Jack groggily pulled himself to consciousness in the dark interior of the room in which he slept. His P-90 and side arm were gone, he was not wearing his boots and Major Carter slept beside him on top of the covers of the bed in the cabin which they had been given for their stay.

With great effort, Jack reached over and touched Carter's neck. Satisfied when he felt her pulse, he tried to get out of the bed to check on Daniel and Teal'c. Using every ounce of energy he had, Jack rolled off the edge of the bed, only to have his legs collapse under him. After several long minutes of struggling, the Colonel finally managed to pull himself up off the floor. He staggered into the other room and found Teal'c and Daniel each passed out on a grass mat on the floor.

Feeling his knees begin to buckle and his focus blurring, Jack stumbled back to the other room and collapsed on the bed beside Carter.

"Come!" Palaki ordered the 10 men in his small army, "we must take them to the remote caves at Ana Lua Pao."

The men worked quickly, placing each member of SG1 on a stretcher made with bamboo poles and a grass mat. Palaki took point and led the group out of the cabin, while his most trusted ally brought up the rear.

As the band of natives made their way silently down a path that led away from the village and away from the Stargate, the members of SG1 made no sounds or movements.

The group had been hiking for nearly 3 hours, carrying SG1 on stretchers, when a grey light began to appear in the east.

"I can see the caves at Ana Lua Pao just ahead," stated Palaki.

The men brought the four members of SG1 into the caves and set the stretchers down in a semi circle. It was very cool and damp in the cave so one of the men went about building a fire near the cave opening while one other stood guard with a spear in each hand. Once the fire was going, the fire starter went outside to report to Palaki while the guard stayed behind.

After another half an hour had passed the members of SG1 began to regain consciousness.

"Oh, my head!" Doctor Jackson complained.

"Where are we?" asked Major Carter.

"It appears we are in a cave, however I am unsure how we arrived here," stated Teal'c

"Oww..." Jack groaned as he rolled onto his side.

"Colonel, are you alright?"

In the dim firelight Carter could see that O'Neill was not alright. Sweat was beading on his forehead, he was shaking as if he were freezing and, before he could answer, he suddenly doubled up in pain.

"Sir!" Sam yelled and instantly forgetting her own discomfort, hurried to his pallet and knelt beside him.

"I'm gonna be sick, Carter," he croaked out.

Sam helped Jack crawl to some low boulders away from the fire and the rest of the group. The Colonel leaned over the boulders and threw up.

The guard watching the scene unfold hurried to the cave entrance to tell Palaki that the prisoners were awake. When Palaki entered the cave with several of his men he found Daniel and Teal'c sitting up near the fire and Colonel O'Neill toward the back of the cave, slumped over some rocks. Major Carter was supporting him with one hand on his arm and the other on his back.

"He's sick!" She said to Palaki. "He needs some water!"

Palaki nodded to one of his men who walked over to Carter and handed her a leather canteen. She opened it, checked to make sure it was water and handed it to the Colonel. Jack took a mouth full of water, swished it around and spit it out. He did that one more time before drinking some of the cool liquid.

When the nausea passed and Jack didn't feel like he was going to throw up again, Sam helped him back to his grass mat. His legs felt like rubber, he was shivering uncontrollably and he felt as weak as a kitten.

Sam helped Jack get situated on his cot and then took off her BDU shirt and covered him with the garment. Major Carter stood up to her full height, and at 5 foot 9, even in her stocking feet, she was as tall as most of her captors. "What have you done to him, and why have you brought us here?" She demanded of Palaki,

"He was given the same drink as the rest of you. Some people just have a bad reaction to it." Palaki stated. "As to why we brought you here, that should be obvious. We are afraid that you will bring down the wrath of the gods upon us. We have lived in peace for 100 years because the gods are pleased with us. When they find out about you they will be angry with us and we will suffer the consequences."

"Fine, if that's what you believe then we will return to our home and you can forget you ever saw us!" Sam stated firmly.

"It is too late. The gods know everything. They will know that you have been here."

"No, they won't," Daniel interjected as he stood up. "The gods are not omnipotent - they don't know what's going on everywhere. We can leave and they will never know we were here."

"Even if they don't find out, you have tainted the minds of our people by putting ideas in their heads! Many of them are starting to believe you, to believe that the gods are false! We must prove you wrong!"

"How do you intend to do this?" Asked Teal'c in a calm voice.

"I challenge your leader to a battle to the death. The people will believe that the winner is right and the loser is wrong."

"He can't fight you! He's sick!" Sam indicated where Jack lay, barely conscious.

"That is too bad for him, but those are our rules."

"If a leader is unable to participate in battle, would you not allow him to choose someone to take his place?" Teal'c asked.

"No."

"I am second in command of this unit. Fight me!" Carter challenged.

"Major Carter..." Teal'c admonished, but she held up her hand to indicate that it was alright.

Palaki looked Major Carter up and down, sizing up his chances of beating her. In her black t-shirt, BDU pants and no boots she looked smaller and more frail to Palaki. He smiled. "Very well, I will battle you to the death."

"NO!" Jack croaked.

Sam knelt beside her commanding officer. "Sir, we don't have any choice." she said softly.

"I'll do it, Carter."

"With all due respect, Sir, no you won't. You are incapacitated and that puts me in command of SG1. The decision's made, Sir."

Sam stood again and looked Palaki in the eye. "When do we begin?" She asked.

"My men are bringing the village elders here as witnesses. They have been told that the four of you have requested the rite of Pukaua Koa to prove that the ancient gods are false."

Just then one of the watchmen entered the cave. "Palaki, We need to prepare for the battle," he said as he bowed slightly to the man in charge.

Palaki turned back to the members of SG1 "The only way out of this cave is the way we came in. My men are guarding the entrance until it is time for our battle." With that he turned on his heel and left the cave, taking his men with him.

"Major Carter," Teal'c began "Palaki put something in O'Neill's drink to make him sick, thus ensuring his victory in the battle. He believes that he possesses a great advantage over you which is why he agreed to allow you to take O'Neill's place."

"Um, Teal'c, ...how do you know all this?" Daniel asked.

"I do not know, Daniel Jackson, but I know it to be true."

"Wait! I do know!" Daniel began his rapid fire speech. "It's your gift. Nika was explaining all this to me yesterday. When a Kanakan, which is what they call themselves, becomes an adult, around age 18, they are given a gift, like we received in the ceremony last night."

Teal'c and Carter looked at Daniel with blank expressions on their faces.

"Don't you see? Teal'c gift was insight, a third eye if you will. He could read Palaki like a book!"

"Indeed." Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"So, how does this help us, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I don't know yet. I mean we don't know what the gifts of the other Elders are, but one of them may be able to see that Palaki is not being honest with them."

"Palaki's gift is physical prowess." Teal'c stated, in a matter of fact manner.

"Teal'c," Daniel began, "If you know what Palaki's gift is you should be able to figure out the other Elders as well. We just have to stall the fight for a few minutes."

"Daniel, even if Teal'c does figure out what their gifts are, how do we know that will help us?" Sam asked.

"We don't, but right now it's the only chance we have."

"Carter!" Jack hissed. She immediately knelt at his side and put a hand on his arm. "You can't do this!" he croaked.

"We don't have a choice, Colonel. Besides, you heard Teal'c, Palaki thinks he has a huge tactical advantage over me. I can use that in my favor."

Daniel knelt down on the other side of Jack's cot "Sam, that guy is built like a sumo wrestler! We have to try to talk the elders out of allowing the battle."

"I agree, but if we can't, I'll use Palaki's weight and mass against him."

"Major Carter, I would have been the logical choice to battle Palaki," Teal'c stated.

"They would have never gone for that Teal'c. Palaki clearly wants an advantage so that he is sure to win."

Teal'c gave Sam a slight nod of his head indicating that she was right.

Sam offered Jack some more of the water from the canteen and, despite his best efforts, O'Neill passed out again.

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