Stargate Diplomacy Part 1: Conundrums, a stargate: sg-1 fanfic

Title: Stargate Diplomacy - Part 1: Conundrums

Author: Marianne H. Stillie

Categories: Drama/Angst, Action/Adventure, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Daniel/Janet

Series: The 'What If' Collection

Season: Season 7 Alternate Reality 2-Parter

Sequel: Season 8 Alternate Reality 2-Parter

Summary: In an alternate reality, Daniel Jackson begins a journey that will take him through the depths of pain and despair and the heights of joy and ecstasy.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment, not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks are intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Archive: Please do not archive anywhere without the author's permission.

Author's Note: This story begins an alternate reality time shift from canon Season 7. It will progress through Season 8 and into Season 9. Four additional series (at least) will evolve from this new vision of the Stargate universe.

Stargate Diplomacy - Part 1: Conundrums

The observer stood among the noxious plumes of atmosphere. He knew the poisonous fumes were all around him but he felt nothing, not fear or discomfort or apprehension. The electric-blue sparks that swirled through the thick miasma reached down, searching for an outlet for their ravening power. He looked to the left as the planetary curves of the two worlds he had been surveying reached their closest proximity to each other.

Two beings, one humanoid, one avian, both sentient, stood facing each other, their eons-old conflict still unresolved. The observer sensed the outcome but was helpless to interfere.

"Shall we end this?" the slight avian being warbled coldly to its enemy.

"Yes," the hulking humanoid answered bitterly in the grinding tone of its species. A three-fingered hand held out an oval piece of technology. On the metal casing a red light glowed.

The avian being held up a similar piece of technology, its center light an equally bright red. In concert the two aliens pressed down on the triggers.

The observer cringed as fire consumed both worlds. "No, please. Not again?"

In response to his plea, he heard the screams of billons as they died.

Klaxons screamed through the metal door of Daniel Jackson's quarters on Level 25. He struggled awake, fighting with the sheets that were tangled around his legs. Sweat dripped into his eyes, down his neck and into the already drenched pillowcase. "Not again," he groaned.

Before he could sit up and get his feet on the floor, the phone on the night table rang shrilly. On the fourth ring he grabbed the handset. "What?"

"Dr. Jackson, this is Sgt. Davis. Please come to the Gate room immediately."

Still too groggy to ask what was happening he said, "I'll be right there."

Daniel forced himself out of the bed. As he threw on some clothes, the usual reaction to his nightmares started and he began to tremble. He shook it off with great difficulty and hurried out the door.

By the time Daniel entered the Gate room the klaxons had stopped. He stared open-mouthed as he recognized Jacob Carter standing at the bottom of the ramp.

The former Air Force general looked at him appraisingly. "You look like hell, Danny."

Respect and annoyance clashed in Daniel's mind but he was still too fuzzy to put either into words. "It's four a.m., Jacob," he mumbled.

"I'd have preferred getting Jack and my daughter up at this hour."

"They're home, in bed."

Jacob smiled for a split second then said, "You'll do instead."

Before Daniel could respond, Teal'c walked into the Gate room. "General Carter. This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Good, two of you. We need to talk."

Daniel looked at Jacob and Teal'c. "In the commissary. I need coffee." Without waiting for a reply, he walked out into the corridor and toward the elevator.

The kitchen staff was well into their preparations for the breakfast rush. Teal'c made his way around the still empty commissary to the table where Daniel and Jacob were sitting. He refilled Daniel's mug from the fresh carafe he'd taken from the serving area then put it down on the table after Jacob indicated that he didn't want a refill.

"Thanks, Teal'c," Daniel said, his voice still rough and heavy. His hand shook as he lifted the full mug to his lips.

The Jaffa briefly put his hand on the younger man's shoulder then said, "You are welcome." He sat down beside Jacob.

Daniel cleared his throat before he spoke. "If I understand the situation correctly, these two factions on P1S-236 have been at war for the last one hundred years."

"The planet is called Makry and I wouldn't exactly call it war. The two cultures have had a clash of times, one living in the past while the other has consistently looked to the future," Jacob explained.

"It is not unusual for two cultures at different stages of development to live side by side on the same planet. This world has seen such corollaries many times." Teal'c waited for the general's answer.

Jacob laughed lightly, "You have been listening."

Teal'c smiled. "As well as seeing and smelling and tasting and touching, both literally and figuratively." In a more serious voice he continued, "Why cannot the Asgard negotiate between these factions? They are quite good at treaties, thanks to the Goa'uld."

"The Hadij are highly insular and paranoid about non-humans," Jacob answered patiently.

"The Tok'ra are human."

"On the outside. Their past history is quite graphic with stories of their suffering under the Goa'uld."

Daniel had been listening to the exchange between the two men as he continued to consume more coffee. He finally felt the caffeine kick in, clearing the last of the nightmare fog from his senses. "If the Hadij and the other culture…"

"The Tirani."

"…the Tirani aren't really at war, what is there to negotiate?"

"Cultural backwardness doesn't inhibit the development of weapons," Jacob answered.

Daniel looked at the clock on the opposite wall that was reading four fifty-three. "General Hammond, Sam and Jack are due in for an eight o'clock briefing. I really need to take a shower before that." He stood up and took his mug and the carafe from the table.

"We will see you in the briefing room then, Daniel Jackson, with more coffee."

Daniel saluted Teal'c and Jacob with the mug then left.

As he watched Daniel leave, Jacob asked, "He's still having those nightmares?"

"With increasing intensity and frequency," Teal'c answered with deep concern.

"Maybe this mission will get his mind off whatever is causing them."

"I sincerely hope so."

Colonel Jack O'Neill kicked the faux-wood metal door as it slid closed. Where did these damn aliens get off doing away with good old-fashioned hinged doors you could slam shut when you were pissed!

He slumped into one of the hideously upholstered maroon chairs in the large main room of the opulent guesthouse he and his SG-1 team had been occupying since they arrived on P1S-236 two days ago. If he had his way, they'd be leaving this planet full of wackos before nightfall.

From the window seat several feet away, his 2IC Major Samantha Carter shook her head and suppressed the usual knowing smile she exhibited when her commanding officer was not happy. "It could be worse, Colonel."

O'Neill turned his grim face toward her and glared. "These people are nuts, Carter," he said in a dangerously soft voice.

From his place on the parquet floor where he sat comfortably cross-legged, Teal'c swiveled his head from the senior officer sitting in the chair to Sam Carter's calm, patient countenance. He waited for her response to the colonel's anger. When she simply shrugged her shoulders, he turned back to O'Neill. "What has led you to the conclusion that the parties in this dispute are insane, O'Neill?"

"Oh, nothing much, except that they hate each other's guts for no reason."

"We've dealt with that before, sir. Jonas' planet was a perfect example," Sam said in her most common sense voice.

"At least we knew where we stood with them. The Kelownans and their two noisy neighbors all had their fingers on their respective dooms-day weapon buttons and we knew damn well one of them would push it. These folks have been playing this threat game with each other for decades. They don't want mediators. They just want a new audience."

"The Hadij are convinced that the Tirani are planning a first strike against them using some secret WMD," Carter reminded him.

"And what evidence do they have?" O'Neill asked in the calm, rational voice he always used when he knew for certain he was right. When Teal'c and Sam didn't respond, he continued, "None, because it's not true. They're just looking for an excuse to rattle swords and justify an expansion of their military."

"I believe O'Neill is correct, Major Carter. The Tirani are quite technologically advanced compared to the Hadij but their behavior at the negotiating table is highly conciliatory."

"See," O'Neill said eagerly. "Teal'c agrees with me." He looked over at the Jaffa with a questioning look. "Right, T?" As Teal'c nodded slowly in agreement, Jack turned to the fourth member of the team. "Daniel?"

"You're all wrong," Daniel answered. He had been sitting quietly on the arm of a matching purple couch across the room.

"Why?" all three SG-1 team members asked in unison.

"Because they're not afraid," he answered simply.

Jack rolled his eyes then said, "I'm really afraid to ask what you're talking about but I will. What the hell are you talking about?

Daniel folded his arms across his chest in a very familiar defensive pose. "Despite the apparent disparity in their technological levels, I suspect the Tirani and the Hadij have developed equally devastating weapons. The Hadij believe their weapons are bigger and better and will somehow defeat the other side. The Tirani aren't concerned with victory or defeat because they're confident they'll survive whatever is sent against them."

O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c looked at each other then at Daniel. "And you know this how, Daniel?" Jack asked.

Daniel saw one of the now familiar looks in his friend's eyes that he'd been getting since he'd translated the lost city tablet text. This one, the 'Is he crazy?' look was somehow preferable to the other, 'Is he omniscient now?', with its glassy-eyed stare of awe. "Just a gut feeling," he said softly.

The colonel stared at Daniel with half-lidded eyes. When challenged, his friend had a tendency to become flustered and vigorously defend his position. This time he didn't. "I think we need to do some reconnaissance on both sides. Carter, you and Teal'c contact the Tirani negotiator, what's his name, Carton, Kitten?"

"Cortin," Teal'c said.

"Ask Cortin if you can get a tour of their capital."

"And you, sir?" Carter asked.

Jack looked over at Daniel thoughtfully. "Daniel and I will do some snooping here. There could be more than bad taste in furniture behind the Hadij."

Legate Assistant Sallah's quick steps took him within five yards of the High Council chamber. He always hated meeting with his superiors in this room. Legate Orish and his cabal from the northern province had recently redecorated the already ostentatious space with the latest artifacts discovered from the first century after the Goa'uld had stopped coming to Makry. To their way of thinking, it increased the room's impact in depicting their struggle to bring the Hadij back from slavery. The total look reminded Sallah of one of the mausoleums excavated in the cave-pocked hills above the city.

As he reached for the touch pad beside the massive frescoed doors he admitted that the room wasn't the real problem. Truth be told, he hated meeting with these men anywhere.

"The Tirani won't attack us. They are pacifists," Legate Orish stated as he moved slowly around the room, stopping at one artifact then another, touching each sensuously. His refined, pompous voice drew out each syllable for the most dramatic effect. He nodded to Sallah as the younger man entered the room and sat at the far end of the long table.

"No, they're fools. Only fools refuse to protect their interests simply because their hands may become dirty," Defense Minister Heshtal said coldly from his seat at the head of the table. He turned to Sallah. "Well?"

Despite the imaginary whip-flick Heshtal's voice gave, Sallah answered calmly, "The woman and the Jaffa were picked up by a Tirani airship a half hour ago. The colonel and the doctor plan to take a tour of the city after the midday meal."

"They will be followed?" Orish asked.

"Of course," Sallah answered quickly.

"I'm more concerned with the other two," Heshtal interrupted. "The Tirani are very good at convincing everyone that they are benign and innocent, which, of course, they are. These Earthers seem to be enamored of such goodness."

Sallah listened and watched Heshtal's face with increasing fear. As head of the Defense Cadres, he had access to all covert activities the Hadij nation had created in the last century. He was called cruel and ruthless but only in secret.

"We survived the Goa'uld. We will triumph over the Tirani. It is the Hadij destiny to rule this world," Orish said melodramatically.

Heshtal leaned forward in his chair. "I've made arrangements for a demonstration to show the Earthers just how dangerous the Tirani are. It should help them choose the right side."

The Legate's assistant gripped the heavily carved wooden arms of the chair. He had chosen to go into civil service twenty years ago because he felt he could do good things for his family and his people. The cruel smirks both his superiors had on their faces convinced him that his career choice had been the worst mistake of his life.

Cortin stared at the neatly laid out city vista below. The five-story government building had been placed at the lower end of the main city concourse. Despite the flowing lightness of design the Tirani had created here, the drab dustiness of this world eventually overwhelmed everything that tried to soften it.

He was still baffled as to why the Hadij clung to this inhospitable piece of space rock. He quickly answered his own question. Because it was their home. Just as Chesed was his home. He sighed deeply. He had been here too long.

"Major Carter and Teal'c will arrive any moment," Senior Consul Angella said to the young man across the table. "I want you to give them a thorough tour of the city, Michalik. At the appropriate time you will return them to the dining hall where we will proceed with the next step."

Michalik laughed, "I feel as if we are recreating a twentieth century Tau'ri sci fi film. The unsuspecting humans falling prey to the evil aliens."

"You spend too much time studying Tau'ri history," Angella responded sternly.

He grinned. "Know thy enemy?"

Cortin turned and glared at the other man. "Your humor has no place here anymore, Michalik. We must concentrate on our primary goal and we are running out of time."

"Cortin is right," Angella said. "We need to eliminate the colonel, the major and the Jaffa as quickly as possible so that our primary goal, Dr. Jackson, will be available to us."

Michalik's smile was gone. "I understand, Madam Consul. I will do what is needed."

Cortin turned back to the window. "The airship is just crossing the high desert."

Michalik got up, nodded to Angella and quietly left the room.

Angella stood beside Cortin at the window. She noted how taut the muscles along his jaw line had become. It made the narrow growth of beard that extended down to the tuft of dark curly hair on his chin twitch noticeably. She placed her hand comfortingly on his upper arm. "It is almost over, Cortin. You will go home soon, to Shaylie and your children."

Cortin looked down into his mother-in-law's sea-green eyes. "And if we fail? What price will all of us pay?"

Teal'c's feet hurt. For a warrior to admit such a thing was unheard of, so he kept his silence as he stood beside Major Carter. It was another annoying side effect of the tretonin dependence. Their Tirani guide, Michalik, was in the small shop behind them. He had offered to get them drinks to offset the moisture they had lost during the past hour. The Tirani capitol was beautiful but walking through it in the excessive heat was taxing even his Jaffa endurance, and his patience.

He took Major Carter's arm gently but firmly. "The heat is oppressive here. You should be where it is cool and shady."

Startled at the pressure Teal'c exerted as he pulled her down the street, Sam asked, "Don't you think we should wait for Michalik?"

"No," he said curtly and led her around a corner and down another street.

"I really was thirsty, Teal'c," she protested.

As he continued to lead her, Sam heard the rushing sound of water and felt a definite elevation in the humidity. When they turned another corner, the broad sidewalk opened onto a huge plaza with numerous fountains and lush sections of garden.

Teal'c saw a bench beside the largest fountain and led the major directly to it. With a deep, silent sigh, he sat down in the shade of the heavily branched tree behind the bench.

Sam flopped down beside him. As she took off her hat and fanned her dripping face, she looked around the plaza. Dozens of people walked leisurely along the carefully laid out walkways that connected the flower-filled beds and the graduated fountain structures. Despite the intense heat, the men and women moved comfortably in their loose, gossamer clothing, the brilliant range of colors complementing the brightly hued plants.

Her thirst got the better of her. She pulled her empty canteen from her belt and went to a small fountain only a few feet away. As she filled the container in the gently burbling stream of water, the people who passed her smiled and nodded graciously. She turned to Teal'c. "This place is amazing. You'd never think there could be this much beauty on this inhospitable planet."

"This city is quite beautiful, Major Carter. It is also very young."

"What do you mean 'young'?" Sam asked as she splashed water on her face and neck.

"In most civilizations, including yours, cities such as this are built over many millennia. There is a noticeable mixture of architecture and design. The old parts of the city acquire a dustiness with age while the new areas shine in their youth."

Her canteen full, Sam sat beside Teal'c and took a long drink. "Where did you learn all that?"

"Daniel Jackson is an excellent teacher."

Sam looked at her surroundings more carefully. "You're right. The Hadij capital is a typical old city, parts built at different times. This city looks as if it was all built at the same time."

"I am not the expert that Daniel Jackson is but I would say that this place is less than one of your millennia in age."

"And that's implausible for a culture this technologically advanced."

Sam and Teal'c exchanged questioning glances as they saw Michalik approaching.

Jack and Daniel walked casually down the narrow cobble stoned street in the Old City section of the Hadij capital. "Is that Sallah guy still following us?" Jack asked.

Daniel stopped, pointed toward a building to his left and quickly glanced over his shoulder. "Yup," he answered and he and Jack continued walking.

Suppressing a yawn, Daniel wished they had taken this tour earlier in the day, rather than at the sun's zenith. His already sleep-deprived body was struggling to keep moving in the sweltering heat. He'd experienced desert conditions before but nothing like what this world endured. Makry's climate was at the limits of human tolerance, with sporadic water resources. He wondered how the inhabitants had survived after the Goa'uld left.

Despite the oppressive heat and fatigue, he found himself reacting to this place as if he'd been here before. It reminded him too much of Abydos, the colors and smells and dust bringing a catch to his heart for what had been so cruelly lost when that world had been destroyed by Anubis. The memory also brought back the guilt he felt at his own part in that debacle. It had been the first ascended memory to manifest in his nightmares.

After an unusually long silence, Jack said, "I heard you again last night."

Daniel clenched his fists as he walked but kept the anxiety out of his voice, "I have nightmares sometimes. I guess Oma's memory wipe is breaking down."

"Maybe. But I'd like Doc Fraiser to check you out. I can't have you suddenly going over the edge when you, Sam and Teal'c are on a mission."

"You can always rescue us. That's your job, remember?"

"Not if I get kicked upstairs."

Daniel stopped and gaped at Jack. "Kicked upstairs? Where and when?"

As they stood in the middle of the street, they were jostled by the steady flow of the crowds coming and going around them. Neither man noticed the curious looks, fearful glances or angry scowls that crossed the Hadij faces.

"I've been approached about taking full command of the new Alpha site. It comes with a promotion to Brigadier," Jack admitted sheepishly.

"Are you going to take it?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"You have to take it, Jack. It's a great opportunity to make the off-world base what we need it to be. You can handpick all your own personnel. Create new teams. Be right in the thick of it to help the Jaffa rebels finally kick the Goa'uld off their worlds."

"Great new scenery, lots of adventure, not to mention all the bullshit bureaucracy and crappy paperwork I'll have to put up with."

"I know you can handle it. It's time, Jack. What we do is getting stale for you. I can tell."

"You're right...maybe. You three kids are grown up enough to handle SG-1 on your own. Besides, it's about time Carter got upped to lieutenant colonel. You won't mind taking orders from a woman, will you?'

Daniel laughed. "Not when she's smarter than all of us. Besides, I'm looking forward to you pinning those silver oak leaves on her uniform."

"I forgot about that," Jack grinned. "I'll still worry about her and Teal'c."

"But not me?"

"I don't worry about you anymore. You've got nine lives."

"I'll worry about you."

"Don't. I'm too old and ornery to kill."

The words were barely out of Jack's mouth when an ear-splitting explosion rocked the street. With debris flying everywhere, they couldn't tell where the explosion had come from. Men shouted. Women screamed. Children cried. Bodies were scattered up and down the stone street. Some moaned. Others were silent. Then a second even stronger concussion came and they both went down.

Daniel was stunned but not injured. He sat up and found he was covered in blood. He knew it wasn't his because nothing hurt. He looked at the carnage along the blood-smeared street, trying to figure out where the warm red fluid had come from. Three feet away he saw Jack lying face down, blood pumping out of a wound in his thigh.

In seconds he was beside Jack, using his belt to make a tourniquet. Out of nowhere, Sallah appeared beside them.

"I'll get help, Dr. Jackson. I promise." As quickly as he had come, the Hadij man disappeared into the frantic crowd.

Daniel carefully turned Jack over. The colonel's eyes opened slowly. "Have you noticed a trend lately, Daniel?" Jack said weakly.

"You mean the one where you're in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"No. The one where someone's out to get me," and Jack's eyes rolled back in his head.

The dining hall was as tastefully decorated as every other place Sam had seen since they'd arrived in the Tirani capital, bright, refreshing and comfortable. Members of the City Council, representatives from the National Council and groups of school children of varying ages occupied the dozen beautifully set tables. A steady murmur of conversation drifted around the room. When Angella stood up and tapped her water goblet delicately, there was instant silence.

"Before we begin our meal, I would like to introduce our very honored guests." She gestured to her left. "Major Samantha Carter of the Tau'ri."

Sam stood up and acknowledged the unexpected applause she was given. A girl of about eight, her blond hair as elaborately braided and arranged as Angella's, came up beside her and held out a bouquet of highly fragrant flowers. "Thank you," she said taking the bouquet.

As Sam sat back down, Angella turned to Teal'c on her right. "The Jaffa hero Teal'c."

Sam looked at Teal'c, wondering how he would react to Angella's description of him. When she saw him smile broadly, stand and bow graciously to each part of the room, she suppressed a giggle. The applause was even louder than hers.

As Teal'c sat down, Sam leaned back in her chair so she could see him. "I like your new title, T-man," she whispered.

Teal'c's smile stretched into a wide grin.

"Please enjoy your meal," Angella said to the roomful of people. "Afterwards, you are all invited to a special musical event by the children."

Servers began entering the room with large trays. They dispersed among the tables.

Cortin turned to Sam who was sitting beside him. "Do you enjoy music, Major Carter?"

"Oh, yeah. Rock, country. Anything with a good beat." When she noticed Cortin's puzzled look she said, "These flowers are incredible," and she brought the bouquet up to her nose, then placed it at the center of the table as a server waited patiently at her elbow.

Cortin smiled, "I am sure you will enjoy the children's performance. Tirani chorus singing is highly melodic and complex."

"I'm sure I will," Sam answered as she sucked on the tip of her right index finger.

She was about to ask Cortin a question when he suddenly stood up and walked quickly to the back of the dining hall where he spoke to a young woman Sam had seen earlier. The conversation became quite intense and she could tell from the Tirani negotiator's face that it wasn't good news. To her surprise, Cortin looked directly at her and motioned for her to come to him.

They got to the back of the room and Sam, with Teal'c beside her, asked, "What's happened?"

Cortin's darkly handsome face was deeply troubled. "We have just received word from the Hadij that there has been an accident. Colonel O'Neill has been seriously injured. Dr. Jackson has taken him through the Stargate to Earth for treatment."

Teal'c put his arm across Sam's shoulders as she covered her mouth to stifle a groan.

Daniel walked into the iso room where Jack was hooked up to various pieces of medical monitoring equipment. He knew from his conversation with Janet Fraiser a few minutes ago that Jack was on his third unit of transfused blood. Between what he'd lost in the accident and in surgery, his body was in bad shape. As always, Janet had been honest but hopeful.

He watched Sam's still body as she sat beside her commanding officer. He could tell from the residue of moisture on her lashes that she had been crying.

"Sam," Daniel said softly. When she didn't respond, he moved into her line of sight. "You could use a break. I'll stay with Jack."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were bright and feverish. "Is it hot in here, Daniel?" and she started to slide off the stool toward the floor.

Three very grim people sat around the briefing room table, waiting. Dr. Fraiser came into the room from the Level 27 corridor, took the empty chair beside Daniel and placed a folder on the highly polished wood.

"Do you know what's wrong with Major Carter, Doctor?" General Hammond asked.

"Yes and no," Janet answered.

"That bad, huh?" Daniel's attempt at levity was very forced.

Janet folded her hands tightly on top of the folder in front of her. "All Sam's tests indicate that she's having an allergic reaction to some type of plant toxin."

"What kind of plant causes a deep coma?" Daniel asked.

"One grown by the Tirani. Major Carter was given a strongly fragrant bouquet of flowers just before we returned here," Teal'c said.

"Simple inhalation wouldn't cause this. It had to have been ingested or introduced into the bloodstream somehow. If I didn't know better, I'd say Nirrti is lurking around somewhere."

"Nirrti's specialty was human bioengineering, not flora," Teal'c stated.

Janet answered coldly, "Same basic principle, Teal'c. From the structure of the toxin, I'm sure it was genetically engineered. And it's definitely alien."

General Hammond asked the question the others didn't want to, "Is the major in danger of dying?"

"Since Sam's condition hasn't deteriorated any further over the last several hours, I'd say no. The fluids and antihistamines she's getting are helping but very slowly. It may take several days for the toxin to completely flush out of her body at this rate. Until it does, she'll be in a steadily decreasing coma."

"And what of Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"Very weak but stable."

"General, request permission to return to P1S-236 to find out what's really going on there?" Daniel asked.

"I don't want anymore casualties, Dr. Jackson. Permission denied."

Daniel threw his toiletry kit into the backpack on his bed, although he wondered why. He suspected he wouldn't need to look well groomed on this trip through the Stargate. The diplomacy part of the mission was over.

He had arranged to meet Janet in the corridor outside the Gate room. He had pushed their long-established friendship way beyond what was proper, but he needed her help. Despite the risk to her career, she had agreed to his plan. Neither said it, but they knew each would do anything for the other.

He tried to suppress his deeper thoughts of Janet. They were for another time and place. But her face and voice wouldn't go away. His memories of her had returned quickly and more intensely than other parts of his past life and he had liked what it represented. His conversation with Teal'c after their return from Erebus had made him realize that this new chance at life had to include more than just his work. He had started to consider other possibilities for the future, with Janet as a major part of his life. After the Stromos incident last month, he knew it was time to say the words he should have used two years ago at Cassie's belated birthday party.

As always, the timing had been off. A few months after that joyful celebration it was too late and all he could say was a weakly whispered 'I'm sorry' to Janet before his radiation ravaged body shut out his reality. He'd questioned if it was actually the right thing to do given his 'death'. Would it have been better for her to grieve for her lover or simply a friend? Since he'd come home, he hadn't had the courage to ask her what her choice would have been.

He'd grabbed onto the hope that beckoned to him this time around. All the pieces had fallen into place since his homecoming. Work, friends and a deepening sense that there were many good times ahead. There was a clearer intimacy to his renewed friendship with Janet that was inviting, waiting for a few simple words from him and from her.

All the regeneration, optimism and resolution he'd felt growing for the future ended abruptly the day he'd arrived home to a vandalized apartment. Coming so soon after the Talthus consciousness-possession trauma had added a physical violation to his mental disorientation. His friends' support would have brought him through it but the subsequent waves of nightmares revived his old doubts and reinforced his hesitation. That big blank part of his memory as an ascended being was a real threat to his future. Now he understood why he had been so afraid to learn the truth of who he was on Visuban. He knew he wasn't really stable enough to take on anything as complex as a fully committed personal relationship. It wouldn't be fair to Janet. She'd had to deal with enough male instability in her marriage. Maybe when this was over.

'When' was the operative word. This latest nightmare wasn't like the others. It was the same one night after night. The explanation that he'd given Jack, that Oma's memory wipe was wearing off, had been the truth. The graphic images were a very real memory of something he had witnessed while he was ascended and he knew what it meant.

He stuffed the extra ammunition clips for his Beretta into the backpack and closed it. As he shrugged into his desert fatigue jacket and vest, he saw Teal'c standing in the doorway.

"Are you going somewhere, Daniel Jackson?"

"You know where I'm going," Daniel said coldly. He put the backpack over the mesh vest and started to push past Teal'c without looking at his friend.

The Jaffa placed both his hands on Daniel's chest. "Each of these alien races is concealing something."

"I know. That's why I'm going alone."

Teal'c's face became hard and angry. "You have not changed since your descension."

"Not in the important things," Daniel answered through gritted teeth.

"If you choose the wrong side, you could die!" Teal'c said in a loud, strident voice.

"Yes, I could. But it's my life and my choice!" Daniel answered back just as hotly. The two men looked at each other for several long moments. Then Daniel exhaled loudly, letting go of his defensiveness. "It's not a matter of choosing the right side, Teal'c. Both sides could be right, or neither. What does matter is saving innocent lives."

Teal'c looked deeply into his friend's expressive blue eyes then lowered his arms. "You are a brave fool, my friend. And I wish you well." He stepped aside and allowed Daniel to go through the doorway. As he watched his friend go down the hall, he closed the door to Daniel's room with a very heavy hand.

The open wormhole of the Stargate shimmered patiently. The third shift airman, a newcomer to the SGC named O'Brien, slept peacefully on the floor of the control room thanks to a sedative shot, oblivious to the flashing red lights and blaring alarms.

Daniel was grateful to Sam for all the 'how the Stargate computer works' lessons she'd insisted he take from her, just in case. How to lockdown the Gate room had come in very handy.

At the top of the ramp, only inches from the line that would separate them, Daniel and Janet stood facing each other. She opened one of the mini pockets on the right side of his vest and slipped in a plastic pill case. She rested her hand over his heart where the radio usually was and looked up at him. "Just in case you get sidetracked somewhere, those are some antihistamines for your allergies."

Daniel smiled down at her. "Thanks. Do you still have that extra pair of glasses in your desk?"

"Of course."

Thinking back to the last time he had gone through the Gate without permission, Daniel suggested, "Tell General Hammond I forced you to help me."

Janet laughed, "He won't believe it."

Daniel laughed with her then said, "Keep a bed waiting in the infirmary, just in case."

The shock and fear that showed on Janet's face made Daniel realize that was the wrong thing to say. It brought back very bad memories. "Sorry."

In a low, emotion-filled voice Janet said, "Just come home, safe and sound. Please?"

Daniel took her hand from his chest, kissed it gently then began to back into the wormhole. Their hands slipped apart and he disappeared into the blue energy.

Stepping off the sand-covered steps of the Stargate platform, Daniel looked west. The Hadij capital blazed brightly in the darkness. He settled his heavy backpack more comfortably on his shoulders and began walking.

He would have preferred going south to the Tirani continent but on foot it was impossible. Some deeply buried instinct was telling him that was where the real answers to these events lay. He hoped the Hadij would solve his transportation problem. He also needed to find out who was responsible for the explosions. He had his suspicions but he needed to be sure.

As he walked, he pushed all thoughts of everything and everyone back at the SGC far from his mind. If he was going to die far away from all the people he cared about, in another part of the galaxy, he would make sure he accomplished something lasting and significant this time.

Daniel felt a tingling sensation surround him as if an electrically charged breeze had come up. Before his foot touched ground again, a shimmer of light enveloped his body, freezing every muscle and nerve in place. The world outside the light wavered and went out of focus. When the focus solidified again, the desert was gone and he was in a softly lit room. The cylinder of light evaporated. His foot came down and he stumbled slightly, adjusting to the hard inside flooring.

Banks of computer consoles and their very active screens covered each of the sidewalls. The far end of the room where he stood reminded him of the transporter alcoves in the Star Trek shows. He shook his head, telling himself that this was real, not television sci fi.

He heard the click of hard-soled shoes behind him and turned. Out of the shadows, he recognized the Tirani negotiator, Cortin.

"You do not seem surprised to be here, Dr. Jackson."

"There isn't much that surprises me anymore."

"Have you eaten?"

"I could use a snack while you tell me what this is all about."

"Of course."

The snack was a four-course breakfast, elegantly served on a delicate linen tablecloth with fine china, richly colored emerald green stemware and silver flatware. In the center of the table was a thick arrangement of highly fragrant flowers in a low crystal vase.

Daniel put his napkin down and took one of the porcelain blue blooms from the vase. Even holding it so far away from his nose, the perfume was intoxicating. He stared at Cortin with a questioning look.

"The toxin will do no permanent damage to Major Carter," the Tirani man said.

There was a long silence as Daniel continued to stare at Cortin. "Who's responsible for what happened in the Hadij capital?"

His voice firm and direct, Cortin answered, "If I tell you it was not us, will you believe me?"

"Only if you explain why the Hadij would maim and kill so many of their own people."

There was a brief but intense silence as the expression on Cortin's face softened. "When was the last time you saw a sunrise, Dr. Jackson?"

Cortin's disarming sincerity kept Daniel from giving a harsh, sarcastic response. "It's been awhile."

The Tirani man stood up, opened the leaded-glass doors that led outside to a mosaic-tiled patio and motioned for Daniel to precede him. "The heavy concentration of silica in the atmosphere creates a spectacular rainbow effect at both sunrise and sunset. This is one of the rare moments of beauty on this ecologically tortured world."

The pale beginning of light at the horizon sparkled with sharp pinpoints of color. As the sun crept further into the dark sky, the glints expanded and took on a kaleidoscope-effect of hues from the hot side of the spectrum. Both men watched the spectacular sunrise, their steady, even breathing reminding each that they were not alone.

As the last glitter of bronze-gold faded into full sunlight, Daniel turned to Cortin. "Now that you've shown me how very civilized and refined the Tirani are, I want an answer to my question."

The silence was heavy between the two strangers. Cortin decided to proceed with a beginning to the story that the archeologist would understand best. "Like most of the groups of humans transplanted to other worlds by the Goa'uld, the Hadij have had a distorted history. I will not go into century-by-century detail but as of this moment in time their culture is at a crossroads. They are more technologically advanced than they want outsiders to believe."

Cortin's recitation of Hadij history confirmed what Daniel had suspected. The Tirani weren't from this world. Instead of asking the direct question, he decided to let the Tirani man tell him what he wanted to know when he was ready. "And that makes them dangerous, especially since they have the Stargate," Daniel prompted.

"Correct. A small group of corrupt, self-serving politicians, craving total power over everything, especially life and death, is now in control of the government. They have been creating a massive, secret war machine over the last century. They plan to conquer us as their first step to a larger empire on other worlds."

"Why don't you stop them?"

"We cannot."

"Cortin, your society is highly advanced. Even if you must resort to war, I suspect your side would win."

"The Tirani could easily obliterate every trace of the Hadij on Makry. We prefer to use our technology to save this world rather than destroy it."

Daniel laughed harshly. "You're so sure of your rightness and your superiority. You remind me of a race we knew once, the Tollan."

From behind Daniel, a familiar voice said, "We were never this arrogant."

Spinning around, Daniel gaped at the man who was walking up the steps to the patio from the lower garden. "Narim!" He held out his hand and the Tollan took it firmly.

Cortin smiled. "I will leave you two old friends to your reunion," and he went into the house closing the doors behind him.

Daniel's delight at seeing Narim overrode the serious mood he had been in for the last few days. "Based on what we heard during the Goa'uld attack, we thought you were all dead. How did you survive? Where have you been? How did you wind up here?"

Narim laughed, "I will answer all your questions and much more. But first, tell me of Samantha?"

"You didn't see her when she was here?"

His face fell into a serious mask. "I no longer have the ability to see in the sense you mean," and he took off the heavy sunglasses he was wearing.

Daniel took in a startled breath as he looked into the metallic cybernetic implants that had replaced the irises of Narim's hazel eyes. The deep argent color contrasted with the thick bands of pale silver hair that now ran through his old friend's once dark hair. He had aged prematurely in a survivor's way. Recovering from his shock, he asked, "What can you see?"

"Light, outlines, infrared images which allow me to function relatively well. My memory fills in the small details. I will always see Samantha's caring look before she turned and ran to the Stargate that last day on Tollana. What my eyes can no longer see, my heart provides."

"I don't know what to say, Narim. I'm sorry."

"Do not feel sorry for me. This is a small price to pay for the survival of thousands of Tollan."

"Thousands saved, in the heat of battle? How?"

"The Tirani are collectors of people. They teleported as many of us as they could to their world before our planet was destroyed by the Goa'uld."

"That's impossible. There's no such device anywhere in this universe. Even the Ancients weren't able to perfect anything that powerful."

"Not the Ancients you know who are either ascended or dead. These are the ones who survived the plague."

"That's also impossible. Seeing what I did while I was one of them, I'd know about the Tirani. I don't remember everything that happened while I was ascended but I've remembered enough. The Others wouldn't allow any of their kindred to interfere like that."

"The ascended Ancients in this world have no dominion in other realities and other times," Narim said solemnly.

Daniel was stunned as the realization of what Narim was implying hit him. "The time machine on Alaris. Some of the Ancients who worked on that didn't give up. They tried again and succeeded."

"And much more. They were safe in their reality far in the future when the plague claimed most of their people in this reality."

Knowing the simplistic answers he had thought this adventure would uncover had gone far beyond his expectations, he humbly asked, "What do they want from me, Narim?"

"You already know what will happen here if you do not intervene." Narim said simply.

"Yes. I've realized over the past weeks that I'm not the same man I was before my ascension. I know things that I shouldn't know. And because I see both sides, I'm uniquely suited to be the epic hero in times of need. The problem is, I'm still just an archeologist. Miracles aren't usually in my bag of tricks."

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Very sure and it scares the hell out of me."

Narim hesitated then began, "The Tirani are dedicated to using technology to do good, which is why they considered my people so important. But they also have rules. They cannot use that technology directly to save themselves. They can use it only to save others. Unless they find a way to counteract the Hadij biological weapons, the entire Hadij population will die and this planet made incapable of sustaining life for the next ten thousand years."

Daniel was thoughtful, knowing that the choice he made now had to be different from the one he had allowed in the dream memory. "We've interfered in time before, more than once. We don't need any new enemies and we sure could use some new allies." He exhaled loudly and looked at Narim. "Wish me luck."

"Of course, old friend," and Narim held out his hand. Daniel took it and they held the handshake for several moments. "I must return to our new homeworld," he said. "As a senior member of the Curia my responsibilities are never-ending. We will meet again on the Tirani world."

He watched Narim walking away until he could no longer see him on the garden path.

For a brief instant he thought of the reactions his SG-1 friends would have if they were here. Jack would be extremely pissed at the unknown risk he was taking. Sam would be supportive but apprehensive. Teal'c would be empathetic in his way of the warrior code. And all of them would want to help.

Daniel went into the house, knowing he had to walk this particular path alone. Hearing loud voices coming from the front hallway, he went in that direction.

Cortin was pacing in front of Michalik, his face contorted in anger. "This is not how it was supposed to be! The toxins should not have been moved until next week!"

"There was no warning that the military would make the transfer early. There are a dozen sites that are now stocked in preparation for the attack."

"We will have to send teams into each location. Hopefully, they will succeed in obtaining samples of all the toxins."

"I have a better way," Daniel said as he came into the hallway.

Daniel leaned his head back against the rough exterior of Sallah's home that was just outside the city limits. The cool night air was a welcome relief from the sweltering blasts of desert air that had poured out of the north over the past two days. The Tirani had been barely affected by the negative change in the weather.

His well-honed adaptive physique that had served him so well in so many places over the years would have enabled him to adjust too, if only he wasn't so exhausted from the new and improved nightmares that had started after his talk with Narim. The latest one, just last night, had introduced a new element – a devolved Oma Desala, ready to do battle for his soul.

The images began to swirl in his mind, quickly taking form and substance. He shook them off and ordered his mind to concentrate on the mission at hand.

He noticed that the ebb and flow of activity inside the house had quieted. He couldn't help eavesdropping as he waited for the Hadij man and his family to settle in for the evening. Despite the enormity of the risk he was taking, Daniel found himself enjoying the interchanges of conversation among Sallah, his wife and their two children. From the voices, he guessed the children were a boy and a girl. Daniel sighed. The perfect family.

He touched the piece of Tirani technology on his lapel. The device, a two inch round representation of the Stargate with an ankh in the center, was his way back to safety. All he had to do was press the opalescent cabochon stone set into the top of the ankh to signal that he was ready to go back through the portal. The technology was very similar to the Furling device he'd read about in one of Jonas' journals.

Sallah came out the back door. He stood facing the expanse of desert, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. When no one else came out, Daniel stepped out of the shadow of the shrubs at the side of the house.

"Sallah?"

"Dr. Jackson!" the Hadij man exclaimed in an excited but soft voice. He rushed to Daniel and took his hand. "It's good to see you again. Please tell me, how is the colonel?"

"We're very hopeful that he'll recover completely. I didn't have a chance to thank you. If you hadn't gotten help so quickly…"

"It was the least I could do, under the circumstances."

"Yes, well, the circumstances are why I'm here. I need to know how to get into the main facility where the biological toxins were created."

Fear crossed Sallah's face, deepening the lines of his swarthy complexion. "For what purpose?"

"The toxins your leaders intend to use against the Tirani are far more dangerous than they realize. Yes, they would eliminate the Tirani from this world but they will contaminate the entire planet and eventually kill your people as well."

Sallah closed his eyes and raised his face toward the star-filled night sky. When he looked back at Daniel there were tears in his eyes. "I somehow know that you're speaking the truth. The men who currently rule us have been asking the Hadij people to pay an ever higher price for their dreams of conquest."

Daniel's voice reflected both his empathy and his need for help. "The Tirani aren't your enemy. They can save your people by creating a counteragent to the toxins. Even if the attack happens, they can make sure that this world will recover in time and not perish. I know my world would be willing to help the Hadij."

Sallah looked back at the house then at Daniel, the folds of his forehead crinkling into his bald scalp. "Come back here tomorrow night and I'll have all the information you'll need."

"I can't let you take the risk yourself. Tell me where the facility is and how to get the information and I'll go in."

Laughing quietly but heartily, Sallah said, "You would be discovered within seconds, by your looks and your lack of knowledge about the alarm system. Thanks to my position, I can get in and out quickly and safely."

Noticing Daniel's deep frown, Sallah put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "My ancestors fought against the Goa'uld and survived. I may be only a lowly civil servant but I can fight in my own way now that my people need help again."

Daniel wasn't used to allowing others to take risks but he realized the Hadij man was right. "Tomorrow, same time, same station."

A day later, Daniel stood outside Sallah's home again. The legate's assistant had been able to obtain far more than he had expected. In the small cloth-wrapped package the Hadij man held out to him were samples of each toxin and all the pertinent scientific criteria on the formulas.

As he handed Daniel the package, Sallah asked, "Is there someone you love, more than life itself, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel didn't hesitate and answered, "Yes."

"Her name."

"Janet."

"On Janet's soul, promise that my family and my people will survive?"

"I promise, on my beloved's soul, you, your family and the Hadij people will have a future. What you make of it will be your choice."

Clutching the package tightly against his chest, Daniel walked swiftly away from the house. When he was far enough out in the desert not to be observed he dialed the coordinates that would take him to the Tirani homeworld. The compact wrist device he'd been given in place of the lapel pin hummed for several seconds. He couldn't help laughing softly, hoping he'd dialed the correct long distance number.

The static charge of a wormhole enveloped him in a deep tunnel of light and gently deposited him on the other side, with barely a flicker of transition from one world and time to the next. The softly lit room was bigger and noisier than the one on P1S-236.The banks of computer screens scrolled steadily, with lines of what Daniel recognized as Ancient script.

This time there was a long ramp in front of him, similar to the one in his Gate room. When he reached the bottom, he turned around and looked up at the looming device he'd come through. His heart pounded and his jaw dropped as they had the first time he'd seen the Stargate at Cheyenne Mountain. As his eyes moved up, he felt a new awe and curiosity, a familiarity clashing with the visual wonder of a device half again larger than the ones he knew.

The smaller inside ring had the standard thirty-nine symbols from the Milky Way galaxy, with all nine chevrons fully visible and glowing. The huge outer ring was covered in an orderly progression of unfamiliar star constellation symbols. He began counting all the chevrons and symbols. Before he could finish, Cortin's voice made him turn away from the Tirani Stargate.

"We meet again, Dr. Jackson," Cortin said in a calm, friendly voice. The smile on his face made it very obvious he was happy to be home.

"Please call me Daniel," he said handing Cortin the package. "Uh, am I too late for lunch?"

General Hammond looked up and down the briefing room table. His years of military professionalism were on very thin ice at this moment.

"I've called all of you together so that Major Davis can get the full picture of what's been going on here and out there," and he pointed toward the window overlooking the Gate room.

"I've read through Major Carter and Teal'c's mission reports so I have a pretty good idea of what's happened so far on P1S-236, sir," Paul Davis said very professionally.

"Good, because I really don't want to rehash that fiasco. I do want to thank Dr. Warner for taking over supervision of the infirmary while Dr. Fraiser has been on personal leave. Due to an irreconcilable situation, namely Colonel O'Neill's highly colorful threats to Dr. Warner's physical person, Dr. Fraiser will be returning to duty tomorrow."

"Thank you, General," Dr. Warner said gratefully. "Permission to return to the infirmary?"

The general nodded to the doctor who quickly left the briefing room. His eyes rested pointedly on each person at the table, daring any one of them to react.

"Sir, we still haven't been able to contact the Tok'ra," Sam volunteered cautiously.

"I hope that changes very soon, Major, since it was Jacob who started this whole diplomatic mission, and I use that term very loosely. I have numerous questions for him."

"General, I understand all the points you have made here. But our primary concern should be Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said insistently.

"I know that, Teal'c. And I also know what you have in mind. The answer is a very emphatic 'no'. There will be round-the-clock armed airmen in the Gate room from now until I say otherwise. I've issued orders that anyone attempting to go through the Stargate without authorization will be tranquilized and confined, to start."

Major Davis looked around the table at these people he had come to know so well. Not for the first time he had to pass on orders from his superiors at the Pentagon that would go against the deep bonds that had grown among the personnel at Cheyenne Mountain. "I know how all of you feel, but we can't allow the SGC to be pulled into an impending war on another world, especially one with as much lethal potential as this. Until we know more, Dr. Jackson is on his own."

The shuttle flight from Cortin's home on the eastern ocean back to the sprawling mountain city of Bethor had been spectacular. Daniel kept telling himself that he was having too good a time considering that an all-out war might soon be starting in the time and place he'd left behind a few hours ago. Yet he couldn't help the wonder and excitement his mind conjured with each new experience on the Tirani world of Chesed.

Senior Consul Angella, who was acting as his guide, said with deep pride, "The Science Institute is our greatest achievement. We have gathered men and women from dozens of times and places to work with our own scientists in every field."

"I know two people back home who would love to be here," Daniel said as he walked down the bustling corridor beside her.

"Your friend Sallah has given us everything we need to create the counteragent. The weapons we release in response to the Hadij bombs will contain bioengineered materials to neutralize their toxins. There will be a certain level of damage but, in time, the negative effects will be broken down so that Makry will revive even better than it was before."

Remembering his promise to Sallah, Daniel asked, "The Hadij people will survive?"

"Very definitely."

"I…" Daniel's voice stopped suddenly as he began to gag, then choke. He felt his throat closing, cutting off his air. He grabbed Angella's arm with one hand as he clutched his chest with the other. Struggling harder for air, he dropped to his knees.

"Dr. Jackson!" Angella knelt beside him as he collapsed onto the floor. "Someone, please, help!" She looked up and saw the people around her backing away.

The petite woman who knelt down on the other side of Daniel's unconscious body examined him quickly. "It's not the toxins, you fools! One of you, get me a double dose of Epradine 5, now!"

One of the medical associates went into a nearby lab and came out less than a minute later with a hypo cylinder. The woman grabbed it and held it against Daniel's neck. Within seconds Daniel's color began to return to normal and his breathing started to regain a healthy rhythm.

Daniel opened one eye very cautiously. His view was limited but he saw that the woman standing over him was Janet. "You did keep a bed waiting."

"Excuse me, Dr. Jackson?"

Opening both eyes, Daniel realized that the woman who was taking his pulse wasn't the Janet he'd left back on Earth. His Janet would never wear her hair long and in such an elaborately braided style. "Who are you?"

She began to laugh deep in her throat. "I'm Dr. Janet Fraiser but not the one from your reality."

He resisted the urge to give a smart-alecky response a la Jack O'Neill. Feeling too off balance to deal with alternate reality conundrums, Daniel asked, "Why did I pass out?"

"Along with your numerous environmental allergies, you are also sensitive to shellfish. One of the dishes you were served at Ambassador Cortin's home contained a type of shrimp native to this world."

"I'm glad you, uh, my Janet gave me some extra allergy medication for this trip."

As she removed a piece of monitoring technology from his chest she said, "When they told me you were coming, I insisted on reviewing your medical records. Your Dr. Fraiser has chronicled your physiological history in minute detail."

"I'm sure she has." Daniel felt a growing disorientation. Of all the possibilities that this alternate reality could bring, another Janet Fraiser wasn't one he'd anticipated.

"I feel I know you as well as she does," Dr. Fraiser smiled.

Daniel blinked his eyes rapidly, not sure how to respond. "Thank you for your care and concern, Dr. Fraiser. Please don't take it personally but I feel very tired and would like to sleep a little more."

"That's my prescription. I'll check in on you again later. Sweet dreams, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel watched this world's competent and beautiful Dr. Janet Fraiser sweep out of the room, the pale lavender material of her flowing slacks and tunic moving briskly with each purposeful step. When she was gone, he rested his head back against the soft pillow and closed his eyes. As he felt sleep overtaking him again, he reminded himself that he shouldn't take anything for granted, anywhere or anytime.

The silence in Janet's quarters was getting on her nerves. She had tried each of the holographic scenery programs she'd had installed in her suite of rooms on the institute grounds over the years, landscapes, cloudscapes, seascapes, starscapes, but the soothing motion, colors and sounds that usually relaxed her only increased her anxiety.

All the frantic hours she had put in at the lab had left her totally drained. Her team had completed the last steps in the counteragent mixing late this afternoon. Narim and his team would be arriving at dawn with the components that had to be loaded with the counteragent and transported through the portal. Tollan engineers were already on the other side assembling the delivery system they'd designed. Each step in the process was going well and should ensure that the precious lab-created materials would safely and effectively destroy the Hadij killer toxins.

She paced the open, comfortably furnished living room, obsessing over the long list of complications she had thought of that could threaten this mission. The tension wasn't solely her own. She had felt it even in Cortin. His legendary optimism and unflappability had been sorely tested by the Makry assignment.

Tirani intervention in timeline events had become a routine part of her experiences here. This was the first time she had been directly involved, however. She didn't have any moral or ethical issues with their interference in other times and places. With very rare exceptions, their choices were correct and turned out beneficially for all concerned. The gratitude she felt toward them for saving her life was sincere. She just wished they didn't keep so many secrets.

She needed to get a good night's sleep before the trip through the portal. Hopefully, the nightmares she'd been having, of her past and of what could go wrong, would let her. She was grateful that her abilities in the field of genetics were being used to help save a world but she couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. That strong inner instinct she relied on so much to diagnose her patients was nagging at her, trying to make her see something that she was missing and it was more than an intellectual apprehension.

Her emotions had been in growing disarray since she'd first been told about the alternate reality Daniel Jackson. She had asked Narim about him and had been impressed by the stories her Tollan friend had chronicled. The Tirani interest in this Daniel Jackson hinted at ulterior motives that, right now, were a complete mystery to her. She knew that they never did anything involving outsiders without a reason.

Before leaving the hospital wing, she had checked on Dr. Jackson one last time. As she stood at the foot of the bed staring at the sleeping stranger, more memories from her lost world assailed her painfully. He had been the last person to see her dear friends, General O'Neill, Samantha and Catherine, before they died. He had barely escaped before the mountain was blown to bits by the auto-destruct. While he was scrambling for his life on her alternate reality Earth, the Tirani were rescuing her and the group of Genesis list and SGA personnel who had escaped to the Beta site.

In the three days since this man had appeared in this time and place, all the memories from her lost life had come forward with an intensity that had overwhelmed her hard-won accepting spirit. All the loss and grief that had once torn her apart had been recreated as if she was reliving those first days all over again and she found herself whispering her fiancés' name repeatedly, as she did now, "I still miss you so much, Paul."

The door chime startled her out of her deep introspection. "Come in," she said when she recognized the image on the monitor. The door opened at her voice command just as she finished wiping away her tears.

Angella glided into the living room, her smile set and pleasant. "I hope I have not disturbed you, Janet."

"Not at all. I'm all packed and ready for tomorrow. I was just going to make myself some dinner. Would you care to join me?"

"No, thank you. I do want to congratulate you on the outstanding work you have done in such a short time," the Tirani woman said as she seated herself on one side of a pastel striped loveseat. Motioning to the empty spot opposite her, Angella added, "Please?"

Janet no sooner sat down than Angella reached over and took both of her hands. "I understand you and Dr. Jackson have been getting along quite nicely."

"He's my patient," she answered coolly and that nagging little itch of inner instinct reared up.

"He is also very pleasing to the eye and the mind, do you not you agree?"

Janet laughed. "I never thought of you as a matchmaker, Angella."

The set smile became somber as Angella said, "Your Paul has been gone for several years now. It is time to love again, dear Janet."

"Dr. Jackson loves someone in his world."

A flash of anger came into Angella's eyes then disappeared. She tightened her hold on Janet's hands. "You know what is coming in his reality?"

"Yes," Janet answered slowly while her mind clicked certain recent incidents and conversations into place like a jigsaw puzzle. She waited for Angella to provide the last piece that would solve the ulterior motives mystery.

In the commanding and direct tone of voice that was her hallmark, Angella explained, "The two of you are destined to be together. You need to bind him to you for his sake. Otherwise…"

Angella's show of anger, that Janet knew about Dr. Jackson's future pain, was the last piece of the puzzle. But was it a real reaction or simply designed to influence her choices? With the Tirani woman, it was hard to tell duplicity from truth sometimes. One thing was for sure, there was definitely more than the surface good intentions to her matchmaking.

For the first time since this all began, Janet felt a giddy flush of amusement temper her anxiety. There might be ulterior motives on the part of the Tirani, but in the meantime it would be interesting to see how these machinations played out.

Smiling enigmatically, Janet said, "…what God and angels know."

"I am not familiar with that quotation," Angella said releasing her hold on Janet's hands.

"It's a Tau'ri compliment that describes Dr. Jackson's soul."

Both women smiled, but for very different reasons.

The familiar restful aura that had greeted him from his earthly pain surrounded him once more. He felt safe, shielded from the agonizing reality his ascension had saved him from. His ascended body leaned back against the luxurious, inviting cushions of a bed in a room decorated in warm, welcoming earth tones. As he relaxed further, his eyes slipped shut.

"Coward," a soft, eloquent voice whispered.

His eyes snapped awake. The room and all its comforting contents melted away. He was alone in a strange universe, surrounded by the blue miasma. He held up his hands expecting to see them covered in blood. He wasn't disappointed. The viscous globules dripped from his fingers, slowly, painfully, and melted into the febrile mist. Below him, the shifting layers of ether began taking on the colors of the hot liquids he had brought here. Rivulets more oozed from his arms, his face, his chest, dripping down his legs and forming a steadily expanding pool at his feet. All the colors of blood from all the lives he hadn't saved. The streams of color blended together to form one giant river of red, the color of human blood, the most striking and the most accusatory. He closed his eyes tightly to obliterate the ugliness around him.

Louder this time, the voice said, "Coward!"

When he opened his eyes again, Oma Desala was there in her human persona. She stood just outside the flowing red liquid, out of his reach.

His voice cold and angry, he said, "You lied to me."

"And you broke our rules, the ones we have relied on for millennia to protect us from outside forces that would corrupt and destroy us." She looked down, startled, and saw the pulsing red pool begin to expand toward her. She stepped back quickly.

"Then you're lying to yourselves. Your fear has made you lose sight of your original goal, good fighting against evil." Daniel saw her flinch with each truthful word.

Unable to avoid the relentless, steaming blood-tide any longer, Oma's face twisted in outrage. "You have a choice, Daniel Jackson. You can escape all the guilt your conscience is struggling with from this river of blood you accumulated during your ascension by dying once and for all, or you can continue with this newest burden by going home and beginning the struggle all over again."

Daniel smiled, knowing that he was now in control and could stop the nightmares from taking over his soul. "I choose home."

From the balcony of his private suite, Daniel watched another spectacular Chesed sunrise. He rubbed his thumb caressingly across the pill case in his hand and smiled.

For three nights he had slept peacefully, with only good dreams, all of Janet, bringing warmth and healing to his bleeding soul. The grisly, guilt-ridden nightmares hadn't followed him from his Earth life, until last night. In the original version of this most recent nightmare, his former ascended mentor had mocked him, insidiously and cruelly, never getting near enough to meet his anger and accusations. This time, he had won the battle for his soul with three simple words.

The drama had ended with Oma Desala disappearing in a rage of hot, white light. He allowed the peace and relief of his dream choice to gently cleanse the obsessive angst he'd discovered inside himself since the nightmares began.

He suspected that confrontations with his ascended past weren't over, but this dream had assured him that he was doing the right thing in being here. Even if he did have to sacrifice his life, all his debts would finally be paid.

"Am I disturbing you, Daniel?" Cortin's rich baritone voice intruded.

Daniel took a deep breath of the sweet summer breeze that was drifting down from the distant mountains and turned toward the doorway. "Not at all, Cortin," and he put the pill case in the pocket over his heart.

Placing a full oval tray on the table beside Daniel, Cortin said, "I understand from Janet that you are a connoisseur of coffee. I had the kitchen staff make a pot of the special blend I grow on my farm to go with your breakfast."

"Thanks," Daniel said as he poured a cup of the steaming brew. He added one of the sweetening tablets whose flavor was a combination of maple sugar and black walnuts and took a healthy swallow. His eyes widened as the caffeine-rich coffee hit his stomach. "This has quite a kick," he laughed. "Please, join me. There's more than enough here for both of us."

Smiling proudly, Cortin said, "Thank you for the compliment and the offer, but I have already eaten."

Daniel sat down and hungrily began his meal. The food on this world was something he had easily gotten used to with each passing day.

Cortin moved to the railing and scanned the majestic view. His curiosity about this enigmatic and powerful man from the future prompted Daniel to ask, "Have you ever climbed those peaks?"

"Twice. They are beautiful from a distance but dangerous underfoot."

"Like life."

Cortin laughed softly and turned back to Daniel. "That is the response of a philosopher. For an archeologist, you have an insightful and challenging way of approaching life. Does it always work for you?"

"No," Daniel answered honestly. "But I've been tweaking my methodology since I came back from that other plane of existence. I hope to get it perfected a little more before my next encounter with the Hadij."

In a neutral tone, Cortin asked, "Do you really believe they will listen this time?"

"If I don't make one last attempt to avert the consequences they've created, I'll have failed to live up to the ideals I believe in. I can't and won't do that ever again," Daniel said vehemently.

"Spoken like a true idealist. I prefer the realist viewpoint."

"Either way, they're both preferable to cynicism. Don't you agree?"

Cortin frowned unexpectedly. "There are degrees to all three. Such disagreements created the schism among the Ancients."

His curiosity pricked by Cortin's unexpected reference to his ancestors, Daniel asked, "You mean the spirituality vs. scientific conflict for solving problems?"

"Yes. But more so the parameters of what comprise good and evil. Your personal experiences with our ancestors on the spiritual side are only a glimpse of the hypocrisy we chose to escape from so long ago."

Daniel felt his whole body tense. "A year ago I would have enjoyed debating these abstract 'meaning of life' conundrums. But I've seen the reality and the consequences too personally." He saw a deep concern in Cortin's smoke-gray eyes and added, "I would like to continue this conversation someday when we have more time."

"Agreed," Cortin said, his expression relaxing.

The wariness that had existed at their first meeting had quickly changed to a budding friendship that had surprised both world-experienced men. But the respect and trust between them was still very new. Daniel needed a final assurance that he'd chosen the right side. "I do have one question I'd like answered before we challenge the barbarians at the gate." Cortin nodded and he asked, "What'll you do after this is over?"

"We will go home, as we always do when our objectives have been achieved. We will have planted the seeds for the Hadij to build on. That was our purpose, and it remains our hope." Cortin paused then his voice became stronger in an impassioned emphasis. "We are not and never have been conquerors. In that direction lie corruption, death and damnation."

"The four horsemen," Daniel said quietly, remembering the nightmare that had started this adventure.

Cortin nodded again then said, "We will be leaving for Makry in an hour from the transport room. Do not be late."

"I won't," Daniel said eagerly. He was looking forward to seeing how those inner and outer tracks on the Tirani Stargate worked.

To be continued in

Stargate Diplomacy - Part 2: Future Ends