Chapter 1

Jack clapped his hands together. "OK, campers, let's get this stuff sorted out so we can make the most of our lovely stay at Club Dread."

Sam and Daniel were currently picking their way through the mountain of supplies that had just arrived through the Stargate, while Loren watched with wide eyes off to the side of the massive pile. Jack had to hand it to Hammond – the man knew how to take care of his troops. He'd sent everything they'd asked for and then some: playing cards, toilet paper, bedding, a camping stove, extra clothes, toothpaste, a camera, bottled water, magazines, extra ammo, flashlights, heaters, a medium sized refrigerator, three computers, a couple of box fans, and a small naquada generator, just to name a few items. He'd also included some personal things as well: Sam and Daniel's books and, most importantly, Jack's yo-yo.

Jack flicked his wrist and released said yo-yo, as he watched his 2IC bend over to pluck an apple from a box of fresh produce. Maybe, he thought, this wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all.

The fact was they were all stuck here for somewhere around three weeks, while they weaned themselves off of the radiation emitting device currently located in the main room of the palace. Jack shook his head. He still couldn't believe their misfortune in having stumbled across the Goa'uld version of an opium den and subsequently becoming addicted to a psychedelic light. Well, not the light exactly but the device underneath it. Fortunately for Teal'c, his symbiote had kept him from becoming dependent, and he had been able to return to the SGC. The bottom line for the rest of them, though, was that they couldn't leave this planet – or really even the palace, at least not for too long – until they had recovered from their addiction.

The plan was to turn the device down in small increments each day until they could finally turn it off. When they had learned how long that would take, they'd let out a collective groan, but Janet had warned against them trying to go too fast, lest the withdrawal symptoms returned. And that was something no one wanted, considering that all of SG5 had died, Daniel had almost committed suicide, and after just a few minutes without exposure to the device, Sam and Jack had been at each other's throats.

"So," Daniel said, interrupting Jack's thoughts. "Any ideas about where we should sleep?" He was holding up a bedroll and pillow.

"You could sleep in the bedrooms." Everyone turned to face Loren. He hadn't said much since Teal'c had left and it had become clear they would be staying for awhile.

Well, now there's an idea." Jack looked over at the boy, well, teen now really. Loren was a strange one. But it was hardly his fault. Living completely alone on an abandoned Goa'uld planet would make anyone strange. Assuming they could wean him off the device – and Janet didn't see any reason why they couldn't – they would take him back to Earth and find him a new home.

Sam rolled her eyes at Jack's sarcastic comment. "Loren, can you show us where they are?"

"Sure," he replied. "Come on."

Loren started toward a hallway that branched off of the main room and beckoned for the rest of the group to follow him. When he arrived outside the first door, he stopped and turned to the group. "This is where I sleep. There are other rooms down the hall."

Sam, Jack, and Daniel headed down the hall and started opening doors. All of the rooms were basically the same: large and ornate, with a huge bed in the center of the room, and a picture window looking out over the grounds of the palace. Daniel walked into the one across from Loren, and shook out one of the curtains. A huge plume of dust drifted up and out across the room. Daniel sneezed. "Lovely," he said.

Jack grimaced. "Well, if you think that's bad, think about the beds. Daniel, didn't you say this was some kind of Goa'uld den of iniquity?"

Sam made a face. "Ew. Thanks for that, sir."

"You're welcome, Carter." He grinned at her. "So, I think we should all stay together, and probably the closer to the device, the better. Daniel, you can keep this room, I'll take the one next to you, and Sam, you can take the one next to Loren." He looked around the group. "That work for everyone?" Seeing nodding heads all round, he continued. "I would, ah, suggest stripping the beds and using your own bedrolls."

"Agreed," said Sam.

After setting up their bedrooms and organizing the rest of the supplies, they sat down to a dinner of ham sandwiches and fruit. Hammond had set up a check-in schedule once every 24 hours and had promised to send fresh food and supplies, as needed. It was a huge relief to them all that they wouldn't be stuck eating MREs for the next three weeks. Even better, Sam had somehow figured about how to get water flowing in the palace. Though she warned that it probably wasn't drinkable, it was sufficient for rinsing off and getting the Goa'uld version of the toilets to work. So, for the most part, their basic needs were met.

Boredom, however, was going to be another issue entirely. After dinner, Sam looked up from her book as Jack attempted to untangle his yo-yo for the upteenth time. He sighed and turned to the youngest member of their party. "Loren, what did you do for fun around here?" When all he received in reply was a blank stare, he continued, "You know, fun. Like playing games, watching videos..." He snapped his fingers. "I know – fishing!"

Loren just shook his head, and Jack let out a loud sigh. Yep, it was going to be a long three weeks.