mine," Jack explained. "That was the planet? I thought that was a Goa'uld, the Glowing Eyes, executing someone."

"Yesss, but they make the... you do not use the words," Ralla sounded nonplussed. "The sssound is wrong, it makesss pain."

"We've come across something similar before, sir," Sam pointed out, "but they were plants."

"I see before it was plants, now its planets. So the planet is intelligent?"

"I don't think so, sir. It wouldn't make any sense. More like all life here has the same harmonics and the crystal is..."

"The radio," Jack butted in.

"Well, I guess that analogy could be close."

"It's what Ralla said she was when we first got to talking. I'd forgotten," Jack muttered. "I was pretty well out of it I guess."

"We have to stop the Goa'uld removing any more of the crystal, sir."

"Yes Carter, I'd already got that message," Jack responded a rye smile appearing.

Jealously or plain disharmony

Sam was feeling angry. No, she realised that was not an accurate description, she was feeling rejected and frustrated. 'I know I'm being unreasonable,' she thought savagely, 'but I hate the bitch.' She also knew that her feelings were becoming difficult to handle. Knowing that she should be happy the Colonel was alive only increased her turmoil. There was nothing between them and there could not be with him her commanding officer. Still the anger ate away at her mind as a vicious little whisper that was completely out of character. Darkness descended on the gully leaving only the light of the small fire to see by. Tiny glowing creatures nestled in the cobweb draped around the area creating at display that winked slowly in rhythm. A low murmur of voices reached Sam's ears but they sounded distant, almost dreamy and in a language she could not understand. No one seemed aware of her detachment until a slender leg curled over her shoulder. This time Sam did not shudder and her eyes dropped to the small head that came into view.

"I can hear them," Sam whispered.

"Yes. Mother connects you to us," Ralla confirmed. "We had to make Jack hear us, but you found us without Ralla's help."

"Then the Goa'uld can hear you?" It was a question and a statement.

"Yes, but they do not understand what they hear. They try to take it away with them but the more they steal the weaker Mother becomes, they destroy… cohesion is destroyed. They use it to kill." The disapproval Sam could hear in the voice whispered through the assembled bugs like a quiet wind. "It also uses it to kill." Ralla added.

"It?" Sam queried.

"Jack's mate." As Ralla responded Sam felt the wave of dislike wash around the area it was the same feelings towards Saya that had assailed her since exiting the Stargate.

'The bugs don't like her!' It made her feel better about her unreasonable emotions. 'They're not my own,' she reasoned.

"You OK Sam?"

Daniel's voice made her start. She hadn't seen him leave the others to join her. "Just peachy," she quipped. Her unconscious mimicry of the Colonel brought a smile to Daniel's face.

"Ta'mar and Saya will be here soon," Daniel commented and noticed the smile on her face slip. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sam wondered why she felt an explanation would be a betrayal of Ralla. "It's just that… I can't explain. I can hear and feel the insects, their moods."

"So who don't they like, Ta'mar or Saya?"

"What make you think…?" Sam began.

"The look on your face," Daniel interrupted her. "Is it a problem?"

"No," Sam considered, "No, I don't believe so." A noise in the darkness brought all sound and movement to a halt. Even the glowing insect display winked out. A sibilant hiss from Ralla warned Sam who was approaching. "It's Saya," she told the others as they came to their feet. Within a few seconds the Tok'ra pair moved into the light.

Light flashed in Saya's eyes as she approached. It left Sam with the uncomfortable feeling that Jetair had just peered out at her. She felt threatened and wondered again at her reaction.

"I see your team has arrived," Ta'mar called to Jack by way of greeting.

"Ready and willing to kick some Goa'uld butt," Jack nodded and invited them to join the circle at the fire. "I guess you know everybody. This is Ta'mar, you all know Saya." Then Jack got straight to it. "When will you be ready?"

"When we return tonight we will sabotage the generators, but you must take the canon and be ready to attack," Saya explained as she handed a small communications device over. "We will call as soon as we are clear."

"We won't get them all inside the ship," Sam commented. "It's going to turn into a running battle and they'll know we'll go after the mines."

"It will depend on how many are wearing shields," Jack added with a question in his voice.

"The guards at the ship's perimeter are protected and the ones at the Stargate. No Jaffa are allowed to wear body shields on the ship, they aren't that trusted," Ta'mar responded dryly. "If you act quickly the Goa'uld should be caught on the ship, there won't be many body shields left after it is destroyed."

"Well the Jaffa guarding the Stargate are already dead," Daniel told the Tok'ra. "So unless they've already found out that's a few less to worry about."

"They're not due for replacement before morning so this will still be unsuspected. The guards at the mines would not be replaced until morning either." Jetair confirmed.

The Symbiot timbre brought Jack's troubled eyes to her face, Teal'c noticed the look and wondered at the tension he could feel. At first it appeared to him to be between the two women but O'Neill also seemed troubled by Saya's presence.

"Ralla will help with the unprotected Jaffa, this planet has its own defences," Jack commented.

"Yesss, we will attack, we will help," Ralla's excited hiss came from the web to which she had retreated when the Tok'ra entered the gully. She watched Saya closely and shifted uneasily on her web. 'The Sam She is good,' Ralla thought. 'Good colour. She hears... Why does she not protect Jack, he has chosen bad mate... bad colours... two voices.' The insects around the gully became restless and Jack noticed the increased background noise.

"What's wrong Ralla?" Jack's question seemed to quieten the area.

"They wish to attack," Ralla explained but she did not identify the target.

"Tonight Ralla, we will attack tonight," Jack responded misunderstanding the response.

The Cannons

"That's some battery!" Jack hissed as he looked down the length of the depression holding the cannons.

"They appear to be heavily guarded." Teal'c made his assessment as he passed the binoculars back to O'Neill.

"Well Ta'mar never said it would be easy," Daniel moaned as he dropped his forehead onto his arms. He glanced at Sam as he lifted his head again but she made no comment as she studied the ground they had to cover.

"At least we have the cover of darkness to the perimeter. Then we take out the nearest guard," Jack waved a hand nonchalantly, "do it quietly, slip into the compound. Easy…"

"Sure sir," Sam finally commented dryly. "But we can't do anything till the generators are down. There's a shield around the weapons, I do hope it's connected to the Mother ship's generators."

"Bound to be isn't it?" the Colonel queried. "Well let's get closer. Ralla, don't move until we do."

"Why?"

"Because your peop… your friends will get fried by the shield."

"We will avoid. We have learnt."

The insects gathering in massive mounds behind SG1 began to disperse. They oozed into the darkness and settled just beyond the pool of security lights. Their human friends watched them moving and an unconscious shudder ran through them. "Never get used to that," Jack muttered as he and the others left the boulders from which they had been overlooking the area. Quickly they crossed through the lightly wooded gap between them and their goal. O'Neill handed his P90 to Daniel and attached a silencer to his handgun. Teal'c leaned his Staff Weapon against a tree and followed suit.

Sam glanced at her watch, "any time now," she muttered.

A single rumble came from across the rise as if in response to the comment. A second's silence followed by the sound of something frying as the shield in front of them collapsed. The two guards visible to the four infiltrators turned to look in the direction of the Mother ship. O'Neill took out the one nearest of them with a single shot and Teal'c the one just beyond him. A small smile appeared as Jack realised neither was wearing a shield. As Daniel threw Jack's P90 to him he rushed forward followed by a wave of insects that appeared out of the darkness. The three soldiers followed their impetuous friend toward the cannon but when they split up Ralla became undecided which pair to follow.

A little dance ensued as the spider swung around in brief confusion. Trying to decide which to follow caused several seconds of indecision. 'The big one runs with She towards the cannon,' Ralla thought, then watched as Teal'c killed a Jaffa who tried to intercept them. The spider hissed with satisfaction. A look in the other direction showed the young rash one heading towards a long low building where many enemies slept. O'Neill rushed after him, 'as would I if my young did anything so silly.' The spider skittered after O'Neill deciding he was the one who would need her help.

Two Jaffa erupted from the doorway directly in front of Daniel who slid to a halt, firing as he sank to one knee. A Staff weapon fired from the side of the building clipping his arm and spinning him to the ground. Jack fired rapidly on the run catching the Jaffa at the corner first. Then he caught two more as they tried to leave the building. Quickly he pulled a grenade, counted and threw it through the doorway putting his back against the wall to protect himself from the blast. He glanced back at Daniel and saw Ralla reach him, then turned and entered the room firing as he went. One Jaffa had the presence of mind to turn on his body shield and could still return fire. The flash of Staff fire made Jack dive for cover. Drawing his knife as he rolled he came to his feet and threw in one fluid motion. The knife penetrated the shield and sliced into the Jaffa's unprotected throat. It went quiet within the confines of the room and smoke drifted lazily out of the doorway.

Ralla called from outside. "Your young one isss hurt."

Jack heard gunfire as he exited the building but was distracted by the sight that met his eyes. Daniel was struggling to free himself from the overprotective spider trying to sit on his shoulders. Masses of small insects were congregating around his knees.

"They only want to sew you up," Jack explained with a twinkle appearing in his eyes. "You OK?"

"I'll be fine if they just leave me alone! It's only a graze," Daniel responded exasperated. A mixture of horror and laughter entered his voice, "tell them to leave me alone Ralla!" The light moment disappeared as he asked, "Sam and Teal'c?"

"She has the weapon," Ralla told Jack.

"How'd you know?"

"We sssee. The big one ssstill fightsss. He protectsss but there are many. My people help, yes?"

"Yes," Jack agreed.

Daniel stopped trying to carefully brush off the insects and turned towards the cannon.

"Who put the bee in your bonnet!" Jack called as Daniel raced him towards the sound of Staff Weapon fire. "Teal'c already has help!"

"Major Carter. Now would be a good time to fire the weapon," Teal'c pressed.

Sam rapidly accessed the unfamiliar controls of the cannon. Behind her Teal'c was exchanging fire with two shield-protected Jaffa. The insects had dealt with those who did not wear them with horrifying efficiency. The immediate impact of Staff Weapon fire close to Sam's shoulder created a shower of sparks that scorched her face and caused her to duck away from the controls. "I'm working as fast as I can!" she shouted over her shoulder punching the unfamiliar keys.

Jack caught sight of the nearest Jaffa as he rounded the side of the cannon. He caught hold of the an equipment rack beside it and then propelled it into the Jaffa's's back. He felt the jolt of energy that coursed through the metal and let go in a hurry. Daniel reached out to steady him as the rack fell crushing the Jaffa. The shield overloaded and disappeared.

"You OK?" Daniel asked as he watched Jack shake his arms.

He responded by jumping on the rack that now lay across the struggling Jaffa and hitting him in the face with his P90. "Sure," he grunted as he left the now motionless guard. The two friends stopped long enough to lay C4 at the bottom of the cannons then climbed the steps to join the others. They were in time to see the huge guns swinging ponderously into alignment. Sam turned and grinned briefly at the Colonel who responded in kind.

"Ready Sir," she called crisply.

"Have you heard from Ta'mar?" Jack asked.

"Yes sir, a few moments ago."

"Then fire it!"

"I've had to tilt it as low as it will go, it's not made for shooting things on the ground."

"Will it hit the ship?" Jack asked concern colouring his voice.

"I believe so," Sam responded. "We'll know in just a moment. I hope they've moved far enough away from the ship."

"They will have," Jack's response was lost in the roar of the weapon firing. Night became day as a series of explosions sounded beyond the tree-lined horizon. A white flash of light drained the colour from the area immediately followed by a concussion that knocked them off their feet. Jack rolled over and looked towards the Goa'uld Mother Ship. "Hell! I hope they did put some distance between them and the ship before we blew it. Time to go guys, I think the survivors may be a little pissed."

"Just a little," Daniel responded as he picked himself up.

"We go now, yesss?" Ralla hissed from below. "Many come. Many we cannot touch."

"You heard the lady... bug... whatever. Move everyone!" The team scrambled down the steps and ran back to the trees as figures began to appear from the direction of the destroyed ship.

"Hope we got the Goa'uld," Sam gasped out as she became hidden by the trees.

Jack slid to a halt and triggered the explosives. Staff weapons fire had begun to hit the trees around them but it stopped as several more Jaffa were caught within the range of the exploding cannons. Four slightly singed and winded individuals made good their escape.

There are always consequences

The darkness of the trees swallowed them as they raced to meet Saya and Ta'mar. Putting distance between themselves and the mayhem was a priority, at least until the heat died down. Ralla ran alongside them barely seeming to notice the rush. Once she neatly caught Daniel as his foot snagged an uplifted root. "Thanks," Daniel muttered ungraciously as he tried to right himself.

"You are a clumssy speciesss," Ralla's response sounded unconcerned by his petulance.

"Not all of us," Jack noted as he pulled Daniel away from his soft landing. "Don't break a leg Daniel or she'll be carrying you. How's your arm?"

"OK, if you stop pulling on it!"

"Look!" Sam called distracting them all. Through the trees to the east of them the sky glowed sullenly blood red.

"Too early for dawn," Jack commented a faint satisfied smile crossing his face. "That's the ship burning."

"I think we were lucky not to be any closer to it," Daniel added worriedly. "That's a big bonfire, the blast must've carried a long way."

"Long way," Ralla confirmed. "Many of us died in sudden fire. The land is scorched. Your other friends were close." Ralla's eyes glittered up at Jack as she spoke.

Jack swivelled round to stare at the spider. "Saya and Ta'mar are dead?"

"No… but both are hurt… they won't let us help… they squash," Ralla explained disapprovingly.

"Where are they?" Jack demanded anxiously.

"Not far, but others follow them. These we cannot reach."

"Show us!" Jack demanded and the group changed direction and followed the spider towards the encroaching fire.

"Fire ssspreads!" She called out in growing alarm.

"That's smoke and it's drifting towards us sir." Carter pulled up as she made the observation. "Ralla!"

The creature had stopped a little ahead of them and appeared confused, skittering about and then freezing to the spot. Jack reached her as she began to sink to the ground. He puts his arms out to stabilise her. "What's wrong?"

"Too much pain… too many dyingsss… cannot sssee…" the sibilant hiss turned to a faint rattle.

"We need to get her away from here," Daniel placed his hand above the glittering eyes in concern.

"Won't make any difference," both Sam and Jack replied in unison. The question in Teal'c's eyes begged explanation. "Distance doesn't affect the contact," Sam explained. "I can feel what she feels a little like masses of little sparks going out."

"You and Teal'c carry her to the river," Jack instructed Daniel. "We don't want the fire overtaking her. Sam and I will go after the others." Jack was already moving as he spoke concern for Saya pushing him to keep moving.

Ralla tried to follow them tottering forward on unsteady legs. Sam turned briefly, "go with them, we'll be OK."

Daniel and Teal'c attempted to help the weakened spider towards the river as the others made their way in the direction of the ship. They moved cautiously as the smell of smoke began increasing rapidly. The sound of fire crackling and popping could be heard ahead of them and small animals scurried past in search of safety, a definite sign that they were moving in the wrong direction. Jack began to despair of finding the missing Tok'ra pair.

"I can see flames!" Sam shouted. "We'll never find them!" Suddenly the wind changed direction and blew directly towards them.

"Head for the river!" Jack hollered as he saw the flames ahead of them leap forward, fanned by the wind.

The river was the only direction they had left to run. From the place where the Goa'uld mother ship sat in ruins, the fire had spread through the woodland first by the flying debris then the increasing wind. The smouldering twisted metal ignited the dry undergrowth. At first the fire had spread slowly eating its way up the trees and along the ground. It had given the survivors of the blast time to get away, that was until the wind lifted and fanned the flames. The flames began leaping from tree to tree in a wind-accelerated race. The raging fire caught the surviving Jaffa in a widening inferno between the ship and the river. In amongst the remaining terrified Jaffa ran two Tauri and two injured Tok'ra, enemies ignoring each other in their flight.

Jack noticed an increasing number of insects crawling on his clothing hitching a ride away from danger. He glanced over at the running form of his 2IC, she also carried an increasing number of passengers. Then out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of white and focused on the fleeing figures of Saya and Ta'mar. They were several yards away through the trees and moving a great deal faster than he was. He decided against yelling at them afraid that Saya would slow down. The four drew closer as they neared the river. Fire began to crackle over head and underfoot, little rivulets of flame chasing the racing feet. Saya and Ta'mar dived straight into the water as soon as they reached the bank.

Daniel saw both his friends stop and yelled at them to get into the river. He wondered why the pair hesitated and then he saw the black crawling mass on their clothing. With the insects moving up to their waists and higher, the newly converted friends of the insect world carefully walked forward. The fire was very close and the heat scorched their backs as they waded waist high into the river. Jack's face took on a look of relief as he crossed over. Both the Tok'ra and his team had reached the other bank. Saya dropped to the bank beside Daniel exhausted by the flight through the wood and Ta'mar sat down beside her. Jack could hear them both heaving and coughing from the smoke as he approached but he didn't want to cough so much as he wanted to scratch. The urge to scratch at the itching on his arms and upper body was almost overpowering. He resisted the temptation to alleviate the itching and damage the culprits.

The ever-cautious Teal'c watched over them as they waded across and recovered. He stood scanning the river for signs of danger and watched as two Jaffa crossed upstream. They appear too afraid of the firestorm to think of renewing hostilities and vanished up the opposite bank. They did not reappear.

Sam climbed the slippery bank in front of her and sank carefully to the grass beyond. Jack joined her sitting quietly and allowing their passengers to crawl away. The itching began to die off. He couldn't remember the insects causing so much discomfort before and he began to rub at the Little red marks where he had been bitten and stung. A few red marks were also noticeable on Sam's face.

"I'll never be able to step on a bug again without feeling guilty," Sam muttered softly.

"Bugs on our world aren't intelligent," Jack responded.

Sam glanced up at him with a slight smile. "We can't know that for sure you know. A lot of them have the same ordered existence as the ones here. Bees, ants, termites… How do we know?"

Jack shrugged. He had no intention of thinking too deeply about it. After gaining his feet he reached out to help Sam to hers and they rejoined the others.

"We've killed a lot of wildlife," Daniel uttered thoughtfully as he gently stroked behind Ralla's eyes.

"There are alwaysss conssequencesss," Ralla lisped sadly, "but we will fill the land again."

Our Timing's Always Out

Jack stood outside the mine entrance wondering how long it had taken them to clear all the rubble from the cave-in. It all looked surprisingly unchanged by the blast that had injured him. He gripped the P90 as he peered around the area. It struck him as odd that there was no signs of Jaffa activity. A feeling of dizziness came over him and he leaned against the entrance wall. 'Where has everyone gone?' There was no sign of the Tok'ra or his team and he was back at the mine and alone. The strange thing was he could not remember how he'd got there.

The wild roar that rolled out from beyond the ridge froze his blood. He recognised the cry that still haunted his dreams. 'Only how the hell did it get here,' he thought as the ground shook in time with the thudding of huge running feet. The volume of the roar increased as it closed on its victim. 'Where's Saya!' The same panic that assailed him on the dinosaur planet resurfaced. Somewhere in the back of his mind Jack registered the wrongness of what was happening. Then he saw Saya running along the ridge stumbling on the broken ground. A large dinosaur was gaining on her and there was no way she could outrun it. Jack stared at the apparition in disbelief, 'there is no way you're on this planet,' he told it. He ran down to the river and began to cross. The water was deep, much deeper than he remembered it being. His clothing got heavy quickly, much too heavy and he began to sink. His head disappeared beneath the surface as he heard a terrified scream. He continued to struggle reaching for the surface. Then to his relief someone grabbed him and pulled him back towards safety. He could smell smoke, 'not fire too,' he groaned. Someone was shaking him and he sat up suddenly beside a small fire. Sam had watched Jack become increasing restlessness and shaken him from his exhausted sleep. Her main concern was the difficulty she had in waking him, that was not like the Colonel at all.

"You OK, sir? You seemed awfully restless."

"I'm… OK. Is the coffee still hot?" he asked as he crawled out of the bedroll.

"Sure, filled it a short while ago."

"Where's Teal'c?" he asked looking around. Sam pointed away from the group to where their Jaffa friend sat in deep meditation.

"Kel No Reem?" Jack enquired.

"He took a minor Staff burn during the fight. I didn't even notice," Sam explained guiltily.

Jack grabbed a cup of coffee and in his mind began mulling over their approach to the destruction of the mines but he could not concentrate. Somehow the nightmare continued in his mind not allowing him to lay it to rest. He was in a nightmare maze of jumbled memories and hurt and was finally forced to face what his subconscious had known for days. Regaining consciousness to find Saya beside him and alive had been a mixture of joy and bewilderment. 'How could she leave me to grieve?' Jack thought as he stared at her slumbering form on the other side of the fire. Finally he began to face how much his feelings for her had been compromised by the chemical induced visions during their first encounter. Saya's death in the Mayan village had left him with feelings of guilt. She had given her life to save him or so he had thought then. Now the emotions that disturbed him were resentment and wariness. Her feelings for him appeared to have been compromised by the presence of Jetair and his for her by the choices they had made. Jack was also disturbed by the emotional turmoil of his dream. Her danger had not elicited fear in him so much as annoyance. For the briefest of moments he had hoped it would catch her and end this recurring disturbance of his solitary life. Jack shook his head and determinedly concentrated on the mission. The problem of what to do about Saya would come later. 'Or not,' he realised. 'The Tok'ra can always find reasons for doing or not doing what they want, regardless of other people's feelings about it.' On that last rye thought he banished his own problems and motioned for Sam to sit with him.

On the other side of the fire Saya face was in partial shadow, but her eyes were open. She watched the pair talking together and her eyes glowed briefly, a faint look of anger passed across her face. She turned her back to the fire so she would not have to watch. The jealousy she felt was irrational and reminded her of Aldwyn's treachery. A tear formed and tracked its way slowly down her face. 'We should have told Jack we were alive, he will never forgive us for that,' Saya thought at Jetair petulantly.

'You are being childish Saya, there is more at stake here than your love life,' Jetair reprimanded her and they both fell silent, keeping their own counsel.

Decisions

The sun rose over the rift throwing a rosy glow into the gloom below. The Colonel frowned as he looked down at the fortified encampments it revealed. Both mine entrances where now protected by small cannon pointed both up and down the length of the river. As things now stood an attack would have nowhere to go but into the water at its heart. Jack didn't like the odds there had to be another way in. "Someone remind me why we're doing this," Jack murmured as he looked down.

"To destroy the invaders," the spider responded immediately.

"To deny the System Lords access to the heart of their weapons," Ta'mar answered in a puzzled tone.

"Because the Goa'uld have pissed you off," Daniel finished.

His eyebrows crept upwards as Jack caught Daniel's eye. "Pissed me off, Daniel?"

"I've been beaten, imprisoned, shot at, and scorched. OK, because I'm pissed off and I want some payback, somewhere, sometime soon."

"Well… As we're all agreed, I guess we'll just have to find a way in. Ralla where was it we crawled out of that mine?"

"I show you… it is ssafe. It is not found."

"Don't go getting all excited," Jack admonished her. They carefully crawled away from the ridge to follow the spider down to the hidden entrance. 'The small passageway will be a tight fit,' Jack thought as they descended, 'particularly for Teal'c's massive frame.' They all crouched beside the rift wall studying this possible way in.

"I'm the smallest here," Sam stated as she stared into the gloomy entrance. "I can manage this. Crawl in, set up the C4, crawl out again, easy." She lifted her hand in a wiggling motion that reminded Teal'c strongly of O'Neill in his more facetious moments. A sparkle entered Jack's eyes as he looked at Sam, but his response was stopped by Ta'mar's literal interpretation of the comment.

"That would complete the destruction of the tunnels above here and kill anyone sheltering inside. How do we destroy the mine on the other side of the river?"

"Sure," Jack agreed. "This side is easy, relatively speaking, as long as they don't know about this tunnel. I think that it would be better to take everything out together and I have a better idea. This river must be fed from somewhere...?" This was said with a questioning air as Jack turned to stare at Ralla settled beside him.

Daniel shifted as he looked around and added thoughtfully, "from the look of the valley a lot more water has flowed through it than does now."

Jack nodded agreeing with the line of thought. "So where is it now?"

"Long ago, sometimes much water flowed, but the glowing eyes denied it entrance," Ralla whispered softly.

"Where?" Jack asked and the spider turned and began to scuttle way. "I show."

"We may be able to wipe out these mines without anyone having to crawl down a hole," Jack told a relieved Sam.

Later the group stood on a ridge overlooking a massive earthwork dam. Behind the dam a large lake now filled what had been a low-lying valley. Perch on the top of the dam a small contingent of Jaffa stood guard. Jack looked at the two Tok'ra with a querying expression. "Didn't think to mention the dam?"

"Cautious aren't they?" Daniel chirped pointing at the guard and diverting Jack from an unprofitable line of questioning.

"The tributary nearer the mines doesn't seem to have sufficient flow to be of any use," Sam observed.

"Yeah but this is better," Jack replied nodding his head. "This amount of water will destroy everything in its path, flood the mines and take out cannon, Jaffa, everything."

"The force of the water should even collapse the mines," Ta'mar suggested.

"Considering the somewhat unstable geology that is highly probable." Daniel agreed.

"Then this is the plan," Jack finished. "Let's get to it. The only problem is I don't think we have enough explosives to punch a whole in such a massive object." Jack was quiet for a while as they descended into the rift below the dam. Then he suddenly brightened and called to the spider. "Ralla, I have an idea."

A short while later along the bottom of the dam a sea of insects gathered. Several holes began to appear as they burrowed deep into the dam's base. Small burrows formed inwards, lacing the dam with weaknesses. The insects kept working through the day and beyond into the night. Finally the insects began to withdraw and a silent group of figures crept along the rift to the dam's base. They worked swiftly to pack C4 where the blast would do the most good, channelling into the dam and widening the weaknesses already created. Several timers were set and the figures crept away. As they left a wave of insects followed them. Across the ground and through the air they rose cresting above the dam top and floating away in the light breeze. The Jaffa watched them nervously and peered over the edge of the dam into the darkness below. One Jaffa was lowered gingerly over the side to take a look but did not find the hidden devises.

Daniel looked over his shoulder attracted again by the eerie noise of the insects moving. He wondered what the Jaffa guard thought of the sudden appearance of billions of the planet's denizens. The moving shape blacker than the surrounding night seemed to fill the rift like the lakes contents would in the morning. They made their way back to the ridge above the fortified mine entrances and settled to watch the outcome of their assault. Dawn broke to the sound of muffled explosions. The Jaffa below them stared in the direction of the sound but made no move to leave their positions. A low rumbling sound reached them all, the volume increasing rapidly. From their elevated position the team saw the water before the Jaffa in the rift. It churned and boiled its way along the valley bottom, filling it to its very top and flowing over the lower portions.

Then Jack saw something he didn't like at all. "For crying out loud! Move! Now!" Everyone scrambled away from the edge and began to run as if their lives depended on it which they did. The torrent that raged along the rift was slicing into the wall. With each change in direction it carved large chunks of rock from within it and undermined the ridge. Masses of rock caved into the water and swept along with it adding to its mass. The lower parts of the rift could not contain the water rushing along it and it spilled over into temporary raging rivers, shallow but very fast moving. The water flashed out over the plain beyond. Suddenly the running group found themselves surrounded by water that rose rapidly. It began eating away at the rise they had halted on.

"This is not good," Teal'c commented as he looked at their predicament.

"You don't say," Jack responded as water began to lap round his boots. "I hope everyone can swim." Across the swiftly running water about fifty yards away was a stand of trees. "If this water doesn't rise too much we could be safe in the trees." A weight descended on Jack's back and he stumbled forward righting himself with difficulty in the rising water. The spider had wrapped its legs firmly around his shoulders and body. "Ralla! What're you doing!"

"You like water… I do not like water…"

"We have to wade or swim to those trees," he explained, "now get off me!."

"You ssswim… I sssit here."

"Looks like you have a passenger sir," Sam commented with a grin. Despite the seriousness of their predicament the sight was just too comical to be denied. She even considered if it was possible to take Ralla home with them. She at least, seemed to be able to handle the Colonel. By this time the water topped their boots and they could feel the ground beneath them eroding away in the current. Jack turned Sam around and delved into her pack to produce a rope. "Try not to leave your feet in one place too long," Sam instructed. "The ground could get like quicksand and suck your feet in."

Jack handed Teal'c the rope and the Jaffa struck out across the water. He waded towards the trees with one end of the line firmly in his grasp. He made it with the water already to his waist and tied the rope to the strongest looking of the trees. "Hurry! The water rises fast," he called back.

Ta'mar took the rope and motioned Jack to cross next. "You have an extra load," he told him and Jack could have sworn Sam's amusement had rubbed off on the Tok'ra.

As he crossed the water Ralla tried to stay out of it by climbing practically onto his head. "Ralla! You'll trip me up and then we'll both get a dunking. Stay still!" Jack yelled at her and the spider stopped moving. Jack made it across the swirling current then allowed Ralla to swing into the nearest tree. She climbed into the top branches and settled to watch her companions.

Saya came next, after shrugging her loose outer robe. Then Sam quickly followed, pushed on by Daniel and Ta'mar even before Saya had completed her crossing. The two women were hauling themselves through swiftly flowing chest high water by the time they reached the trees. Sam cupped her hands and motioned Saya to climb, then Teal'c lifted Sam to a lower branch and she followed Saya up the tree. They all turned to watch the last two debating who should go last.

"Daniel! Get over here, Ta'mar's stronger than you are!" Jack yelled and Daniel caught up the rope and began to cross. The water became too deep, he slipped in the swift undercurrent and disappeared. The rope went taut and he bobbed to the surface again, feet no longer able to find purchase. He began to pull himself against the current and towards his friends. Suddenly the rope whipped away again and Ta'mar disappeared into the swirling flood. They could see him grimly holding onto the last few feet of rope. Teal'c climbed into the tree to which the rope was tied and with an effort Jack lifted part of the taut rope to him. Then Teal'c got a foothold in the branches and began to haul the remaining two towards them. Jack climbed up alongside Teal'c as Daniel reached the trees and leaned down to grab the back of his jacket. With a single heave he lifted him towards the branches and Daniel grabbed it and released the rope. The rope jerked and slid through Teal'c hands but he stopped the slide. Ta'mar became easier to pull in without Daniel on the rope. Once Jack had Daniel up and over the branch he crawled back to help Teal'c pull in the Tok'ra.

Finally they all climbed into the higher branches but Daniel was still looking down with a worried expression. "The roots may not hold, even if the water doesn't get much higher."

"Then we'll all get very wet," Jack responded.

"We all get very dead," Ralla corrected him.

"This is what comes of doing a job too well," Jack commented with a sigh. He wasn't very concerned about the trees as the water did not seem to be rising much anymore.

"I think we may have a long wait before it's safe to get down, sir." Sam commented as she settled in a fork in the branches. She let one foot dangle into the water, testing the speed of the current. "It doesn't seem to be slowing."

"Well I can't see that anyone would have survived to give us any problems do you?" Jack retorted. "Is anyone else feeling cold?" By the following morning the water had receded and a sea of mud was all that was visible for miles around them.

"It's going to be some slog to the Stargate," Jack muttered to no one in particular. "At least until we get some distance from here. I didn't expect the water to rise out of the rift."

"The land here is lower and the narrow valley caused the torrent to backlog and rise," Sam told him.

"You didn't mention this yesterday," Jack drawled, but Sam only smiled slightly. "What's bothering you Carter?"

"The cure looks worse than the problem did," Sam bit her lip as she looked at the devastation they had caused.

"We will heal quickly without them here," Ralla whispered weakly.

Jack climbed to reach the creature who appeared to be in distress. "What's wrong Ralla?" Jack asked as he rested a hand on the head.

"Ralla sleeps now, I am just Zzzig, but now I know things I did not know."

"Zzzig?" Jack questioned.

"You are Jack, yes, I am Zzzig. Ralla is the mother and now she sleeps and heals. I must go back to my web, but I do not want, there is to much in my head."

"Then come with us," Sam called.

"She can't do that," Daniel responded from below. They looked down to find him splashing around in the shallow water below the tree. "The NID will have her dissected. Besides, what would she live on?"

Jack looked down at Daniel then back at the spider that had befriended him.

"Aww for the love of…" Jack looked nonplussed.

"Daniel is right, you cannot take the creature to the Tauri home," Saya commented. "What would she do there? She is too different, there would be no where for her to be."

Saya and Jack's eyes caught and locked for a moment, and then Jack looked away. The Saya he thought he had known was gone if she had ever really existed. Admitting it to himself was not as painful as he thought it would be. She would probably be as safe now with the Tok'ra as she had been on the dinosaur planet alone. Now she had friends even if he was not going to be there for her. Jack knew he wasn't going to be with her, didn't want to be. A vague feeling of guilt rose again but he suppressed it. For them it had always been the wrong time, the wrong place. It was a cliché of course and he disliked clichés with a vengeance, but there it was. They had found each other three times, but this last time was different. This time when his confusion over his sense of betrayal had evaporated his strong feelings for Saya also disappeared. 'As for Zzzig, well I wonder how long large spiders from this planet live?'

Home Coming

General Hammond was getting restless as the only team left off world was SG1 and they still had not heard from them. Jacob had arrived the previous day and took the extra time to visit his son and family while waiting for his daughter's return. He had returned to the SGC over an hour before and now stood in the conference area overlooking the Gate Room. His restlessness seemed to be infecting everyone who came in contact with him. Hammond wondered what concerned him more, his daughter's well being or the destruction of the mines he had told Hammond about. Depriving the Goa'uld of the jewels for their hand weapons was more of an irritant than a major blow but it would be worth it just knowing how long it could take them to find a suitable replacement for their weapon of fear. The thud of the Stargate activating broke in on his train of thought. Both Jacob and Hammond ran down the stairs into the Control Room.

"It's SG1's IDC, Sir," the Sergeant called.

"Open the iris," Hammond responded. A security squad gathered around the bottom of the ramp with weapons at the ready. For a moment all was quiet and the glowing surface of the wormhole flowed gently within the Stargate and then the surface broke as Teal'c and Daniel walked through.

Daniel stopped at the top of the ramp and picked up one boot after another and looked at the thick mud caked on it. "Don't think I've ever come back quite so muddy before," he told Teal'c.

Teal'c looked down at his companion. "It would appear to be quite resistant to removal," Teal'c replied and they both started down the ramp.

Just behind them Sam walked through carrying both her own pack and the Colonel's. By this time both Hammond and Jacob had arrived in the Gate Room. Hammond barked a command for the squad to stand down. "Is the Colonel alright?" Hammond asked anxiously.

"Hum," Sam hesitated. "He's a little preoccupied with his latest conquest." Daniel's face broke into a wide grin.

"Zzzig doesn't like water, and she certainly doesn't like mud," he explained.

"Zzzig?" Hammond queried with a sense of foreboding. The surface of the wormhole breached for the last time and Colonel O'Neill stepped through. Seated on his back with legs firmly wrapped around his waist and neck was the largest spider Hammond had ever seen. She peered over his shoulder at a room of very startled men.

"General Hammond, sir," Jack respectfully called out without a trace of the smile that wanted to show. "Meet Zzzig. This little fellow saved my life. Zzzig, say hello to General Hammond."

"Hello, General Hammond," Zzzig responded.