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Stargate: SVU 2

Chapter Fourteen

Although Janet Fraiser removed the bullet from Elliot's shoulder the moment they arrived at the SGC, the decision was made to keep the Goa'uld inside Elliot for a little while longer; because the snake-like parasite that sat within Elliot's head did a very good job at healing him at a rapid pace--far better than even Janet could do, as even she freely admitted. And so, despite the fact that the team of Tok'ra specialists had arrived and had already removed Osiris from the head of Sarah Gardner, Elliot had to put up with being a host, and still in total control of Ke'tesh, for a few days longer.

This twisted irony was not lost on Olivia, for she was the one who had put the bullet into Elliot, as a last, desperate measure to save Daniel's life. While Daniel was fine, and extremely grateful to Olivia for taking such a bold step, Olivia felt nothing but heart-wrenching guilt, and had spent every moment she could by Elliot's bedside in the infirmary. He had been strapped down to the bed, and had initially been placed in a drug-induced deep sleep by Janet. But Elliot kept awaking up. It appeared that the Goa'uld Ke'tesh quickly healed him of the sleep medication, so Janet gave up trying to keep him under and had armed airmen placed outside his private room, just as a further protective measure.

Olivia sat and impassively listened as the Goa'uld spewed forth every foul-mind curse it could think at her. It was so surreal to hear this filthy language--directed exclusively at her--come out of Elliot's mouth that it reminded Olivia of the film The Exorcist. She had half-expected to see his head start to spin around.

It was during one of these hostile rants that Daniel had entered the room. He strode up to Olivia and gently grasped her arm.

"Come with me," Daniel told her.

"Why?" Olivia asked. "What's wrong?"

"What is wrong is that you are a FILTHY WHORE!" Ke'tesh screeched at her. "Everyone knows this!"

"Just come with me," Daniel said, ignoring the Goa'uld, "right now, please."

Olivia left the room, with the foul cursing from Ke'tesh still ringing in her ears, hand in hand with Daniel, who led her back to her private quarters at the SGC.

Once inside her quarters, Daniel closed the door, then placed his hands on her arms. "There's no need for you to subject yourself to that, Liv. You didn't do anything wrong."

She shook her head. "I just need to be there for him--"

"Why?" he asked bluntly. "You're not helping Elliot, and you're certainly not helping yourself by listening to that incessant cursing from Ke'tesh."

"No, you don't understand, I--" Olivia started to say, until her voice caught. And then she realized that she could even bring herself to say the words that had been weighing so heavily in her mind. "Um, I--uh…."

Daniel gazed meaningfully at her for a moment. And then he whispered, "Let it out, Liv."

She was about to ask what he meant, but Olivia already felt the tears welling up behind the emotional dam that she had so carefully built up within her.

Daniel placed his hands on either side of her face and gently said, "Just let it go, Liv. Right now."

And she did. The tears flowed freely as she began to bawl like a baby against Daniel's shoulder. The events of the past few days--including the horrifying moment where she shot Elliot--all poured out of her just then. And Daniel held her tightly, and listened to her, and supported her.

Once Olivia was spent, they wound up sitting side by side on the edge of her bed. Olivia felt exhausted by her crying jag, but she also felt extremely relieved, as if a great burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders. And Daniel had been there for her. She glanced over at him with a renewed perspective, as a person who had just become more than just a close friend.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, as she reached out and grasped his hand. "Thank you."

"You really want to thank me?" he asked. "You can do that by staying away from Elliot--at least until the Goa'uld is removed from him. Once he's free of it, then he'll really need you, Liv."

She nodded thoughtfully. "How's Sarah?"

"Very grateful that this nightmare is finally over for her," he said with a heavy sigh. "And also feeling as guilty as hell, too. Especially at how badly she treated Casey."

"But you've told her that, whatever she did under the influence of Osiris, it wasn't her fault?"

"Oh yeah. But she still feels bad. She remembers everything."

"Just like Elliot will," Olivia said darkly. She released his hand. "I guess now that Sarah's back, you'll be seeing a lot more of her, then, huh?"

"Well, I'll be there for her, to help her as much as I can, until she can get back on her feet and get back to a resemblance of her former life," Daniel replied.

"So…I guess that means you'll be moving back in with her?" she asked.

He gave her a puzzled look. "Uh, no, we actually broke up--long before she was taken by Osiris. As I've said, I'll stand by her, and help her in any way I can. But it's been over between us for a while."

Olivia nodded. She had already known that Daniel and Sarah Gardner were no longer an item, yet she just needed to be sure that Sarah's return didn't reignite the flame of their old relationship. She wasn't sure why, but it was suddenly very important for Olivia to know that Daniel wasn't seeing anybody right now.

"Uh, you and Elliot," Daniel abruptly said. "You guys are just friends, right?"

"Um, yeah," she replied, with a nod. "He's a happily married man."

"Oh, good--I mean, that-that's good…you know, for him," Daniel replied. "Um, Sam tells me that you're thinking about staying with us? With SG-1?"

"Yeah--if you guys will have me, that is."

"Oh, there's no problem with that," Daniel said, as he grasped Olivia's hand in his own. He gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. It felt very good to Olivia. "Everybody likes you, Liv--even Jack, and you know what a grump he can be."

Olivia smiled as she slowly leaned over towards him. "I'm glad to hear that."

"You may have to take a psychiatric test," Daniel said, as he began to lean over to her, as well. "It's standard procedure; everybody takes it."

"Really?" Olivia asked in a husky whisper, as she gazed dreamily into his eyes. "That might be a problem. You see, I have a tendency to fall for guys who I work with."

"Oh, that's not a problem," Daniel said. "At least, not with me…."

They kissed then. It was tentative at first, and then the passion began to build as they tightly embraced each other, and--

--the door to Olivia's room was flung open, and Sam entered, only to come to a dead stop and stare at them in shock.

Olivia quickly broke her embrace and kiss with Daniel--feeling oddly guilty, as if having just been caught necking with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks.

"Um, hey, Sam…thanks for knocking," Daniel said sarcastically. He glanced at Olivia and added, "Uh, did you hear her knock?"

For a split second, Sam stared back and forth between them with an expression on her face that was a mixture of both surprise and exhilaration. Then she quickly shook it off and said, "Liv, they just rushed Elliot to the infirmary."

"What?!" Olivia cried, as she stood up. "Why?"

"He was having a seizure, and his life was in danger," Sam said, shaking her head. "And that's all I know. Come on."

Olivia ran to the infirmary with Sam and Daniel, where she was taken to an observation lounge that overlooked an operating room. Jack O'Neill, Teal'c and General Hammond were already there. In the center of the operating room lay Elliot, whose upper body was propped up into a sitting position. He lay very still, with his eyes shut. All around him were doctors, including a team of strangely dressed humans whom Olivia figured must be the Tok'ra specialists. To her horror, they were taking off their masks and gloves--whatever had happened, it was now over.

And Elliot lay very still.

One of the Tok'ra, seeing Olivia pressed up against the glass, nodded gravely at her and said, "It is all over."

"Oh, God…no!" Olivia whimpered in despair.

"No! NO!" Janet Fraiser cried, frantically waving her hands. Dressed in surgical garb, she stood beside Elliot. "Olivia, he means that the procedure's over, that's all. He's fine! Elliot's gonna be all right!"

"Breathe, Liv," Daniel said, as he rubbed her shoulders, "just breathe…."

"Oh boy…." Olivia just wearily leaned her head against the glass. 'He's fine,' she told herself. 'Oh, thank Christ!'

"You freaking moron!" O'Neill roared at the Tok'ra through the glass.

"Pardon me?" the Tok'ra replied, dumbfounded.

"You nearly scared this poor woman to death!" O'Neill said, gesturing at Olivia. "You know, you guys may be scientific whizzes, but your bedside manner leaves a hell of a lot to be desired!"

"Everybody calm down right now," Hammond said. He came over to a frazzled Olivia and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, sir," she said with a relieved sigh. "Um, what happened?"

"Apparently, Ke'tesh tried to kill himself, and by doing so, he released a deadly toxin, which was also killing Detective Stabler," Hammond replied. "But, as you can see, they saved him in time."

"What happened to Ke'tesh?" Olivia asked.

Hammond gestured to a table off to the side, where a shriveled-up Goa'uld parasite lay twitching its last death rattle. "Ke'tesh wanted to die," Hammond said. "And he got his wish."

Olivia could not help but smile broadly at the dying creature which had caused so many people--Elliot especially--so much pain. "Hah!" she laughed triumphantly at it. "Suck it, you little bitch!"

Elliot's eyes shot open at that moment. When Janet went to see what was wrong, he said, "I thought I just heard Olivia."

"You did," Janet replied, smiling, as she pointed out Olivia to him.

"Hello, sweetie!" Olivia said. She cried tears of joy as she waved at him through the glass. For the first time in a long time, she was finally speaking with the real Elliot.

"Hey, Liv," Elliot replied, as he gave her a weak smile. "Man, you wouldn't believe the weird dream I just had…."

SG-1: SVU

When Casey woke up to the beeping sound, she instinctively reached over to slap the button on her alarm clock--only to realize that she wasn't in her bedroom. Then she realized that she wasn't even in New York.

Hell, she wasn't even on earth.

She was still aboard the captured Ha'tak vessel, which was presently orbiting the earth--a glorious view of the planet could be seen through the massive window that dominated the bedroom. As she marveled at that stunning sight, Casey wondered if she was still dreaming.

'If I am, I hope I never awaken from this wonderful dream,' she thought.

When the constant beeping made Char'el wake up with a start next to her, Casey shrugged and said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what that is, or else I would have shut it off before it woke you."

"The communications device, on the end table," he told her. "Put it in the palm of your hand and squeeze it gently."

Casey nodded when she saw that the small sphere on the table was glowing slightly. After pulling the blanket up over her bare chest, Casey palmed the sphere, and squeezed gently.

Olivia's face appeared, looking uneasy. "Is this thing working?" she asked, with a glance off to the side. "I don't see anything!"

"I think there's something on it now," Sam Carter's voice said. "See?"

"Liv?" Casey said, smiling. "I'm here."

"Oh, yeah, there you are," Olivia muttered, as she peered in close. The fisheye effect made her features look comically distorted when she did this. "Um, Elliot is back, sweetie. They removed the snake, and he's been asking for you."

"Oh, that's great!" Casey said joyfully. "I'll be right down."

"Good. You say goodbye to everybody up there, yet?"

When he heard this, Char'el abruptly got out of bed and began to dress.

'This is it,' Casey realized. 'The moment I've been avoiding--the moment of truth--has arrived.' She glanced at Char'el, who put on his Jaffa armor with the angry motions of a petulant child who did not want to go to school. 'He realizes it, too.'

"Um, Casey," Olivia said, frowning, as she peered in close, "are you naked?"

"I'll talk to you when I see you, Liv," Casey curtly said. She gently squeezed the communications devcie once more, and Olivia's image vanished.

Casey got out of the bed, still nude, and walked over to Char'el. He appeared to be greatly bothered by something. "Char'el?"

"Your Tauri clothes are over there," he said, pointing at a bench in front of the window. "You must be looking forward to returning home," he added, with a noticeable hitch in his voice. "After all you have been through…."

'Oh, God, he thinks I'm leaving for good right now,' Casey realized with shock. And then she wondered, 'Am I? Is this really goodbye?'

She walked over to the clothing that had been brought up for her earlier by Olivia. It was a standard issue, green SGC uniform, with a black t-shirt and boots. She imaged herself putting this on, saying goodbye to Char'el, Io'tan, and the others aboard this ship, and returning to earth. And soon, Casey would exchange this uniform for yet another: one of her business suits, as she went back to work as an ADA, arguing cases for the Special Victims Unit. Back to banging her head against a stone wall on a daily basis once more.

Casey then strode over to the massive window and folded her arms across her chest as she stared out at the wondrous sights of the universe. This offered so much more than her previous life--yet the terrors were stark, and beyond belief.

It really wasn't such a hard choice for her to make.

Char'el walked up behind her, and gently placed his hands on her bare shoulders. "Casey, are you well?"

"Yes, I am," she replied, smiling broadly. She turned around and gave him a loving kiss. "I've just made a very important decision."

SG-1: SVU

"God damn it, Casey!" Olivia cried. "No! You can't do this!"

"Oh, give me a break!" Casey replied, with a chuckle. "Like you're the only one here who can go cavorting around the universe?!"

"It's not the same damn thing, and you know it," Olivia shot back.

"You're leaving the SVU permanently, Olivia--well, so am I."

Olivia shook her head. They stood on opposite sides of a hospital bed, one in which Elliot lay, as he helplessly watched them fight. "It's not the same thing," Olivia said, straining to keep her voice calm and level. "Because, after I cavort around the universe with SG-1, I still come back here, to earth. But you, you're gonna be out God knows where, and all because you fell hard for a guy!"

"Yes, Char'el is a big part of it," Casey admitted.

"Char'el," Elliot said with a smile. "Yeah, I remember him. He's a decent guy. Good choice, Casey."

Grateful for his kind words, Casey smiled down at him. "Thanks, Elliot."

"Just wish I treated him better…." Elliot dismally muttered. "Hell, I wish I treated you better, Case. I'll always be haunted by the image of you trussed up to that column for hours on end--and then I cut you loose, only to have you be hunted down like a damn dog…."

"Hey, hey, stop that, all right?" Casey said, as she gently rubbed his good arm. "We all agreed earlier that, whatever you did as Ke'tesh, it wasn't your fault, remember? You don't blame Olivia for shooting you, and I don't blame you at all, Elliot. So stop blaming yourself."

He nodded. Then he glanced at her and said, "Hey, why does the ship have to leave at all? Why can't Char'el and the others just remain in orbit above the earth? You could hang out with him, but still be within shouting distance of us."

Casey shook her head. "Io'tan and Char'el don't want to remain in one place for very long. Not with Ba'al and the other system lords now on the hunt for whatever remnants of Netian Empire tech that's still lying around."

"That makes a lot of sense," Olivia said with a nod. "But you're just gonna walk away from your job--not to mention your life--as an ADA?"

"Truth be told, Liv, I had been considering quitting for quite some time now," Casey said, shaking her head. "I was getting burnt out. I never actually did quit, because I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life when I did. Now I have an option."

"To be a space princess full time?"

"To try and be an advocate for a fledging group of people who are fighting to make their way in the universe," Casey told her. "I've already spoken to both Char'el and Io'tan, and they're both more than happy to have me."

"Oh, I'm sure Char'el is real happy to have you around!"

"Hey, Liv, c'mon," Elliot said, as he shook his head. "That was a cheap shot."

"Yeah, you're right," Olivia quickly agreed. "Sorry, Case. I'm just still not crazy about this idea, that's all."

"I'm also not exactly crazy about you leaving, Liv," Elliot flatly told her. "From what I've seen of what life is like out there, it scares the hell out of me. I can't wait to get back to my family, and my old job."

"I wish I could do that, El, but I can't," Olivia told him. "Having seen the scale of the struggle that earth is involved with in this war, I can't just go back to life as I knew it. I'm not saying that what the SVU does isn't important--it's very important. But if we lose the war against the Goa'uld, then we lose everything. And, by staying with SG-1, I'm still fighting for the SVU, in a sense; I'm fighting for its very right to exist, along with everything else on earth."

"You just took the words right out of my mouth, Olivia," Casey said. "I want to be a part of this larger struggle, as well. But instead of being with the SGC, I'll be helping to fight the Goa'uld on another front with Io'tan, Char'el and the others aboard the Hak'tyl."

"The what?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, yeah," Casey said with a smile. "The Hak'tyl. That's what we've decided to call the ship. It means 'liberation'."

Olivia shook her head slowly. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into here, Case?"

"I've seen Casey in action, Liv," Elliot said. "Believe me, if she can handle being a slave of the Goa'uld, then she can handle anything!"

"I don't doubt that," Olivia replied. "But fighting the Goa'uld won't exactly be a picnic."

"It won't be a picnic for either of us, Liv," Casey said.

"Which is why I want the both of you to promise me that you'll be very careful out there," Elliot told them.

"I promise, El," Olivia said.

"I do, too," Casey added.

Elliot shook his head. "No, that's not good enough for me; I need a hug from each of you to go with that. C'mon, let's go."

Casey grinned as she and Olivia sat down on either side of the bed and gave Elliot a hug at the same time. At the back of her mind, Casey couldn't help but wonder when the next time would come when she would be able to hug both Olivia and Elliot like this.

When she left Elliot's private room, Casey found Janet Fraiser waiting for her in the hallway.

"There's someone who would really like to see you," Janet told Casey. She gestured down the hallway.

Casey saw that Sarah Gardner stood there. Dressed in a hospital gown and robe, Sarah had an ashamed expression on her face as she gazed at the floor.

"Hello, Sarah," Casey said gently. "It's great to finally be able to meet you."

Sarah glanced up at her just then. And Casey was pleased to see that all trace of the arrogant, psychotic Osiris were truly gone, leaving behind this shy, tentative woman whom Casey sincerely thought was beautiful.

"I--" Sarah began to say--

And then she burst into tears.

Sarah collapsed against the wall, where she slid down into a kneeling position as she continued to cry with her hands covering her face.

Casey instantly knelt down beside her and gently pushed back Sarah's blond hair. "Sarah…."

But she backed away from Casey as if she were a live wire. "No, no!" she said through her sobs. "Y-You must hate me!"

"No I don't hate you," Casey told her. "I don't hate you at all, Sarah."

"B-But the things I did to you!" Sarah said, and this brought on a new wave of tears. "Oh God, how can you forgive me!"

"There is nothing for you to forgive," Casey replied. "Because, whatever abuse I suffered, it was at the hands of Osiris. It wasn't you, Sarah. It wasn't you."

Sarah stared at her in disbelief with tear-filled eyes. "Really?"

Casey held out her arms. "Come here."

Still sniffling, Sarah fell into Casey's arms.

"It wasn't you, Sarah," Casey repeated, as she rubbed the crying woman's back. Sarah clung to her tightly with her head on Casey's shoulder. "It wasn't you."

When she heard a stifled sob from behind her, Casey glanced up to see Olivia wiping away a tear. Janet, who had also lost it, hand her a tissue.

"Thanks," Olivia said, accepting the tissue. "You're a lifesaver."

"Well, yeah…I try to be," Janet shot back with a slight shrug.

SG-1: SVU

The staff meeting was delayed so as to give Rodney McKay and Jennifer Hailey time to arrive. When they did, they were both grinning like a pair of kids on Christmas morning.

Hailey snapped off a salute to Hammond, who sat at the head of the table. "Sorry for being late, sir."

"No need to explain," Hammond replied. "I understand you two were busy looking over our new toys."

"Yes sir," Hailey said, as she took a seat at the conference table next to Satterfield. "The alkesh and teltac ships have arrived and are everything that Io'tan promised: in brand new condition and loaded to the gills with the latest advancements."

Sam smiled at the thought of getting her hands on a hyperspace engine from one of the alkesh ships. Reverse-engineering one of those babies will be a big help for the Prometheus project, where creating a hyperspace engine from scratch had been a hard nut for the design team to crack.

Jack, who sat next to her, pointed at her face and muttered, "You've got some drool on your lip, there, Carter."

She shot him an annoyed look. "Why, gee, sir," she whispered, dripping with sarcasm, "thank you so much."

"Anytime," he whispered back, unfazed. "I know how excited you get with all this tech talk."

"Lt. Hailey didn't tell you guys the best part," McKay added, as he dramatically held up a data crystal. "In my hand here, I hold--"

"Char'el gave us the design schematics for the seeker wave device, sir," Hailey quickly said.

McKay shot her a wounded look. "Hey, I wanted to tell them…."

"Wow!" Sam was stunned to hear this. As if the small fleet of alkesh and teltac vessels weren't enough of a great gift from Io'tan, now they were armed with the ability to find cloaked ships--and more, considering that Io'tan's ship, the Hak'tyl, was able to cause some serious damage to Ba'al's vessel, which had enabled them to escape from Mount Tanis.

"Superb news," Hammond said. He glanced at Jack and added, "Looks like this new alliance will be very fruitful."

"That it has been, sir," Jack readily agreed.

Hammond glanced at Sam with a smile. "And it looks like you, Lt. Hailey and Dr. McKay will be very busy in the lab."

"Yes sir," Sam said, grinning broadly.

Jack abruptly reached over and placed a box of tissues on the table in front of her. When Sam gave him a questioning glance, he indicted his mouth, and said, "You have more drool…."

This caused laughter to break out around the table--even Hammond was chuckling--but none laughed harder than Casey, who shook her head at Sam and said, "Sorry!" in-between her giggles.

"That's ok, Casey," Sam good-naturedly. "I'm used to it."

"Oh, Casey!" McKay said suddenly, as if seeing her for the first time. "Didn't recognize you. Guess I'm not used to seeing you fully dressed."

After a moment of awkward silence, McKay added, "Um, uh, wait, I-I didn't mean to say that I saw you naked! Quite the opposite--although, I've gotta say, that scant little slave outfit you wore certainly didn't leave much to the imagination. I mean, especially how it really showed off your--"

"Dr. McKay," Hammond cut in, "please be quiet."

"Uh...yes sir…."

"I've been reading your reports," Hammond began, "and, it appears that, with the destruction of the Asgard Slayer, we no longer have that worry on our minds."

"It would have been nice to have actually examined the Asgard Slayer," Janet spoke up. "Then we could have provided Thor with a good idea as to exactly what that virus was, and how the Asgard could fight it."

"Thor seemed to be very satisfied that the Asgard Slayer was destroyed in the explosion," Jack commented. "His take was that the case was closed, so to speak."

"Yeah, is it me," Olivia asked, "or did Thor leave in an awful hurry? Not a very sociable little guy, is he?"

"The situation with the Replicators in his home galaxy requires his full attention back there," Hammond explained.

Olivia and Casey shared a confused look. "Replicators?" Olivia asked. "What's that?"

There was a collective groan from around the table. When she saw Jack slowly shake his head at the painful memory of their last encounter with the twitchy, unrelenting cyber-insects, Sam decided to answer Liv's question. "In their own way, the Replicators are an even worse threat than the Goa'uld, Liv. I'll tell you all about them later."

Both Olivia and Casey were visibly alarmed at that.

"Oh, ok," Olivia nervously replied. She looked as if she regretted asking the question.

"We've received a report from Jacob," Hammond said, as he regarded a sheet of paper before him. "He's returned to Mount Tanis."

Sam perked up at this news. Her father and Bra'tac had left about a day after they had returned to earth. Sam was sorry to see her dad leave so soon, but the Tok'ra had wanted him to report back to them as soon as possible.

"According to Jacob, the forces of Lord Ba'al are now completely in control of Mount Tanis," Hammond told them.

"So Ball boy survived our little encounter, huh?" Jack asked. "Damn…."

"He has been sighted on the surface of the planet by Jacob," Hammond said. "Now, I know we've discussed Lord Anubis in detail before, during your debriefing right after you came back, but--well, I have to admit, he makes me very uneasy."

"Believe me, sir," Jack said, "having met the guy personally, I know exactly what you mean."

"In your reports, you've all stated that Anubis was invincible," Hammond said. "And if that's the case, then how do we know that he didn't survive the explosion of the vault on Mount Tanis?"

"We don't," Daniel said. "I mean, how would we really know, either way?"

"We're talking about a matter/antimatter bomb, sir," Sam added. "That sort of weapon doesn't just blow things apart, sir, it disintegrates them within a pretty big blast radius."

"Which is the one bright spot in this situation," Satterfield said. "I mean, the vault, along with all of its secret weapons, is history. All of that firepower has been denied to Ba'al."

"Jacob states that he's since had to leave Mount Tanis because the Ha'tak ships in orbit began using the seeker wave," Hammond said. He glanced at Sam and added, "He's fine, Major. He's back safe and sound at Tok'ra headquarters. But, getting back to Anubis: even if he is dead, who's to say we won't encounter more like him? And if so, how do we mount an effective defense against a being like that?"

"We still don't know for sure what he was, exactly," Olivia said. "Was he a Goa'uld?"

"If he was," Teal'c said grimly, "then he was unlike any I have ever encountered."

"Dr. Jackson, you said that Anubis was known as the lord of the dead, correct?" Hammond asked.

"Uh, yes--at least according to the ancient Egyptians," Daniel said. "But, having met Mr. Anubis, I can't help but wonder if the mythology surrounding him has become somewhat skewered over time."

"In what way?" Jack asked.

"He's known as the lord of the dead, which means that he's essentially the go-to guy for funerals in ancient Egypt," Daniel explained. "But, after seeing him in action, I think that the mythology might have originally meant that he was the lord of death--in other words, that he was a master over death itself."

"That he, Anubis himself, was immortal," Satterfield chimed in. "He can't be killed, no matter what."

"Yeah," Daniel said solemnly. "That pretty much sums it up. And if that should be the case, then hopefully, he's giving Ba'al a massive headache right now."

"We're still watching the situation with Lord Ba'al very closely," Hammond said, "and will hopefully see where the chips will fall with regard to this massive shift of power."

"Even without dealing with Anubis, Ba'al is far more powerful now than he was before," Daniel said. "With the resources of the Netian Empire behind him, it's safe to say he's become more powerful than the rest of the system lords combined."

After a moment of silence, Hammond said, "Well, at this point, all we can do is hope that Anubis was truly one of a kind, and that he's dead and buried. Moving onto other matters. Colonel O'Neill has informed me that he would like to add a member to SG-1, namely Detective Benson. Well, I'm pleased to inform everyone that that request has officially been approved."

Olivia grinned broadly as the whole table erupted into applause.

"And, Detective Benson will from now on be known as Special Agent Benson, of the FBI," Hammond added. He glanced at Olivia. "That's your new cover story, Agent Benson. Officially, you are the FBI liaison for the Cheyenne Mountain facility regarding matters of counterterrorism. But, unofficially, you're the latest member of SG-1. Congratulations, and welcome."

"Thank you, sir," Olivia said humbly. "And thanks, to everybody in SG-1, for having me." Then she shook her head in disbelief. "Wait until Elliot hears that I've finally gone fed! He's gonna flip!"

"Overall, superb job, SG-1," Hammond said. "It's Thursday night, now. I'd like for all of you to take the weekend off."

"A three-day weekend?" Jack asked.

Hammond nodded. "You've earned it--all of you. If anything should come up, we'll give you a call."

Jack stood up and announced. "In that case, I'd just like to say there'll be a party at my place tonight. Everybody's invited. Leave your rank at the door."

"Hey, great!" McKay said, as he gave Jack a thumbs up sign. "I'll be there with bells on, Colonel!"

"Oh, crud...I forgot that he was here," Jack whispered into Sam's ear. "Hope you can make it, Major."

"Yes, I'll be there, as well, sir," Sam replied. "And don't worry, I'll be sure to wipe off any residual drool I may have on my lips."

Jack nodded in approval as they got up from the table. "Thinking like that will help you to go far in today's Air Force, Major."

SG-1: SVU

Qetesh smiled as she regarded the slave who knelt before her. He was a muscular young man who wore only a loincloth--and Qetesh had to admit, he wore it very well.

She smiled down at him. "I must say, I do like the way the slaves are attired here on Mount Tanis--in next to nothing, with plenty of skin. Just the bare essentials. What is your name, boy?"

"Dan'ak, my mistress," he responded without looking up.

"Dan'ak," Qetesh said, rolling his name off of her tongue a few times as she made a lazy circuit about the ruined interior of the temple. "What temple was this, Dan'ak?"

"The temple of the High Priestess, my mistress."

"Rather large temple, for just one woman," Qetesh commented.

"It also housed the Priestesses in Waiting, my mistress."

Qetesh stared at him, amused. "Really? A harem of women? Lord Ba'al might enjoy this. After all, it's only fair that I should get him something from my little shopping spree. Where are they hiding?"

"I do not know, my mistress."

Qetesh stared at Mar'ek, the First Prime, who looked visibly uncomfortable. "Mar'ek, where are these Priestesses in Waiting?"

"We do not know, my Queen," he said uneasily.

"You do not know?" Qetesh repeated, with a slight chuckle. She turned towards the slave and asked, "How many of these Priestesses in Waiting are there?"

"Several, hundred, my mistress--including their own legion of Jaffa, who are loyal only to them and the High Priestess."

"And how, exactly, does one lose several hundred people?" Qetesh asked, as she turned a critical eye back on the First Prime.

"We suspect they were aboard the Ha'tak that had been commandeered by SG-1," Mar'ek replied. "The Ha'tak that managed to escape our--"

"Do not remind me!" Qetesh said with disgust. She cringed in despair at having to abandon their Ha'tak flagship, which was badly damaged by that dastardly attack launched by the horrid Colonel O'Neill of SG-1. Qetesh loved that Ha'tak; she had spent hours working on the lavish decorating, especially within their private quarters.

She had been so devastated that Ba'al had ordered the beheadings of the entire peltac command staff in an attempt to cheer Qetesh up. And normally, a good beheading was all that it usually took to lift her spirits--but not this time. She really did love that ship; it would be very hard to replace, especially the elaborate quilt design pattern on the bed sheets.

"Oh, well," Qetesh murmured, as she gazed out over the smoking cityscape of Mount Tanis. "We may have lost a flagship, but we gained an empire. And with that, we can transfer our flag to any ship we desire. Come, muscles, I want to introduce you to Lord Ba'al."

"Yes, my mistress," Dan'ek replied, as he got to his feet and followed her.

Qetesh found Ba'al at the crater where the vault used to be; he was at the very base of the crater, standing with several armed Jaffa, as they all stared at something in the dirt.

"Remain here," Qetesh ordered Dan'ek, who promptly knelt down with his head bowed.

'Very nice specimen,' Qetesh thought, as she decended into the crater on steps that had been blasted into the glass-like surface. 'If all the men here on Mount Tanis are that delicious-looking, I may get more for my collection.'

"Ba'al, darling," she called, as she strode up to him.

"You appear to be feeling better, my love," Ba'al said, as he greeted her with a kiss.

"That's because I met Dan'ek," she replied, as she happily pointed at the kneeling slave. "Isn't he cute?"

Ba'al frowned at the man who knelt on the rim of the crater. "Another personal slave? And how many does that make now? Twelve?"

"You can never have too many personal--" Qetesh started to say, until she got a look at what lay on the ground before them.

At first Qetesh thought what she saw were a group of slugs that were crawling around in the dirt. But then she noticed that they were flesh-colored, and that they were all in varying sizes, all crawling towards a larger writhing mass in the center. When the smaller slugs reached the larger mass, they melted into it, adding onto the mass--which began to look uncomfortably like a body.

"What is going on, here?" Qetesh asked in a frightened whisper.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Ba'al casually said. "Qetesh, meet Lord Anubis. You'll have excuse the lord of the dead, my dear, while he pulls himself back together."

Qetesh shook her head in disgust as her mind reeled in horror at the sight before her. "That…that thing is an abomination! Destroy it, Ba'al, now!"

"We did," he said, smiling. "When I first saw he was reforming, I had the Jaffa blast him back into little, charred bits. And then, the charred bits healed on their own and began crawling back towards each other once more. If nothing else, Lord Anubis is very tenacious."

One of the science officers appeared at the rim of the crater. "The stasis tube is here, my lord."

"Excellent," he called back. "Bring it down, now. I want to freeze him before he's formed up any further than he is."

Qetesh gave him a shocked look. "You're not actually thinking of keeping that thing, are you?"

"You have your hobbies, my love," Ba'al said, gesturing at Dan'ek. Then he pointed at the writhing mass of flesh on the ground. "And I have mine."

To be finally concluded (really!) in the next chapter....