Vala tugged on the high-collared coat Cassie wore and frowned. 'It's very plain.'

Cassie rolled her eyes at Jonas who grinned as he adjusted his own cuffs. 'Langaran fashion is plain.'

'Well, it fits.' Vala proclaimed with a sniff. 'This might just work.'

Cassie nodded. She smoothed a hand over the fabric and mentally thanked their luck that Vala wasn't a bad seamstress. The former thief had managed to make the changes required to Jonas's spare clothing to fit Cassie.

The engines died and left the hold in sudden silence.

'Are we ready?' Cassie asked, hoping that the others would ignore the way her voice shook, betraying her nerves.

Rya'c walked through from the cockpit. He already wore the Jaffa armour complete with staff weapon. 'I have secured the ship.'

Vala checked on the knife strapped to her thigh and took a deep breath. 'Then I believe we are ready to do this.'

'Are you sure we still need to talk to them?' Jonas inquired. 'The planetary scans came back negative. We know SG1 are definitely not on Cartegia.'

'But I would bet money that the Cartegians know where they are.' Vala rejoined passionately. Her mobile mouth set in a stubborn line that broked no disagreement would be tolerated.

'OK,' Jonas held up a hand, 'just checking.'

They grabbed their packs and left the cargo ship and as they cleared the immediate area, Jonas turned and pressed something he held. The cargo ship wobbled and disappeared.

'Cloaking device.' Jonas held up the remote.

Vala nodded approvingly.

They had landed in a forest clearing to the North of the main settlement and headed to the forest path that would take them into the town. Rya'c led the way with Jonas just behind him; Cassie was sandwiched between him and Vala, who protected their rear.

Cassie breathed in the scent of wood. It reminded her of apples and cider, with a faint undertone of pine. She felt the wind on her face and revelled in the sting as it brushed her skin and made her eyes water. It felt good after the stifling cargo ship atmosphere. She hoped they wouldn't have to spend that much time on the ship in their search.

Her eyes fell to the ground and she realised she could see the faint tracks of wooden wheels and horse shoes. Evidently Cartegia had horses, or something similar to horses to help provide transport.

The town-walls appeared in the distance; grey stone rising up out of the forest floor like some Disney fairy-tale. She drank in the sight of the turrets; the narrow windows. She felt her chest tighten uncomfortably and realised she was holding her breath.

A buzz of excitement ran through her; fizzing through her blood. Adrenaline, Cassie determined. It was just adrenaline. Her mouth went dry as they approached the wide wooden gate and the Cartegian guards.

'Hold!' The senior guard stepped out in front of them. 'Identify!'

Rya'c gripped his staff weapon tightly but Jonas placed a hand on his shoulder and stepped forward.

'We are travellers from another world, Langara.' Jonas smiled widely. 'We're archaeologists, exploring the history of other planets in our galaxy. We'd like to speak to your leaders if possible.'

The guard looked them over cautiously and Cassie tried to project a serene, unconcerned image. They were just archaeologists; just travellers without any other purpose.

'This one is Jaffa.' The guard snarled, gesturing at Rya'c, 'and this one also carries weapons.'

Vala winked at the guard who did a double-take at her audacity.

'Apologies; Ry and Val are our travelling companions. They have their own interest in historical research and we have found greater numbers provide us all with protection.' Jonas explained.

Cassie wondered at his calm and unruffled ease; at the way he skirted over Rya'c's and Vala's names which they had decided would need to be changed just in case SG1 had mentioned them to anyone on Cartegia.

'Only my wife, Cassandra, and I are from Langara.' Jonas continued.

The guard pressed his lips together and looked them over again. His eyes lingered on Vala but he eventually nodded. 'You will need to speak to the Council.' He motioned at one of the other guards. 'Take them directly to see Councillor Goy.'

Jonas smiled broadly again. 'Thank you.'

Cassie allowed herself the luxury of looking around with unhidden glee. She was meant to be an archaeologist interested in new cultures and new worlds. It wouldn't be strange for her to marvel at the town with its small houses; the paved pathways and wide gutters. The smell of horse manure and fresh hay mingled with baking and spices that assaulted her senses. The Cartegians looked at them with curiosity but didn't approach, and Cassie looked on unashamedly staring at their medieval dress.

The Council building was in the centre of the town and they skirted the open market with its bustle of people yelling and shouting, before they made their way up shallow steps, through the front door and into the large entry room. To one side was a large doorway that clearly led to a meeting hall of some kind, perhaps an assembly room. The guard waved a greeting at another and headed for a smaller door on the other side. It led to a narrow staircase but the wood was highly polished and the walls adorned with portraits of Council members. Cassie held onto the banister tightly as they made their way up. The upper floor was busy with people; her ears caught the end of an argument about a boar and a discussion about a new viaduct before they stopped in front of one door and the guard rapped sharply.

'Enter.' The voice boomed out and the guard pushed the door open.

Cassie's eyes darted around the cramped room; an old tattered tapestry covered one wall, portraits another. Goy was a large man in a maroon-coloured robe with a gigantic gold medallion hanging around his neck; the mark of his office, Cassie assumed. He sat behind an impressive desk.

Goy looked up. His large, florid features briefly registered surprise before he waved a hand at the guard who tried stumblingly to introduce them. 'Leave us!'

The young guard fled.

'Perhaps I could trouble you to introduce yourselves.' Goy remarked, his green eyes narrowing on them with undisguised interest.

Jonas quickly made the introductions and offered their cover story once again.

'So, you're exploring the galaxy.' Goy clasped his pudgy hands together. 'Why Cartegia? What could we have that could possibly interest you?'

Jonas smiled widely again. 'I've always wanted to study a society that was seeded by this Ancient called Merlin, one that hasn't been impacted by the Goa'uld and without a Stargate. It's fascinating to me; the opposite of my own history.'

'I see.'

'And, of course, our planets have a common ally,' Jonas added smoothly, 'the Tau'ri?'

Goy's expression didn't alter but he sat back in his chair. 'Then you will know of the disappearance of some of their number from our planet.'

Cassie tensed at the unexpected mention of SG1.

'Yes,' Jonas admitted easily, 'unfortunate.' He shook his head and made a regretful sigh. 'The Lucian Alliance are becoming a problem for us all but I rather doubt we would be of interest to them.'

Cassie held her breath as she kept her eyes on Goy.

The Councillor snorted, but Cassie saw his shoulders drop an inch. Evidently Jonas's reply had assured him that they believed the story of the Lucian Alliance which meant that Goy knew something, didn't it? She schooled herself not to jump to conclusions. Maybe Goy was just relieved that losing SG1 hadn't ruined Cartegia's reputation as a safe place.

'You may have leave to explore.' Goy declared. 'You will find the inn in the market place to be clean and of good repair. I would encourage you to speak to our librarian, Dumace.'

'Thank you.' Jonas stood and bowed. 'We appreciate your hospitality.'

Goy smiled. 'You are most welcome, and before you depart I would be interested in talking with you more on Langara and how our planets may become better acquainted.'

Jonas smiled again.

Vala held her tongue until they left the Council building. 'He knows something.'

'I agree.' Rya'c said.

They both spoke in undertones that couldn't be heard by the people they passed but Jonas shot them a warning look.

'Maybe, maybe not.' Jonas said quietly.

'I agree with Jonas.' Cassie said. 'I think he may have just been relieved we weren't scared away by stories of others getting abducted from the planet.'

'Let's get to the inn and find some rooms where we can talk.' Jonas suggested firmly.

Vala harrumphed but fell into step beside Cassie. It occured to Cassie that the other woman was subtly guarding her and Cassie couldn't bring herself to be annoyed about it. There was suddenly a cold lump of fear sitting in her belly.

The inn was busy but the cheerful woman in charge of accommodation saw to them quickly, escorting them to the three rooms they hired. It didn't take much for Vala to coax the information from their escort that the rooms were the same rooms where SG1 had resided; how empty they had been since because the locals were superstitious and had taken to believing if they slept in them, they would be taken in the middle of the night like the visitors from Earth. Cassie was fairly certain that Vala could have had Ama's whole life story from her if a call from below hadn't forced their escort back downstairs.

Ostensibly, the middle room was supposed to be the marital bedroom of Cassie and Jonas, and Cassie couldn't help flushing when they dumped their bags by the wide bed. The cover story had seemed like a good idea when Vala had suggested it; a married woman would be viewed as taken and unavailable on Cartegia, reducing the risk of someone taking an interest in her.

Be an adult, Cassie instructed herself. She could share a bed with Jonas and be fine with it. She'd shared beds platonically with male friends before. She looked around the rest of the room. The furniture was solid but plain; a wardrobe, a bedside table, desk and single chair. Shelves above the desk were mostly empty; one held an empty vase, another three half-burned candles, dripping wax frozen along their sides. A faded picture of what looked like a landscape took pride of place on the wall above the bed.

Vala sat on the edge of the bed and bounced. She settled back and viewed them seriously. 'Goy knows something.' She said repeating her statement.

Jonas shook his head. 'We don't know that.'

'Yes, we do.' Vala contradicted him forcefully as she jumped up. 'He was too relieved when you mentioned the Lucian Alliance.'

'He might have been worried that the planet's reputation was destroyed when SG1 went missing from here.' Jonas argued back, equally as passionately. 'We don't know enough to make that judgement.'

'Well, I say he's a suspect.' Vala placed her hands on her hips.

'You're jumping to conclusions without evidence.' Jonas rejoined.

'Guys...' Cassie tried to interrupt but they ignored her.

Vala glared at Jonas. 'I don't recall you being in charge of this mission.'

'We agreed I would take the lead...' Jonas began.

'With the Council and the guards because it made sense for the cover story!' Vala corrected, throwing up her hands. 'You're not in charge in charge!'

'Indeed.' Rya'c asserted.

All of them spun to look at the Jaffa.

Rya'c raised an eyebrow, reminding Cassie so much of his father that her breath caught. 'I believe this mission was Cassandra Fraiser's idea.'

The others turned in a smooth synchronised move to look at Cassie.

'Me?' Cassie blurted out. She was so not the leader of their group.

'You're it.' Vala said dryly, smiling.

'We're a team.' Cassie shot back furiously even as she rubbed her hands nervously on her tunic. 'And besides, I agree with both of you. I think Goy could know something but we need to know more.'

Her words seemed to calm the group.

Jonas sat down on a nearby chair, nodding in agreement.

'I believe Cassandra Fraiser is correct.' Rya'c said.

Vala pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'It's going to be getting him to talk that will be tricky.' She pointed out. 'If he does know something he won't give it up easily.'

'Why don't I send a message to Goy asking him to a private dinner to discuss closer relations between Langara and Cartegia.' Jonas suggested.

Cassie pointed at him. 'That's a good idea. I think he might let something slip to you.'

'I could use my charms to get him to talk.' Vala suggested. 'I'm sure they're just as effective as Jonas.'

'I don't doubt it,' Cassie said dryly, 'but I was thinking you would be better talking with Ama. You had her in the palm of your hand earlier.'

'She was most eager to talk.' Rya'c noted, clasping his hands behind his back. 'I believe given the right opportunity she would provide us with a great deal of information.'

'That I agree with.' Vala muttered. 'OK,' she nodded enthusiastically, 'I'll focus on Ama.' She winked at Cassie.

Cassie rolled her eyes and breathed out gently. 'OK, then. Let's get it organised. The sooner we find out something, the sooner we find SG1.'