"I ran the readings from the Ancient time device through our computer," said Dr. Lee. He pulled up a diagram on the screen. "Most of the electromagnetic signals we detected match the one aboard the jumper we found on Maybourne's planet. But there's one signal that was only present on this particular device. We checked it against our database of other artifacts, and we found a match: a Goa'uld hand device left behind by Sirustep."
Mitchell looked to Daniel. "I'm sorry," he said. "Who?"
"Well," said Daniel, "it stands to reason that not every Goa'uld was successful in getting humans to worship them as gods."
"Sirustep was part of a small group that attacked a Jaffa rebellion planet some years ago," said Lee. "She turned on the other Goa'uld present during the battle in an attempt to curry favor with Yu's faction against Anubis; she believed it was wisest to avoid conflict with us."
"Still evil, though?" Mitchell asked.
"Probably," said Daniel; "just not towards us, at least not right now. We really don't know a whole lot about her. But the hand device we recovered is different from the others we've found. It's programmed to only work for her. And however she does it, it's different from every other piece of Goa'uld technology we've seen."
After a day or two of staring at the drab walls of their small room, Ashley and Misam were moved to a larger room, with even more drab walls. The only furniture was a table and four folding chairs. After the guards left, Ashley sat down on one of the chairs and grumbled something to herself.
"You're still upset that you don't have the Ancient gene?" Misam took the seat next to hers, turning it around to face her instead of the table.
"Yeah." She didn't return eye contact. "Guess that's on me for thinking I'm important."
"Having a gene doesn't make you better, Ashley. It just means you can borrow some dead people's ships. And what would you need with one of those, anyway?"
Ashley sighed. "You want to know the real reason I left Earth? It's too damn perfect, that's why. I have to make an actual, tangible difference in the world around me. It's not enough for me that everyone has what they need - I have to be the one who gives them what they need. I can't help people when nobody needs my help. That's why I moved to Iroshar. Sure, the whole planet's trash. But if you look through people's trash, you can find some cool stuff."
"So you want to be a dumpster diver, but for... people?"
"It's pathetic, isn't it? That I can't be content with other people's happiness if I'm not personally involved with it."
The door opened behind them, and Andreyev and Em-80 walked in. The sergeant remained standing, but Em-80 took a seat on the other side of the table. She looked at the two of them for a few seconds.
"How familiar are you with the culture of the Goa'uld?" she asked.
"The pretending to be gods?" said Misam. "Or the constant infighting?"
Em-80 gestured across the table at him. "See? You get it." She leaned forward. "The Alpha Site has come under surveillance by one of the remaining Goa'ulds," he said. "Her name is Sirustep. We don't believe she knows the base contains a Stargate - she hasn't launched any sort of attack on it. But we've recalled our personnel back here for the time being, just to be safe."
"So what do you need us for?" Ashley asked.
"We're here to play a hunch," said Em-80. She removed a small device from her pocket and put it on the table. "This hand device once belonged to Sirustep. We believe it has been altered to work only for her."
Ashley looked around the room. "Wait. So you think my friend's an evil Goa'uld? How would that work? The bad guy's gotta be at the Alpha Site, not here!"
"I'll try it." Misam picked the device up. "Just gotta figure out what it does. It doesn't blow anything up, right?"
"Point it away from Andreyev," Em-80 suggested. "Just to be safe. I like him."
Misam turned to Ashley. "They believed us when we told them we were from the future," he explained. "They think Sirustep will eventually become the symbiote that's in my tail."
"Seems like a stretch," Ashley told him.
"It would explain why we ended up here. Maybe there's something I was meant to do."
Misam took a step back. He pointed the device at a wall and concentrated. One second went by, then two, then three... The device began to glow... and then it shut off. Misam frowned, and threw a glance at Em-80. "Is that how it's supposed to work?" he asked.
"Well, it turned on. That is all we needed to know." She smiled. "If all goes well, we may be able to turn this situation to everyone's advantage."
Misam stood in the gate room, dressed in a multilayered all-black outfit; hopefully, it would be generic enough that Sirustep wouldn't realize he was affiliated with the Tau'ri. He stepped onto the ramp and toward the event horizon before looking back at Ashley, who was standing off to the side next to Dr. Jackson, her hands clasped in front of her. She seemed nervous enough for the both of them. He figured he ought to say something before he left. He took a seat on the side of the ramp, his feet dangling from the edge.
"Ashley," he said. "I'm pretty sure this is a stable time loop scenario. But if I don't come back, that means we're talking about a branching timeline, or maybe an orphan timeline on my end. Either way, you've got options, all right? Your experience makes you an asset, and I'm sure the SGC would love to have you."
"Or maybe even the Atlantis expedition. Might be easier to convince a civilian operation like that to hire a Surinamer like me. Do you really think you might not come back?"
"I'm not sure why I wouldn't," Misam admitted. "But you never know what you don't know, right? I just... I know you have things you want to accomplish in your life. Don't give up on them if I leave."
"It wouldn't be the first time I lost my friends," Ashley said. "At least I wouldn't be losing my family too."
