Daniel slowed his pace as he approached the complex. He was careful not to make much noise as he walked through fallen leaves and broken twigs while moving through the forest. When the building came into view, Daniel finally settled behind a rather large tree and poked his head out from behind the trunk to better assess the area.

What he saw didn't impress him. The building was old, worn, and in a state of decay. From where he was crouching, Daniel could see the shattered windows and smell the rotting wood and…something else. He wrinkled his noise and turned away. He needed to come up with some kind of plan on how to break inside.

Daniel wasn't naïve. He knew that the building, even though in shambles, would be heavily guarded. But if this was a place where the rogue Baich made weapons or created biological agents, it was one hell of a loose canon. Daniel didn't want to think of all the chemicals that could be leaking out of the crumbling complex.

He exhaled and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Okay, so he knew that he couldn't just expect to waltz inside. He also knew he couldn't just shoot his way into the building, either. Not that he wanted to, but it was just a thought.

That left him with not much in way of alternatives. Except for…

Stasya.

It was a gamble, but he knew it was one he would have to take. Irina's and Janet's lives could depend on it.

After giving himself another minute to collect himself, Daniel took a deep breath, drew but concealed his sidearm, and headed straight for the entrance. No more than ten seconds had passed when the sentries caught sight of him. By the time Daniel was lit by the afterglow of the lanterns that hung on the sides of the building, the guards had surrounded him, a couple of young men running from inside the building to join the rest. Daniel offered a smile and slowed, silently hoping this would work.

"Hello," he said, switching into the Baich's preferred language. "My name is Daniel Jackson."

"You're one of the off-worlders," said one of the men. "From the Path."

Daniel nodded. "That's right."

"You are with the Rusayev," said another.

Daniel's smile faltered as they raised their rifles. "I'd like to clarify that, actually. I come in the name of Pyeerum."

The sentries frowned at his proclamation, but did not lower their weapons. The first one eyed Daniel suspiciously. "You mock our ways, off-worlder?"

Daniel cleared his throat. This wasn't exactly how he'd wanted this to go down. "No, not at all. You see—"

"You are an off-worlder. You are with the Rusayev," yelled another. "You do their work."

Daniel opened his mouth to protest but the others joined in with angry shouts of their own. He was certain that one lone guard in the crowd had even raised his shotgun to level with Daniel's head. He knew he had to act fast.

"Stasya!" Daniel shouted.

Suddenly, the crowd grew silent. Each armed sentry stopped to scrutinize Daniel in a way that made graduate comprehensive exams look easy. Yet, none moved to intercept him, but none allowed him to pass. One youth darted back toward the building, raising Daniel's level of uneasiness up a notch. He decided to work the silence to his advantage.

"Stasya," he said again. He had no idea what it meant, but he would say it twenty times if he had to.

Murmurs broke out among the crowd, but it was the original guard who spoke first again. "You speak our sacred word – the word only known by our brethren."

Daniel nodded. He could use that.

"Do you think that Pyeerum would just leave you?" he asked, keeping his voice firm. "Did you think he would not amass movements for your people beyond this world?"

One guard still would not back down. "The Rusayev—"

"We're here for you. To help you. But we can't do our job if you won't let us," Daniel said.

The first guard's frown deepened. "What do you want?"

"To help," Daniel repeated. He made a wide sweeping gesture toward the building. "Let us access your facilities so we'll know what you need. We do want to help. We'll help you any way we can."

There was no immediate reply from the group, but by their faces alone Daniel could see they were considering his offer. Not that it surprised him. While this rogue sect seemed to hold a lot of sway within the community – if Irina was a prime example – they also appeared to be in desperate need of resources. Daniel wasn't sure what was the cause for such a discrepancy, but he was willing to bet it had to do with the greed and power held by the sect's leaders. Sadly, it seemed the same no matter where they went.

"I've come alone," Daniel added, nervous by the silence. Daniel wasn't lying…well, not exactly. He did want to help them. They just didn't need to know the how or why. "Why would I have risked my life if I didn't believe we could come under Pyeerum together?"

The first guard looked over Daniel's shoulder. In turn, Daniel held up his hands to show he wasn't armed. Of course, he'd be found out if they did a thorough search of his body, but he was hoping that his pleas were strong enough to convince the armed men in front of him.

The soldier who had run back to the building reemerged, but seemed more relaxed. The rest seemed to pick up on his ease and lowered their rifles. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.

"You will go with Iosif," the first said at last, pointing to the man that had rejoined them. "He will take you to speak with Fyodor."

Daniel nodded with thanks and waited for the man named Iosif to step forward. Iosif motioned for Daniel to follow him through the entrance. Daniel did so without question.

As they walked inside, Daniel found himself exposed to a place in complete disarray. Inside, the wood continued to rot and Daniel was positive he could smell mold. He couldn't help but wonder just how ostracized the Baich felt at the hands of the Rusayev. He supposed that enough pressure could drive a man to do anything.

"Right this way," Iosif said. He guided Daniel past the foyer into a large but sparsely populated room. "I bet things are different from where you're from," the youth chatted excitedly. "Pyeerum must have rewarded you for your faith if you have full access to the Path."

"Something like that," Daniel muttered. He broke away from Iosif, taking the time to soak in the details of the room. There were a few chairs, a table, a plant, and a couple of doors that had to lead elsewhere. Daniel had the distinct impression the room was some kind of waiting area, perhaps for incoming converts or just as cover in the event the Rusayev came to investigate.

"Not many people in tonight," Daniel said, scanning the room again.

"It's time for prayers." Iosif frowned. "Everyone knows that."

"Right." Daniel glanced over his shoulder to catch Iosif's eye. "Why aren't you at prayers?"

"I sacrifice for Pyeerum."

Daniel sighed. "So do I."

Iosif paused, but seemed to shake off the reply to show Daniel to one of the doors. "You'll have to sign in," Iosif said. "Fyodor likes to have a record."

Daniel nodded. He followed Iosif into the small room. Office-like in nature, it had a desk, a coat rack, a locked filing cabinet, and stacks of paper on the side. Daniel walked past a small closet and approached the desktop, stopping to skim over a clipboard with listed names. Fyodor's record keeping, he supposed.

As Daniel started to sign his name, he froze, his eye catching an open file that had carelessly been left on the desktop. Whoever had left it had to be in a hurry; the rest of the office was meticulously kept.

He opened it without a second thought. Part of him wished he hadn't. Feeling queasy, Daniel slammed the file shut.

"Those who do not follow Pyeerum must pay," Iosif said simply.

Daniel didn't reply. Silently, he slid the file aside, along with the clipboard, before he went for his sidearm. He removed it, keeping the weapon hidden as he spoke to Iosif.

"Where's Fyodor?" he asked.

"I can take you to him. He is right on the upper floor. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you." Iosif smiled.

Daniel didn't smile back. "After you."

Iosif started forward, heading toward the door. Daniel slipped behind him.

Without hesitation, Daniel knocked Iosif in the head with the butt of his gun. The youth collapsed and hit the ground with a thud. After checking his head and his pulse, Daniel dragged his body away from the door and toward the back of the room. He opened the closet door and peeked inside. There was enough room – the closet only had a few boxes and some cleaning materials.

Daniel went for one of his pockets, first sliding out plastic restraints. After he managed to secure the young man, he pulled out his bandana. With a few quick flicks of his wrist, he twirled the bandana so it was tightly wound, and then bent over Iosif and gagged him, tying the cloth securely in his mouth. Daniel tried not to think about his actions as he stuffed the unconscious man in the closet. He closed the door. He knew he had to do this.

He took another deep breath, grabbed Iosif's rifle, and exited the room. Once back into the large waiting area, he went for the second door, hoping that he was closer to finding a happy ending to this disaster of a mission.