Stargate SG-1: Mission to Abydos II

"Oh... I think I'm going to be sick. Uhhh..." Carter said as she clutched her stomach as she stepped out of the Stargate.

"Maybe you shouldn't have had that big lunch." O'Neill said as he patted her on the shoulder.

The soldiers fanned out, checking the area. The chamber seemed to be empty. As they moved a few paces away from the Gate, however, a young boy jumped out from behind a column, pointing a gun at them.

Others appeared on all sides, aiming their weapons at the same time. O'Neill turned as a group of three popped out from another column, but then someone familiar stepped in their path.

"Cha'hari! Cha'hari! Lower your guns," the tall blue-eyed man said as he stepped between the two groups. The defenders obeyed and O'Neill turned to stare at Daniel.

"Jack? Uh... Welcome back," Daniel said with a smile.

O'Neill didn't reply as he walked towards him. He hugged him. "I missed you Danny," he laughed.

As Jack put him down, he glanced over to the side as someone immediately grabbed his attention.

Standing beside Daniel a boy saluted and grinned, which Jack returned, "Skaara."

"O'Neill." Skaara said as they hugged glad to see each other.

"I did not think to be seeing you again!" Skaara said happily.

Jack turned to Daniel. "So how are you doing?"

"Uh, good. You?" Daniel asked, happy to see his friend again.

"Much better, now that I see that everybody's okay," Jack said as he looked around at the group of defenders

"Greetings from Earth, Dr. Jackson," Ferretti said.

"Hello, Ferretti." Daniel grinned.

"Brought you a little something, Daniel," Kawalsky said as he handed Daniel a mini-pack of tissues.

Daniel took it with a half-amused, half-irritated expression.

" Kawalsky," he greeted

A dark-haired, shy looking woman moved closer to Daniel, standing beside him. She put her arm around him. The message was clear, Sha're was very protective of Daniel, and still didn't trust Jack around him.

O'Neill extended his hand to Sha're, which she shook, not as enthusiastically as Skaara but not displeased either.

"Hi. Good to see you," Jack said. He knew that for whatever reason Sha're still considered him to be a rival for Daniel.

"So, she still doesn't trust me?" Jack asked him teasingly.

"So, I... Figured it would be just a matter of time before you had to tell the truth about us still being here." Daniel quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah," Jack said looking around, picking up on the not so subtle hint. "Why the militia? Something else coming through?"

"No, we're just taking precautions. Why?" Daniel asked.

"Amazing," Carter said from off to the side examining the DHD. "This is what was missing from the dig at Giza. This is how they controlled it. It took us 15 years and 3 superconductors to MacGyver a system for the gate on Earth."

"Captain?" Jack asked.

"Look how small it is!" Carter exclaimed, ignoring Jack.

"Captain!" Jack said, finally succeeding in getting her attention.

Carter looked up confused and O'Neill inclined his head, implying that she should come over.

She obeyed him and smiled with delight when she realized whom Jack was speaking to.

"Dr. Jackson, I presume. I'm Doctor Samantha Carter," she said as she shook Daniel's hand enthusiastically.

"What's going on, Jack?" Daniel asked feeling nervous after he'd shaken Carter's hand. He really didn't think that this was a social visit. He frowned; he was certain he'd heard Dr Carter's name before, but couldn't think from where.

"Six hostile aliens came through the Stargate on Earth. Four people are dead, one's missing," Jack explained.

"One of them looked like Ra, Danny," Kawalsky added.

"Well, they didn't come from here. I mean. The boys take shifts guarding it 36 hours a day, every day. We'd know if they came through here," Daniel said.

"Well, they came from somewhere, Daniel. I'm going to have to look around," Jack replied.

"I - I think I can help you find out that it was, but, uh, it's going to have to wait until this sandstorm is over. … We were about to have our evening meal. Why don't you join us?" Daniel offered.

Inside the pyramid where the Stargate resided the soldiers and the natives gathered around. Several dishes of food were spread between them as they ate dinner.

Skaara made his way through the crowd to O'Neill, careful not to spill the contents of two canoe-shaped bowls he was carrying. He offered one to Jack, who was sitting next to Carter.

"What's this?" Jack asked taking it.

"Drink," Skaara said.

Jack curiously sniffed the brew experimentally. "Moonshine."

"Moon... shine?" Skaara asked.

"Yeah. Moonshine, as in booze. Daniel, what are you teaching these kids?" Jack asked

He and Carter both looked at Daniel expectantly.

Daniel glanced up from where he was sitting with Sha're, giving O'Neill his most innocent look.

"Try it," Skaara coaxed.

"Alright," Jack said as he sniffed Skaara's moonshine. He took a drink, then after a second spat it out. "WHOA!"

Everyone that was watching burst out laughing at Jack.

"Smooth, Very smooth," Jack said to Daniel, his voice hoarse.

"Moonshine!" Skaara shouted happily.

"Our little soldiers are all grown up, Colonel." Kawalsky joked

"Yeah, I'm so proud. Whoa," Jack said. His voice was still hoarse from the effects of the moonshine.

"O'Neill," Skaara said as he reached into his pocket. "Your lighter."

"No, it's yours." Jack shook his head. "I gave that to you to keep. Remember?"

"Thank you," Skaara said feeling a little choked up as he turned and made his way through the crowd.

"You know, he's never let that out of his sight the whole time you were gone," Daniel told him.

"Yeah?" Jack asked

"Yeah, so this - this man who looked like Ra, he must have come through another Gate," Daniel suggested.

"What other Gate?" Carter asked.

"A Stargate?" Jack asked. Wasn't there supposed to be only two Stargates?

"The Stargate only goes here," Carter pointed out.

"I think you're wrong about that," Daniel denied.

"I - I was there. We ran hundreds of permutations," Carter explained.

"But you didn't have what you needed," he replied.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Jack asked.

Skaara pushed through the crowd again. "Danyel, the storm has passed."

"I'll show you." Daniel said as he stood up "Sha're. Ben ra qui Jack

Villi tao an." (Sha're, I'm taking Jack to see the tomb we fond.)

"Bonni wai?" Sha're asked. (Should I come as well?)

"It's okay. I won't be long," Daniel promised.

Sha're kissed Daniel on the forehead, and then Daniel pulled her lips to his for a deeper, more passionate kiss.

Jack looked surprised and then amused, as the group erupted in good-natured hooting and laughter until Sha're finally broke the kiss, leaving Daniel slightly dazed.

"Goodbye, my Danyel," Sha're said as he kissed her again briefly.

"Bye," Daniel said finally snapping out of it.

Jack got up followed by Carter and Kawalsky

"Hold the fort," Kawalsky instructed Ferretti.

"Yes, sir," Ferretti said, not getting up.

They left the pyramid, walking into the stark brightness of the desert and donned sunglasses to shield their eyes.

"Boy, I can't say I missed this place," Kawalsky said as he looked out into the seemingly endless desert.

"Come on," Daniel said as he led them further into the desert followed by O'Neill and Kawalsky.

"This is just incredible," Carter said as she looked out at the desert scenery.

"So, I - I figured that there had to be more to this place, so I started exploring, um, this area around the town and the pyramid at first. And after about a month, I found this place. Uh, Captain Doctor, you're going to love this," Daniel said as he walked further into the tomb.

Carter shone her flashlight around the chamber. It was huge, lined by bird-headed statues alternating with cartouches of hieroglyphics. At the far end of the room there was a gleaming symbol - the Eye of Ra.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed. "This is amazing. This is the archaeological find of the century."

Carter shone the light on the nearest section of hieroglyphics moving to get a closer look, as O'Neill and Daniel followed.

"Daniel, have you had a chance to translate this yet?" Carter asked.

"I think so," he replied.

"What's it say?" Jack asked.

"Well, uh, it - it doesn't say anything. Actually, it's sort of a chart, more of a map," Daniel replied.

"Of?" Jack asked.

"Well, I haven't been able to analyze all of it. I mean..." he said as he gestured around the chamber, "look at it. It would take my whole life."

"Well, we don't have that long. What's it a map of?" Jack asked

"Well... the cartouches seem to be separated clearly into groupings. Each grouping is attached to the others by a series of lines, and each grouping contains seven symbols, so you can see where this is going, of course," he explained.

"Tell us anyway," the colonel said, still not understanding.

"All of the symbols are on the Stargate in the temple chamber. I've also managed to chart some of them in the Abydos sky, or at least pretty close. Jack, I think this is a map of a vast network of Stargates, Stargates that are - are all over the galaxy," Daniel answered.

"Uh, I don't think that can be, Doctor," Sam protested.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Well, because after Colonel O'Neill and his team came back, my team tried hundreds of symbol permutations using Earth as the point of origin, and it never worked," she explained.

"Well, I tried the same here and it didn't work either. But I figured the destinations I tried are either destroyed or... buried, but some of them somewhere must still exist," he replied.

"I don't think so," Carter shook her head.

"Then where did your Ra lookalike to come from?" Daniel asked to leaving Carter speechless. "I - I don't pretend to know anything about astrophysics, but couldn't the planets change? I mean, uh... drift apart or something like that to throw this map off?"

"I knew I'd like you," the captain smiled.

"You mean I'm right?" Daniel asked, mildly surprised.

"According to the expanding universe model, all bodies in the universe are constantly moving apart," Carter explained.

"So in the thousands of years since the Stargate was built –" Daniel started.

"All the coordinates could have changed," she finished.

"But why does it still work between Abydos and Earth?" Daniel asked.

"Abydos is probably the closest planet in the network to Earth. I mean, the closer they are, the less the difference in relative position due to expansion. The further away, the greater the difference. In a few thousand more years, it won't work between Earth and Abydos either."

"Unless you can adjust for the displacement," Daniel added.

"Right," Carter agreed. "Now with this map as a base, that should be easy. All we have to do is correct for Doppler shift."

Standing apart from the two of them, Kawalsky and O'Neill looked on unable to comprehend the technobabble.

"Then I should be able to arrive at a computer model that will predict the adjustments necessary to get the Gate working again," Carter continued.

"Okay. So what did we just figure out?" Kawalsky asked, wondering if they were finished.

"Any civilization advanced enough to build this Gate network would be able to compensate for 50,000 years of stellar drift," Carter said.

"So... the Stargate can go other places," Jack said as he looked up at the cartouches.

"The aliens could have come from anywhere," Carter said as she realized the enormity of their task.

Inside the Abydos Gate pyramid, the remaining soldiers and natives were grouped around the cooking fire directly in front of the Gate, relaxing and enjoying themselves.

Sha're sat with Skaara and another boy, all of who were laughing. She playfully shoved away Skaara before getting to her feet and walking away. Ferretti and another soldier watch her go with admiration.

"Man, you've got to give him credit, Sha're's one beautiful woman."

The other officer nodded, but suddenly the Gate activated. The chevrons started to lock in as the soldiers jumped to their feet in alarm.

"We've got company, boys!" One of the soldiers shouted.

The natives scattered as the soldiers grabbed their weapons and panic erupted through the crowd.

"Move! Move! Take cover!" The soldiers shouted.

The natives crouched behind the columns lining the room, terrified. Children were crying as the unarmed people took cover as best they could. The soldiers took up positions behind the columns, aiming their weapons at the Gate.

The wormhole activated, and two Serpent Guards stepped out randomly firing their staff weapons.

Three Abydonian children tried to run to the exit. Two of them were felled by staff blasts, but the third made it around the corner and flattened himself against the wall before heading out of the pyramid.

Inside, the soldiers opened fire on the Serpent Guards. Predictably, their bullets bounced off the guards' armor. A guard fired on one of the soldiers, the blast knocking him to the floor. Skaara was among those firing at the intruders, and was lucky enough to dodge the blasts fired at him, but was **** to fall back behind a column. Another of the Abydonians fired on the guards but was felled by a staff blast as Ferretti tried to get a lucky shot in. A staff blast came too close for comfort and he fell.

More Serpent Guards flooded into the room as they continued to fire. A final armored figure stepped from the Gate, with a golden sheen to his armor. Helmet up he surveyed the room as another Abydonian was hit by a staff blast. The barrage of energy blasts soon had the entire defense **** either dead, **** or dazed. Seeing this, Sha're darted behind the columns, fearing for her friends, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do.

Skaara somehow managed to go unscathed and got to his feet, firing at the intruders from behind a column.

"Sha're! Shim rota! Shim rota!" Skaara shouted. (Quickly, go get the others)

Sha're made a break for it, but the Serpent Guard was quicker, tackling her to the floor.

"No!" Sha're shouted. She had to get the others and make sure her husband was all right.

The golden figure and another guard approached Skaara who tried to fire again, but discovered that he was out of ammunition. The serpent guard lowered his staff weapon to fire, but the golden figure stopped him. With a howl, Skaara lunged at the guard, but the guard simply caught him by the throat. His helmet retracted to reveal a face decorated with a golden tattoo of the hieroglyphic for Apophis.

"This is not your weapon. Where did you get it?" The man called Teal'c demanded.

Skaara spat in his face in answer to his question. Teal'c turned him to face the golden man who retracted his helmet, looking Skaara up and down.

"Good choice, Teal'c. A perfect specimen," the man commended.

Teal'c said nothing as this was his god, Apophis and as his First Prime he had to obey him in everything. The 'god' opened his hand and a bright light from a device clipped to his hand shone into Skaara's eyes. Almost immediately, Skaara went limp in Teal'c's arms. Sha're growled angrily and struggled madly as the guard carried her over to Apophis.

Apophis grabbed her chin, brushing her hair from her face and inspecting her teeth. His eyes glow briefly. "You may be the one," he commented.

He lifted the ribbon device, shining it into her eyes until she, too, went limp. Apophis turned to the dial-home-device and punched in the glyphs for their return. None of the guards noticed Ferretti regaining consciousness nearby, blood streaming from his left eye and mouth. Apophis retracted his helmet as he finished dialing and the Gate activated. The wormhole opened, and Apophis went through, followed by the seven Serpent Guards and their captives. Once they had all gone through, the wormhole shut off, leaving the once-cheerful chamber silent.

A second passed and then the surviving Abydonians emerged from their hiding places, checking to see who was all right. Daniel entered at a dead run, looking around in panic. "Sha're! Sha're!" He called out frantically, but there was no reply. He checked on the makeshift sleeping tent by the entrance before rushing to the side of a boy lying nearby. "Bolah!"

"There were so many... so many of them." Bolah said, still in shock.

Carter and O'Neill crouched down beside Ferretti.

"What happened?" Carter asked.

"It's all right. Just tell me what happened," Daniel pleaded as he focused on Bolah.

"It was Ra," Bolah answered.

O'Neill came over to Daniel. "What's going on?"

"Ra is dead. Tau'pa Ra!" Daniel said insistently, ignoring Jack.

"No... Ra... I saw... He took Sha're. He took Skaara into the chaapa'ai," Bolah insisted.

Horrified at this news, Jack jumped up, but Daniel remained with Bolah as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Did you see? Did you see?" Daniel asked, hoping that Bolah remembered the Gate address.

Bolah's eyes rolled back in his head, his eyelids closing as his head lolled limply backwards.

Daniel knelt there, stunned, cradling the dead boy's head in his hands as he cried in grief.

Jack put his hands on Daniel shoulder. "What's going on, Daniel? Could there be another Ra?" He asked.

"How should I know? I should have left the barricade up. This is my fault," Daniel said sadly.

"Colonel, Ferretti needs medical attention, now!" Carter said, getting Jack's attention.

"Go! Help him! I can send you back," Daniel said as he knelt beside another of the Abydonians.

"You're coming with us this time, Daniel. I've got orders," Jack said, hating that he had to do it.

"I don't care about your orders, Colonel. My wife's out there. So is Skaara," Daniel argued as he wiped the tears from his eyes angrily.

"And the only way we're is going to get 'em back is if you come home with us. Ferretti might have seen those coordinates. Captain, do you have the video?" He asked Carter.

"I got everything I need," Carter said as she held up the video recorder.

Daniel looked around the room at the dead and dying Abydonians. Still others were mourning, others look defeated. Finally, he turned striding into the center of the room.

The natives not tending to the dead and wounded gathered around him as he continued speaking. "After we go through the chaapa'ai, you have to bury it like we did before and then leave this place," he instructed them.

"You come back?" One of the children asked.

"No," Daniel said sadly. "I can't. Nobody can, that's what I'm telling you. Not for a... long time. Now as soon as we're gone, I want you to close it. Bury it. Put a... big heavy cover stone over it. Nothing good could ever come through this Gate, do you understand me?"

"You came through it, Danyel." The boy pointed out, causing Daniel to hesitate.

"Do you remember the story I told you?" Danielle asked them. "How the ancient Egyptians on Earth cut themselves off from Ra? Well, that is exactly what you have to do. Then in one year, one year from this day you take the cover stone away. I will try to bring Sha're home with me on that day, but if I don't make it back..." he said nearly in tears, "if I don't... if I don't return then you must bury the Gate again forever. Cho'qua?" He asked them

The boy nodded in understanding.

"You tell Sha're's father... one year," he told the boy.

At that, the boy hugged him tightly. The others follow suit, most of them reaching out to touch Daniel on the arm. After a moment, Daniel pulled away and sadly walked over to the DHD.

The chevrons on the Earth Stargate lit up as they began to spin round the Gate.

"Stand by for arrival! Stand by for arrival!" A voice sounded over the intercom.

The security door below the control room slid down as soldiers dashed back and forth, preparing for whatever might come out.

"Incoming traveler!" The voice over the intercom said.

At that moment, the last chevron locked and the wormhole activated. Immediately, O'Neill, Carter, Kawalsky and Daniel barged through, dragging the wounded soldiers through the gate.

The left bay door opened, and Samuels rushed in, radio in hand as one of the soldiers shouted. "Medic! Medic!"

"Close the iris! Close the iris!" Samuels said into the radio.

Jack looked up the ramp to see what, he could only assume to be, the "iris" suddenly slide across the wormhole, contracting much like the iris of a human eye.

"Iris locked." They heard over the intercom.

The security door slid up, and O'Neill turned to see General Hammond enter and stand at the base of the ramp as the wormhole closed.

"Wormhole disengaged," someone said through the intercom.

"What the hell is that, sir?" Jack asked.

"That's our insurance against any more surprises," General Hammond said. "It's pure titanium - hopefully impenetrable."

Hammond's attention turned back to the ramp where Kawalsky, Carter, and the others were getting Ferretti onto a stretcher.

"Get the gauze on him! We got to stop the bleeding from his leg!" The lead medic said.

"What happened, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"Base camp was hit while we were on recon, sir," Jack explained.

"Same hostiles who attacked us?" Hammond asked.

"That's a fair guess," Jack confirmed.

Kawalsky and another soldier carried the stretcher off leaving Carter standing there.

"Daniel's wife and one of our kids were kidnapped," Jack let Hammond know what had happened.

"Your kids?" Hammond questioned.

"From the previous mission, sir," Jack explained.

Daniel came up to them, extending a hand. "General, hi. Daniel Jackson. I'd... like to be on the team that goes after them?" He asked.

"You're not in any position to make demands, Jackson," Hammond said angrily.

Inside a large dungeon in Apophis' citadel a group of confused and scared humans were huddled. Two doors at one side of the room slid apart to admit a group of men - two armed Jaffa without helmets, two unarmed men in turbans, and three helmeted Serpent Guards. The humans gathered there - Sha're and Skaara among them - warily got to their feet and backed away from the Serpent Guard in charge, who surveyed the group for a moment.

Teal'c pointed at Sha're. "Chal'nok." (her)

The turbaned men moved towards Sha're. Enraged, Sha're launched herself at the guards, trying to take them down, but they easily stopped her.

"Sha're! Sha're! No!" Skaara screamed as his sister was taken away.

Skaara tried to get up, but froze as the two secondary Serpent Guards switched on their staff weapons, pointing them at him.

The unarmed Jaffa grabbed Sha're by the arms. The head guard, Teal'c stepped forward, retracting his helmet.

"Your **** cannot help her," Teal'c told Skaara.

"I am not afraid of you!" Sha're yelled as she was taken off.

The three Serpent Guards remained two of them still pointing their staff weapons at Skaara as Sha're was dragged out the door. Teal'c activated his helmet and turned away. The other Serpent Guards followed him out the doors. Skaara tried to follow but the others held him back. When he finally broke free and dashed for the doors they slid closed just as he reached them. Skaara clutched the bars for a moment before angrily striking the door and turning away slumping down to the floor in defeat.

In the SGC infirmary O'Neill entered to find Kawalsky sitting beside Ferretti's bed with a newspaper in his lap and a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Doc says he's gonna make it," Jack said.

"Guess so," Kawalsky replied.

"You gonna stay here all night?" The colonel asked.

"Yes, sir," the other man responded.

O'Neill nodded and left. As he started to round a bend in the hallway, he hesitated, spotting something up ahead. Daniel was leaning against the wall, staring into space.

"Hey," Jack said as he stood beside him.

Daniel nodded, but didn't say anything for a moment.

"They don't know what to do with me... and I don't know what to do with myself," he finally said.

O'Neill pulled him in for a hug. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He said as he put his arm around his shoulder and led him out of the base.

Jack took Daniel to his house. He pulled two bottles of beer out of the fridge and then took them into the living room. Daniel was standing by the fireplace and O'Neill came in as he was blowing her nose.

"Here," Jack said as he handed him a beer.

"Jack, I'm only twenty," Daniel said as he held the beer bottle in her hand. "I'm not allowed to drink this."

"It didn't stop you from making moonshine," Jack pointed out with a grin.

"That was different," Daniel pointed out. "There were no laws about drinking on Abydos."

"Daniel, after everything that's just happened, I think you're allowed to have a beer," O'Neill argued.

Daniel hesitated for a moment before he uncapped the beer bottle. "Have you been in contact with Catherine at all?"

"Not recently. I must admit I'm not her favorite person. She really laid into me for getting you killed."

"You didn't tell her I was still alive?"

"I couldn't tell anyone. And anyway, I told her that it was partially her fault for getting her brainiac nephew involved in the project in the first place." He stopped at the horrified look on Daniel's face. "Don't worry, I eventually told her the truth." To be honest he'd thought it only fair she suffered a bit. She'd brought in her naïve, wet behind the ears nephew with his newly minted doctorates when her team of scientists trying to work out what the circle found in Giza was, had come to a standstill.

"So... what happened once we left?" Jack said as Daniel stared into the middle distance.

"Anyway, um... as soon as you were gone and they realized they were free, Abydos was - was their world for the taking..." Daniel said as Jack sat down on the couch uncapping his beer.

"Had a little party, did you?" Jack asked.

"Oh, yeah. You know, big, big, big party. They treated me like their savior, it was, um... embarrassing."

"It's amazing you turned out so normal." Jack said as he took a sip of his beer.

"Well, if it wasn't for Sha're, I'd probably—" he trailed off as he exchanged looks with Jack. After a pause, he sat down on the chair beside the older man.

"She was the complete opposite of everyone else. She practically fell on the floor laughing every time I tried to do some chore they all took for granted, like grinding yuffeta flour. I mean, have you ever tried to grind your own flour?" Daniel asked as he reminisced about his wife.

"I'm trying to kick the flour thing," Jack replied.

Daniel laughed. "This is going straight to my head," he said as he took another sip. "What time is it, anyway? I must have Gate lag or something."

"Daniel, for crying out loud, you've had one beer. You're a cheaper date than my wife was. That moonshine you showed the Abydonians how to make must have put you out for the count."

"Well, I never really drank that much," Daniel replied. "I just showed them how to make it. By the way when am I going to meet your wife?"

"Oh, probably, uh, never… After I came back from Abydos the first time, she'd already left," Jack explained.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said

"Yeah, so was I. I think in her heart she forgave me for what happened to our kid, but she couldn't forgive the affair." The colonel stared down at the bottle in his hand.

"What affair?" Daniel asked.

"Um," Jack said as he took another sip of beer looking extremely uncomfortable. He wasn't one for revealing his private life, but if Sam Carter was going to be part of their team it was only fair Daniel knew the truth. "I was going through a difficult time and I, uh, had an affair with Sam Carter. We had a daughter, Emily. She's been with me as her mother works in DC."

"So, that's where I heard her name. You mentioned her on Abydos the first time you were there? So, where are they now?"

"They're back at the SGC. We're talking about making a go of it as a couple, but it's hard going."

The next day at Cheyenne Mountain Complex, O'Neill, Carter, Daniel, Kawalsky, and two other soldiers were gathered in the briefing room. General Hammond entered the office and sat down at the head of the table as the others took their seats.

"People, what's spoken of in this room is classified as SCI top secret. Colonel, what do we know about these... hostiles... that we didn't yesterday?" Hammond asked.

"Not a hell of a whole lot, General. The Abydos boys who survived the attack on the base camp thought it was Ra," Jack said as he sat down.

"I thought he was dead, which is it?" Hammond asked.

"Oh, he's dead, he's definitely dead. I mean, the bomb... " Daniel said as he looked at Jack.

"I mean, he's got to be dead, right?"

"Then who's coming through the Stargate?" Hammond asked.

"Gods," Daniel muttered to himself, but just loud enough for the others to hear.

O'Neill and Carter turned to stare at him, while Hammond looked confused.

"What?" Hammond asked as Kawalsky and the other officers give Daniel skeptical looks as well.

"Not as in... "God" god. Ra played a god, the sun god. He - borrowed the religion and culture of the ancient Egyptians he brought through the Gate, and then he used it to enslave them. You see, he wanted the people of Abydos to believe that he was the only one," Daniel explained.

"So you're saying... Ra's not the last of his race after all?" Carter asked.

"Maybe he's got a brother Ray," Kawalsky joked, getting a chuckle out of some of the officers.

"That's just what we need," Jack said sarcastically.

"Wait a minute. The legend goes... Ra's race was dying. He survived by taking over the body of his human host, an Egyptian boy. But who's to say more of his kind couldn't do the same thing? I mean, uh, this - it could happen any time, anywhere there's a Gate, I mean... this could be happening right now," Daniel theorized.

"Colonel, you've had the most experience in fighting this hostile. Assuming you'd have to defend yourself in the field, are you up to it?" Hammond asked.

"We beat 'em once," Jack replied.

"I'll take that as a "maybe." Captain Carter, you're confident that the Stargate will take us where we want to go with this new information?" Hammond asked.

"Well, they're feeding the revised coordinates into the targeting computer right now. Uh, it'll take time to calculate, but it should spit out two or three destinations a month," Carter answered.

"People, let's not fool ourselves here. This thing is both fast and dangerous and we are in so far over our heads we can barely see daylight. We would all be much better off if the Stargate had been left in the ground," Hammond addressed everyone.

"With respect, sir, we can't bury our heads in the sand, but I mean, think of how much we could learn? Think of what we could bring back?" Carter defended the use of the Stargate.

"What you could bring back is precisely what I'm afraid of, Captain. However, the President of the United States happens to agree with you," Hammond said as the officers exchange startled looks. "In the event your theories pan out, he has ordered the formation of nine teams, whose duties will be to perform reconnaissance, determine threats and if possible, to make peaceful contact with the peoples of these worlds.

"Now, these teams will operate on a covert, top-secret basis. No one will know of their existence except the President and the Joint Chiefs. Colonel O'Neill?"

"Sir?" Jack asked.

"Your team will be designated SG-1. The team will consist of yourself, Captain Carter-" Hammond began to say.

"And me?" Daniel asked, not meeting the general's eyes.

"Dr. Jackson you are twenty years old. Quite frankly I have no idea why you were even allowed to go through the gate the first time, you don't have any kind of military training, and we need you here, to work as a consultant with the other SG teams based here. Your expertise in ancient cultures and languages is far too valuable to"

"No," Daniel said as he looked up, composing himself. "Look, uh... I mean, I know this is your decision, but I just, I - I really have to be on their team. My wife is out there, General, I need to go."

"Major Kawalsky, you will head SG-2" Hammond said, ignoring Daniel's comment for the moment.

"I will?" Kawalsky asked, surprised.

"Colonel O'Neill keeps telling me it's about time you had a command," Hammond smiled.

Kawalsky stared at O'Neill in surprise.

"I had a moment of weakness," Jack answered.

Kawalsky grinned triumphantly, giving O'Neill a thumbs-up as a guard handed Samuels a note.

Samuels unfolded it and read it silently before turning to Hammond. "Ferretti's conscious, sir."

Without waiting to be excused, O'Neill immediately got to his feet and headed for the door.

"Dismissed," Hammond said to the rest of the people in the office.

Daniel stayed, hoping to talk to the general himself.

"Was there something else, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked.

"What will it take for me to join SG-1?" Daniel asked. This was the only way that he could find his wife.

"As I said before Dr. Jackson, you're too young and inexperienced for this kind of mission, or any kind of mission frankly. It would be irresponsible of me to let you go, and it was even more irresponsible that you were allowed to go the first time," Hammond pointed out.

"I need to find her, please," Daniel pleaded.

"I realize this is important to you Dr. Jackson," Hammond said compassionately. "But this is a very dangerous mission, I can't guarantee your safety, and neither can any of my people."

"No sir, I don't think you realize how important this is to me," the younger man argued. "Sha're is all I have, without her I might as well be dead," he said sadly.

"… Alright," Hammond said finally. "You can go on THIS mission. I can't promise anything beyond that," he offered.

"Thank you sir," Daniel said with a smile.

Carter, Kawalsky and O'Neill walked into the SGC infirmary with Jack in the lead. When they entered they noticed a technician was standing beside Ferretti's bedside, setting up a laptop beside the bed so that he could reach the keys.

"I'll take over. Thanks," Carter said as she took hold of the computer

The technician moved out of the way and she took his place, squeezing Ferretti's free hand reassuringly.

O'Neill joined her beside his bed, while Kawalsky stood behind the laptop.

"Hey, Ferretti," Carter said reassuringly.

"Ferretti. I know you're probably not feeling so hot, but we need something from you." Jack asked.

Ferretti couldn't reply; his head and his bad eye were wrapped in gauze and he had a feeding tube is in his mouth, but he reached for the laptop, touching the screen so that the image of a cross-section of the Stargate came into focus. On the side of the screen, he'd already identified five of the seven glyphs.

"Looks like he's way ahead of you, Colonel," Carter pointed out.

O'Neill moved around Kawalsky to stand where he could see the screen as Ferretti continued to type with his free hand identifying a sixth glyph, and finally the seventh.

"You saw all seven symbols?" Jack asked. "This is where they went?"

Ferretti opened his good eye wider trying to nod.

"You're sure?" Jack asked.

In the corridor outside the Gate embarkation room SG-1 and SG-2 were suited up and headed for the Gate room with Samuels in the lead.

"Colonel, I'd like to remind you that rescuing Dr. Jackson's wife is a secondary objective. In the event you fail to notify base camp within 24 hours," he said as he pulled out a transmitter and started to calibrate it, "SG-2 will scrub the mission and return without you."

"Understood," Jack replied.

"Not going to happen, Colonel. SG-2 won't leave without you," Kawalsky promised.

"All right, let's confirm transmitter codes. Remember, only the right code will open the iris, and if you lose your transmitter, you cannot get home," Samuels said as he pretended not hear what Kawalsky had just said.

"Understood sir," Carter said.

They entered the Gate room just as the final chevron locked and the Stargate wormhole activated.

Hammond was standing in the control room, speaking through a microphone. "SG-1 and SG-2, if you do not return within 24 hours, your remote transmitter codes will be locked out and the iris will be sealed permanently. At that point, there will be no return. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Jack saluted. "Let's move out," he addressed the SG teams.

Carter and Daniel headed up the ramp, followed by Kawalsky.

Samuels moved alongside him. "Kind of wish I was going with you."

"Yeah. I'm kind of glad you're staying behind," Kawalsky replied as he headed up the ramp. Samuels stopped, watching them go.

The trip ended as a team member literally fell out of the Gate on the other side rolling down a few stone steps before tumbling to a stop. The next two soldiers came through much the same way, groaning and getting to their feet. Daniel was still sitting down, propped against the DHD as Kawalsky and another soldier slowly straightened up recovering from the effects of Gate travel.

"Dammit, it's cold," Kawalsky said as he noticed the sudden drop in the temperature.

Carter stood up scanning the area for any threats. O'Neill had already taken in the scenery – there was no one to be seen.

"Okay, people, let's get the lead out! Let's move!" He said as he addressed both teams.

Jack and Carter turned away from the Gate, as Daniel finally straightened up.

Inside Apophis' citadel Teal'c returned to the dungeon where the candidates for Apophis' new hosts were sitting. He scanned the room looking past the group of young men huddled together in the center of the chamber until he spotted Sha're. She was sitting apart from the rest, her back turned to him.

"You," Teal'c said as he pointed to Sha're. At his command two Serpent Guards grabbed Sha're by the arms and started to drag her off.

"No! NO!" Sha're screamed as she struggled against them. The other men watched as the woman was dragged away.

Daniel was standing in front of the DHD as he looked around the position of the Gate, which sat on a slightly raised stone dais. O'Neill climbed up to join him. "It must be some sort of ceremonial place. The Gate has to be a part of their spiritual culture. I'd say this place was built for worshippers," Daniel explained.

"Well, let's just try to be out of here before the worshipped show up, huh? You figured out yet how to align this Gate to get back home?" O'Neill asked.

"Yeah," Daniel replied as he looked down at the DHD. "The device is the same as on Abydos." He pointed to a glyph. "This symbol represents the…"

"You brief Kawalsky's team yet?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes. This symbol represents the—" Daniel tried to continue.

"Good job," Jack said as he patted him on the back. He really didn't want to hear the long drawn out explanation. With that, he turned and walked away leaving Daniel slightly irritated.

O'Neill joined Kawalsky who was standing near the edge of the circle of stones.

"We'll have to set camp where there's better cover, Colonel," Kawalsky said.

"Sir, I found what looks like a trail in the mountains. Looks like it hasn't seen traffic in a couple of days," Warren said as he came up to them.

Carter came towards them as well as she unspooled a cable across the campsite.

"Thank you, Airman." Jack dismissed Warren. As the soldier left the colonel called out, "Carter?" Wondering what she was doing.

"We could set up a line of Claymores along that ridge at ten-meter intervals," she explained.

"Sound about right, Kawalsky?" Jack asked wanting to get his opinion as well.

"Yeah, that'll work," Kawalsky replied.

Inside Apophis' implantation chamber the two serpent guards brought Sha're in, holding her by the arms and shoulders. She struggled madly and unsuccessfully to free herself.

"No!" She screamed as Apophis entered from another doorway guarded by Serpent Guards.

"Come," he ordered.

At his command Sha're's captors dragged her across the room towards him.

Sha're slammed her shoulder into the arm of one of her captors as they reached. Apophis laughed. "This one has spirit." He activated the ribbon device, passing his hand in front of Sha're's face. The woman's struggles ceased and her eyes went blank. The turbaned men picked her up and set her unresisting body on the table flat on her back.

Sha're begun to regain awareness watching with terror as a Goa'uld emerged partially from inside Apophis' host's body.

"You will be my new host," Apophis said as the snack-like creature stretched as far as possible from Apophis' body before it slid completely free to land on Sha're's neck. Sha're gasped in fear unable to move as the Goa'uld slithered up her neck, its head hovering inches from her face before it retreated slightly.

It struck at the side of her neck. Sha're screamed as the symbiote penetrated, its tail disappearing as it entered completely. She screamed again, then again, as Teal'c watched not pleased with what just happened.