Chapter 35

Bra'tac of the Jaffa was informed of the secret mission and his job was to spread the rumor of SG-1's internal breakup and demise. To sell the cover story of Teal'c joining Qetesh the Jaffa's good name was run through the mud by Bra'tac. Teal'c's family soon fell upon disgrace and were whisked away into hiding…On Earth. Upon arriving at the SGC they were informed of the true mission and assured of their security. This was done so Teal'c would not have to worry about their welfare during the mission. However, Teal'c would have to confront a new issue with his son…The young man's growing addiction to video games.

As Jack and Mitchell contended with preparing for the mission Daniel spent more time diving into the legend of King Arthur. With both Sam and McKay out on the mission he found he was forced to rely on Jay Felger for any scientific theory.

Dr. Felger was a tall man with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He tended to daydream about Major Carter often and accomplished little in comparison. Daniel was also forced to rely on General Landry's daughter, Dr. Lam for medical theory and information since Janet was also taken off world. Daniel found it odd that Jackie had somehow managed to take every vital person he would need to investigate the legend of King Arthur with her on the mission. He honestly didn't think she needed that many people and it appeared to him that she made a clean sweep at removing those who could help him the most in his quest. He sat baffled staring at the cluttered table in his lab. How did she do it? How did she leave him to work with Jack and Mitchell? The two most useless individuals when it came to decoding ancient mysteries. He began to rightly suspect it was done on purpose.

Dr. Lam came to his lab with a paper in hand. Her hair was neatly placed up and she wore the white lab coat over her dress blues. She smiled at him, "Dr. Jackson! I have the test results you asked for."

"Did you find anything?" he asked coming to attention from his work.

She walked over and handed him the sheet, "Jackie and her father both have a very odd version of the Ancient gene. It's similar to the Ancient gene but not close enough to activate Ancient technology."

Daniel looked at the paper and asked, "What exactly does this mean? They have the gene but they don't?"

Dr. Lam continued, "They have a similar gene to Colonel O'Neill, his clone and Major Sheppard. But it's slightly different, like a cousin of the Ancient's gene. It won't activate the technology but it's rare and very similar. I wonder if it activates a technology we haven't discovered yet?"

Daniel pondered, "That would make sense. Jackie said the sword was locked by Ma'at's host who was a sorceress. She said it would take the sorcerer's gene to undo the lock. I wonder if we are looking at the gene?"

Dr. Lam suggested, "Her and her father would both have it then. What kind of technology would this unlock?"

He pondered and concluded, "Technology so advanced it would look like magic. Something that requires spells. A casting technology."

"Like a computer?" the doctor wondered.

Daniel's bright blue eye lit up, "Like nano-technology! Something you can unlock and control with a gene. Something you can give orders to, like a program. Something that would be difficult to find."

"Nanites?" she asked.

"Nanites," he slowly nodded. "I need to see Felger!"

Meanwhile

As the team made their way deep inside the mothership things were going smoothly. Fred led McKay to the engine room while Jon led Sam to the bridge with Jackie and Vala who chatted like a couple of school chums the entire time.

Upon entering the golden plated bridge Jon look over at the pair and stated, "Could you two just stop?"

Vala balked, "What?"

He made puppet with his hand, "You're talking too much."

"Oh please," Vala rolled her eyes. "It's not like anyone is here."

Sam had already started hooking up the computer through an access panel near the far wall.

Jackie whispered to Vala, "Take the servants passage and double back around next to Sam."

Vala whispered, "Why?"

"You'll see," she whispered back.

"I'm going for a walk," she told Jon who stood not far from Sam acting as a guard.

He rolled his eyes again, "Whatever."

Vala left out the servant's entrance to double back around. Jackie went over to the nearby wall and stood near the entry way to another corridor that was close to Sam. It didn't take long before a figure moved forward in an attack.

Ba'al emerged from the corridor and lunged for Sam who was the most vulnerable. As he went forward Jackie stuck out her leg and tripped him. Vala then pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.

"Get the hand unit," Vala ordered.

Jackie grabbed his hand and removed the unit leaving Ba'al defenseless while Jon stood holding the rifle on him. Sam looked over, still squatting and running programs as she just realized Vala and Jackie thwarted Ba'al's feeble attack on her. Her mouth dropped and shook her head wondering what just happened.

Ba'al growled, "Get off of me."

Jon ordered, "Let him up."

Vala released her grip and scrambled to her feet. She grinned at her friend, "We make a pretty good team. How did you know he was there?"

"I could see him," she told her.

Ba'al glared to two former hosts, "You!"

Vala smirked, "Expecting someone else?"

Jon held the rifle on him, "What are you doing here, Ba'al?"

"I am here to claim what is rightfully mine," he stated with an echoing voice.

"He's here to steal the ship," Jackie informed.

He sneered, "It's a Goa'uld vessel….Host!"

She puckered as her eyes rolled up for a moment and then concluded, "True but it's a piece of junk and no self-respecting Goa'uld would want it. So, you must have been tossed out of the club after you were nearly taken down by a host of a Tok'ra operative and you are now the laughing stock of the Goa'uld."

Vala leaned against her friend and cheered, "Read him like a book!"

He glared, "You will pay for this host."

Jon flipped the fire select switch to single and readied himself to shoot him, "Say goodnight, Ba'al."

Jackie held up a hand, "Wait! We kind of need him."

Jon cocked an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Anubis would see right through Vala and me." she stated. "We need a Goa'uld to take him down."

Jon countered, "He's a Goa'uld."

She nodded, "And the nice thing about the Goa'uld is they are very concerned with self-preservation."

Jon huffed, "We can't trust him, dear!"

"I never said we had to trust him," she argued.

Vala asked concerned, "Jackie?"

She countered, "Anubis is very powerful and his power grows by the day. The other Goa'uld are terrified of him. Ba'al here is scared shitless. So Ba'al, you have a choice. You can go off and face Anubis alone but you know that's suicide. You go off and hide and pray Anubis's rule is over soon or you help us bring him down."

Ba'al admitted and smirked, "I'll take option two."

SGC

Jay Felger and his assistant worked the lab with the high power microscope. Finding the nanites wasn't an easy task. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for but upon discovering their frequency he was able to isolate and enlarge the nanites. Daniel stood with Dr. Lam and Jay Felger as they looked at the little dots on the screen as it was enlarged to reveal microscopic robots.

Felger noted, "My god, these things are everywhere."

"They would have to be," Daniel nodded as his conclusions came together.

Dr. Lam looked on and gasped, "These things are in our environment. It's everywhere. In the air we breathe…In our bodies."

Felger added, "Microscopic robots in our environment and none of us knew. These things are incredible." He them moved a cotton swap with trace DNA from Fred near the nanites and they light up on screen. "The DNA in this swab activates them. They can self-repair and self-replicate. I wonder what else these things can do?"

Daniel pushed up his glasses, "Magic! They can do magic."

Dr. Lam agreed, "You simply need to have the DNA that activates them and to know the program commands. These things could heal and could create things out thin air."

Felger added from his sensor readings, "These things communicate even when inactive."

Daniel suggested, "The user can see what is happening in real time and what happened in the past from what the nanites have recorded."

Felger scoffed, "Heck, the user can see into the future. These nanites are active on a quantum level. They're not just in our environment but can cross realities. These things are literally everywhere: On world, off world, in the wormhole. Everywhere!" He tried to find a metaphor, "It's like the force!"

Lam gathered, "This is the sorcerer's gene. Jackie and her father both have it. This would affect them even when they are not using it. Aren't they both exceptional pilots?"

Daniel nodded, "I saw it firsthand in thirty-five. Jackie should have crashed and died when her plane had a fuel line problem but she not only came out of this intense spin she did it like it was nothing. At the time I assumed it was her brain and how fast she can calculate things." He then paused, "Which is probably the nanites and her father can do the same thing and is playing dumb."

Lam countered, "But you would have to know the commands. I don't think Fred knows any computer commands. I don't think he even knows he has this gene."

"But his daughter knows," Daniel smirked. "She has probably known for the last seventy years." He pondered, "So Jackie is the sorcerer. Then who is heir?" He made a face, "It can't be Vala!"

Lam countered, "That would make sense. She's befriended her, was teaching her, and she has been a mentor to her."

Daniel then closed his eyes as he was hit with the truth, "Qetesh knew Vala was the heir and that's why she took her as a host. She thought if she took the heir as a host she would gain the sword and Camelot. But the sorcerer, Ma'at's first host had placed a lock on it so you would need both the heir and the sorcerer's genes to unlock it. Jackie is the sorcerer and Vala is the heir and Anubis…" he gulped. "Oh boy!"

Felger asked confused, "Is Anubis, Merlin?"

Daniel made a face, "What? No! Of course not! Anubis is pure evil and he wants the sword and Camelot. Jackie is trying to protect Vala." He then ran fingers through his hair, "And Vala has no clue!"