The mid-morning sun shone into the windows of the high-rises in the New York skyline. As was always the case on a weekday morning, the city was already busy as people went about their work. The rays of the sun shone into a particular window on one of the upper stories in a tower on the Southeast side. Within this window was a large and elaborate office, well furnished with the most expensive oak desk and shelves, as well as leather upholstered chairs and couches. Original paintings hung on the walls, as well as a large, flat screen TV. Several other expensive pieces of electronics were scattered about the room, here and there. A rug emblazoned with the corporate logo for Farrow-Marshall served as the centerpiece on the floor.

Baal sat upon a large, plush leather chair with his feet up on the desk. As he quietly watched the bustling city bathed in morning light outside of his window, he drank from a large cup of coffee that he held. He had acquired a taste for the drink since coming to Earth. It was easy for him to understand why the people of this world enjoyed it so; he now always had several cups of it each morning.

As the steam curled about him, he considered fortunes of late. A century ago, he would have never considered the idea that the events of the last ten years were even possible. Nevertheless, the Jaffa had rebelled, the Goa'uld had fallen, the other System Lords were no more. The Tau'ri were now set to stand as a galactic power in their own right, within several of their generations. In the meanwhile, however, the Jaffa would come into dominance, though they would doubtlessly have difficulty forging and maintaining their new nation. With so many different families and factions having warred against each other in the service of so many different "gods" for so long, Baal knew it would only be a matter of time before the initial euphoria of their newly won freedom would breakdown in the face of bitter jealousies and old hatreds. The matter would be a trivial one for him to fan those fires. Indeed, he even still had a small cadre of Jaffa loyal to him that he could use for such purposes.

As for the Tau'ri, he had time on his side. They were yet a nascent force in this galaxy. In spite of the triumphs they had achieved so far, even as instrumental as they were in the downfall of the empires of his kin, they were not yet positioned to exert real power in this galaxy. Besides, sitting as he was in the heart of their civilization, he was ideally positioned to wreak havoc upon their prospects. It was a chaotic time, he reflected with a grin. It was all the better for him, as one could always find opportunity in chaos. In spite of the recent decline in his fortunes, there was little doubt in his mind about the prospects for his future. It was indeed time for the rise of a new order in the galaxy.

Contented, he continued to sip his morning coffee, grinning as he contemplated what lay ahead. A few moments later, one of the two laptops on his desk chimed quietly. The one unit was a very typical, though expensive name-brand unit that was sold to corporations. The other to its right had the same shell as its twin, except that what was on the display looked nothing like anything anyone else on the planet would ever see on their screens, save for a select few.

Baal glanced over at that second unit, the hieroglyphic like symbols scrolling by silently as he read the incoming message. A wicked smile grew upon his face as he read the news, nodding silently to himself. Things were proceeding quite well, in spite of the minor set-back here and there. Opportunities were indeed plentiful these days. Nodding silently to himself, he looked back out the window as he watched the Tau'ri scurry about their little city, busying themselves about their ever so minor affairs.


The four humans and two Jaffa quietly made their way through the rest of the corridor, the lights from their six P-90 muzzles cutting through the darkness, revealing empty space before them. As they continued down the last lengths of corridor, the darkness slowly faded, the half-light from the room ahead making their flashlights almost unnecessary. Upon reaching the end of the corridor, they saw sunlight streaming in to the room before them, much to their mutual relief. Windows on the walls that allowed the light in were long and narrow, too much so for a person to enter, but they were just fine for bringing in the sun's beautiful rays.

The team made their way into the room, but found no evidence of any threat, only the bodies of those that died in the fighting before. As the sunlight banished the darkness, Vala breathed a deep sigh of relief and much of the tension visibly left her as she did. Walking beside her, Daniel turned upon hearing her and smiled at her. Glancing over to him, Vala briefly returned the smile, though they were both quickly distracted as the rest of the team converged upon the pile of corpses at the far end of the room.

Almost all were Jaffa, except for one. The man was wearing the same silvery armor that SG-1 had observed on the enemy forces that attacked the Gateroom on Dakara. "Well that settles it," Cam said flatly as they all looked at the lifeless body before them.

Rak'nel glanced at the corpse, furrowing his brow as he then looked to the others. "What do you mean?" he asked, clearly confused.

Teal'c looked at his fellow Jaffa and answered solemnly, "This warrior wears the same armor as those that just recently attacked Dakara. It was an assault of considerable force and planning. We were able to repel the invaders, though it was as much through sheer luck as it was skill or force of arms." Rak'nel nodded in stunned silence, absorbing the news of the attack on the Jaffa capitol with some difficulty. He looked as though he had more questions to ask, but chose not to.

"Alright, we'd best keep moving," Mitchell said as silence again settled over the six. "We're running out of daylight and there's two more buildings yet." He moved to the stairwell and shone his light inside. As he did, however, he hesitated as the rest came up behind him. "What is that?" he asked quietly as his light revealed a dried, green liquid splattered across the far wall. Another such stain could be seen sprayed across the wall on the right of the doorway.

Sam and Daniel quickly went through the doorway, shining their lights over the rest of the landing and the stairway down. There was only the flight of stairs going down on this stairwell, the other side of the landing ended in a blank wall. "Clear," Daniel said with Sam echoing him shortly thereafter. At that point, Daniel walked over to the wall with the green spray painted across it and studied it more closely.

"I have no idea what that is, but it looks like a blood stain," he commented thoughtfully, furrowing his brow as if trying to remember something. Slipping through the door, Vala came up beside him, also studying the stain.

Shaking her head, she commented quietly, "I've never seen anything with green blood like that, and I've seen quite a bit in this galaxy." She walked away looking perplexed as Sam and Teal'c took their respective turns. Sam shrugged her shoulders, though Teal'c lingered for a few moments, raising his eyebrow slightly. He momentarily shared a glance with Daniel, but neither said anything.

"What?" Mitchell asked, watching them share the look.

Glancing from Teal'c to the Cam, Daniel shook his head. "I'm not sure. It almost seems familiar, but I really can't place it." He frowned, a look of frustration crossing his face as Teal'c nodded.

"Indeed, I too feel as though I should remember something, but I cannot." The Jaffa said nothing more, though he glanced at the stains one last time.

"Well, we can't waste any more time on it here, we'd best move out," Mitchell said, though he had a bad feeling about the mysterious stains. "Teal'c, Vala, take the landing, Daniel, you and Sam clear the bottom of the stairwell. Rak'nel, I want you here guarding our rear with me."

Without another word, Teal'c and Vala darted down the stairs, the lights from their P-90s showing the way before them. As soon as they declared the landing safe, Daniel and Sam followed. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, it was Daniel that happened to move to the doorway as Sam cleared the space behind and under the stairs. He peaked out into the hallway, shining the light of his P-90 into the darkness. He heard Mitchell's voice in his ear bud ask, "What do you see?"

Pulling back into the stairwell, Daniel answered quietly, "A long, empty hallway with doors on each side."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Mitchell whispered into his microphone. "We're going to split up into threes and each go forward and clear each room in turn. Daniel, Vala, and Sam, you take the left side of the corridor. Teal'c, Rak'tan, and I will take the right." He watched Rak'tan as he spoke, determined to ensure that the Jaffa stayed with him. The Colonel wasn't entirely sure he trusted him yet, and he didn't want to risk anyone else on his team with this responsibility. Besides, there was no way he could discuss the matter openly, Teal'c would likely take offense.

As soon as he finished speaking, he and the rest of the team moved quietly down the rest of the stairs, collecting at the bottom into their smaller units. Mitchell nodded for the other three to go first, as there was a room on the left just in sight of the door to the stairwell. Sam, Daniel, and Vala darted across the hall, moving one after the other to secure the space. Daniel keyed in the code and Vala shone her light into the doorway after the portal silently glided open. Sam darted in afterwards, quickly followed by the other two. After several seconds, Sam's voice could be heard in everyone's ear buds. "All clear."

Sam and Daniel appeared in the doorway and waited as Cam lead the two Jaffa into the first room on the right. The three took the room in a very similar fashion. They too found nothing inside. The two teams continued down the corridor in this fashion, finding empty room after empty room. As Teal'c had described, these rooms were clinical in nature, designed for forcing Goa'uld queens into a breeding cycle. As such, they each had various, strange paraphernalia and a few large machines in them. They also all possessed a single tank like the ones above, except that these tanks were all closed and sealed, although they were all empty.

Upon reaching the last room, Daniel keyed in the code yet again and the door whisked open silently. Sam pointed her weapon through the open portal. Vala, in turn, darted in. As she ran halfway into the room, she came to a dead stop. She suddenly felt an old, familiar sensation that was now tightly coupled with a sickening knot in the pit of her stomach. Her blood ran cold as she remembered the last time she felt it. She paused, arguing with herself that she must be wrong; this wasn't what it felt like the last time. She thought she heard something, but then was distracted by Daniel's voice.

"The tank in this room is open and empty," Daniel reported into his headset with a tense whisper, worried about what that might mean. He slowly made his way into the room, looking at Vala with concern as he came to stand near to her, wondering why she hadn't made the announcement. There was no doubt that her beam of light had already revealed the same. He moved his light about to the far side of the room, searching for what else lay within.

Sam entered the room then, suddenly growing tense as she did, gripping her weapon tightly and shining the light about. She looked to Vala in the shadowy edges of their flashlights, asking tightly, "Do you sense it?" Daniel stopped his search at this, looking to Sam at her question.

Vala sucked in her breath as Sam's question confirmed what she had been afraid to accept. She knew that the other woman had been a host as well, though for a far shorter time. Her voice was tight with fear as she answered definitively, "Yes." Cold sweat ran down Vala's neck as she started to edge her way back towards the door, bumping into Daniel as she did. She startled herself at that, turning to look at him in surprise.

"Sense what?" Mitchell asked on their head sets with a frustrated voice as Daniel turned to look at Vala when she bumped him, shining his light in her direction as he did.

"Vala!" he cried out and suddenly lunged at her while they all heard something hiss. As Daniel knocked her off her feet, Vala felt a rush of air from something slimy flying past her head. She and Daniel hit the floor so hard that he almost knocked the wind out of her. At the same time, something was heard to smack wetly against the wall behind them and then land on the floor. Vala lost her grip on her weapon on impact with the floor and it went spinning across the room, its light flashing around but quickly disappearing as it settled in a corner. Vala panicked as she suddenly found herself in complete darkness, the two of them tangled up together on the floor. Daniel managed to sit up and shine the light of his weapon where the two sounds had come from on the other side of the room.

Vala sat up and looked but then screamed at the top of her lungs as she saw a fully mature Goa'uld coiling up, about to leap at her again. It's four red eyes glittered in the light as its slimy, wet, dark green skin glistened. The four pincer-like jaws opened wide as another spine-chilling hiss issued forth from it and it rushed forward, starting to leap. Suddenly Vala's ears were filled with the deafening roar of Daniel's weapon as its muzzle erupted in flame. The snake-like creature was immediately torn to shreds, its carcass sprayed across the floor as the archaeologist emptied his clip at the beast. The sounds of heavy foot falls from the hallway heralded Cam and Teal'c appearing at the door. They cast their lights into the room and found the two entangled on the floor. A small line of smoke curled from the muzzle of Daniel's empty weapon and a bewildered Sam only just getting her wits about her. Cam asked frantically, "What in the hell just happened in here?"

Vala blinked several times as she found herself momentarily blinded from the three beams of light now shining on her and Daniel. For the first few seconds, she found she could only stare in shock at the mutilated remains of the creature and draw in trembling breaths, her whole body shaking. She never even heard Colonel Mitchell, all she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. Suddenly something touched her and she cried out again and jumped, turning to see Daniel was reaching out to her. Still she could not register a coherent thought, and was only able to stare at him dumbly with wide eyes, the emotions welling up inside of her too powerful for her to handle.

"It's okay," he whispered gently. Slowly he reached out for her again, lightly touching her shoulder and leaning in closer. She started at this, but didn't pull back. "It's over now," he continued saying in a soothing voice, "it's dead." Vala found her next few breaths were as much sobs as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Her head felt like it would explode from the pressure. Daniel's eyes watched her with a tender and caring gaze as he then wrapped his arm about her shoulders and gently pulled her to him. It was almost like she wasn't in her own body as Vala suddenly felt herself start to weep, unable to keep back the tide of emotion any more. She found herself crawling into Daniel's arms and clinging to him for all she was worth. He wrapped her up in his arms as she buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

As Vala wept in Daniel's embrace, Cam walked over to Sam, the two of them looking at the Goa'uld corpse. It still sat in the light of Daniel's P-90, though he had laid the empty weapon upon the floor beside him as he looked to Vala. The Colonel asked Sam in a tense whisper, "I assume there are no more in here?"

Glancing over to him in the shadowy edges of their lights, Sam shook her head, looking slightly overcome herself, "No, that was the only one. As soon as it was killed, I stopped sensing the presence of a Goa'uld."

He drew in a deep breath and nodded, "Did you see what happened?"

Running her fingers through her hair, she replied, "It all went down so quickly." She paused for a moment before continuing, "As far as I can tell, Daniel saved Vala from that Goa'uld by knocking her down." She drew in a deep, shuddering breath as she remembered the complete chaos of it all. "When Vala's weapon went flying, it made everything all the more confusing. By the time I got a bead on where everyone was, I saw the Goa'uld in the light from Daniel's weapon. He had already cut it into pieces by the time I could bring my own weapon up." she added as they both watched Teal'c walked over to the remains. Kneeling down, he looked to study it more closely.

Cam nodded in silence before asking further, "Any idea why it picked her to try and implant itself?"

She shrugged in reply, "Probably because she was deepest in the room, she just happened to be the closest to it."

"Well, at least we know what happened to one of the queens," Cam muttered grimly.

Shaking his head in the light from Daniel's weapon, Teal'c replied, "This is not a Goa'uld queen, Colonel Mitchel."

"What? Are you sure? How can you tell?"" Cam asked incredulously, he and Sam walking over to look over the Jaffa's shoulder. Rak'nel, who had been standing in the doorway, also came over to examine the remains.

Making a motion with his finger over the whole of the mutilated corpse, Teal'c answered, "Goa'uld queens are considerably longer than regular symbiotes." He then pointed at a very specific location along the shredded length of the snakelike body. "In addition, even when they are not spawning, they have a small pouch located here that they then use for gestating their young when they start to spawn."

Cam regarded the mess before them, asking skeptically, "Are you sure Teal'c?" The large Jaffa looked up at him with a glare, raising an eyebrow. The Colonel quickly amended, "I mean, I believe what you're saying about the queens, but that corpse is pretty torn up. There's really not much left."

Rak'nel answered for his fellow Jaffa, "It is not possible for this to be a queen. All of the ones we housed here were elders. They were mostly gray, with very little green left." The four looked down at the mostly green skin splattered across the floor.

Teal'c nodded up at Rak'nel, "Indeed."

Cam and Sam shared troubled expressions. "Alright," he answered tensely, "if this critter didn't come from that open tank there, then where in the hell did it come from?"


It was another typical day in the SGC, as typical as they come, anyway. The clock on the wall read ten thirty, and Walter yawned as he glanced back from it to his console. He was having difficulty staying awake, so he busied himself with the daily routine to try and just make it through the day. Thankfully, it was proving to be a fairly quiet day, in spite of the auspicious beginnings. The morning's communication with the Beta site had revealed that SG-9 had found a set of rings on PX8-317, and was going to investigate. Upon hearing the news, Landry had sent SG-18 early to check up on them, but the team hadn't been able to find them or the ring platform after a couple of hours searching. The General had ordered them to continue the search and to check in after four hours.

Suddenly the Sergeant heard a cheery voice from behind him call out, "Hey Walter." Turning his chair, he did a double-take as he saw Martin Keegan walking up the stairs into the Gate control room.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, surprised. "You called in sick."

"Yeah, I know," he said, taking a seat next to Walter, starting to log into the console. "I started feeling better shortly after I called, and I felt really guilty for making you pull another double."

Walter regarded him thoughtfully, "Oh. Well, you certainly sound a lot better than you did on the phone."

He nodded, "Yeah, I took some decongestants and I'm feeling pretty good. So what's going on around here?" Walter filled him in on the events of the last twelve hours, while Keegan got himself situated. "Wow…sounds like it was pretty bad."

Nodding, Walter answered, "Yeah, I can't remember the last time it's been that crazy. You'll find that, though, once you've worked here long enough. Things can be quiet and repetitious for a while, then suddenly everything goes nuts." Keegan nodded as he proceeded to go about his work. Walter regarded him silently for a moment before asking, "So you're sure you're okay to be in here today?"

As he glanced back at Walter, he grinned. "I got in here okay, didn't I? Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." He did a few things on his console before asking, "So how long until SG-18 is due to check in?"

Still watching Keegan thoughtfully, Walter glanced back at the clock for a moment, answering, "about three hours or so."

Nodding, he replied, "Alright." After doing a few more things on his console while Walter prepared to go, he asked, "Hey…any idea what they've found?"

As he logged off, Walter looked back over to the other. "I have no idea." Standing, he walked out of the control room, yawning as he went. "See you tomorrow at shift change, Marty," he said as he walked past.

"See ya," Keegan replied, glancing to his right to watch him descend the stairs and leave. The Sergeant grinned to himself, then turned back to attend to his console.


It was some time before Vala started to settle down. In the meanwhile, the rest of SG-1 had made a thorough search of the room. They had found a pair of dead Jaffa and another warrior in the same armor as those that attacked Dakara. None of them said anything, but all had shared troubled glances at this.

As they searched, Daniel continued to comfort Vala, holding her close. Sometimes he'd whisper to her or stroke her hair but mostly he just held her in silence. After the rest of the team made sure the room was clear of any further threats, they quietly withdrew to the hallway to wait for the two, leaving Vala's weapon along side Daniel's as they went.

As her sobbing finally lessened, Vala slowly pulled away to look at Daniel, her tear-stained face heavily shadowed in the edge of the lights from their weapons. He still held her in his arms as he stared back at her in the half-light surrounding them; smiling tenderly as he gently brushed her cheeks, trying to dry them as best he could. She smiled at his efforts, turning her head to kiss his hand tenderly. Moving close to him again, she wrapped her arms about his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Drawing in a shuddering breath, she relaxed against him. "I am so sorry, Daniel," she whispered, nuzzling against his neck.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, he leaned his head in and pressed his lips against her cheek. "What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked gently, running his fingers through her hair tenderly.

She answered softly with a ragged sigh, "For falling apart like this…for burdening you with it."

Daniel hugged her tightly and then whispered in her ear, "Vala, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm glad to be here for you, I wouldn't have it any other way."

She smiled at this, hugging him tightly and pressing her lips to his neck tenderly. He held her all the closer as she did, saying nothing more as she continued to cling to him silently for some time. Without warning Vala suddenly whispered into his ear, "I was a host for ten years," answering a question that Daniel had asked her on the cargo ship while they talked. She had refused to answer then, growing silent and melancholy in response while avoiding his gaze. He hadn't pressed her for it of course. Rather, he changed the subject and she happily rejoined the conversation as if he hadn't even spoken of it. She had freely spoken of the five years following her liberation, and before she was taken, but she never once mentioned anything directly related to her ordeal.

"That's a very long time," he answered just as quietly, his voice full of sympathy as he realized it was exactly how long ago he had first been shown the Stargate. The idea of being a prisoner inside your own body for that long gave him chills.

She sighed raggedly again, nodding against him. "You have no idea," she began, "it was frightening enough when they took me from my village. I was eighteen, and it was the evening before I was to be married. We were having a feast in celebration when the Jaffa stormed in and took me. Everyone was screaming, they were hurting my friends and family…" she paused, before continuing. "After days as a prisoner, scared out of my wits, I was finally brought before Qetesh. I watched as she emerged from her last host and leapt at me." She drew in a shuddering breath, "I simply couldn't believe it when that...thing…came out of that other poor woman's mouth. I couldn't stop screaming…it was like something out of a nightmare, only I couldn't wake up." She paused, clinging to him even more tightly, sobbing again. He said nothing, but simply held her tightly, pressing his lips against her cheek.

After a few deep breaths, she was able to speak again. "Then the true nightmare began," she said, shivering. "For ten years I was forced to commit the most deplorable acts, Daniel. With my voice, she ordered the deaths of countless innocent people…with my hands she tortured and murdered, committing the most heinous of deeds. I can still see their faces as my own hands took the life from their eyes…and each time I was powerless to stop it…in my own body, I was helpless!" Her voice grew angry and frustrated. After pausing for a few moments, she then continued, her anger quickly dissolving into despondency. "I watched it all with my own eyes and heard it all with my own ears as if I had done every single thing…" her voice faded off again as her emotions overwhelmed her once more. Daniel squeezed her to him as he found tears rolling freely down his own cheeks. He felt a stabbing pain in his chest as he listened to her tale, listened to the grief in her voice. Seeing her in such anguish made him ache inside. He wished he could do more for her, though he knew deep down inside that just being here for her was all that could be asked for.

She wept for several more minutes, finding shelter and comfort in his embrace. After a while, her breathing relaxed again, and she whispered, "I thought I had managed to put it all behind me, I thought that I had managed to forget everything, but as soon as I saw that…creature, and it lunged at me, it was like it was happening all over again…everything came rushing back…"

Daniel kissed her cheek tenderly again and spoke to her with soothing, hushed tones, "Vala, I don't think anyone can ever completely be free of something like that." With his other hand, he ran his fingers through her hair, continuing more quietly, "but I'll always be there for you if you find the burden too great to bear again."

At his words, she pulled back just enough to look at him, her face full of emotion as her fresh tears mingled with the old. Upon seeing the stains of his own tears upon his face, her expression saddened even more as she reached up to caress his cheek, tracing the lines they left. "Daniel…" she whispered, her voice filled with remorse, "I'm sorry…"

Placing a finger over her lips, he looked deeply into her eyes. "Shush," he told her softly. "I told you, I wouldn't have it any other way." Sighing, she relaxed slightly and stared back into his eyes with adoration. She kissed his finger and he leaned in close enough so that their noses were touching, his hand moving to caress her cheek. "I'm happy to be here for you, I only wish I could do more..."

She stared deeply into his eyes as he spoke, finding the horrific memories evaporating like the morning fog and proving to be just as ephemeral in the warmth of his gaze. Before she even realized what she was doing, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes as she kissed him tenderly, eagerly. Surprised, Daniel hesitated for only a moment before he responded in kind, his lips brushing against hers as his eyes fell shut. He tasted the saltiness of tears, it was a sharp contrast with the sweetness of her kiss, though whose tears they were he couldn't tell. His hand stroked her cheek tenderly as his other arm pulled her tightly to him.

Vala sighed softly as she lost herself in the moment, forgetting where she was or what had happened before. She deepened the kiss, finding his lips parting willingly. Her hand upon his cheek wove its way into his hair, caressing him tenderly as their tongues entwined and danced slowly together. Daniel too found himself losing sense of all but the present, unable to think of anything but this beautiful woman in his arms and the intoxicating sweetness of her kiss. Her other hand reached up to cup his face, and he moaned softly against her lips, causing her to smile within their kiss as it went on and on.

Finally, Vala pulled away, sensing that Daniel wouldn't be the one to break the kiss. She rested her forehead against his, her breath coming quickly as she found herself suddenly dizzy. She kept her eyes shut as she held on to him as much for support as for wanting his nearness. "Are you alright?" he asked her tenderly, feeling her unsteadiness.

She nodded, answering breathlessly, "Yes." After a few more deep breaths she found herself regaining her sense of balance. Pulling back to look into his eyes, she hesitated before saying softly, "I never felt like I could share that with anyone before."

Smiling faintly, he nodded. "I understand. Given the scare you just experienced, it's natural to now find the need to tell someone about what you had gone through before."

Vala shook her head, the faintest of smiles teasing at the corner of her lips. "No," she said simply, leaning closer again as she looked deeply into his eyes, her fingers tenderly caressing his cheek.

Daniel furrowed his brow at this, looking confused. After a few moments of looking back into her intense stare, he finally blinked as stunned comprehension dawned upon his face. "Oh…" was all he could manage. Vala chuckled at this, smiling from ear to ear as she leaned in to kiss him again.


The other four were out in the hallway, waiting quietly for Daniel and Vala. Sam and Teal'c sat on either side of the doorway, while Cam sat opposite. Rak'nel stood next to Teal'c, his eyes closed as they waited. They had arranged their P-90s so that they provided a soft glow of light, allowing them to see one another.

From his vantage point, Cam was able to just barely see the two of them in the shadowy light of their weapons. While he wanted to afford them their privacy, he also was concerned about any more nasty surprises. He glanced into the room yet again, keeping a watchful eye on them. "They've been in there for quite a while," Mitchell said in a hushed whisper.

Sam glanced over at him, answering just as quietly, "You have no idea how traumatic that must have been for her. Having been a host, I can understand where she's coming from." Drawing in a deep breath, she continued, "It's simply terrifying when someone else is controlling your body and you're just along for the ride." She paused, closing her eyes at the memory. "I was lucky that it was a Tok'ra that blended with me, and even that was only for a few days." She drew in a deep breath, "I can only imagine what it's like to be possessed by a Goa'uld. I don't know how long it was for, but I get the sense it was for years." She shook her head as she contemplated it. "I mean, just the memories you'd be exposed to would be enough to give you nightmares for the rest of your life."

"Don't get me wrong, Sam, I wasn't complaining. Just observing," he rested his head against the wall, looking back at Sam and then Teal'c. "So, any thoughts on where that snake came from?"

Sam tilted her head at him, "It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Mitchell replied, "So you think it was from that enemy soldier we found in there?"

"Well where else could it have come from?" she asked.

Cam thought for a moment, then asked, "Is it possible that snake came from one of the two Jaffa we found in there?"

Rak'nel shook his head at this. "No. The symbiote was far too mature to have still been inside of a Jaffa."

Cam frowned at this, thinking. Furrowing his brow, he then said, "It seems odd to me that a Goa'uld would be dressed so plainly, though. Aren't they all pretty hung up on their wardrobes and prefer dressing up like something out of a bad costume party?"

Teal'c spoke up at this, "It was not uncommon for Apophis himself to go into battle dressed in the same armor as a Jaffa. The only difference was that his was gilded over its entire surface. It was also customary for Heru'ur to dress in the same fashion."

Cam looked to Teal'c, "Yeah, but you said it yourself, big guy. Their armor may have been similar that of any Jaffa, but it was also completely gold, right?"

Raising an eyebrow at his point, Teal'c nodded, "Indeed. However the armor of these new warriors can defend against the energy output from staff weapons. It is likely that the nature of the material that provides this protection does not allow for such embellishments."

As the Jaffa finished speaking, silence again descended over the group as they each considered the matter in their own thoughts.

After a few more minutes had passed, Cam noticed that Daniel and Vala were standing up in the other room. "I think we're about ready, people," he said, getting to his own feet. The others followed suit, and within minutes the two had emerged from the room. There was an awkward silence as they stood in the doorway, rejoining the group. Sam happened to be standing next to Vala. She asked in a gentle voice, "How're you doing?"

Vala turned to look at Sam, nodding. Sam saw that the other woman's eyes were still red and weary looking, but she also had a new-borne confidence about her. Vala drew in a deep breath and replied with a smile, "I'm doing a lot better now, thanks." Her voice was steady and sure as she regarded the blonde-haired Colonel with gratitude.

Sam smiled in return, answering, "It's good to hear that."

Mitchell spoke next, "Feel like you're ready to move out, then?"

Vala nodded with certainty, "Absolutely. Let's not waste any more time."

Cam looked like he was about to say something, but chose not to. Instead, he started to walk away, putting his headset back on as he went. The rest did likewise, and Vala suddenly panicked. She had completely forgotten about her radio when she had been pouring her heart out to Daniel. In spite of how she typically acted around people, she really didn't want to have just shared all that with everyone else. She reached for her headset even as she realized that she wasn't wearing it.

Daniel reached across at this, pulling her headset out from another pocket on her vest. He helped her put it on as he had the last time outside. She looked at him as he did, grinning. "You did that?" she asked, though it was rather rhetorical. She realized he must have done it while she was crying in his arms.

He simply nodded as he tucked her cord in place. "Mmhm," he answered wordlessly, fitting his own headset to his ear. Grinning at her, he winked, "I figured we might be talking a bit, so I took the liberty." Vala smiled wordlessly at this, regarding him with a warm gaze.

As the group walked through the hallway, Carter lingered so that Vala and Daniel caught up with her. Falling in on the other side of Vala, she covered her mike and whispered quietly, "Listen, if you're ever interested in talking with someone else that's been a host before, I'd be glad to be there for you." The raven haired woman smiled widely at Sam's words, looking surprised and happy at the offer.

She nodded, covering her own headset and answering just as quietly, "I'd be glad to take you up on that, Sam. Hopefully we can find some time to chat once we get back to your SGC." She grinned, adding, "Besides, you still owe me an answer to a question I asked, along with a whole bunch I didn't get the chance to."

Sam nodded, "You bet. I expect I've got a lot I can tell you, in fact." The two women smiled from ear to ear at this. They then both glanced over to Daniel, grinning mischievously. The archeologist, who hadn't been paying them any mind up until now, suddenly felt their gazes and looked over at them. Seeing how they were both looking at him, he regarded them apprehensively. He had this strange, sinking feeling that those looks meant he was in for trouble, though he couldn't say why or how.

The group came to the far door in the hallway, which lead directly outside. Teal'c approached the keypad and started entering the code. As he did, Sam spoke up. "We never did check the watch towers."

Mitchell looked back at her, nodding. "I know, but we're running out of daylight at this point. We've probably got only an hour until dusk, so we're going to just have to take the chance."

Daniel was busy changing his clip as the two spoke. The rest of the team checked their gear as Teal'c paused before entering the final digit. "Are you ready, Colonel Mitchell?"

Mitchell assumed a position on one side of the door as Daniel took the other. "Everyone set?" Cam asked, looking around at the rest of the group, who split on either side of the door. Seeing no one saying otherwise, he nodded at the Jaffa. "Okay, open it up."

Teal'c pressed the last button and the door slid open. Cam and Daniel pointed their weapons out, squinting in the sudden burst of daylight as they scanned the courtyard between the three buildings. There was no one to be seen. They looked from one building to the next, looking for some signs of activity. "Okay, which way?" Daniel asked, continuing to say, "We should pick a building and get over there and in as fast as possible."

"The one on the right," Cam said, "That's where they stored the young Goa'uld." With that, Cam darted out from the doorway, leading the way as the rest followed, Daniel lingering in the door and watching the courtyard. After all of the rest had left, he ran out after them. By the time they all had gathered at the door to the other building, Teal'c had already finished entering half of the code.

Mitchell and Vala had positioned themselves on either side of the door. Teal'c paused, looking to Cam who nodded at the Jaffa. The door whisked open and Vala and Cam pointed their weapons in. Unlike the other building, this one had many windows, several of which were broken. Light streamed in on all sides. It was essentially a large warehouse, with a catwalk on the perimeter of the building where a second floor would have been. Directly in front of the door about thirty feet away were many stacks of large crates, preventing them from seeing the rest of the room. Cam motioned for Carter and Daniel to go through.

The two ran in through the door. Rushing over to the crates they crouched behind the lowest stacks which were only about four feet high. They peered over the tops for a moment and then ducked back down suddenly. Cam looked concerned, whispering into his headset, "How many?"

Carter whispered back, "About thirty, maybe more."

Mitchell frowned at this. He asked further, "What are they doing?"

Carter daringly peered back over the edge, pausing for a moment as she studied what she saw. Ducking back down, she answered quietly, "It looks like they're working around the tanks on the far side of the room. I can't tell what they're doing, though."

Mitchell motioned for the rest of the team to move in and then went on ahead as the rest followed. Teal'c started to close the door, but Cam whispered into his headset, "Leave it open, we may need a quick exit." Coming to sit beside Sam, he peered over the crates. On the other side, he saw vast stretches of huge, open tanks that were filled with water. Beyond those tanks was another section that contained smaller tanks. Glancing up, he saw that there was a branching catwalk from the center of each wall that lead to the center of the building. The four catwalks met at a machine suspended from the roof by several heavy-duty cables. While he had no idea what the machine was for, it was certainly big enough.

The enemy was at the far side of the room, doing something with the smaller tanks, moving here and there. They were too far away for him to see what they were doing, but it was clear they were all making themselves very busy. At that point, he suddenly started paying attention to the tanks closer to this side of the building. "They're empty," he whispered into his headset as he stared at them dumbly.

For all of the volume they contained, he could clearly see that they were all empty, every single one of them. He remembered Hak'tan mentioning that this facility would produce several hundred thousand Goa'uld in a single crop, and the tanks were clearly set up for staged growing cycles.

At Mitchell's words, Daniel and Sam poked their heads up to look. "What's empty?" Vala asked in an annoyed whisper as she watched the other three's shocked expressions, clearly frustrated that she hadn't gotten a chance to see.

Teal'c and Rak'nel shared deeply troubled looks as they heard Mitchell's announcement. "Are you certain, Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c asked in a tense whisper.

"Positive," he answered, ducking back down. Sighing, he glanced over to Teal'c and the rest, but then suddenly his eyes flew wide and he yelled, "Watch out!" Vala and Teal'c dove out of the way as he brought up his rifle. The weapon roared as he fired past them. The rest of the team turned and looked as his bullets struck an enemy soldier who had been coming around the stacks of boxes. The man had clearly been getting ready to fire for as Mitchell's bullets struck him and he jerked about, several shots fired from his weapon, even as he lost control of it. The energy blasts flew wildly about the room, some flying upwards, striking a couple of the cables that suspended the machine from the ceiling.

"Ah no," Mitchell complained as they watched the huge contraption start to twist on its moorings as cables snapped. The catwalks above twisted along with it, starting to crack and crumble as they did. More cables started to snap and the massive device started to fall from its perch, tearing down the concrete walks with it.

Looking up at the catwalk directly above them, Cam yelled, "Move!" They ran around the crates and deeper into the room as the contraption fell, brining the catwalks with it. The catwalk on their side of the building broke off from its connection to the wall and came smashing down onto the piles of crates, right where SG-1 had been standing.

The machine smashed into the ground below with a horrendous crash, shattering row upon row of tanks. Water poured out, flooding the ground in several inches of water. The other three catwalks came crashing down, breaking into pieces as they fell, pummeling the ground below, and destroying more tanks in the process. Dust filled the building as it seemed like the whole thing would collapse. After several seconds, however, everything grew quiet again.

"Of all the damned luck," Mitchell muttered as he stood up, coughing from all the dust. He started to look about for the rest of his team. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm alright," Sam answered, looking quite disheveled.

Daniel and Vala came over from just a few feet away, "Wow, you really know how to bring the house down, Colonel," Vala replied flippantly. Cam shot her a glare, but said nothing.

"I am well," Teal'c answered. He looked behind, calling out, "Rak'nel, are you well?"

The other Jaffa stepped out of the huge cloud of dust that was only now beginning to settle. "I am," he started, when suddenly staff blasts started to pepper the area. The team scattered as everyone dove for cover wherever they could find it.

Daniel and Vala ran across the room and both dived behind a considerably large piece of rubble, staff blasts from the enemy striking their cover. Grinning, they shared pained expressions. "Between this, getting scared out of my wits and almost getting possessed again, I'm just so glad I came along," she said in a bitter voice, momentarily out of breath from their mad dash.

Grinning for a moment until a staff blast right at the edge of rubble above his head forced Daniel to drop lower, he replied, "I'm sorry, weren't you the one that got upset when you thought I didn't want you to come?" As soon as he finished talking, he turned and peeked out, firing several bursts from his P-90. He grimaced as his target ducked and his bullets peppered the wall harmlessly.

Taking the opportunity to do the same, Vala looked around her side of their shelter and fired several bursts at a soldier that was moving from one piece of cover to another. She found her mark, watching in satisfaction as the staff-wielding warrior jerked a few times. He dropped his weapon before getting knocked off his feet, never to rise again. Pulling back behind the rock, she found her shoulder bumping against Daniel's as he did the same. She looked back into his eyes replying with a wink, "What can I say, darling? Sometimes a girl just needs to feel wanted."

Their shelter was suddenly peppered with several more direct hits, threatening its integrity and forcing the two of them to duck lower. The solid rock cracked and groaned under the assault, and they were both showered by small pebbles and dust. "Alright, that does it," Vala snarled, reaching into the grenade pouch slung over her shoulder. Pulling one out, she glanced around the edge of their cover at the cluster of their foes that were across the room while Daniel spun around his side and let loose several bursts. She saw they were taking cover from his fire behind the large cabinets forming the perimeter of that section of the room, the spaces behind them filled with the smaller tanks that the enemy had been working in.

As she'd seen in the countless war movies Teal'c lent her while she and Daniel were bonded, she pulled the pin from her weapon with her teeth, spat it out and then let the handle fly off. She then wound up and pitched the weapon in the air, hurling it for all she was worth and with a special purpose. Daniel almost pulled back under cover again but saw the grenade fly out. He watched as the orb flew across the room and a good half dozen of the enemy appeared from behind their cover, bringing their staff weapons to bear on his and Vala's position yet again. He grinned as he watched the grenade fall into one of the small tanks of water immediately behind them. The explosion went off, turning the tank into a deadly shower of glass and shrapnel as water showered forth. Five of the six warriors were cut down from the explosion, while the last was blown over the console cabinet. "Yes!" Vala hooted, though her celebration was short lived as she saw more of the enemy appear from another cabinet further down.

Pulling back behind their cover as staff blasts rained down on them, Daniel and Vala bumped against each other yet again, grinning from ear to ear. "Nice throw," Daniel complimented her while changing his clip.

Changing the clip of her own weapon, she grinned as she unthinkingly and hurriedly quipped, "Well darling, I always do try and think outside the box." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, however, suddenly remembering that was what Daniel yelled at her to do back at the Ori beachhead before she ran off. Turning to look at him with a worried expression, her worst fears were confirmed as she found herself looking into guilt ridden, hurting eyes. "Daniel, I…" before she could say anything more, a huge explosion went of on the other side of their cover, knocking them both forward.

"Pull back! Hak'tan get us the hell out of here!!" Mitchell's loud yelling came in painfully through their ear-buds, adding insult to injury. Daniel heaved himself up, grabbing Vala by the vest and pulling her up with him. She stumbled but managed to find her feet as they ran for the door. As she followed behind him, she cursed herself for her thoughtless words. She then suddenly looked and saw Rak'nel laying on the ground. He had been struck in the head by a staff blast. She hesitated for a moment, pursing her lips in anger as she watched his lifeless body lying on the muddy ground. She felt a painful knot in her stomach as she remembered bringing him back from the brink of death. She bit back tears as she was overwhelmed with frustration and bitterness at the sickening twist of fate.

"Vala!" she heard Daniel yell back at her. He had hesitated after he realized she wasn't behind him anymore, and started to run back for her. She started moving again, catching up with him. He held out his hand for her and she took it. Staff weapon blasts chased them all the way as they ran, the five meeting back at the door they came from, darting through back outside.

Taking shelter on either side of the door frame, the four humans looked back in and proceeded to lay down heavy fire from their P-90s, forcing the many of the enemy to stay on the far side of the room. Cam and Vala were on one side, while Sam and Daniel were on the other. Teal'c stood on the outside, watching their rear, his two weapons now freshly reloaded and at the ready. Daniel saw many of the enemy creeping forward from the far side along the walls of the building, moving from one piece of cover to another. "They're moving in on our position!" he shouted above the weapons fire. "Where the hell is that shuttle?"

"Hak'tan will be here Daniel Jackson," Teal'c shouted as he fired a burst at a warrior that suddenly appeared around one corner of the same building. The warrior was cut down, but Teal'c saw another two crouch down behind the corner. "We cannot hold this position, Colonel Mitchell," he shouted as he turned to the other corner and saw two more, forcing them back with a burst from his other P-90.

"Yeah, no shit!" Mitchell shouted as he pulled a grenade from his pouch and lobbed it at the corner behind him, the first one Teal'c fired upon. "Fire in the hole!" he yelled, ducking down with the rest just before the weapon exploded. The blast tore the corner of the building to shreds as well as the enemy that stood there. Within moments, Sam had done the same at the corner on her side.

Watching the growing stream of warriors inside getting closer to the door, Daniel pulled back from the door and punched the code into the console. "Vala!" he shouted, causing her to stop firing and look up at him. He then pressed the last button and caused the door to slam shut. Stepping back, he pulled Sam away from door with him and sprayed the control panel with a burst from his P-90, causing a small explosion and setting sparks flying form it.

"Where is Rak'nel?" Teal'c suddenly asked in an urgent voice, looking around now that they had a moment's peace.

"Dead," Vala answered flatly, her face a portrait of anger and bitterness.

"Are you sure?" Teal'c asked her insistently.

Looking back up at him with a furious gaze, she yelled back, "He had his head taken off by a staff weapon, what do you think?"

"Watch it!" Daniel yelled, firing his weapon and killing another warrior that crept out from a corner.

"Alright, we really need to find some cover," Mitchell said as they backed away from the doorway into the open compound. They nervously looked about as they expected more of the enemy to appear at any moment. Sure enough, soldiers started to peak around the corners of the building they just left. Vala and Daniel knelt down in front of Sam and Mitchell, the four of them firing mercilessly on the enemy positions.

Suddenly they heard a loud roaring in the skies above. Looking up, Mitchell said loudly, "It's about time!" but then yelled, "MOVE!" as he saw two death gliders soaring in on their position. The five ran across the compound, perpendicular to the flight path of the two craft as blasts from their heavy weapons strafed the ground around them.

Suddenly Hak'tan's voice crackled in their ear-buds. "Do not move, I am almost directly over top of you. I can ring you up in ten seconds."

Staff blasts started to fly past them as they all turned to see the enemy pouring out from around the corners of the building they had left, which was now on the far side of the compound. Mitchell and Sam knelt down while Vala and Daniel laid upon the ground, the four of them firing back. Teal'c stood behind the lot of them, firing his weapons above their heads. Several of the warriors fell dead as the lethal barrage of bullets rained down upon them, but the others quickly moved to hide behind the other two buildings that were closer.

As they waited, firing occasional bursts upon the enemy's new positions, Mitchell looked up to see the death gliders completing their loop around, coming back for another pass. "We don't have ten seconds!" he yelled, but held his position even as the craft started to strafe the ground on the far side of the compound, the blasts coming closer. After another second, the four on the ground all were getting up to run as Teal'c even hesitated to stay, but suddenly a series of rings dropped down around the five of them. With a flash of bright light, they were gone, and the rings flew back up again.

Within the hold of the cargo ship, the ring platform sprang to life, the series of rings rising up noisily out of the floorboards. With the customary flash of bright light, the lot of SG-1 suddenly filled the space as the rings fell back down again. All of them were in various states of standing, kneeling, and getting up and suddenly found themselves falling over one another as the cargo ship lurched forward, suddenly accelerating.

Teal'c was the only one that managed to keep his feet about him. He glanced down at his friends with a bemused expression and then reached down to forcibly disentangle his fellows from one other. Heaving Mitchell off the top of the pile by his arm, he lifted the man as easily as one might lift a doll and set him to the side, leaving him more or less on his feet while reaching down next for Daniel. The remaining three suddenly found the motivation to separate much more efficiently, all of them crawling away from Teal'c as fast as they could. "Easy there, Teal'c, we're doing okay on our own here," Daniel protested, moving out of the way just in time.

Colonel Mitchell stood to the side, working his arm about as he glared at Teal'c. The Jaffa turned away as Daniel stood of his own accord, and found himself looking back at Cam. "Geez, Teal'c, do you have any idea how strong you really are?" Mitchell asked as he winced in pain.

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow at Mitchell as he said with a grin, "Indeed."

Suddenly the craft was rocked back and forth as the sound of muffled explosions filled the interior of the craft. "We're not out of this yet, people," Mitchell yelled, managing to keep his feet. "Everyone up forward," he added as he made his way towards the door that lead to the cockpit.

Vala quickly made her way over to Daniel as they stood up, grabbing him by the arm as he turned to follow Cam. He stopped and turned to look at her, his expression blank. She swallowed hard as she said urgently, "Daniel, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean what I said back there the way it sounded, I…" her hurried words were cut short as another pair of explosions rocked the cargo ship, causing it to lurch. Vala suddenly found her and Daniel stumbling together into a stack of crates.

Daniel shook his head as he gently pushed her away, saying, "This really isn't the right time to have this conversation."

Vala opened her mouth to say something else when they heard Mitchell yell harshly at the top of his lungs from the cockpit, "Everyone' means you too, love birds! Get the hell up here; you can make out some other time!"

Daniel pursed his lips in a frown at this and wordlessly ran out of the cargo hold. Vala lingered for just a moment, biting her lip as she suddenly felt incredibly helpless. She was even more frustrated at her careless words than she had been back on the planet. Hesitating for a brief moment, she glanced back to the same flat of crates that she and Daniel had slept upon in each other's arms. Biting back tears, she turned and ran up to the front of the ship, joining the others.

More blasts from the gliders harrying them rocked the craft as she saw the front display, watching as the blue of the planet's atmosphere gave way to the blackness of space. "Shields at fourty percent," Hak'tan reported as he piloted the ship, attempting to maneuver as best as possible, doing what he could to shake the fighters.

"We really are done for this time, aren't we?" Daniel asked, his voice sounding somewhat resigned.

Suddenly as Hak'tan veered the craft in a radically new direction, a large tetrahedral ship filled the display. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Mitchell complained in disbelief. The vessel loomed large before them, its larger weapons firing at the cargo ship. Even as the bolts of energy missed, the explosions rocked the craft as it flew forward. "How in the hell did we miss that??"

"The nebula," Sam reminded him, "it must have been on the far side of the planet when we first approached."

"The Ha'tak is starting to launch its death gliders," Teal'c announced in a flat voice, watching the display intently as the deadly craft poured out of their mother ship.

"Oh like it makes any difference," Mitchell yelled in frustration.

Suddenly Vala cried out, "RINGS!"

"What?" Mitchell asked, turning in his seat to look at her incredulously.

She quickly answered, "If that mother ship is launching its fighters, then its shields are down. If we activate the rings, they'll seek out the closest platform, which is going to be on that ship."

"Then what?" Mitchell asked, as yet another explosion rocked the craft.

"Have you got any better ideas, or would you rather wait until they raise their shields?" she snapped back at him, suddenly finding herself thrown against Daniel yet again with the last blast. She glanced up at him hopefully as she found herself caught gently in his arms as she fell. Daniel was looking at her, and opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly was cut short.

"Everyone to the rings, NOW!" Mitchell yelled, standing and pushing Daniel and Vala forward. Sam and Teal'c followed, and the five ran back into the cargo hold. Hak'tan paused, setting a few final controls before he followed, running after them.

SG-1 assembled on the ring platform as Hak'tan paused at the door to the cargo hold and punched a code into the control panel for the ring platform. "Weapons! Make a circle facing out, everyone crouch down!" Mitchell ordered, reloading his P-90. The room was filled with the clacking sound of weapons being reloaded as the rest following suit and formed a circle where they all faced out, crouching where they stood. Daniel made sure he stood next to Vala, who glanced at him as he came over. He smiled slightly at her, a smile which she returned with heartfelt eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but the craft was again rocked by another explosion.

As Hak'tan finished the last of the sequence, he hurried over to join them. Just then the craft was suddenly rocked with yet another powerful explosion and he stumbled. Teal'c grabbed his arm and pulled him completely inside the platform, heaving him over his head and throwing him into the center of the circle just as the rings activated and started to rise up around them. The light flashed over them and the rings fell back down into the floor, leaving the ship empty as more and more explosions rocked it.