• Spoilers: In the Line of Duty, Jolinar's Memories.
• Summary: A mysterious world once thought lost and a desperate rescue mission throws SG-1 into a battle for their lives as they fight to survive against an old enemy and a deadly new one.
• PG  [D]  

CHAPTER ONE

SHOCKWAVE

Into the cold evening air came the brutal sound of an energy weapon discharging, swiftly followed by a loud raucous cheer. The unmistakable voices of men engaged in untold savagery. The sound of monsters on the loose. Of a race lacking the chains of morality or the burden of compassion.

As the slim pale figure hit the floor, eyes cast skywards, the light within them banished forever, a silence filled the chamber. There was no groan of pain, no regrets, just the simple, soundless extinction of life.

"Want more my little friends, or are you going to tell me what I need to know?" the harsh voice taunted as another of their kind was dragged soundlessly into the light and pushed to its knees.

"It is time." The whisper was soft, urgent. Its owner standing within the shadows, hidden from view.

With eyes lowered, its companion nodded, its face a picture of calm resignation. "Yes, I will go," came the sad reply as it turned to leave, turned to seek out those who could help. Before it was all too late.

oOo

A thick silence smothered the atmosphere of the briefing room, the sound of the gently whirring tape player breaking the monotony. Only the light from the flickering screen gave away that there were people present. Its strange glow illuminating their expressions for a single moment and then fading, the light dancing across the room. As the footage unfolded in front of their eyes, a long, exasperated sigh pulled their attention away. As four sets of eyes glanced in his direction, the owner of the sigh shifted deliberately in his seat.

Colonel Jack O'Neill was a man who head butted authority with alarming regularity. A regularity which was the cause of much heated debate in higher military circles. Tonight, however, had started out to be the exception to the rule. Called to an emergency briefing at midnight, he'd taken it on the nose and dragged his tired backside up the stairs and into the room. Now, with a growing irritation gnawing at his gut, his patience with his Commanding Officer was starting to wear thin.

He sat at the farthest end of the briefing table and rubbed energetically at his tired, grit filled eyes. He squinted, peering closer as the MALP camera scanned the immediate vicinity to the alien Gate. He shrugged and turned to look at General George Hammond with a frown. His usual mask of cheerful tolerance a distant crease on his forehead.

"And this is a view of?" he muttered irritably, finally breaking the silence, curious as to why he should have been called to an urgent meeting in the early hours of the morning. Curious as to why it was so damned important to view this tape, here, right now, before his team could recover from their last mission.

In fact, Jack O'Neill was feeling pretty pissed about the whole damn affair and if something real interesting didn't emerge on this tape soon he wasn't sure he'd be able to remain civilised for long. Commanding Officer or not, he was getting close to protesting. He only had to glance at his team to know they were more than dead on their feet.

"Bear with me, Colonel," General George Hammond said, realising that his best officer was close to losing it with him, but trying to keep as calm a voice as he could muster. A voice which drawled slowly and patiently. A voice which exuded calm at the worst of times, and yet tonight the voice was agitated and even he couldn't mask it. At the same time a vaguely anxious look passed across his features, his finger holding the remote control play button down.

Dr Daniel Jackson exchanged a puzzled look with Samantha Carter. His boyishly handsome features reflecting the worry they were both beginning to feel. Jack was reacting just as Daniel would expect him to. Tired, irritable and impatient. The General however was unusually on edge, despite his pretense at otherwise, and that was a cause for concern.

The Major raised her eyebrows and yawned, then put her hand to her mouth to stifle another. Her other hand ran firmly through her short blond hair and pulled it back from her face. They'd been given forty-eight hours stand down only six short hours ago. Forty-eight hours of promised rest after a particularly arduous mission to rescue SG-5 from some back of beyond planet. A planet which had turned out to be inhabited by pretty near cannibalistic natives. A planet on which they'd lost two good men and been on their feet, awake and fighting for some thirty-six hours. She felt tired and she felt irritable. She empathised with her senior officer and his attitude and wished that in some way, whatever was on the tape would turn out to be a mistake. She wanted sleep. Sleep and a warm bed. Not much to ask.

"There!" Hammond almost shouted, shattering the silence and making more than one nerve twang. He hit the pause button and moved towards the screen, tapping it hard, then rewinding and pressing play again so that the scene could unfold. So that they could make no mistake about what they were witnessing.

Carter found herself jumping down from the table on which she had perched, and moving towards the screen herself, her eyes mesmerised by what had appeared in front of the MALP, her tiredness temporarily forgotten in the surge of adrenalin.

"Oh, my God," mumbled Daniel, pushing his glasses firmly onto the bridge of his nose. He rose to his feet and joined her.

O'Neill stared at the screen and his brow furrowed even deeper. He ran his hand briefly through his greying hair.

"Oh for crying out loud," he muttered under his breath and felt his hands clenching together, his nails biting into the skin beneath, an anger rising, fresh from within. Now he understood the General's urgency. Now he wanted to be a part of whatever needed to be done. His tiredness temporarily banished, O'Neill stared, his mind racing.

"How?" Carter asked hesitantly, as she gazed at the view which the MALP was obligingly showing her, "It doesn't make any sense," she added tentatively.

O'Neill moved his hand to his mouth and stared silently. His thoughts turning over. He didn't answer her. There was no point. He agreed that it didn't make sense. And yet the evidence was in front of his eyes. He felt the stable presence of Teal'c move near to his shoulder. The Jaffa's quiet voice saying what they all felt, all knew inside.

"We must help him, O'Neill."

oOo

Carter cupped her hands together around a hot, welcoming mug of coffee and sat back on the chair at the briefing table. She waited impatiently for the caffeine to kick in. How many times had they watched the recording? She'd lost count. Her mouth felt like the bottom of a bird's cage and her clothes seemed to be stuck to her. She knew she needed sleep, lots of it. She also knew that she wasn't going to get it. Not now. Not having seen the tape. Not having realised that they would have to go in as soon as possible. They had to help.

"I'm not happy about sanctioning SG-1 going in without some back up," Hammond argued hopelessly and patiently, as he sat back in his chair and put his hands on the desk in a futile gesture of finality. "I'm sorry. Either you accept a back-up team or you don't go." He knew he was arguing up against a wall. It was an empty threat and he knew it. So did they. He knew he had to try. He knew he'd fail. He was right.

"And what? We leave him to the slaughter which could happen if we don't try to rescue him? Come on, General. You and I both know I'm right," O'Neill argued back. He felt tired, drained. The adrenalin rush had subsided. He was resigned to facing another battle and soon. He couldn't sit back and watch while some alien species held prisoners and taunted them with it. One particular prisoner in fact, of a race he respected, and who respected him. At least he believed that. A race who were important somehow to their own future, to Earth's future. A race who figured high in the rescue stakes, whatever the cost.

"Look. If you send a back-up squad with us, they could be killed the minute we step through that Gate. I don't think some gung ho squad careering in, watching our butts is an option. They don't have the same knowledge about the prisoner or frankly, sir, the same history with that particular prisoner." He continued. "My team is prepared to take a chance. The others don't have that option. You know it would be a blood bath if they tried, General. You know it."

"I believe that Colonel O'Neill is correct. They may be expecting you to send a large rescue force, General Hammond. In fact, they may want you to. A small group will have the tactical advantage. A larger group will not." Teal'c fixed his dark eyes on the General as he spoke.

Hammond sighed with frustration. "And what sort of tactical advantage do you think anyone has?" he said looking from Teal'c to O'Neill.

"Well..oh, hell, General I don't know, damn it. Just give us a chance and we'll work one out. We haven't failed yet and you know it!" O'Neill said, his voice rising with passion, his eyes burning fiercely.

Hammond ignored his officer's tone of voice, his impatience. He knew he was right. This team. This best of all his teams had had their backs against the wall more times than he cared to remember. This team had always come through. They were the most passionate, caring bunch of soldiers he'd ever had the pleasure of commanding, even if Daniel Jackson didn't really count as a soldier, Hammond sure felt like he was. SG-1 always had a way of bringing home the goods, against all the odds. The trouble was the odds were real stacked up against his people this time and he wasn't sure how they were going to get over them.

"General, are you sure the first signal definitely originated from there?" Daniel asked quietly, ignoring O'Neill's impatience and frustration. He had questions of his own.

"Quite sure," Hammond replied, grateful for the interruption and relieved to be engaged in conversation with a less volatile member of SG-1.

"Um..just so I can get this straight in my mind..so you sent the MALP in response to what?" Daniel continued, wanting to get all the facts straight in his head before he jumped to the same conclusions as Jack, that there was no alternative other than to go in totally unprepared for what might greet them.

"A standard Earth distress signal," the General replied, quietly confident that he had all the answers Jackson would need.

"So, the aliens were able to communicate our standard SOS to elicit the response they'd hoped for," Daniel surmised, thoughtfully turning it over in his mind. "Interesting," he added.

"It's possible, Daniel. We've been sending messages out into space for decades now. They could have picked one of ours up and be using it to their own advantage," Carter commented.

"Or they could have tortured it out of their prisoner," O'Neill muttered under his breath.

Carter shot him a look, trying to communicate that they knew what he needed to do but wanted to get there at their own pace, but he didn't seem to notice. She could almost taste the impatience about to boil over.

"It has to be a trap," Daniel concluded, shaking his head. "Why send a distress signal when you're the ones holding the prisoner? It makes no sense unless they want us to think it was sent by their captive. Surely they don't think we're that gullible?"

Carter nodded. "I agree with Daniel, sir. They want us there and they don't care how they get us there."

"Oh, come on you guys. We know they want to get us there. We know it. Let's just go in and get the little guy out. What do you say?" O'Neill said, and looked from one to the other.

Carter knew that look. She also knew what she had to do. She nodded her agreement, followed swiftly by Daniel. "Count me in," he said and caught the look of appreciation from O'Neill.

"I concur," said Teal'c quietly.

Hammond rose to his feet. No more debating. He'd known all along, in his heart, what their reaction would be. He'd called O'Neill and his team back from stand down because he already knew what was necessary. He'd already been given his orders, from higher up the chain. From the highest in fact. The President had been explicit. To let O'Neill take a team through and attempt a rescue of those who had been taken prisoner. Hammond was merely playing Devil's advocate and he knew it. He'd wanted O'Neill to take more people, not just his own four team members. What he wanted he didn't always get. Not with Jack O'Neill.

"Very well, Colonel. You have authority to take your team through the Stargate and attempt a rescue." Hammond said and rose from the table. He felt a sense of relief in one way, but in a thousand others he felt apprehensive. What were his people going to face when they already knew it was a hostile environment? They were starting out with the odds stacked against them.

"Ship out in twelve hours," he said and then looked at Carter and Daniel, his voice softening. "Major Carter, Dr Jackson, get some sleep before you do anything else," he advised gently, seeing their dark eyes as they both looked up at him. They looked like hell. The others didn't look much better.

Carter nodded and smiled weakly. "Yes, sir," she replied. Hadn't she wished that some four hours ago? Now she had eight hours maximum to look forward to, and certainly not at her own place. She'd have to make do with a quick shower, a bed at the SGC, and a change of gear from her locker rather than a hot warm bath and a long sleep in her own bed. Carter sighed inwardly and steeled herself for the inevitable.

Jack O'Neill looked across at the members of his team as Hammond left the room. This could prove to be their most dangerous mission yet. They were tired, unprepared and with no information on exactly what they were letting themselves in for. The enemy could be, in fact probably were, laying down a trap and here they were walking right into it. They had little in the way of choices, and little time to formulate a plan.

Daniel was rubbing his eyes ruefully, his short brown hair looking uncombed and unruly, a stubble shadowing his chin. Always the idealistic member of the team, the archaeologist would be desperate to attempt the rescue. O'Neill knew that. He also knew that he'd be right there looking at his surroundings, the architecture if there was any, and trying to analyse the people they met. O'Neill allowed himself an ironic smile.

Carter rose from the table. "I need to get some rest," she said and lifted the briefing pad on which she'd scribbled a few notes.

O'Neill waved a solitary hand, excusing her, and watched her leave the room, the dark circles around her eyes telling him the whole story about how she felt. The tall, attractive, blond scientist would be moving hypotheses over in her mind as she walked, he knew that. He also knew that she'd got them out of trouble more times than he cared to admit. If things got tough out there, Sam Carter would be right there in the thick of it, and right there with an answer if they needed one.

Daniel rose and muttered similar words about needing some sleep or dying. O'Neill smiled at the exaggeration and rose too. As Daniel left the room, O'Neill stopped to look at Teal'c. The Jaffa's face was a picture of composure. He looked fresh and untroubled by the lack of sleep.

"This will not be easy, O'Neill," Teal'c said quietly. As usual his understatement was of no surprise to the Colonel.

"You don't say," O'Neill quipped back and then added quietly "I know, Teal'c, I know." O'Neill sat down again, but heavily, and placed his hands on the large table in front of him.

It seemed like the rest of the SGC were asleep. Hell, maybe the world was asleep. The place was hauntingly quiet. O'Neill had a vague memory of walking the floor with his own son when he was a small baby. Of staring out into the night sky and feeling like he was the only one awake, pacing with a screaming, teething infant. The memory pulled at some well-used heart strings and he swallowed them back quickly. He had no time for them right now. They'd have to wait. Regret was a useless emotion, rating right down there with guilt. O'Neill knew both intimately.

A dull glow from two lamps in either corner, was casting shadows across the floor, lending the whole atmosphere a sombre effect. Pretty much how O'Neill felt at that moment, as it happened.

"Okay, so what's your take on all this, Teal'c?" he asked, reaching across and pouring himself a fresh mug of coffee from the already cooling pot in the middle of the table. For a change O'Neill had dropped the sarcasm. He was serious. He needed Teal'c's thoughts on what they were about to face. He needed his experience and his calmness right now.

"As you do, O'Neill, I believe it to be a trap," Teal'c replied quietly, his face registering no emotion.

"Yeah, well.." O'Neill said, squinting his eyes as he did when he didn't know where to look. He nodded slightly. He knew it was probably a trap. In his heart he knew. That didn't stop him from wanting to go in there and beat the crap out of the aliens he'd seen on the MALP camera. The aliens he'd seen holding a member of the most peaceful bunch of people they'd met so far in their travels.

The fear on the face of Nafrayu, was all he, Jack O'Neill, needed to see. He'd seen enough. The Nox were peace loving, damn it. O'Neill had difficulty in getting his mind around what he'd seen. About why a small boy was being held by a race of aliens he'd never encountered before, on a planet which they'd never visited.

"It doesn't make sense, Teal'c" he said and met his eyes. Eyes which registered an empathy with what O'Neill was feeling. An empathy which O'Neill hadn't seen there before, at least not so obviously.

He continued. "I mean, why haven't the Nox summoned help from the Asgard and they could have just gone in there and removed the aliens for them? And what the hell are any of the Nox doing there in the first place? Why didn't Lya or one of the others just make the aliens disappear? They seemed able to do it on their own world, and damn it, their gate was supposed to be inaccessible." O'Neill shook his head with frustration, a hundred questions tumbling chaotically through his mind, trying to find answers and failing.

"I have a theory," Teal'c said and put his head on one side. O'Neill took this to mean did he want to hear Teal'c's theory.

"Shoot," he said.

"I have no weapon," Teal'c replied, looking puzzled.

"Damn it, Teal'c, it's an expression, that's all," O'Neill said with a small degree of exasperation. "I just meant, give me your theory." A part of him usually found Teal'c's innocent reaction to strange sayings funny, but somehow any humour was gone from the room this night.

Teal'c nodded his understanding. "I believe that these aliens are working for the Goa'uld to lure you, O'Neill, to their world."

"What, me in particular or any old human?" O'Neill asked, somewhat taken aback by this bold statement.

"I believe that they want SG-1 and that you as the leader is important to them," Teal'c replied.

"And you believe this because..?" O'Neill said quizzically.

"These aliens hold captive, a members of a race which could pose a potential threat to the Goa'uld. The Nox are a race which so far, the Goa'uld have been unable to overcome. They are allied with the Asgard. These aliens may possess other members of the Nox. It is also strange that they have chosen Nafrayu, a child who is known to us and to you, O'Neill. Does this not seem odd to you?"

O'Neill nodded. He had to agree that the coincidence was alarmingly convenient. His heart sank at what he heard next.

Teal'c continued, his voice calm but certain. "The System Lords would risk certain war with the Asgard if they were seen to have captured one of their allies, a member of the Nox, who are peaceful. I do not believe that they would risk carrying this out themselves. However, their hatred for you, the humans, the Tau'ri, has become an overriding obsession. You have hurt them, O'Neill. They harbour a burning desire for revenge. However, at present their treaty with you, overseen by the Asgard, must stand. By involving another alien race they deflect the blame onto them and away from themselves. They will not be seen to break the treaty. I believe that they will do anything to trap your team and take them prisoner. SG-1 symbolises the defeat which your race has inflicted on several of their own. Our deaths would be seen as a victory. Their possession of the boy is the lure, O'Neill."

"Oh that's wonderful. So we're about to hand them their revenge on a damn plate," said O'Neill, his mind racing, turning over what Teal'c had told him. "Sweet," he muttered to himself.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow.

"Still doesn't explain how in Hell they came to get hold of the Nox in the first place, and why they or the Asgard haven't retaliated," O'Neill said, his thoughts a jumbled incoherent mess of hypotheses, plans and down and out fears.

"We do not know of these aliens. We do not know the power which they possess," Teal'c advised quietly. "Perhaps the Nox and even the Asgard are in fear of them," he added.

"Not on your life," said O'Neill with feeling. "The Nox don't need to fear anyone, and hell, the Asgard seem pretty able to take care of themselves. Well okay, they had a little run in with a bunch of spiders, but hey who's counting."

"I agree that it is unlikely," said Teal'c unconvincingly. "But the evidence of Nafrayu's capture is there nonetheless, O'Neill."

O'Neill rose from the table and started for the door. "I gotta think this one through, Teal'c," he said as he walked. "Somehow we've got to get through the Gate in one piece. Maybe take some extra firepower, that sort of thing. That's got to be our first priority."

"O'Neill," Teal'c said before the Colonel could open the door.

O'Neill turned, his eyes quizzical.

"I have been reading about your Earth legends. Its mythology. Daniel Jackson has been instructing me so that I may better understand the System Lords and how they assumed the role of your Gods."

"Well, that's great Teal'c," said O'Neill, confused at what this could possibly have to do with the current predicament. "I hope you've learned something."

"I have," the Jaffa replied quietly and then continued. "Was it not during a great battle that an enemy invaded another's dwelling by sending a false gift?" he asked.

O'Neill's mind raced, recalling his ancient history. He nodded. "The Trojans did," he said moving back towards the table, and then hit his hand down hard in front of him. Teal'c didn't flinch.

"Of course," he said enthusiastically, "Teal'c, I could kiss you," he added and a broad grin spread across his face.

Teal'c put his head on one side and raised both eyebrows.

"Okay, okay, I won't, but a Trojan Horse, of course. It might just work here," he said and sat back down in his chair, pulling a large pad of paper from across the table and starting to sketch.

He looked up momentarily. "I hope you didn't want to get any sleep," he said and then looked down at his drawing.

"I did not," Teal'c replied, a glint of a smile crossing his face and burning in his eyes.

CHAPTER TWO

PREPARATION

"Can we get some fresh coffee here?" O'Neill called out, not raising his eyes from the sheet of paper in front of him. Hammond closed the door and walked into the room, his eyes narrowing at the sight of a dishevelled O'Neill and a somewhat more composed Teal'c pouring over a large drawing.

"Would that be morning coffee, Colonel, or just some more of the evening variety?" Hammond quipped lightly, his interest piqued at seeing the scene in front of him.

"What? Oh, sorry, sir. I thought you were one of the Airmen doing rounds," O'Neill replied rising to his feet briefly and then sitting back on his chair. He ran his hands roughly through his hair. "God, I need a shower," he muttered and yawned.

"Your team briefing is in three hours. I assume you haven't been to bed yet?" Hammond enquired as he picked up a telephone and asked for fresh brewed coffee and breakfast to be delivered to the briefing room.

"Yeah. That assumption would be right," O'Neill replied and grimaced, flinging his pencil down. "We kinda got carried away," he added ruefully and then picked up his drawing to admire it.

"Mind if I take a look," Hammond said as he peered over O'Neill's shoulder.

O'Neill shrugged and passed it to him. "Not the best artist, sir," he said under his breath.

"Oh you'll do, Colonel, you'll do," Hammond muttered as he eyed the plan with interest.

"This would be a..?"

"A Trojan Horse," O'Neill replied and looked slightly embarrassed at his Commanding Officer's raised eyebrows.

"Would you like to give me some idea..?"

"Well, actually I was kinda hoping to put this past Carter when she appears. If anyone can make this thing come together, she can," O'Neill said giving the General an apologetic look. "No, don't.." he added, wincing and putting his hand up in protest as he watched the General pick up the receiver and request Samantha Carter's presence in the briefing room immediately.

"Oh, well just this once then.." he said and sighed. Carter would be tired enough as it was. Waking up to this would be a challenge.

oOo

Samantha Carter let the soapy water cascade down her arms as she luxuriated in what could turn out to be her last proper shower for some time. The warmth of the water was both relaxing and stimulating and she stepped from it reluctantly, throwing a large towel around her. She sat down on the bed and towelled her hair briskly. A comb through was all she really needed to lick it into some sort of presentable shape.

She eyed her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. The dark circles were less, for sure, but she still looked exhausted. She pulled on her combat gear and boots and stood up. Fingering the dog-tags around her neck she sat back on the bed for a minute.

Whenever they went on a new mission she always faced the same sense of excitement laced with apprehension. It wasn't an apprehension about what was facing them, or how she'd cope. She was a confident enough soldier to know that she could cope with most things, and better in some. She was also confident in her own abilities to handle the stresses and strains of serving as a Stargate Officer. No, it wasn't the mission which was causing the unease. It was an apprehension about who would hold the dog-tags in their hand if she died. Who would question why she'd given her life to the service of something they'd never know about or would never understand? She knew the answer and it hurt her.

Her father might finally understand how much the life she now led meant to her. After all, he was a part of it now. A member of the Tok'ra, host to Selmek. He, above all, would understand. But what if the tags came home to her brother, Mark? He just wouldn't understand. She longed to tell him just how much her life had come together. Just how much she belonged here and how this team, this group of people, were now her family too. How do you tell someone that your way of life meant more to you than anything else? That travelling to other stars, other worlds meant more to you than staying on Earth? How could you tell someone when you weren't allowed to? Despite that frustration, Carter doubted that Mark would understand anyway.

She fingered the chain and tags and swallowed back the feelings as she always did, pushing them to a place where they could be accessed later, if necessary. For now they were an unnecessary burden.

The telephone rang as she rose to leave her room.

oOo

"I think we could use one of the supply vehicles as our 'horse', you're right," Carter said as she poured over the drawing which O'Neill had sketched roughly. "You want to take all this as well?" she added, pointing at a scribbled list of items, and looked up at him.

"That would be the idea," he said and poured more coffee down his throat. Tiredness had been replaced by caffeine. "Can you do it, Major?" he asked, knowing the answer.

"I'll need to have them rig up a small motor which could get us at least through the Gate to the other side. The bulk of the engine compartment has to be cleared to make room for the extra supplies if we want to keep them concealed but operable," she said, studying the list of requirements.

"Major?" O'Neill said impatiently, his head on one side, not wanting to hear the details. Why did scientists always insist on sharing every precise fact, every problem? He wanted the bottom line.

"I'll need two hours to have a vehicle equipped and converted," she said nodding, and lifted the sketches from the table.

O'Neill quietly thumped the table in a gesture of satisfaction.

"Enlist anyone you need to help you, Major," Hammond said from his seat at the table.

"I will assist," Teal'c offered and rose to follow her.

Carter nodded appreciatively and the two left the room headed for the storage and supplies area. As they left, Daniel came in, yawning and pulling his hand through his hair.

"Ah, Daniel, nice of you to join us," O'Neill said and gestured to the breakfast which was laid at the table.

"Am I late?" Daniel asked puzzled and then caught O'Neill's concealed grin.

"Oh, I see, you all made a start without me," he said and grabbed some food.

"Not really. Teal'c and I never actually finished last night," O'Neill explained. "Wanna hear the plan?"

"Oh, you got one? ..Sure," Daniel said as he sat down. "General," he acknowledged with a nod.

Hammond smiled at the young archaeologist who always managed to look dishevelled.

"I gather you've been teaching Teal'c some ancient history," O'Neill said and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yes. He expressed an interest and I'm just taking it further. He particularly likes the stories from the Trojan wars," Daniel said and bit into a piece of toast.

"So I gather," O'Neill said, nodding and feigning innocence.

"He told you about them?"

"Oh he did more than that, Danny my boy. He came up with a plan to smuggle us in a little arsenal, because of them," O'Neill answered and grinned, folding his two hands triumphantly on the table in front of him.

"Really? Which story did he..?" Daniel's eyes narrowed and he stopped chewing his toast. "It wouldn't be the one about the Trojan Horse, would it?"

O'Neill smiled and nodded. "Quite a doosey don't you think?"

Daniel stopped eating for a moment and contemplated the possibilities. He began to nod slowly. "It could work," he said and then smiled. "Good for Teal'c" he added quietly. "And that would be where I saw Sam and Teal'c hurrying off to?" he asked.

O'Neill nodded.

"Jack, I'd like to see the footage from the MALP again. I've been thinking it over. Something doesn't make sense," Daniel said.

"Nothing made sense," O'Neill muttered and a sense of unease flushed through his system as he remembered the look of fear on the faces of those who were standing next to the Gate.

General Hammond nodded and flicked on a microphone. "Get me the footage from PX3."

"PX3? General, I kinda got used to all the planets having long, hard to remember numbers," O'Neill muttered, surprised. "Just call me old fashioned but.."

"This planet isn't on the cartouche, Colonel. We had to run a program to sort out the symbols, and it didn't even come close to a match. For the moment we've christened it PX3. I'm sure Major Carter will allocate the correct coordinates to it when you all return, " the General replied.

"You mean it has an extra symbol?" Daniel said, raising his eyebrows.

"Not exactly, Dr Jackson." The General sighed, continuing. "I was hoping to get Major Carter to run an extra program before you went but there won't be time. The planet isn't quite as far as the Asgard home world, but it's far enough. Certainly far away from any known coordinates from the Abydos cartouche."

O'Neill and Daniel exchanged interested looks.

Daniel sat back and folded his arms. Things were looking even more intriguing. They had a long journey in front of them.

The Airman delivered the tape in under a minute and pushed it into the player, handing the remote control to Hammond.

"All yours, Dr Jackson," he said as he handed the remote to Daniel.

Daniel rose to his feet to be nearer the screen. For some reason, being closer helped him to concentrate on what was unfolding in front of him. He squinted through his glasses.

For the first few minutes the camera panned slowly from left to right while the MALP moved forward down the ramp.

"Okay, we've got what looks like sand. Thick groves of trees on all sides about a hundred feet from the Gate and little else," Daniel muttered as he paused every so often and stared closer. Then he re- wound for a second and played it again. Then again. Then he played the tape forward and started the rewind and paused again.

"Daniel, you got something you want to share here?" O'Neill asked as he watched the footage rewind and play over and again. He pinched his nose, trying to banish the tiredness.

Daniel nodded but didn't answer. Then he froze the film once more and pointed to the far left.

"There! It's a small gap in the trees. You can see water," he said and moved the film so that the view to the other side of the MALP was showing. He froze the film again and pointed. "There! A body of water again, just showing through the trees."

He turned to face them and took O'Neill's querying look and held it. "Did we get any footage from the other side of the gate, around towards the back?" he asked tentatively.

Hammond looked at him, wondering where this was leading. "The footage towards the rear of the gate is where we first see the aliens and their prisoners," he explained.

"We've all been so interested in seeing what was happening we didn't take any notice of what was surrounding the gate," Daniel explained as he flicked the play switch and watched the proceedings unfold.

O'Neill swallowed down a feeling of discomfort as he watched the alien captors come into view and stare at the MALP camera, making no attempt at disabling it. The prisoner was brought into view and held in front of the camera, the dejected and yet defiant face of the Nox boy, Nafrayu, tugging at his conscience. The boy was dragged and pushed down to kneel in the sand. O'Neill felt his anger rise as it had the first time he'd seen the footage, but Daniel was moving closer to the screen and staring hard. Pausing and playing. Pausing and playing until O'Neill had to look away.

Daniel turned triumphantly and banged the remote control down on the table.

"It's a small island," he said, his eyes burning fiercely. "The gate's on an island," he repeated and watched as the General and O'Neill exchanged puzzled looks.

oOo

The embarkation room was pretty insignificant looking, in the general scheme of things. The SGC teams had encountered many different embarkation rooms, or Gaterooms, as Daniel liked to call them, on many different worlds. All different, all significant in their own appearance. Each Gate meaning something different to the inhabitants of each world and in their turn saying a lot about the inhabitants and their culture. Daniel believed that how a Gate was placed or how it was looked after could often tell him about the people before he met them.

They'd found Gates which had long been abandoned. Gates which were guarded. Gates which were revered and had become part of some religious ritual. And here was their own Gate. Set in a dull grey room, surrounded by dull grey technical equipment and guarded, not as a treasure, but as a potential entrance for alien invasion and as an exit for their own exploration.

Daniel often wondered what other races made of their own Gateroom when they'd arrived on this world. No glorious inscriptions to greet them. No gold pillars or carpets made from soft red cloth entwined with gold. In fact quite dull.

Finding a Gate which was placed in the middle of a small, seemingly deserted island was one of the strangest settings he'd ever encountered. Probably rated up there with the one on the prison world in terms of strangeness really. Meeting the owners of this new gate was going to be quite an experience. He felt that thrill which he always experienced when he knew he was going to have the chance to meet with a race never encountered before. This time though it was tinged with apprehension and a gut feeling that this was going to be no picnic. To experience a living record of a planet and a people, was a dream come true for an archaeologist and a linguist. To encounter a dangerous group of aliens wasn't always a part of the dream process.

Teal'c pulled on his helmet and gripped his staff weapon meaningfully. His own personal reminder of what he once was, of what he'd escaped to become. His staff and the Goa'uld larva which lay resting in his pouch. A larva which would grow to be an adult Goa'uld one day. Something they'd have to deal with when that time occurred. Something he had to push from his mind. And yet it was also a reminder of a past life and of a family who no longer saw him, but who knew that wherever he was, he was fighting, fighting for their freedom, for their very destiny. Teal'c raised his chin and held his head proudly as he fingered the buckles on his belt and pulled them tighter. He was ready.

"Well, Carter?" O'Neill said enquiringly as he sauntered into the embarkation room fully kitted up, and looked at the impressively loaded supply vehicle which was being pushed into position on the ramp.

"All ready, sir," she replied and pulled on her helmet. She tucked her dog-tags beneath her tee shirt and pulled her jacket across, zipping it firmly. Fastening the last few buckles deftly and tucking her knife into its holster behind her, she glanced up to see Daniel Jackson walking into the room.

"Well troops. Let's go to it." O'Neill said, looking at each of them. He pulled his MP-5 to his waist and gripped it tightly.

"Just a minute, Colonel."

All eyes turned to see the diminutive figure of Dr Janet Frasier emerging through the side doors. She was obviously in a hurry.

"Come to wave goodbye, Doc?" O'Neill commented, smiling at the petit brunette.

Hammond allowed a smile to play on his lips at the flippancy of his officer even under extreme pressure.

"No, Colonel. Come to make sure you take this with you," Frasier said firmly, her dark eyes flashing, and held out her hand. The small container was thin, metallic and nondescript. O'Neill raised his eyebrow.

"Nice of you to give us a going away present, Doc, but what the hell is this?" he said fingering it.

"You're equipped with everything I could think of for field surgery or emergency treatment. I've also included anything I could think of which might be of use for treating a seriously injured Nox, although their anatomy is beyond anything I've come across. Since I've never had the chance to actually treat one..."

"We get your drift, doc," O'Neill interrupted gently. Jeez, Frasier and Carter were so alike sometimes, or was it just that they were both scientists. He mentally threw his eyes to the ceiling.

Frasier threw him a glowering look, her dark eyes flashing once more. "Colonel, the box contains our most up-to-date antibiotic. It's more powerful than anything we've tried before. If you get a serious infection or if someone is seriously injured and you can't get them back, use it, but only on yourselves. I wouldn't like to try it out on an alien life form." Frasier turned to go.

"Thanks," Carter said quietly from behind the supply vehicle.

"Oh yeah, thanks doc," O'Neill added and caught the look of recrimination from Carter as he looked up. He shrugged.

Frasier found herself smiling secretly as she went back out of the Embarkation room. Sometimes O'Neill had the charm of a rattlesnake. Other times however... She'd done her bit. Now it was time for them to do theirs.

"Good luck, SG-1," Hammond said as he watched them move the supply truck up towards the gate, as near as they could, but not too near. Then they stepped back.

Hammond turned and nodded at his Lieutenant in the control room.

One by one the chevrons engaged, the glow above them always exciting Carter. She still felt the same awe that she'd felt that very first day O'Neill had walked her up the ramp and herded her through the gate. She still felt the excitement and the adrenalin rush.

"Chevron six encoded," the monotonous tone of the young man rang out.

"Chevron seven, locked."

The gate spun into action. An enormous finger of what looked like silver churning water, shot out from the gate. This event horizon, as Carter liked to explain it, would, given half a chance, take anything in its path and incinerate it. Within a second it had retreated back to the gate and there it now lay, a calm pool of liquid, its volatility gone. A calm wall into which the SGC sent its teams. To pass through the Stargate and find what lay beyond was all that any of the teams had ever in their minds. Hostile planets and hostile environments were often filtered out by the MALPs before anyone went through. Of course, there had been times when the surprises on the other side were unexpected. When events could turn a peaceful environment into a war zone.

This time however, this time was different. SG1 knew they were going to meet hostility the minute they arrived. They had no choice. They had no other options. The Nox had saved their lives before. Each member of the team knew that. Each member of the team also knew that they'd lay down their lives to help them if they needed to.

As the Gate closed behind the team, General Hammond looked down and said a silent prayer.

CHAPTER THREE

COMMUNICATION

Golden yellow sands tapered down to the water. A vast silver vat of gently lapping water edging the island and blending with the night sky as it cast a warm red hue onto the ground and ocean beyond. The sun was a mere streak at the horizon, its dying embers warming the last vestige of another day. The ensuing colors were breathtaking in their complexity and diversity. An alien sky. An alien horizon. Noiseless, peaceful, forgotten. This abandoned world, this oasis of calm had only one purpose now. It was home to a vast ring, an enormous edifice of what passed as solid stone, but which was an alien material unlike anything encountered on Earth. A silent sentinel edged with lights that glowed in the darkness. A darkness which threatened to swallow every last piece of the day and turn it into the black inkiness of night.

As the silence fell, the ring came unexpectedly to life. A grinding sound and energy infusing into the ring, thrusting a charge into its heart. A single finger of molten liquid threw itself out and then withdrew just as swiftly. It was as though the ring itself were tasting the air and recoiling in disgust. Yet it left a perfect circle of liquid at its heart, and through this it deposited its cargo.

O'Neill stepped through the Gate and along a ramp. There were three shallow steps at the base. He paused before descending, his weapon poised, his eyes darting everywhere, focusing and refocusing within the darkness. He pulled the night vision scope down over his eyes and peered through its red glow, grateful for Carter's suggestion that it might be dark when they arrived. They hadn't risked sending another MALP through ahead of them, warning the aliens of their imminent arrival.

He was tensed and ready for attack. Teal'c was at his side, staff weapon pointed in front of him, eyes scanning in every direction, alert and prepared. The staff hummed, ready to fire if necessary.

The steady drone of a small motor broke the calm. The supply vehicle manoeuvred onto the ramp and started its slow descent. Carter had one hand on it, steadying its progress, close to the trigger which would turn the innocent looking supply vehicle into a military hardware store. The other hand rested on her MP-5, her finger caressing the trigger, her ears and eyes alert for any movement, any noise. She too had pulled down a night vision scope and was trying to get used to its bulk and the strange glow which it afforded everything. Daniel walked steadily at her side, his weapon held tightly but without the intent which the other three had. Daniel could kill if he had to, but his discomfort with being forced into a soldier's role had never quite left him.

O'Neill raised a solitary hand and indicated with his fingers that they should cover all angles of attack. He was surprised not to have been fired on immediately. His body had been tense enough for it. Every sinew, every muscle poised for defence. Every nerve twanging, every part of him prepared. This silent calm was unnerving, to say the least.

The trees loomed around them as tall silent sentinels, their dark unswerving forms towering over the team.

"Teal'c, with me," O'Neill whispered. "Carter, you take Daniel and check the south side of the Gate."

Carter nodded, shutting down the supply vehicle's motor. She moved towards the rear of the Gate in silence, her weapon poised in readiness. She briefly fingered the remote control on her belt, the one for the vehicle's extra little surprises. Just in case.

Daniel's eyes scanned the darkness through his glasses. He'd opted not to wear the night vision aids, knowing that the last time he'd tried them he'd managed to break his glasses and spent the whole of that next day unable to see perfectly and wishing that he'd never bothered in the first place.

"Carter?" the Colonel's voice hissed through the blackness once they'd come full circle around the Gate.

"Nothing, sir," she replied softly, wondering why they were bothering to whisper when the place was obviously deserted.

Daniel moved across to the DHD, an abbreviation they'd enforced when Dial Home Device became too much of a mouthful in times of urgency. He also remembered, with a silent smile, that Carter had been the first one to point out that the whole thing was very much like a telephone system, and that if you dialled a planet and got a wrong number it was because you'd failed to pinpoint the correct symbols and engage the chevrons on the Gate correctly. Simple really, quite simple.

The DHD looked changed to Daniel. Even from ten feet away he could tell that the interface on the top was wildly different. There were no symbols at all, just a circle of colored panels, the center being black. A wave of panic washed through him as he moved towards it and touched one tentatively. Nothing. He felt a presence move close to his shoulder. Carter reached past his arm and touched another color. Still nothing. She frowned, confused.

"Even if these are different settings they should still light up when touched," she said quietly, looking at him. Daniel shook his head, worried.

"Problem, campers?" came O'Neill's half cheerful question, his voice slightly raised now, obviously acutely aware that the whole island was deserted and that they were the only inhabitants and were likely to stay that way unless they could get the Gate to play nicely.

"This configuration of the DHD is different to anything we've ever encountered, sir," Carter offered warily.

"I have faith in you, Major. Complete faith," O'Neill said encouragingly as he came to stand at her shoulder and look at the configuration. A sinking feeling set in as he watched the Major push each colored panel hard, with no result.

"Incoming only?" he said.

"Could be, sir," said Carter unconvincingly. "Although we do know that the aliens transmitted a signal back through the Gate to Earth and the MALP returned safely. That indicates two way traffic is possible."

"How did the MALP get back?" asked Daniel quizzically. "We can't have operated it using our codes."

Carter shrugged. "My guess is that the aliens sent it back. Essentially they've doctored the DHD so that only they can operate it."

"These aliens were indeed determined to get us here," commented Teal'c. "And perhaps have ensured that we do not return," he added thoughtfully.

"Sweet," replied O'Neill as he looked at the nearest group of trees. "Let's set up camp for the night and get our minds around the problem later."

"Colonel?" Carter said, a question playing on her lips. He knew what she wanted to know. He would too, given her role as his second in command.

"I'm kind of hoping our friends might pay us a visit over night," he explained. "They wanted us here, now they got us. Least they could do is come play with us." He hoisted his weapon close to his body. "Make sure the surprise package stays close," he added, indicating the supply vehicle with his head.

Carter nodded and moved across to start the motor.

Tiredness was a frame of mind. O'Neill kept telling himself that but it had long ago ceased working. He was shattered and he knew it. In fact his eyes were beginning to drop while they were pitching the small tents.

"I will take first watch, O'Neill," Teal'c offered, seeing his commanding officer's exhaustion and knowing he'd be no good on sentry duty whatsoever.

O'Neill nodded his appreciation wordlessly. Teal'c had a unique ability of knowing when he was needed and when to be there, and when to keep in the background when he wasn't.

oOo

The night had borne a silence, unbroken by animal noise or birdsong. The only sound had been a gentle breaking of water against the near shore. As far as each member of each watch was concerned, the whole planet might well have been deserted for all the sounds of life they heard.

The darkness of the night sky eventually gave way to a streak of gold as the sun started to rise. The chill of the night air beginning to warm slowly as the sea shimmered gently in a light breeze, its reflection visible through the trees.

Teal'c stretched his legs and rose. He glanced at the sleeping form of Jack O'Neill and moved with stealth through the opening in the front of the tent.

The solitary figure was a little distance from the camp, leaning against a tree and looking out at the distant horizon, her weapon resting gently in her arms, armed and ready to fire when necessary. It was third watch and Sam Carter was grateful to be able to stare at something other than an inky blackness.

"There is at least an hour left before the sun has risen completely, Major Carter. You may rest if you like. I will take the rest of this watch."

Carter smiled gratefully at the sound of Teal'c's voice, and shivered involuntarily, pulling her jacket around her shoulders to stave off the chill of the morning air.

"Thanks, Teal'c but I'm all slept out." She paused. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured.

Teal'c followed her gaze through the edge of the trees and across the sea, the gentle colors of the water beginning to merge into each other. Blues and greens combining with the silver left over from the night sky. A solitary moon sat foreboding and staring at her. Its surface a silvery hue. In the distance she could make out another shape. She couldn't be sure what, a nearby planet perhaps or even a satellite moon far in the distance.

"It is," he replied softly.

Carter turned to look at him, the light of the rising sun reflected in her eyes. His own dark eyes were distant, lost in thought.

Sensing her gaze he spoke quietly. "There were places such as this on Chulak. Places where we went, to be together. A long time ago. Places which seemed so distant from the war which raged within my people." Teal'c drew in a deep breath and let his eyes wander across the seascape. The water was undisturbed, gentle.

Carter lowered her eyes. She felt as though she were intruding on his very personal thoughts just by being with him. That she was tasting a little of the pain he must live with daily at leaving his family behind.

"You miss them, don't you?" she whispered.

"I do what I must do," he replied quietly.

"I know." Carter felt the lump in her throat increase. She swallowed hard. "You know, Teal'c, everything about this place says peace," she said quietly. She sighed and shook her head. "I just feel it."

"I have travelled to many worlds, Major Carter. Many have seemed as this one, quiet and peaceful. These worlds often hide their secrets well. They harbor evil rulers who would do harm to their people. Do not be deceived by the look of a world. Look only into the eyes of its people. It is there that the truth lies."

Carter turned around to look at Teal'c and smiled, her eyes softening. "You know sometimes, Teal'c, you do amaze me," she said and squeezed his arm. She gazed over to the three tents. "I guess I might as well get breakfast," she murmured.

Teal'c raised a solitary eyebrow as he watched her return to her tent, his eyes reflecting a pleasure at her words and a pride.

He returned his gaze to the horizon just at the second that the Stargate started to come to life.

oOo

The aliens were impervious to the cold sickening sensation which the Gate inflicted on its travelers. Stepping through the event horizon to another world held no terror, or excitement.

Ventra put a hand tentatively in front of him and stepped through. His companion shadowed his footsteps, blinking at the dawning sun which was just beginning to throw its golden shafts of warmth onto the ramp.

Four sets of eyes held his own intently. Four weapons pointing directly at him and his companion.

Ventra hesitated and looked from one face to another, digesting their features, the way they stood and the way they looked at him. Apprehension, aggression, curiosity and hope. All four emotions were registered in some form or another. Their dress was as he'd expected, as he knew they would look. Dressed for battle. Ready to engage whatever awaited them. Four of them, as predicted. Pilar had said they would come. Pilar was right. As always.

"You are angry, apprehensive. We understand this," he announced suddenly. He had no time for welcoming the strangers. He had no time for the pleasantries which some species expected. The ritual of introduction was lost centuries earlier. Some things were best relegated to the past.

O'Neill shrugged. "Daniel?" he said. He didn't take one eye off the aliens for a single moment, even though he was disturbed by their appearance. Sure he'd seen them on the tape from the MALP but face to face they seemed to be even more bizarre. Tall, pale skinned, blue eyed and blond. They were at once pleasant looking, smiling and non- threatening. The clothes they wore were identical and not obviously military. Black body suits, belted at the waist. Simple and tasteless. O'Neill turned to Daniel who was silent.

"I'm not sure. It's not a dialect I understand. Sounds Goa'uldish if anything, but the words aren't.."Daniel said and put his hands out in a gesture of futility.

"Teal'c?" O'Neill swung around to see the Jaffa staring at the aliens.

"I am not familiar with this," he said simply.

O'Neill put a hand up impatiently. "For crying out loud, so you don't know. That's just fine. Now how are we going to have a discussion about releasing their prisoner if we don't understand them and they don't understand us?"

Daniel shrugged and then turned to the three aliens. "Can you understand us?" He spoke clearly and slowly.

Ventra turned to his companion in dismay. "I had forgotten that this might happen. Their speech is alien to us and ours to them, and yet we understood the others. I thought that they would use the same language."

The second alien turned to look at SG1 and then back to Ventra. "Communication was not perceived to be a problem. We were obviously mistaken. We must use these," he said and placing a tiny metallic box on his palm, he opened it and pulled several small discs from inside. He reached out his hand to Ventra.

The small discs were flat and completely unmarked. Placing one on his forehead, Ventra closed his eyes momentarily. Mafus placed a second disc on his own forehead and leant across to speak quietly to his companion.

"Which one?"

"I am reluctant to choose. There may be damage without the controlled environment of our own facilities," Ventra said as he opened his eyes and looked across to SG1 who were eyeing them cautiously. "We do not yet understand their physiology. It may not match that which we thought we knew."

Ventra's hand was clenched firmly around a third disc. Mafus nodded towards SG1. "It is necessary. We cannot communicate with them without the knowledge," he said.

Ventra turned back towards SG1 and nodded reluctantly at his companion. He gazed at each of them in turn. The two men were discussing why they did not understand the language. Their minds were engaged, unreceptive. The larger human was not suitable for many reasons. Ventra stared at the slighter human. A female. Her mind was open, receptive, and yet somehow he could sense that it had not always been totally her own. She would have to do.

He moved down the ramp towards her, ignoring the sound of the weapons being raised in unison, the clicking of the firing mechanisms as they were readied.

When he was within six feet of the team he held both his hands out to the side in submission, trying to communicate his non-aggression, and stared at her intently.

Carter raised her weapon and fingered the trigger. The alien was coming directly for her and she knew it. Then, as she stared at him, a feeling of complete relaxation flooded her system and she found that she couldn't resist staring at his eyes. They were blue, cold eyes. They contained no emotion whatsoever and yet she felt hypnotised by them, drawn to them somehow. She fought against lowering her weapon but finally she felt her arms drop to the sides. She had no feeling of malice from the alien.

"Major, bring your weapon to bear," O'Neill barked loudly, furious at his officer for letting her guard down. At the same time a finger of fear crept up his back towards his neck. He watched the alien still on the ramp. Neither alien held a weapon and yet he feared reprisal for the Nox prisoner, wherever he was, if he fired on the first alien.

Carter didn't answer O'Neill. She heard his words but knew she was unable to respond, rooted to the spot.

Daniel raised his handgun to aim at the alien, looking at Carter and her glazed eyes. Then Ventra turned swiftly and caught his eye. Daniel felt the same sense of ease flood through him, like being drugged somehow. The weapon slipped from his hands and dropped to the ground.

The alien put a hand up. Before any of them could react, a small fluorescent disc rose from his hand. It circled gently before settling some two inches above his palm. Without warning, a blue beam of light shot out from the device, crossing the gap between them and reaching Carter's forehead within seconds. Nothing. She felt no pain, no sensation. She heard Teal'c's staff weapon buzzing close to her. She knew he was close to firing. She couldn't stop him and yet she didn't want him to fire on them. She couldn't explain why even if he'd asked.

The beam which linked Carter with the device, thrust out two swirling limbs of energy and connected with the aliens' own devices. A triumvirate of blue intense light throbbed quietly in mid-air.

O'Neill raised his weapon. He could take the alien out right now. And then what? They would be no nearer to freeing Nafrayu. His officer didn't appear to be in pain, and yet he felt the fear aching in his gut as he watched the beam of light play softly on her skin. If he severed the beam there was no telling what damage it might do to Carter. Reluctantly, he held his fire.

"Daniel?" O'Neill whispered urgently to the young archaeologist standing between himself and Carter in a state of complete reverie, his eyes glazed. He wanted his cultural input. Damn it, he wanted his advice. "What the hell is the matter with you? I need to know what they're doing?"

"I don't think they mean Sam any harm. I think they're trying to communicate," Daniel offered almost reluctantly, his tone measured, shaking his head to clear the numbness. He knew he was right, somehow he knew, and yet he feared the alternatives if he was wrong. If he told Jack that they could be doing anything right now, anything and they might not even know it was happening to Sam until it was too late, Jack would start shooting and then the whole thing would be over. Possible outcome? No way of ever freeing the Nox, dead Aliens and possibly a dead Sam. Daniel swallowed and he shook off the hypnotic feeling almost with reluctance.

From relaxation to agony. Without warning, Carter felt a sudden prick of intense heat and then pain, searing, red hot pain. She let out a loud moan and fell to her knees instantly, her eyes looking skywards, unable to blink, unable to shut out the pain.

That was enough for O'Neill, who flicked his trigger instantly and sent a warning volley across the feet of the alien who stood in front of Carter. The alien didn't flinch but held fast with what it was doing.

"Do it, Teal'c," he shouted, surprised at the alien's reaction. To hell with holding back, it was time to interfere.

Teal'c lurched forwards instantly and knocked the alien off its feet, sending it sprawling sideways across the sand and severing the connection between all three.

Daniel lurched forwards, catching Carter as she fell sideways and put her hand up to the side of her head, rocking back in a comforting motion. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her face. A dark red stain burned beneath the skin of her forehead.

The alien scrambled across the sand towards the Gate as O'Neill sent another warning round towards them, trying desperately to avoid actually hitting any of them. Not yet anyway, he couldn't afford to hurt them, not yet.

The aliens regrouped and stood watching, silently, waiting.

Carter opened her eyes and breathed deeply as the pain subsided.

"What the hell just happened?" O'Neill asked angrily, as he reached down and lifted Carter by the arm to a standing position, his relief palpable that she wasn't lying dead on the sand beneath their feet.

She shook her head, swallowing hard and then fingered her forehead apprehensively. "I'm not sure," she said quietly. She felt sick and dizzy.

"For crying out loud, Carter. Why the hell didn't you stop them at the outset?" O'Neill's anger was directed at himself as well as Carter, but he was furious that she'd almost welcomed the alien intrusion with open arms.

"I don't know, sir. I couldn't move," she replied and looked quizzically at Ventra who was watching the ensuing arguments with interest and some obvious concern. Her mind felt cloudy still and yet she could feel something else. Something which hadn't been there before.

"Jack, I don't think they meant to hurt Sam," Daniel said, trying to calm his friend down.

"Ya think?" O'Neill responded, raising his eyes to the sky in frustration.

"Look, Daniel, as far as I'm concerned, attaching any sort of foreign body to one of my officers counts as assault. That's also called hurting them. It hurt, didn't it Carter?" he asked rounding on her. She lowered her eyes. "There," he said triumphantly. "Do you think I'm way off course now?"

"Well..actually, yes I do," Daniel said and took his glasses off to clean the lenses vigorously, averting his eyes from the angry look O'Neill was giving him.

"If you're about to tell me..." O'Neill started and then stopped as the aliens started to speak again.

"Look we can't.." O'Neill mouthed loudly, throwing his hands out in frustration.

"Actually sir, we can." said Carter quietly, and with some surprise in her voice.

O'Neill looked at the aliens who were speaking clear English, his eyes narrowing.

"I knew it," Daniel muttered to no one in particular.

"Would someone like to explain this to me," O'Neill said, looking from each member of his team to the other.

"I believe that Major Carter has given the aliens the ability to communicate with us," Teal'c said quietly.

"Oh for crying out loud," O'Neill said and looked at Carter who was looking sheepish. "That light on your head? You connected with them? They're using your language to speak to us?"

Carter nodded. "Yes, I think so, Colonel." she said softly.

"Well, what else can they use from your mind?" O'Neill retorted angrily, swallowing back his fear at what might have happened to his officer. What information they'd taken from her. Angry at himself for not stopping it.

"We used the device only to communicate with you," Ventra offered as he moved a few feet nearer to them once more. "We meant Samantha Carter no harm. The pain is an unusual side effect of the communication process. Perhaps the symbiot you once held within you caused the malfunction," he added looking at Carter.

"I don't think they meant to hurt me, sir," Carter said, putting her fingers gingerly to her head and registering the fact that the aliens now knew she'd been a host. "Jolinar's thoughts and memories might have confused things."

"Damn sure it confused things, Major." O'Neill said and glared at his officer. "Now let's hope your little buddies know we're real angry," O'Neill barked and advanced a step nearer to the alien.

Ventra put his head on one side and eyed him curiously. "Please accept our apologies." He bowed. "There is no time for anger. We must proceed. You are the leader? You are O'Neill?"

"Yup," O'Neill said, eyeing the two aliens with interest. The aliens had obviously got at least his name out of Carter's thoughts or maybe even Nafrayu. An uncomfortable feeling nagged at him.

"You must bring your soldiers and come with us."

"Well forgive me for not fitting right in with your orders here, but we've got a little matter of a friend of ours you got your hands on, remember?" O'Neill replied, nodding at the Gate. He didn't know what to make of these strange aliens. Their behaviour didn't match with what they'd seen on the video. They'd seemed hostile and yet now he wasn't sure. Even when they'd flashed that beam thing at Carter, it wasn't done with malice, he guessed the motive was necessity. He felt strangely unnerved. Hostile aliens he could cope with. Friendly ones were even better. Those which fell somewhere in between always gave him the goose bumps.

"Ah yes. You will be reunited with your friend when we have travelled further," Ventra replied and turned to his companion. "Mafus, please engage the device."

"Hey, what about our provisions, our tents? We're going to need our supplies," Carter protested, stepping towards the campsite which they'd pitched the night before, and remembering the supply vehicle and what it contained.

"You will have no need for those. You may bring whatever you need for a journey, that is all. Speed is essential. Retrieve the rest on your return," Ventra said calmly and gestured towards the Gate. "You may keep your weapons," he added, looking meaningfully at Carter's MP-5, as he spoke the words.

"Looks like they trust us, sir." Carter commented softly to the Colonel, and then walked towards the tents and picked up two of their backpacks. She looked wistfully at the supply vehicle. O'Neill shrugged, resigned to leaving it there. Still maybe it would come in handy on their return.

"Looks like they expect us to come back. That's sure comforting," O'Neill barbed loudly as he shouldered one of the packs. He didn't like it, not one bit. Hostile aliens allowing them to keep their weapons didn't fit. It didn't fit at all.

"We will not harm you provided that you do not harm us," Ventra said in a low voice, almost anticipating their fears. Carter felt uncomfortable. It was almost as if they were hearing her thoughts. She tried to shrug the feeling off.

"You know, Major, if it's one thing I hate, it's eavesdropping," O'Neill muttered to Carter as they joined the aliens at the bottom of the ramp.

The second alien turned to the DHD and placed a single hand over the center. A small beam of blue light swept down from his palm and spread out across the colored panels. As the colors danced swiftly in a random pattern, Carter gave up trying to memorise what was being done.

She sighed in frustration and shook her head at an even more frustrated O'Neill as they moved through the Gate in front of the aliens. Their one chance to see how the Gate would get them back home was wasted.

oOo

Stepping from a Gate onto a new planet was always a new and exciting experience for SG1. Stepping from a Gate onto a new planet, only to be confronted by an identical Gate directly opposite you, was something they'd never experienced before.

The darkness of the sky was illuminated only by occasional flashes of lightning in the distant sky. Streaks of red intermingled with a dull purple hue stretched across the horizon. The lightning allowed brief glimpses of a hostile, barren looking landscape. Flat, emotionless and soulless. The twin Gates and their corresponding DHDs perched on the top of a small grassless mound. A high metallic fence surrounded them, its surface glinting in the light of each lightning strike.

Carter felt a shiver pass across her and she zipped up her jacket. No time to admire the scenery or take in their new surroundings this time. Perhaps in some ways it was just as well. The hostility of their surroundings was intense.

She moved closer to Daniel.

"Theoretically, this isn't possible," she said in a low voice.

"Two gates. Same point of origin," agreed Daniel looking concerned.

Ventra moved to stand next to them. "All things are possible," he said and then moved away.

Carter and Daniel exchanged a look of confusion.

Mafus had moved swiftly to the DHD and this time the aliens were in a hurry, of that O'Neill was certain. He didn't feel the same misgivings about the place as Carter did, just curiosity at why their hosts wanted the hell out of there.

"Hey, just hold on a minute, will ya? Maybe we'd like to get a look around here," O'Neill said nonchalantly. It was a reflex action, something inbuilt into the officer in him. He hated not being in control. Being herded like animals to God only knew where. If he could stall them, only momentarily, he'd won. A shallow victory maybe, but a small victory for his independence nevertheless. Stalling them meant that somehow he'd gained control of the situation.

The aliens stopped. Mafus had his hand hovering over the new DHD, his face turned expectantly towards Ventra.

"Sir I think they know something about this place. Something bad," Carter whispered, noting their guides' reactions. "They don't want to hang around here. I think they're frightened of something. Can't say I blame them," she added, shuddering involuntarily as she glanced at the sky. The feeling of fear from the aliens was palpable. Somehow she could touch it, feel it. She put a finger to her forehead and lightly touched the still sore patch.

Daniel and O'Neill exchanged meaningful glances. O'Neill's thoughts raced. A planet hostile to the aliens might not necessarily be hostile to themselves. Maybe there were humans here. Humans who could help them. Humans or some race which had a beef with these aliens. Maybe that's why they were scared. If they could link up with the inhabitants, they could overcome the aliens and at least free the Nox and then dial.. O'Neill's heart sank. The DHDs here looked as alien as the one at the last Gate. They were trapped without knowledge of how to get back. Trapped like wasps in a jar of treacle. Trying to move forwards but getting bogged down in the technicalities of actually leaving.

A crash of thunder overhead made the aliens visibly start. Streaks of lightning drove across the sky and forked the ground nearer their position. Mafus leapt into action, his hands racing across the panels of the DHD. Ventra took Carter by the arm and propelled her towards the ramp of the Gate. The agitation was written all across their features. Eyes casting across the near terrain and then towards the skies, waiting, watching for something.

O'Neill's finger tightened on the trigger of his MP-5, his hand automatically caressing the black casing. He glanced towards the Gate and felt a strange sense of relief as he watched the Chevrons engage, slowly but surely. His desire to explore the planet further was slowly ebbing.

The roar in the sky above them came from nowhere. It surged from a creature O'Neill had only witnessed in his worst nightmares, and in documentaries about lands before time itself began.

As the Gate threw out the welcoming finger of 'liquid', the huge, dark and leathery winged creature crashed down against the fence and let out an ear piercing scream as it was thrown backwards by a single jolt of power. It's huge jaws opened in protest as it gnawed at the fence. The power wasn't affecting it any more. It screamed in triumph as it saw its prey within reach.

Ventra pushed Mafus through the Gate and shouted at Carter.

"The fence only contains a specific amount of power. We have to get through now," she screamed running across to O'Neill. She grabbed Daniel by the arm and pushed him towards the alien who waited at the entrance to the Gate.

"Just one shot, Major, that's all I need," O'Neill shouted back as he crouched and aimed at the creature which rose to start the attack afresh.

"It is mine, Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c shouted calmly as he triggered the staff weapon's firing mechanism and let the blast tear into the nearest wing, casting flesh and bone asunder as easily as slicing through butter.

The resulting scream of pain and frustration was met by a sound even more terrifying. As O'Neill and Teal'c followed the fleeing form of Carter and the alien through the entrance to the Gate, O'Neill allowed himself a look across his shoulder. The darkness which spread down from the sky and cleared the fence with ease, coalesced into four more of the flying nightmares.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE JOURNEY

O'Neill could hear the panting breath of Teal'c ringing in his ear, as he took what he felt would be the longest journey he'd had the misfortune to take, through any damn wormhole of any damn Gate they'd encountered. He could almost swear he could taste the fetid breath of the dark monsters which were presently following through the wormhole closely on his heels. Or was it his imagination?

He reached the light and felt the immediate pull of strong arms propel him to the ground and over the side of the down ramp. Teal'c's grunt swiftly followed and he crashed close to O'Neill's head.

A sudden loud hum and the sound of crackling energy raced across the mouth of the Gate. An iris of sorts. It was impossible to make out just how many creatures perished the other side of the wormhole, but the air swiftly filled with the sound and smell of discharging power, and the screams of dying nightmares. O'Neill raised his head gingerly and looked up over the rim of the ramp.

The Gate was situated at the top of a long stone ramp. Its markings were identical in all ways to the two - no make that three - Gates they'd seen so far on the journey. O'Neill wondered how many more they'd need to pass through before they reached their final destination. What was more fascinating about this particular Gate was that the aliens had obviously seen fit to put up an iris, just as they had back on Earth. This time though, an energy field closed to prevent unauthorised Gate activation, or as in this case, to prevent unwanted intruders from passing through. Maybe they weren't so different from them after all. Though O'Neill swallowed back any feelings of camaraderie with them. After all, they held a hostage. That was one thing he didn't have in common with them.

Carter sauntered across to her Commanding Officer, dragging her collar up around her neck to stop a biting wind from penetrating. "We've reached journey's end," she said, clipping her MP-5 into a more comfortable position now that she didn't feel a need to have it ready for immediate action.

"Sweet," O'Neill replied and readjusted his cap. He fingered his weapon deliberately. He wasn't about to trust them yet, even if Carter did. "What were those things?"

"I haven't found out yet," she replied and turned to go towards Ventra to ask.

"Carter?"

"Sir?" She swung around and looked quizzically at him, swaying slightly as a gust of strong wind and sand grabbed at her.

"You having any problems with them having been in your head?" he asked awkwardly, nodding at her forehead, and the still bright red patch.

"I'm not sure," she said honestly. She hesitated. "I don't think they got exactly what they wanted, sir."

O'Neill raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, it was like Jolinar's memories kind of confused things," she continued. "Like the Tok'ra side of things confused the device which was looking for human parts of my mind. I don't know why I feel it, I just do. I don't think I was meant to feel pain. I think a part of Jolinar protected me from more probing somehow by causing the pain." She shrugged and bit her lip. "It's just my analysis of it."

"Sounds pretty accurate to me," O'Neill replied as she turned to move away. She nodded wordlessly, appreciative of his trust in her instincts.

"Colonel, I'm going to try and find out more about the twin gates. It could explain things we haven't even touched on," she said as she turned away.

"Be my guest. And, Carter, while you're at it, try to find us a way out of here," he replied as she nodded and moved away.

Daniel moved alongside O'Neill and thumbed across towards the Gate and iris. "Did Sam have any idea what those things were?"

"Nope. She's going to go and have a "chat" with her friends," O'Neill replied and gazed at the figures of his second in command and the alien involved in conversation.

"You don't like them having communicated with her, do you?" Daniel said, knowing a denial was coming.

"I don't like anyone messing with my officers' minds. Could be just a communicating device, might be something else. I'm not coming down either way," he replied. "Call me a cynic, Daniel, but we've had too many encounters with mind altering machines and creatures for my liking. Don't like it."

"Sam can handle it, Jack," Daniel said quietly.

"Sure. I trust her. I just don't trust them. Not yet. It could still be a trap. We could be stuck here forever, for all we know. Done nothing to earn my trust and until they do, the jury's out," he replied firmly.

"My vote goes for something we're not expecting," Daniel said as they walked over to where Teal'c and Carter were standing patiently while Ventra talked slowly, "like those twin gates," he added.

The sky was a dull grey intermingled with red flashes. A rumbling sound far in the distance disturbed the peace of the setting, although the wind was approaching storm force and blew sand and grit up into their hair and faces.

Carter swung around as O'Neill and Daniel approached. She was shielding her eyes from the grit. "Sir, we've got to walk to their city. Once we're there we can have Nafrayu back," she said calmly, but loudly to overcome the sound of the weather.

"That's it? We just walk to their city? Where's the catch? Why couldn't we have them back on that island?" O'Neill asked, his suspicions rising again.

Carter shook her head and shrugged, looking to the alien expectantly.

Ventra studied her face and then looked to the calmly composed sight of O'Neill, his sunglasses masking his eyes and their emotions. Just as Pilar had predicted. O'Neill would be the difficult one, and yet be the one they needed the most.

"You would not have come with us," he replied. The wind didn't seem to bother him or his companion. Occasionally a gust would cause one of them to step backwards and rebalance, but they were obviously used to the storms.

"Sure we would," O'Neill lied.

"We know of you, Jack O'Neill. We know that had we returned the boy to you back then, you would not have come to our home world," Mafus said and ignored the look from Ventra, who obviously felt that he should do the talking.

"So it's a trap?" O'Neill said and looked intently at Ventra.

"That is not a term we would use in this situation, we prefer the term enticement, but if you wish to call it that then please do," Ventra replied calmly.

"See, you don't really understand us very well, do you? We don't like traps. Traps are nasty little things invented to catch rats and other vermin you don't want around you. Does that sound like the right description?" O'Neill's anger was on the rise. The aliens' audacity, or complete honesty if he wanted to be generous, was beginning to annoy him.

"We meant only to entice you to our home world. If you wish to call the enticement a trap then that is your choice," Ventra repeated.

"Look there has to be a catch. Why do you want us in the city?" O'Neill persisted.

"We have need of your services," Ventra replied.

"Now see, that's more like it. You want to trade," O'Neill said his eyes glinting angrily behind his glasses. "Problem is we don't trade in lives."

"Life is of great importance to you," Ventra persisted.

"Yeah sure, but not when you threaten to remove it in exchange for us doing something for you."

"Will you come to the City?" Ventra said, ignoring O'Neill's anger.

"What about the prisoner if we choose not to help you?"

"You will retrieve him when we reach the City, whatever your decision. We will not force you, only persuade you that your help is the right thing to give."

"Why do you want us specifically here on your home world anyway? A simple invitation would have been enough. You didn't have to take a prisoner to get us here," Daniel persisted. He couldn't understand these aliens. They resembled no race he'd encountered before.

"Daniel Jackson, you may well have come to see us. O'Neill would not," said Ventra, not removing his eyes from O'Neill's face.

"Hey, my reputation isn't that bad," O'Neill protested. "But you gotta know that taking prisoners isn't the way to make friends with us," he added.

"We have need of a trade. If you do not accept the trade, then you are free to go," Ventra said slowly.

"Here's the deal, you give us the prisoner and we leave. Nobody gets hurt. It's simple. How's that for a trade?" O'Neill replied and smiled as benignly as he could.

"The prisoner is ours to trade. You must listen to our terms before deciding. I guarantee you, Jack O'Neill, that you will choose to help us," Ventra said, shrugging. His blue eyes were piercing.

Mafus looked with interest at Ventra. This was not the way they'd planned things out. Ventra was using all his acquired skills but Mafus was worried. Things could go against them. They weren't used to being manipulative to such a degree. It was true that the humans weren't able to access their home coordinates without help, but they could inflict damage, and damage was what they were trying to avoid.

"You cannot get home without our help, this we know," Mafus said. "We will help you to get home and return the prisoner to you. You must come to the city in order for us to do this."

"And the trade?" Daniel persisted.

"Listen to what we tell you. If you decide that you wish to help us then stay. If you choose not to help then you may leave, as I have already said" Ventra replied, his voice louder over the top of the wind, his eyes cold and penetrating, the irritation beginning to show.

"You are delaying matters by arguing. We must reach the city."

Carter turned away, unable to hold Ventra's eyes for long. She shivered as the wind grew stronger.

"They're being too obliging for my liking," O'Neill muttered.

"I concur. They will not keep their promise," Teal'c advised quietly.

"Look, Jack, we've got no choice. We know what's on the other side of that Gate. We can't dial home without their help, or get that iris thing open, and this weather would kill us within hours if we stay in the open," Daniel said, shuddering at the penetrating wind. Drops of rain started to descend slowly and then gathered speed as O'Neill looked up and nodded reluctantly.

"Sure. Okay, we'll go. But remember, no prisoner and we're out of here," he shouted at Ventra.

The alien bowed his head in agreement and glanced at Mafus. The look which passed between them, made Carter's mind race. She didn't like it and in her gut she felt that some sort of silent plot had just been hatched. She shuddered, as though someone had walked across her distant grave. For the first time since they'd arrived on the planet, Carter felt something wrong about the aliens.

As she moved across towards her commanding officer she felt a stab of pain inside her head and then a whispering voice. The voice told her that she shouldn't warn them, that it wasn't in their interests to be suspicious, but Carter was military. Her survival instincts kicked in immediately and she closed the gap between herself and O'Neill within seconds. As her mouth opened to speak the warning and her eyes locked with O'Neill's, a thrust of what felt like hot molten lava radiated from the centre of her forehead and merged into an ever tightening, ever constricting band, until she felt that her entire skull would burst from the pressure.

She opened her eyes wider in surprise at the sensation and then closed them quickly, squeezing them tight to obliterate it. As she sank to her knees and grabbed at the sides of her head, she started to feel her throat tighten. She forced her eyes up to meet the concerned gaze of both O'Neill and Daniel and then grabbed at her neck, unable to complete her duty. Her duty to warn them, tell them that she felt something was wrong after all, that danger awaited them somehow, somewhere on this planet and that they shouldn't go with the aliens. That the aliens knew about the danger, and were willingly leading them into it.

oOo

"Okay, now you tell me that this isn't assault on one of my officers, damn it?" O'Neill shouted loudly as he reached down to Carter, her face pale, her eyes apologising to him for what was happening.

Ventra appeared within seconds at their side. He crouched down beside Carter and reached a hand across towards her.

"Don't." O'Neill barked angrily, pushing him away. Why she'd collapsed he didn't know. What he did know was that it had something to do with that damn light on her head earlier, of that he was sure. The choking sounds coming from his officer were enough to tell him that somehow the aliens were interfering again. He had no doubt that they were controlling the whole thing.

Ventra rose to his feet. If the humans didn't want their help then he would offer it no more. He looked at Mafus angrily.

"You activated the failsafe?" His words were directed in their alien dialect, hidden from the humans.

"It was necessary," Mafus replied simply. "She was about to speak of our plans to O'Neill."

"You cannot be sure of that. We do not know if harm has been done to her."

"She is strong. The effect will be temporary. I did not wish to harm her, only prevent her from telling the humans the truth yet," Mafus said unrepentant. "Her mind is very strong, and her thoughts and memories interesting. She knows too much already. I sensed another presence within her as you did earlier. That may be of use to us, even if the humans refuse to help," he added.

"Pilar will not tolerate harm being caused to them. They are either to be persuaded to help or allowed to leave," Ventra reminded and turned to move onwards.

"And if we had not stopped the woman from speaking? The humans would have fled from us, believing us to harbour plans against them. The surface is not safe for them to survive at the moment. I believe that Pilar would applaud the steps we have taken. We are not harming them, merely keeping them safe."

Ventra paused, then bowed his head in respect at the logic.

O'Neill rose to his feet leaving Daniel to delve into the medical kit for anything which could help Carter to catch her breath.

"Slick way of getting us to your city," shouted O'Neill. "Or should I say "sick"," he added, grimacing as his anger glinted in his eyes.

"She okay?" he asked Daniel as he turned to look at the gasping form of his officer, her head bowed, her shoulders heaving with exertion.

"I think so. She's having trouble getting her breath but otherwise she seems fine." Daniel said. "Take steady breaths, Sam, steady. Try not to fight it," he said as he reached up and pulled her hands from around her throat.

Carter looked up and nodded, her eyes watering from the exertion. She glanced across at Ventra. His head nodded imperceptibly at her, his eyes registering an apology of sorts and a plea. The movement wasn't caught by the rest of the team, but it was enough for Carter. She sat back on her heels and started to take deep breaths. She knew that her voice would be gone. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. For how long, she couldn't hazard a guess but she knew that Ventra would probably be the one to decide when it could be returned to her.

The science of what the beam of light seemed to have done, amazed her and horrified her all at once. To be able to connect thought to thought and manifest physical changes in a person was a technology they could use for medical good on Earth. Carter knew she had leapt to a conclusion about the aliens. Perhaps she was wrong. She couldn't remember what it was she wanted to tell the others anyway. She tried to trace her thoughts but they were gone, elusive, forgotten. They didn't appear to bear the team any malice. She nodded her head in response to Ventra's silent plea for forgiveness.

O'Neill moved forwards and pressed his face close to Ventra's, taking the alien by surprise. He reached down and grabbed him, hauling him closer. With a single movement he twisted the black outer jacket until it was constricting the alien's neck. Ventra didn't move, nor did he react. He stayed blinking steadily at O'Neill.

"Look, we got ourselves a situation here. You want us to trade for our friend who you've got prisoner. We agree to come with you, and then suddenly one of my officers can't breathe. And strange as it may seem, she happens to be the one who was connected to you guys. Call that coincidence if you like, but for me, hey it smacks of you causing it. How am I doing so far? She know something you don't want us to know? Huh? Now you cause any more harm to come to her or anyone in my team and that includes the prisoner and I'll make it my personal business to cause you pain. Is that understood?" O'Neill stepped back and dropped the alien back to the ground.

Ventra nodded his head and met the gaze full on. O'Neill was more interesting than he'd imagined. The human capability for violence was seemingly as strong as other races. And yet, Pilar had told him that O'Neill was the key. He was turning out to be a lot more than that. Still they'd persuaded the group to come with them. The next phase was to persuade them to help.

As he turned to start the journey to the city, Ventra caught Teal'c looking at him. The Jaffa's face was registering the slightest hint of emotion. Suspicion. Ventra turned away. This Jaffa was an enigma. He resembled nothing they'd encountered before. His temperament was the complete opposite of what they'd expected from a Jaffa. Perhaps the human influence was something that carried across the species. Ventra hoped they'd have the opportunity to find out.

oOo

The echo of a lone bell tolled across the plain stretching in front of them. At each gust of wind the sound passed over them and disappeared into the distance behind them. Rain soaked them until their clothes clung to their backs and their boots were filled with whatever moisture had trickled down their legs.

A darkly threatening landscape was overhung by a depressing, hostile and sickly coloured sky. The whole horizon looked unwelcoming and dangerous.

O'Neill had abandoned his glasses, which had misted up so much that he'd thrown them into his pocket in disgust. He glanced across at Teal'c. His face was dripping with a torrent of water, the droplets ending finally at his chin and then falling silently to the ground below. They'd walked for an hour and were reaching what looked like the edge of a canyon. He marvelled inwardly at how such obviously technically advanced aliens hadn't seen fit to provide transport. Discussion with either Daniel or Teal'c had long ago ceased. Carter couldn't talk anyway, her voice locked within. The wind and rain made talking impossible. It was hard enough to keep your breath without attempting a discussion.

Carter looked tired to him. Gasping occasionally for breath she persistently pushed any help away and forged forwards with the rest of them. O'Neill knew how hard it was to keep up pace when the wind and rain were fighting with you. Having a problem breathing was going to do her no extra favours. He didn't argue with her. He'd be doing the same. Take care of yourself and let everyone have the burden of themselves alone. Carter knew her training well. It would take a lot for her to ask for help. He doubted he'd see it while he was her Commanding officer.

Ventra was some 100 yards in front of them. His hand raised suddenly and he beckoned to them soundlessly.

The city lay in front of them, down in the canyon, glistening in the storm. It was as alien as O'Neill could imagine a city could be. Tall, bizarre monoliths of shining glass or some other material, reflecting the light of the moon which managed to pass its rays through the fast flowing cloud cover occasionally. Lights twinkled in windows dotted around the groundwork of the entire cityscape. It must have been two miles in diameter, nestling in a canyon which arose on either side of it. Lights shot from the left to the right, seeming to dart suddenly and then disappearing. O'Neill looked at the aliens.

"Salus," Ventra said loudly and then waved to Mafus to come closer. The aliens talked quietly as they looked out across the city.

Daniel stared at the city. "Safety, place of safety" he repeated quietly as O'Neill moved next to him, straining to hear what he was saying above the noise of the wind.

"Yeah, I kind of managed that one myself," replied O'Neill unconvincingly and then turned to Teal'c. "You got any thoughts on all this, Teal'c?"

"I have not," he replied honestly. "However, I do not believe at the moment that there is any intention to cause us harm," he added.

"Yeah, well. Maybe. Maybe not," O'Neill replied, still not convinced. "Carter? You need to tell us anything?"

Carter turned her face to him and shook her head. She lowered her eyes fighting to retrieve any part of anything. She had felt that she needed to say something but the memory was still elusive, retreating every time she tried to access it. She honestly believed that the aliens wanted them there for a reason that wasn't aggressive. She knew that they feared causing harm to any of them, somehow she'd caught snatches of their intermittent thoughts. Mere impressions though, nothing concrete. What she did know in her heart was that nothing would be gained by distrusting them. Not yet.

"Okay then," he said, his eyes narrowing. He knew Carter had her reasons for trusting the aliens but he also knew that she'd been trying to tell him something earlier. Something she'd been prevented from doing. He had to trust her, just like he had before. She'd always come through. She'd come through now. Right now he needed to get his team down to shelter and as soon as possible get them out of there again, together with a little friend that he was still worried about.

Carter brushed away the water which ran from her hair and onto her cheek. She coughed and tried to clear her throat. Her voice remained silent. She gazed over at Ventra and he locked eyes with her. There was no threat in his look, just an understanding that they'd reached an agreement and she shouldn't spoil things, not now, not when they were so close. Was his plea a threat by another name or a promise that she knew he'd keep? She couldn't tell. Ventra's eyes were not the most expressive she'd seen, but she knew she should go by her instincts this time and her instincts told her that unleashing O'Neill and giving him any reason to suspect that the team would come to harm would probably end in tears. Theirs.

The sides of the canyon were steep and definitely impassable by any human. O'Neill wasn't sure that the aliens could manage it either. So it was a relief to see Mafus touch a device on his wrist and watch a section of the ground in front of them open, sliding sideways to reveal steps downwards.

Ventra bowed to O'Neill and indicated that this was their passage down.

"Come on kids, I think we're about to go on a little trip," he commented as he watched first Teal'c and then Carter pass through the opening and down the short flight of steps. As the ground closed over his and Daniel's head and they stood staring at a glass transport pod sitting invitingly in front of them, he couldn't help wondering if the whole trip so far had been a dream and he was still lying in his tent on the island, three Gates ago.

CHAPTER FIVE

SALUS

You had to wonder at aliens who had a technology on this scale and yet seemed so primitive in other ways.

Daniel couldn't help but let the thought linger as he gazed out of the glass window of the pod as it raced down through the tunnels and emerged at speed through the side of the canyon and into what looked like the suburbs of the City.

Then he let his thoughts meander across what he'd always pondered. If, and when, aliens came to visit Earth, what did they, or would they, make of its disparate cultures? From the still remaining mud huts of some African tribes, through the poverty stricken villages of India to the skyscrapers and futuristic cities of Northern America, Northern Europe and Asia. He guessed it pretty much depended on where you landed and who you met first. Aliens landing in an area of extreme poverty and famine might imagine that Earth was like that all across its surface and why shouldn't they? Didn't the SGC tend to judge each planet initially on the civilisation first encountered? Did the possession of a Gate, or in this case the use of three Gates, equal civilisation and technological know how or did it just indicate that somewhere along the line, they'd been visited by a culture who felt that this world was one on which they wanted to put a Gate or two? Two gates. He was still mystified by it. Theoretically it shouldn't be possible. Not that close together. The co-ordinates would have been too well matched. Unless..unless the power output to the one gate was greater than the other, causing a surge and throwing the one gate to a different destination. Theoretics. Theoretical physics. Not his game. This was Sam's territory. He would welcome the return of her voice and a discussion along just those lines.

He sighed. If they only knew more about the Ancients and who had put the gates there in the first place. He remembered back to their various trips and remembered that they'd met an equal number of less well advanced cultures as those which had developed along similar lines to Earth and more. He realised more than most, that where the Gate was situated and the people encountered in its vicinity, didn't necessarily indicate the technological advance of the entire planet. It was a problem he'd wrestled with for several years now. How could they possibly be expected to make a judgement on an initial glance and foray into the culture of each planet without going further? Sometimes the time and resources didn't allow for it, but it was something he felt was lacking in the SGC strategy.

There was a silence in the small pod as each traveller took in the surroundings and the architecture of Salus. A silence only broken by the sound of the pod racing on its track.

Huge glass shapes rising from the ground and reaching into the sky. The shapes were fluid, and softly curved. Several seemed to have no end to them while others ended abruptly, almost cut in half by some mysterious force. These tall edifices displayed an elegant slenderness, aesthetically beautiful. Others were rounder and more globular shaped. No structure was identical to its neighbour. Colours danced and played on their surfaces creating an almost rainbow effect. The range of colours increased the higher each structure reached. The effect was hypnotising.

In stark contrast, simple white buildings which could almost have had a Moorish ancestry to them, dotted the underneath of the glass city. The pod moved swiftly through the outer ring of the City and headed into its heart. What Daniel did note was that the City seemed to be built in semi-circles, the rail carrying the pod intersecting the circles at intervals, giving the city, he suspected, an appearance of small wedges of what would look like a giant pizza from the air. The reason for creating this could be anything ranging from a love of the ordered, a protective mechanism of some sort to just the whim of an architect. A creator who had decided that the curves of the circular would compliment the shapes rising from the ground, and contrast with the lines radiating out from the rail system. Daniel felt a surge of enthusiasm as he realised that he might have a chance to be able to look at the culture in more detail.

He broke his gaze away and looked across to O'Neill. The man was on the edge of the boil. He knew Jack felt a sense of protectiveness towards his "family" and that he probably felt guilty about Sam's little episode with the aliens, but he also knew that Jack admired and respected the Nox with a passion and that the thought of not being able to get the boy back through the Gates unharmed would be eating at him.

Daniel felt a tinge of guilt as he realised that his mind was full of what was around him, and the excitement which came with the new, and not with their predicament or that of the hostage. The archaeologist in him. It always made him seem like a small child holding a wondrous new gift in his hand. He didn't have the discipline of the military to hold him in check, not like the others. He didn't feel a sense of malice from the aliens, and looking at Sam he knew in his heart that she didn't either. Her head was leant back against the curve of the seat and she was letting her eyes lazily follow whatever they passed. She still looked drowsy, exhausted from continually catching her breath, but Daniel was relieved to see the pink slowly coloring her cheeks again.

Teal'c stared directly ahead, his dark eyes boring into the back of the two aliens' heads as they too stared in front of them. Daniel let a smile play on his lips for a single moment and then put his hand up skilfully to mask it. With the Jaffa around, if the aliens did have any surprises planned, they probably hadn't reckoned on Teal'c, he thought secretly.

oOo

They'd reached some sort of terminus in the heart of the city and were following the aliens on foot to the final destination. The terminal was another of the curved glass edifices, rather small and squat but perfectly shaped. Nothing strange about it except for the distinct lack of any other passengers. As they proceeded through the streets Daniel caught occasional glimpses of black clad citizens going about their business. They, however, were few and far between. The City was almost deserted. On the whole, the people they did meet, acted as if the strangers weren't even there. Sometimes however, one would stop and stare and then move away swiftly, like a frightened deer.

"Do you notice anything odd?" Daniel said quietly to O'Neill as they walked behind the aliens, looking carefully at their new surroundings.

"Like we're on some sort of science fiction film set, populated by extras dressed in black body suits? Nah," O'Neill murmured in response as he fingered his MP-5 and watched for every shadow or movement as they walked slowly.

"Not exactly, " Daniel replied, patiently. "This is either an adult only city or the children are kept hidden."

O'Neill shrugged. "If you go into the business center of any major city in the world you don't see many kids."

"Yes, but that's my point, we're not seeing any. There weren't any on the streets of the outer rings of the City either," Daniel persisted, keeping his voice as low as he could.

"Well maybe these guys have some sort of rule to keep them off the streets, who knows? Not our problem, Daniel. We got plenty of problems of our own. Try not to invent more." O'Neill wasn't in conversational mode right now. He was planning to get the boy and then get back to the first Gate, as fast as he could. If only he could trust the aliens to provide the color codes which they needed to get themselves back and disengage the iris. Then there was the giant monster to get past on the other side. He sighed.

Daniel dropped back from walking beside O'Neill and slipped beside Carter who was ambling slowly behind them, Teal'c at her side, his eyes scanning their immediate vicinity. Carter's fingers were playing on her weapon, waiting for any trouble.

"My voice is coming back," she whispered hoarsely, pointing at her throat and then coughing. She shrugged and grimaced. The four words were a struggle in themselves.

Daniel smiled in return. He knew Sam would be angry. More angry than anyone would know or see. She would feel that she'd let them down, shown a weakness in some way by letting the aliens use her. He also knew that she'd try to prove it otherwise, whatever it took.

"Listen, Sam. Don't try and reply just listen," he said as they walked.

"First off unless you can tell me you've seen any, there aren't any kids here." He paused to see if she was going to contradict him in some way. She shook her head. She'd seen none either and it had worried her too.

"Okay, then there's something else which is odd," he continued. She looked quizzically.

"No rain. No storm. Where's it gone? We were in the middle of a storm only thirty minutes ago, now nothing. Yet I can feel a warm breeze on my face." He hesitated, frustrated that she couldn't reply.

She nodded violently and grabbed his arm, pointing upwards.

"Something up in the sky causing all this?" Daniel asked as he followed her gaze.

She nodded again. Then she cleared her throat. It sounded like a chain smoker. "Environmental control.." she stammered and then felt her throat close again. It ached. She knew she had to let it rest but she also knew that Daniel was beginning to understand what she'd worked out.

"Control? Sam, if they've managed to control the environment just for the city and even its surroundings but not for the rest of the planet then we might be able to take some of the technology home and use it," he said excitedly, raising his voice.

Sam shook her head, frustrated. She wanted to tell him everything she thought she knew about the place, or had fathomed out by looking around her, but her voice wasn't up to it. She'd have to wait. Daniel had looked away from her anyway and was excitedly staring upwards as he walked.

The aliens swung around at their few words and exchanged worried looks. These humans were starting to worry Ventra. He'd wanted their help and now he feared their interference in other matters. Matters which were not up for discussion, knowledge which was not for sharing.

Daniel immediately lowered his voice at a glare from O'Neill who had heard the sentence. Whatever Daniel said or Carter agreed with, O'Neill didn't - couldn't trust aliens who had abducted members of a peaceful people. Why the hell did Daniel have to forget where he was and spill the plot to everyone? Weather control was the least of his worries at the moment. With part of his team excited about the science of the place, O'Neill's thoughts were on only one thing. Freeing the Nox and getting the hell out of there.

oOo

Ventra paused at the single entrance to the centremost structure, it's alarmingly curved and slender arm looming overhead, too far up to see the top. He bowed at the group and then indicated that they should move inside.

"Guess we're about to go topside," O'Neill commented, gazing skywards, as they passed into a small cubicle which resembled a sleek version of an elevator on Earth.

Daniel didn't reply. He wasn't sure it was possible to second- guess their hosts so he wasn't even going to try. Leave Jack to do that. Quite how an elevator would make the journey up such a leaning structure with its passengers intact, and the right way up, was something he didn't want to consider. Somehow he trusted that they'd get there.

The team stood and braced itself for the elevator to rise swiftly. After all, the leaning glass tower must have been at least 500 storeys high. The unexpected, fast descent threw them all off balance temporarily. O'Neill snorted.

"Now, you people should know that I don't like surprises," he said with annoyance, and straightened his cap which had been knocked to the side of his head in the jolt.

Ventra gave him a conciliatory look of apology and then turned back to the console in front of him. The elevator juddered to a halt and then paused.

Carter was just in front of the doors and readied herself for them to open. Instead the elevator lurched sideways and continued on its journey. She wished she could utter a mild expletive as she grabbed the side of the cubicle and glanced at the others whose disorientation was also obvious. Teal'c raised a single eyebrow and stared directly ahead. Daniel merely shrugged. One thing Daniel had decided about the aliens was that technology was obviously a strong point but that passenger comfort was not.

The back of the small cubicle swung open as it slid to a silent stop at its destination, the aliens disembarking without a word to their fellow passengers.

"Looks like it's the end of the line, kids," O'Neill said and moved through the door behind the aliens. "Take the rear," he whispered to Teal'c as he did so.

The tunnel which led away from the elevator was constructed of one smooth concave glass wall and ceiling, through which the solid rock was visible. The tunnel resembled a tube which had been constructed to pass through the rocky layers of the subsurface of the planet. Gentle lights played on its surface, though Carter couldn't see where they were coming from.

"Kind of feels like we're in Marineland," whispered O'Neill to a fascinated Daniel. He nodded. If it wasn't for the fact that the tubes looked onto the rock surface of the tunnel, and there was no water, the tube resembled the undersea walks at Marine theme parks.

"It is possible that the tubes are some form of structural aid," Teal'c observed as he placed a hand onto the warm surface of the glass.

"Our rock tunnels are very old. The glass tubes were inserted as an extra security precaution," Ventra commented as he led them onwards.

"Don't like to mention this, but you guys seem to be worried a lot about security," O'Neill said, the monotony of the glass beginning to irritate him.

"It was deemed necessary," Ventra replied and moved ahead of them further.

"Guess that means end of conversation," noted O'Neill with a grimace. "Sure are secretive," he added grimly. "Don't like secrecy," he muttered shaking his head sadly. "Don't like it at all."

Carter stifled a smile, aware of the irony of a comment from someone who worked for the SGC.

Because the tubes were so well illuminated, the descent into a large cathedral sized chamber took them by surprise. It's interior was as well lit as the passageways which led into it, no more or less and the temperature of the surroundings seemed to be exactly the same.

The chamber seemed to be the center of a giant hub. Glass corridors led off at equal distances from the main area. The chamber itself was nothing spectacular. Simple glass, or whatever material they were looking at, in a concave dome shape. Light filtered through from the rock above it somehow and several consoles rose from the ground near to each hub exit.

"Here we wait," Ventra said and drew them over to one of the consoles where his fingers ran across the surface, illuminating it with a blaze of colour, lights dancing across its surface eagerly. The sound of his voice echoed around the chamber and ended as suddenly. The effect was eerie.

"Daniel, are you getting as tired as I am of all this stalling?" O'Neill said, his impatience growing.

"Colonel, I don't think they're stalling," Carter whispered, acknowledging his look of surprise at her returned voice, and indicating the sight of two further aliens emerging from one of the other hubs. She fingered her throat apprehensively. Hopefully her voice was here to stay. She realised that her hair and clothes had dried swiftly on entering the passageways.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill," one of the aliens said loudly as he walked towards the group.

"That'd be me," O'Neill acknowledged with a raised, partially gloved hand.

"Welcome to Salus, Colonel." the alien said, smiling. A young, attractive woman stood at his side and bowed her head towards the group. Her eyes danced as she let them rest lightly on each member of the team.

"Could we cut to the chase, here?" O'Neill said, ignoring the smiles. "You give us the little guy and we listen to whatever it is you want from us, then we go. Agreed?"

"Not exactly, O'Neill."

"Now just a doggone minute. I think we've been pretty patient up to now. And I can tell you my patience is running out."

The alien raised a single hand, his eyes glinting, cutting O'Neill's outburst short.

"You will listen to what we will tell you and you will decide whether you wish to help us. However, regrettably we cannot return your prisoner to you."

O'Neill felt the anger rise before the alien finished the sentence and flicked his MP-5 to his hip, his finger releasing the catch. He heard the click of Carter's weapon do the same and the low hum from Teal'c's staff.

"Your anger fails you, O'Neill. As it has failed the human race in the past. Anger, intolerance, misunderstanding, passion and an inability to really listen. All failings which would eventually see your race extinguish itself."

"I haven't come here to hear this crap from you. I've come here because you sent for us. You took a young boy as your prisoner and you tell us we're the intolerant ones. You get us here and now you tell us we can't have him, well my patience has just about had it." O'Neill exploded into action and fired across the feet of the aliens. They stared at him, unflinching.

"They do not understand. We need to show them," the woman whispered to her companion and nodded at Ventra who bowed. He moved to a console and moved his fingers across it swiftly. From a side tunnel a single small figure approached, its head bowed.

"Nafrayu!" The words left Carter's lips and reached O'Neill's ears as he lowered his weapon and held out a hand to the small Nox boy, whose eyes were raised in a plea of desperation, exactly as he'd witnessed on the MALP footage. "Now that's more like it," he whispered as he moved forwards towards the boy.

The boy hesitated some fifteen feet from O'Neill's outstretched hand. Ventra nodded almost imperceptibly at the woman.

The woman moved forwards, walking towards the boy. When she reached him she turned to make sure that O'Neill was watching and then put out her hand as though she were going to grab him by the arm.

As the boy's image shuddered at the intrusion, flickering and disintegrating as the connection was broken, a collective stab of both realisation and resentment went through the four members of SG1. A trick.

O'Neill took a step backwards, the scene unfolding before him unreal, surrealistic. His hands tightened around his weapon, his thoughts confused. If Nafrayu was an illusion then what were they doing here? What the hell did the aliens want?

"A hoax! This was all one unholy fantasy to get us here? You did this for what?" O'Neill let the words tumble out angrily.

Daniel lowered his eyes, confused, angered and yet relieved all at once. He placed his hand on O'Neill's shoulder, in a gesture of solidarity with his friend. O'Neill shrugged him off in frustration.

"No, Daniel. They can't just get away with it. Not after putting us through all this. And for what? Tell me what, God dammit. Just tell me what!"

"To free our planet from someone we think you know," the female alien said calmly.

Ventra's fingers once more raced across the console in front of him and a life sized 3-D holographic image appeared in the centre of the chamber, some twenty or so feet from where SG1 stood.

The image was something dragged up from the pits of Hell itself. The figure was unmistakable to Carter as unwanted memories of a time long gone flooded her system. She put her hand to her mouth and swallowed hard trying to concentrate on breathing, trying to concentrate on not remembering.

"Is that who I think it is?" O'Neill breathed as he noted her reaction from the corner of his eye.

She nodded, her eyes fixed reluctantly on the image in front of them.

"Sokar" she whispered as she realised for the first time since they'd arrived just what the aliens had been trying to keep them from realising.

CHAPTER SIX

REVELATIONS

The team's speechless protestations at what they'd seen on the large 3D viewer had been taken by their hosts as a good sign. The alien obviously caused the humans as much distress as he was causing their own people. Ventra moved in for the kill immediately and ushered the numbed group into a side room for their own safe keeping. Time enough for explanations later. And many of those there would be, he was certain.

"Please know that your young friend is safe so far as we know," Ventra reassured gently.

"You mean he is on this planet?" Daniel asked, surprise etched on his features. "That wasn't just an illusion?"

"Sokar holds him," Ventra stated solemnly.

"Why didn't you just tell us that straight away? Why the pretense?" Carter said.

"If you had been made aware from the outset that it was Sokar who held your friend, you may have come through the Gate with more soldiers. We needed you to come alone. We created a holographic image to give the illusion that we held him and not Sokar. We do not usually allow people to visit our planet. Your presence here and Sokar's is a rarity which we do not wish to have happen again. Defeating Sokar must be your only aim. Defeat him, free your friend and then return to your home and never return."

"Well that's straight to the point," O'Neill muttered, his anger seething but under check.

"Please," Ventra said, indicating the room and its furniture, "Make yourselves comfortable. Alura will bring you sustenance and then you must rest. We do not wish any harm to come to you. That is not our intention. You need time to think about what we will propose. That you cannot do without rest and nourishment." Ventra bowed as he removed himself from the small chamber into which he'd shown SG1. "I will return," he added.

"Well that's good," mumbled O'Neill to no one in particular, as he put down his MP-5 and sat down heavily on an immaculate looking but unpadded curved grey seat. It was