Thanks for the great reviews! Disclaimer, etc. still apply.

OC List:

Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.

Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.

Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.

Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.

Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.

Commander Allard: Total jerk. Male, late forties.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Keane was full of rage.

So full of rage, Devon could feel it making its way into her veins as well.

Amaris was being tortured for information that she simply didn't have. And three people with what must be a friendly Jaffa who tried to save her were about to be killed.

That was when Keane ran up behind that "Ba'al" character and slit his throat. Devon took Keane's zat and took care of the Jaffa restraining the Tau'ri. And the Tau'ri warriors caught on fast. They attacked the Jaffa behind them. Soon the room was secure.

Devon and Keane ran over to Amaris.

"Amaris!" Keane yelled and patted her face. Amaris was alive, but her face vacant. He turned to Devon, who looked pail and worried. "We need to get her down, and out of here as soon as possible."

Devon nodded and looked around the room for a way to get Amaris down. How she was stuck there, Devon didn't understand. But one of the Tau'ri knew.

The grey-haired man who appeared to be the leader said to her, "Pull the lever by his chair." Devon did, and Amaris came sliding to the ground. Keane caught her.

"Amaris," he said, very upset.

"Harvey?" she smiled. "I knew he would kill me one last time so we could be together, my brother."

"No." Keane shook his head, heart heavy. "No, Amaris. You're not dead. It's Keane."

"Keane?" she shook her head. "You look just like Harvey. I miss Harvey. I want to visit him. You can come with us later, Keane." She smiled now. "The three of us can be together, us siblings. But you have to finish your life first."

Keane cried silently now. "You have your life too, Amaris. I'm not ready for you to be gone yet."

Devon walked over. "I'm not ready yet, either."

"Oh, Devon!" She smiled up at her. "You're so cute…and you were very brave just now. You don't need me anymore."

She started crying. "But I want you here with me!"

Jack walked over to them, sorry to break this up. "I don't want to interrupt, but we have explosives set to explode in…" he looked over to Sam for help.

"30 minutes, sir."

"…30 minutes. You can come to our planet, and we can take care of her."

Keane looked at the stranger who had tried to help his sister. "Ok," he said softly. Gathering Amaris in his arms, he led them out of the room. "Ring room is this way."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lowell looked down at the watch on his wrist. How much longer do we have to wait here?

Allard had woken up again, but he was quiet. Lowell might have been small, Allard discovered, but he was strong. And Lowell wasn't exactly hot on him right now. The kind of anger towards the commander was approaching murder level.

Another Jaffa patrol passed the pair, this one running and yelling. They were headed in the direction Devon and Keane had gone in. Lowell stood from his crouched position, looking after them, wondering if his friends had been discovered.

"They're probably dead." Allard couldn't help but piss Lowell off a little more. It was in his blood.

"You know, I knew you shutting up was too good to be true." Lowell crouched down again. He wouldn't let Allard see, but his words concerned him. Many other patrols had gone in that direction, but none had been as driven on accomplishing something as the one that just past. Maybe they were in trouble. Should I go after them? He closed his eyes with worry. I wish they hadn't taken away our radios.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Daniel kept a close eye on their guests. From the conversation in the main chamber, the woman who had been tortured was named Amaris. Her brother was the tall man carrying her, Keane. The third member of that group was a small, wiry woman named Devon. They each spoke with a British accent, suggesting they came from England originally.

This was a curious situation, one they weren't exactly used to. Kelona had only begun to explore the use of the gate, and they had only come across a few civilizations with a running Stargate program. They had all been wiped out.

But this civilization seemed to have slipped under the Goa'uld radar. Ba'al hadn't known about their program, which was actually unlucky for them.

Amaris was asleep and muttering to herself. Keane looked at her, eyes full of concern. "Devon," he said.

"Yeah?" She quickened her pace and moved from behind him to next to him.

"We have a big mess to face back at home." They had only then started to worry about the future.

"Yeah. We do." She twisted her expression, looking sick.

"What's wrong back at home?" Daniel asked them, curious as always.

Devon explained. "This was supposed to be a simple inteligence gathering mission. We only became aware of the Goa'uld a month ago. Since then, we have discovered that they are defiantly a threat." The group turned and started down another corridor. "Keane, Amaris, Lowell and I are the front line unit on our planet."

"Who's Lowell?" Sam had chimed in, showing an interest in this story.

"He's another member of the team. Right now he's waiting in the ring rooms." Suddenly they heard the footfall of a group of Jaffa.

"We must conceal ourselves," Teal' said.

Everyone nodded vehemently and went into a nearby niche. Holding their collective breaths, it was silent except for the sound of footsteps and Amaris's mumblings. Keane held his callused hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

Jack tightened his grip on his recovered gun, just in case it wasn't enough. Thankfully, the patrol was too concerned with saving Ba'al.

"Don't they know I killed the one they serve? They can't do anything about it."

Jack shook his head. "They have a device that brings a being back from the dead. And I bet they're going to use it."

Keane scowled. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have destroyed the damn thing…"

Sam shook her head and cut him off. "In the end, it won't matter. The ship is going to explode, and the end of Ba'al has come."

"Thank God for that." Devon shivered and touched Amaris's forehead. "She's burning up."

Jack nodded. "It's clear now. Let's go."

The seven of them made their way down the hall in silence, until Daniel's curiosity overtook him once more. "…not to pry, but you were telling a story."

Keane sighed. "Devon, will you tell it?" The young man was simply weary.

She nodded. "Well, on this mission we took along Commander Allard, a brave warrior with an excellent reputation." Keane scoffed, but Devon ignored him and continued her story. "In the end, it didn't help us any. We were captured, Amaris tortured. We wanted to rescue her, but Allard won't let us. So once we escaped, we went to the ring room, Lowell knocked Allard out, and Keane and I went to save Amaris.

"Well, what's the problem?" Daniel didn't see an issue in the tale…

"Danny, you've been working with the military for…what? 8 years? You should know assaulting a superior officer is a big no-no." Jack understood right away. "You guys had good cause for it, though. It was brave of you."

Devon smiled, and Keane just kept walking.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lowell heard voices in the hall. Could it be Devon and Keane? He started to walk towards the door of the ring room when Allard unexpectedly stuck is foot in front of the younger man, tripping him.

Allard jumped on top of the fallen man and took a knife that Lowell had stolen from a fallen Jaffa that the man had kept at his waist. Allard cut the cords that bound his hands and feet, all the while pinning Lowell down.

"Damn you! Get off!" Lowell was shouting.

"You assaulted me, infidel!" Allard was pissed. He was pressing the knife to the back of Lowell's neck when SG-1 and the other members of the Aldercy team came through the door.

"Lowell," Devon cried and ran towards the two men. Allard saw the manpower Keane and Devon had found and let the coward out. He ran to the wall, frantic. He pressed a series of buttons, just as he had observed the Jaffa do when they activated the rings when he and Lowell were in hiding.

Allard stood in the center of the ring pattern on the floor and spoke to the stunned group at the opening. "If you ever return to Aldercy," he managed, licking his lips, "I'll make sure you are punished to the fullest extent." With a flash of light, he was gone.

Keane started off towards the wall when Lowell cried, "Let him go! It won't matter in the long run. We'll still be in trouble." His face and tone were sour.

Keane surrendered and went to Lowell's side, along with Devon.

"Are you alright," Devon asked him sweetly.

"Fine." Lowell sat up. "Except that son of a bitch got me when I let my guard down. I feel so stupid."

Keane shook his head. "You did good."

Lowell shook his head, still very disappointed with himself. But he brightened when he saw Amaris. "She's ok!"

"…I wouldn't go as far to say that she's ok." Devon helped Lowell to his feet. "Amaris is alive. That's just about all she has going for her."

He looked over at the team leader and saw for the first time how awful she looked. "What happened to her," he asked in a whisper.

Jack cleared his throat and for the first time Lowell saw that his team-mates were not alone. The grey-haired man looked at him and sympathetically told him, "You'll have to find out later. This ship is going to explode and we don't want to witness that from here."

Everyone was in agreement, so Samantha activated the rings and ran to join the others in the circle. Soon, the people of Aldercy and Earth were on the ground, running towards the Stargate.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Allard glanced behind him. He could see Jaffa headed in his direction from the path. Damn. He turned back to the dialing device in front of him and punched in the last symbols to activate the 'gate. It was the first thing he was taught when he was recruited for the program, and the fact that he could dial speedily was fortunate indeed.

Now in front of the gate's event horizon, he turned back again to check on the hostile's progress. The patrol of Jaffa was at the dialing device. They move quickly. But without any more thought, Allard hopped through the gate and the wormhole disengaged.

But SG-1 and the rest of the Aldercians saw. And every member of SG-1 knew that Amaris's suffering had been in vain. Allard's lack of prudence gave away the address of Aldercy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Getting to the Stargate will be no easy task, O'Neill"

Jack looked over the large Jaffa next to him. "Yeah, I know." His brain was swimming, trying to find the perfect strategy.

Daniel spoke up, pressing his glasses to his face. "We can tell them that we rigged the fleet to explode."

"Daniel, what would we accomplish from that? It was our mission. We can't abandon it entirely." Sam tried reasoning with the archeologist.

"It makes sense. We can use it as a bargaining chip for use of the gate."

Keane, Devon, and Lowell watched the argument following, the burly Jaffa taking sides with Daniel and the Major was backed by the Colonel.

"Damn it, Daniel! We'll be killed, and Ba'al won't even be taken care of."

"Face it, Jack! You're biased!"

He scoffed. "How so?"

"I saw what he did to you!"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "You remember that?"

Daniel exhaled slowly. "Yes. Only recently. But that's not important, Jack. You've been through everything Amaris has. You have every reason to want to kill Ba'al."

"Damn right I do!" Daniel silenced him with a hand.

"But is that more important then giving Amaris the same chance for survival you had?"

Jack simply stared angrily. "Daniel, that is the stupidest thing you've ever said. Once the ship explodes," he gestured into the sky, "They'll go running and the 'gate will be open. Plus," he added with more confidence, "Since when are enemy Jaffa willing to bargain with us?"

The question hung in the air, leaving a silence that was stifling. It was only broken by Amaris, still unconscious, yelling, "I won't tell you anything!" Devon stroked the woman's forehead, crying slightly from sympathy.

Keane cleared his throat and for the first time, added something to the conversation. "Maybe it's just because I'm her brother, but I don't want to wait for the ship to explode to get her help."

"See!" Daniel exclaimed, pointing at the team from Aldercy. "They're human too, and we can't abandon that just to kill Ba'al. That makes us like him."

Jack hung his head, about to admit defeat. It was painful to see Amaris suffering like that. He understood what she was going through, and it seemed he was better off than her. He was a seasoned soldier. Amaris was a simple scientist.

"Well, it's not that long to wait." Everyone turned their attention to Sam. "The ship will explode in 5 minutes."

Jack looked at Keane, who appeared to be the self-appointed new leader of the team. A movement which was accepted. "I'm willing to try and fight our way out if you still don't want to wait."

Keane pondered this, but Lowell was quick to offer his opinion. "Keane, I think we should wait." Devon and Keane shot him dirty looks. "What," he asked, indignant.

"How can you say that?" Devon cried. "We need to get Amaris out of here right away!"

Lowell shook his head. "Am I the only one here who knows that Amaris would want us to kill him now, so he can't hurt anyone else? If she were here…in the capacity that she was thinking clearly…she wouldn't want anyone else to suffer. She's like that, you know."

Devon thought about it for a moment, and agreed. "She always was putting others before herself." Lowell and Devon smiled reminiscently. But Keane wasn't willing to let go.

"I need to save her."

"Keane," Devon spoke to him, "Is this about Harvey?"

He looked at her reproachfully. "No."

"Yes it is." That was Lowell. "I know it's always bothered you…you feel guilty."

"I do not."

SG-1 was completely lost, and Amaris was too delusional to care.

"Yes you do." Lowell looked him square in the eye. Keane stepped up to him, and it was slightly comical. Lowell was small and mousy, but agile. Keane was tall and a little clumsy, but he was strong. It looked like Keane could easily squash Lowell like a bug. And he was angry enough to.

"Um…" Daniel started to cut in, nervously. "There's no need to fight…"

"Guys!" They had started making moves to fight one another when Devon stepped purposefully between them. "It doesn't really matter! It's going to explode soon, anyways." She provided calm insight to the pair often, as Amaris was easily distracted by something new and scientifically exciting.

"Yes, there is now no purpose in waiting, as your arguing has delayed our departure," Teal'c told them calmly with a raised eyebrow.

The two men fell away from each other.

"I'm sorry about…what I said about Harvey." Lowell lowered his eyes as he spoke. "I know you don't like to talk about it."

Keane just shrugged and kept looking at his sister. "Whatever."

Lowell then became angry again. "Have you forgotten that I was there too? I didn't try to save him, either. The three of you, Harvey, Amaris and yourself were like family to me. And I let you guys down. I feel guilty about it too. That's the only reason I know what you're feeling."

"Lowell," he said calmly. "Just drop it, ok? I forgive you."

Devon looked upset, but SG-1 had slowly gotten more confused as the conversation went on. Jack hid it quickly, however, by jumping into the mission.

"Carter? How much longer?"

She checked the bulky watch on her wrist. "30 seconds."

He nodded his understanding, and the group fell silent, faces turned upwards to see the ship be torn apart.

But after 30 seconds, nothing happened. The Jaffa did not move from their position, and there was no fireball in the sky. Jack looked over to Sam, worried, eyes seeking the solution. She shrugged and checked her watch again. A minute. Nothing.

"I'm positive we set the charges correctly." Sam looked flustered, as if she had failed in the worst possible way.

"Naw, it's not your fault, Carter. He probably found them and disarmed them."

"Still...we can't go up and check to see what went wrong…" she trailed off and looked at the ground. She was thinking about how that not only would have killed Ba'al, it would have cleared the gate for them to get Amaris through. Now, it was dangerous. And not only that, it was the Tau'ri's fault for so much of her suffering. And now, they couldn't make it right.

"Well, now what are we going to do to get her out of here," Devon asked, trying to keep her composure.

"We'll have to shoot our way out." Jack chewed his lip, a newfound nervous habit. "Give them your guns, Daniel. You're going to help Miss Devon here carry Amaris to the gate."

The archeologist complied, giving his firearms to Lowell and Keane, one each. They took them almost eagerly. Lowell laughed and told Keane, "Just like the old days, huh?"

Keane grimaced. "Easy for you to say. You got the big one."

"Ready to go everyone?" Jack tried to call without raising his voice too much so to alert the Jaffa to their presence. His eyes were still on the Jaffa, and he panicked when he saw one leave his spot and walk towards them. All armed men (and woman, in Sam's case) grasped their gun a little tighter. They were put to ease, though, when the Jaffa turned at the last moment away from their spot and took the rings back up to the ship.

"He has most likely gone to report the gate address used by Commander Allard to Ba'al," Teal'c said in a hushed, grim tone.

"That's not good," Daniel nervously whispered.

Jack turned back to him. "Ya think?" Daniel gave him a look, and Jack stuck out his tongue.

"You know," Sam started, annoyed. "We are trying to get out of here alive. Sir." Jack raised his eyebrows because her 'Sir' had come a beat late. But he knew she had a point.

"Ok, on three, jump out and start shooting. We have to eliminate all of them before Amaris is to be brought out." He nodded towards the three in the back. Amaris was mumbling, and Devon and Daniel nodded dismally. "One, two, three."

It was almost poetry. Five fully trained soldiers all leapt up at the same moment, guns firing and a deafening sound was let out into the air. The Jaffa tried to fight back, but they only managed to fire a few shots from a staff weapon before they were eliminated. Quickly, Devon and Daniel brought Amaris out while Sam dialed the gate.

Daniel took this opportunity to look at Amaris for the first time. At least, look at her really well. She was wholly lovely, with a soft-looking face, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her facial expression was terrified, as if she had not yet realized she'd been rescued. It was painful to see, and he had to look away to avoid being sick. When Jack had escaped, he had just gone through a sarcophagus. From Amaris's appearances, she was in the midst of being tortured. Probably towards the end, right before he killed her and started over.

Instead of seeing that frightening sight, he watched as Sam punched in their emergency iris code, and he took comfort in the fact that a medical team was being brought into the gate room right now to save Amaris.

………………………………………………………………………………………………