AN---> Wow! Two updates in one month! My muse was kind to me this month. New Mexico can't seem to make up it's mind about the weather patterns, so you can litteraly stand in the blinding sun while it's raining. Bizzare, I know, but I love it here and wouldn't give it up for anything short of an all-expences-paid trip to Hawaii. Or Egypt; I'd love to see the pyramids. Anyway, on with the show.

PLEASE REVIEW! I'M ONLY GETTING TWO OR THREE PER CHAPTER, AND IT'S DOWNRIGHT FRUSTRATING! IT ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS, PEOPLE!

DISCLAIMER- In a perfect world, I would own Stargate, Jack and Sam would be married with two kids by now, and Shau're would never have died. Therefore, by using common sense, you can see that I own nothing recognizeable. I do own anything original, so please ask me if you want to use them. Thank you.

Thank you Rose of the Gate, my incredible beta, who took the time to help me look up a couple terms. You rock, girl!

Chapter Twelve

Preparations

Daniel awoke to the sound of a chime. He opened his eyes, and was momentarily confused as to where he was. He felt the soft cushion beneath him and the breeze from the open window; he heard the soft murmur of someone outside the door, the traffic outside the window...Wait. Traffic? He sat up. Slowly, he recalled where he was, why he was here, and realized that someone was requesting to be admitted into his room. "Come in!" He called to the door.

The door receded into the wall, and Teal'c stepped through. He waited until Daniel put his glasses on before he spoke. "Daniel Jackson," He said. "The others are awaiting your arrival for the morning meal."

Daniel blinked. "Morning meal?" he asked. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Approximately ten hours."

"Oh," Daniel got out of bed. "I'll be out in a minute Teal'c. I should get dressed in something other than a wrinkled BDU."

"Indeed. I shall wait outside."

"Thanks. I'll just be a second,"

Daniel walked over to his bag and pulled out a pair of khaki pants and a black t-shirt; his typical off-world wardrobe. He emerged from the bedroom dressed, combed, and shaved. Teal'c then led the way to a large room, exquisitely decorated in white marble and silver. Everyone from Earth was sitting at a large table in the center of the room, along with Galdrona, Delana, Kate, and Galqi. Apparently Anteaus, Torenth, and Thor wouldn't be joining them. Daniel apologized for over-sleeping and sat on Kate's left, at one of the two empty places that were set. Teal'c sat to Daniel's left.

He sniffed the air around him and gave a faint smile. The plates that sat in front of them were heaped with something that looked like steaming fruit salad and a side of some sort of meat. If the smells were any indication, breakfast was going to be delicious.

The meal passed in relative silence, other than the conversation between General Hammond and Dr. Frasier, who was being brought up to speed after arriving late last night. The others sitting at the table chimed in every once in a while, but most ate quietly. Frasier finally got around to asking about the super-weapon, and what they were going to do about it.

"Actually," Daniel said, "I've been wondering about that, myself. Does anyone know of a weakness of any kind?" This only drew a glare from Galqi.

"If they did know," he said icily, "Don't you think they would have put that knowledge to good use, Dr. Jackson?"

"I was only asking, Prince Galqi." Daniel replied, just as coolly. He wasn't one to be intimidated by royalty. He'd met too many in his time at the SGC. "If there's even a slight weakness that you know of, we may be able to use our own information to make a feasible plan."

Galqi opened his mouth to reply, when Galdrona cut him off. "Please," He said, "Galqi, you know the very reason we brought them here was for their knowledge and combat experience. Your father would not have pounced on a question like that. Perhaps I should have invited him via a holovid."

Galqi, too experienced to look sullen, gave a curt nod of apology, and resumed eating. Kate glanced back and forth between them, and shook her head slightly. "We will be meeting in the Great Hall again after the noon meal to discuss possible strategies," She said. "Until then, we would all appreciate it," She looked pointedly at Galqi. "If you would all gather any ideas that may come to mind with the little information we do have." The others murmured their agreement.

A little more talking had gone around the table about how to get around the mansion, what areas were off-limits and what things might be interesting for them see, when Kate offered to show them the hall of records. "It's the biggest library in the Melidian kingdom," She said. "You might be able to find something useful in the history files."

Daniel's face lit up at the mention of a library and history files. If nothing else, I could at least find the relationship between the Ancient kingdoms and know how do deal with them. He took up Kate's offer.

"I've never seen anything like this," Daniel breathed. "Even the Library of Congress isn't this big."

Kate flashed a smile. "I know. I live here and I still get overwhelmed whenever I walk into this room."

Daniel started walking through the shelves, running his fingers along the spines of thousand-year-old leather-bound books, and the softly glowing–and more recently made–data pads that held the equivalent of thousands of pages each. "How are these books so well preserved?" He asked.

Kate, who had been looking out the enormous east-facing window that took up that whole wall, joined him at the shelf. "We've been using a system for thousands of years that preserves them. As long as you put them back on a shelf when you're done with them."

Daniel raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Pull one of them off a shelf."

Daniel did so. His hand got a slight buzz about half an inch before he touched the book, and a faint green glow surrounded his hand. "What is it?"

"It's called a glowfield. It's a field made by tiny emitters on the inside of the shelves. Pretty much anything can pass through, but it purifies foreign objects when it's penetrated. The air inside the shelf is perfectly balanced to preserve the books and the glowfield purifies your hand as it passes through, so as not to contaminate the air."

"Fascinating. You know, the libraries on Earth would give anything to have something like this."

Kate gave him a longing smile. "True, but then you don't have that 'old paper' smell, and the classics don't really look like classics. You don't know how often I've wanted to stroll through a library on Earth again, just for the sensation."

Daniel's reply was cut short when Nela, Galdrona's aide, stepped in and informed them that SG-1 was looking for Daniel. With one last longing look at the massive library, Daniel nodded and followed her through the door.

"You're sure about this?" Hammond was asking as Daniel walked in. The question was apparently directed at O'Neill. "If this doesn't work, you know what could happen."

"What could happen if what doesn't work?" Daniel asked. He sat down in a chair opposite Teal'c in the "living room" between their rooms.

"Colonel O'Neill has suggested that we take one of the Goa'uld ships we have in our possession and basically ram it down Anubis' throat."

O'Neill straightened. "Well, sort of. My plan consisted of a few more details: like a strike team, overloaded naquadah generator, rabid mutant monkeys, or something like that."

Daniel didn't even react to the last of O'Neill's suggestions. Although, he thought, rabid mutant monkeys on a Goa'uld ship would be very entertaining. Aloud, he said, "You mean get a generator, throw it on a ship, and give it a push toward the weapon?" He thought it over for a few seconds. "That might work, although it seems a touch conventional."

"Conventional?" Carter asked.

"Well, yeah." Daniel said. "Usually, it's something along the lines of 'let's strap a 'Gate to the bottom of the X-302' or 'how about we blow up a sun?'"

The others in the room finally caught onto the fact that he was joking and laughed.

"Actually," Carter spoke up again, "I think this might actually work. If we use a Tel'tak and set a naquadah generator to overload as it nears the weapon, we might be able to annoy Anubis, if nothing else."

"Annoying Anubis probably isn't wise, you know," Daniel said. His hesitation was evident in his voice.

"What other choice do we have, Daniel?" O'Neill asked. Daniel couldn't answer that, so he continued. "We need to make a strike, and soon, or once Anubis is done with these folks, he's gonna come after us."

Daniel nodded. It made sense, really; if Anubis somehow found out that the Ancients still had contact with Earth, he would wipe out the bigger threat first. "Well," He said aloud, "It's not the most creative or fool-proof plan, but it's better than nothing."

Hammond nodded. "Agreed."

"You have done well, my servant," The dark, gravelly voice of Kovash's master was intimidating, even through a Goa'uld long range communicator. Kovash, the only one Anubis trusted to blend into the city of Kelpa, was giving his master the information that Selskani had provided.

"Thank you, my lord." Kovash kept his head respectfully bowed. To do any differently would have him beheaded upon his return. "My source says that the Tau'ri are here to lend their combat intelligence, but nothing more. Personally, I wouldn't take that to heart."

Anubis raised a curious eyebrow. "You doubt your source?"

"Not her intentions or information, but she tends to underestimate her enemy. It is she, not anyone else, who said that the Tau'ri would only provide intelligence. She may be mistaken."

"I will consider this. The Tau'ri have been a plague to me for too long. They will endure a long and painfull death."

The communication globe winked out, obscuring the wide smile cemented on Kovash's lips.

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