Unknown Planet
Milky Way Galaxy

Sam squeezed the last bit of water from her long hair and let out a sigh of contentment. They'd found a lake with a waterfall. It wasn't very tall, maybe ten feet, and the flow not very heavy – more than a trickle, but not rushed – which made it perfect for someone to stand under and wash their hair. Someone like her, who longed for the comforts of the shower she'd had in her apartment in DC after months of washing up at riverbanks or wading into lakes. Her hair almost reached her lower back now, which normally made it a chore to wash, but not by standing under the waterfall. Her scalp felt like it had been massaged and for the first time in months she felt really clean.

She twirled her hair until she could put a knot in it, to keep it in place. Her daughter had a tendency to reach for any loose locks, something that Sam tried to avoid when possible. After slipping on her shift, she exited the shallow cave behind the waterfall and blinked against the bright sunlight. Her eyes had to adjust before she could spot Bra'tac, who was sitting a few feet away on the grass with the newly named Ife in his lap, one big hand on her chest to support her. If they'd been on Earth, she might have mistaken him for a man enjoying a sunny day in the park with his grandchild. "Hey," she said as she came closer. "I'm done. Did you want to wash up or eat before we head back?"

"I must bathe," Bra'tac said, glowering. "Your daughter urinated on me."

Sam bit back a laugh when he gestured at the tunic lying next to him, but quickly sobered. Up until he pointed it out, she hadn't even noticed he was bare chested. It made her uncomfortable to see her daughter resting back against him, so close to his Jaffa pouch. Logically, she knew his symbiote was years from maturity and even then they wouldn't use an infant as host, but her hands itched to grab Ife from him. "I'll take her so you can get cleaned up."

"I will not be long."

"Hey sweetie," she said, when he handed her the baby.

Ife smiled at her and immediately started grabbing for her hair, but ended up grasping the strap of her shift. Drool dribbled down her chin and she smeared it all over Sam when she snuggled closer, babbling to herself.

Sam had long ago gotten used to baby drool, vomit and pee, and simply snuggled closer, pressing a kiss to the wispy brown hair at the top of her baby's head. Looking down at the discarded tunic with a big pee stain on the front, she snorted. "You've got good aim, Ife."

Two fish were lying on the grass and she wondered when Bra'tac had time to catch them, but was grateful for it. They usually ate fruits, vegetables and nuts when they were on their own. On populated worlds they sometimes had the chance to make bread or the pes Drey'auc taught her, but they usually shied away from too much interaction with others in the kresh'taa camps. They couldn't afford for anyone to learn about Ife's parentage and preferably not even her existence, although that was more difficult in the smaller camps.

Yes, some fish would be a nice change. They aimed to catch an animal – by hunting or in traps – at least once a month, so they could eat from it for a few days, but it had been a while since they last had fish. Poultry was even rarer.

"I'm just going to put you down to clean the fish," Sam told her daughter, laying her in the flattened grass where Bra'tac had been sitting. "I'll be right here."

Ife just blinked at her before something else drew her attention and she turned her head to look around, waving her little arms and kicking her feet.

Sam had some experience with preparing fish from when she was a kid and her dad took her and her brother Mark camping, but since living off-world she'd become a pro at it – and after skinning animals for their pelt she didn't even mind the mess from gutting. After finishing the first fish, she grabbed some banana leaves Bra'tac must have collected and handed one to the baby to play with and wrapped the others around the fish. By the time Bra'tac came back from bathing, she was wrapping up the second fish. "Want me to prepare them already?"

"Hm." He glanced at Ife, who was still playing with her banana leaf, before reaching for his tunic. "Make the fire and roast them, while I clean my clothing."

The meal was consumed in silence, aside from the occasional babbling from the baby as she rolled around in the grass. When they were finished, Bra'tac disintegrated any leftovers and waste from the fish to prevent attracting wild animals. Sam, meanwhile, started breastfeeding Ife.

"What does this say?"

Sam looked up to see Bra'tac indicating her notebook, still open on the page she left it before her shower. Her handwriting was neat and, from what she'd heard over the years, very legible, but Bra'tac had told her a while back that reading and writing was forbidden for humans on Goa'uld worlds. Only Jaffa priests and high-ranking warriors were taught how to read and write in Goa'uld, which resembled Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs as far as she could tell ‑ and it was read from right to left. Most Jaffa also spoke the Jaffa dialect and not the official language of the Goa'uld, as well as some English. But not even Bra'tac, with over a hundred years of service as First Prime to Apophis, could read or write English.

That only made her appreciate his gesture of getting her a book and writing tools more. "Um, those are just some notes on your meeting with Moac." She wrote about everything, from everyday adventures and small milestones Ife made to her time in captivity and as a host. The latter she tried to avoid, but she'd discovered writing it out helped when the nightmares became too much.

"Oh."

"I don't want to forget anything," she explained. "I figured it would help us plan the upcoming meetings."

Bra'tac nodded in understanding. "Have you made a decision yet about our next step?"

Sam knew he only asked for her benefit, because he usually already had his own ideas. He was still insisting that she had to meet with SG-1, so she could go home. Eventually. But she knew things weren't that simple. Who knew what Grieves had told them and what the Air Force – and the folks at the SGC and Jack's team in particular – thought of her now?

Even after all this time, she had no idea why Grieves had done what he did. Did anyone at the SGC know or suspect he was dirty? If he was still the commander of SG-7 she couldn't return. If he wasn't, then she had to know for sure that he'd been operating alone. But that made even less sense.

And what would happen when anyone found out she'd been a host to Herit? Sam knew about the experiments her own former CO, Colonel Kennedy, wanted to perform on Teal'c and even Major Kawalsky when he'd been taken over by an immature Goa'uld. She didn't have a Goa'uld anymore, or at least she was pretty sure it had dissolved into her body, but she had some of Herit's memories and could use Goa'uld technology…

"Sām?"

Bra'tac's voice interrupted her train of thought and she shook herself. "Sorry, I must have zoned out for a moment there. Um, I think you were right. Now that we know for sure both Moac and SG-1 survived, Moac should meet with Teal'c on our behalf."

"He can contact them directly."

Sam knew from Bra'tac's report on his meeting with Moac that the young Jaffa had a GDO and probably his own IDC. It was hard for her to see beyond that, because it would be so easy to ask him to take her home. But then… she'd probably end up as someone's guinea pig and who knew what they'd do with Ife! Sure, she was Jack's, but no one knew and the fact that she had some of Sam's naquadah in her system would make her far too interesting to people like Kennedy. "If Teal'c agrees to meet with him at a prearranged location of our choosing, then we can learn more about what he knows about me. They might not even be looking for me, you know."

"That I do not believe, Sām."

"Have you heard from Moac?"

He shook his head. "No."

"And you're sure that you've got reception here for that communication orb?"

Bra'tac smirked and pulled the palm-sized version of the Goa'uld long-range communication device from his pocket. "They might be small, but these work well with many planets between them."

"They better," she muttered, "we traded the last of Herit's jewelry for it."

"Do not be alarmed. Moac cannot leave Chulak whenever he pleases now that Apophis and Klorel have returned. He must be cautious in his actions to contact the Tau'ri. Perhaps Teal'c needs to convince your O'Neill and Hammond of Texas, before he is allowed to proceed."

Sam sighed and moved Ife to her other breast. "I know, you're right. We don't know how long it'll take Moac to establish contact with the SGC. General Hammond will need to clear it with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the President, before Teal'c can get back to Moac. Assuming Teal'c agrees, Moac will contact you for further instructions. I guess I'm just impatient now that there's actually a chance of getting in touch with… the SGC." She'd almost said home, but knew she still had a long way to go before home was an option.

"It will not be long, now. You will see."

"I hope so. I really do."

Stargate Command
Colorado Springs, CO
August 17, 1998

Jack stared down into the gate room, wondering what the hell was taking so long. The Touchstone, a piece of advanced alien technology to control the weather on the planet Madrona, had been stolen. The Madronans insisted the men who took it were from Earth, which had led him and the rest of SG-1 to the second stargate. The one that was supposed to be locked away at Area 51. However, when they got there, Colonel Maybourne showed them around and insisted the second stargate hadn't been used since it was recovered from Antarctica.

Except, the stored stargate was made of plastic.

Of course, that shouldn't have surprised anyone when a lowlife like Maybourne was involved. The guy had even implied that moving the actual beta stargate elsewhere had been authorized by a civilian organization.

"Have some coffee, Jack," Catherine Langford said from behind him, placing a cup of black liquid on the table. "Walter said General Hammond has arrived at the check-in point. He should be down here soon."

"Thanks, Catherine."

She had been the one to devise a plan to locate the beta gate, by sending a MALP to Earth through the stargate on Madrona while overloading the gate. That way, the wormhole would jump like it had when Teal'c and Kershaw were sent to Antarctica and the MALP would exit from the beta gate. Unfortunately, the MALP had been destroyed shortly after arriving, making tracking it impossible.

"I wish I could have done more," Catherine said, sighing. She and Hammond had been the ones to recommend on what to do with the beta stargate after it had been recovered and now she felt responsible for its misuse.

"Hey, you got us something." Jack gave her a smile, because it wasn't her fault that some asshole who didn't know alien friend from foe had secreted the second gate away for their own purposes. It was probably someone connected to that slime ball Kinsey. "We know it's somewhere in Southern Utah."

Catherine glanced at the map they'd used to indicate the area in which the second gate could be hidden. "That's still quite big."

Daniel, who was seated at the table with the other two members of SG-1, jumped in. "Actually, by narrowing it down to Southern Utah, General Hammond could narrow down the list of possibilities when calling in a favor."

"And that's exactly what I did, Doctor Jackson," General Hammond said as he entered the briefing room. "If everyone will take a seat, we can get started."

Jack listened as the General explained what his contact had told him and quietly wondered what it had cost the man to call in such a marker. But that wasn't important right now, not when the rivers on Madrona had turned to ice and their croplands would be disseminated if the Touchstone wasn't returned soon.

"That was everything I found out. This NID landing strip doesn't officially exist, therefore I don't think there's a jurisdictional issue. But even if there is, that C-5 is Air Force property and it is our jurisdiction," Hammond concluded. "There's a chopper waiting up top for you, SG-1. It will take you to Hill Air Force Base. From there, you're on your own. Dismissed."

"All right, let's gear up," Jack said, clasping his hands. "We'll meet up top."

"Yes, Sir," Kershaw said, before dashing off.

Daniel and Teal'c followed more sedately and Catherine left for the control room after a "Good luck".

It seemed Hammond wanted a word with him before they left, too. "One other thing, Colonel. We don't know if the people who took the Gate and the Touchstone are friend or foe. Therefore, under no condition are you to fire on them. Understood?"

"Under no conditions… fire," Jack reiterated, confused. How the hell was he supposed to find the bad guys, retrieve the Touchstone and return home safely with his team with his hands tied behind his back?

"That's right."

"What if they fire on us, Sir?"

"Then you are to take cover. Do not return fire unless it's the only option remaining in order to defend yourselves."

He frowned. "General, I don't think that's going to-"

Hammond cut him off, his tone laced with impatience. "Those are my orders, Colonel. We're already going way out on a limb on this one. I don't want my people mortally wounding another American who may just be following orders. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," he said, slowly. "If you don't mind me asking, Sir… do you have any idea who's behind all of this cloak and dagger stuff?"

"All things seem to point in the direction of the NID," Hammond mused, "but whether it's an authorized mission from high up is a different question."

"No official landing strip, no official operation, right?"

"Exactly. You better join your teammates, because that chopper won't wait forever, Colonel."

"Yes, Sir," Jack said, heading for the corridor. He was almost out of the door when he turned back to his CO. "Wasn't Grieves transferred to Utah?"

Hammond's face darkened at the mention of the former SG-7 team leader. "Go get 'em, son."

Jack threw him a jaunty salute and then made his way to the gear room, where Teal'c, Daniel and Kershaw were just leaving. He quickly got his things and joined them on their way up to the surface and into the chopper.

The building from where the beta gate was operated looked nondescript. Jack signaled for everyone to get their weapons out as he led the way through a gate and along the building to a door. There was a broken window above him. Perfect. Using his periscope, he took a peek inside; there was one man carrying a small metal box, a large stargate-sized crate on the floor in the center of the room with two men standing near it, plus a white moving truck with the back raised. There was no sign of an elaborate dialing computer or a compact DHD, but it was possible that was what the truck was for, he mused.

A C-5 was landing on the airstrip nearby, which was the perfect cover they'd need. Jack signaled his team and together, they moved into the building with their guns ready.

"Stand to, gentlemen," Jack ordered. "Keep those hands visible."

All three men present raised their hands.

"Who the hell are you?"

"No one's damn business! Step away from the crate," he said, making his way over to it.

The sound of the gate dialing was the only warning they got before the kawoosh appeared from the crate, heading straight up towards the ceiling before falling back to an open wormhole.

Jack had jumped aside, landing on the floor and saw everyone else had taken cover too. Someone had to have dialed an address! The thought had barely formed in his head, when someone jumped out of the back of the truck and grabbed for the small metal box one of the NID guys had dropped earlier.

"Stop!" Jack shouted, firing shots around the box. It was the only way he could think of to keep the man from taking it, without actually aiming at him. The guy looked up and backed away. Jack recognized him immediately. "Grieves! You son of a bitch!"

"Adios, O'Neill," he shouted, before jumping onto the crate and into the wormhole.

Two others followed him, but the third made a play for the metal box.

"Don't do it!" Jack yelled, firing off more shouts around the box.

"Ow, damn it," he cried out, grabbing his arm. Then, he turned around and dove into the wormhole. Two seconds later, the wormhole closed and disappeared.

Kershaw dashed over to the truck and leaped into the back. "Arrgh!" She reappeared, looking frustrated. "I missed the address. The DHD just blinked out when I got there."

"Damn it," Jack muttered. If only Hammond hadn't ordered him not to shoot at the NID men. And whose brilliant idea was it anyway to equip the SG teams going offworld with zats, without leaving him just one? Otherwise he could have stunned all four of them and brought them back to the SGC for questioning.

"Well, at least we have this," Daniel piped up, taking the Touchstone out of the metal box.

"And I believe you injured the last man, O'Neill."

Jack looked over to the Jaffa and nodded. "Yeah, I think I did."

"Let's hope we can get this back to Madrona in time."

"Put it back into the metal case and contact Hammond, Daniel. If he gives permission, we can use this gate to deliver it to the Madronans. Lieutenant, check to see if there are any traces of blood from hostile number four and collect them for the lab."

Teal'c raised a brow as Kershaw did as he told. "Do you believe Doctor Fraiser can find out the identity of the injured man?"

Jack shrugged. "Maybe. Grieves was one of them, maybe the others are military too. Everyone who starts at the SGC has to submit a DNA sample. Hammond could get permission to run the DNA against the military database to find an ID for this wounded guy."

"Do you really think that's possible, Sir?" Kershaw asked, looking surprised.

"Like I said, maybe."

A/N: Ife is an Egyptian name and is pronounced as 'Ee-fay'.