A/N: Hello all! I've successfully survived my weekend and now feel like I could do with another! But alas, I'm back at uni… oh well, at least it means I can update! Thanks to all those who reviewed… I get the feeling there are people reading without reviewing, which I understand… but please don't be shy!

Special mention to Ildi from Hungary, who tells me that "fodor" in Hungarian means "curl" or "flounce"… dunno what you want to make of that! Oh and Lise: there are actually two words for lightning in French, éclair being one of them. So you were right. When you say 'éclair' though, it's like "I see lightning", whereas 'foudre' is more active, violent – as in "a bolt of lightning."
Another few comments:
Flatkatsi: I know what you mean, but try to imagine a SCARY Yowie, k?
BookWorm: Alright, you were "mostly" right… if you say so – hehe
Everyone else: Thanks for the support! Please keep reviewing!

Before continuing I just want to pause for a moment to remember those who died in 9/11, and all those who have died since in the various conflicts that have ensued (right or wrong – I'm not going to start a political conversation). No matter what, terrorism is a barbaric practice and I empathise with anyone directly affected.

Ok. Here's the next part… I'm keeping with the colour themes where appropriate, so the title is:

Chapter XI – Shimmering aqua

As before, a great mist of swirling green circled above Jack's head as he clutched the orb. Trying to ignore the approaching goa'uld monster, he concentrated, imagining a great shield to protect the great cavern. Just as he was about to give up and aim his P-90 at the approaching monster, a powerful sense of control empowered him. He felt as if possessed by the power of the cavern as his arms were imbued with strength. Opening his eyes determinedly, he thrust his head backward and looked straight up to where the green mist was still swirling around like a hurricane.

"Sir!" Sam's voice filtered through, but only just. "You need to do something now!"

Sam had watched Jack with a mix of unbridled fear and anticipation. The power of the alien cave was like nothing they had seen before, and had to be Ancient. As she saw Jack become more and more focussed on the orb and the power that lay within it, Sam couldn't forget about that time he'd downloaded the Ancient's repository of knowledge into his brain and nearly died. She looked on anxiously, hoping that scenario wouldn't repeat itself.

There was a noticeable change in Jack's body language, just as the towering figure of Turramulli appeared in one of the tunnels approaching the cavern. Sam saw Jack's eyes snap open and look straight up above him towards the ceiling. There was such a concentration in his eyes she wondered if it was him, or the alien technology, in control. Whatever the case, it seemed something was happening.

The disturbing green misty hurricane that had been swirling above them condensed into a central mass directly above the orb, before spreading out to slowly cover the walls and openings, the colour mixing with the iridescent blue of the walls to create a shimmering aquamarine curtain.

As Sam watched this spectacle, she realised it wasn't going to happen fast enough. Turramulli was upon them, and had entered the cavern, bending slightly to avoid the descending shield. She stood upright, placed herself between the monster and the three other people in the cavern, squared her stance, and pointed her P-90 right at the goa'uld. She shot at Turramulli repeatedly, but nothing seemed to have an effect on him. Sure, he had stopped walking towards her, but that was only to look on in amusement as the bullets she fired at him seemed to fuse with his body, causing no harm whatsoever.

"You are but providing me with sustenance and energy, human." Turramulli growled in a voice that, although unmistakably goa'uld, seemed to rumble at the same timbre as the sound of thunder itself. Sam felt herself shiver uncontrollably in the face of the situation, but kept firing at him.

"Sir!" she shouted to Jack who, hopefully, was in a position to understand her. She chanced a glance around at him and saw that he was still grasping the orb, as if possessed.

In the moment she had looked away, Turramulli had lunged at her with amazing speed and knocked her to the ground, only to pick her up by the foot, holding her up so her face was level with his.

"You WILL allow me to leave!" the supercharged goa'uld roared right into Sam's ear. She couldn't do anything but hang there, hoping Jack would find a way to counter the beast.

Jack had still been staring at the centre of the ceiling when Sam had called out to him. Now, however, he was looking straight at Turramulli holding Sam as if infused with an enormous rage, a rage that encompassed his entire body. Channelling the emotion within him he felt a build up of power within the orb, before an intense, bright, red light shot out of the orb hitting Turramulli squarely on the chest. Causing him to drop his prey. Unlike the bullets Sam had been firing at the monster, this beam didn't fuse with his body, but seemed to push him backwards.

At being shot by this light, Turramulli's skin had solidified at the site of impact as if it were a protective armour. But he was unable to struggle against the intense power of the red missile which propelled him backwards through the archway, which had momentarily been liberated of its protective shield, and into the tunnel. As soon as he had passed through the archway and the shield had redescended, Jack's hands disengaged limply from the orb and he stumbled to the ground before crawling to where Sam was lying on the ground.

As Jack had taken his hands off the orb and looked around him in wonder, he didn't fully understand what had happened. He saw Sam lying limply on the ground, a nasty gash on her right temple from her impact with the ground seeping blood onto the dirt. He struggled over to where she was and turned her onto her back, cradling her head in his lap, willing her to wake up.

"Carter!" he whispered urgently. "Wake up Carter!" He shook her shoulders slightly to try and pull her out of her unconsciousness. "Carter don't make me order you!" Although he tried to sound scolding, the fear in his voice was obvious, and it nearly cracked on the last word.

He looked around him helplessly. Fodor was unconscious, two other bodies lay next to him, either unconscious or dead, Turramulli was roaring behind the now reconstituted shield about how he would make them pay for their 'insolence' – although thankfully his voice was muffled considerably by the aquamarine barrier between them – and Carter… well Carter wasn't awake.

"C'mon Sam," he was pleading now. "Wake up – I can't get us out of here without you!"

"That's not true," a small voice filtered through the air to his ears and Jack hoped fervently that he hadn't imagined it. "You're not really as hopeless as you make out."

"Carter?" he asked hesitantly.

"Ugh.. present." Sam slowly opened her eyes and moved to sit up until a sharp pain in her forehead forced her to abandon the idea. She settled back into the position she was and looked up to see Jack's concerned face above watching her every move.

"Turramulli?" She wasn't capable of forming longer sentences – her response to his initial appeal had taken enough effort as it was.

"Not in here." Jack glanced up at the monster who was now pacing in the tunnel like a tiger on the prowl. He absentmindedly stroked Sam's hair to reassure himself that she was ok, before looking at her again. "You ok?"

Sam was swiftly regaining control of the situation and made a concerted effort to sit up – slowly. This achieved, she looked around her in wonder. The change in the atmosphere in the cavern gave it a completely new feel. No longer was it dark and eerily soothing, it was now a bright, harsh, fluorescent aqua. Despite the fact that the colour itself wasn't unpleasant, the sheer intensity of it filled the cavern with a sense of danger. She surveyed the entire space and saw Turramulli on the other side of the archway directly in front of her, looking angry, but unfazed by their encounter. He seemed to be plotting something, looking intently at them has he paced back and forth from left to right.

Continuing her survey of the cavern, she saw Jack looking at her expectantly. "What? Oh yeah. I'll live." She said quickly. He almost sank into the ground in relief at her words, before pulling himself upright and standing up with considerable effort.

"So Carter," Jack was moving slowly around the side of the cave, marvelling at the new atmosphere around them. "What now?"

General Hammond sat in his office, stunned at what Jonas was telling him. He reflected that Jack and Sam being trapped under one of the world's greatest natural wonders shouldn't strike him as being that strange – considering their usual line of work. Nonetheless, he was finding it difficult to believe that on Earth, there could be something quite as, well, alien as an apparently weapons cache with a suspected goa'uld trapped inside.

"So you still haven't heard from them Jonas?" he asked carefully, trying to reassure himself that Jack O'Neill could get himself out of anything – especially if Sam Carter was with him.

"No sir," Jonas' voice sounded amazingly clear, considering he was calling using a mobile phone from the other end of the world. General Hammond wondered absentmindedly how many satellites the signal was bouncing off to reach him. "But the main problem is that they don't know how to get out of the cave – or even how they got in. The Australians have agreed to close Uluru off to the public for at least the next two days while we sort it out, and Mr Goonagulla is talking to the elders of the Anangu tribe now to negotiate the addition of more personnel and some technology to our group up here."

Hammond rested his elbow against the hard desk in front of him and used his hand to support his head. It was early only mid-afternoon where he was and already he was tired – too tired. He couldn't imagine how SG-1 must be feeling… it had to be the middle of the night where they were.

"Thank you Jonas," he said sincerely. "I appreciate the care you're taking to liaise not only with the Australian government but with the indigenous community as well. Their Prime Minister was adamant that we treat carefully and not inflame an already delicate situation."

Just as General Hammond was about the wrap up the conversation and continue with his afternoon meetings, the well-known sirens of an unauthorised off-world activation sounded. Telling Jonas to stay on the line, he raced down to the control room to see what was going on.

"Receiving the Tok'ra IDC sir!" The sergeant clipped in a professional manner, "Opening the iris."

As he did so, General Hammond moved downstairs and into the gateroom to await whomever the new arrival would be. He wasn't surprised when he saw Jacob Carter walk through the wormhole. However, the troubled look on the older General's face gave him great cause for concern.

"Jacob, what's the problem?" Hammond said quickly, not even expressing his usual welcome.

"I regret to inform you, General Hammond," it was Selmak who spoke, and not Jacob. "there is the distinct possibility that Baal is currently on his way to earth in search of a mythical cache of weapons."

General Hammond nearly laughed at what Selmak had said, so relieved was he that there was no other serious problem that they had to face at the moment. Selmak and Jacob obviously perceived the relieved look on Hammond's face, and were puzzled by it, as it was Jacob who spoke next.

"George?" he asked carefully, not daring to actually voice the question, but demanding answers with his eyes.

"Jacob," General Hammond began, as he motioned for them both to move upstairs to his office. "I can't tell you how much we appreciate the Tok'ra taking the time to warn us, but for once we were already aware of the danger – we even know exactly where the cache is and SG-1 is already there."

Jacob stopped short at the door of General Hammonds office as he had said this. The latter sat down easily in his chair and picked up the phone. "It's ok Jonas," he said with a smile on his face. "It was only the Tok'ra warning us about Baal… yeah I know… yeah it is Jacob… ok, I'll be sure to tell him. Yes I'm sure he gives his love to Sam." He ignored Jacob's efforts to reach the phone and talk to his daughter. "Keep me posted son, and tell the Australian commander not to hesitate to call me if need be – anytime."

Jacob flopped down into the chair in front of the desk with a discontented 'humpf' noise. He didn't know why George hadn't let him speak to Sam, and was more than a little annoyed at the lack of gratitude for the fact that he had convinced the Tok'ra to allow him to come and warn the people of Earth about Baal's planned visit to their shores. Suddenly, something George had said filtered through to his mind and startled him.

"Did you say Australia?" his eyebrows raised in question. "Is that where the weapons cache is?"

General Hammond sighed, wondering how many more times he'd have to explain the situation to what seemed like anyone and everyone. "We don't think it's a weapons cache," he began patiently, "However there is much evidence to suggest a large quantity of naquada hidden under Uluru in Australia, we think by the Asgard."

"And you think that's where Baal's going?" Jacob mused, almost to himself.

"We know that's where Baal's going." General Hammond corrected. "SG-1 discovered a series of instructions of a cave walll off-world which gives instructions as to where the cache existed – in Turramulli's cave on Uluru."

The commander of the SGC wasn't prepared for the reaction Jacob would have to the last thing he had said. In a move that was very strange for a Tok'ra, who usually managed to keep good control of their cool in even the most dire situation. The colour drained from Jacob's face as he heard the word 'Turramulli'. He dipped his head so it would be Selmak who spoke.

"Turramulli is a legend among the goa'uld." He began slowly, looking intensely serious. "It is rumoured he was a goa'uld so powerful that not even the Ancients could dispense of him. Instead, they supposedly banished him to an underground cave protected by the most advanced technology they possessed at the time." Selmak's head dipped down and Jacob returned to control. "George," he stressed, now extremely concerned for his daughter's, and indeed his world's, safety. "They're not actually inside the caves are they? There's a reason they've remained hidden for so many years – the most dangerous of all goa'ulds is trapped down there… and if they go in, they might be trapped with him."

One look at George's face told Jacob all he needed to know. Standing quickly, he marched down towards the control room and ordered the sergeant to start dialling the gate. As he perceived General Hammond behind him, he turned to speak quickly. "I'm going to see if I can organise any help." He was moving towards the gateroom now. "I don't know how they got into the cave – no one is supposed to be able to get in or out – but I'll do my best to find a solution."

Sam was still sitting on the ground and made no attempt to stand up, she felt her head tenderly to check it had stopped bleeding, and looked to where Jack was pacing, in front of Turramulli. She looked closer at the monster through the protective shield and tried to make sense of everything in her mind. The strength and resistance of the goa'uld was unlike anything they'd ever seen – even the Unas' regenerative power had its limits.

The way Turramulli had reacted to being shot had been unique. He had seemed to absorb the bullets, and when confronted with an energy weapon, a sort of shield had appeared. He wasn't immune to the propelling force of the weapon, but it could not penetrate through to his skin. Sam began to understand the problem that Asgard and Ancients must have faced – still do face. Now, the problem was much more acute – they needed to figure out a way to leave the cavern; and their best chance of help was currently unconscious.

Reaching into one of the many pockets in her vest, Sam searched for the Tok'ra communication device, hoping it hadn't been damaged during her mid-air suspension at the hands of Turramulli. Finding it finally she pulled it out and attempted to contact the surface.

"Jonas? Teal'c? Do you read?" she paused, looking at Jack, who was standing near the wall, moving his hand up and down in the air, watching the shield strengthen at the close proximity.

After what seemed like much longer than it was waiting in silence, she heard Jonas' voice project through the small device.

"Sam! Are you ok? What's going on!" His voice was urgent and happy at the same time, obviously relieved to hear the sound o her voice after such a long silence.

Upon hearing Jonas' voice, Jack moved towards Sam and silently asked for the communication device, which she handed over to him.

"Ok Jonas listen up!" he barked into it. "We have one mother of a go'auld monster down here, as well as an unconscious prehistoric Asgard." He paused, looking around him. "For the moment we're safe – we've got this shield protecting us from Turramulli, but we're absolutely no closer to getting out of here."

The next voice to filter through the communication device wasn't Jonas', but Stacey's instead. "Sir, this is Captain Hindmarsh." She began, her voice as professional as ever – much like Sam's, Jack mused to himself. "Sir, the rock has been closed off to the public and will remain so for at least the next two days. We've got reinforcements coming from the base and some of your own personnel with their gadgets are arriving even as we speak to try and figure out how this transport thing works."

"Thank you Captain," Jack was relieved to have someone competent on the topside of the rock. "In the meantime, stay away from the area we 'beamed' out of – I might try a few things."

Jack didn't hear whatever it was that Stacey said because suddenly the cavern had been filled with Sam's urgent voice.

"NO!" the force of her voice stunned him, and he looked at her expectantly. "Sir," she began, calmer this time, "You don't know how any of this technology works." She was looking straight at Turramulli, who had been watching them intently throughout all this time. "If you tried to transport out, you might not only fail, but inadvertently break the shield and let him back in!"

"So what, we just wait here!" Jack looked like he was going to be sick at the thought of just doing nothing when there was obviously so much that needed to be done.

"Yes sir." Sam sighed, aware that it was not going to be easy to wait with the monster glaring at them all the time. "At least until Fodor regains consciousness to help us." She glanced towards the Asgard and prayed that that would actually happen.

Jack sighed, realising that, as usual, Sam was probably right. He brought the communication device back to his mouth to speak to those on the surface. "Actually Captain, Carter thinks it might be dangerous for me to try anything at the moment." He was suddenly feeling incredibly tired, which was not surprising considering their travel and activities of the last 30 hours. "Apparently we're just going to sit tight for a bit, hoping this Asgard guy Fodor wakes up soon. Can you let us know of any developments?"

It was Jonas who answered. "Sure thing Colonel – we've actually just been speaking to General Hammond." He paused, wondering what Jack's reaction to the Tok'ra's visit would be. "Major Carter's father was just at the SGC – apparently the Tok'ra just learnt that Baal might be heading our way and thought to warn us."

Jack rolled his eyes at that news before responding to Jonas. "Figures. They actually choose to share something with us and it's the one time that we already knew!" He sat down on the ground next to Carter, who was smiling at his comment, and rested his arms loosely on his knees. "Jonas, we're going to try and get some rest before Fodor wakes up – you should try and do the same while everyone's getting to your position. It's going to be a long couple of days."

After saying goodbye to Jonas, Jack set the communication device on the ground next to him and looked to Sam, who seemed to be exhausted. "You should lie down, Carter," he said softly. "I'll keep an eye on Mr Hairy-Pillock over there." He said, nodding in Turramulli's direction.

(A/N: I don't know if anyone else knows the expression 'hairy pillock'… it's what we say in my family to describe men who are particularly hirsute…)

As Jack and Sam sat in silence, trying to ignore the persistent growling noises coming from Turramulli, an Australian scientist was looking towards the stars with his telescope over a thousand miles away.

What he saw was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Suddenly, to the left of Jupiter, there was a flash of light before a small object appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He watched it intently for a couple of minutes before realising that it was headed towards Earth.

With shaking hands, he reached for the telephone.

TBC

A/N: So there you go! They're safe for the moment, but the stage is set for much action to come. Also, for those of you who haven't figured it out… "resting" is a great time for "talking"… so all those people wondering what's going on with the Sam/Jack should tune in next time!

In terms of the greater plot, I've got an outline of what's going to happen, but if anyone's got any ideas I'd be interested to hear them… I like to see where people think I could go with this.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again – please review! But most of all, enjoy your day!