P4G-979 : ABANDONED GOA'ULD STRUCTURE

"Actually, I think Shak'tar correlates more directly with 'to fall from grace' then 'to die from a fall'." Daniel Jackson brushed away more sand from the goa'uld symbol.

"Perhaps. This is an ancient dialect of goa'uld, and not one I am familiar with." Lantash replied. Then Martouf, his host, spoke. "Oddly enough, it is closely related to the goa'uld text on my home planet."

"Your home planet?" Martouf smiled sadly.

"It was conquered by Sokar when I was a small boy, some 60 years ago."

"How did you escape?"

"A Tok'ra was hiding within Sokar's ranks. I had been chosen to become a host to a goa'uld. He saved me from the implantation, and when I was old enough, I became his new host." Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"Lantash… He was the Tok'ra that saved you."

"And his former host, Toulon."

"That's amazing. Did you leave family back there?"

"No, I was an orphan."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, my parents died when I was twelve, my adoptive parents. So there's another thing we have in common, no matter how morbid…" Daniel said, brushing more sand away. Martouf dropped his head and his eyes flashed gold.

"I had to be sure that Martouf had not offered to be my host out of the desire to repay some debt he believed he owed for saving-"

"What's-" Staff weapon blasts were flying over their heads. Lantash was drawing his Zat.

"Get back to the gate. Go now!" Daniel was already running. He had to duck under the low ceilings of the goa'uld tomb, but moments later he was sprinting towards the gate. When he got there, he found the bodies of Sg-9. Daniel began to dial the gate. He was only on the third symbol when the zat hit him. He collapsed to the ground in pain. A jaffa's boot kicked him over on his back. He only caught a glimpse of the goa'uld before the end of a staff hit him in the head, and everything went black.

P4G-979 : GOA'ULD MOTHER SHIP : PRISON BARRACKS

"Move!" The jaffa threw Daniel against the wall, backed out of the cell, and locked it. He didn't bother to get back up.

"This is great…" He murmured. Something coughed to his left. He squinted without his glasses and saw a young jaffa leaning against the wall.

"Uh, hi, I'm Daniel Jackson." There was no response, only an empty glare. "Right…"

SGC : GATE ROOM/CONTROL ROOM

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" A technician said into the intercom.

"Lock it up." Colonel Jack O'Neill ordered. "Any IDC yet?"

"Not yet sir."

"Colonel, what's going on?" General Hammond joined them with Sam close in tow.

"Sir, we're receiving the Tok'ra IDC."

"Open the iris." The general ordered. Seconds later, Martouf rolled down the ramp. He was bleeding and staff blasts were coming through the gate behind him. The iris closed and Sam, Jack, and General Hammond rushed down to meet him.

"Medical team to the gate room!"

"Martouf! What happened?" Sam asked. "You're hurt…"

"Where's Daniel and Teal'c." Jack asked. Martouf grunted in pain.

"Did Dr. Jackson not return?" The general and Jack shared a dark look.

"You're the only person that's come through in the past six hours." Sam said.

"Then he must have fallen into enemy hands. Forgive me, had I known he did not escape, I would not have returned alone."

"What about the rest of Sg-9?" General Hammond asked. Martouf shook his head.

"Dead."

SGC : BRIEFING ROOM

"How did the goa'uld know when you'd be on…?"

"P4G-979." Sam finished for her CO.

"I do not know." Martouf said. "It does not seem like a random event. Klorel's jaffa knew exactly where we were working."

"Klorel?" Jack asked disgustedly. "Super…What about Teal'c?"

"The last I saw of him, he was investigating an abandoned death glider port." Martouf paused, and then Lantash spoke. "I do not believe Teal'c, as a former jaffa first prime, would have been taken off-guard. It is possible he evaded capture but is unable to reach the stargate. When I left the planet, one of Klorel's mother ships had landed on the abandoned tomb. If Dr. Jackson was captured, it is likely that he is being held there."

P4G-979 : MOTHER SHIP PRISON BARRACKS

"So I got hit, and now I'm here." Daniel said. He was mostly talking to himself, as the jaffa was still not speaking. "How did you get here?" Daniel thought for a moment that the jaffa was going to speak, but when he opened his mouth, it was to cough; blood dripped into his hands and he slumped over on his side, gasping for breath.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked as he helped him back up.

"I am ill." The jaffa responded.

"Yeah, isn't your symbiote supposed to take care of that?" The jaffa leaned his head back against the wall, cleared his throat and sighed.

"I no longer posses a goa'uld primta. It was removed for my failure to defeat my master's enemies in battle. Instead of dying with honor, I ordered a retreat. I am no longer worthy of carrying the children of the gods."

"You lost a battle? That's why they're killing you?" he asked. "That seems…harsh."

"Klorel is my god. I should have-"

"He's not a god, the goa'uld aren't gods. They're parasites that take humans as-"

"This is blasphemy!" Daniel didn't get a chance to speak again, the cell door opened and two jaffa pulled him out. They led him to a throne room, where a goa'uld sat waiting. It was dim, and Daniel didn't recognize him; the jaffa wore the symbol of Apophis, and now presumably belonged to Klorel.

The goa'uld waved his hand casually and the jaffa locked Daniel's wrists in chains dangling from the ceiling. The young linguist toyed with the chains for a moment.

"You are Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri." The goa'uld said.

"And you are…someone I don't care to know."

"Silence!" The goa'uld commanded.

"He is your god, Halar, the strangling right hand of Klorel." Daniel closed his eyes and nodded in mock reverence.

"Of course. The strangling right hand, I guess that's what the chains are for." The goa'uld laughed aloud and floated down from his decadent throne. His first prime handed him a fire-rod, a goa'uld device used expressly for torturing information out of its victims.

"On the contrary, this he held up the rod is what the chains are for. Now, I will ask questions and you will answer them. And if you do not-" He waved the rod again.

"You're wasting your time." Daniel said, yanking on his chains nervously. "I don't know anything." The goa'uld smiled.

"Perhaps not. But I guarantee once you have suffered long enough, you will discover that you know a great deal. Let us begin…"

SGC : GATE ROOM

Sam, Jack, Martouf, and Sg-3 stood waiting on the ramp as the gate dialed. Lantash was successful both in healing Martouf's injury and securing a spot for them on the rescue team. Samantha knew he felt indirectly responsible for Daniel's capture.

"Okay, listen up!" Jack said. Sg-3 stood at attention. "The last pictures we got from the UAV show that the gate is heavily guarded. Sg-3, you'll be going in first, Sg-1 will follow. You'll secure the gate while we find Daniel." The gate activated behind them. "Let's move out!" By the time Sg-1 joined them on the other side, a dozen jaffa were slumped over on the ground.

"Lets get them into the underbrush." Sam said. They dragged the bodies away and set up mortars close to the DHD.

"Colonel O'Neill?" Martouf asked. "The mother ship lies in that direction." He pointed.

"Alright, Captain Riggs, you're in charge. Major Castleman, you're with us."

P4G-979 : HALAR'S THRONE ROOM

"What is the code you use to open your iris?" Daniel didn't respond; he was still recovering from the last shock. His shirt, now burned and tattered, had been removed, and his stomach, back, and chest were covered in dark spots where he had been hit repeatedly with the fire-rod.

"Ahh!" He yelped in pain. The gold light-energy from the rod was emitted through his eyes and mouth.

"Where is the Tok'ra base?" Halar asked when it stopped.

"Go to hell." Daniel replied. For this he was struck again in the stomach. He didn't recuperate so quickly from this blow; he hung heavily from the chains and coughed. Halar threw the rod into the ground and in a rage and slumped down in his throne.

"Still you do not speak. What kind of a fool must you be to endure this hell when you could end your suffering with a few words?" Daniel spat his own blood out on the floor.

"I already told you, if one of us is captured, they change the codes. I don't know anything that could help you." He lied.

"And the Tok'ra?"

"They contacted us, I don't know where their base is." Daniel had left from their base only a few days before, but he had no intention of complying with a goa'uld.

"Why did you come to this planet?"

"To translate the text in the ruins." Daniel knew he had to keep Halar talking. The longer he fed him lies, the longer he escaped the agony of the fire-rod. The goa'uld stood up, grabbed the rod from a jaffa, and walked over to Daniel.

"Actually, not much at all. I was only here for a few days before you showed up."

"Who was with you?

"Only the four men you killed at the gate. Four innocent men." He added scathingly. Halar looked disappointed. He snapped his fingers at the jaffa and they pulled something out of a box in the corner. Halar grabbed it and threw it at Daniel's feet. It was Teal'cs' staff weapon, retrofitted with a gun-sight and labeled with SGC insignia.

"I know the shol'va was with you. I also know he did not escape by ship or through the Chappa'ai." Halar lifted the fire-rod again. "Where is he?"

"Even if I knew, what makes you think I'd tell you?" The goa'uld smiled.

"Because in the end, when they can stand the pain no more, they always do." Halar let Daniel reflect for a moment and then hit him again.

P4G-979 : TREES

The jaffa patrols were steadily closing in on Teal'c. He crawled over to a small, tight cluster of trees to hide. His leg was still burned black from the staff-blast and bleeding. Teal'cs only protection now was the Zat'n'ktel he clutched in his hand. He could neither run for his leg, nor fight (with any hope of survival) for his weapon; still the footsteps came closer.

"Shal'kek nem'ran, I die free." Teal'c said aloud. He knew he was going to die, but he stood and aimed his zat into the darkness.

"Whoa! Teal'c!" Jack threw up his hands.

"It's us!" Sam said. In a wave of relief, Teal'c fell against a nearby tree and exhaled heavily. Major Castleman pulled out a field bandage and tied up his leg.

"I did not believe you would come O'Neill." Teal'c said.

"We were supposed to leave you here to die? What happened?"

"I was returning from the glider bay when Klorel's mother ship landed. I went back to the dig site to find Daniel Jackson, but he had gone. Did he return to the SGC?"

"Doesn't look that way." Jack replied stiffly.

"He was most likely captured by Klorel's jaffa." Martouf added.

"Then he will have been taken to Halar."

"Is that a goa'uld?" Major Castleman asked.

"Indeed. He is in the service of Klorel. Prisoners are sent to him to be tortured for information." Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Tortured for information? Super."

"We better speed things up sir." Sam suggested. "If Daniel doesn't tell them anything, they might try to make him a host." Jack shook his head.

"Oh, there's not a chance in hell."

"I will accompany you." Teal'c said, trying to stand. Sam shook her head.

"I'm sorry Teal'c but you can't, even with junior, if we don't get you back to the infirmary-"

"Captain Carter, I will not leave this place without Daniel Jackson." Sam looked to the Colonel for support.

"I will help him." Martouf offered. "We could use his help when it comes time to infiltrate the mother ship."

"Sounds fair to me." Jack decided. "Lets go."

P4G-979 : MOTHER SHIP PRISON BARRACKS

"Ugh…" Daniel grunted as he was dropped to the floor of his cell. The jaffa he had met before crawled over to him.

"You don't look so good." Daniel said with a feigned smile.

"You look no better, human." He replied. He helped Daniel to lean up against the wall and then rested, exhausted, against the bars opposite him.

"My name is Daniel. What's yours?"

"I am called Soren, it means-"

"Fathers pride." Daniel translated. Soren tilted his head to the side.

"You know the language of the gods? How can this be?"

"I told you. The goa'uld aren't gods. They only pretend to be so they can enslave millions of humans and jaffa."

"You would let Lord Halar torture you to death for this belief?"

"Actually I was hoping it wouldn't come to that… My friends know I'm here, they'll come." He murmured half-heartedly. "Unless General Hammond realizes it's a suicide mission, at which point I guess I'll be on my own." Daniel was falling out of consciousness. "No, Jack would come…even if he had to blow up another sun he'd-"

P4G-979 : MOTHER SHIP RING PLATFORM

Martouf was practically carrying Teal'c down the wooded path. Jack was far ahead, ducking in and out of the trees with Major Castleman, checking the constant jaffa patrols. Sam fell back to protect Teal'c and Martouf, quite useless as conjoined twins.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called quietly.

"What's up?"

"The rings to the mother ship are heavily guarded. If we cannot eliminate the cannon, infiltration will be impossible." Jack knew he was hinting at something.

"Jaffa kree!" one of the guards yelled. Teal'c threw a zat at his feet.

"Hear me brother. The goa'uld are false gods who use the jaffa as incubators for their young. Drop your weapons now and accept the truth." Teal'c preached. The jaffa aimed his staff.

"Shol'va! What you say is blasphemy. I would rather die than betray my god." Teal'c smiled.

"Very well." He pulled out a second zat and took out the jaffa at the cannon. More fire flew up from the bushes.

"Teal'c, take him out!" one of the jaffa was running for help. Teal'c jumped onto the cannon. A moment later, there was a small crater at the end of the jaffa's footprints.

"T, you alright?" Jack asked, his friend looked as though he was in great pain.

"I will be fine." He tried to get up, but could not. Major Castleman went to help him.

"Teal'c, I realize you don't want to leave without Daniel, I do, but you can barely walk." Teal'c thought for a moment.

"I maintain what I said before O'Neill. I will not leave this planet without Daniel Jackson. However, I do not wish to delay his rescue any further. I will wait for your return at the gate."

"Okay, Castleman, take him back. Carter, Marty, you're with me."

P4G-979 : MOTHER SHIP PRISON BARRACKS

Daniel sighed and tenderly patted one of the black scars on his chest. Soren was lying on his side, shivering with a high fever and occasionally licking moisture back into his cracked lips.

"Are you afraid?" Soren whispered. Small, sharp intakes of breath shattered his syllables. Daniel sighed again.

"Yeah, maybe just a little."

"Halar will not kill you. You are t-too valuable."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Daniel replied sadly. "If I have to go back in there, I don't know if I can stop myself from giving Halar what he wants. If I don't tell him he's gonna make me a host, I don't know if I can-"

"You are a strong warrior Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri." Daniel looked at him confused.

"You knew who I was all along."

"The legend of the Tau'ri is commonplace among Klorel's jaffa, the destroyers of the evil god Apophis are well known.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wished to know if the tales of your greatness were true… I am not disappointed." He added. "You need not fear Halar, he is powerful, true, but you have a weapon greater than any he possesses."

"What's that?"

"The truth." Soren shut his eyes hard; he coughed up more blood, but then stopped.

"Hello?!" Daniel yelled, grasping the bars. "Hello is anyone out there? We need some help in here!" He went back to Soren; he wasn't breathing. Daniel shook him gently.

"Soren? Come on, you've got to wake up. Breathe!" Daniel pounded his fist into the jaffa's chest. Sam had shown him CPR once, he was sure of it. He breathed some air into Soren's lungs, then hit him again.

"Please, my primta!" Soren gasped. He was only awake for a moment, but then his eyes closed and he passed out. He still drew breath, but the cell was opening and Halar's first prime grabbed Daniel.

"He's dying, you have to help him!" Daniel said as the jaffa bound his hands.

"Silence human!" The jaffa kicked him to the floor.

"He's not en enemy, he's your friend, he's one of you, you're killing him- Ahh!" Halar's first prime had lost his temper and struck Daniel with the fire-rod. He was still shaking with the after-effects as Halar grabbed the rod.

"As of yet you have been silent. But my patience wears thin. What is the code that opens the Tau'ri iris?" Daniel only shook his head. Halar stabbed him in the stomach. The pain was unbearable, Daniel thought, just as it had been since the very first time.

"Speak!!!" Halar commanded.

"I'm not gonna tell you anything so- Ahh!" He was struck again. "You might as well kill me." Daniel finished when he recovered.

"Well that's a bad plan."

"Jack?" bullets and Zat fire showered down on the jaffa. Halar used his hand device to shield himself, and slowly fell back out of the room. Sam kept her weapon on him as Jack unchained Daniel's hands. He fell, but Jack caught him and held him up, trying not to touch his injuries.

"Hey Jack."

"Hey Danny boy. Thought we'd come rescue you. You don't look so good." Daniel laughed and coughed, suddenly remembering Soren.

"We have to go back to the prison barracks. Please…"

"Okay, come on." Jack said tenderly. "Carter!" They each took an arm and carried him down the hall.

"Soren?" Daniel knelt by his side and shook him awake.

"Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri." Soren whispered. "I am dying."

"They took his symbiote as a death sentence. We have to get him back to the infirmary." Daniel explained. Sam had her hand on his neck, checking his pulse.

"We can't move him like this Daniel, it could kill him."

"Well he's gonna die anyway if we just leave him here."

"Colonel, there is a possibility that we can take on of the symbiotes from the dead jaffa-"

"No, please." Soren said. "You have taught me much Daniel Jackson. I wish you well in your quest to destroy the goa'uld. Thanks to you, I can die free of the false gods. Now go, Halar will not allow you to escape so easily. Go."

"Goodbye…" Daniel said, squeezing his friend's hands as he died.

"Daniel, we've got to go."

"I do not think so!" Halar and several of his jaffa had entered the room behind them. Daniel was not conscious long enough to know what happened; he was hit by zat fire and saw no more.

SGC : INFIRMARY

"Sir, he's awake." Jack hopped over from Teal'cs hospital bed to Daniels.

"Good morning camper."

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

"Halar showed up, you got shot, we had a little fun with some jaffa, we came home. It's a great story." Daniel laughed slightly.

"Ow, don't make me laugh."

"Sorry. You should get some sleep." Jack replied, he started to move away, but Daniel reached out and grabbed his hand.

"I didn't think you were gonna come." Jack stopped, squeezing his friend's hand comfortingly.

"I'll always come when you need me."