"When in doubt, just smile and nod..."

"Hey, Farrell!"

Ariana looked up from the papers she was studying to see the silver head of Colonel Jack O'Neill peering around the door to her office.

"Hi, Jack."

The colonel stepped around the door and sauntered into the room. Lounging against the worktable he thought how similar this scene was to the many times he'd gone to bother Daniel in his office. Continuing in the same spirit he grinned, sing-songing, "Whatcha' doin'?"

"Daniel asked me to go through some the some of the inscriptions that SG10 brought back from P2C-315. The team's archaeologist found what he thought might be references to the civilizations' medical practices."

Jack leaned over her shoulder to look at the pictures strewn across her worktable. "Looks like Greek to me."

Ariana grinned at him. "Actually, it is Greek. Or at least, it's based on Greek. The language is close enough that I haven't had to rely on Daniel's notes too much."

"Found anything?"

"Not really, except that the physicians of this civilization seemed to administer most of their drugs by enema."

Jack made a face. "Eww!"

His expression made Ariana laugh. "It's not an uncommon practice among primitive peoples, Jack, especially when they don't have things like needles and syringes the way we do. The Mayans, for instance..."

Jack put up a hand in protest. "Ah. Enough of that!"

Ariana relented. She'd discovered that she enjoyed trying to make Jack's eyes glaze over the way Daniel and Sam so often did. One of these days, she thought, she was going to get a stopwatch and time the effect.

"Did you come in here just to pester me, Jack, or did you actually need something?"

"Both" he grinned. Straightening he said, "SG1's been tasked to do a follow-up mission to some planet SG13 just visited and we need you to tag along. Daniel tried to tell me why we specifically needed you, but I zoned out before he got halfway through the explanation. I volunteered to come get you for the briefing."

"What, now?"

Jack looked at his watch. "In about fifteen minutes. So let's get the lead out, Farrell, or we're gonna be late."

Shaking her head at his antics, Ariana snatched up a pen and fresh notepad and followed the colonel from the room.

"General, the Avalorans of P6T-203 are interested in forming an alliance with us. Their civilization seems to have its roots in the Welsh and Gaelic-speaking cultures of Earth. While they are, in general, less technologically advanced than we are, SG13 reports that they do have something that we'd like to know a lot more about." Daniel used the remote in his hand to bring up an image on the projection screen.

"The gate on Avalor is surrounded by a ring of standing stones..."

"You mean like Stonehenge?"

Daniel glared at Jack, irritated at the interruption. "W-e-ll, Jack, it's similar in construction to Stonehenge, but it serves a different function. As I was saying, a ring of standing stones surrounds the Avaloran gate. From what Balinsky, SG13's anthropologist, was able to gather, this ring is used to protect their gate from incursions by the Goa'uld."

"How?" asked Sam eagerly.

Daniel frowned and looked at his notes. "Um, Myrddin, that's the Avaloran SG13 spoke with, said that the ring is made of a stone that has natural conductive properties combined somehow with liquid naquadah. Balinsky wasn't too clear on the process."

Sam leaned forward excitedly. "They have liquid naquadah? Daniel, I thought you said that they were less technologically advanced than we are. How do they process the naquadah into a liquid form?"

"Evidently naquadah occurs naturally on their planet in a liquid state."

"General Hammond, it would be to our great advantage to open relations with the Avalorans if they are willing to allow us access to this resource. I know of no other planet on which liquid naquadah occurs naturally." Teal'c steepled his fingers before him as he spoke.

"He's right, sir. This is could be an unprecedented opportunity for us." Sam agreed.

"Uh, Sam, there's just one teensy little problem." Said Daniel.

"What?"

"Um...Based on SG13's report, neither you nor Teal'c are going to be able to come with us this trip." Daniel grimaced, waiting for the explosion. It wasn't long in coming.

"Why not?"

"Well, Myrddin described what happened to any Jaffa or Goa'uld who happened to come through their gate. It wasn't pretty. Something about the standing stones effect the naquadah in their systems and they bleed to death - from their skin, and...Uh... other places." Daniel's voice trailed off.

"ITP, probably. Or something like it."

Everyone at the table turned to stare at Ariana blankly. Jack spoke for all of them, "Huh?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, ITP. It's a bleeding disorder of unknown cause that's characterized by skin hemorrhaging, easy bruising and the possible sudden and severe loss of blood from the gastrointestinal tract. Like Daniel said, not pretty."

Jack shook his head in disgust. "Can you say 'too much information' Farrell?"

General Hammond said, "On the contrary, Colonel. If there is any possibility of danger to Teal'c or Major Carter, we need to know about it now. Dr. Farrell, is there any treatment for this type of condition?"

"Well, sir, the skin hemorrhaging and bruising by themselves are not usually life-threatening. The danger lies in the possibility for a major bleed-out. If that happens, they could die before we got them back to the SGC. Also, we don't know what level of exposure is necessary to result in lethal consequences."

"Then we'll play it on the safe side, Doctor."

Hammond sighed. "Teal'c, Major Carter, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ground you on this mission. There are just too many risks involved."

Ariana took a deep breath and jumped back into the conversation. "What about me, sir?"

The general looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean, Dr. Farrell?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, this is all sounds very exciting, but Jack said that you needed me specifically for this mission. I was just wondering why."

Hammond looked at Daniel. "Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel nodded. "I was just coming to that. The main reason that talks were halted between SG13 and the Avalorans is that there were no women on the team."

Ariana leaned forward eagerly. "The Avalorans are a matriarchal society?"

Daniel smiled at her insight. "Apparently. They were unwilling to enter into formal talks with a team comprised solely of men. That means that we can discount any idea of sending SG9 in their stead. There aren't any women on Major Kovachek's team either."

"Is their society really matriarchal? Or are we looking at some kind of matrilineal structure we just haven't encountered before?" Ariana asked.

"It appears to really be matriarchal in nature. A hereditary queen supported by a council of women governs them. Men seem to have a truly secondary role in their society."

"Fascinating." Jack drawled.

Ariana turned to him. "It is actually. Jack, you don't understand. Anthropologists have always denied the possibility of the existence of a true matriarchy. Leaders in the field have posited that matrilineal societies could not reasonably exist as a matriarchy because the major political power of a descent corporation is always in the hands of the men. If the Avalorans are really a matriarchal society, it would completely change the way kin groups and social structure are viewed."

"Not that you could tell anyone about it." Jack reminded her. She really reminded him of Daniel sometimes - this was one of them.

Ariana slumped in her chair, but only for a moment. "Yes, but we would know. The opportunity this presents is just..." She waved her hands in the air, looking for the words to express herself.

General Hammond allowed himself a small smile at her enthusiasm. "That's why you're being asked to join this mission, Dr. Farrell. You, Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson will be meeting the Avaloran representatives to discuss the formation of an alliance between our peoples. Since most of SG2 is at home sick, I'll be sending SG3 along with you as back up. You'll leave tomorrow at 0730. Dismissed."

Jack grinned evilly at Ariana as they all stood and filed out of the briefing room. "How are Ferretti and Sloane doing, by the way? Still spotty and scratching?"

Ariana couldn't help it, she grinned back at him. "Unfortunately. Who would have thought that two men their age hadn't ever had the chicken pox?"

"How'd they catch the chicken pox?" asked Sam.

"Mark's oldest brought it home from school. Lou was exposed when we all went to her birthday party. Evidently the entire second grade class has gotten it." replied Ariana.

"Poor bastards." Jack shook his head.