I would like to thank Mia66 and OEJS for their kind words. And OEJS, rest assured, this story has been completely plotted out to the point where the ending has been written--I just have to get there, now. Hope everybody enjoys the new chapter.

Stargate: SVU

Chapter Four

Major General George Hammond was already on his way back to his office upstairs when the visitor alert sounded throughout Stargate Command. Barely ten minutes had passed since he had just seen SG-12 off on their mission to check up on SG-1, and so this was either very good news, or very bad.

"Incoming traveler, sir," Sergeant Walter Harriman informed him, when Hammond arrived in the main stargate control room. Harriman did a double take when his computer screen flashed new information at him. "It's SG-12, sir!"

'No, this is not good at all,' Hammond thought grimly. SG-12 was coming back way too soon, and whenever that happened, it was usually because a team was coming back 'hot', as in they were returning while under enemy fire.

Harriman, whose hand hovered over the control which would have closed the iris over the stargate, sat back in his seat and anxiously watched--along with Hammond--as three ragged-looking figures emerged from the stargate's event horizon.

"Good Lord," Hammond said, once he got a good look at the sight of them. Sergeant Cullman, who was wounded in the leg, was being supported by Hailey and Satterfield. And there was no sign of Colonel Melham.

But just before Hammond could ask over the intercom what happened, Sergeant Harriman flinched when a new piece of information appeared on his screen. "Incoming message, sir!" he said. "And it's from SG-1!"

"Incoming! Incoming!" Colonel Jack O'Neill's voice urgently said over the speakers. "SGC, you have an incoming missile! Shut the iris now! I say again: Shut the iris--"

Hammond frantically gestured at the Sergeant. "Walter, close the--!"

"Already done, sir," Harriman replied, as he hit the switch.

A gunmetal colored shield, which consisted of a multitude of metallic plates, all converged over the stargate, protecting everyone within the gate room from the oncoming destruction.

When the missile smashed against the iris, Hammond was startled by the force of the impact, which actually buckled several of the metal plates. The stargate abruptly shut down a few seconds later. Hammond turned to tell Harriman to call Dr. Fraiser, only to discover the sergeant was already making the call on the base intercom.

Hammond entered the gate room and strode up to what was left of SG-12. Hailey, Satterfield and Cullman all sat wearily on the edge of the metal platform. Hailey started to rise to give Hammond a salute, until he waved her to sit back down. "As you were, Lieutenant. What happened? Where's Colonel Melham?"

"I regret to inform you, sir, that Colonel Melham is dead," Hailey told him, her voice quivering with emotion. "There was an army of Jaffa waiting for us on the other side. They opened fire as soon as we were through the gate."

"When you say 'an army' how many would you estimate?" Hammond asked. "Fifty, a hundred?"

"More like several hundred to a thousand, sir," Hailey replied flatly. "There was a landed Goa'uld mothership in the distance."

"Good Lord," Hammond muttered. Planet P3X-897, which SG-1 had been sent to explore, was out on the very fringes of the galaxy; no Goa'uld system lord had ever laid claim to it. 'So who the hell were this bunch, and where did they come from?' Hammond wondered. 'And, more importantly, what happened to SG-1?'

Dr. Janet Fraiser entered the gate room with a medical team and a stretcher. "What happened?" she asked.

"Sgt. Cullman has been hit, in the leg," Hammond informed her.

"By a Jaffa staff weapon," Cullman told Fraiser, as the doctor bent over to examine him.

Hammond glanced at the two Lieutenants with concern. "Have either of you been hit?"

Hailey and Satterfield shook their heads in the negative. They both had the dazed, thousand-yard stare of soldiers who had just seen combat.

"SG-1 saved us, sir," Hailey said.

"You've seen them?" Hammond asked eagerly.

"They were up on a ridge, providing sniper cover for us, while we dialed out." Hailey shook her head sadly. "We couldn't help them, though."

"There were too many damned Jaffa," Satterfield muttered, her gaze distant. "It was like looking out at a sea of snake heads!"

"And, my apologies, sir, but we were unable to take the Colonel's body back with us, " Hailey added, her voice breaking. "I know the SGC motto is that we leave no one behind…."

Hammond held up a hand. "You brought your team back home, Lieutenant. That's all that matters, now. I knew Buddy Melham very well," he added, his tone of voice soft. "And I can tell you that he would have been very proud of you, all of you. And, rest assured, we will bring him back home, along with SG-1, no matter what happens."

Dr. Fraiser temporarily dressed Sergeant Cullman's leg wound, and then nodded at her attendants--who placed the sergeant on the stretcher and quickly wheeled him out of the gate room. She turned towards Hammond and said, "Sir, although the lieutenants haven't suffered any wounds, I'd still like to see them in the infirmary."

"Of course, doctor," Hammond replied with a nod. He glanced at Hailey and added, "We'll continue with the debriefing when you and Lt. Satterfield are done in the infirmary."

"Yes, sir," Hailey said. She began to walk away--until she noticed that Satterfield continued to sit on the platform, still looking stunned. Hailey came over and gently rubbed her teammate on the shoulder. "Hey, c'mon," she said gently. "Up and at 'em Lieutenant."

"What--? Oh, yeah," Satterfield said, as she snapped back to attention. The two young lieutenants joined Dr. Fraiser as she walked out of the gate room.

Hammond stared in disgust at the buckled iris. He supposed that he shouldn't be angry, for the iris did its job by blocking the Goa'uld missile and saving them all from annihilation. But, ironically, it was the very same damaged iris that now prevented them from using the stargate.

Hammond instinctively turned to tell Harriman to have Sergeant Siler report to the gate room--yet he was surprised to see Siler already walking up to the stargate, along with his maintenance team.

"I took the liberty of calling Sergeant Siler, sir," Harriman said over the intercom.

Hammond waved a thank you at Harriman. 'What they say is true,' he thought with a slight smile, 'the military really is run by the sergeants.'

Siler, looking over the damaged iris with a critical eye, shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Then he began to call out orders to his team, who quickly set up their equipment.

"How long do you figure before the iris is fixed?" Hammond asked Siler.

"Four hours, maybe more, sir," Siler said. "We only need to replace a section of the iris, but that includes the centerpiece, and that's usually a super-bitch to deal with."

"Try and cut that time in half, if not more, Sergeant," Hammond said. "SG-1's still out there, and they're in a heap of trouble."

Siler nodded. "Understood, sir. We'll do our best to shave it down as much as possible. I'll keep you posted in any event."

"Very good, Sergeant," Hammond muttered. He stood back and watched as Siler's team began to disconnect the power to the gate. It was a standard safety precaution that was done whenever work was underway on the stargate. Yet Hammond hated to be cut off from Jack O'Neill and his team like this, especially when SG-1 needed his help the most.

'Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c,' Hammond thought, as he stared forlornly at the damaged stargate. 'Just hold on, kids! Help is coming.'

SG1: SVU

When Olivia awoke, she found herself staring into Sam's smiling face.

"Hey," Sam said, looking relieved. She glanced away and added, "See, Luanda? She's fine."

When Luanda knelt down beside Olivia, she saw that the worried girl had tears in her eyes. "I was concerned for you, Liv!"

"I'm fine, sweetie," Olivia assured her, as she slowly sat up with Sam's help. She saw O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c were also huddled around her. They, along with Sam, had been stripped of all their gear--even their vests and jackets--and now wore just black t-shirts with their green pants and black boots.

"Oh, God, guys, you don't know how happy I am to see all of you again!" Olivia said, as she pulled a grinning Sam in for a hug. "I was afraid the Jaffa were going to stick me back in that damned tube."

O'Neill reached out with both hands grasped Olivia's. "It's good to see you, again, too, Liv. You sure you're feeling all right? You've been out longer than the rest of us."

"Yeah, those bastards zatted me," Olivia angrily muttered. She glanced sharply at Sam and said, "And just what the hell were you thinking, anyway, throwing yourself in the line of fire like that?"

"My job," Sam explained, "part of which is to protect civilians like you."

"I'm not a civilian," Olivia told her. "I'm a cop."

"Yeah, about that," O'Neill said. "Luanda's been telling us an interesting story about what happened on that ridge after we were knocked out. She told us that you 'arrested' the Jaffa? Care to elaborate?"

Olivia let out a short laugh, now feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Um, yeah, I identified myself as being a detective with the Special Victim's Unit, and…well, basically, I told all of them that they were under arrest for being very ugly."

"I like that," O'Neill said, nodding in approval. "I really like that! You've got gumption, Liv!"

Yet Teal'c was the only member of SG-1 who was not smiling. "I am not surprised that you stood your ground, Olivia Benson," he seriously intoned, "for you have proven yourself to be an extremely brave warrior."

"Now there's a helluva recommandation if I've ever heard one," O'Neill said, as he helped Olivia to her feet.

Olivia's heart sank when she noticed the black and gold décor of the room they were in, complete with Egyptian hieroglyphs that were written everywhere. There were a set of gold jail bars that covered the only doorway. "Oh, crud, I guess we've all been captured, huh?"

O'Neill held his hands out in a sweeping gesture. "Yes, welcome to the Goa'uld Regency Hotel. Our host, Neith, should be with us very soon."

Olivia's eyes grew anxiously wide. "They've said we're gonna meet her?!"

"No, uh, we actually haven't seen our captors since we woke up," Daniel replied. "And part of that's because we've been temporarily blinded by the shock grenade the Jaffa used to knock us out."

"Which is what Carter saved you from going through, by the way," O'Neill told Olivia. "You didn't wake up blind like we just did."

"Oh, um, look, sweetie," Olivia quickly told Sam. "Never mind what I said before. Thanks!"

Sam just affectionately rubbed Olivia's arm in response as she smiled wanly.

"If you have not seen our captors yet, then how do you know they will take us to Neith?" Luanda asked the SG-1 team.

"Oh, we've had plenty of experience with this sort of thing," O'Neill said sagely.

"He means we've been captured by the Gou'ald more times than we've cared to count," Daniel said bluntly.

"Indeed," Teal'c muttered.

Olivia wasn't sure if being captured so many times was a good thing or not, until something occurred to her. "But you've managed to escape before, right?"

O'Neill gestured at Olivia and said, "Yes, we have. And thank you, Liv." He glared at Teal'c and Daniel. "Positive thinking always saves the day!"

"What can we expect?" Olivia asked. "If they do take us to see Neith?"

"A lot of blustering and bragging," O'Neill said with a heavy sigh. "One thing about the Goa'uld is that they love to brag."

"O'Neill," Teal'c said urgently, as the sound of marching footsteps came down the hallway.

Luanda fearfully huddled up against Olivia as a small group of Jaffa were led straight up to the bars of their cell by a large bull of a man. Apparently the leader, the man was bald, with dark eyeliner done up in the Egyptian style. Like Teal'c, the leader had a tattoo on his forehead--only this man's tattoo was that of two arrows crossed over a shield. It matched the chest plate he wore.

"I am Mo'at," he told them with a grand air.

"Mo'at, huh?" O'Neill said, unimpressed. "Anybody tell you that you look just like Uncle Fester?"

Olivia stared at O'Neill as if he were insane. The last thing she'd figured they would try and do was to provoke their captors.

"I mean, is it just me?" O'Neill calmly asked Olivia. "Or does this guy really look like Uncle Fester? You know, from the Addams Family?"

Before a stunned Olivia could reply--not that she had any idea of how to reply to what O'Neill said--Mo'at angrily smashed the bars of their cell with his staff weapon.

"SILENCE!" he roared. "I am to take you to see Her Lord Empress Neith."

"See?" O'Neill wearily muttered to Olivia. "Just as predictable as ever."

Olivia smiled slightly at O'Neill. She appreciated what he was trying to do. Olivia found his humorous bluster in the face of an overpowering enemy to be extremely comforting. She just hoped Mo'at didn't find it too irritating, or else O'Neill might suffer some painful consequences.

The Jaffa released them all from the cell and escorted them down a long, imposing corridor that appeared to be as broad as Eight Aveune. There were gigantic statues of various ancient Egyptian figures that lined the hall. Soon, they entered a vast chamber, where a large throne sat on top of a raised platform that had a multitude of marble steps on all four sides. The throne appeared to have a statue seated on it.

"O'Neill," Teal'c said quietly. "Observe the wall to your right."

"What?" Luanda asked Olivia. "What did he say?"

Yet Olivia had glanced up at the wall with O'Neill and the others, and was too stunned at what she saw there to even reply to the girl.

There were a collection of heads, all mounted on the wall on special plaques. At an initial glance, there were mainly various animal heads on display--both earth animals, as well as more exotic, alien-looking creatures--yet Olivia's eyes were drawn to the small group of Jaffa who were busy at the far end of the wall. They were mounting newer heads, just recently captured from the hunt.

And all of the heads they now placed on display were human.

"Oh, dear God…." Sam whispered, sounding utterly repulsed. "Sir…."

"Yeah, I see them, Carter," O'Neill grimly replied. "We are dealing with one sick puppy here, folks."

"See what?" Luanda asked Olivia. "What are they talking about?"

"Nothing sweetie," Olivia replied with a forced smile. She made sure to turn her body so that it blocked Luanda's view of that terrible wall.

"I am all that has been, that is, and that will be," a ghostly female voice echoed throughout the vast chamber. "No mortal has yet been able to lift the veil that covers Me."

"Up on the platform," Sam said, pointing. "Look!"

Olivia did a double take when the seated figure on the throne--which she had assumed was a statue--abruptly stood up and held out its arms.

The figure, who wore a large mask of an Egyptian female over her entire head, began to descend the steps. She was clad in a golden, strapless dress and her feet were bare. There was a gold medallion on her chest that gleamed in the dim light. It was a shield with two arrows crossed over it.

She then raised a hand to her medallion and touched it.

Olivia was stunned to see the large Egyptian-style mask the woman wore abruptly begin to break apart and fold up out of sight behind her head--revealing the slender, youthful face of a woman in her twenties with long black hair.

"You are all now citizens of the Netian Empire," she told them in a commanding voice. Her very eyes glowed inhumanly bright for a split second before returning to their natural hue. "I am your Lord Empress, Neith."

O'Neill nodded thoughtfully, then said, "So, in other words, what you're basically saying is that…you're a royal bitch."

"Rin nok!" one of the Jaffa shouted, as he belted O'Neill across the face with the end of his staff weapon. The blow sent O'Neill sprawling to the floor.

Olivia and Sam instinctively tried to go to O'Neill's aid, but were blocked from doing so by their Jaffa guards, who held up their staff weapons in front of the women. Teal'c was also prevented from helping his friend and commanding officer when Mo'at aimed his staff weapon right at his face.

Daniel, who was the closest to O'Neill, bent down beside him and asked, "You ok?"

"I'm ok--I think," O'Neill replied, holding his hand to his nose. He removed his hand from his face and asked, "You see any blood?"

Daniel shook his head as he gave O'Neill a hand in getting up. "Was that little remark really worth it?"

"Oh, yeah," O'Neill said, still defiant. "Always."

"I anticipated the day when we would finally engage the Tauri stargate teams," Neith said, as she stood before them with a smile spread across her face. "But to have captured the legendary SG-1 within our first encounter is a prize that even I dared not to hope for."

"Hey, hear that, kids?" O'Neill asked Sam, Olivia and Luanda. "We're legendary!"

Yet Daniel looked uneasy. "Uh, excuse me, Neith, if I may--"

"Address her as 'my Lord Empress Neith', dog!" Mo'at said, flying into a rage. He gestured for one of the Jaffa to hit Daniel.

"HOLD!" Neith commanded, just as the Jaffa was about to strike Daniel with his staff weapon.

The Jaffa, obeying Neith's order, quickly stood down.

"Dr. Jackson and his teammates have just recently become citizens of our beloved empire," Neith told Mo'at and the other Jaffa. "We shall grant them the courtesy of having ample time to learn our ways and customs."

Neith turned her attention to Daniel. "Did you wish to say something, Daniel Jackson?"

"Um, yeah," Daniel said, giving Jack and Teal'c an uneasy sideways glance. "Legend has it that you were banished from this part of the galaxy by Ra."

"I was," Neith confirmed. "And since Ra was foolish enough to allow himself to be vanquished by cattle, I have returned to my rightful place."

"And yet, for someone who's just recently returned, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to know an awful lot about us," Daniel said. "Even my name."

"I know all the members of SG-1: Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'c and Major Samantha Carter," Neith said, as she pointed to each member. "Your brilliant Sun Tzu, in his marvelous book, The Art Of War, has stated that one must know their enemy, as well as themselves. If they do this, they shall not fear the result of a hundred battles. And he was right, Daniel Jackson. In reading Sun Tzu, and other works of the Tauri, I have come to know my enemy very well, long before ever meeting them in battle."

"So you've actually been back for quite some time." Daniel then shook his head. "But if you've truly studied us, then you should know that Earth is protected from open invasion from the Goa'uld by the Asgard."

"I know everything, the whole pitiful story," Neith said with disgust. "The Goa'uld--these so-called system lords--have become nothing more than a band of squabbling children in the wake of Ra's death. And I also know that Ra was killed by none other than you and Colonel O'Neill."

"Whoops," O'Neill muttered. "So much for hoping she didn't know that part."

"Fear not, Colonel," Neith told him. "For I owe you a debt of gratitide for ridding me of that hasshak, may he eternally rot! The stage has now been set for the Netian Empire to reclaim this portion of the galaxy once more."

"Pardon me, Your Lord Neith," O'Neill said, "or my Lord Neith, or…whatever. But I don't think you realize just how powerful the Asgard are. I mean, they've got these really nasty starships that kick some serious ass. They actually named one of these babies after me, you know, but Carter--the silly goose--went and blew it up!"

Olivia glanced at Sam, who just closed her eyes and shook her head. "He's never gonna let me forget that, is he?" Sam whispered, irritated. "Even now…."

"Forget what?" Olivia asked in Sam's ear.

"Long story, Liv," Sam replied with a sigh.

"Right. Tell me later," Olivia told her. 'Assuming there is a later,' she grimly thought.

"My dear Colonel O'Neill," Neith said, "whatever makes you think it will be my forces that will first engage the Asgard in battle? That is what the system lords are for. They shall fight the Asgard for me."

"Oh, whoa," O'Neill said, as he shared a stunned look with the group.

"Sir, that's why she abducted those people from earth!" Sam exclaimed. "She knew full well it was a direct violation of the Asgard treaty. She's trying to goad the system lords and the Asgard into a full-scale war!"

"And then--what?" O'Neill asked Neith. "You think you can just pick up the pieces when it's all over?" He shook his head. "No. The Asgard will--"

"Everyone has their weakness, including the Asgard," Neith said, cutting him off. "When the time come for my forces to confront the Asgard, they shall be already be greatly weakened after they've battled the system lords. And then, using a special weapon which I have discovered, we shall take advantage of their great weakness, and vanquish them just as you had vanquished Ra."

Before O'Neill could reply, Neith waved a hand. "I have enjoyed this chat. But now I must take my leave, for I have the conquest of a galaxy to plan." Neith gestured at Mo'at. "Separate them--the men from the women."

O'Neill and Daniel both began shouting as the Jaffa forcibly separated them from Sam, Olivia and Luanda.

"And what of this shol'va, my Lord Empress?" Mo'at asked, as he glared hatefully into Teal'c's stoic face.

"A Jaffa who turns against his master is a dangerous creature," Neith commented. "Teal'c must be taught to stay in his proper place. Take him down to the prison level with Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. I want them to watch Teal'c as he suffers. And see to Teal'c's 'education' personally, Mo'at."

Mo'at smiled broadly. "With pleasure, my Lord Empress."

"The Goa'uld are false gods!" Teal'c defiantly called, as he--along with O'Neill and Daniel--were being led away by several Jaffa. "I shall never accept you as my god, and never will!"

Neith held up a hand, and the Jaffa halted in their tracks with their prisoners. She strode up to Teal'c and smiled. "I care not for the silly god-fantasies that the infantile system lords play, Jaffa. But you will accept and obey me as your Lord Empress, or you shall die."

"Then I die," Teal'c retorted. "Dal shakka mel!"

"A martyr to the end." Neith casually waved her hand at him. "So be it. Let us see just how self-righteous you remain after several hours of torture."

Neith snapped her fingers, and the Jaffa escorted Teal'c, O'Neill and Daniel out of the chamber. Neith then turned her attention to Olivia, Sam and Luanda. She made a grabbing motion with her hand, and the Jaffa standing behind the women grasped them, pulling Luanda away from Olivia's embrace in the process.

Neith nonchalantly inspected the frightened Luanda as though she were an item on sale. "Too young," Neith said with a scowl. "Put her to work in the slave quarters. If she survives, she may well make for a good host someday."

One of the Jaffa roughly hauled the crying Luanda out of the chamber.

A heart-broken Olivia wanted nothing more than to run after Luanda and beat the son of a bitch who carried her senseless, but she was helplessly in the grip of two Jaffa warriors. They held her up for inspection as Neith looked over Olivia's body with interest. She lifted Olivia's t-shirt and rubbed her stomach.

"Hey, back off!" Olivia snarled--yet there was little she could do.

"Very nice," she remarked. "I was planning on putting you back in your stasis tube, but now that I've got a good look at you, I see that you are a rare beauty. As is Major Car--"

Neith flinched in surprise as she took a step back from Sam. "You once carried a Goa'uld!"

"I was once host to Jolinar," Sam proudly said. "She was a Tok'ra."

Neith's eyes narrowed with disapproval. "Ah, yes, the Tok'ra. The rebel Goa'uld. Yet another abomination that the Netian Empire shall do away with, once we win the coming war. Take them both to the presentation room. I shall examine them further there."

Olivia and Sam were powerlessly escorted into a smaller chamber off to the side of the throne room, where they were both tossed onto the floor. The Jaffa left them alone, a solid black door sliding into place where the doorway used to be.

"Oh, God," Olivia moaned softly. She sat on the floor, bone-tired, feeling as if she were at the end of her very wits and strength. Olivia couldn't stop thinking about poor Luanda, and wondered what those bastards were doing to her right now.

Sam got up and went to the door. She felt around the walls with her hand. When Olivia saw this, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"There's usually a control panel of some kind for the door," Sam said, frowning in concentration. "But I don't see anything."

'Sam hasn't given up! She's still fighting,' Olivia realized, as she became filled with awe and admiration. 'So stop feeling sorry for yourself, get up off your ass, and go help her, Benson!'

Olivia reached for what little reserve strength she had left and got to her feet. She helped Sam by also feeling the walls for something--anything--that might be a hidden control panel. "We looking for anything in particular?"

"Usually, it's pretty obvious," Sam replied. "There's always a big, honking panel right next to the door, but I don't see--"

She was interrupted when the wall on the opposite side of the room slid open to reveal a young woman holding a bowl in her hands. She entered the room and placed the bowl on the floor. Olivia saw she wore simple pants with a scant top. The woman had several garments folded over her arms, which she also placed on the floor.

A Jaffa warrior, sans his serpent helmet, also entered the room and stood guard by the doorway.

"You are to clean yourselves and change into these clothes for your inspection by Her Lord Empress," the woman told them with a bow.

Olivia stared at the Jaffa, who stood with a bored expression on his face, and saw that he was armed only with a zat gun.

'We can take him,' Olivia thought. She glanced at Sam and stared hard into her blue eyes. "We should do exactly what they say, right, Sam?"

By the way she nodded her head ever so slightly, Sam indicated that she caught the double meaning in Olivia's words. "Yes, Liv, we should."

Olivia knelt down before the bowl of water and picked it up in her hands, as if to raise up to her face. Yet once she got the bowl as high as her chin, Olivia abruptly flung it at the Jaffa.

The Jaffa let out a growl as the bowl hit him dead square in the face, throwing him off balance against the wall.

Sam took that to be her cue to attack him by kicking the Jaffa in the stomach. When he doubled over, she expertly kneed him right in the chin--which sent the man careening against the wall. Once he was down, Sam reached for his zat--yet the Jaffa recovered more quickly then she'd expected and knocked her away with his fist.

Sam landed on the floor right by Olivia.

"Nemeth kree!" the Jaffa roared, as he reached for his zat gun.

But, to his surprise, it was no longer on his belt.

The Jaffa stared, stunned, as a smiling Sam raised the zat gun at him and charged it up.

"Kree this, slappy," Olivia said with a broad grin.

The Jaffa's body stiffened up as Sam zatted him. He landed in a heap on the floor.

"You all right?" Olivia asked, as she helped Sam to her feet. "He looked like he hit you pretty hard, there."

"I'm fine," she assured Olivia. "We'd better get moving, before--"

"This sort of behavior will not be tolerated by Her Lord Empress Neith," the woman scolded them. She stood with her arms folded in front of her, and had the attitude of an angry schoolteacher who caught a pair of naughty schoolgirls. "You should just give me the zat, and surrender yourselves right now, or else--"

"You really want the zat?" Olivia asked, as she took it from Sam and aimed it at the woman. "Here…."

Olivia was pleased to see the woman's snotty attitude vanish as she shot her with the zat. After her target fell unconscious to the floor, Olivia handed the zat back to Sam and muttered, "Jeez, what an obnoxious bunch!"

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Sam said. "Before somebody misses these two."

They both ran out the doorway and into a massive corridor. "Where are we?" Olivia asked. "Wasn't this where they just took us?"

"No," Sam said, as she sought to get her bearings. "There were statues in that other corridor. This one's different."

"Where are we going, anyway? What's the plan?"

"Rescue the others, as best we can," Sam replied. She gave Olivia an anxious look. "Right now, it's just you and me. And we're all alone aboard a Jaffa-infested mothership, with only a zat gun between us."

"You trying to cheer me up, Sam?" Olivia jokingly said. "Because it ain't working."

"All I'm saying is that it might get a lot worse before it gets any better, Liv--and that's assuming it even gets better at all. You sure you're up to this?"

"I've told you that I was cop. I've been in hairy situations before--granted, I've never faced anything like this, and not with so much at stake." Olivia placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. "But right here, right now, I consider you to be my partner, Sam. So don't worry: come hell or high water--no matter what happens--I've got your back."

Sam flashed Olivia a brilliant smile. "Thanks, Liv. You know, if we survive this, we've got to get together for lunch, or something. Just the two of us. I'd really like to get to know you better."

Now it was Olivia's turn to smile broadly. "Me too, Sam. You've got a deal."

"Right now, though, we're better off if we keep moving," Sam said, as she glanced up and down the corridor. "I'm not sure of which direction to go, but I've always been partial to going left."

"Sounds good to me," Olivia said.

As she ran down the corridor, side by side with Sam, Olivia once more wondered just what their chances were at surviving the next few hours, much less pulling off a rescue of the others. While she didn't know the odds--and maybe it was just as well she didn't--Olivia did know one thing.

'God help any Jaffa who gets in our way,' she thought, with a sideways glance at Sam.

To Be Continued...