Hello! I'm CompleteGeek3. I started writing this story a while ago and only just got around to getting it to a stage where I could actually start publishing it. I've really been enjoying writing it, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

The prologue is set sometime roughly after season 7, episode 16("Death Knell"). It's essentially a version of "Reckoning"- AU Goa'uld and Replicator defeat- but in season 7, before "Heroes", and with some major adjustments.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate.

Chapter 1

Prologue

Word had come from the Jaffa rebellion. They intended to strike a great blow to the Goa'uld by capturing the holy temple on the planet Dakara, and asked if the Tau'ri and their allies would assist them. The Tok'ra agreed, the Asgard promised to send a ship or two if any were available, and General Hammond made the decision to send as many teams as could be mobilized at the time, led by SG-1.

Retaking the temple was the easy part, as Bra'tac put it. The free Jaffa and their allies, including Jacob Carter, others of the Tok'ra, and the SG teams, easily defeated Ba'al's blockade and took the temple, gaining hundreds more Jaffa followers in the process.

Repeated attacks by the System Lords, led by Anubis, were quickly attempted, but the forces holding Dakara refused to fail.

Inside the temple, Daniel Jackson discovered writings telling of a powerful weapon made by the Ancients that had the potential to destroy the Replicators.

He deciphered the signature needed to sync the weapon to the signal of the Replicators, and assisted Jacob and Samantha Carter in finding a way to dial every Stargate in the galaxy simultaneously so the effects of the weapon would destroy every Replicator in existence.

Anubis then launched an all-out attack, this time aiming to both destroy the rebel Jaffa and their allies and obtain the weapon to use against the Ancients. The effort to destroy the Replicators was temporarily halted, and the forces of the System Lords and the armies of free Jaffa marched against each other.

Before battle could be engaged, word came from Earth that the Replicators were coming to Dakara with the intent to destroy anything in their path to eradicate the weapon.

In an attempt to stop Anubis's attack and convince him to side with the Tau'ri and their allies against the greater threat of the Replicators, Daniel Jackson caused the System Lords to hesitate, inadvertently giving the Replicators enough time to arrive.

A three-way battle erupted. The explosions and fighting destroyed much of the planet's surface. In the midst of the battle, protected by Jack O'Neill and Teal'c of Chulak, Sam and Jacob Carter managed to activate the Dakara superweapon, eradicating every Replicator in the universe.

The battle nearly ceased, but Anubis ordered his forces to resume fighting, and the free Jaffa and their allies were forced back into combat.

With the assistance of the Asgard fleet that arrived a short time later, the allies were able to severely diminish the strength of the System Lords. In the last moments of the battle, there was an explosion that enveloped the remaining System Lords, including Anubis himself. The remaining Jaffa loyal to them fled or surrendered.

The allies were victorious, but at a terrible cost- the lives of thousands of people… and the disappearance of a certain member of SG-1.

-*/*-

Five years later…

The Air Force Academy instructor, a beautiful woman with short blond hair and blue-grey eyes by the name of Colonel Samantha Carter, was settling into the seat in front of her desk, enjoying the feeling of letting her posture slump. Her afternoon had been full of lectures and conferences, and she was glad to just relax for a few moments.

She logged onto her computer and opened her email. There were three new messages: a request to go fishing from Jack O'Neill, who had ordered her to call him by his first name when he retired after the Battle of Dakara; a message from Academy General Radovan, asking for some documents on new recruits for the Academy; and a request from her brother to feed his dog while he and his wife and kids spent a week in Florida.

Sam sent the requested documents to General Radovan and a response to her brother. She reopened Jack's email and considered accepting his offer. After a moment of thought, she closed her email and turned off her computer, deciding to make the decision later.

Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Unbidden, the memories returned, the ones she had done her best to bury.

Images flickered across her vision like a slideshow. Jack and Teal'c, standing side by side, firing at swarms of attacking Replicators. Herself and her father working frantically on a strange device. Daniel running, his blue eyes narrowed with determination, throwing himself between the lines of enemies in a desperate attempt to stop the fighting.

Fighting. The need for constant alertness. A time when a moment's distraction could cost your life. The days leading up to that final battle were the most stressful in her life, but the subsequent months were worse.

Sam rose from her chair and stalked to the window, desperately trying to shut down the flow of memories. Despite her efforts, the images still shone in her mind like billboards: swarms of Replicators, attacking small groups of humans; an army of Jaffa, led by the figures of familiar Goa'uld; a horrifying three-way battle that laid waste to an entire planet. One last explosion- the bomb that had taken the last of the Goa'uld System Lords' lives…

The colonel gritted her teeth and yanked herself out of the memories. She was almost surprised to find herself in her office at the Air Force Academy, instead of on the battlefield of her memories.

Shaking her head, Sam sat down before her computer and turned it back on. She needed work to take her mind off the events of five years ago. She opened her email, about to send a reply to Jack, when a small burst of light caught her attention. A beam of light descended from the ceiling and came to rest on her desk.

Sam stayed perfectly still. The ball of light turned into a small figure, one she knew. The shape of her father Jacob Carter spoke, its voice a perfect replica of Jacob's own. "This is a recorded message from the Tok'ra High Council. A Tok'ra agent received word on Daniel Jackson. We request a meeting on Vareth as soon as possible." The ball of light winked out, and Sam was left alone in her office.

Leaning back in her chair, Sam processed the information. They finally had word on Daniel! After five agonizingly long years, they might, at last, be able to bring their friend home.

She sent a reply to Jack, suddenly glad she had neglected to respond to his request just yet. She didn't mention the message from the Tok'ra, but simply accepted his offer.

Tapping the send key, Sam shut her computer down and left her office.

-*/*-

"So, Sam," Jack said, swinging his feet up to rest on the cooler. "I know you didn't come here because you love fishing, so what's up?"

Sam looked at him. "Does there have to be a reason? What if I wanted to get away and relax with a friend?"

Jack appeared half pleased and half irritated. "You never accepted my offer 'til now, so there's got to be a reason."

Sam sighed. "There's… two reasons, actually. Yesterday was…"

"The five-year mark to when we last saw Daniel?" Jack finished gently, his weather-beaten face suddenly sad.

She nodded. "Yeah." There was a moment of silence between them. "And also… I got a message from the Tok'ra High Council."

Jack made a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a groan. He rubbed his eyes. Sam finished her thought: "They said they received word on what happened to him." The retired colonel's eyes went wide. Sam elaborated, "They want to meet us on Vareth as soon as possible."

Jack leapt to his feet and jogged toward his cabin. "I still have the thing Teal'c gave me. Let's hope it works." Sam rose to her feet and followed.

She remembered the 'thing' Jack was talking about. After the Battle of Dakara, Teal'c had returned to Chulak to spread word of the Goa'uld's defeat. Before departing, he had given Jack a communication device that would be able to make contact no matter how far apart they were. As Jack rummaged through the piles of stuff in his cabin, Sam sent prayers up to anyone who could possibly be listening that they could find the device, contact Teal'c, and learn what the Tok'ra had discovered before the trail grew too cold to follow.

With an exclamation of triumph, Jack held up the device. Sam grinned, a part of her wondering if Jack actually remembered how to use it. Her doubt was disproved as Jack's fingers flew, sending out a signal that would be broadcasted to Teal'c and ask him to return to Earth as soon as possible.

-*/*-

The familiar shape of the leader of the Jaffa Council materialized in the event horizon of the Stargate. He stepped down the ramp and approached Jack and Sam.

"It is good to see you both, O'Neill, Samantha Carter," Teal'c said quietly. "What would be the emergency?"

Sam glanced at Jack. "We got word from the Tok'ra," she explained. "They got a lead on Daniel."

Teal'c's eyes widened, and Sam was unsurprised to see the smallest glimmer at the corner of his eyes. She had rarely seen anything break the Jaffa's stoic mask, but where his teammates and family were concerned, he was much less guarded with his emotions.

"Then we must go with all haste," Teal'c responded after a moment, his voice very carefully controlled.

"I thought you'd say that," Jack commented, grinning widely for the first time in several years.

Sam could feel the weak and feeble remains of her hope stagger to its feet and begin to crow. After all these years, she thought. We finally have a chance to bring Daniel home.

-*/*-

The main facility on the planet that the Tok'ra had made their home after the war ended was much more open to the air and sky than their previous bases had been. Sam liked the change more than she was willing to admit.

Next to her, Jack straightened his shoulders and Teal'c looked toward the door. Sam looked to see what had caught their eyes, and saw her father striding toward them. She ran to meet him. He hugged her tightly and whispered, "I'm glad you came, Sam."

Sam released him and smiled. "You told us you had something on Daniel. How could I not come?"

"True," Jacob conceded. "I'm glad you're all here."

"So, what'd you find?" Jack asked impatiently.

Jacob turned to look at him. "One of our operatives was talking with an occupant of a planet near here and discovered that Daniel was seen there, two years ago. The young villager said he was running from something. He didn't stay for very long before leaving again."

"Any idea where he went?" Sam asked.

The Tok'ra sighed. "Unfortunately, the young man didn't know where Daniel had gone."

"Then let's go." Jack looked at Jacob as if daring him to argue. "We got information, let's go find Daniel and bring him back."

"Jack." Sam looked at her father, unnerved by his serious tone. Jacob's expression did not reassure her. "We've also learned… a few other things. We've had word of a fleet gathering on the other side of the galaxy."

"Goa'uld?" Teal'c asked quietly.

Jacob shook his head. "These aren't any ship designs we know of. We've spread the word, but every time we've tried to get close, they vanish."

Sam looked at him worriedly. "Dad- could you let General Hammond know? We didn't see anything, but our scanners might not be able to pick it up, and the Odyssey's still at Atlantis."

The Tok'ra nodded. "I will, Sam." He hesitated.

"What else?" Jack asked impatiently.

Jacob pursed his lips. "The informant also mentioned that Daniel was able to activate and use an object that no one had been able to. Our operative asked to see it, and as far as we know it's some sort of Ancient device. We've never seen anything like it."

"What are you saying?" Sam wondered.

"I think Daniel may have accessed the knowledge of the Ancients. We studied the device, and even after a few days we still had no idea even what it was supposed to be. According to the informant, Daniel took one look at the device and was able to use it immediately."

Sam exchanged a look with Jack and Teal'c. This was new. "We'll ask him when we find him," she decided.

Jacob nodded, still looking worried. He handed her a piece of paper. "Here's the address. Use the gate." He paused. "Jack, Sam- bring him back."

I have most of this story already written out, and I'm working on the last few chapters(that and the fact that senior year is starting soon), so updates will probably be random, but I promise to be as good about updating regularly as I can!

So now our gang has gotten long-awaited word on their missing friend and are heading out to find him. This chapter was more of an exposition, but next chapter will get things going...