Author's Note: Less than week! Yay me, though you, my readers, deserve it after the extremely long break between Chapter 17 and Chapter 18.


Daniel felt a sense of unease sweep over him as he watched Ragnar disappear into the woods. He knew well the prowess of the Furling troops, had seen of their talents first hand, heard stories of the skills of the Imperial Guard. Yet, he could not but feel concerned for his friend. Who knew exactly whom the intruders were, what their numbers were, what exactly the Furlings guards sent to apprehend them would be facing.

An hour passed slowly. Very slowly. Sujanha, who was usually unflappable and imperturbable, seemed unruffled and unconcerned by the problem. Though if she was troubled, she just was not showing it. She had taken a seat on the ground, her back against a tree, and seemed to be either thinking or talking to Malek from her distant stare.

Daniel paced. And he paced. And he paced some more, until one of the Lapith guards asked him to sit.

Finally. Finally, Sujanha stirred from her thoughts, one paw making an aborted gesture toward her ear. For most communication, the Commander used the holographic com function on her gauntlets, but she also had an ear piece that she used for private messages. She spoke a few words in such low tone that Daniel sitting only a couple of yards away could not make out her words.

"Commander?" Vylt questioned, as Sujanha rose and started to make for the edge of the sheltered copse.

"The intruders have been apprehended," Sujanha replied, "There is no more danger. Ragnar and Jotar are leading them to us, and we will go ahead to meet them."

The party walked for about ten minutes until the trees began to thin slightly and they reached a long hill that led down into the valley in which the Stargate was located. There Sujanha stopped and indicated that they would wait for Ragnar and the others to join them. After a few minutes, Sujanha took a seat on the dry grass, and Daniel crouched facing her to ask her a question that had been on his mind for days but that he kept forgetting to ask or rather remembered only at all the wrong times. Vylt watched the rear, while the Lapith guards faced front.

Sujanha set to answering his question thoroughly, but to Daniel, she seemed somewhat distracted and troubled. Another few minutes passed, and Sujanha was just wrapping up her explanation, when one of the Lapith guards suddenly spoke, "Ssupppreme Commander, they have come."

Daniel rose and turned, glancing down the hillside. Just emerging from the shadow of tree line were Ragnar, whose form Daniel immediately recognized, a dozen other Furling warriors, and …. It can't be!

Daniel would have been tempted to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight or clean his glasses thoroughly if it wouldn't have looked rather undignified. It had been over a year-and-a-half since he had gone into voluntarily exile to escape the clutches of Maybourne and his goons with their presidential orders and some such nonsense. But now … SG1 was there, less than a hundred yards away. His heart leapt, and for a moment he felt choked up. He had missed his friends so much. He had grown so used to their company, so used to the missions with them for the year after Abydos, after he had lost Sha're. Jacob and Bra'tac gave him updates periodically, but it wasn't the same. What are they doing here? Daniel wondered. How are they even here? This address wasn't on the Abydos cartouche!

Daniel glanced down at Sujanha, who hadn't gotten up yet, and saw she was looking back at him.

"Did you know?" He asked, his voice for a moment half-choked.

"In a way, yes," Sujanha replied, "Based on the description in your stories, Ragnar believed them to be your companions but wanted confirmation. I did not want you to, as you say, get your hopes up, if they were not whom he believed."

"It's them," Daniel confirmed, glancing back down the hillside. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c didn't seem to have seen him yet, but Daniel thought he might be hidden behind the Lapith guards and also had his back mostly to them. "I … have no idea how they're here. This address wasn't on the Abydos Cartouche, and that was the only databases they … we had while I was there."

"That does concern me, but you have been gone for some time. Matters can change rapidly."

"That they can," Daniel replied softly. That's the tagline of my life some days.

He took a half-step forward, bringing him just in front and to the right of Sujanha. The flash of movement drew Sam's eye, as the group approached the bottom of the hill, and Daniel could see her jaw physically drop and then her nudge Jack, speaking a few quick words and gesturing dramatically toward him.

Before Daniel could move forward anymore, Sujanha gently caught his wrist, stopping him and drawing his attention both. Her 'finger-tips' were rough, and the sharp point of her claws, which had grown long again, just barely brushed his skin. She shook her head, "Not yet," she said in a soft voice in Furling, "This is more than just a reunion."

Daniel nodded and took a step back and to the side, half-shielding the Commander from view as she climbed to her feet. He had seen her starting to limp as they walked from their temporary shelter. Malek's presence was doing her a lot of good, but his healing powers weren't a cure-all for the long-lasting effects of the Sicarii poison.

"For now, I'm simply Supreme Commander in any introductions among your people," Sujanha spoke again, "Until I know them better, I do not want my true status known."

Knowing what he did of the history of the Furlings, of American politics, and of the Furling line-of-succession, Daniel could understand her caution. Betrayal by those whom they thought close allies had cost the Furlings dearly before. He was not even sure if Jacob-Selmak knew her true standing either, and she trusted him the most among all the Tok'ra save her own symbiote. "Yes, Commander."

Sam, Jack, and Teal'c had all seen him by now and were talking animatedly amongst themselves, their faces full of surprise and elation. Even Teal'c, usually stoic to the extreme, looked pleased.

Sujanha made a small signal with one paw, and the guards stopped Sam, Jack, Teal'c, and their new fourth member, whom Daniel didn't know, a few feet in front of the Lapith guards who themselves stood a few feet in front of Sujanha, blocking approach to her.

"The trespassers, as you commanded," Ragnar spoke in Furling with a low bow to Sujanha. He then moved to take up his position flanking Daniel, opposite Vylt who flanked Sujanha.

After a long pause, Sujanha finally stepped fully into view, but Daniel noticed that she was intentionally keeping well back from his friends, especially Sam. Then it him. Malek and Sam! They'll be able to sense each other. Sam's not reacted yet, so she must not sense him yet. This could get interesting!

It was interesting for Daniel to watch the play of emotions across his friends' faces and to see their expressions as they got their first look at Sujanha and at the Iprysh and Lapith guards. Unsurprisingly, Sam seemed torn between looking at Daniel and goggling at Vylt's armor. She had the sciency look in her eyes that usually preceded lots of questions or long days in the lab. Teal'c seemed mostly occupied with the guards. Jack, however, after his first look at Daniel was focused on Sujanha, an undefinable look in his eyes. The fourth was just staring wide-eyed at Sujanha.

"You are their leader?" Sujanha spoke directly to Jack.

"Yesssssss," the greying man replied, stretching out his first word until he sounded like a Lapith, "Danny boy, what's going on?"

Daniel shook his head and made a motion toward Sujanha, telling Jack to wait.

"How did you come here?" Sujanha asked, moving forward slightly but still keeping her distance from Sam. Her voice would have sounded cool and emotionless to his friends, but Daniel could hear the slight edge of stress in her voice and see it in the set of her shoulders.

"Through the Stargate," Jack answered dryly, not even trying to be helpful.

Sujanha gave a low rumbling growl. "Do not test me, Colonel. How did you learn of this address, and why have you come? This is a forbidden world."

Jack looked back across at Daniel, and finally Daniel thought it wise to speak, "Just answer her, Jack, please, and this'll be over sooner for all of us. You won't be harmed."

"I know the address for this world is not on the Abydos Cartouche," Sujanha added.

Jack was quiet for a long minute, starring at Daniel. Daniel could almost see his brain whirring behind his intense gaze. Finally, he answered, "Brain dump from a doo-hicky. And we're explorers. You should know that since Danny boy's with you."

Sujanha pivoted to look at Daniel, her eyes puzzled. "What is a 'brain dump'?" She asked in Furling, "And what is a "doo-hicky."

"In this context, I have no idea," Daniel replied in the same tongue, "In general, a 'brain dump' is basically a large transfer of information from one place to another, like when someone writes down a lot of stuff on a tablet. A 'doo-hicky' is a slang term in English for an object whose name you can't remember."

"You're the Forgotten, aren't you?" Jack continued, when Daniel had stopped talking, "Lya spoke of you."

Sujanha turned back to face him and gave a short laugh, "Some might call us that, yes, but in our own tongue we call ourselves the Furlings."

Sam gasped, "You're the last of the Four Great Races. We thought you'd disappeared."

"We are," Sujanha confirmed with a regal nod of her head. Tensions in the group had lowered a notch at this revelation, but Daniel noticed the Commander hadn't released the guards. Sam still hadn't felt Malek's presence yet, and when/if she did, that would prove a problematic surprise. "In a way, you are correct. We had matters of our own to deal with in our own galaxy for ages and have only recently had time to deal with the blight that is the reign of the Goa'uld in this galaxy. Our name has largely been lost to history, thus that name for my people."

"Thanks for that," said Jack, "You've made our work a lot easier."

"We did this for all those who dwell in this galaxy and do not wish to live under the tyranny of a corrupt race," Sujanha replied. She made a motion with one paw, and the guards stepped from Sam, Jack, and Teal'c, and she started to turn away, signaling that she considered that her part in the conversation was done.

"We're free to go?" Jack asked.

Sujanha stopped and turned back, "Yes. You may speak with Daniel for as long as you choose. When you have finished, my guards will escort you and your teammates to the Stargate."

"Can we have our weapons back?" Sam asked.

Daniel met Sujanha's eyes. The most prominent emotion in her eyes was amusement at the question. SG1 were still trespassers, even though the Commander was allowing their presence. Only members of the Furling military or of the militaries of their allies could bear arms on Furling controlled worlds.

Sujanha shook her head, "Your weapons will be returned to you when you return to the Stargate. I am allowing your presence, but you are still trespassers upon this world."

Daniel could see Jack visibly rile and stepped forward to intervene. No Jack-isms and confrontations, please. Not now, not here.

"The Commander always keeps her word, Jack. You're all safe here, and your weapons will be returned to you," Daniel said, trying to keep the situation calm, "Let's not waste time arguing. How long can you stay?"

Jack allowed himself to be drawn aside, as he checked his watch. "We're due back in about 5 hours now. This was only supposed to be a short recon mission."

Daniel replied, "The Commander might need to head back before me, but I can stay a while."

Sam moved over to join them, and the two hugged. Daniel had missed them all, missed their adventures and misadventures, missed the sciency discussions and the snark. After a minute, Teal'c, who had been keeping a close eye on the Furling soldiers who had not departed back to their posts but had gathered closer to Sujanha, joined them, as well.

A slight awkward silence descended for a minute. Despite their comradery, no one was sure what to say first after the long separation. It was Teal'c who spoke first.

"It is good to see you well, Daniel Jackson."

"It's good to see you, too, Teal'c," Daniel replied, "I've missed all of you."

"The teams have been keeping an eye open for you. We had a capture-on-sight order from on high for you until recently," said Jack, his opinion of said order clear in his face and tone, "though we all had no intention of following it if we ran across you."

"Lya passed on your warning to me. I haven't spent that much time in this galaxy, actually, since I joined the Furlings not long after I left Earth."

"Not in this galaxy?" Sam asked, her head snapping up, her eyes lighting up in interest. Jack gave a groan, anticipating the forthcoming sciency discussion.

"The Furlings don't live in this galaxy," Daniel replied with a nod, picking his words carefully, "They have some bases here to help with the war, but their homeworld is in another galaxy."

"How do you get back and forth?" Sam asked, glancing at Jack for a moment. I must be missing a story.

"The Stargate, if we're on foot," Daniel replied simply, having grown so accustomed to the Furling's level of technology that he was not even thinking about how extraordinary regular inter-galactic travel through the Stargate system would seem to his old friends.

Sam's jaw kinda dropped, "It took a special power source for just that one-way trip to the Asgard homeworld last year, and it nearly fried the power-grid it was drawing so much power."

"What's this?" Daniel asked, puzzled, looking back and forth between Jack and Sam. The Furlings had regular contact with the Asgard, and Daniel saw Thor quite frequently but didn't think that he had heard about this adventure of his friends.

"I got head-sucked by an Ancient doo-hicky a couple months after you left," Jack explained.

"It downloaded the knowledge of the Ancients into his brain. That's how we knew this gate address," Sam explained.

Daniel's eyebrows were doing their best attempt to crawl into his hairline. "Interestingggg. What's the gate address for this world?" He asked, fishing around in a pocket for the small paper notebook and Furling version of a pen he always kept with him when he didn't have his tablet.

Sam rattled the address off, and Daniel copied down the signs onto a clean sheet of paper. Ripping it out of the notebook, he said, "Give me a sec. I'll be right back."

Jogging up the hill to where Sujanha and the others were, Daniel knelt beside the Commander and handed her the sheet of paper.

"What's this?" Malek asked, glancing at the gate address and then looking at him with a puzzled look in their golden eyes. Their body language shifted, and then Sujanha was back in control.

"You wanted to know how the SGC got this gate address. SG1 was exploring that world, when Jack got head-sucked, his word, by an Ancient artifact that downloaded their knowledge into his brain. Does that mean anything to you?"

Sujanha gave what was as close for her as possible to an exasperated sigh. "Yes, that makes perfect sense. I knew from the Asgard that the Ancients had left several Archives scattered across this Galaxy but did not know their locations, and we have obviously not had time to go searching. I am not surprised that the Ancients' choices have caused trouble yet again. I am simply surprised that your Colonel survived such an encounter."

"The Asgard had a hand in that, apparently."

Sujanha opened her mouth to respond, but then her gaze snapped to someone or something behind Daniel. Any words she would have said were preempted by a shocked gasp.

"Colonel…." It was Sam's voice.

Daniel rose and spun. Sam had wandered over, probably to speak to Vylt considering where she was standing, but she was close … much, much too close to Sujanha, and from the look on her face she had sensed Malek's presence.

"Goa…." Sam tried to spit out, her eyes almost panicked.

The response from the Furling guards was immediate. Shields snapped up, and the guards formed into a living wall between their Commander and the possible threat. Ragnar grabbed a fist-full of Daniel's sleeve and dragged the younger man half-behind him.

Sujanha's reply was just as immediate. Pulling herself to her feet, she replied, cutting off Sam's attempted warning, "Your assumption is incorrect, Captain Carter. My symbiote is Tok'ra, not Goa'uld."

"Why should we believe you?" Sam snapped.

Daniel edged his way out from behind Ragnar, ignoring his friend's low growl of protest. "I was there, Sam, soon after it happened. Her symbiote's previous host was mortally injured during that earthquake on Vorash. She was the only available host, and she made her choice."

Jack made a horrific face in the background, which Daniel really hoped Sujanha had not seen. Teal'c was standing beside Jack, body tense, face unreadable. Sam's flinch was noticeable. Apparently, the scar of her time with Jolinar still hadn't healed, not that Daniel was that surprised.

"Sam?" Jack questioned, his tone suspicious.

"Daniel's clear, Colonel. So are the others, I think. The only host is…" Sam's voice trailed off at the same moment that Daniel realized Sujanha had never been introduced or given her name.

"Lady Sujanha Staðfastur," the Commander supplied noticing Sam's pause, "Supreme Commander of the Furling Fleet." Sujanha paused and then added as an addendum for the sake of SG1 alone, "I am Supreme Commander Thor's counterpart among my own people. He speaks well of the people of Midgard."

The mention of Thor seemed to ease tensions somewhat, and the guards relaxed minutely, but from the looks on Daniel's friends' faces, they still seemed to half-want to drag him back to the Stargate to safety.

"How long have you known the Tok'ra?" Sam asked. She had the look in her eyes that she usually did when she was seeing one of Jolinar's memories or actively trying to find a memory.

Sujanha glanced up at Daniel and signaled him to answer, since he could answer without having to convert between time measurements.

"About 11 months, Sam," Daniel answered, finally being allowed to emerge fully from behind the sheltering expanse of Ragnar's broad back.

"How come we've never heard about all this before?" Jack broke in, making some wide-expansive hand-gestures.

"As you would say, it is an expansive story and not one well-suited to being related in this place and at this time," Sujanha replied, mangling the earth-idiom just slightly. I shouldn't be judgmental. I can't get Furling idioms right, either.

After a few minutes of suspicious glances and hissed conversations between Sam, Jack, and Teal'c with the fourth guy—my replacement, Daniel realized—hanging over their shoulders, tensions finally eased, and Daniel returned to their side. Their discussions were going to be a little more awkward from the looks on everyone's faces, but Daniel could understand their concern to some extent.

The new guy was the first to break the silence, extending his hand to Daniel, speaking for the first time since SG1 had arrived. "I'm Chris Keith," he spoke, a hint of a British accent coloring his words, "Your temporary replacement. I've been keeping your spot warm for you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Daniel, but you know that. I'm sure you have."

"You should come back with us, Daniel," said Sam. Whether she meant permanently or for a visit wasn't clear.

"It's safe now?" Daniel asked, realizing that if the answer was yes, he would be facing some difficult choices in the near future: to stay with the Furlings with the new life he had made or go back to earth where he had never really felt at home in a very long time, despite his close friendship with Sam, Jack, and Teal'c.

"New president got elected last year. This one has more sense than the last one, and Maybourne and the NID are PNG for the moment. The warrant against you's done with," said Jack in his usual blunt fashion.

"I don't know," Daniel hedged, "There's some books I'd like from my office and my apartment, if I still have both, but I'm not sure the Commander can spare me right now."

"We put the stuff in your apartment into storage when your lease expired," Sam hurriedly explained, "Keith has been using your office, but…"

"I've kept your system. Everything's almost exactly like you left it," Chris broke in.

"Not right now." Daniel did want to go back to earth at least for some visits. Some books from his office and apartment and some of his other stuff would be nice to have, and he wanted to see Catherine, Janet, Cassandra, and some others again. "I'm not sure the Commander can spare me right now," he repeated. What he wasn't going to tell them without permission was that a new campaign against the Goa'uld was due to start soon.

The faces of his friends fell for a moment, before Jack's went stern, almost angry. "What about Sha're and Skaara?" He snapped.

"I left so I could keep searching for them, Jack. I haven't been sitting on my hands. They're safe, Jack. They're both safe. And free."

Sam gasped, "How long?"

"About three months," Daniel replied, "I could haven't found her…them without the Furlings' help. They're the best ally earth could hope for in the fight against the Goa'uld."

Jack's anger had dimmed as quickly as it had begun, and Daniel saw the military side of him immediately pick up on his phrasing, "The best?" Daniel could hear the unspoken question: Better than the Asgard?

"Yes." The Furlings had to keep an eye on what was going on in Ida with the Replicating Ones but still had more forces and resources to devote to the war with the Goa'uld than the Asgard, who were basically keeping the Protected Planets Treaty alive by bluffing and depending on the Furlings for backup, did.

Daniel and his friends talked for a while longer, but eventually it came time to part. Jack managed to speak politely to Sujanha, despite her symbiote, and SG1 left with an expression of interest in further talks and the possibility of an alliance.


Next Time on Ripples in the Deep:

Chapter 19: New Allies

Interlude V: The Cost of War

Chapter 20: Homecoming and Miscellaneous Adventures