As they walked, Jack noticed a familiar pattern. The ruined temple and religious center surrounding the Stargate gave way to an ancient forest of pine and fir trees. Jack had thought that perhaps Daniel and Teal'c were lost in the woods, because it made sense to him. Daniel was a natural-born desert dweller, but forest all looked the same to him. But further radio communication with Teal'c told him that he and Daniel were in the ruins of a city.

The ancient forest fell away at the edge of a clearing. Small pine trees, less than half a century old by Jack's reckoning, were growing amidst the skeletons of twisted metal and old stone, covered in vines – the bones of what had once been great buildings. He paused with Sam at the top of rise, looking down at the city. Jack pointed to the horizon, to uneven fluctuations in the ground.

"Bombed from the air. It started there," he said, then moved his arm in a line going south, "Then they moved in towards the larger buildings, probably a government complex of some kind. They landed smaller craft in that open space."

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

"It's the only level space, which makes it the logical place to deploy ground forces. It was probably a park or some other public space. This didn't happen all that long ago."

His assessment was cool and professional but Sam could tell that the level of destruction was disturbing to him. "The Goa'uld?" She asked.

"No way of knowing, could have been an attack from somewhere else on this planet, warring nations."

"Maybe Teal'c will know more," she said.

Jack nodded and tried the radio again. Moments later he and Sam were walking down the hill to meet Daniel and Teal'c as they were walking up. Jack glanced at the sun, low on the horizon now, with streaks of pink, red and orange staining the sky and what appeared to be storm clouds rolling in.

"We'll camp here," he said, "There should be something still standing with a roof, or at least walls that will block the wind. That will make it a little more comfortable."

They set off into the heart of the destroyed city, with O'Neill on point and Teal'c taking their six.

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They found a group of buildings that had survived the destruction with their roofs intact and after carefully studying the remaining structural integrity, Jack chose one for their overnight lodging. The roof looked sturdy enough, the windows were all gone but there was enough left of the walls to block most of the wind and the floor was crumbled in enough places to make pitching tents possible.

After the tents were up they gathered in a circle and dug into their MREs. Jack watched as they wordlessly traded desserts. Teal'c got Daniel's oatmeal cookie. Sam got Teal'c's chocolate brownie and Daniel got Sam's cherry pie. No one looked at Jack because they knew he wasn't giving up his apple turnover. It was a good sign, for Jack, that they already knew how to do such small, simple things without questions.

They ate with conversation at a minimum because they were all hungry, cleaned up, and settled in. Sam went to the tent she would share with Jack and he figured she was zipping their sleeping bags together.

Daniel dug around in a side pouch of his pack and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Cross-legged on the ground, leaning a little against his pack, he began to write. His focus moved in rapid glances from their surroundings to the page, with pauses to bite the end of the pen and stare into the open space in front of him unseeing. Jack saw Teal'c gaze balefully at Daniel for a moment and then look away, deliberately. A muscle in his cheek rippled in a spasm he couldn't quite repress.

"Teal'c?" Jack asked.

The Jaffa stirred, hesitated. But Daniel had looked up when Jack spoke and now Teal'c found himself pinned between two intense stares.

"Oh Chulak, only the priests have the power to create words, and they keep their writing utensils in the most sacred of places," he said, finally, "and only the deeds of the gods were cast into gold for eternity."

"Ah," Daniel said.

"The written word has great value for you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, considering.

"Most of them," Daniel admitted. He paused to readjust his glasses.

Teal'c had never met anyone who needed to wear something to correct his vision and it impressed him that Daniel Jackson could survive with such a physical weakness. It argued for a strong will, though for a while it had made Teal'c doubt the strength of a people who would allow such frailty in their midst. Daniel caught the look Teal'c was giving him and said, defensively, "What?"

Teal'c understood that he wasn't being forced to answer. The Tau'ri used words very differently than the Jaffa. They scattered them like precious jewels, not fully understanding their value. They used them like sharp blades, as weapons. They used words to sway minds and enlist support.

They thought nothing of writing down their thoughts and recording their actions.

"Of what do you write, Daniel Jackson?" he asked.

Daniel shrugged and looked back at his notebook. "My impressions of this place, though there isn't much I can determine just from looking at ruins. It seems too modern to fit into the mold of the other Goa'uld-ruled planets you've taken us to."

There was a long silence and then Teal'c said, "It was not."

The implication did not take long to sink in. Daniel and Jack exchanged a somber glance. Sam had come out of the tent in time to hear it. She made her way to Jack's side and sat down close to him, slipping her arms around one of his while he thoughtlessly put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. They were off-duty now. That was understood, so she leaned in and rested her head against him. Jack hoped their intimate position would send a signal to the other two - this is unofficial now, this is off the record, nothing here will go into a report.

The light was slipping away, but Jack didn't reach for the flashlights or lanterns. The wind kicked up, howling outside the stone walls, rustling dead leaves in the empty streets. Jack chose not to break the mood. If Teal'c wanted to tell them what happened here, he could do it without having a harsh light shining on him.

"That's why you said you weren't lost," Daniel said. "You really did always know where you were. You were here before."

"As part of the legion of Apophis, yes." There was a heavy silence, and then Teal'c offered, "After the initial air attack, the survivors were rounded up and herded to the center of town. The injured were put to death. The rest were made into slaves or taken as the children of the gods." Teal'c paused, considering, expression haunted, "In my lifetime I was part of the destruction of many such worlds, if not the leader, at the whim of the gods. Worlds were brought to an end, because it was willed."

Daniel spoke up quickly, ""But not because you willed it. That's the difference, Teal'c."

"Just following orders, Daniel?" Jack said, sardonically.

"I think Teal'c was always doing what he could to undermine the Goa'uld," Daniel looked at the Jaffa shrewdly, "I think you always tried to stack the deck against them, didn't you?"

"I do not understand this reference," Teal'c stated, "What is a 'deck'?"

"It means attempting to always slant things in the direction you want them to go," Daniel explained. "In your case I think you did everything you could to undermine the rule of Apophis. I think you-" He broke off on a sharp inhale, as if a sudden pain had flared in his chest.

Sam heard it and sat up a little. Jack didn't change positions, but he frowned and addressed Teal'c. "Daniel's right, isn't he? You had six guards with you in that holding cell, when you decided to help set us free. But you took them out as if they were asleep. I suspect they weren't the sharpest tools in your Jaffa arsenal and you assigned them to be with you for a reason. You already knew there was something about us that was different and you wanted to be ready, just in case."

Sam spoke up, though she was still looking anxiously at Daniel. "I always wondered about that, Teal'c. Jack barely said two dozen words in that cell. What made you decide to trust him? It can't have been anything he said because you admitted that others had said the same thing. But you didn't believe them. I mean I get it, I think. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him. But I bet it wasn't the same thing for you. So what was it?"

They all had their eyes fixed on him, Jack with a kind of sympathetic patience that said Teal'c didn't have to answer. Daniel was still staring in numb shock, words failing him for once. Sam was only curious, but her gaze settled on Teal'c like a burn.

Teal'c had lately been questioned a great deal. But the questions had focused on the Goa'uld, about how to defeat the enemy they now fought. That was not what Samantha Carter-O'Neill wanted. He was not used to anyone wanting to know the reasoning of his heart.

"It was the technology he wore around his wrist," he said.

Sam blinked. Jack smiled and exhaled a soft laugh. Daniel still didn't move.

"His – his watch?" Sam said.

"Indeed," Teal'c acknowledged.

The scientist in her went to work, the wheels in her head started to turn. "Because it was like the devices worn only by the gods in your world?"

Teal'c inclined his head. Sam went on, "It told you something about where we had come from-advanced technology, meaning refined manufacturing, indicating industrialization and metal working, sophisticated design, unknown function. But there's more. It's not just the watch as the thing itself. It belonged to him, and he was wearing it thoughtlessly, almost hidden under his sleeve, as if it was commonplace to him."

Teal'c smiled slightly, the way he would at an apprentice, though it was clear to him that in most things Sam would never be second to anyone.

"It was a symbol of power, "Teal'c said. "To carry anything other than a weapon is to court one of several painful deaths. The Jaffa are not given technology. We have only fire for light and heat. We have wells for water. We know the time of day by the movement of sun and stars, which are there at the command of the gods."

"So if the Goa'uld become aware of a world with advanced technology?" Jack prompted.

"It is destroyed," Teal'c stated with a disturbing lack of emotion.

"And nothing is really taken, unless it can be used by the gods," Jack said.

"Indeed.'

Sam was still thinking. "You're used to meeting armed opponents in battle. But meeting someone who casually wore technology, as a possession…that got your attention."

"And there was Daniel Jackson's part as well."

"Me?" The word came out high and fast, choked out past whatever had been holding Daniel silent. He pointed to himself and then his eyebrows arched high, and his glasses slipped lower. "What the hell did I do?"

"I had never seen anyone offer himself as a host."

"Well Jack's already made it pretty clear what he thought of that particular gesture," Daniel said, with an impatient eyeroll, "So, what? You thought that if Jack could keep an idiot like me alive then he might actually be able to save everyone else?"

"No," Teal'c said, "it meant that you did not truly know the Goa'uld, not as gods or as takers of souls, that you could ask whether anything of the host survived."

"Does it?" Daniel demanded.

Teal'c inclined his head in a silent confirmation. "For the very strong, yes; it is possible to fight the possession."

"And that's what made you choose Sha're," Daniel said, conclusively. "You saw the strength of will in her, the spirit. You thought she would be able to fight, to be a-a-a rebellious host."

"Indeed, I did, Daniel Jackson. Had I known then what I do now-"

"No, I get it," Daniel said. "Taking Sha're was a way of stacking the deck, another way of trying to keep the Goa'uld unbalanced a little. And you're right; Sha're is smart and she's defiant. She taught herself to read even though it was forbidden because she guessed that the word that was circled all the time on the Temple walls was Ra and she worked from there. She'll fight until I find her."

"She is alive, Daniel Jackson, and her physical form will be well cared for. We will find her. I pledge all my knowledge, strength and skill to that end."

Teal'c extended his right hand. Daniel hesitated and then, looking up, he put out his hand to grab Teal'c's, but Teal'c shifted and gripped Daniel's arm by the elbow. Daniel returned the gesture automatically. Teal'c's grip tightened a little and Daniel winced in response.

"That means something to me," Daniel said, slowly. "Thank you."

They let each other go and Daniel stood up. "I'm going to try to get some sleep," he said. "Good night."

They murmured their wishes for Daniel to have a good night. Sam told him to sleep well.

"I will take the first watch," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, sounds good," Jack replied. He untangled from Sam, stood and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up.

"Good night, Teal'c," she said, softly.

"Pleasant dreams, Samantha Carter," he answered.

On the way to their tent Sam whispered to Jack, "That go the way you hoped it would?"

"No yelling? No bloodshed? No words that can't be taken back? Oh hell yeah. That went way better than I hoped."

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