Teaser

The Starship Aurora moved along at warp in Zack's eyes. His focus was on her landing deck looming ahead. He kept his hands steady on the controls of this craft, moving the Mongoose strike fighter ever closer. In the seat behind him Patrice Laurent, the Aurora's wing commander, was observing. "Your approach is good," he said.

"Yeah." Zack ignored the beads of sweat on his forehead as he held his position relative to the Aurora. His fighter's warp field began to merge with the Aurora's, making the fighter shudder. With one hand he carefully adjusted his craft's field to give way to the Aurora's, allowing him to shut down his warp engines as he came in for final approach. Running lights on the hull plates in front of the landing deck guided him to the third port landing path. He pulled the nose of the Mongoose up slightly as it made the final hundred meter approach. A shudder filled the craft as the rear landing gear made contact. Moments later the entire craft stopped, pushing Zack violently against his seat harness and nearly knocking the breath out of him. He sucked in air and smiled, looking at the green light that appeared above him. "Haha!", he shouted.

"Congratulations, Zachary," Laurent said. "You passed the warp landing test successfully."

The Mongoose was pulled by weak tractor beams into its assigned bay. Other fighters of the same type were visible; dart-like hulls with engines on the sides of the rear that formed the base of wings that doubled as atmospheric flight aids and hardpoints for missile or torpedo weapons. It was, Zack admitted, a very damned cool design, and while the Koenig was his baby he really enjoyed the feeling of a fighter now that he'd experienced it.

The cockpit was released, allowing the two men out. Most of those around were in the biege of ship operations, meaning they were flight deck operations, but one figure with red trim on her uniform stood out. Zack smiled widely and fought that tremor of longing he felt when he looked into Julia's glistening green eyes and her happy smile. "So, that's it, isn't it?"

"Very good, Zack. Keep it up and we might have to move you off the Koenig." Julia's smile grew as she hugged him. "You've earned your wings, Zack."

"That he has." Laurent put a hand on Zack's shoulder. "I'll finish the paperwork right now. Personnel will have to approve it, but that should only take a day."

"Assuming Robert remembers to sign the paperwork," Zack joked.

"Oh, that's where I come in," Julia laughed. "Come on. I'll go get you a drink at the Lookout. A celebration."

"Oh, it's not that big a deal. Finishing my flight qualifications was just something to do while Karen and Tom continue that rebuild of the Koenig's warp systems."

"Well, we're on another exploration mission, best time to get it out of the way."

"And not when were were in spacedock after the fight at Krellan Nebula?", Zack asked pointedly.

"Maybe if we'd known, but it looks like Robert's not the only one slow with paperwork." Julia wagged a finger at him. "If you'd been faster to sign off on the inspection results, the need for the rebuild would have been found out sooner."

"I hate paperwork," Zack grumbled.

"Don't we all," Laurent laughed. "Come on, Commander. I'll file the results from the Lookout. I have a brandy you must try..."

Robert eyed Julia's empty seat again and drew in a sigh. Not being allowed to let their watches completely overlap was a pain, even if a necessity for crew readiness, and he missed having her present as someone to, frankly, talk to. "Time to Abdis, Nick?"

NIck Locarno checked the helm. "We're just a few minutes out, sir. A couple minutes closer from the last time you asked."

"Oh, yes."

"Shouldn't you be doing paperwork, Captain?", Jarod asked, using the rank with a slight smile.

"Not you too," Robert groaned. "And I'll have you know I finished all of the daily reports an hour ago. It's been quiet."

"We can't always run into Space Nazis," Angel said from Tactical.

"Don't remind me," Robert groaned. He'd been dreaming some very horrible things the past month, imagining planets on fire and the screams of the dying...

"Exchange any letters with that sensor officer from Lamper's crew, sis?" Angel looked over at sensors, where her sister Caterina was looking over readings.

"That stopped being funny a week ago, Angel," Cat mumbled. She remained fixated on her scans.

"Something interesting, Cat?"

"Yeah. I've got some kind of subspace disturbance on the higher bands. Really high. 'We can't reach that far' high. But I can't localize its exact location and the general direction, well... it is heading for us roughly in the sense that an avalanche runs over a rock, but it could be heading for the Galactic Core for all I know."

"Hrm." Robert put a hand to his chin. "Keep an eye on it. Jarod, I don't want to drive the crew nuts with a full alert, but I'd like to change running status to Code Blue for the time being. Until the distortion passes, at least."

"Code Blue it is." Jarod tapped a couple of buttons at one end of his panel. The code level lights on the sides of the bridge went from green to blue. The ship computers automatically announced the new alert level, effectively warning the crew that something might happen in the coming hours and to be mindful of their activities.

"We're coming up on Abdis, sir." Locarno's hand went to the controls. "Bringing us out of warp."

On the screen the desert world Abdis appeared. It existed in multiple universes, being fairly close to Earth in each, and all versions had proven rich in naqia. This was their first survey of this particular universe, however. "Entering orbit of Abdis, sir."

"Start your scans, Cat. Assuming anything is going to be different about R4A1's Abdis that the others don't have."

"Scanning now," Caterina said. Heads turned because she said it very... quietly, compared to the usual attitude of exhuberance.

"Who are you and what did you do with my crazy little sister?", Angel teased. "Seriously, no squeals of happiness at scanning a planet?"

"I've, uh, scanned this planet before. A bunch of times," Caterina pointed out. "It's always the same. So I'm not seeing anything new, just what I've seen... before..."

"Cat?"

"Okay, I'm excited again!", Cat squealed. "I'm picking something new up! Something not on other Abdises... Abdisi? Abd... whatever, it's new!"

Robert took interest in that. "What is it?"

"Life forms! Human life forms!" Caterina squeed as only she could. "There are people down there! And I'm not reading any signs of major technology either!"

"That... that makes no sense," Angel said.

"Especially since Earth in this universe is supposed to be 1990s," Jarod added.

"It looks like there's a bunch of settlements around some of the big naqia deposits. And I've got something pretty big on the surface nearby."

"Put it on screen," Robert asked.

The holoviewer came on. The orbital picture showed a structure nestled in the sand dunes. A basic, familiar structure.

"Is that an Egyptian-style pyramid?", Jarod asked.

"Yes," Robert said, staring in wonder at it.

Undiscovered Frontier
"Do No Harm"

Ship's Log: 28 March 2641; ASV Aurora. Captain Robert Dale recording. We are maintaining an orbit of Abdis R4A1 as we investigate the peculiarity of this universe's copy of this naqia-rich desert world. I'm sending down away teams to investigate directly while we stay in orbit and investigate.

I'm also keeping an eye on that subspace distortion wave Caterina has picked up. Something about it unsettles me.

Zack checked the holster on his hip and felt the re-assuring indication of a pulse pistol. His action uniform looked just like a normal duty uniform for the Stellar Navy, but the material was backed by ceramics for additional defense and was made to distribute energy impacts from weapons fire. His belt contained not only his pulse pistol but the personal forcefield system that was his main defense from being shot at. He stepped into the transporter room asking, "So, I was never down to Abdis before. Anything I should know?"

"Yeah." Julia was following him, in a similar field uniform that was just as flattering to her as the usual ones. "It's a desert. It sucks."

"Any reason you're going?", Zack asked. "I've got nothing better to do, that's my excuse."

"I told Rob I wanted this one," Julia answered. "He got to infiltrate the Mayala. I get to walk around a desert." Julia folded her arms. "Still, it lets me do some field work. I miss it, a bit."

"You mean you miss going around punching and kicking jerks while we rescued people?", Zack asked.

She smirked. "Yeah."

The door opened again. Meridina entered with Leo behind her. Leo was in a field uniform with extra packs, medical equipment one could guess, with the trim being the blue of medical instead of their red. Meridina was in a blue robe with dark purple body armor showing underneath. The two gold and one silver stripe rank insignia from her uniform were fixed to her neck. Both carried pulse pistols, although Meridina had her lakesh hilt fixed to her belt as well. "I figured Cat would be going down to see the pyramid," Zack asked.

"She wanted to," Julia answered. "But Robert wants her keeping an eye on the orbital scans and that subspace signature she says is coming through here."

"Poor Cat." Zack looked at Leo. "So, buddy, a good old fashioned landing party! Been a while hasn't it?"

Leo let out a harsh laugh. "That was your thing, remember? I was always stuck back in the Facility to fix everyone up when they came back. Besides, you once got your jaw broken, why are you so happy about this?"

"Change of pace, Leo, change of pace." Zack clapped him on the shoulder. "Personal cloaks ready?"

"Ready." Julia looked to the young Alakin at the transporter. "Beam us down to the settlement."

"I am ready, Commander," the avian humanoid chirped.

"Well, away we go," Zack said cheerfully, stepping up to the transporter.

Caterina watched the reading on her subspace scanners and saw that it was certainly on course for going through them. She focused on it, racking her brain at where she'd seen such a subspace signature before.

"Landing team is away," Jarod said.

"Assuming a polar orbit," Locarno added.

"Cat, anything more on that subspace wave?", Robert asked.

"I know I've seen this before," she insisted. "But I can't remember." She looked back to the swirling waves of blue and gold on her monitor.

Julia was reminded of some of the villages and settlements she had seen during their "rescue work" days, and the people of this version of Abdis having bronze complexions that made them look Semitic only added to those memories. The natives' clothes were homespun fibers and didn't look comfortable at all and they were clearly a pre-industrial society. She actually wondered how they found sustenance on a world like Abdis.

"I've got something weird on life scanners," Zack muttered, keeping his tone low enough so that the sound of his voice didn't leave his cloaking field but instead went through the multidevice to the earpieces in the others. His multi-device was active and he had his arm up to show her the readings. "It's claiming two of the life signatures are only near human. One more than the other."

"Leo?" Julia turned to him. "What are you getting?"

"The same." He examined the readings. "Everything looks right but there's something off about the bioelectrics. It's outside human norms."

"Yes," Meridina whispered. "That way." She indicated a section of the village.

They slipped through the town, Meridina following and concentrating, using her swevyra to flatten the foot prints that appeared under them. Zack was at the lead, following his multi-device's scans. They approached an area with what looked to be a cookpot along with a wooden table. A light-skinned man was entering one of the tent structures, stepping away from another man who was considerably darker skinned, closer to Leo than the other village-dwellers. One who's dress made him look completely out of place.

"That's an Army BDU," Julia murmured, surprised. "And what's the symbol on that patch?"

"Pyramid with a circle above it?" Zack shrugged. "Don't know. Let's just slip past him." Zack stepped forward.

Meridina shook her head. "Commander Carrey, you should not..."

Zack was already approaching the tent, going behind the uniformed man. As the word "not" left Meridina's lips, the man twisted in place and lashed out with his arm. It swept across Zack's shoulders with enough force to knock him down, a cry of surprise breaking through his cloak. Heads turned and the villagers looked on in surprise as the man knelt down beside Zack's fallen form. A device that looked like a bizarre gun, the top of it raising up, pressed against him. "Show yourself!", the man shouted firmly.

Zack fumbled for his cloaking device and pressed it, shimmering into view beneath his attacker. As he did so Julia brought her pulse pistol out, turned off her cloak, and pressed it to the back of the man's bald head. "Let him go!", she demanded.

Meridina and Leo deactivated their cloaks as well. A sharp sound filled the air as Meridina retrieved her lakesh and extended the blade fully.

Commotion was overcoming the village now. The tent flap opened and the light-skinned man came out. He looked at the other man, his eyes going from there to Julia and Zack and then to Meridina and Leo. "Who are you?", he asked.

In English.

"You speak English?", Leo asked, confused.

"I could ask the same of you," the light-skinned man said. Behind him, in the now opened tent, one could make out a figure who looked to be local hovering in the shadow, clearly curious. "Please stop pointing a gun at my friend."

"He pointed his at my friend first," Julia retorted. "Together?"

The other man said nothing, but he made a very slight movement, pulling his strange weapon away from Zack. Julia pulled her pulse pistol away in the same manner; their hesitant moves picked up in speed as both clearly recognized reciprocation.

"Thanks," Zack huffed, sitting up in the sand. He looked up to the light-skinned man. "So, you're not from around here, are you?"

"I know you're not," the other man replied. "I'm having a really bad day, so I hope you'll understand if I'm not very pleasant when I say this... but who in the hell are you?"

Julia looked back to Meridina and nodded. Meridina retracted her lakesh blade and Julia holstered her pistol. "I'm Commander Julia Andreys, First Officer of the Starship Aurora, representing the United Alliance of Systems," Julia answered. "This is our ship security chief, Lieutenant Commander Meridina, and chief medical officer Doctor Leo Gillam."

"Commander Zack Carrey, Starship Koenig," Zack added. When the big man who'd knocked him down offered his hand tentatively, Zack took it and let his former attacker help him get to his feet. He looked into the face of the man who'd somehow known he was there and after taking in his dark eyes... he noticed that this guy had some kind of raised tattoo on his head, showing a double-headed snake.

The other two men looked at each other with some surprise. The light-skinned man nodded. "Alright then. I wasn't expecting something like this, but I've had stranger things happen." He extended his hand to Julia. "I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson. My friend here is Teal'c. We're from Stargate Command."

The landing party stood to one side in the tent, Daniel and Teal'c to the other, while Daniel's wife Sha're was seated and being attended to by her father, introduced to them as the village headman Kasuf.

"So these things, these Goa'ud..."

"Goa'uld," Meridina corrected softly.

Julia gave her a look of annoyance. "...these things take over human bodies? And rule a galaxy-spanning empire?" She drew in a breath. "Dammit, that's going to complicate things."

"You say you come from other universes, yet you have not heard of the Goa'uld in those other places?", Teal'c asked.

"Not at all," she said. "I mean, this isn't unique. There are hundreds, hundreds, of alien races in just one quarter of the galaxy of S5T3 that don't exist in the others. Dozens in the other universes. We have a few in the Alliance, in fact. Alakins, Dorei, Gersallians..."

"Although we are often confused for Humans," Meridina mused.

"Well, the resemblence is pretty strong ." Daniel turned to Sha're and extended his hand. She accepted it. "General Hammond would be very interested to speak to you, I'm sure. Teal'c can take you to the Stargate. But I'm staying here."

"The one in you is dormant," Meridina noted. "I sense its slumber. Why?"

"It is protecting the baby," Sha're answered. She settled a hand on her belly. "If the demon wakes up the baby could be lost."

"But the moment you give birth, that thing takes over again?", Leo asked. He was the only one seated and looked to be very deep in thought.

"Yes." Sha're's lip trembled and she looked at Daniel with eyes brimming with sadness.

"And nothing can be done?" Meridina sensed Sha're's feelings of despair. She looked to Daniel and Teal'c. "You cannot remove the beast?"

"We tried once, on a friend," Daniel answered. "It shed most of its body and hid itself deep enough in the brain that we didn't detect it until it was too late."

"The Goa'uld that took Kawalsky was young," Teal'c added. "Amaunet is not."

"So you're saying there's nothing that can be done." Zack looked at Sha're with sympathy. "She's..."

"You don't have to say it," Daniel snapped.

Leo stood. "No, he doesn't, because that damn thing is coming out."

"Leo?" Julia could hear an edge in his voice. It reminded her of his moods when they were back in the Facility and returned with shiploads of abused people he had to put back together.

"I can get it out," Leo insisted. "I'll need the St. Johns."

"What is this... St. Johns?", Teal'c asked.

"It's one of our runabout spacecraft," Julia replied. "It's outfitted with a medical support module. Leo, shouldn't you take her up to the Aurora?"

"I will if we can, but I'm not having her beam up in her condition." Leo looked to Sha're. "Let me help you, Sha're. I'll get the demon out of you. You can have your life back."

"Don't give her false hope." Daniel's tone was harsh. "Don't you dare."

"It's not false." Leo's eyes met Daniel's. "I can save her, Doctor Jackson. Please... let me."

For a moment the mutual gaze was held. Daniel looked back to Sha're and then Leo again. "Do you promise you can save her?"

Leo didn't flinch. "Yes."

"Then it is decided." Kasuf stood and looked to Sha're. "Go with them, daughter."

"It has to be Sha're's choice," Daniel insisted. He sat down next to Sha're again. "It's your choice."

"What if the demon kills me?", Sha're asked softly. "It can."

"Leo will stop it." Julia stepped up beside Leo and got onto a knee, putting her face at the same level of Sha're. Julia sucked in a breath and fixed her emerald eyes on Sha're's face. "I know you're scared. I can't imagine everything you've been through, I don't want to imagine it." She stayed silent for a moment. The implications of what had been done to this poor woman, having her body literally stolen from her, forced to become another man's wife and to bear his child... that was a horror she'd never even considered. "It's your decision. I just want you to know... Leo would never let you down. He will do everything to save you, he will move heaven and earth to keep that promise."

Sha're looked at Julia intently. There was silence in the tent as she did so. Her head turned and she faced Daniel. She put her hand to his cheek. "If it will let me be with Daniel again..." Sha're smiled and let out a sob. "Yes. Yes, I choose to ask." She looked at Leo. "Will you help me?"

Leo's face was unmoving, his visage showing nothing but his compassion for Sha're... his determination that she would be freed. "Yes," he answered.

The bridge of the Aurora was quiet as Julia finished recounting everything. Her face hovered on the holoviewer, already looking tanned from Abdis' - or Abydos' - scorching sun. "And Leo's sure he can do this?"

"He is," Julia answered.

"Can I talk to him?"

"He's busy at the moment testing something with Teal'c. Something about a sedative."

"Okay." Robert nodded. "I'll send Commander Kane down with Leo's team on the St. Johns. If the parasite in her head is that important, they might be coming at any time, I want you to have the backup. Have Leo call Nasri for what he needs."

"We'll be expecting them." Julia looked up briefly before looking back. "Teal'c is going to take the rest of us to the pyramid. They say that's where the Stargate is."

"Stargate?"

Caterina looked up. "That sounds so familiar..."

"No," Robert said, looking back and pre-empting the request he knew was coming. "I need you on that subspace disturbance, Cat."

Caterina pouted, but when Robert didn't relent she let out a little disappointed sigh and returned to looking at her station. At tactical Angel smirked.

"Doctor Jackson says it's some kind of wormhole generator. This galaxy has a whole network of them, and the Earth here started exploring it about a year ago."

Robert drew in a breath. "Go ahead and talk to Stargate Command, Julie. But I'll have to get ahold of Admiral Maran so he can get directions from the President on what to do. Please be careful about what promises you make until I hear back from them."

"Oh, I'm always careful." Julia smiled thinly at the screen. "Andreys out." She disappeared.

"Well, this is certainly becoming the most interesting cake run survey ever," Angel chuckled.

"Just what I need," Robert moaned. "Another headache." He reached down and hit his intercom. "Commander Kane, this is Captain Dale. Grab your field gear and get to Shuttle Bay 2. I'm sending you down."

"Yes sir!" was the answer over the speaker.

"You need a pilot," Locarno said. "I can go."

"I'd rather have you here, Nick, if it's all the same," Robert said. "Just in case that subspace distortion turns out to be something nasty." He pressed the intercom key again. "Captain Dale to Lieutenant Lucero. Lucy, report to Shuttle Bay 2. I need you to pilot the St. Johns."

For a moment there was no reply. "Just as I'm enjoying lunch," a reply finally came. "Hargert is giving me a dirty look, I don't think this sausage stew was meant to be half-finished."

"Go ahead and take it," Robert laughed. "You might be down there for a while."

"Will do."

"You know..." Caterina looked up. "Lieutenant Ajaka is really good at subspace physics..."

"No means no, Cat."

Caterina pouted again and turned back to her screens.

Teal'c was in the lead, Zack behind him and Julia behind Zack. He had his zat holstered and his belt now contained Leo's cloaking device with Leo's earpiece now in Teal'c's ear, given because Leo and Julia had figured Teal'c would get more use from the cloaking system. They trudged through the desert sands at a steady stride, defying the sheer discomfort that Abydos was throwing at them. "It will not be much further," Teal'c said, turning his head back slightly.

"Yeah." Zack forced his pace a bit to stand beside Teal'c. "So... uh... how did you know I was there? I mean, I've slipped by plenty of people before..."

"I heard you disturb the sand," Teal'c answered promptly. "And you began to move more quickly, I felt the shift in the air between us."

"Oh." Zack stopped and took in a breath. Teal'c promptly stepped past him. "I'll have to watch that next time."

"You are fortunate I did not kill you." Teal'c turned back and let them catch up. "Tell me now. Do you truly believe your healer can save Sha're?"

"Yes," Julia insisted.

"He has never had to work with a Goa'uld before," Teal'c pointed out. "And he is young."

"Maybe. But Leo won't give up until she's okay."

Zack nodded in agreement. "He can do it. Leo's the smartest guy I know when it comes to things like this."

Teal'c's eyes moved from Julia to Zack and back. "You place great faith in your friend. I hope you are right. Daniel Jackson and Sha're have suffered enough without having false hope given to them." He turned away and continued down the next dune.

"Friendly guy," Zack muttered to Julia. Julia smirked back before taking the first step to follow.

Lucy finished her pre-flight checks and looked back to Nasri. The Sudanese woman, rescued from Darfur back in the "old days" of the Facility, was wearing the blue field uniform of Stellar Navy medical personnel and currently occupied in doing final checks on the medical unit. "We're ready to go on my end."

"I'm doing final checks to make sure the medical unit is ready." Nasri tapped another key. "I can't believe we're about to do this. Opening a woman's head to pull an alien parasite out?"

"Doctors and nurses get all the fun jobs," Lucy remarked. "Don't worry about it, Leo's got this one. Let's just make sure we give him the tools he needs."

The bridge of the Aurora was quiet, but even shouts would have had a hard time getting the attention of Caterina. She stared at her screens intently, picking at something that felt like a memory but wasn't one. She knew what this pattern was... but she didn't. Just like she knew what a Stargate even... yeah.

And then it hit her.

"Duh! Oh no duh! I can be so silly sometimes!"

Her outburst drew the attention of the others. Caterina noticed them and swallowed. "I thought I'd seen this before, but I hadn't! It was in my head but not because I'd seen it before..."

"Cat, little sister... what?"

"The brainwave infusions!", Cat squealed. "The Darglan data I learned was from that, but because it wasn't learned naturally I couldn't remember..."

"You know what that distortion is?", Jarod asked.

"Yes! It's the subspace ripple from a ship in hyperspace. In very deep hyperspace, a deep enough band that they're probably going a hundred times faster than warp drive. It'd propogate over long distances, but only in high bands at the furthest extents." Caterina's smile evaporated. "Crap. They're going that fast... they'll be here any minute!"

Robert's spine stiffened. Given what he'd learned from the landing party, he could think of only one spacefaring civilization that fit this situation. "Jarod, get me Leo and Julia, now."

Within seconds both appeared. "We've got a ship incoming," Robert said. "Caterina figured out it's a hyperspace wave."

Teal'c's face came into focus beside Julia's. "It may be a Goa'uld mothership. You could be in grave danger."

"We'll deal with it if we have to. I'm not leaving you behind."

"It's better if the Goa'uld don't know we're here," Julia pointed out. "Leo, can you begin working on Sha're from the St. Johns?"

Leo nodded. "It should have everything I need. I wasn't taking chances when I gave Nasri my instructions."

"Good. Rob, please, get the Aurora out of range. Launch the runabout and get out of here. We'll signal when it's safe."

"And if these things decide to just start glassing the planet?", Angel pointed out.

Teal'c's reply was immediate. "It is highly unlilkely any Goa'uld would simply destroy this planet. They may come intending to conquer it, but it is not their way to destroy a world without reason."

Robert put his hands together, fingers interlacing together as his hands formed a rough sphere. "I hope you're right, Teal'c. Everyone take cover and stay safe. We'll be monitoring from the far side of one of the moons." He pressed the intercom. "Commander Kane, change of plans..."

"Alright everyone, new orders!" Kane's voice boomed over the shuttle bay. He pointed to his Marines and the corpsmen with them, boxes in their arms containing the last of the medical supplies. "You're with me!"

"Sir?', asked a teal-skinned Dorei with a confused expression.

"We're going down there, Marine, to help Doctor Gillam and Commander Andreys in whatever manner they require." Kane waved them in, thanking himself for the foresight to have them suit up "just in case". The entire squad was in their light field power armor with desert camo turned on; the armor was a vacuum-capable suit that looked more like a conventional armor suit for a person, but with a power source within to maintain the various systems tied into the suit. Arms were limited to assault rifles and sidearms as well as Corporal Ijala's sniper rifle. Having it required the Alakin had to duck to slip into the runabout entry door. "Secure yourselves in the back, I'm heading up to see our pilot."

Kane rushed to the front of the St. Johns, where Lucy and Nasri were already secured in seats. "I'm bringing more Marines with me, Lieutenant. We've got to launch now."

"Captain Dale already warned me," Lucy answered. She tapped her controls and brought the engines online. Behind them the shuttle bay doors finished opening. "Hold on tight!"

Lucy didn't bother turning. She fired retro-thrusters and the runabout flew out backwards, barely missing one of the shuttles before emerging into space.

"I've got the ship on long range sensors!", Caterina called out. "We've got... thirty seconds!"

"We're not going to have time to get to the moons," Locarno warned Robert.

"Do you think we can hide on the other side of the planet?", Robert asked.

"If we shut down a lot of systems, anything that generates a subspace signature... yes," Jarod answered.

"Then get us there, Nick!"

"Aurora has that unknown ship coming out of hyperspace in twenty seconds!", Nasri shouted.

"No time for a proper landing then." Lucy took in a breath. "I hope my stew doesn't spill."

She operated the controls with a speed she'd rarely dared. The St. Johns shifted under her control and began plunging down into the planet. "We're going in too step!", Nasri complained.

"No choice, we've got to get to a naqia deposit or they'll have us on sensors!", Lucy shouted back, increasing their speed.

"You're crazy!", Nasri protested.

"My type of Goddamned crazy, Lieutenant!", Kane declared.

Lucy didn't reply. She focused entirely on the controls and her instruments. The latter were already insisting she decelerate or they'd crash, but she knew that she'd never make it in time if she had to do that.

Instead, she followed her instincts.

The people of Abydos could see the red streak of the St. Johns descending through the sky. They stared in wonderment while some panicked. From the outside of the main tent, Daniel and Meridina watched it. "That wouldn't happen to be that medical ship, would it?", Daniel asked.

"It is." Meridina stared. And, for a moment, she felt something... and it made her smile. Good. Listen to your feelings, she thought gently. Trust them.

Listen to your feelings. Trust them. The words were in Lucy's head, but she didn't remember thinking them. And then her attention was back on the screaming instruments, declaring her descent was too fast, her angle too steep, and that they were going to slam into the ground. An eye spotted the timer from the Aurora; eight seconds!

Something in her said It's time. Lucy fired the engines again, righting the St. Johns and decelerating it. G-forces leaked through the inertial dampeners and pulled against her and the others, the ship's systems shrieked in protest...

And then the ship shook under them, violently, as it slammed into the ground. Everyone was thrown against their harnesses. Lucy allowed the tremor to pass before letting out a primal scream of triumph. "Killing the systems now!" With several key presses she shut down the naqia reactor, the impulse drives, virtually everything, leaving only a microfusion core that would not show up against the ambient energy fields of the naqia deposits she'd landed above.

She hit the last key... and the timer reached zero.

Some were flocking toward the mines to see what had fallen there. Leo, Daniel, and Meridina were going as well, but that was because they knew what had come, and most importantly, they had Sha're with them, being helped along by Daniel and Meridina. In her condition she could not move quickly; it would take time for them to get that far.

"That pilot was insane." Daniel was still looking forward. "Another second..."

"I wonder if it was Nick," Leo said. "He's a daredevil of a pilot."

"It wasn't," Meridina said, smiling thinly. She'd felt Lucy Lucero, oh she had felt her, and aided her. It was brilliant piloting.

But another feeling came to Meridina. She looked upward and knew what was coming before the low roar came in the air. Eyes turned beyond the mines, in another direction; one that she had seen Teal'c, Julia, and Zachary take earlier. "What is that?", she asked quietly as the shape began to come down in the distance.

Daniel swallowed. "It's a Goa'uld ship," he said softly. "It's going to dock at the pyramid with the Stargate."

"May Swenya's Light be with the others," Meridina prayed softly.

Before they could move further, Sha're screamed and started to double over. "Sha're!" Daniel kneeled beside her. Leo got onto a knee and brought his multidevice up. A featureless figure, one Daniel knew to be Sha're's, appeared as a hologram over the device. "We've got to hurry," Leo said, his voice tense.

"What is wrong?", Sha're asked, worry on her face.

"You're going into labor," Leo answered. "The baby is coming."

They had almost gotten to the pyramid when the Goa'uld ship descended from the sky. "Now!", Julia called out. She reached down and hit her cloak. Zack and Teal'c did the same, all three wavering out of sight.

They found a short dune to kneel behind as they watched the ship land. A few minutes passed and armored figures came out, each carrying a staff in one hand. Armored helmets shifted into place on their heads, forming eagle-like shapes with glowing red eyes. "Horus guards," Teal'c murmured to the others.

"And that means?", Zack asked.

"These are not Apophis' forces. They belong to Heru'ur, another System Lord. He is one of Apophis' enemies."

Julia realized what this meant immediately. "He knows Apophis hid Sha're here. He's after her and the baby."

"That is most likely."

"We've got to warn them..."

"Be silent," Teal'c warned in a low voice. "Your devices are not perfect. We should return immediately. Stay low and do not let the wind push against you."

"Great. We just got here and now we're going back," Zack protested.

Julia's response was immediate. "Shhh!"

All was quiet on the Aurora bridge. "Any sign that they saw us?", Robert asked.

Jarod shook his head. "I doubt it. The problem is I can't be sure of where they went."

"Cat?"

"I can't tell you either," she replied.

"Getting a burst transmission from the landing party, audio only," Jarod said. "I'm putting it on."

"Aurora, this is Andreys." Julia's voice sounded hoarse, like it was more of a forced whisper than normal speech. "The vessel was Goa'uld and landed on the pyramid containing the Stargate. We're on our way back to the settlement now. We'll organize a defense there." The transmission cut.

"Can we answer back?"

"Not without alerting that ship that someone's out here."

Robert put his hands together again in a thoughtful, irritated gesture. Up here, there was nothing he could do.

Kane and his Marines had disembarked and set up a perimeter when Leo arrived with the others; Meridina and Daniel supporting Sha're. "Let her down!", he shouted. "We're taking her in by stretcher! Commander!"

Kane didn't have to be told anything further. "Get the evac litter!" One of his corpsmen dragooned for the landing pulled out the retractable anti-grav litter from his pack. He set it up beside Sha're.

As she was put on it by Daniel and the corpsman, Leo stomped into the runabout's door and went straight for the medical module. "Get the emergency incubation chamber ready, she's in labor!"

Nasri stepped into the module, leading the nursing team in starting preparations. "How long?"

"Not long. I think the parasite may be influencing it."

Daniel was right behind the litter as the Marines brought Sha're in. She screamed once more and looked to Daniel, who took her hand as soon as she was transferred to the main bed. With a press of a button Leo caused the bed to shift until it was set up for the task at hand. "Okay, we're almost ready." Leo looked to the door. "Meridina!"

She came in, Kane behind her. "Commander?"

"I'm going to need you to be here with me," he said.

Meridina thought for a second. "You fear the parasite will do something when the birth is complete?"

"I know it will," Leo replied. "I'll need you here to combat it."

"I'd rather have you doing your swevyra magic stuff in a fight," Kane said. "But we'll manage."

"Very well."

"Doctor Jackson." Leo looked over to where Daniel was holding Sha're's hand, trying to reassure her with his presence. "You can stay for the birth, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave when it's done. This is going to be a delicate surgery."

"I understand," Daniel answered. He looked back to Sha're and began murmuring to her. He had a supportive smile as he spoke in the Abydonian dialect of ancient Egyptian.

"Everyone else, out."

Kane and Lucy, who had come to see what was going on, filed out of the module.

"Why is the baby coming so quickly?!", Sha're shouted.

"The Goa'uld is causing it somehow," Leo answered. "It's the most likely explanation. It could still be a couple of hours, though... I need you to rest as much as you can and let me know how far apart the contractions are. I have preparations to make."

Zack was ready to sit down when they got back to the settlement. Julia was clearly hiding how fatigued she'd gotten, while Teal'c seemed barely fazed. Commander Kane and Lucy were waiting them with other Marines. "What's our status?", Julia asked.

"We landed the St. Johns at the other end of the settlement, near one of the naqia mines." Kane motioned to his men. "I'm ready to establish a perimeter around the settlement."

"If you resist Heru'ur will destroy this village," warned Teal'c.

"And if we don't do something they'll attack the runabout to get Sha're." Julia found an empty bench and sat. "Could we attack them out in the desert?"

"Not as many chances for cover," Kane pointed out.

"But nobody gets hurt by being caught in the middle," Lucy added.

Zack looked up. "What if we lure them into a trap?"

That brought attention. Kane was the first to ask, "What do you mean, Commander?"

"I go out, a couple of people with me, and we get their attention." Zack grabbed a stick of firewood meant for the nearby cookpot and jabbed it into the ground. He created an X and an O. He pointed to the latter. "They're here. They see us, they chase." He drew a line from the X to about a foot away. There he drew more Xs in a circle. "Then we ambush."

"Ijala can set up on a high dune, give us sniper cover for the ambush." Kane smirked and nodded. "Good plan."

Teal'c nodded as well. "Indeed."

Leo was busy checking his tools while Nasri helped Sha're with a light pain reducer. "I'm afraid we can't give you more," she said. "It could harm the child."

"I understand."

Nasri stepped back up toward Leo. In a soft voice she asked, "Are you sure about this, Doctor? Her body will already be weak from giving birth. The surgery we're talking about doing..."

"I know," he answered. "But every minute that thing is inside her, it can do a lot of damage if it knows we're going to take it out. We're going to have a very limited window." Leo stopped for a moment and stared at the screen. "I promised I'd save her, Nasri." He looked directly at her. His brown eyes focused on her's and she could see how determined he was, more than she usually saw. "This thing has violated her in a way that I've never seen done to a person before. I can't let it continue."

"Does she know the risks, Doctor?", Nasri asked. "Her chances of dying are high enough."

"I won't let it happen," Leo insisted. "You can trust me on that."

"It's not about trust. It's..." Nasri looked into his expression and sighed. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm just concerned."

"That's fine. It's part of the job." Leo turned back to the screen. "Check her contractions again. I don't like how quickly they're picking up. At this rate she'll give birth at any time."

Julia, Zack, and Lucy remained on their knees behind a sand dune as the approaching line of armored figures drew closer. "Okay, we need to get their attention," Julia whispered to the others. "Anyone have any..."

"Hold that thought." Zack stood up and brought his pulse pistol up. One of the enemy troops turned his head enough to notice Zack. He let out a cry of warning before Zack's pistol fired. Blue bursts came from the muzzle and slammed into the armored man.

"Zack, I meant an actual plan!", Julia shouted, standing up and firing as well. Another of the Jaffa fell.

Zack narrowed his eyes at the armored humanoids as they lined up and leveled their sticks. "I wonder what those big stick things are for," he muttered.

One amongst them pointed to the landing party and shouted something in an alien language, but the distance made it hard to understand the cry. Red energy erupted from the segmented tips of the staves, forcing them back into cover. They could feel the heat of the blasts as they slammed into the sand dune, sending up showers of sand.

"Well obviously they're for shooting at us!", Julia pointed out irritably.

"Hey, I got their attention," Zack pointed out. He fired a wild shot over the dune. "Time to run!"

The trio took off, rushing as fast as they could through the sands. "I'm starting to hate... deserts," Zack huffed.

"Shut up and run, idiot!", Lucy retorted.

Red energy bolts crashed to either side of them as some of the Jaffa tried to fire from the hip, on the run. Lucy reached over and yanked Julia toward her. Both stumbled slightly and lost speed, but evaded the energy bolt that slammed into the sand ahead of them and that would have clearly hit Julia. "Thanks!", she said. "How...?"

"Woman's intuition."

"That is such a stupid answer," Julia laughed. It felt funny laughing in this situation, but she couldn't help but do so; she attributed it to the adrenaline pumping through her.

The ambush point chosen was where three sand dunes provided three points of fire while, half a mile away, a taller sand dune provided a position for the Alakin sniper in Kane's unit. They began charging up the far dune, still exposed as they did so. Julia tripped in the sand and fell to her knees as a bolt went over her head. "Dammit," she cried out, feeling pain shoot up from her left ankle.

"C'mon!" Zack reached down and picked her up. "You okay?"

"Twisted my ankle," she answered.

A bolt of red energy shot over their heads. Lucy's pistol fire went the other way, hitting the sand before one of them. They'd gotten to the most dangerous part; the dune was tall enough that the Jaffa could stop and get a moment to line up shots on them that they had no cover against. If the others weren't quick enough they were sitting ducks.

The Jaffa began to form a firing line, like from some Civil War documentary. "Any time!", Zack shouted into his multi-device. He looked back and saw the Jaffa bring up their firing staves to the barked order of their commander.

From out of nowhere a burst of orange light smashed into that lead Jaffa's forehead. He toppled lifeless into the sands. The other Jaffa hesitated for a moment, uncertain of where the shot came from...

Sand on every dune erupted as Kane and his Marines jumped up from ambush positions. Kane and Teal'c appeared just past Julia and Zack, assault rifle and zat raised and firing immediately. Blue energy rained down on the Jaffa from three angles while another blast of orange light went through the head of their oldest looking survivors. A few blasts came from the firing staves, but all were misses; the Jaffa were simply too disorganized to return fire effectively.

After the last one fell, Kane and Teal'c approached the three. "Looks like the plan worked." Kane spied Julia's injured foot. "Twisted ankle, Commander?"

"I'll live," she wheezed.

"Bet you miss your nice, quiet bridge post," Kane teased. "Corpsman!"

A Corpsman, a tanned young man with East Asian features, came from one of the other dunes. "Twisted ankle," he said. He brought up his arm and checked his M-dev. "Not a bad injury though, I can heal it here. Go ahead and sit down, Commander."

"Heru'ur will become suspicious when his Jaffa do not report in." Teal'c looked off toward the Goa'uld ship in the distance. "He will know if I am not his Prime, but I may be able to pass as one of the lesser warriors."

"Guess these Goa'uld aren't big on making sure they know their men," Kane remarked. "Get what you need and we'll fall back to the settlement."

"So far so good, I guess," Zack remarked.

Lucy nodded. "I hope the others are enjoying similar luck."

"Doctor, the contractions are long enough now!" Nasri looked up from the display even as Sha're cried out.

"Make sure everything is ready, we'll need to act as soon as she's given birth." Leo got into a chair at the end of the biobed. Leg braces gave Sha're something to rest her legs on. "When the contractions come, Sha're, you need to push with them, okay?"

She nodded and cried out again. Her face twisted into a rictus of exertion and agony through the entire contraction. Daniel held her hand tightly. "I'm here. It's going to be okay."

Sha're nodded and smiled at him. She looked back to Leo as another contraction began.

"Okay... I see the head!" Leo looked up at her and smiled. "You're doing great!" By the time the contraction ended he nodded. "You're almost there! The next one should do it!"

""Daniel... the demon," Sha're groaned. "It will come back now. I can feel it waking up."

"It's okay. I'm here for you." Daniel sat up and kissed her on the lips. "I'll always be here for you, okay? I promise."

"I'm scared, Daniel," she admitted. "I'm..." Her sentence was broken as another contraction began.

"Push... push!" Leo kept glancing under the sheet over her legs and back to Sha're. "You're doing great, Sha're! The baby's almost here! Almost..." Leo nodded to a nurse, who had the incubator ready.

Sha're looked at Daniel. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Here!" Leo reached down and there was the sound of a soft thwack, followed by an ear-piercing wail. When he brought his arms back up he had a screaming baby in his arms. "Congratulations, it's a boy."

Sha're sat up. Her eyes flashed with white light. "You will give me the child," she demanded, her tone becoming imperious, commanding... and with an unnatural bass timbre to it.

Leo looked up at her. "You and I have something to discuss." He handed the baby to Nasri. Daniel stood up moved closer to Leo's side. "What's the thing's name again?"

"Amaunet," Daniel answered.

"Obey me, slave," Amaunet growled. "Give me the child or suffer the wrath of my Pharoah."

Daniel noticed Leo's nostrils flare a little. "Oh, bad choice of words there," he said to Amaunet.

"You've got two choices, Amaunet," Leo said with a voice that sounded deceptively soft, especially given the intensity of his glare. "I recommend Choice One. You depart Sha're freely and without harming her. I'll put you in a container to sustain you until you can be returned to your kind."

"This host is mine." Amaunet caused Sha're's eyes to flash again. "I will never give her up."

"Then you take Choice Two," Leo retorted. "I'm going to cut you out, and so long as Sha're survives it I don't give a Goddamn if you do or not." He nodded to Meridina.

Meridina focused on Sha're and felt out directly with her mind. She could feel Sha're still inside, terrified and sad, and the uncertain but haughty thoughts of Amaunet.

"You defy your Gods, slave? You will pay for..." Suddenly Sha're's body tensed up. "What is... you cannot" She closed her eyes and took in a breath. "Daniel... something is holding the demon. What is..."

"Doctor..." Meridina's voice was forced. "This being is powerful. It's trying to slip from my control. And if I push harder I may harm Sha're. Please... hurry."

"I understand." Leo turned to Sha're. "It'll be over soon, Sha're," Leo promised. He pulled out a hypospray device and slipped a sedative cartridge in. He applied it directly to her carotid artery. "Sleep. Your body will need the rest."

She turned to her husband. A smile crossed her face as her eyes met his. "Dan...iel..." She slumped back onto the bed.

Leo put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "I'll take good care of her. But I need you out of the medical module."

"I understand," he answered, looking back at his wife and frowning. "Maybe... I'm not sure what would be worse, losing her here or having Amaunet take her back over."

"It's not going to happen, okay?" Leo ignored the look he was getting from Nasri. "I've got to clean up and get prepped for surgery. Nasri will show you a place to wait. You can watch the baby."

Daniel nodded, not taking his eyes off Sha're. "Okay." The look on his face betrayed his feelings; he felt hope but knew how easily it could slip away. He said nothing after accepting a nod from Leo and leaving the room ahead of Nasri.

Leo pulled off the gloves he'd been wearing to perform the childbirth and put them in a receptacle. He started to undo the surgical apron. "Finish getting her prepped while I finish this," he ordered his nurses.

The landing party and the Marines made it to the end of the settlement, each carrying a piece of Jaffa Horus Guard armor while Teal'c had also claimed one of the firing staves. At that time an unnaturally bass voice began to speak over the comm devices they had stolen. Teal'c brought one up and replied in the Goa'uld language. When the conversation was over he saw Julia looking toward him. "I told him that the unit was ambushed by Serpent Guards and that I am the only survivor of the battle. He is sending more Jaffa to join me."

"So we're back to square one," Zack grumbled. "And I don't feel like being bait again, if you don't mind."

"If we wipe this group out Heru'ur will have to know something is going on." Julia looked to Teal'c. "They know your voice now. You could keep up the charade of being the lone survivor."

"I will need to remain in the Horus helmet. The Jaffa will see me as a warrior of Apophis if they see my face." Teal'c indicated the golden snake insignia on his forehead. "As one of them I can try to direct their investigation."

"And what do the rest of us do?", Kane asked.

"Lucy, you take a couple of the Marines back to the St. Johns. If it comes down to it, we make a run for orbit and meeting with the Aurora." Julia looked to Kane next. "The rest of us will go back to that pyramid and see what we can do about that ship. Commander, your suits have cloaks, right?"

"These aren't full infiltrator models," Kane answered. "So we only have a few minutes of battery life."

"That will be enough. Come on everyone. We've going the roundabout way."

"Yay," Zack replied sarcastically.

With care Sha're's body had been shifted to be on her stomach, a necessity for what came next. The IVs were in place and the medical staff was in surgical gowns; Leo was approaching his moment of decision as he finished tying Sha're's curly hair to the sides of her head. "Holding fields ready," Nasri confirmed from her station. "Vitals are as strong as they'll get."

"Okay. Scalpel." Leo accepted the instrument form a nurse and used it to begin cutting away the flesh covering the Goa'uld's hiding place on the spinal column. He hated having to cut her physically, he would need direct access to the symbiote in case it woke up. When the cut was finished he pressed a key to bring up a holographic image of Sha're's upper spinal column and brain stem. The Goa'uld flashed red on it, its tendrils digging deep into her spine and the brain stem. "Activate the micro-transporters."

At Nasri's button press the system came on. Using the controls to manipulate the holo-display, Leo directed the tool into it and began moving it over the red. Energy thrummed through the systems and the red began disappearing. The tendrils of sensitive cells that the Goa'uld had woven into Sha're were literally cut up by a miniscule transporter beam, their matter being deposited in a pattern buffer for later retrieval or destruction.

"I'm picking up some activity from the Goa'uld," said the nurse at the other station. Leo recognized the void as Nurse Li, a Chinese woman from the FedStars. "I think it's starting to awaken."

"Put another dose of that sedative in," Leo ordered. "Twenty ccs." He continued to run the tool slowly over the red on the display.

The nurse nodded and prepared the appropriate dosage. She didn't blanch as she reached into Sha're's opened back and injected the substance directly into the Goa'uld symbiote wrapped onto the spine. Li looked back to the display. "Activity levels dropping. But not very far. I think the symbiote is adjusting. How high should the next dose be?"

"Keep it at 20ccs. I can't let that sedative get into Sha're's system," Leo said.

"What if we set up an IV?"

"No, it metabolizes too fast for that. Just be ready for another I'll just have to work faster."

In the cockpit of the runabout, Daniel was staring silently out at the looming night of Abydos, Sha're's baby quiet in the uncubator beside him. Lucy sat in the next chair over and retrieved a thermos from a compartment to the side. "Want some stew? It's authentic German sausage stew... of some kind. Our ship's lounge host and chef is German and cooks about everything to perfection."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not very hungry," Daniel responded.

Lucy shrugged. After she swallowed a spoonful of the stew she put the thermos down. "Leo is the most caring man I've ever known," she said. "Your wife is in good hands."

"The last time we tried to pull a symbiote out, it dug itself in deeply enough to survive and take full control," Daniel answered. "Kawalsky ended up getting killed."

"Leo's got the tools and the skill." Lucy put her hands together in front of her. "He brought me back to health. I... when this all began for us, when Robert and the others found that Darglan facility... I was a captive of a real bastard. He was exploiting Mexicans as slave labor and I tried to stop it. But he found me out. He took me prisoner and he left me locked and tied up in a room so his brat son could get his kicks hurting me. And then..." Lucy looked off out the window, with tears at the corners of her eyes. "...they came for me. One moment I'm in that damned torture chamber and the next I'm on a bed. And here is Leo looking down at me with such..." She sucked in a breath. "it was like looking into the eyes of an angel after being in the middle of Hell. And he took things and he made the pain go away and... it was all over."

Daniel listened quietly as she gave her story. Every moment he'd spent not worrying about Sha're he'd been considering the story given by Julia Andreys earlier in the day. It seems so impossible, at least when he didn't think of what he'd done (up to and including seeing an alternate timeline). "Between your experiences and mine, I'm not sure which are more impossible. So why do I feel like getting Sha're back is?"

"I guess that's the part of you that is afraid it won't turn out that way," Lucy murmured. "You don't want to get your hopes up."

"That sounds about right."

Teal'c watched quietly as Kasuf took another smack to the face. Heru'ur's men were not in a happy mood and there was nothing Teal'c could do to keep them from beating the village headman. Kasuf was enduring regardless out of undoubted parental devotion. "The warriors of Apophis took her," Kasuf insisted. "Many days ago."

"Where?!"

"I was not told."

The Jaffa struck him again in frustration. "Had she given birth yet?!"

"No... no she had not."

The Jaffa growled and looked away. He spoke into his communicator. "My Lord, the village headman says that Apophis has already reclaimed his queen."

"Are you sure?!"

"I have seen no sign of the woman or the child."

There was frustrated silence on the other end. "Return immediately. I..." There was a sound in the background that drew Heru'ur's attention.

Teal'c recognized it immediately; the Stargate was activating. He turned away from the others and whispered, "Someone is coming through the Stargate."

"Can you find out who they are?", Julia answered.

Teal'c looked back and listened. The Stargate finished activating and he could hear the familiar sound of the particle jet formed whenever a Stargate opened. Moments later was a demand for the newcomers to surrender.

"Uh... I think we might be on the wrong planet?", was the reply.

Teal'c's expression froze upon hearing it. "Colonel O'Neill," he murmured.

The pyramid was drawing closer, ever so closer, but Julia stopped when she heard Teal'c's faint remark. "Colonel who?", she asked.

There was a pause. A lengthy one. "I heard Colonel O'Neill's voice. He and Captain Carter must have come through the Gate. Heru'ur has them prisoner."

"Oh, that's all," Zack sighed. "So this just became a rescue mission. Guess we're back to the old business."

Julia shot him an irritated look. "Stay with the other Jaffa for now, Teal'c. We'll get in and help the others." Julia cut the signal. "Alright everyone, double time it!" She picked up the pace, almost breaking into a jog.

"Last time I volunteer for a landing party," Zack grumbled.

Leo removed another tendril of Amaunet from Sha're's spinal column and smiled thinly. "Vitals are still good?", he asked Nasri.

"The symbiote is showing signs of low-level activity again," Nurse Li warned.

"Dose it up again," Leo ordered. He went back to work, forcing himself not to rush. The last thing he needed was to miss a cell of this damned thing.

Lucy watched Daniel finish the soup she'd replicated for him and smiled at him. "Lucky woman to have a guy like you," she remarked.

"I don't think 'luck' is the best word to apply to our lives right now," Daniel reminded her.

"Yeah, poor choice of..." Lucy saw a green light come on her board and hit it. "Lucero here."

Julia was on the other end. "Lucy, how many people can you transport at once?"

"Uh... no more than four." Lucy frowned. "And I'll have to bring some systems back online, the naqia won't mask us effectively any more."

"By that time it won't matter. Get everything ready, we'll be calling you soon. Andreys out."

"Well, this is fun." Lucy keyed the ship intercom. "Leo, a fair warning, very soon I might be flying."

"Just make sure you don't knock me around. Brain surgery is hard enough as it is."

"I'll do my best, but no promises." Lucy hit a button to turn off the intercom. "So, Doctor, ever fly a spaceship before?"

"Uh... no, I can't say I have," Daniel answered. "Why?"

"Well, watch and learn. Because you're in my co-pilot seat."

There were Jaffa guards flanking the entrance to the pyramid, but only two. The landing party remained hidden behind one of the dunes overlooking the pyramid. "Any idea what's inside?", Julia asked Kane.

Kane's helmet lit up with displays. "Too much interference."

"Okay. Then we do this the fun way. Zack and I will go down and take the guards out under cloak. You can come in visible and cloak when you get into the light, just in case that ship has cameras."

"I'd think it'd have life sensors myself," Zack remarked.

"No sign of scans from them," one of the Marines reported.

"Doesn't rule out simple heat imaging though, given the sun is down." Kane looked at the entrance. "Are you sure about this? Ijala can make the shots."

"If you miss..." Julia seemed to consider it. "Okay, let us get into position first. We'll signal you."

"Agreed." Kane nodded to Ijala and held his rifle up. Julia and Zack wavered out of view as their cloaks activated. Footsteps, very light ones, appeared in the surface of the sand.

Kane used the eye-based controls of his HUD to bring up the data he'd need to help Ijala. He crawled up beside his sniper and read off numbers; distance, wind speeds, angle. On his display he could see their comm feed show him the rough positions of the two young command officers sneaking ahead. Kane was familiar with many grips about the youth and relative lack of military training that the Aurora command crew had; he'd come to see it as just a slight drawback, because even if they didn't have the formal training, they had good instincts, and you couldn't train to get those.

His helmet lit up with a go-signal from Commander Andreys. "First target, Ijala," Kane murmured.

The Alakin made a soft chirp in reply and pulled the trigger. A quick orange pulse erupted from his rifle. The blast went through the eagle-head helmet on one of the guards and he fell instantly.

Ijala was bringing up his rifle for a second shot. Before he could, a blue light flashed behind the remaining Jaffa. It fell from a short range pistol shot to the back of the head. Through his HUD Kane saw Julia put her pistol back in its holster. "Alright everyone, cloaks on, timing will be tight."

Zack ignored the fatigue in, well, every part of his body. He tried to focus instead as they entered the central chamber of the pyramid. It was dominated by a big metal ring with red lights on it; ahead of the ring was a squad device with buttons and a big red sphere in the middle.

And beside this device he saw the origin of the cries of agony filling the room. A bald guy in a suit of chain mail was standing over two figures on their knees. His hand was stretched out over the forehead of a blond-haired woman, the figure beside her already looking down and breathing hard. Golden light reached out from the device on the bald man's hand and bathed the head of the woman and, given her cries, it was clearly not enjoyable. At least ten more Jaffa were arround the chamber on top of the two flanking the bald guy.

Remembering what Teal'c had said about how he revealed his position before, Zack moved slowly and quietly, taking care to shift weight to his feet carefully to limit sound. He carefully pulled his pulse pistol out of the holster. That looks like hell he thought, watching the bald guy - the guy in charge, clearly - torment his prisoners. "What do the Tau'ri have to do with Apophis' Queen?", the man demanded with a voice that sounded unnaturally deep.

"I have absolutely no clue what you're grumbling about," the man responded. Zack could see his hair was mostly wolf gray now, although he looked pretty spry for a guy of his age. Okay, so that must be Colonel O'Neill. And the woman is Captain Carter. "But hey, we hate Apophis too, so if you want to work together..."

The bald guy laughed. "When I am finished with Apophis, I will come for your planet and you will all be my slaves."

Julia moved opposite Zack toward a pair of Jaffa with their blaster staves held upright. They were both in position now.

"Oh, come on... we're really not that bad. You haven't seen TV yet, have..." The gold light covered O'Neill's head, making him gasp. When it ended, he sucked in a breath. "You're still carrying a grudge over Cimmeria, aren't you?"

As Kane, under cloak, entered the door, one of the Jaffa Julia was beside moved slightly. It was enough to show he'd sensed something. He raised his staff toward the entrance as another Marine entered the room.

Julia struck first, grabbing the staff and pulling it from the surprised Jaffa's hands before he could grasp it more tightly. She brought the butt end up and smashed it into the belly of the other Jaffa, causing him to double over. She twirled it around and sent the head of it into the first Jaffa's helmet, sending him down, and in the same motion brought the staff back around to smash the butt into the head of the remaining Jaffa.

Taking her cue, Zack brought his pistol up and unloaded it on the two Jaffa nearest to him. Beside him Kane raised his rifle and let loose with a burst that claimed another Jaffa. He had to take cover as two staff blasts converged on him.

The two Marines who'd come through the entrance opened fire now, claiming the two bodyguards of the bald guy. Their shots were absorbed by a yellow energy field that shimmered around, well, Zack was calling him "Baldy" in his head now.

In the chaos the two prisoners rolled away, going for a pair of assault rifles discarded near the iron ring.

"I do not know who you are," the bald guy growled, "but know that on this day you face Heru'ur, your God."

Zack peeked out of his corner. "I dunno, I always saw God as this big tall guy with a beard. Your beard's way too short." He dodged a staff blast behind cover. "And brown. Maybe you should settle for angel or something?"

"Zack!", Julia shouted in irritation. She'd charged another pair of Jaffa, getting in close enough that she was trading blows with them using the staff she'd taken. In close range neither dared shoot at her; she sidestepped one strike and slammed the butt of the stick into her attacker's knee with enough force to hurt it despite the armor. The Jaffa tumbled a bit, giving her an opening to do a quick jumping snap kick into the chest of the other. She used the staff to re-direct her weight and remain standing; the distance she'd kicked the Jaffa allowed one of the Marines enough clearance to shoot him.

Heru'ur snarled and let loose a blast from his hand device. Despite being mostly in cover the blast was enough to knock Zack and Kane back. "Woh, Baldy, seriously," Zack grumbled, picking himself up from the ground. "I'm trying to help here."

"Hey, Chrome Dome!"

Heru'ur turned from Zack and Kane. Bullets slammed into his forceshield repeatedly from the M5 in the hands of Colonel O'Neill. Seeing his gun was having no effect, O'Neill lowered it.

Heru'ur brought his hand up and pointed it to O'Neill. "You dare challenge me?", he guffawed, a mixture of amusement and irritation in his voice.

"Was thinking about it," O'Neill answered. He pulled a knife from his belt. In one motion he gripped the blade and brought it up. Within a second it was already flying forward.

The blade went right through Heru'ur's hand device. It sparked and the forcefield began to fail. Grimacing with pain and anger, Heru'ur reached for his hand. "You will pay for this insol..."

He stopped talking when Julia's fist connected with his jaw. The Goa'uld toppled over and found the stolen staff weapon pushing right up against his throat. "I'm not really sure how to fire these," Julia admitted, smirking. "Want me to try?"

Heru'ur's eyes flashed. "I will destroy you for this insult!" He hit something on his hand device.

There was a sound from above. Julia looked up to see a ciruclar hatch open. Rings appeared. a bright light almost blinded her, and rings started to move downward. Before they could land on her and imprison her with Heru'ur, she was tackled by Carter with enough force to push them both to safety. The rings finished surrounding Heru'ur, who disappeared in a flash of gold light.

Everyone stood still for a moment, taking account of the fallen Jaffa. "Well, that was completely unexpected," Colonel O'Neill said. He looked to where Zack was helping Carter and Julia get up. "So, you're not from around here either, are you?"

"Colonel O'Neill?" Julia brushed herself off. "I'm Commander Julia Andreys of the Starship Aurora."

O'Neill blinked. "Of course you are. Jack O'Neill, SG-1. This is Captain Samantha Carter. I'm guessing you've already met my buddies Teal'c and Doctor Jackson?"

"Yeah." Julia raised her right arm and activated her multi-device. "Lucy? It's time. Beam Teal'c first and then get us. And hurry."

"Commander Zachary Koenig, Starship Koenig," Zack said, extending a hand. "Call me Zack."

"Call me Jack," was the reply. The two shook hands. "So, 'Baldy' was the best you could do?"

"Hey hey, short notice. Besides, who are you to talk? 'Chrome Dome'?"

"His head is so very shiny," Jack insisted.

Julia glanced at Carter, who glanced back, each with an expression of patience for the "wit" of their male comrades. "Great. Two of them," Julia sighed.

She was answered by a nod. "Sam," Carter said, offering her hand.

The hand was accepted. "Julia."

Some of the Marines disappeared in pillars of white light. "Was that a transporter beam?", Sam asked, her curiosity coming across fairly strong. "Without rings?"

"Yes." Julia nodded to Kane, who gathered his three remaining Marines. They beamed out together. "And we're next. Make sure to find a chair when we get there, the ride is probably going to be bumpy."

From above they could hear the engines of Heru'ur's ship activating. "I hope you brought a big honking spaceship with you," Jack said.

The transporter whisked them away a moment later.

The calm of the Aurora's bridge broke when something lit up on Caterina's board. "I'm picking up a power source on the other side of the planet. It looks like that ship is bringing its systems to full."

"Lucy just signaled, they're preparing to lift off," Jarod added.

Finally. It felt good to be able to do something again. "Nick, take us around the planet," Robert ordered. "Code Red!"

Teal'c was standing in front of them when they materialized. Lucy was already turning in her seat at the front of the cockpit. "It is good to see you are well," he said to his comrades.

"I'm guessing we have a lot to talk..." Jack's eyes found Daniel sitting in one of the side chairs, his hand in the incubation unit containing the baby. "A baby. Where was I? Oh yeah, a lot to..."

"Everyone take a seat," Lucy shouted. She looked over briefly enough to see Julia take the side seat. "Handling operations?"

"Sure. Naqia reactor is online. Raising shields."

"Arming phasers," Zack said from the side console beside Lucy.

"This isn't exactly a big honking spaceship," Jack complained.

"What kind of ship is it?", Sam asked, securing herself in one of the passenger chairs as she did so.

"It's a runabout with a medical module aboard," Julia answered even as the ground beneath them shifted. "It's called the St. Johns."

"Runabout?"

"Bigger than a shuttle, smaller than normal starships," Zack clarified for Sam. "And they come in several delicious flavors."

Lucy's hands danced over her controls. The St. Johns turned upward and accelerated past 1G.

"You have inertial dampeners," Sam realized.

"They come in handy," Lucy noted. "Hold on!"

The runabout shuddered underneath them. "We've got contacts below us, coming on our rear," Zack confirmed. "Looks like fighters."

"Heru'ur has launched Death Gliders," Teal'c said.

"Well, don't you have any ray guns on this thing?", Jack asked.

"It's the equivalent of a medical helicopter, Colonel," Julia pointed out. "We've got the standard forward phaser bank, that's it. And they're behind us."

"And that big one is on us too." The runabout shifted heavily under Lucy's control, barely avoiding an energy bolt that flew by them. "You really pissed them off."

"It's really, really easy to do that," Jack said. "They've got fragile egoes."

Leo had to pull his tool away while clearing the Goa'uld from the brainstem. He reached to his wrist and hit his multidevice's comm. "Lucy! I can't do brain surgery if we're shaking like this!"

"You can't do brain surgery if we get blown up either!," Lucy retorted.

Meridina seemed to be the only one who kept her footing. But she looked at Leo with deep concern. "Doctor, the beast is..."

Li shouted, "Symbiote vitals spiking again. Doctor, it's waking up!"

"Dose it again dammit!"

"20cc dose is ineffective! If I go higher the dosage will get into Sha're's system!"

"We'll have to risk it," Leo replied.

Li nodded and got the dosage. As she moved to bring it to the bed the St. Johns rocked hard under them. Li cried out and lost her footing, causing her to fall. She started to get back to her feet.

"It's awake!", Meridina shouted. She closed her eyes and focused. "I'm restraining it, but..."

Leo looked up and saw Meridina had been too late. Red light was starting to flow into Sha're's bloodstream. The holodisplay flashed a warning: TOXIN DETECTED. "Oh hell."

"Have you raised the Aurora?", Lucy asked, dodging another shot from the larger ship.

"I'm getting interference, I think they're jamming," Julia answered. She looked up at the cockpit as they broke orbit. Another light hit knocked them about. "Shields down to seventy percent."

"I'm running evasives as best as I can," Lucy insisted.

The ship shuddered again. "Shields down to sixty-five percent." Julia tapped several keys. "Maybe if we bring the warp drive online?"

Lucy noticed a light on her board and tapped it. "Hey, I could do with some help right about..." Lucy smiled suddenly.

"This is Commander Laurent. We have you on screens, St. Johns. We'll clear your six."

A squadron of Mongoose fighters appeared on her screens. The fighters twisted in space and raced to meet up with the runabout, firing as they did. Phaser beams slashed across the distance and sliced into the Death Gliders pursuing the St. Johns. "Laurent's got those fighters running!", Zack laughed. "Oh yeah!"

Jack leaned forward in his seat. "So... the Aurora... big honking spaceship?"

"See for yourself, Colonel," Julia answered with a smile.

He looked up and his jaw dropped. "Yeah... that'll do."

Ahead of them, the Starship Aurora was looming, her port side showing.

"Enemy fighters are withdrawing," Jarod reported. "Goa'uld vessel coming up."

"St. Johns, land as quickly as you can," Robert said into the open comm. "Angel?"

"Locking on Goa'uld ship now," she said.

"They're firing," Jarod warned.

The entire bridge shook under them. "Report."

"Shields down to ninety-three percent," Jarod answered.

"Looking over their power profile... they're naqia powered too," Caterina warned.

"Angel, fire!"

The port phaser cannons and emplacements of the Aurora opened up. Bursts and beams of amber light stabbed out and met yellow energy fields around the pyramid shaped vessel. "Their shields are still functional," Angel said. "Firing again!"

"And so are they!"

The ship shuddered again as white tear-dropped shape blasts criss-crossed with the amber fury of the Aurora's phasers. "Shields down to eighty percent," Jarod warned.

"C'mon Lucy..." After muttering that Robert said, "The moment she lands, bring us about and present the bow!"

"Yes sir!", Locarno answered.

The Aurora loomed closer, but it didn't stay steady on the screen. Lucy was raising and lowering the runabout relative to the larger vessel to avoid the fire on both ends. She slipped by the ramscoop of the upper port nacelle and twisted the St. Johns hard. Ahead of them the shuttle bay opened and she fired the engines. She went in faster than she'd ever tried, focusing herself on the bay. At the last possible moment she hit the retro-drives and cut the impulse engines. Everyone was forced to lean forward as deceleration seeped through the inertial dampener fields, after which the runabout bucked under them as it slammed into the bay floor. Sparks flew from the bottom of the St. Johns as it skidded across the deck. It finally came to a halt four meters from the far wall, leaving a long skidmark behind it.

"We're landed!", Lucy crowed.

"Awesome flying," Zack said, patting her on the shoulder.

Jarod shouted, "St. Johns is secured!"

"Bring the bow over!"

Robert's order was answered immediately, even as the ship shuddered underneath them from another hit. Locarno fired the ship's maneuvering thrusters and impulse drives to turn the Aurora as tightly as they could. "Shifting power to bow shields," Barnes said from the Engineering station. "Shield integrity hovering at sixty-one percent."

"Targeting... I've got lock!"

"Fire!"

Angel's fingers stabbed on the firing controls. Amber energy lashed out again, joined by the immense blue energy bursts from the bow pulse plasma cannons. Torpedoes erupted from the bow launchers and raced across the distance. The firepower slammed the Goa'uld ship hard enough that its shields flickered, allowing multiple torpedoes to crash into its hull.

"My Lord, our shields are losing coherence!" A Jaffa looked up above the sparking bridge displays and toward his master. Heru'ur was snarling in frustration. "Those weapons... my lord..."

"What?!" Heru'ur stood up and looked at the display showing the sensors' estimation of the enemy's weapons.

What he saw made his blood cold. His eyes widened in disbelief and rage. "That is not possible. They would never share..." Heru'ur angrily turned to his helmsman. "We must withdraw! Now!"

"Shields at fifty percent," Jarod said after another barrage. On the screen more shots were exchanged as the bow weapons of the Aurora pummeled the Goa'uld ship again. "Wait, I'm getting a power spike. It's big."

Ahead of the Goa'uld ship a blue "window" opened in space. The pyramid vessel went right into it and disappeared, the window closing behind it.

"Oh wow," Caterina said. "That was a hyperspace window! We've gotta get one of those drives!"

"Secure from Code Red," Robert said. "Get me all readings on that ship to send to Admiral Maran." He pressed the intercom button. "Dale to Andreys. How was it down there."

"Hot and nasty," was the reply. "And Rob... I've got some people for you to meet."

"First things first. How is the surgery going?"

There was silence. "Uh... I don't think it's going very well."

"Jarod, get another medical team to the runabout, now."

"Doctor, her vitals are dropping! EEG decreasing!"

"It's that damn toxin," Leo growled as he finished operating the control beside him. "I've got fields up to contain the toxin to where it's spread. I'm almost done removing the Goa'uld from her."

Nasri frowned. "But what about the stop to her internal blood flow? Won't that..."

"One thing at a time, Nasri. This thing is metabolizing the sedative fast and Meridina can't restrain it very long, if it's not out it'll just pump in more poison." Leo brought his tool back and got back to work. He'd completely pulled the Goa'uld from the spine and had just a few connections to the brain left. But this was the most delicate work; if he wasn't careful he'd leave the alien matter inside her. Every speck of the Goa'uld had to be pulled out. His jaw clenched as he kept working on the task at hand. One tendril disappeared... and another...

A shrill beep filled the air. "EEGs crashing!", Nasri shouted. "Her brain is shutting down."

"Put the shunt in, push 20ccs of oxylin and begin cycling blood."

As Li and another nurse did so, Nasri continued to monitor Sha're's condition. "EEG activity still unresponsive! Doctor, we need to start cortical stimulation!"

"Not yet!" Leo finished another tendril.

"Doctor, we're going to lose her!"

"If you use the stimulator it might wake the Goa'uld up!", Leo retorted. "Then we will lose her!" He never took his focus off the display. One last tendril showed. He started work on it.

"EEGs still unresponsive!", Nasri shouted. "She's going to be brain-dead!"

Leo sucked in a breath and forced the tool across the last link of red on the hologram. You promised her, Leo. You promised. Sweat moved into his eyes. He didn't have to call before the nurse behind him ran a sponge over his forehead. He only had seconds left, seconds...

The last bit of red disappeared.

"Get that thing out of her!", he shouted.

Meridina's hand came up. Amaunet lifted right out of the opened cavity, severed pieces hanging limply from the snake-like thing. She restrained her tremendous disgust at the being in her grip lest she crush it or otherwise do something dark, something against the code by which she lived. With her swevyra Meridina brought the creature over to the recepticle that had been set aside from it and let it plop into the nutrient fluid that would keep it alive.

Even as she did this, Leo was shouting. "Cortical stimulators, now! Nurse, power surgical dermal regenerator!" The nurse behind him pressed a button. Leo reached to the controls and used them to run the resulting blue beam over the incision on Sha're's head, neck, and upper back.

"Setting to Negative 70 Positive 30, sodium and potassium channels set!" Nasri pressed a key. 'Charging..." There was a blip on her monitor. "No response."

"Again!", Leo barked, finishing the sealing of the surgical incision. "Turn her!" He reached under Sha're and, with the help of Li and two other nurses, flipped her onto her back. He went back to his controls. "Containment fields for the toxin still holding. I'm screening it now!"

"Charging... no response!"

God dammit, no, Leo thought. He thought his heart would quit. "Get the support activated. Ready stasis field!"

"Stasis?!" Nasri looked up. "Doctor..."

"Not here Nasri!," Leo shouted angrily. "Not here!"

Remembering herself, Nasri nodded and looked back to her instrument. "Charging..."

Leo sucked in a breath and watched the last of the toxin get screened out. This let him return full blood flow to Sha're's brain... but was he too late? "Dear God, please...", he pleaded, looking at the bio readings and seeing her brain was still shut down.

"Still no effect," Nasri sighed. "Charging... Doctor, if she doesn't come back in the next few attempts..."

"I know!" Leo leaned over her. "Sha're, please... I did it. All you have to do is come back, you're free. Please..."

"No effect!"

"You have a beautiful baby, you have Daniel... you have a life again, if you'd just..." Leo clenched his fists. He should have known. Oh God damn his arrogance, he should have known.

"Charging..."

"God, I'm sorry," Leo prayed softly. "I'm sorry for presuming. Don't punish her for it... please don't..."

"Still nothing! Doctor..."

'Again!"

"Doctor, if she's not back yet, she's not..."

"Again!," Leo roared.

SG-1 remained in the cockpit of the St. Johns with Julia and Zack, all waiting for news of the surgery. Finally, after the runabout had long landed, Leo stumbled out of the medical module and to the front of the ship. He found the last vacant seat, one near Daniel, and almost fell into it. His face was full of sweat and he looked completely spent. His eyes were almost closed.

Daniel looked at him. Tears formed in his eyes and he absentmindedly stroked the baby's hairless head. "You did your best," he said, half choking. He looked to be on the verge of breaking down. "At least... at least she's free."

"Yeah." Leo drew in a breath and looked up. His eyes came up and he looked straight at Daniel.

"She's alive," he said.

Daniel stopped in what sounded like mid-sob. His eyes widened. Everyone else watched intently. "Sha're's... okay?"

"I won't lie. It was... it was too close," Leo sighed. "The symbiote tried to poison her. I isolated it, but I had to block bloodflow to her brain until I could get the toxin screened out. She was brain-dead for about as long as someone can be and still come back. Brain damage appears negligible - the oxylin kept most of the cells from outright dying - and she is completely clear of the slightest trace of Goa'uld cells."

Daniel nodded softly. "I..." The tears in his eyes began to flow. "Doctor Gillam, thank you."

"No." Leo shook his head. "I did something horrible. I wasn't honest with you about how close it could get. I should have never made that promise... funny thing is that I was so mad about the harm the Goa'uld was causing you two that I forgot about the harm I could cause."

Julia looked at him intently. She said nothing, though.

"You're forgiven," Daniel said. "Can... can I see her?"

"In a little bit. We're stabilizing her so I can have her transferred to the medbay for post-op care." Leo put a hand on his forehead. "She should be fine now."

"So... you got that thing out of her?", Jack asked. "Fully out? Because we've seen them get sneaky..."

"Our scanners confirmed it. Not one Goa'uld cell."

Jack nodded and looked over at Daniel. He put a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "I'm happy for you, Daniel. We all are."

Hugs were given to Daniel and to Leo, save from Teal'c. He stayed in his corner, a slight smile on his face. When Leo finally stood he went over to him. "Thank you, Doctor. You kept your promise and you undid the damage I caused," Teal'c said in a low voice.

"Oh?"

"I was Apophis' First Prime when he took Sha're," Teal'c explained. "I bear responsibility for what we done to her."

"And you're making it right," Leo assured him. He offered his hand. "Thank you for that."

They shook hands.

There was a chirp on Julia's multidevice. She brought her right arm up and pressed the device's receive key. "Andreys here."

Robert was on the other end. "Sensors are picking up an energy surge from the pyramid. Cat figures it's the Stargate activating. And the life signs are saying Jaffa and Goa'uld."

"Apophis has come for Amaunet," Teal'c announced. "He will destroy the village trying to find her."

"Well..." Julia smiled viciously. "Let's give him what he wants."

After giving a short time for his Queen to arrive, Apophis lost his patience and left the pyramid with his bodyguards. They emerged from the central portal and came to a stop beyond it, in the middle of two Horus Guard bodies. "You," Apophis hissed.

"Missed you too, buddy." Jack smiled. The rest of SG-1 stood around him. Robert was standing with Julia and Zack to their left, all in normal Alliance uniform.

Apophis narrowed his eyes and snarled. "I have come for my Queen and our child. Return them."

"Sure, at least when it coms to the Queen." Robert smirked and looked to Jack. "You want to do the honors, Colonel?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I'd say that Daniel should be the one."

Daniel was not smiling like the others. His eyes were locked to Apophis with an intensity that could have melted the System Lord on the spot if it turned to heat. He reached down behind SG-1 and lifted a container. He took a few steps forward and threw it underhanded toward Apophis. "You want Amaunet. Here she is."

Apophis' eyes followed the container. The middle was transparent, allowing all to see the mutilated Goa'uld symbiote moving weakly in the teal-colored fluid that surrounded it. There was a harsh intake of breath.

"Sha're is free of you," Daniel continued, his voice full of anger. "And we're keeping the child you forced her to carry. You will never hurt her again."

When Apophis lifted his head again his eyes flashed. "You dare?", he said, his voice hoarse with rage. "I will destroy you for this."

"Wow, they're right about you Goa'uld types," Julia muttered. "You really are full of yourselves."

"Jaffa!" Apophis' command prompted his bodyguards to lift their blasting staves.

On the dune looking down at the pyramid opening, two dozen figures shimmered into view. Commander Kane and his Marines leveled their assault rifles and turned on their aiming lasers. Red dots covered Apophis and his Jaffa. "Make one move against us and you get gunned down," Robert said.

Apophis glared hate at him. "And what are you? You cannot be of the Tau'ri."

"Captain Robert Dale, Starship Aurora, United Alliance of Systems. My friends Commander Julia Andreys and Commander Zack Carrey." Robert smiled thinly. "We're not from your universe. In fact, your kind look to be a pest limited to this one, and we'd be happy to deal with the problem if you make us. I'm offering you a chance now, Apophis. Stay away."

"You do not command me! I am a God!"

"Nope, can't be, no beard," Zack joked drolly.

Robert chuckled softly. "I've got a platoon of Marines that say otherwise," he informed Apophis candidly. "Now, as I was saying... stay away from the planets in this part of the galaxy or the next time it'll be you that we tear out of a host." Robert reached for his multi-device. "Dale to Aurora, we're done here. Beam everyone up."

At that, every figure confronting Apophis was taken by white light. Looking down again at Amaunet in her container, Apophis screamed in impotent rage.

A number of figures were waiting when Sha're's eyes opened slightly. "Where am I?', she asked softly.

"You're on our ship," Leo answered her. He checked the biobed scanner screen. "It was very close, but you're going to be okay."

Sha're looked to everyone, but her eyes locked onto Daniel. "Daniel... the demon is gone!"

"I know," he answered.

They embraced and kissed.

Leo left the couple and their friends to talk and went for his office. He found Julia at the door. "Good job," she said. "If you ever make a stupid promise like that again, I'm going to hit you."

Leo flashed a weak smile. "I'll ask you to." He entered the office and took his seat. Julia remaining standing in front of his desk. "I was such an arrogant idiot. That surgery was always going to be risky, even without getting chased through the atmosphere." He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead. "I swore to 'do no harm', Julia. And I came close, so close, to doing terrible harm."

"Leo, I'm more worried about the harm you're going to do to yourself," she said. "One of these days you're going to get a case like this with no happy ending. I don't want it to destroy you."

He smiled weakly. "Thank you for that."

"I'm going to recruit Nasri to keeping you in line," Julia added. "Without stepping on your toes, of course."

"Of course," he agreed. Truth be told he wasn't happy with what she was saying, but from experience he knew Julia was... well, she was a big sister, maybe even a bit of a mom, when it came to worrying about the others. "Have you ever talked to a psychiatrist about these maternal impulses you feel toward the rest of us?", he asked aloud.

"Ha!" Julia shook her head, laughing. "Maternal my ass. I'm the First Officer, it's my job to keep you in line so you don't cause Rob headaches. He gets enough from being in charge."

"Sometimes I get the feeling he'd be happier if your roles were reversed," Leo remarked. "Can I do anything else for you, Commander?"

"No, I'm done." Julia went to the door. "Take care of yourself, Leo."

Meridina was assessing the daily reports made by Draynal during her time on Abydos when the chime to her office went off. She looked up and said, "Enter."

Lucy came through the door, wearing off-duty clothing - a blue blouse and white skirt - and carrying a pair of containers. "Hargert still had some of that sausage stew left," she explained. "You're okay with that?"

"I am," Meridina said, accepting one of the containers.

"You know, I don't think I've ever done something like that before," Lucy said as she sat down. "When I was bringing the St. Johns down... I... I had this feeling in my head. My instincts were against everything my instruments were saying."

"Instrument is accurate, but cannot account for outliers," Meridina remarked carefully. She kept her eyes on Lucy.

"Yeah, but... and it's like, there was this voice in my head. It was saying 'trust your feelings'." Lucy shook her head. "I did... and I'll be damned, but we walked away from what should have been a crash."

Meridina smiled and nodded. "You are an exemplary pilot."

"That was more than just piloting," Lucy insisted. "It was... it just didn't feel like I was just piloting. It felt different. I mean, is that how you feel? When you do that swevyra stuff?"

"Yes."

"Well, maybe I have something like that? I mean..."

"It is very possible, yes," Meridina said delicately. "There are many beings who have connections to the wider cosmos, they simply never learn how to use their swevyra. They access it subconsciously, in moments of great stress and danger."

"Well, I'd call that situation 'stress and danger'." Lucy smiled. "But I'll shut up now because this stew is awesome and I let the last bowl I had get too cold."

Meridina nodded and took her first bite of the stew. She's opening her mind to it, Meridina thought. It won't be long.

Tag

Ship's Log: 29 March 2641; ASV Aurora. Captain Robert Dale recording. We are preparing to leave orbit of Abydos. Doctor Gillam cleared Sha're to be taken out of the medbay and beamed down with SG-1, who are about to depart for Earth through the Stargate. My command crew and I will be going down to send them off.

It is my hope that the Alliance and Earth will open relations and that we can begin to aid Stargate Command in its efforts to gain protection for Earth against the Goa'uld.

"I will miss you, father." Sha're accepted the hug from her father, who bent over to embrace her in the anti-grav chair that Leo had insisted she take down. The baby remained asleep in her arms.

"You will always have your home here, Sha're," Kasuf assured her. He turned and faced Leo, who was standing beside Sha're. He had a necklace of sorts, with an Egyptian-like pictograph on both sides of the golden medalion. He pressed it into Leo's hands. "We made it for you, Healer. You saved my daughter from the demon and drove it out. We cannot reward you enough."

"I don't need a reward," Leo insisted, although he knew well enough to accept the medallion. He put it on and looked down at the pictographs. "What do they mean?"

"One names you a great healer," Daniel explained. "The other declares you have the power to ward off demons."

Leo nodded and bowed his head to Kasuf. "I'm thankful, sir. I have talked to other healers from my people, if you will accept us we will establish a clinic to help your people deal with sickness and disease."

"Your healers will be welcome, as will others of your people." Kasuf nodded to Robert. He looked at least to Daniel, who knelt before him respectfully. "Come, good son, stand. You kept your faith, I could ask for no better a son."

"Thank you, good father," Daniel answered. "I will continue to do my best to protect Sha're by serving with SG-1 and finding ways to defeat the demons."

"Forutne to you, good son. I know you will do whateveris necessary to take care of Sha're. And she will be there for you." Kasuf nodded one last time before looking to Robert. "Thank you for coming here. I fear what may have happened without you."

"Don't mention it."

After exchanging quick nods with Julia and Zack, Kasuf left. This left SG-1 and Sha're facing the Aurora crew. Leo stepped away to join the others while Sam went up to the DHD. "A shame we couldn';t have you take us home," Jack said. "I'd love to be riding that big honking spaceship of your's right into orbit."

"It'd be fun," Robert agreed. "But we have our orders. Expect a contact team to try and reach you through Abdyos within a few weeks. In the meantime..." Robert indicated the boxes laden onto an anti-grav cart that Teal'c had his hand on. "Some parting gifts."

"Ah yes. We finally get some ray guns." Jack's eyes twinkled with joy. "I've been looking forward to that. Hey Zack, if you ever get to Earth, the beer is on me."

Zack nodded and smiled. "Sure. That'll be cool."

"Good luck out there," Julia added.

The Stargate came to life. A jet of energy erupted like water from the event horizon before it settled. Caterina squealed in delight. "It's so cool! I wanna go through it!"

"Maybe next time," Angel said.

"Sending the IDC now," Sam said. She looked back toward the Aurora crew. "I wish I'd gotten more time to look over your ship. We're not even close to building a spaceship yet."

"We'll have to fix that," Julia said, smiling. She looked to Sha're and bent over to rub the sleeping baby's head. "I hope you have a wonderful life, little guy."

"Speaking of the little guy..." Jack coughed audibly. "Any ideas on a name?"

"Yes, I would like one to put on the birth certificate," Leo remarked.

"Oh, you have to ask?" Daniel and Sha're exchanged smiles. "'Leo', of course. Leonard, right?"

Leo laughed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, come on, what about me?" Jack shook his head. "Doesn't good ol' Uncle Jack get any consideration?"

Sha're laughed. "Daniel says it is common to give two names. He said Jack should be the second."

"Leonard Jack Jackson," Sam said. The smile on her face twisted to show partial bewilderment.

"Leonard Jonathan Jackson, actually," Daniel pointed out.

"Alright. Lil' Jack." Jack smiled widely. "I like it."

"I have a confirmation signal from General Hammond," Sam said. "He wants us back for an immediate debriefing."

"I imagine his exact words amounted to 'Where the Hell have you been?'?", Jack asked.

"Just about."

"Ah, well... guess it's time to get back." Jack stepped up and accepted Robert's outstretched hand. "Good luck out there, Captain Dale."

"The same to you, Colonel O'Neill."

"Don't be shy now," Jack added. "Visit any time."

SG-1 took turns shaking hands with the command crew of the Aurora. Daniel took the handles of Sha're's anti-grav chair and Teal'c returned to the cart, which he pushed up to the Stargate and then pushed through. The five turned back and gave a final wave before they went through the Stargate. After several seconds the event horizon dissipated.

"Well, that was the most interesting survey mission we've ever done," Robert remarked wryly. "Everyone ready?"

"I was ready the moment I got sand in my face again," Zack muttered.

There were chuckles at that. Robert brought his arm up and keyed his multidevice. "Dale to Aurora. Beam us up and break orbit. It's time to head out." White light covered them all a moment later.

Above Abydos, the Starship Aurora turned away from the desert planet. It moved through the light of Abydos' star, illuminating the ship's sleek azure form. Bright light surged in her four warp engine nacelles until they flashed, sending the Aurora and her crew on the way to their next adventure.