Hey! Thanks to feb04 for reviewing again. It seems like you're the only reviewer left at the minute, seeing as how you're the only one who has given a review for the past couple of chapters. It's probably my own fault for being so terrible at updates lately. Anyway, here's the next part- sorry it's a bit calm and boring compared to the previous one. Enjoy (hopefully)!

Chapter 8: Troubles

"I thank you all again for your assistance in my extraction from that mission. I believe it would have been far more difficult to get out alive were it not for your help," Turam said with sincerity. "I am also deeply sorry if your companion, Jonas Quinn, was lost within the complex."

Around the briefing table, there was a sullen silence.

"We have a team ready to go back and search from him," Hammond informed them all.

Jack had already insisted several times that he taken the rest of SG-1 back to the planet – 'Traer', as Turam had told them. Knowing that any information related to them by the Tok'ra operative would be directly relevant to Jack, given the situation concerning rogue Innarim running around, he assigned the search and (hopefully) rescue mission for Jonas to SG-3.

"In the meantime, what more can you tell us about these Stoneheim Innarim, Turam?"

"While working undercover as a subservient Goa'uld to Deimos, I have gathered several important pieces of information concerning these Innarim," Turam began," and Anise and Freya have instructed me to impart anything of such a nature to the Tauri. Firstly, I believe that the Innarim you have eliminated at the Traer lab was not Deimos' entire force."

"So there's still more of them," Sam clarified.

"I fear so. Deimos' efforts will have been slowed by this Traer mission, but not stopped. The second important point is that Deimos is using the Innarim to conquer other Goa'uld for a very specific purpose. Rather than the simple Goa'uld desire to gain power, he seems to be doing it to gather as many resources as possible. We believe he is planning some kind of large scale campaign. With Innarim at his disposal, he is succeeding."

Turam paused, and both host and symbiote looked deeply worried about this point.

"Finally, I discovered the method that Deimos has been using to control the Innarim. Initially, the Tok'ra had no idea how Deimos was managing to control the Innarim with enough precision to be effective. Now we know… he is using the Zaytarc technology."

"Oh, great. Just what we need," Jack muttered.

"It is, however, a variation of the technology we have encountered already. Rather than setting a target and self-termination command, Deimos has altered the process so that specific tasks are inputted into the Innarim along with a 'return to rendezvous point' command when they have completed their mission objectives. This means the Innarim can be reprogrammed indefinitely, rather than have them terminate themselves."

"This would explain why the Innarim, however traumatised, would do the bidding of a Goa'uld," Teal'c said.

Turam nodded.: "I must return to the Tok'ra to inform the High Council of these findings as soon as I can. We must correlate all of our knowledge on Deimos' activities so we can better predict his actions."

Jack holed himself in his office, on the justification he had a lot of paperwork to do. No-one really believed that was why he was in there, but they had the sense not to argue the matter with the infamous Colonel at a time like this. He tapped his pen idly on the blank report sheet.

Sam, however, knew her CO well enough to know what he was doing. As with the loss of Daniel, he was choosing to close himself off from the topic. She remembered how bitterly she'd felt towards him back then, particularly his almost flippant attitude – insisting that they just 'get back to work'. Jack gave a curt response to her knock on the door.

"Sir?"

"Carter?"

"Do you have a minute, Colonel?"

Wearily, he simple gestured for her to sit.

"This is about Jonas, right?" he pre-empted the topic. Clearly, he was too tired to even put up his 'dumber than I actually am' act.

"Yes, sir," Sam nodded.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Are you going to do this again, sir? Just like you did with Daniel?"

"Carter," Jack snapped. "Don't think I'm taking this well. SG-1's safety is my responsibility, and within the last year we've lost two members of the team. Just don't assume I'm shrugging this off."

So that was it, Sam mused: guilt and self-doubt. He no longer saw himself as the effective protector others knew him for. He felt he'd failed Daniel, and now he'd failed Jonas (despite the unease between the two men over the situation with Daniel).

"Sir, you can't prevent some things," Sam insisted sharply, "and I don't see why you have to shut yourself off from the rest of us when this happens."

"Jonas isn't the only one, though, Carter," Jack let his temper cool. "You heard Turam in that debriefing."

He let go of the pen, watching it clatter to the desk, and sat back in his seat.

"That Goa'uld was using Zaytarc technology. Those Innarim didn't have a choice – they couldn't help what they were doing… and we killed them."

Now he was having a crisis of conscience to add to the guilt and self-doubt. Not to mention, he was being strangely compassionate towards aliens that had spent the last mission trying to kill him, whether from their own will or against it. She gave up on the conversation; what could she say? That they would have still killed him anyway if they had the chance, as they were programmed to? She'd done much the same thing, forced to kill the Zaytarc-controlled Martouf, and that kind of reasoning had been no comfort.

"Sir, have you thought much more about the Hakonan knowledge," she quizzed as she rose to leave. "Anything leaked through?"

"No," he grumbled. "Even if it had, it's not like there's nothing else on my mind at the minute."

Sam shook her head sympathetically, and left him to his thoughts.

The team sent to look for Jonas came back-empty handed, pulling down the morale of the rest of SG-1 even further, but that was not the only news headed their way.

It was several days later when the SGC received a signal through the Stargate from the Tok'ra base, containing all the information and evaluations that they had concerning Deimos. Sam became increasing disturbed by the revelations.

The various Tok'ra operatives that had reported back revealed that the ambitious Deimos had now overthrown a sizable group of other minor Goa'uld. He now had considerable resources to manufacture weapons and sustain a large force of Jaffa. Worse, he had commandeered two Hatak motherships as well.

Further intelligence had shown that many Goa'uld were now suspicious of the Asgard Protected Planets Treaty. They had been wandering very close to protected worlds, and the Asgard no longer made pre-emptive appearances to ward them away. If Deimos was bold enough to test the suspected bluff that was now the treaty, then there was one very likely target he would choose to eliminate – Earth.

The operation of the SGC had long made Earth a priority target for the Goa'uld, and the treaty was the only thing holding them back from wiping the 'Tauri pests' off the galactic map. It seemed as if destroying Earth would be in Deimos' best interests too. It would certainly turn the heads of the System Lords, and with access and control over Innarim warriors, he would be a significant threat. The Tok'ra estimated he would far more likely be voted as a new System Lord rather than challenged, due to his advantage.

A message had been sent to the Asgard asking for assistance, but with their war against the Replicators it was a long-shot that they would be much help. Hammond included an insistence that making an appearance would be very dissuasive to the rumours about the treaty, but Sam knew that if the Asgard ships were all tied up in their own war, then their grey benefactors would have little choice in the matter. They were essential on their own.

They were in trouble.