A/N: To my fellow American readers: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

"In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. Mankind. That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interest. Perhaps, it's fate that today is the 4th of July and once again you will be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live, to exist. And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the word declared in one voice: 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We will live on. We're going to survive.' Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"

-President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) from the movie Independence Day Best Presidential speech ever, and it wasn't even spoken by a real life president. Thomas J. Whitmore for President 2020!

Chapter summary: In which Samantha gets annoyed and decides to face her problem personally, even if it's a bit underhanded.

2: First Impressions

With each chevron that locked in place, Samantha's anxiety grew. When chevron seven locked, the blue-white energy kawooshed outwards before settling in the familiar pool that served as the Stargate's event horizon. It was beautiful and, surprisingly, helped soothe her nerves.

This, she knew and understood. She had been the one who originally figured out how to open the Stargate. She would not let a race of prissy, narcissistic, snakeheads make her regret that.

Then the event horizon rippled and the first person stepped through. His hair was a dark, golden-brown and hung to his chin where it curled under. Two braids hung from either side of his face in front of his ears. The braids were longer than his hair and had colorful threads and beads woven into the strands of hair. His clothes were shades of blue a green and distinctly Celtic in design. His green eyes flashed bright, hated gold.

This must be Manannan mac Lir. Samantha took a deep breath, clasped her hands in front of her, and squared her shoulders. She met Manannan's eyes directly and nodded slightly in greeting. She refused to bow any lower. He was not above her. If anything, he was her equal. Especially in this situation. The Goa'uld lifted a bushy eyebrow thoughtfully but said nothing.

The two more Goa'uld stepped through the Gate and the wormhole disengaged. Samantha's eye was immediately drawn to the elaborate, distinctly Chinese attire of the System Lord now standing next to Manannan mac Lir. He was the epitome of refined, reserved ancient Chinese aristocracy. His dark brown, almost black eyes were heavy and serious.

Undoubtedly Lord Yu. Which meant…

Whatever Samantha had been expecting, it wasn't what she got. The Set Samantha knew had short, brown hair, a stern demeanor, and a cool but attentive gaze. Queen Nephthys had long hair, which was gathered together in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. The chestnut brown strands were then braided and left to hang limply down his back and over his shoulder. His expression was unreadable, but like the carefully molded mask of a politician.

It was blank, just like his eyes. The sharp but inquisitive blue Samantha remembered were dull and lifeless. There was a distinct feeling of 'no one home' that she didn't like. What happened to him?

"Interesting fortress you have built," a metallic, echoey voice said in the tense silence. "Are we underground?"

Jolted from her thoughts, Samantha turned her attention to Manannan mac Lir. "We are yes," she said simply. "Several levels under."

"Fascinating," the Goa'uld said, casting his eyes around the Gateroom with interest.

"You 'interest' is hardly mine," Lord Yu said, glancing disdainfully at the Celtic System Lord. "I would much prefer to be escorted to my rooms."

Right.

"This way, please," Samantha said, gesturing to the blast door that slide open to her right.

Without waiting to be sure they followed, she turned on her heel and walked towards the hallways. She didn't worry about the snakes trying something behind her back. The numerous armed soldiers from multiple countries currently on the SGA base would make sure nothing untoward happened.

She heard the soft scuff of the Goa'ulds' footsteps behind her and it made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The knowledge that there was a predator nearby was clear, present, and hard to ignore. Fortunately, this wasn't Samantha's first rodeo and she had plenty of experience with self-control.

Ignoring her instincts as best she could, Samantha led the three Goa'uld diplomats to their designated staterooms. She knew the décor was subpar but she hoped that would be overlooked. Earth was still in emergency response mode. Making the snakes who were responsible for Earth's suffering feel comfortable during their visit was not a high priority. Manners be damned.

As rehearsed, Samantha opened the first door she came to. "These are your quarters, Lord Yu," she said, gesturing to the vaguely Oriental design within. "I hope it's satisfactory."

The ancient System Lord glanced briefly at her before stepping inside the room. The Goa'uld's expression remained unmoved but his hum was vaguely annoyed.

"It will do," he said.

"Feel free to take your time and get settled in," Samantha said, deliberately ignoring the Goa'uld's mild insult. "The Summit will begin when the Asgard arrive."

Lord Yu's eyes flashed but he nodded silently.

Samantha turned and crossed the hall to the next stateroom. This one was decorated with blue decorations and Celtic-inspired art. "Lord Manannan mac Lir, this is your room," she said.

The System Lord hesitated, glancing at Nephthys who had yet to speak a word. He placed a hand on Nephthys shoulder in what Samantha almost thought looked reassuring. Then Manannan flashed her cheery grin and disappeared inside the room. This left Samantha alone with Nephthys who was still eerily silent. It was disturbing and made alarm bells ring in the back of her mind.

"This way," she said, gesturing to the last stateroom on this hall. Nephthys followed without a word. When Samantha opened the door, he moved past her and shut the door behind him.

This hadn't been what she expected. Where was the sharp tongue and observant gaze? Where was the suspicion the other System Lords displayed? Where was any sign of life?

Unnerved, Samantha stared at Nephthys shut door for several long seconds before turning and making her way to her office. She sank gratefully into her chair and began going over her notes for the first meeting. She had maybe a half hour before things began in earnest. She had to be ready.

Well that was a several hours worth of nonsense. When Ja- the Col. O'Neill from the Mirror reality said the Goa'uld had been offended by 'hello,' he hadn't been kidding. Geez.

Samantha kept a very, very tight lid on her temper. She was the representative of Earth. She deserved a say in what was going on but every word out of her mouth was met with disdain from Lord Yu, dismissive amusement from Manannan mac Lir, and utter, disinterested silence from Nephthys. The Asgard Thor hadn't spoken much other then to offer ways to compromise. The Goa'uld hadn't been pleased but at least they'd acknowledged Thor.

It was infuriating. The next meeting would take place tomorrow morning bright and early by local Earth time, as was apparently tradition for Summits like this. That meant Samantha had endless energy to burn and nothing to vent at. She bit her lip, careful not to bite too hard. The last thing she needed was an ulcer or a bleeding lip. She could work with this. She was a scientist. She could channel her potential energy to something useful, like scheming.

If the Goa'uld weren't going to take her polite arguments seriously, then she wouldn't be polite. Or, she would be polite, but she would also be maliciously compliant. Didn't like her being Human? Then she'd make the System Lords suffer through her Humanity. Didn't like her suggestions and preferred to interrupt her? Then she'd continue to speak when the other System Lords talked over her and if they missed something important, that was their fault. If they didn't like the fact she wasn't an official diplomat? Then she would make the Goa'uld eat her science.

Strangely, she was growing annoyed with Nephthys' treatment of her as well. There was no way Samantha could reconcile the Set she'd met from the other reality and her reality's Nephthys. They were two completely different people. She'd known that going in, but she hadn't realized it until it had been force fed to her. Set had at least respected her enough to speak with her and treat her like a human being. Nephthys barely even acknowledged her existence. It was maddening.

But it also brought up an important question. How different was her reality from Set's? What had gone so drastically wrong for Nephthys to leave Earth so long ago and become the very thing he had fought to repel from Earth? If he'd even done that. Samantha had no way of knowing for sure if that was even true in her reality.

It was like stepping through the Quantum Mirror, fully expecting a different reality, but not expecting to come face-to-face with the man she'd married and watched die in her reality but who was not only alive and well but who didn't have the same feelings for her in that new reality. It was a juxtaposition that made her brain hurt and her mind start racing to catch up.

Huffing in frustration, she grabbed the box of CCTV tapes and started watching them again. She'd seen most of them already. It was odd watching herself move through the ruined SGA facility after being pushed through the Quantum Mirror by Set. She didn't know what she was looking for or if she would even recognize it when or if she saw it.

Perhaps that was why she noticed it. It was brief, but for a moment she thought she caught a flash of gold from Set's side just before the Jaffa scanning the room she, Kawalsky, Set, and the SG-1 team had been hiding in turned and left. It was from what looked like Set's belt. Was that where he'd kept that odd, golden scepter of his? The same one he'd almost attacked her with on Thor's ship? Well, he'd probably been anticipating a fight and that was one of the few weapons Set had on him so it probably didn't matter as much as Samantha's stressed mind thought it was.

She continued to watch the video, this time choosing to stay on this angle instead of changing tapes to follow her own progress through the SGA. She watched Daniel fiddle with the Quantum Mirror. She watched Set stand watch. She watched Set become two. It really was an impressively realistic hologram. Whatever technology Set used to created the holographic duplicate must be incredibly small.

Then Set walked out of the room leaving Daniel and his hologram behind. Normally, this was when Samantha would jump to the next CCTV tap in the series, following Set's progression through the base, defeating the Jaffa he came across until the videos began to fizzle and finally went black. The damage to the base had been extensive to the incomplete security video coverage had been expected.

But this time, she decided to continue watching this particular video. Call it boredom, call it stress, call it a desperation for something, anything to give her an edge.

Whatever it was, it paid off. This particular angle didn't cover the hallway outside the Mirror room but Samantha could guess what had startled Daniel and drawn the hologram's attention. When the hologram ran out into the hallway, Samantha squinted. Where was the device projection the hologram location? Even if it was small, there was no way it could project in multiple rooms without a direct line of sight.

Unless there were multiple projection devices. But that was preposterous. Earth didn't have holographic technology yet and Set hadn't had the time to plant so many needed devices. Even if he had, the CCTV footage made it clear Set hadn't done anything to suggest he'd planted anything. His arms had been crossed most of the time until he'd left.

So then how…

The hologram reappeared in the doorway, just visible in the footage and pushed Daniel aside just before a staff blast struck him. Samantha had questions! Holograms could look and act solid, but they could not physically interact with the physical world like this one did. The hologram had pushed Daniel out of the way. Then the staff blast which should have gone straight through the hologram instead struck it, effectively destroying it.

How was that possible?

Quite simply, it wasn't. A hologram was a hologram. They weren't tangible. That was the definition of a hologram. Basically. That meant this wasn't a hologram. This was something she didn't know. As a scientist, that was especially enticing.

Well, she'd wanted leverage. Maybe this was her way to get it.

Reaching back into the box, she pulled out the creased, printed photograph. If the Goa'uld could be nasty and try to play with loopholes, then so would she. It was her duty to get Earth secured in the Protected Planets Treaty. There was no rule stating she couldn't act like her opponents. Blackmail was a perfectly viable option for the Goa'uld. Why not her too?

Standing outside Nephthys' stateroom, Samantha felt her confidence waver. Was this really a good idea? Did she really want to blackmail a potential ally into helping her? Would her attempt even work? She had no way of knowing without trying it. The problem was that if she tried it and she failed, that could potentially spell the failure of the entire Summit.

Thus, why she hadn't told Thor, Maj. Kawalsky, or General Hammond. If anyone was going to get in trouble for this, it was going to just be her. Even though she wanted and respected the general's advice, he had to remain clean of this. Something told her that a court martial would be worse than a mere civilian arrest.

Breathe Sam. Breathe and think.

She swallowed thickly. Her father's voice in her head was still healthy and stern, just like she remembered it. Maybe when this Summit was over, she could start devoting her resources to tracking her down her father's location and lessening the official number of missing people by one.

Shaking her thoughts away from the emotional pain, the doctor of astrophysics glared at the reinforced door, raised her fist, and knocked. For several seconds, there was no response. Then the handle turned and the door opened. The person now standing before her was physically Set, but there was nothing else remotely similar.

Nephthys' shirt was made of a thick, deep azure and gold fabric that shimmered beneath the metallic, gold shoulder guard. His midriff was bare from just below his pectorals to his waist. There, a golden belt firmly held up a skirt of cream colored cloth with designs woven with golden thread that hung to his ankles. The skirt was split along the seam up either side of the fabric allowing functionality and ease of movement. A sash of the same blue as his top fell down the front and back of Nephthys' skirt.

Beneath the folds of fabric, Samantha could see the distinctive gold armor characteristic of the Goa'uld race covering his legs up to just above his knees. The armored slats moved and shifted to allow a full range of movement while still providing effective protection. The rest of the gold appeared to be mere accessories: the gold bands around his otherwise bare biceps and right wrist, the golden ankh earrings dangling from his ears, and the very odd gold wrist guard on his left forearm that had what looked like three, thin, overlapping slabs of golden metal designed to look like wings. The only decoration on that odd gauntlet was a symbol that resembled the Eye of Ra without the pupil. Samantha had never seen anything like it before.

Interestingly enough, the bladed, golden scepter Set from the Mirror Reality preferred was noticeably absent. Probably forbidden due to its weapon-like appearance.

Nephthys said nothing, simply observed her with dead eyes and waited for her to speak.

"I have something for you," Samantha said without preamble. She held out the box of CCTV tapes and waited for Nephthys to take it. When the Goa'uld simply stared at it without taking it, she huffed. "It's not going to bite you, you know."

Well, well. Finally a reaction. A flicker of what looked distinctly like annoyance flashed through Nephthys' eyes before being smothered by a glaze of emptiness. Nevertheless, the Goa'uld didn't take the box.

Frustrated, Samantha groaned. "Fine, don't take it," she said, setting the box in the doorway. If Nephthys tried to shut the door, it would catch on the box forcing him to acknowledge its presence. If he was going to act like this, then she'd push harder.

"I'm only doing what you asked me to do, after all," Samantha added, brushing a few strands of blonde hair over her shoulder. "When you told me you were involved in a rebellion that forced Ra from Earth, I figured you would at least be somewhat sympathetic about all this."

There it was again. A flash of emotion. It was buried deep in Nephthys' blue eyes, but it was impossible to ignore. Confusion. Suspicion. And perhaps even a bit of fear. Come to think of it, he did look a bit… unhealthy. There was a pallor in his cheeks and were those circles under his eyes?

Pushing that observation aside, Samantha crossed her arms and met Nephthys' wary gaze with her own determined one, daring him to counter her. The weight of the item in her pocket heavy and burning a hole right through her pants. Not yet.

"I get it," she said. "You probably managed to help your cohorts escape and they left you behind. I'm guessing you followed after as soon as you could, either through the Stargate or in a ship or something. I won't ask why you didn't just stay here, but I'm going to assume you had your reasons."

The door was wide open now and Nephthys' eyes gleamed with a variety of emotions. There was even the beginnings of a frown tugging at the corners at his lips.

"Changing your name to Set made sense at the time," Samantha continued and yes, that was definitely a subtle widening of Nephthys' eyes. "Changing it back to Nephthys after my team killed Ra," Nephthys' eyes grew round in shock, "was probably one of the most satisfying thing you'd done in years. I do have to wonder which name you actually prefer though: Nephthys or Set. Revenge is one thing, comfort in your own body is another."

Good. She had his full attention.

"You said Heru'ur was the best choice because of his standing," she continued without giving Nephthys a chance to fully process and formulate any kind of response. "I'm assuming after my team killed Ra, Heru'ur became the new Supreme System Lord, or one of the top contenders anyway," she mused aloud. "I'm guessing there's more to it than that. If you went straight back to Heru'ur after rebelling against Ra and leaving Earth, then you were attempting to make yourself indispensable, difficult to get rid of."

Which left Samantha with a lot of potential questions and explanations, all of which didn't have good outcomes from where she was standing.

"If Ra knew you were a queen out of his control, he would have killed you," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You made that clear. That means you chose Heru'ur for more than just his power and influence. You chose him because by doing so, you were appearing to place yourself under Ra's control. But you chose the name 'Set.'"

And wow, that had really taken her a few days to figure out.

"The Egyptians of Earth saw Set as the god of chaos, storms, the desert, and solar eclipses. But I also know you personally the Goa'uld Setesh." Nephthys eyes flashed bright gold in warning but Samantha ignored it. She was on a roll. "You told me before you seduced Heru'ur, you had never had face-to-face contact with Ra because it would have interfered with this Setesh's plans."

Samantha could only imagine how sinister those plans were. Queens, bees, and ants. She mentally shuddered.

"Becoming Heru'ur's queen offered you some protection against Setesh if he ever decided to come out of the woodwork to bother you," she said. "I'm not going to ask what Setesh did. But I'm a woman and I can think of quite a few reasons why a male in a position of power over me could and would do if he saw me as nothing but a commodity or a steppingstone to more power. But I do have to ask why Heru'ur?"

She paused, studying the myriad emotions flickering across Nephthys' face, including the sudden wary curiosity.

"You told me he cheated you, cheated on you, then lied to your face about it," she said, watching Nephthys' face freeze. "Why go back to someone like that? Why-"

"I have never spoken to you before in my life."

"Oh. Huh." Samantha blinked and hummed. "You do speak. I was beginning to wonder."

Nephthys eyes flashed dangerously. "I have never spoken to you nor seen your face until today," he said, the metallic echo in his voice catching her off guard despite how she expected it. It was just so not like the Set from the Mirror Reality who had never once used his Goa'uld overtones when he spoke. "How dare you imply otherwise," he hissed.

Samantha nodded slowly. "You're right," she admitted. "You didn't tell me all that. The you from another reality did."

Nephthys hiss and stepped back into his room to slam the door shut, the box of CCTV tapes be damned.

"We have a Mirror capable of inter-reality travel," Samantha said, keeping her voice down but her words clear. Nephthys stopped his movements, his eyebrows quirking up in suspicious surprise. "I went through and met you there. Then you came back with me along with some others. That version of you helped drive Apophis away from Earth." She paused, keeping a close eye on Nephthys' reactions. "In that reality, you stayed on Earth after the rebellion. You never left. You stayed and went by the name Set. When I met you, you were using the name Seto Kaiba and living as a Human."

She took a careful step forward.

"Everything I told you, I heard from the you from that reality," she said. "Set hated the Goa'uld. He wasn't introduced to me as a System Lord or as a Goa'uld, although he never denied that's what he was." She sighed. "He referred to himself as a Tok'ra."

Nephthys actually flinched, his eyes flashed to the shut doors of the other staterooms down the hall. She hoped they were out of earshot. She'd selected this room for Nephthys specifically because it was a bit further away from the others just in case of a conversation like his occurring.

"You don't have to take my word for it," Samantha said, drawing Nephthys' attention back to her. She flicked her eyes to the box in the doorway by their feet. "That box is full of CCTV tapes that followed your counterpart's arrival here, him fighting the Jaffa to defend me, him creating a holographic clone of himself which somehow acted like a physical object," here, Nephthys' gaze sharpened abruptly and his shoulders stiffened slightly, "being beamed back here by the Asgard after Apophis left, and returning home. There're transcripts of the dialogue that could be distinguished from the videos in there as well."

Reluctantly, almost as if he expected to see a snake instead of a mere box, Nephthys' gaze slipped from hers to settle on the taped cardboard.

"But before Set returned to his home reality," Samantha said slowly, reaching into her pocket to pull out her trump card, "he gave me this."

She held the paper out to the Goa'uld so the printed photo faced down. Nephthys hesitated before taking it.

"Set didn't give me many details," she said, watching as Nephthys turned the paper over to study the picture, "but I get the feeling he knew those people. I doubt Set would have given it to me unless he thought it was worth it."

Silence.

The heaviness of the mood settled on Samantha's shoulders as the silence continued to stretch. Then, Nephthys made a sound that was a half sigh and half… sob?

"He's alive."

It was the faintest whisper. Samantha only caught it because she'd been straining to hear anything.

She did not expect the System Lord to collapse to the floor.