High Orbit over De'kara

Inside a cargo ship

Bratak and Teal'c sat in the pilots' seats, checking the controls in preparation for their jump into hyperspace. Carter stood behind Teal'c, observing his work. Jackson was in the ring room, along with SG-7 and Jeak'ma, who was busily studying the engines. The final member of the expedition, Vik'lar, sat upon two boxes of supplies in the cockpit. His left hand was holding his staff weapon and his right rested on his Zat. His right eye was staring at Carter, watching her every move. She could feel his gaze on her back, and she made sure she never turned around to face him. Finally, Jeak'ma informed Bratak that the ship was ready to depart.

Bratak placed his hands on either side of the red ball that allowed him to navigate. "Engaging hyperspace engines, now."

With a loud hum, the hyperspace engines engaged, sending the ship out of the planets' orbit and toward the planet. It would be a trip that would forever change the history of the galaxy.

"So," Carter said, trying to keep the anxiousness out of her voice. "Just how long will it take us to reach (P4x79?)?"

"At maximum speed, the journey would take six hours, approximately," Teal'c answered. "However, this is an older vessel, and the engines do not work at their full capacity. It will be perhaps ten hours or so to reach our destination."

Carter flashed a half-hearted smile, then decided to join the others in the back, being able to stand Vik'lars' stare no longer. She was careful not to look at him, but Carter could still tell that Vik'lar was observing her. When she reached the back Carter felt her sense of unease dissipate, and she decided to talk to Jeak'ma. At the moment, the young Jaffa was checking the crystals.

"Hey, Jeak'ma," Carter greeted. "What are you doing?"

"I'm running a crystalline stability diagnostic," Jeak'ma answered without looking up from his tools. "Don't want to come out of hyperspace in the middle of nowhere. I'm surprised these babies are still here. They're the ships' original crystals."

"Is that why the ship is moving so slow?"

Jeak'ma absently nodded his head. Carter opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She didn't know how best to word her thoughts. Finally, she said. "I don't want to impose this upon you," she said quietly. "But why is it that Vik'lar hates the Tari so much?"

Jeak'ma looked at her. "There is something about Vik'lar that you should know," he whispered, looking around the room. Jackson was reading from one of his journals and the members of SG-7 were for the most part trying to sleep. "Did you noticed that Vik'lar bears the mark of Anubis, correct?" Carter nodded her head.

"Before Anubis' rise to power," explained Jeak'ma. "Vik'lar was a warrior under the system lord Baal. When Anubis demonstrated that he could easily dispense with the other system lords, Vik'lar and countless other opportunists flocked to Anubis. But do not think Anubis welcomed them warmly. He had each and every Jaffa tortured to insure their loyalty to him. It is rumored that that is why Vik'lar bears his scar. They say that Anubis had his eye removed while he was conscious. Anubis' torturing was done in the most horrific ways possible. Those who survived were to be the strongest and were placed amongst Anubis' army. Those who did not…" Jeak'ma shook his head. "Let us say they were revived by means of sarcophaguses and were executed again in even more grueling ways." Jeak'ma paused for a moment. "But Vik'lar survived and served Anubis well. But when Anubis was defeated, and Baal began to regain his power, Vik'lar realized that Baal would not spare him for his treachery. So, he joined our cause, and helped us fight for the freedom of the Jaffa, which he did much, to his credit."

"But you don't trust him." Carter said.

"Vik'lar is an opportunist, willing to switch his loyalties to whoever will serve him best," Jeak'ma said, carefully choosing his words. "Whatever his past, Vik'lar is now seen by many as a champion of the Jaffa. Most of those who think so are young and very proud and believe that the Jaffa should stand alone in the galaxy. They feel that the Jaffa have been oppressed for too long, and that the Jaffa do not need anyone's assistance. There is much anger in them, against the Tari, the Tok'ra, even Jaffa who think differently than them. And they are gaining power; Vik'lar's presence on this mission is testament to this. As the apparent leader of this faction, there is much talk of giving a seat upon the council to Vik'lar. The council is tasked with maintaining the stability of the Jaffa nation, but it is very fragile. These radicals threaten the stability, and the council is struggling to deal with them. There are many wounds amongst us, some only time can heal. I hope that the Jaffa have that time." Having said this, Jeak'ma went back to his inspection.

Fifteen minutes to destination

Master Bratak sat in the pilots' chair, never having gotten. Vik'lar now stood in the cockpit area as he leaned on his staff weapon. The SG-7 members were checking their weapons once more, attempting to fight the building tension each felt. Carter was pacing the room, her mind lost in thought. Jackson looked at her for a moment, then got up and walked over to her. "Something up?"

Carter looked at him. "It's about not being able to dial the Stargate, on the planet. I've been thinking about it since Bratak arrived at the SGC, and it isn't making much sense. We've only encountered a few instances when we couldn't dial a Stargate. The most likely explanation is that the gate we're dialing is already active, but the longest wormhole connection has been thirty minutes."

"Except for the time Anubis used an Ancient device that kept the Gate open and flooded the Gate Room with Gamma radiation," Jackson interrupted.

"Exactly," Carter replied. "But that still doesn't provide any answers. Like you said, Anubis had to use Ancient technology to keep the wormhole open. So, if the Jaffa and SG-20 are being attacked, it's by a race with access to Ancient technology or has progressed to the Ancients' level."

"Which would be bad," said Jackson. "But the Stargate could have been destroyed. That's another possibility."

"I thought about that as well. It's entirely feasible, but it's incredibly hard to destroy a Stargate. Something completely catastrophic must have happened, if that's the case."

Without any warning, the ship came to a complete stop, and the low hum of the hyperspace engines was gone. "We are no longer in hyperspace," Teal'c observed.

Bratak looked to the back. "Jeak'ma, what is going on?"

Jeak'ma began checking all of the parts of the ships' engines. "I not certain," he replied. "Everything is functioning correctly. I can't explain it."

Bratak got out of his seat and went to Jeak'ma. They began to earnestly discuss the problem.

"Bratak," Teal'c called. "The sensors are detecting a small object in the center of this system."

Everyone moved forward into the cockpit area. "It appears to be emitting some sort of energy wave," continued Teal'c.

"Perhaps this device brought us out of hyperspace," Jeak'ma offered.

"A hyperspace inhibitor…" Carter said in awe.

"Try the hyperspace engines again," Bratak commanded.

Teal'c placed his hands on the control sphere, but nothing happened. "The engines will not engage."

Bratak nodded his head. "Try the sub-light engines."

Teal'c closed his eyes, and the ship moved forward. "At least we're not dead in the water," Jackson said optimistically.

"Can we try and ring it aboard?" Carter suggested. "Maybe I can deactivate it somehow."

Teal'c shook his head. "The transporter is also not functioning."

Bratak sat down in his chair. "Our destination is the system after this one. Without the hyperspace engines, it will be quite some time before we reach the planet."

The others went back to their original places, resigning themselves to another long wait. Carter was again lost in thought, and Jackson worriedly looked at her. "I've never seen any kind of technology like this before," she said. "It's really rather clever, slowing enemy ships down so they can't shoot out of hyperspace and catch you off guard. But it makes me wonder, if they can stop the hyperdrive, why not just immobilize the ship completely?"

Jackson wasted no time in answering. "Perhaps they're confident they can take on anything that comes to them."

Carter nodded her head absently, for it was just that answer that had her worried the most.