Author Notes: I'm back! I actually motivated myself enough to write my next chapter; Daniel is incessantly hard to write. Thank you for your wonderful feedback, I've reached 100! Does a celebratory dance round a fire. Anyways, enjoy and review!

Chapter 15: The Rebels of Egypt

Daniel curled tighter in his chair. He could hear the slight murmur of Sam and Jack talking, and then a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to Jonas, who smiled, "Jack said we'll be there in ten minutes. You okay?"

Daniel returned the smile, albeit weakly, he was still exhausted from the events of the last two days, "Sure." Jonas smiled and walked away to his seat by Teal'c. Thankfully, the General had ordered a private plane, although Daniel admitted that if it had been him, it would not have taken much to want to get them to Egypt as soon as possible either. He grimaced slightly. To say it had been awkward to explain to Hammond why he hadn't said anything earlier, would be a vast understatement.

"There are what!" General Hammond looked as if he was about to explode. Daniel sheepishly avoided his eyes and risked a glance at his team mates. Sam looked politely shocked, Jonas was less reserved in his reaction, and Jack looked like he was in denial and was currently gaping like a fish. On the other hand, Teal'c looked calm, as if Daniel's announcement was normal.

Daniel cleared his throat, and repeated himself, "There are tribes of Jaffa all over the world, who are decidedly pissed off with the human race. Apparently, they hold grudges well."

Jack found his voice, "Why the hell didn't you say something before?"

Daniel removed his glasses, trying to clear his head; he was still feeling the effects of his 'episode' the night before, "When I woke up in the infirmary, when we were back to normal, I didn't see the point of telling you. To be honest, I didn't believe it."

"And now you do?" Sam spoke up.

"Last night I had a memory, a really vivid one. There definitely are Jaffa. Here."

Sighing, the General leaned back in his chair, "Doctor Jackson, if this is true, then why haven't we heard about them?"

"You all know the story, right? About why the Goa'uld left Earth?" They all nodded, "When the Goa'uld were driven off, they did so in a hurry, taking a large proportion of their army, but not all. Over time, the First Primes became the leaders of tribes, and now they wait for their 'god' to return. Every now and again, they would try to take a human settlement, but they fail each time."

"I do not understand," Teal'c spoke up, "Why do they not succeed?"

Daniel smiled, "Teal'c, do you really think that as soon as the Ancient Egyptians buried the Stargate, they would forget? You were the one who told the story of the Tau'ri. The Tau'ri are the humans that rose against the gods, not just humans from Earth. The Tau'ri are all over Earth, keeping tabs on the Jaffa. They take command from a central base, near Thebes."

A smile dawned on Jack's face, "Daniel, do these guys have the potential to help us against the Goa'uld?"

"Not in a full scale war, but in battle, hand to hand, I suppose."

"Doctor Jackson, yes or no?"

Daniel sighed. This was the only was he'd get to Egypt, "If I can persuade them, yes."

"Then it's settled. Colonel, prep your team, I'm sending you to Egypt at 0700 tomorrow via jet. Dismissed."

"I hate sand. I hate heat. I hate deserts." Jack whined.

Teal'c rose an eyebrow as he put on a cap, "Did you not state that you hated trees on our last mission O'Neill?"

"Yes! Them too!" Teal'c followed this comment with a resigned look.

"Colonel?" Sam decided to spare Teal'c, "We should probably set off."

"Yes! I was gonna say that."

Jonas muttered to Daniel, "Do you think the heat's got to him?"

"Nope, this is Jack being bored."

SG-1 had finally made it to Thebes an hour ago. It had taken Daniel a while to plot a course through the desert, so Jack had amused himself by scaring tourists. He didn't have to try too hard, as Teal'c sort of did it for him. They had been getting a lot of odd looks from people, but then again, desert BDUs did that. Luckily, their guns were in the jeep with their packs.

Jack hopped back into the driver's seat of the open top jeep, Teal'c next to him. The other three jumped in the back. They followed the course Daniel had plotted, using GPS. After driving and being thrown around like rag dolls for ten minutes, something loomed on the horizon. Jack pulled them to a halt a got out to get a better look. He turned to Daniel, "I'm sorry, a signpost?"

They were faced with a wooden stake, the height of Teal'c, driven into a block of sandstone on the rise of the dune. It was, indeed a signpost. Sam moved closer, "What does it say?"

"Um, it's two languages, Arabic and Goa'uld."

"Snakes? Well, at least we're getting close."

Daniel was muttering under his breath, ignoring Jack, finally he turned, "The Arabic says: Come no further into the desert, djinns bring death. Um, it's drawing on superstition, basically, evil spirits will get you. The Goa'uld is: Step further, Jaffa of the false gods, and take your last breath. If I remember rightly, they have these posted everywhere."

"Wait, so you've actually been here before?"

"Jack, I grew up here, both my parents were Tau'ri."

"Oy. Daniel, for a linguist, your communication skills are appalling. So kids, onwards to the forbidden land?"

"We should leave the jeep here, Jack, the noise will draw attention." Jack looked at Daniel, but he didn't elaborate further.

"Alright, grab everything and move out."

"Father, who are they?" Secluded in a hide in the dunes, a small boy turned to the dark man next to him.

"I do not know. I believe they are military, they are not one of us."

"What shall we do? Should we light the torches?"

"No, my son, they are not Jaffa, they carry the wrong weapons, yet they could still be a threat." The man took out a pen and wrote a quick message onto a slip of paper. "Fly Horus out to the third outpost Haytham, quickly."

Haytham scrambled out of the hide to a metal ring stuck in the ground, onto which a falcon was waiting. He attached the message, and hurriedly released it in the direction of the outpost.

Daniel looked up to the screeching of a falcon, "They know we're here."

"What?" Sam turned, "How do you know?"

"That bird will take a message to an outpost. We might as well wait."

"So the bird's gonna talk to them." Jack stated sceptically.

"No Jack, there must be a lookout hide nearby, someone released that falcon."

SG-1 didn't have to wait long. A soft thudding reached their ears, and over the dune ahead came four horses and riders. The horses slowed to a walk, and halted in front of the team. One rider dismounted and walked towards them; Jack did not fail to note that every single guy had at least one gun and blade. The man spoke in Arabic; he sounded pissed. Jack blinked, "Erm, translation?"

Before Daniel could reply, the man switched languages, "Why do you trespass? Did you not read the warning?"

Daniel cleared his throat, "We're here to speak with Amin, it's important. If you're worried, we'll surrender our weapons."

"We will?" Jack increased to a possessive hold on his gun.

"This is acceptable, but I must have a reason."

"I am a friend of Maria Couture. Please."

"Very well."

They had been walking for what seemed like hours. They had reached the outpost a while back, and now had guides, or guards, depending on how you looked at it, taking them further into the desert. Jack fell back to talk to Daniel, "How come no one knows about this place? It's not exactly far from tourist central."

"They do. The Egyptian government just keep their noses out. It's like the Stargate: when a new president comes to power, we brief them on it. It works well. The Egyptians are forbidden from telling the UN or any governments about it. If they do, the Tau'ri remove the protection they offer in Cairo."

"Nice."

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called from up ahead.

Scrambling the rest of the way up the dune, Daniel and Jack joined the others, "Woah. Sweet." Jack muttered. Daniel grinned.

Before them, in a natural valley created by the desert, lay a settlement. People were milling around what looked like market stalls of multicoloured canopy designs. Pens of both animals dotted around the site, and a musical mixture of languages could be heard. That was not what caught their attention, though. The far side of the valley was comprised of a reddish rock face. Slits, presumably for defensive purposes, littered the cliff. Directly in the centre, was a huge entrance, with thick wooden doors swung open to allow passage. Carved in sharp relief above the doorway was a symbol that Jack had seen once before, painted on the side of Teal'c burnt out house on Chulak. Jack quirked a smile, "This is the home of a shol'va. Gotta love it."

One of the guides looked at him, "We do not serve the false ones. We are proud to take the title of a traitor to them. Please follow me."

Jack looked over at Teal'c as they made their way to the village; he seemed to be having a hard time comprehending the fact that these people could take the dishonourable title of traitor, and turn it into one of honour. They walked through the marketplace, all the time getting curious looks, and halted at the doors where two guards stood. For the benefit of SG-1, the guide spoke in English, "These people wish to meet with Amin; they claim to be friends of Maria Couture."

"Amin is busy; I will fetch Maria for you." The guard disappeared.

While they waited, the team took the opportunity to take in their situation. The market was multi-cultural, languages varying from English to Spanish, Arabic to German. The clothes differed too. Most adults carried some kind of weapon, usually a knife, while meandering around the stalls. Children could be seen rolling around on the dunes, screeching with laughter. Teal'c walked over to Jack, "This does not seem like a base of operations to me, O'Neill."

"Yeah, I know what you mean; it's more of a community." He whistled his remaining team over; he didn't want them going off too far without weapons.

"Sir!" Sam bounded over, "Have you seen these doors? They have the origin symbol of Earth!" Sure enough, the symbol could be seen, half featuring on each door, so that when they were closed, the complete chevron could be identified.

"I am glad you like the décor." A feminine voice, with a slight lilt of a French accent, drifted from the entrance. A dark haired woman in her thirties, wearing worn jeans and a t-shirt emerged into view, she frowned, "Who are you?"

Before Jack could answer, Daniel stood up from where he had been sitting against the door and stepped forwards, "Hi Maria."

Maria's hazel eyes widened, "Danny?" Then before anyone knew it, she threw her arms around him, enveloping him in a hug, which Daniel gladly returned. Pulling away, Maria moved a critical eye over him, finally wrinkling her nose and asking, "What happened to your hair?"

"Long story."

"I'll bet. Who are your friends?"

"This is Major Sam Carter, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Jonas Quinn and Teal'c." At the mention of the last name, the guards drew weapons.

Anger sparked in Maria's eyes, "Teal'c is a name of the Goa'uld tongue. Why do you bring one here?"

"No, no! Wait! Teal'c was branded a shol'va many years ago when he betrayed his god. He's not from the tribes."

"Then where is he from?"

Daniel thought quickly, "Teal'c take off your cap." Teal'c complied.

Maria gasped, "A First Prime of Apophis? That tribe is extinct." She frowned, and then a smile flickered on her face, "The Chappa'ai. Amin said it was in possession of military. You are right. It is a long story. Follow me."

Maria led them into the torch lit cavern. The passage was wide, and full of people going both ways. They walked a little way, until they reached an opening. They were in a huge entrance hall, carved into the rock. Doorways and passages led off in all directions, all lit by torchlight. A breeze blew through the whole honeycomb network in the rock, making it cool. Maria smiled, "Welcome home, Daniel."

To Be Continued…

Author Notes: Come on! What did you think? If you don't review, I won't update!