DISCLAIMER: Not Mine. MGM and the Stargate writers got to play for real, I get to play in my head now that they are finished with them! And Suzanne Collins provided the inspiration for the backdrop/plot into which I will be throwing Daniel and Vala this time!

A/N: Thanks for sticking with me through the wait guys! More is on the way!

"You know," Cam said conversationally, glancing around town hall with a restless gaze. "I'd like to believe those two crazy kids finally worked things out and got a room somewhere, but somehow, I just can't see it. Which leaves me wondering where the hell they've wandered off to."

"Perhaps they have merely been sidetracked" Teal'c replied, his low baritone voice seemingly calm. Nonetheless, he continued to stare at the main entrance of the town hall expectantly, just as he had been doing since they arrived over an hour ago.

"We all know how…distracted Daniel can get." Sam added. She tried to seem nonchalant as well, but Cam could see by the way she was tapping her fingernails on the butt of the P-90 hanging from her vest that she was growing more and more concerned as the minutes ticked by.

Before Cam could reply, the large wooden doors across the main foyer of the town hall opened with a crash, revealing a small man in long purple robes. He had a gaggle of people following him and he was frantically sending them off one by one to do various tasks, none of which made any sense to Cam.

When he arrived in front of SG-1, Cam could see that he was more than a little frazzled.

"Busy day?" Cam asked, sauntering forward in a friendly manner.

The man, who had just waved off his last assistant, ignored Cam and swung around to bark a final order to the young man scurrying away across the marble floor, "You go back there and you tell Falco that it was not a request and that he cannot simply decline. Bring two officers with you to prove your point." Turning his attention back to Cam he looked at SG-1, an exasperated look on his face. "I am secretary Vicar. You are the offworlders who wished to speak to the Elect and the Council?"

"We sure are - tick that one off your to-do list," Cam said, miming a checkmark with his right hand. When it failed to make the man crack a smile, he cleared his throat awkwardly and let his own grin slide from his face.

"You will follow me. The Council is gathered in the meeting room and have but a short time to speak with you."

Cam glanced at Sam and Teal'c, who shrugged and raised an eyebrow, respectively. "Alright then," he said, turning back to Vicar. "Lead the way, Mr. Sunshine."

Vicar's severe expression became even more darkly imperious at that, but he said nothing as he swept back out of the room. Trading one last significant look, Sam, Cam and Teal'c followed obediently in his wake.

It was a pretty standard first-contact meeting, albeit a brief one. The members of the council were all occupied and distracted. This was evident from the get-go, as Cam had to repeat where exactly they were from at least 4 times before everyone around the meeting table properly heard him. Cam gave the usual "we come in peace" spiel, though he was fairly certain he only had the attention of 3 or 4 of the 12 officials in the room at any given time.

'Daniel always makes this look so easy,' Cam thought to himself as he wrapped things up, feeling as though he had spent the last 15 minutes trying to herd cats…or talking to a wall. Possibly both.

The Elect, an older man bald man with a large grey mustache, agreed to set a meeting for a later date and offered to allow SG-1 to remain in the city for the opening ceremonies of the Gabanese games that very evening. Seeing that there was not much else to say Cam, Sam and Teal'c agreed to stay for the festivities and stood, moving towards the massive wooden door to leave.

"We'll just show ourselves out then, will we?" Cam asked in a tone that was probably more sarcastic then he intended.

He received a nod from Secretary Vicar. Everyone else had already gone back to whatever they had been doing before SG-1 had arrived.

As Cam put his hand on the doorknob he stopped suddenly and turned back towards the meeting table. "There are two more of our team in town somewhere, we were separated and our radios are acting up. Haven't been able to get a hold of them for awhile. If they show up here, would you do us a favor and let them know we've been and gone and that we will meet up with them in the main square?"

"Yes that's fine," Secretary Vicar said, barely looking up and scribbling something on a pad. "Names?"

Cam chuckled, "Well they're dressed like us, and will probably be bickering extremely loudly, so they should be hard to miss. Their names are Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran."

For the first time since they had arrived, every single face at the meeting table was looking towards Cam. Secretary Vicar cleared his throat and looked back at the Elect with his eyebrows raised. The Elect flicked his hand quickly in the direction of Cam and his teammates, as if to tell Vicar to shoo them away. Vicar seems to understand exactly what he wanted and turned back to Cam, Sam and Teal'c who were standing in the doorway with looks of confusion on their faces.

"Unfortunately, we cannot tell you where they are at the moment. However, I'm sure that if you are in the main square this evening you will see them…and all your questions will be answered." Vicar said, carefully.

"Well that's rather cryptic don't you think? Just hold on a second…" Cam began, moving back towards the large table surrounded by shocked officials. Reacting to a quick hand signal from Vicar, the two guards who flanked the doors took a step towards SG-1 with their weapons drawn and Cam threw up his hands. "Alright, alright I get it. Tonight, answers, main square. Gotcha." He grumbled, jerking his head towards the door to indicate that they were leaving. Sam and Teal'c released the hold they had on their own weapons and followed Cameron out the way they had come in.

As they headed across the silent foyer towards the exit Cam let out a gusty breath. "Oooh, this is so not good," he groaned. He pinched the bridge of his nose tightly for a moment. "Why," he mumbled, "is it that I can't take you people ANYWHERE?"

"I beg your pardon, Colonel Mitchell. But I fail to see what Colonel Carter and I have done to deserve such exasperation."

"Nothing," Cam said. "This time."

Carter struggled to keep her bemusement off her face, and rested a placating hand on Cameron's arm. "Let's just keep poking around. See what we can find out. I'm sure we can find someone who'll talk."

He nodded slowly. "Sounds like a plan. But we don't split up. I don't want anyone else disappearing, got it? Or next time I bust out the kiddie leashes."