"Jack is dead. They took him away to Euthanasia House and killed him." Sam's voice sounded dead, too. Her great, blue eyes stared unseeingly.

"No!" cried Daniel. He couldn't believe it. Even though he'd spent a sleepless night worrying about Jack and Sam. Even though the worry had quickly escalated to dread when Sam returned alone, and he saw the expression on her face. He'd listened with growing anxiety as Sam told him, Nara, and Neralo about the people she'd found waiting for her when she got home. But he couldn't believe that Jack was dead. Jack had survived so much.

"Are you certain?" he had to ask. "Do you have proof?"

Sam looked at him. "I checked the official records on the Net. While Lishet and Sishesiv were still there. And I called Euthanasia House to double-check. I even …" Her voice caught, and she swallowed. "I asked to see his body, but they said he'd already been cremated. They said it's standard procedure." Her face hardened, and she was no longer looking at Daniel. She was staring through him, and even in his current state of shock Daniel felt alarmed at the bleak fury in her gaze.

God, he thought. What she must be feeling…

Daniel was sitting near Sam on one of the curved couches in Ashasti's conversation area. He shifted closer and put his arms around her. He felt a shudder pass through Sam's body, and then her arms went around him, too. She clutched him very tightly, and he heard a low sob escape her. The sound, and the warm solidity of her body in his arms, brought home the reality of the situation. Daniel felt his throat close up. Tears stung his eyes as he struggled with a tremendous, hollow feeling of loss.

Jack gone? It couldn't be. Daniel had always thought he'd be the one to go, not Jack. Jack was the perfect soldier. Even on that first mission to Abydos, with grief and despair clinging to him, he'd been so tough and fearless. He'd struck Daniel as almost larger-than-life – an archetypal alpha male. The sort of unassailably strong, macho guy every boy longed to be when he grew up. Even nerdy, unconventional boys like Daniel.

As he'd gotten to know Jack, Daniel had learned the strength was no illusion. But he'd also learned there was a lot more to Jack than that tough-guy façade suggested. Jack was a truly amazing man. And an amazing friend.

He just couldn't be gone.

Daniel took a ragged breath and blinked his tears away. Sam's sobs had subsided, but she was still clinging to him. As he rested his cheek against the top of her head, his eyes fell on Nara and Neralo watching them from the other side of the conversation area. Their faces were full of distress.

What do we do now? he thought. What would Jack want us to do? The answer was obvious: complete the mission and go home. Well, the mission had already succeeded. Against all odds, they'd found Sam. But now Jack is gone, he thought. And I still don't know what happened to Teal'c. Sam and I may be all that's left of SG-1. The thought hit him like a kick in the gut. He closed his eyes, and tightened his arms around Sam.

After a moment, he gathered his resolve and gently pulled back from her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said, "I'm here for you, Sam. At least the two of us are still together. Jack would want us to … carry on." He'd almost said that Jack would want them to get safely back to Earth, before he remembered that Nara and Neralo were present. He wasn't quite sure how they'd react to that idea.

Sam met his eyes, then looked over at the Ashorans, and Daniel knew she was thinking the same thing. Could they get Nara and Neralo to help them escape from Ashora? Did they even dare ask?

Neralo said, "I'm deeply sorry, Jamora – I mean Sam. Esestia is a disgrace to the Goddess. She sends several males to Euthanasia House every month, even though that's supposed to be only for psychopaths. Ashasti has filed more than one complaint against her, but Esestia has a lot of political pull. The Board always sides with her."

"Of course it does," said Nara, her voice grim. "The Board Members are all Scrupulists, just like she is. The Bureau of Liberation is crawling with them." She gave Sam and Daniel a devastated look. "I'm so sorry. This is awful. Our Government is responsible for yet another innocent death."

Sam wiped her eyes and fixed Nara and Neralo with a resolute gaze. "Yes," she said, "I've learned the Ashoran Government has a great deal to answer for. You see, with Lagash's help, I convinced Lishet and Sishesiv that they still had me fooled and got them to leave. Then I had a long talk with Lagash, who's had second thoughts about the role he's been playing. We talked pretty much all night, and he told me all about the secret Government program that he and the others work for. It's called the New Start Program. And the reason I have amnesia is because they deliberately erased my mind." Sam's mouth twisted. "Except for a few memories of being raped and beaten by the Atrosians, of course. They took my identity away from me, but left that."

Neralo looked shocked. Nara seemed appalled, but not surprised. Daniel was outraged. "They erased your memory?!" he cried.

"But," said Neralo, "that's impossible! We don't have the technology to erase people's memories."

"The conspirators do," said Sam. "but they're keeping it secret. They developed the technology as part of the New Start Program. Supposedly, the idea is to erase the memories of Rescued women and give them Ashoran identities so they can start over fresh, without the burden of their painful pasts."

"Okay," said Neralo. "That makes a certain amount of sense. Sounds like the Government was trying to help you, even though things went horribly wrong with your concubine. That was Esestia's fault, not these people's. Since only vicious criminals are supposed to be recommended for termination, you can't blame them for thinking this male represented a threat to you."

Daniel couldn't believe Neralo's reaction. "Didn't you hear what Sam just said?" he asked. "These people deliberately erased her memories! They stole her life! You call that 'helping'?"

Neralo gave Daniel a hard look, and said, "No doubt you find it difficult to believe that Jamora – I mean Sam – preferred to forget her life on your patriarchal world."

Daniel felt his jaw dropping in amazed exasperation, but Sam responded before he could.

"No, Neralo," she said. "I feel certain I didn't consent to having my memory erased. Because even though I can't actually remember anything, I have … feelings about things. Impressions." She glanced at Daniel. "It's hard to explain, but I feel that Daniel is my friend and colleague. And my equal. I trust him. And the things I felt about Jack …." Her voice trailed off, and she gazed into the middle distance, transfixed by something no one else could see. Then her face crumpled and she looked down, hugging herself. "My subconscious has been trying to tell me things all along," she said, her voice subdued and full of regret. "I should have listened better."

"Neralo," said Daniel, "I know you've been taught to believe that all societies except Ashora's are oppressive toward women, but it isn't true. Sam and I come from a society that believes in respecting the rights of men and women equally. The only patriarchal abuse Sam has ever suffered has come from other societies. Like the Atrosians. And your Government left those memories intact!"

Neralo frowned. "I don't understand that part."

Nara sighed. "There's a lot you refuse to understand, brother. It's obvious to me this whole notion of aiding Rescued women is a smokescreen. Does it make sense the Government would go to that much trouble and expense just to help a few refugees? There has to be a hidden agenda."

Daniel traded looks with Sam. It was evident that Nara was already on their side.

"Lagash thinks the same thing, Nara," said Sam. "He says that for a long time, he believed what he'd been told about the purpose of the Program. He believed he was helping women who had been horribly abused. But he started having doubts, especially after he was assigned to my case. If the purpose of the Program were really to relieve the suffering of its Subjects, what sense did it make to leave my memories of abuse intact? Lagash says he tried to protest about that, but it just got him Punished by his supervisor."

"Punished?" said Neralo, looking perplexed. "You mean his supervisor in the Program is his Guardian?"

"Not really," said Sam. "His true Guardian is his mother, but she delegates control of his Collar to whoever is his superior in the Program."

Nara looked disgusted. "What sort of mother would cede control of her son's Collar to some bureaucrat?"

Sam's mouth tightened. "High Councilor Merena," she said.

"What?" cried Neralo.

"Lagash's true name is Ilesh Son-of-Merena. The High Councilor is his mother. And she's also one of the chief architects of the New Start Program. It's connected to the most powerful women in the Foundationist Party. Lagash says he now believes the Program has a hidden purpose, which is known only to the people at the very top. And whatever that purpose is, it's extremely important to the Foundationists. He thinks they'd do almost anything to protect the secret."

"You see?" said Nara to Neralo, her chin raised triumphantly. "I told you so! It's just like I've been telling you all these years, Neralo. The Foundationists are hiding …" Nara's sentence trailed off in a gasp, and her eyes went wide. "That's it!" she cried, looking around at the others. "That's the real purpose of this New Start Program. It's an excuse to develop memory erasure technology, so that the Foundationists will have another tool for hiding the Founders' Secret!"

Neralo put his hand over his eyes and grimaced. "Nara, please! Do you have to drag that 'Founders' Secret' business into everything? Your obsession with the Founders' Secret has ruined your life!"

Nara jumped to her feet and glared at her brother. "Goddess, Neralo!" she shouted. "What does it take to open your eyes? Haven't you heard anything Sam said?"

Daniel opened his mouth to ask about the Founders' Secret. He was itching to know more. But he felt Sam place a restraining hand on his arm.

"Neralo," said Sam, pulling the Ashoran man's gaze to her, "I understand your reluctance to believe the Government would behave badly toward a Rescued woman like me. I understand because I lived as an Ashoran for almost a year. I learned to believe that because Ashora is a matriarchy, it's better than other societies. More compassionate, more enlightened, and much less violent. Isn't that what all Ashorans are taught?" Sam's voice grew hard. Daniel could hear the anger in it. "And yet, the Ashoran Government violated my mind and stole my identity. Do you have any idea how hard it was, to wake up one day without any knowledge of myself? To struggle to re-build the life I was told I'd had, even though nothing felt right? Because, of course, it wasn't really my life at all. Everyone I trusted was lying to me. And to keep me from discovering their lies, they murdered the man I loved." Sam stopped for a moment, her throat working. She fixed Neralo with her cobalt eyes. "And if the New Start Program realizes I've seen through them, they'll erase my memory yet again. Lagash's supervisor told him so. Does that sound like they have my best interests at heart?"

"No," admitted Neralo, his voice soft.

Sam's gaze flicked to Nara, then back to Neralo. "I think your sister is on to something. If a small group at the top of the Foundationist Party wanted memory erasure technology to help them protect some earth-shattering secret, the New Start Program would be the perfect vehicle for getting it. They could bring in scientists to develop the technology on the pretext of helping Rescued women, which all Ashorans believe in doing. Preserving the Rescued women's new identities would be the excuse for keeping the memory erasure technology secret from the general public. So the general public would know nothing, and even within the Program, all but a select few would be kept in the dark about the technology's true purpose – the secret within the secret."

"That makes sense, Sam," said Daniel.

"I think it may explain why the Program left some of my memories intact," said Sam. "They must be working on developing better control of which memories they erase. They're using the women in the Program as guinea pigs."

Nara sat down again, looking thoughtful. "Yes," she said. "I believe you're right. Ultimately, they'd want to be able to manipulate memories so subtly that the victim might not even notice anything was missing." Nara pressed her lips together, and looked around at the others. "I think we're all in great danger. If the Foundationists realize how much we know, we'll end up with our memories erased. Or dead."

Neralo frowned at his sister's words. He seemed upset and uncertain.

Sam nodded in agreement. "It's a good thing I forgot my data-wristlet yesterday. Otherwise, the Program would have traced my visit here and realized I've been in contact with Daniel. And with the two of you. Today, I left my data-wristlet in a locker at the Water Gardens, so they'll think I went swimming. That's what I told Lagash. He doesn't know about any of you. I'm not willing to trust him that far." She paused, her body tensing. "But I believe that Daniel's life is very much at risk anyway. I think the Program would murder him in a heartbeat, just on the off-chance he might threaten their plans."

Daniel scrunched his brow and pursed his mouth at this statement. Special, he thought. He'd been so busy trying to deal with Jack's death that he hadn't thought about his own precarious position.

"We all have to work together to protect ourselves against the conspirators," said Sam, fixing her gaze on Neralo. Daniel and Nara focused on him, too.

Neralo frowned and avoided everyone's expectant looks. His hands pressed down and clenched the cushion on which he sat, and he rocked back and forth a little, his body rigid with tension. "All right," he finally said. His muscles loosened, and he met Sam's eyes. "You've convinced me." He turned toward his sister and said, "I owe you an apology, Nara. Looks like you've been right all along. There really is a sinister Government conspiracy."

Daniel saw Nara's face crumple with emotion. Then she smiled a little, and said, "You always were a little slow, brother." Her tone was sarcastic, but there were tears in her eyes.

Daniel's throat tightened in sympathy. He knew exactly how it felt to finally have your outlandish theories vindicated – to finally be seen as something other than a pathetic crank by people who mattered to you. At that moment, Nara met his eyes, and something passed between them.

"So," said Neralo, his voice subdued, "what do we do now? Do we try to let the public know about the New Start Program? I mean, once the secret is out, the conspirators won't have any reason to come after us. Right?"

"Wrong," said Sam. "The conspirators would still have the deeper secret to protect; they'd just feel more desperate about it. And desperate people are dangerous. Lagash and I would have to go public to expose the Program, so we'd also expose ourselves. And that might lead the conspirators to uncover my connection with you, as well. These people are very powerful. We wouldn't know who we could trust, or when or how the cabal might strike at us. No," said Sam, looking around at the others, "trying to go public is too risky. Lagash and I already agreed on that. Right now, we have the advantage of knowing about the conspirators when they don't know about us."

"I have to agree," said Nara. "Exposing the New Start Program wouldn't hurt the Foundationists, because they'd just say the Program exists to help Rescued women. On the contrary, they'd be able to attack Sam and Lagash for callously destroying the new lives of the Program's Rescued women. The Foundationists would make Sam and Lagash look crazy, or evil, or both." Nara's jaw clenched. "Just like they did to me."

Looking at Nara and Neralo, Sam said, "I believe our first priority has to be protecting Daniel. And he won't be safe until we get him off Ashora."

"Get me off Ashora?" said Daniel, feeling perplexed at Sam's phrasing. "We both need to get home to Earth."

"Of course," said Sam, her great eyes blinking. "That's what I meant."

"But," said Neralo, "Ashora has a strict policy of never allowing Liberated males to go home. Or even Liberated women. Because we have to be careful not to give the Goa'uld any clues to Ashora's existence."

"That's not a problem in our case," said Daniel. "Earth is under the protection of the Asgard, so the Goa'uld don't have any direct contact with it."

"That's nice," said Neralo, "but it makes no difference. No one on Ashora will take the word of a patriarchal male like you, and chattel-males are never freed anyway." He looked at Sam. "The Government won't allow Daniel to leave, or you either. And the Stargate is under the tightest security on Ashora."

Nara looked concerned. "Neralo is right. The Stargate is in an underground facility at the Bureau of Liberation, and it's under heavy guard at all times."

"I work at the Bureau of Defense, which is right next door," said Sam. "And I believe I'll soon have the help of someone who works at the Bureau of Liberation."

"Not Ashasti!" cried Nara. "I told you, she's too strait-laced. Even if we convince her the Foundationist conspiracy exists, and even if she doesn't object to Daniel and Sam leaving Ashora, she's just not cut out for sneaking around and keeping secrets."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Neralo, turning to his sister. "You're not actually planning to keep all this from Ashasti, are you? I promised not to say anything for a day, and I haven't. But we can't start plotting subversion in my wife's home without telling her!"

"The hell we can't!" said Nara. "If we let Ashasti in on our secret plot, it won't stay secret for long. Ashasti would probably insist on going to the Charitist Party with the information. And even if we convinced her to keep quiet, Ashasti is the worse liar in the world. One way or another, she'd end up letting the cat out of the bag. And then she would be in danger, too, Neralo. Is that what you want?"

Neralo looked highly uncomfortable, but shook his head.

"Besides," added Nara, her voice softening, "this is your home, too, Neralo."

"Ashasti isn't who I had in mind," said Sam.

Everyone looked at Sam with puzzled expectancy.

"There's a woman at the Bureau of Liberation who's a graduate of the New Start Program," Sam said. "She's a former 'client' of Lagash's, and a big part of the reason Lagash has turned against the Program. You see, Lagash is in love with her. He wanted to settle down as her husband for real, but the Program wouldn't permit it. They faked his death, which is what the Program always does with the identity-therapist 'husband' of a Subject once they feel the Subject is ready to live on her own. So Ifefal believes that he's dead."

"Ifefal?" cried Neralo. "Ifefal is a Rescued woman who had her memory erased?"

"That's right," said Sam. "Lagash wants to get back in touch with her. He wants both of them to leave Ashora so they can be together."

"They could come back to Earth with us," said Daniel. "I'm sure our Government would give them asylum."

"Lagash was hoping as much," said Sam. "He says he could always tell I wasn't someone who'd grown up under oppression – unlike some of the other women he's worked with. So he believes Ifefal would be safe on Earth."

"And if Ifefal joins our little counter-conspiracy, we'd have someone on the inside at the Government agency that manages the Stargate," said Daniel.

Sam gave him a small smile. "Exactly," she said.

"Well," said Nara, "at least that's a start. But it isn't going to be easy, Sam. You're talking about getting four people out through the Stargate without authorization, past all the guards and security systems. Frankly, I don't see how."

Daniel looked around him – at Nara with her fierce green eyes, and Neralo with his worried yet stubborn expression. He was only beginning to know them, and he didn't know Lagash and Ifefal at all. Daniel was used to belonging to a small group that was taking on an entire world, but he wasn't used to this group. Where was Teal'c's fathomless strength? Where was Jack's fearless energy, steadfast loyalty, and indomitable gall?

Oh, God – Jack. Could he really be gone for good? The thought filled Daniel with renewed anguish.

He looked at the one teammate who was left to him now – the one who had been lost for over a year. Sam looked so different, with her long, plaited hair and bare-breasted Ashoran clothes. It occurred to Daniel that maybe he didn't really know her, either. Not anymore. After everything she'd been through, it wouldn't be surprising if she weren't quite the same person he remembered.

It was a forlorn thought.

Sam's mouth tightened. She turned her wide blue gaze on Nara, then Neralo, then Daniel. Her chin lifted. "At this point," she said, "I don't see a way to get to the Stargate, either. But I'm going to find one."

Daniel suddenly found himself smiling, a feeling of warmth and familiarity washing through him. "Yes, you will, Sam," he told her, looking into her eyes. "I know you will."

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