Ba'al adjusted his heavy black Oriental robes and stared out of the window at the vista below. The pyramid on which his vessel rested was on a planet located in the furthest reaches of his domain and it was one of the few he had managed to retain control over; one that still believed in the validity of his Godship as the human slaves on the planet had not developed beyond their initial tribal existence. He scowled. There had been a time when every planet under his dominion would not have questioned his right to rule. There had been a time when it would have been unthinkable that he was reduced to hiding in the most backward part of his territory. His jaw clenched.

He knew compared with the other Goa'uld some would consider that he had done well to have survived the war with the Replicators, the Jaffa rebellion and Anubis's insane plan to obliterate all life in the galaxy and on one level he was proud of his achievement at surviving where many others had fallen. However, mere survival had never satisfied him. No, he determined, his dark eyes lit up with the white flash of an angry Goa'uld, he was Ba'al. He would not scuttle away into some dark corner and hide. It was his destiny to rule, his right, and he would not be robbed of it. He would find a way to recover the power he had lost and more.

Ba'al stroked his trim dark beard unconsciously. Breaking the union between the Tau'ri and the Free Jaffa was essential if he, if any Goa'uld, was to re-establish a foothold in the galaxy, he mused. He had planted his own loyal agents in amongst the Free Jaffa stirring up dissension against the Tau'ri, and it had been working well but a few days previously one agent, Cral'k, had revealed himself foolishly. Luckily, another agent had been able to send word and he had prudently moved to a new location as it was likely the Jaffa would try to find him to exact revenge. The Jaffa were nothing if not predictable. The move to the little backwater planet in the middle of nowhere was irritating but the extent of the damage caused by Cral'k's stupidity was infuriating. It had almost undone the previous months of work and served only to strengthen the alliance between the Tau'ri and the Jaffa.

Unfortunately most of his remaining loyal Jaffa were the same as Cral'k; young and eager, seeing only the potential for easy advancement to First Prime if successful. They had none of the intelligence or strategic ability of the Jaffa who usually held such positions but then those Jaffa had renounced their former Goa'uld masters to join the rebellion and the shol'var Teal'c. The image of the imposing Serpent Guard filled Ba'al's mind for a moment. The Jaffa had always been an exceptional tactician and a master of military strategy. The move Teal'c had used to hold Dakara after the fight with the Replicators had been nothing short of brilliant. Ba'al quietly admitted to himself that Teal'c's time with the Tau'ri had only made him better; he had become as unpredictable as the human known as O'Neill.

He stirred a little disturbed at the thought. Just as he had once thought the overthrow of the Goa'uld System Lords and the rebellion of the Jaffa to be impossible, so he had also thought no human would have the audacity to challenge him in the way O'Neill did. It galled him to realise that he had once had the human defenceless and had squandered the opportunity to kill him. He had actually killed him time and again but unfortunately, he had also brought him back from death each time with the sarcophagus as part of the torture he had inflicted on the human. It astounded Ba'al that not only had O'Neill been able to endure the torture he had without confessing all he knew but that O'Neill had escaped during the chaos and confusion of an attack from another System Lord. The human's tenacity elicited admiration no matter how reluctantly given.

Until then Ba'al had never knowingly had any interaction with the infamous Tau'ri SG1 team. He could have wished it had stayed that way. Ba'al frowned. He had never met, the other human male, Daniel Jackson but the Goa'uld Osiris had been surprisingly admiring of the man. Her host had apparently known him intimately. Given Osiris had disappeared when attempting a plan to trick Jackson into giving away Ancient secrets, it was enough to make Ba'al consider that the man was just as dangerous as O'Neill.

He had met the only female in the team; Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter. The Tau'ri female was a beguiling mix of beauty, intelligence and spirit. In their one and only meeting she had also challenged him; in a different way from O'Neill but it had still been a challenge – those blue eyes of hers flashing at him and her silky voice telling him that he would tell her how to simultaneously dial all gates in the system. He had never felt the urge to take a mate – if he had a physical need, there were always plenty of female slaves to satisfy his lust – but Samantha Carter might tempt him. She would make a worthy Queen. He conjured up an image of her as he remembered her; standing across the Ancient weapon on Dakara from him.

Ba'al's hands clenched into fists. He would never have lost Dakara if not for Anubis. He breathed in deeply, forced his hands to unclench. Dakara would be his again in time. The Free Jaffa held Dakara precariously. They had lost it once to Anubis; they would lose it again. Cral'k had been only one of many agents and though he had lost more in the aftermath he had plenty still in place. Importantly, he had not lost his most important player, a Jaffa on the High Council whose place had actually been solidified by Cral'k's actions. He was well positioned to continue to keep Ba'al informed of all important developments.

It was how Ba'al knew that the Ancient weapon on Dakara was not destroyed although the Jaffa had told the Tau'ri and the Tau'ri sympathisers at the time that it was. He also knew about the discovery of the remains of an Ancient outpost; of the presence of the being called Orlin and of Colonel Carter's miraculous return from the dead. He knew the Tau'ri and the Jaffa were beginning a joint study of the information in the Ancient systems. It was not the time to strike, Ba'al thought carefully, no matter how much his blood heated with the desire for power. His pragmatic realism was what had kept him alive where others of his kind had ended up dead. No, it was the time to regroup in the shadows.

Ba'al turned away from the sight of the luscious green planet and paced back to his throne. He sat down with a flourish of his robes and motioned for the nubile human slave to approach with the platter of fruits. He plucked a grape from the selection and popped it in his mouth as he sent her away again. Breaking the bond between the Tau'ri and the Jaffa was still the key, he considered, and he had already initiated another plan to help sow seeds of discord between them again. He could afford to take on the Free Jaffa. The new Jaffa nation was weakened by long memories of conflict between the various tribes and struggling to form agreement on their long term future. He knew he could fight them and win; he knew their weaknesses and strengths, and importantly, he would not underestimate the likes of Teal'c again. But the Tau'ri and the Free Jaffa united were much more difficult opponents. The Tau'ri were unpredictable. They added an unknown into the battle. They had the ability to take out their enemy and save themselves with surprisingly original thinking. It was rumoured that the SG1 team had destroyed a sun to take out Apophis's fleet. Ba'al settled back in his throne. He needed to weaken the Tau'ri. All he had to do was find someway of doing that.

He sighed and his fingers drummed restlessly against the arm of the ornate chair and wondered whether he couldn't use the joint study on Dakara to his advantage. He knew from his contact that the members of SG1 would be participating in the study although O'Neill's place seemed to have been taken by a younger human male. Ba'al tapped his moustache thoughtfully. There must be a way of getting O'Neill to the planet and if there was…all of the infamous SG1 would be in one place and therefore easily targeted. Perhaps an unfortunate accident that would be blamed on the Jaffa…he smiled wickedly. He would have to speak with his agent and see what was possible.

A movement at his side had him glancing irritably at the Jaffa standing waiting patiently for his attention. 'What?'

'Apologies, my Lord, but the natives made an unusual discovery. They have brought it here.'

'What is it?' Ba'al said disinterested.

'A naked human female, my Lord.' The Jaffa bowed deeper as though the depth of his obsequiousness could prevent Ba'al's displeasure.

'Why would a naked human woman interest me?' Ba'al said impatiently and once again regretted that any Jaffa with an ounce of intelligence had been the first to desert his service and join the rebellion. 'Well?' He finally barked at the unfortunate Jaffa.

'She says she is Samantha Carter, my Lord.' The Jaffa remained in his uncomfortable bow and did not see the way Ba'al's eyes snapped to him. 'She is the Tau'ri female who is reported to be part of…'

'Yes, yes, I know who she is.' Ba'al said. He frowned. The latest report that he had indicated the Tau'ri female was back on Dakara. There was no way the female could be Samantha Carter. Unless, he mused, his agent had lied to him; had betrayed him and given away his position. This could be a trick by the Tau'ri and the Free Jaffa to kill him. He realised there was only one way to find out. 'Tell them to bring her before me.'

'Yes, my Lord.' The Jaffa backed out of the room and Ba'al surged to his feet and paced back to the window. Had he been discovered? Was this where all his planning, all his plotting ended? He touched the transportation device he wore at his wrist. No, if this was some kind of trick he had a means to escape. He turned around at the sound of the group entering the room.

Ba'al's eyes skipped past the two men escorting the human female; they were wearing the plain brown clothes of the simple natives. His attention was immediately drawn to the woman who was stood in the centre of his room in all her naked glory. His eyes travelled over the shapely legs, firm stomach and pert breasts before it arrived at her coldly amused blue gaze. It was a struggle to get past the shock but he kept his own face expressionless except for a small contemptuous smile. As far as he could tell, it was the same woman who had faced him over the Ancient weapon in Dakara; it was Colonel Carter.

Ba'al remained frozen his eyes riveted to her. But slowly details began to filter through to his stunned mind. He frowned. Something was wrong. He mentally compared the woman in his memory with the one standing before him. There was a striking similarity; same face, same form, same colouring, and that, he realised, was where the similarities ended. The woman in front of him was different. The hairstyle was just a little off and the skin was flawless with no blemishes of any kind but it was the eyes that confirmed it for him; they were empty, soulless, completely devoid of the spirit of the Samantha Carter he had met. Whoever this woman was she was not the Tau'ri female.

Despite his conclusion, Ba'al did not lower his guard. He might not have been betrayed but he had a frisson of understanding that he was not out of danger. He dismissed the two natives instructing his Jaffa to see to their reward. With a final gesture he dismissed the servants, leaving only a couple of Jaffa standing guard by the door to the throne room in place. He stayed by the window and regarded the facsimile of Colonel Carter with the same wariness he would use with a rabid animal. There was a lack of humanity about her that raised the hair on the back of his neck in atavistic warning.

'You are not Colonel Carter.' He said finally.

Her head tilted. 'I am Samantha Carter.'

'No.' Ba'al informed her. 'You are a copy.' He blatantly let his eyes travel back over her nakedness before returning to the disconcerting expressionless blue gaze. 'A lovely copy but only a copy.'

'Not a copy.' Her body blurred for a moment before it resettled and it was no longer naked but covered in a dark grey outfit that moulded itself to her contours. Ba'al took an unwilling step backwards as he realised what she was and she smiled cruelly. 'An upgrade.'

'You…you are the human form Replicator that led the Replicators against the Goa'uld.' Ba'al paled and held his position with difficulty. 'We destroyed you.'

'She destroyed me.' She corrected him bitterly and for the first time he saw emotion in her eyes; pure, undiluted hate. Her expression smoothed out. 'I was able to use the information I gathered from Daniel Jackson's mind to ascend when the energy weapon from Dakara hit my vessel. Unfortunately, the Others interfered.'

'Others?' Ba'al said. There was something strangely hypnotic about her like watching a cobra swaying before it struck.

'Those who Ascended before.' She clarified. 'They intervened when I tried to take my revenge on Colonel Carter.'

'You tried to kill her?' His brow creased in confusion.

'Using your pawn Cral'k.' She confirmed. 'He was pathetically easy to manipulate.'

'You failed.' There was thinly veiled satisfaction coating his words.

'He failed,' she shot back, 'and the Others came. They allowed one of their own to assist her in recompense for my interference and she lived.' She clasped her hands behind her back and looked at him her emotions back under control. 'They returned me to my previous form and wiped the Ancient knowledge from my mind.'

'And left you on my planet?' Ba'al asked sceptically.

'I chose this planet.' She admitted. 'I knew it was in the outer reaches of your domain and I counted on you fleeing here eventually.' Her smile widened. 'I had no idea you would be here so soon.'

'Why?' Ba'al asked suspiciously. 'Why would you come here?'

'You are in need an ally.' She tilted her head again. 'So am I.'

Ba'al stared at her nonplussed. 'You came to offer an alliance?'

She smiled coldly. 'Thanks to the weapon at Dakara the numbers of my brethren have been greatly depleted. We lost all in this galaxy and will need time to rebuild.'

'Then why would I ally with you?' Ba'al asked. He gestured at her. 'You have nothing to offer me.'

'I have all of the knowledge of Samantha Carter,' the Replicator pointed out with ruthless logic, 'and you will need my knowledge of the Tau'ri if you are to be successful in defeating them and the Free Jaffa.'

'And you would help me defeat them out of the kindness of your own heart.' Ba'al said scathingly.

'For you to reclaim what was once yours.' She said. 'The whole of your territory.'

'And you will take the rest of the galaxy.' Ba'al stroked his beard thoughtfully.

'A fair trade considering I could kill you where you stand like I have so many Goa'uld before you and rebuild my brethren from the rubble of your ship.' She threatened.

Ba'al stiffened but his mind was whirring. He didn't trust her. They were too similar in their underlying desire for power and he knew she would ultimately betray him. But, he mused, the prospect of her assistance in defeating the Tau'ri was tempting. He skirted her carefully and sat down regally in his throne. He did not believe she was aware that the machine at Dakara was still active. He had the means to destroy her once he had retaken the planet and he was aware that he was unlikely to reclaim it without her help. Without the presence of the other Replicators she was less of a threat than she had been when she waged war on the Goa'uld before.

'I accept.' He said.

'A wise decision,' she murmured with a pleased smile and saw him puff up at the blatant flattery like a peacock. She glanced out of the window at the planet and looked at the scurrying humans.

Vermin, she thought coldly. They would soon be dealt with just like the arrogant Goa'uld behind her and her human duplicate. The anger at being bested by her before still rankled. She calmed herself. Her creator Fifth had let himself be overrun with emotion and she would not make the same mistake. Her plan was working perfectly and when she had control of the weapon on Dakara she would be able to obliterate all life in the galaxy including Samantha Carter.