Teal'c followed O'Neill and Major Carter as they tracked the woman named Raya. At first, he had been the one to lead them as they pursued the woman, but Teal'c had come to realize that O'Neill and Major Carter had begun to lag far behind.
They did not look well. Whatever coloring Major Carter had once had, it appeared to have vanished. O'Neill, however, had too much color in his face. He feared losing them as much as losing Daniel Jackson, yet he knew that they must continue to press forward. It was then that he had switched places with O'Neill in their hunt for their friends.
It troubled Teal'c greatly.
As did the fact they no longer traveled toward the city.
"We're heading back to the hillside toward the forest," Major Carter said. "She's doubling back, sir."
"I can see that, Major." O'Neill rubbed at his eyes. "Just what kind of games are these people playing?"
"I do not believe they are playing games, O'Neill." Teal'c waited for O'Neill's reaction, but when he did nothing but send a weary glare, the concern Teal'c felt only deepened.
The three of them continued to walk, keeping enough distance between themselves and Raya. Though Teal'c knew that as they passed through the grasses by the hillside, concealment would become difficult once again. If they were to avoid being discovered, they would need a new strategy.
This would prove to be difficult.
"Dammit," O'Neill muttered.
Raya had stopped at the forest edge. There she met a young woman and began to escort her out of the woodland area. Teal'c watched in silence, careful to observe their actions, their tone, and the composure of both women. He did not like what he saw.
"Teal'c?" Major Carter asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"Indeed." He kept on guard, monitoring the women as they began to approach.
"Heads up," O'Neill said. "We've got company."
"Colonel O'Neill," Raya said, strolling down the slope to meet them. "Have you lost your way?"
"As a matter of fact, we have," he replied.
"We're searching for our friend," Major Carter added.
"I see," Raya said, but Teal'c did not miss the suspicion in her eyes. "One moment." She turned to the nameless woman, snapping words in their foreign tongue. The young woman nodded quickly, shifting the weight of the two children that she held as she listened.
Teal'c was certain he had seen this woman once before.
The nameless one nodded once again, ducking her head in submission, before scurrying away from Raya. O'Neill and Major Carter watched her depart, but it was Teal'c's eyes that she caught. As she passed him, she stared deep into his face. Teal'c could see the pleading in her eyes. He said nothing, just reading the unspoken words in her face. Then she spoke.
"Daniel Jackson," she whispered, dipping her head toward the forest.
Teal'c straightened with surprise. He went to turn to her, but she did not stop, continuing on her way to her unknown destination. But she did not need to speak. He understood.
"I apologize," Raya said. Her gaze remained firmly set on the retreating form of the woman. "Her children are always running away to the forest. She is late for prayers."
"Why does this concern you?" Teal'c asked, eyeing her closely.
Raya gave him a cold glare. "I am the liaison between our peoples. I may not agree with their ways, but I have to make sure they are accounted for."
Teal'c continued to stare at her. He did not like this woman.
"But I must ask why you feel the need to roam our forests. You do not know what is out there. Should you not be in the city?"
"Like Carter said before, were searching for some friends," O'Neill said.
Raya snorted. "I do not believe they would be hanging around the forest when you have more important problems on your hands."
"You're probably right," O'Neill said. "Once you've seen one tree, you've seen them all." He forced a smile. "But we'd like to check anyway."
Major Carter nodded. "Do you know of any other place we might look?"
"It is not my responsibility to watch over your lost friend. If he did not have enough sense to contain himself, then that is out of my hands." Before anyone could speak against her, Raya smiled and continued. "But I can escort you back to the city. I am sure that Taras would like to speak with you."
"Oh, we already spoke to Taras," O'Neill said. "I think we'll just check around here a little longer and then we'll come to pay you and Taras a little visit."
Raya shrugged and rolled her eyes. "You are wasting your time." She turned away and started away from the forest, toward the hills outside the city. The three of them watched her go.
As soon as there was enough distance between them, O'Neill turned to face Teal'c. "All right. Whatcha got?"
Teal'c kept his voice low and even as he spoke. "The woman we have just encountered. I have seen her before. She was present in the crowd that consumed Daniel Jackson."
Major Carter's eyes widened and she pivoted to stare back after the empty space where the woman once stood. "We should go after her."
"No."
O'Neill stared at him. "No?"
"I have been given a warning," he said. "The woman spoke of Daniel Jackson. I believe him to be in the forest."
Both O'Neill and Major Carter looked into the wilderness that awaited them. Teal'c could see that they were hesitant and weary from this planet, but there was hope in their faces.
"You sure about this?" O'Neill asked.
Teal'c held his head high. "I am."
Teal'c waited in silence as O'Neill and Major Carter exchanged a knowing look between them. Finally, O'Neill nodded and started toward the forest. Teal'c and Major Carter followed and it was not long before the cover of trees claimed them.
Janet held her tongue as she watched Fyodor bark instructions to a handful of scientists in his lab. They were working over several liquids and slides scattered across the desktops. From where Janet stood, she didn't really see any refrigeration units or even any basic machinery to help test and track what was growing in the "lab's" vials.
She swallowed hard. What she did see were various devices that looked Goa'uld in origin: open, disassembled, and haphazardly reconstructed.
The building was a ticking time bomb.
"This is our lab," Fyodor said proudly, coming to stand beside her. "This is where we combat the treachery of the Rusayev."
Janet continued to stare. She couldn't even count how many lab violations she saw in front of her or comprehend the multitude of ramifications that rested on the Baich's carelessness alone. The lab was dirty, uncontained…
Her skin crawled.
"Doctor?" Fyodor asked.
"How reckless of you," she said between clenched teeth. "I'm amazed that more of you aren't infected."
The pride evaporated from Fyodor's face. "You judge us."
"Just your lack of sense. Do you realize what you've done?" She jabbed her finger angrily at the scientists in the room. "You're playing with bacteria and viruses. You're playing Russian Roulette with all these people's lives," she said, mostly to herself before continuing to glare at him. "You're messing with information that you know nothing about! And without proper controls—"
"We are protecting ourselves."
"No, you're killing—"
Janet stopped and shook her head, finally realizing why she had been brought here. "That's it," she said with an angry laugh. "You need me to fix your little experiment gone wrong."
Fyodor's eyes cooled. But there was no angry outburst. No fit of rage. He just glared at her with his cold hate.
Janet would not be intimidated. "You created this. All of this. You've taken whatever technology you could find and you created this lab. Only now, you're on the brink of losing control." She shook her head again. "You don't want to save anyone. This is all about saving face and saving yourself."
Fyodor stepped forward, close enough to brush against her. He towered over Janet, his eyes like ice.
"You will find a cure," he said in a low voice.
"And if I refuse?"
A slick smile greased its way over his lips. "I know where the off-worlders are. I know your friends still stay around the city looking for you." He glanced back at the scientists and materials before turning back to her. "There are less pleasant ways to die."
Janet kept firm and refused to think about what could happen to SG-1 and the other scientists on the planet. "What does it matter? You're just going to kill me after you get what you want."
He chuckled. "You are a healer. Can you honestly tell me that you would rather die before even trying to help all our suffering people?"
"I'm telling you that I would rather die for a cause that is good than to be part of the cause myself."
Fyodor grabbed her arm, shoving her toward the nearest table. "Work."
Janet shrugged off his grip, sending him one of her deadliest scowls. She kept one of her hands low, dangling by her raised ankle as she tracked his every move. He did not move. He stared at her. She stared at him.
Then Gedeon and young man appeared at the door. "Fyodor," they said.
Fyodor mumbled something in his own tongue but did not turn to face the other men. Gedeon was silent as the youth replied by rattling off a bunch of words that meant nothing to Janet, but she could pick up the urgency in his tone of voice. The stillness in Fyodor's face finally cracked, allowing pockets of anger to seep to the surface. He barked a command of some kind to the youth, who quickly ran out of the room. Gedeon remained, asking a foreign question of his own which only unleashed more angry words from Fyodor. Quickly, he recovered, but not without a high price. No doubt swearing in his own language, Fyodor threw aside one of the chairs in the room.
Janet used the distraction to her advantage. Quickly, she unsheathed the knife hidden by her ankle and plunged it into Gedeon's leg. The man let out a startled cry as Janet yanked the knife out of his muscles. Surprised by the attack, Gedeon stumbled back, gasping as he struggled to stop the blood that flowed down his leg.
She didn't look back. As she went for the door, Janet slashed at Fyodor, catching his left cheek. But the man was quick. He leaped past Gedeon and grabbed at Janet, catching her right wrist. Janet wasn't about to give up so easily. Calling upon her military training, Janet used her size to give her some leverage. She ducked and bent low, ramming her elbow into his waist. He gasped, but only for a moment, before turning her around and wrapping his arm around her neck. Despite her quickness and her intensity, Janet couldn't match his strength. After a couple of shakes, the knife slipped from her hand and fell to the ground with a clank.
"You are a soldier, like the others," he said. "You tried to deceive me."
Janet spit in his face.
"You have made a bad move," Fyodor muttered, kicking away the knife, as he led her to the door. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back. Janet winced as the pain pricked at her scalp. "You will come with me now."