Long chapter! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed since the beginning of the story, to you new reviewers too, Orion9 and Jennie! Please read, enjoy, and continue to review every chapter to keep me going! I appreciate all of you!

Chapter 7

Daniel gasped when the ribbon device finally shut off, and the hand that it adorned withdrew. Unable to shake off the pain and disorientation quickly, he swayed, moaning, and fell to the floor, struggling to catch his breath.

Amaunet stepped back, out of his way. "Jaffa, Kree! Get him up!" Seconds later two rough pairs of hands clamped around Daniel's arms. The two jaffa hauled him to his feet, and then their queen nodded towards the wall. The young scientist didn't know what she meant until the men dragged him to it and closed chains around his wrists, binding him to the fall, facing away from it on his knees.

Daniel's foggy mind fought to understand what was happening as his mind slowly returned to normal after the painful, paralyzing effects of the Goa'uld technology. He didn't know how long he had been under the hand device. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. All he had been aware of was the pain, and Sha're's face above him…until finally it had stopped. But now what did she plan to do?

After another moment or so, he felt almost normal again, except for being completely exhausted. He looked around, pulling futilely on the chains. Amaunet, standing only a few feet away, stared condescendingly at him.

"You can't get out of them."

Daniel looked at her, tears forming in his eyes again. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly, not only too tired to speak any louder, but not trusting himself too.

"I have already explained that to you. You're a nuisance. You must be eliminated." The corner of her mouth turned upwards. "But no one said I couldn't enjoy it."

Daniel gulped. "Sha're, please, fight it-ah!" He got no farther than that, crying out when the nearest jaffa stuck him-hard.

"Do NOT address the queen in such a manner!" the guard said angrily. "She is not her host; nothing of the host survives."

Obviously this one hadn't been in the room when Amaunet had explained exactly why she wanted him dead. Daniel glared at the jaffa through a wince of pain. "That's what they want you to think."

The archaeologist grunted loudly as another sharp blow to the same side of his face sent pain exploding through his head. The third and fourth blows only worsened it, and he shouted both times. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the man pulling back for yet another strike, and he grimaced, ducking, but Amaunet stopped him.

"Enough!" she said, drawing him off with her words. The man backed off, and Daniel slumped against the wall, gasping, following the jaffa with his eyes. He seemed to derive pleasure from seeing his victim spitting blood, and that didn't surprise Daniel in the slightest.

"There is no need for that," Amaunet said. "Now we can continue." When her attention turned towards the door, Daniel followed her gaze, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw what she was smiling at now.

Daniel hadn't realized that one of the jaffa in the room had left until now, because he was returning with something in his hand. It was one of the Goa'uld energy torture sticks they had seen in the alternate universe. At least that's where he remembered them from most-he was sure they had encountered them elsewhere, but couldn't think of where at the moment. It didn't matter because none of them had actually been subjected to one before, and he had hoped he never would be. But suddenly it appeared as if that was one wish that wouldn't come true, and when Daniel realized it, his stomach tightened, a chill ran up his spine, and his breath unstuck and quickened all at the same time.

Amaunet looked back to him as the guard holding the torture device moved in his direction and handed it to the same jaffa who had tried to beat him up only a moment ago. Oh, great, just add insult to injury why don't you, Daniel thought bitterly. He gulped as the man who apparently didn't like him dangled the piece of Goa'uld technology in front of him.

Daniel's mouth gaped open and closed several times before he could say anything. "Uh…" he began shakily, then stopped, gulped, and cleared his throat loudly. "You…you don't have to do that…" he said clumsily.

His eyes flicked toward where his wife stood. But of course it wasn't Sha're. She wouldn't let them hurt him. But she couldn't do anything. He was on his own, and Amaunet, standing with her arms crossed and a half-smile, seemed to be enjoying this, watching Daniel stumble over himself trying in vain in to talk himself out of what was about to happen. His eyes pleaded with her to fight, but he didn't say anything to her, knowing that at this point trying to get to Sha're would only make things worse for him. It had already happened once.

With great effort, Daniel calmed his breathing, and spoke to Amaunet. "You're not…really…" he said hopefully, shaking his head slightly and trying to conjure an amused smile. He only halfway succeeded, but then the Goa'uld cut him off, smashing his attempt at hope or humor.

"-And why not? These devices leave no permanent damage," she said motioning to it, " and yet they cause the victim a great deal of pain. I have no reason to refrain from having it used on you. Aside from the hand device, it is one of most successful smaller inventions of Goa'uld technology."

She was baiting him, trying scare him, and Daniel knew it, but that didn't keep it from working. Jack probably could have come back with some snarky reply in a heartbeat, but he wasn't Jack O'Neill, and neither was he military trained like O'Neill and Carter were.

The smile on Amaunet's face then disappeared, and she backed away a bit more, barking an order to the man in front of Daniel. "Enough games. Begin."

Daniel pulled against the chains again, now with a little more strength because it had been a few minutes more since he had come out from under the ribbon device. "Wait-!"

But he was interrupted again when the jaffa holding the torture stick flicked it on. He heard the energy spike of the power-up, and turned his head just in time to see the active point of the device touch the end of the chain that bound his right hand. From there, the energy traveled almost instantaneously through the chains and into his body through his wrists, and Daniel screamed in agony.

"Jackson!"

Daniel snapped out of his nightmarish daydream of the past when his name was called-loudly, and right in his ear.

He jumped, nearly knocking the plate and sandwich that sat on the commissary table in front of him to the floor. Samantha Carter reached across the table and caught it before it could fall.

"Thanks," he said, and she nodded, giving a knowing him a knowing smile. Then Daniel directed his attention to the man sitting beside him, the one who had shouted his name. "What was that for?" he asked in annoyance, lightly rubbing his offended ear.

Cameron Mitchell shrugged. "Jackson, you've been spaced since we left the briefing room this morning. General Landry tells us we're going to some old abandoned Goa'uld base you guys have been to before because now we have intelligence that suggests the snakeheads might have left behind some nifty experimental time/space device thingy, and all of a sudden Carter gets tense and you start acting like you've been punched in the gut. Now come on, Daniel, what's up?"

Teal'c raised that eyebrow as he, Sam, and Daniel glanced at each other uncomfortably. Finally Carter winced and broke the silence.

"Cameron…"

"No, Sam, it's okay," Daniel interrupted. He could see she was going the way of Cameron, lay off. If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to talk about it. And he didn't think that was fair. Mitchell was the new member of SG-1, its new commander of sorts, and he deserved to know what was bothering him just like Sam and Teal'c knew. Besides, it wasn't as if it was a secret. Carter gave him a look that asked if he was really comfortable talking about it, and he returned one that assured her he would be fine.

Daniel sighed, and Mitchell gave him his full attention. "Cameron, it's just…what happened there the first time. I mean, if you've seen one Goa'uld facility you've seen them all, but this one Sam and I kind of…stumbled across. We were brought there against our will, by some sort of virus that was sent into Stargate Command's computer. We were on our way to P5R-316, but ended up there…and it was Amaunet who had ordered it."

Cameron sat up. "Amaunet? But wasn't her host…?"

Daniel nodded. "My wife, yes."

"Yikes. So…what happened?"

"Uh…" Daniel grimaced. "Well, let's just say it didn't go so well."

"But why would she want you and Carter?" Mitchell said curiously.

"She only wanted me, actually."

When Daniel didn't reply to the other man's still inquiring gaze, Carter filled in a bit. "She wanted him dead."

"Ouch."

"Yeah…" Sam trailed. Then she abruptly stood. "You know, we should probably be checking our supplies and stuff for tomorrow."

Teal'c nodded and joined her. "I agree."

Daniel with them. "Good idea."

Cameron stood as well. "Okay, good. You guys do that. I have other things to get done before we leave. Later." With that, Mitchell turned and left, picking up the styrofoam plate that held the scattered remains of his lunch and dumping it in a trash can on the way out. The rest of SG-1 left through the door on the other side of the room.

"Nice save back, there, Sam," Daniel confided to his blonde teammate.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, a small smile appearing.

Carter shrugged and smiled. "What are friends for. I saw that you'd gone as far as you were willing to go on the subject for the moment. I just had to find a truthful way to get him off your back without offending Cameron-or you."

Daniel smiled. "I appreciate it." Then he stopped, bringing all three to a halt. "Wait…you said truthful. Does that mean we really have to check the supplies?"

"It has to be done. Might as well be sooner rather than later."

"Darn it."