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Runaway To Hell

Chapter Six

Sachee started the grand tour with her favorite places on the ship. The top of the list, as was the case with most little girls, was her bedroom. Annika sensed the same sort of cleansing there as that little pocket of space in the 'daycare' corner of the communal room. Seeing the gadgets and pieces of circuitry that were scattered around the room and that engineering was their second stop, Annika surmised that working with the solid 'logic' of technology was Sachee's escape from her visions, in much the same way baking and cake decorating were for her.

Curious glances were directed their way, but a soft chime through the speaker system had pretty much everyone scurrying off. She assumed it was a warning that the ship was about to open for business. The assumption was proven correct when Sachee took her to her third favorite place, which was one of three eateries on board. From what Annika saw as Sachee tugged her by the entrances, one was a formal restaurant. The elaborate table settings left no doubt in her mind that the customers would experience only the very best service and food. The second was more casual, reminiscent of a Gentlemen's Lounge with sofas and easy chairs. The entire back wall was a bar, where what looked like a staff meeting was being held. Even with just a glance, Annika could see two distinct groups of employees. A third were in uniforms, obviously bar and wait staff. The remaining men and women were dressed in embroidered robes and cloaks that for the moment were left to hang open, revealing a variety of lingerie beneath. Clearly this was the greeting area for the masseuses. The third place, which was where Sachee took her, was on par with a patisserie. Refrigerated cabinets slowly revolved filled with delectable treats, and Annika couldn't help but admire the intricate work that had gone into each and every tart and torte.

Though Annika suspected that Sachee and the other children weren't permitted up here when the ship was open for business, she surmised that they were allowed there outside of trading hours, because the staff, who were putting the finishing touches on the tables, barely batted an eye at the girl's presence. Despite her moody behavior of late, Sachee was clearly a favorite, which went beyond her being the boss's daughter. One of the waitresses brought out a selection of sweet treats and the head chef came out with a couple of tiny cakes, proclaiming that he needed his best taste tester's opinion on a new recipe. He introduced himself as Del, and Sachee proudly introduced her new friend.

And so Annika's 'promised meal' became a mix of sweetness that practically melted in her mouth. As they ate, Annika chatted with Sachee, trying to learn as much about her and her burgeoning gift as she could. She also steered the conversation around what direction Sachee would like to take with her psychic abilities; whether she would like to use those snippets the Powers That Be showed her to help people, or if she wanted to simply control them so that she could live a somewhat normal life. She didn't expect a decision right away, for it was a lot to take on board in the space of a couple of hours. But Sachee was surprisingly firm in her conviction that she put her visions to use if she could.

The soft murmur of voices filtered to her ears and Annika looked around to see the patisserie was almost half full. She glanced at her watch and was startled to find that nearly two hours had gone by. She caught Del's eye, who was hovering by the serving window, and guessed that they, or specifically Sachee, should have been long gone from public view. He gestured to a side door that presumably would lead the back way out. Absently she wondered just how long he had been trying to get her attention. "Sachee, how about we continue our chat back in your room?"

"Okay," the girl nodded. She happily stood up but after a few steps towards the kitchen she stopped short and reversed. Once again taking Annika's hand, she headed to the main doors.

Del's expression turned to a frown, but he had no chance to stop the two before they emerged into the bustling foyer.

Annika was distracted for a moment by the opulence of the public area of the ship. The elegant decor and ambience of the foyer put the five star hotels on Earth to shame. A raised eyebrow from one of the security guards stationed discreetly around the room brought her back to the little problem Sachee was causing. "Sachee, are you allowed down here?"

The little girl shook her head. "But there's something...wrong...here."

"Okay." Annika automatically switched into teacher mode. She figured that since Sachee had been surrounded by gambling her entire life, the child didn't have a moral issue with the past time. "Is there someone or something you're being drawn to?"

Sachee nodded but when she raised her hand to point, Annika closed her hand over hers stopping her. 'Fingering' a potential cheater wouldn't be the best move even with the security people stationed round the room. "Just tell me where you're being directed."

"To the cards table...the second from the end."

Annika looked to the table. From this distance and with the people being so close together it was impossible to distinguish the individual auras, but there was definitely the light of deception surrounding them. Whether the deception had anything to do with current actions or past remained to be seen. "Let's take a little stroll by them. See if you can get a better sense of what's wrong."

The little girl gave an eager nod.

Keeping a hold of Sachee's hand, she casually began crossing the gaming floor. As they wove through the tables Annika saw the pit boss and the security man beside him immediately go on the alert. She supposed she should have given some warning that she was taking the boss's daughter through, but she didn't want to risk Sachee losing the vision in the delay. Not wanting to cause even a minor scene which would draw attention, for while the deception could be entirely innocent, the likelihood was that it wasn't, she let her gaze meet the pit boss's and lifted her hand pretending to scratch her cheek. She doubted that there had been time for word to spread of the boss's new 'houseguest', however, she hoped that they would see the ring on her finger.

The man's eyes narrowed when he caught the glimmer of the clear stone and he hesitated, laying a hand to his partner's arm, stopping their approach. His other hand rose, holding a small communication device that Annika likened to the miniature radios the Secret Service wore on Earth. Undoubtedly he was contacting either Veta or Mahj'arc. Now that she had bought some time, she returned her attention to her pupil. "Can you tell if it's coming from the patrons or the staff?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

Sachee whispered a reply of 'no'.

They continued to walk, slowing their pace as they passed the cards table. Annika then led Sachee to the side of the room. Being so close to the people, she had been able to determine that the deception was indeed happening now and who was emanating the negative aura, but the point of the exercise was to see if Sachee could as well. "Did you sense anything else?"

"The man with the white hair...it's him. He's done something wrong."

Okay, let the lesson of Hocus Pocus Ethics begin. "Well, everybody makes mistakes."

Sachee vehemently shook her head. "It's not a mistake. He's doing it on purpose."

"Doing? He's doing it now? A moment ago you said 'done', as in the past." She crouched down to her eye level. "Do you understand the distinction? Why it's important in this instance?" She knew that she was probably pushing Sachee too hard, but the quicker she was able to hone her gift, the sooner Annika would be able to leave. It was a constant fight to stop the compulsion to run.

The girl took a moment of consideration. "Because if it's in the past, then it's not as important? If it's now he should be stopped?"

"That's right," the older psychic smiled.

Sachee stared back at the table.

Annika winced at the child's direct scrutiny. Finesse and discretion would come to Sachee in time as she became accustomed to her gift and as a natural process of growing up. She just hoped for now that the 'object' of her observation didn't clue in to being watched. A tiny smile played on her lips. Jack would have had a warning itch between his shoulders blades by now if he were being subjected to such intense scrutiny, as would the rest of her team. Sachee's quiet statement brought her mind back on task.

"It's both. He's done it before, whatever it is...and he's doing it now 'cause he got away with it."

Annika pushed down a sense of awe. Sachee's gift and her ability to interpret her visions were nothing short of phenomenal. With barely a couple of hours of 'tutoring' she was already talking specifics. It was like once Annika had provided the answer to the puzzle of what had been happening to her for the last few months, the 'pieces' that had taken Annika years to comprehend, fell into place. "Just because he's doing something wrong, doesn't mean we have the right to stop him."

The girl's brow creased in confusion. "It doesn't?"

"Put aside what you're sensing for the moment and look at the man himself. Maybe he told his wife a fib about where he was going tonight." She discreetly gestured to the items sitting on the table beside the man. "The money he's playing with, he may have raided his life savings to be let in on the game. He's drinking and smoking a cigar. Perhaps his doctor told him not to drink or smoke. Those kind of choices are his to make."

Sachee nodded slowly, then made a comparison to make sure she had it straight in her head. "Like at Nessa's naming day last month when she wanted another piece of cake even though she'd just had the biggest piece ever. Mommy said no but she snuck off and ate another piece and she made herself sick."

"Yes, kinda like that," Annika confirmed.

The girl once again studied the card player and gave a shake of her head. "It's not like that. He's doing something Daddy wouldn't like...breaking the house rules."

"I could say the same to you, young lady." Mahj'arc had only caught the tail end of his daughter's comment. He wasn't at all amused to be told that she had been on the gaming floor. Sachee knew it was off limits while they were open for business. His frown included the older woman. He would have thought that particular 'ground rule' wouldn't have to be specifically mentioned. "What are you doing here?"

Sachee gave a guilty start but Annika didn't look away from her pupil. "Identifying a possible cheater."

Mahj'arc's eyes widened, his daughter's transgression immediately put on hold. He scanned the crowd of guests. "Where?"

Annika rose to her full height. "Sachee, before you answer that, your daddy needs to explain to you what the consequence of revealing that piece of information will be."

Mahj'arc stiffened. "I don't think that's really necessary."

"Yes, it really is," Annika said firmly. "If Sachee is going to use her gifts to help you with your business, then she has to know what the ramifications are. Sachee has the fate of this person in her hands with what her third sight is showing her. It has to be her decision whether or not to act on what she has seen. She can't make that decision without knowing what the person's punishment will be."

"She's just a child," he protested.

"With the gift comes great responsibility." Annika wouldn't back down. "As far as her gift goes, she is not a child anymore. This incident is a perfect example of the kind of choices she will be facing for as long as she keeps having visions. She has to act on her moral conscience, not yours."

Sachee raised troubled eyes to her father. "I...I know what happens to cheaters when Uncle Veta catches them."

"How...?" Mahj'arc cut off with a pained expression. "You've seen it?"

The little girl nodded. "Seen you do it too." The images had been blurry but she had seen enough to know what was going on. The images had troubled her for a long time until she saw another. It had involved one of the guests and a masseuse. The guest had been doing mean things to the masseuse and she hadn't been able to reach the panic button for the longest time. By the time the woman had been able to crawl to the button she'd been barely conscious. Sachee had seen Uncle Veta and her dad enter the room and had seen the same sort of punishment applied to the guest. It was then that she realized that the 'punishments' were really protection for the ship's crew.

The father looked like he was going to be sick.

"But the guests know the rules when they come on board, don't they?" Sachee pressed with a child's need to know that her daddy wasn't a bad guy.

He nodded.

She heaved a sigh at the confirmation then continued on, Annika's reasoning and defense of the importance of her right to choose giving her confidence that had been non-existent at the beginning of the day. "But I don't like it...even though they know they're being bad...I don't like what you do to them." She paused, remembering the fuzzy visions she'd had before. "Not for the cheaters. If they do bad things to the masseuses then that's okay."

Mahj'arc decided that for the near future at least, he was going to have to get used to being in a constant state of bewilderment. He couldn't believe that he was standing here contemplating negotiating the house rules with his eight year old daughter. It didn't help that his mystery avenger was trying not to laugh at his 'dilemma'. Yet despite her amusement there was seriousness to her eyes, stubbornness. His gaze flicked between the two. Sachee seemed to absorb that stubbornness from the older woman. Not that she needed that, he thought ruefully. His eldest child had more than enough of that long before today. Perhaps it was a required personality trait for psychics. Absently he wondered just how many more 'moral' negotiations he would have in times to come. He spoke to Annika since she had taken on the role as mediator. "How about I agree that any cheaters Sachee identifies will be allowed to live, but will have their and their family's membership rescinded for life?"

"I'm not the one you need to ask." Annika pointedly looked down at her pupil.

Sachee gave a nod in agreement then told her dad where the man was seated. Before he could summon the security detail to have the man escorted from the floor she added, "But I don't know how he's doing it."

The comment made Mahj'arc pause. "How about we review the surveillance images and see if we can figure it out?"

The girl gave a nod, then curling one hand around her dad's hand and the other in Annika's, set off with confidence to the security office.

Mahj'arc flashed Annika a wry smile. "What have you unleashed?"

"Sachee's true colors." She returned the grin.

"I take it this could become a common occurrence?"

"Pretty safe bet," Annika agreed.

As he was practically dragged to the office by his exuberant daughter, his mind was already thinking ahead. He hadn't really had a chance to comprehend what Sachee's abilities would mean in the short term, let alone long term. He would have just been glad to have her revert to the happy child she had been up until a year ago. However, now the logical businessman in him was considering how he could put Sachee's abilities to use. He paused. "Did Sachee identify the cheater or you?"

"It was all Sachee," Annika assured. "The clarity she is already showing is amazing. She just needs a little bit of direction on how to glean the information from what she's being shown."

They entered the security room, which had a wall of screens showing every angle of the gaming floor with a half a dozen people monitoring them. Mahj'arc strode up to the control console, bringing up the table in question on a larger screen on the left wall.

The security team were surprised by their boss's companions.

"Everyone, this is..." he halted, arching an eyebrow at Annika. "Do you have a name yet?"

Annika nodded, chuckling at the crew practically going bug-eyed at the bizarre question. "Myst."

"Spelt with a 'Y'," Sachee added, climbing up onto the chair closest to the larger monitor.

"This is Myst and you know Sachee. From this point on, if either ask to focus on a particular table or guest, you're to review the footage immediately and call myself or Veta."

Murmurs of 'Yes, Boss' echoed around the room.

"Sachee is now the exception to the 'no kids' rule," Mahj'arc ordered. "Both of these ladies are free to wander the entire floor." He slowed the replay to when the white haired man came to the table. "Sach', remind me to take you and Myst through the standard protocols we have for walking the floor. We'll see if they will work for your gifts and work out a compromise if they don't."

"'Kay, Daddy."

The shift boss motioned for the others to return to their work, but he came over to the trio, who were now focused on the screen. He introduced himself as Nic, then turned to Mahj'arc.

"Boss, wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Trying to figure out how Dresden is cheating." Mahj'arc, as did all the primary security crew, knew the names of all the people on their guest lists. Pragmatically it was a security issue so that no one could sneak onto the ship if they happened to get their hands on a homing disc that was the entry pass. From a customer service point of view it made the guests feel special to be addressed by name.

"Oookay. He has been lucky of late." Sudden winning streaks were always studied closely, and Dresden had been no exception, however, they had been unable to find any evidence of cheating.

Sachee suddenly grasped at Annika's hand. "Did you feel that?"

Annika had actually seen the man's aura flare up but she didn't quibble semantics. "Yes. But I didn't see what he did."

"Daddy, can you go back a bit?"

Mahj'arc nodded and skipped back the footage a few seconds.

Sachee and Annika peered closer to the screen. Mahj'arc and Nic also found themselves leaning forward. All of them were looking for the evidence.

Again they came up with naught.

"Is this man always so fidgety?" Annika asked. It could be that he was just anxious because he was cheating in an establishment that meant death if he were caught, but it was the only odd thing that she could see.

"No," the shift boss replied.

"He's staring at nothing," Sachee frowned. She could see the man's eyes go out of focus every few seconds but the direction of his gaze was different each time.

Nic gave his fingers a few clicks as a sudden idea sprang into his head. "Maybe we just can't see what he's seeing." He reached over Mahj'arc's shoulder to the controls. "'Scuse me, Boss." He zoomed in on Dresden's face until just the man's eyes were on the screen.

What Sam wouldn't give to have this kind of upgraded equipment at the SGC, Annika thought, amazed by the high definition on the image. She could see every fleck of color in the man's irises. She murmured as much to Mahj'arc.

"We have only the best on this ship," Mahj'arc replied absently, his full attention on the image.

Nic spoke into a radio to the pit boss. "Gerrid, go to table twelve with one of the counterfeit scanners. I want you to accidentally shine the light in Dresden's face. Have your team ready to escort Dresden to holding at my word."

"Yes, sir."

Annika glanced at the wall of screens and saw the security men discreetly give the order to his men before going up to the card table. "Won't Dresden get suspicious?" she asked as the pit boss began to scan the money on the table.

"No, we do periodic sweeps of all the tables," Mahj'arc answered.

She returned her attention to the side monitor just as the pit boss tilted the light upwards. There was no reaction from the left eye but the right gleamed oddly, a tiny ring around his pupil. The only comparison Annika could make was shining a note of US currency under a black light to make the watermark appear.

Nic muttered something under his breath, which Annika surmised was a curse in his native dialect before speaking into the radio again. "Take him."

Two of the team moved in swiftly and in a few seconds the cheater was being led away. It was done so efficiently that the rest of the guests barely noticed.

"Nice work." Mahj'arc ruffled his daughter's hair. Over her head his smile included Annika in the praise. His smile moved on to Nic. "What made you think of an ocular implant?"

"Last trip here I went planet side. There's a little place that makes the best Forgoil soup I've ever tasted. Anyway, the town was all abuzz with a new gimmick they have in office equipment. It's a lens of some sort, fits over the pupil but isn't visible to the naked eye. It apparently acts as a computer screen so you can access your files and daily planners or whatever you have on your computer. It's got a bio-neural link to the brain or something. Don't ask me how that works."

"Mahj'arc," Veta's voice came through the radio at Mahj'arc's hip. He'd been listening in to the radio chatter and had been waiting at the interrogation room. "Dresden has an interesting device in the sole of his shoe. A kinda miniature x-ray. One tap against the table leg and it sends a pretty picture of the cards lying on the mat. The pulse is specifically calibrated to be low enough that our sensors don't detect it."

The boss glanced worriedly down at his daughter. "That's an awful lot of information for Dresden being just a few seconds in…your care."

Veta gave a disgusted click of his tongue. "The man took one look at me and started blabbing like we gave him a dose of truth elixir. Hasn't paused for a breath yet. It's downright disgraceful for a grown man to blubber like that."

"V, hold off on the usual consequence," Mahj'arc said.

"It's pretty clear cut proof," Veta countered.

"Yeah, I know. I'll explain when I see you. I'm on my way now."

"Alright, but hurry, his whining is getting on my nerves."

With a chuckle Mahj'arc cut off the communication. "Nic, we should start working on a way to detect any other inventive modifiers."

"I'll get the gizmo crew right on it, Boss," Nic assured. "If we could keep the gadgets Dresden has it would help."

"You'll get them," he promised. He gave Sachee and Annika a smile as he strode to the door. "Ladies, feel free to keep doing your thing."

Sachee beamed at her dad. Annika just gave a nod.

He disappeared only to have his head pop back around. "Hey, Myst, just had an idea. If you're looking for something to do in your free time, we could make a fortune with your abilities. We could set you up with your own staging room and you could tell the patron's fortunes."

Annika pretended to seriously consider the offer. "And what if I saw those patrons losing all their money?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to tell them that."

"I won't lie or hedge about my visions."

"Not even a little bit?" he asked hopefully.

"No."

He sighed. "Maybe it would be better to keep you back of house."

"I'd prefer it." She couldn't help but laugh at his dejected expression before he left, this time for good. She felt eyes upon her and saw that the security staff was having a hard time hiding their curiosity about not only her but of the events of the last few minutes.

Nic, as the team leader, decided to try and sate their curiosity. "So, Myst, what's your story?"

A A A

From the corner of his eye Jack saw Daniel stifle a yawn. Glanced at the clock. It was after nine at night.

Sam and Teal'c had been gone over two hours, and unless they found a solid lead, wouldn't be back until morning to keep up their family visit charade. He, Daniel and Keelah had been diligently going through the mission reports. So far they had been able to account for every moment off-world. There were no 'gaps' where Annika could have been set upon, no place she'd gone alone or food she'd eaten that was any different from the rest of them that could have infected her. However, they were only a quarter of the way through the pile.

The two best friends were alone for the moment, Keelah having gone to get them some food from the mess. Daniel had just finished going through Annika's desk, hoping for some sort of 'revelation' now that they weren't under the spell of whatever it was that had been messing with their minds. His dejected sigh, as he sat down at his own desk and reached for a mission folder, told the team leader he hadn't found anything enlightening. The sigh turned into another yawn, which Daniel tried to mask.

Jack, stretched out in a chair with his boots resting on the edge of the desk, didn't look up from the report he was reading. "Daniel, is Casper awake?"

The archaeologist took a moment from skimming the brief to refresh his memory of the mission, testing his bond with his wife. "Yeah. She seems okay. Before she reinserted the block I sensed that she wasn't in any pain, so someone must have healed her wound."

"That's good." Jack turned the page. "You got those the pills the Doc gave you?"

"Jack..."

"It'll be hours before Carter and Teal'c get back."

"How can you expect me to sleep now?"

Jack ignored the belligerent look Daniel sent him. "You promised."

"Jack-"

"Promised."

Daniel heaved a sigh. "If I don't you'll sic Janet on to me, won't you?"

"That is always in the cards," he agreed amicably.

The archaeologist reluctantly fished the bottle of sedatives from his pocket and tipped one of the pills into his palm.

"The label says to take two."

Daniel opened his mouth to debate the issue then promptly snapped his jaw shut. It wasn't worth the effort. Added a second pill and popped both into his mouth; swallowed them with the last gulp of his coffee.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Jackson, you're a pain in the ass."

Blue eyes blinked behind his glasses, bewildered with a hint of grumpy exasperation. "What? I took the damned sedatives."

"Yeah," Jack drawled. "Downing them with a stimulant. Kinda makes it redundant, don't ya' think?"

Daniel gave a tiny shake of his head. Talk about a Freudian slip. It didn't matter that coffee was his beverage of choice whatever the occasion, that simple 'inadvertent' act showed just what he thought of being forced to take the pills. "Back off, Jack."

"Sure, we'll pick this up after you wake up."

Daniel scowled and strode from the room heading for his base quarters. He missed the general's eyes following him with concern filling those brown depths.

In his room Daniel flopped down on the bunk. Stared blindly at the ceiling. He was pissed about the sedatives, but not for the reason Jack thought, which was he hated being 'babied'. That he was getting used to. Déjà vu, his mind grumbled. Everyone had been doing that since the word had spread that 'Daniel's wife is missing', which was almost always followed by the hushed whisper of 'again'. Those who didn't say it, thought it. He could see it in the glances thrown at him when they thought he wasn't looking, in the way conversations were abruptly cut off whenever he entered the room. He didn't see their worry and concern, just their pity. He'd been through this for years with Sha're. Only this time it was worse, because Sha're had been taken by a Goa'uld. She hadn't runaway, hadn't walked out on her husband and her team.

At least, that's what the looks had been. He wondered what their expression would reflect now that they knew she was being manipulated by an unknown entity that had coerced her into leaving. That knowledge gave him little comfort. While it had lifted a weight from his shoulders to finally have a reason, a new one took its place. It would make finding her that much harder. It meant they not only had to consider Annika's thoughts into their deliberations of where she would go or what she would do, but that of the thing controlling her. How could they figure out the next move when they didn't know who all the players were?

He rebelled against the sedative. He didn't want to fall asleep. Didn't want to miss the split second probes Annika made of their bond, testing his alertness. Didn't want to get into the routine of not sleeping with her in his arms. As illogical as it was, his heart viewed that as a betrayal; that he was giving up on their love. That was the why he was annoyed at being forced to take the sedatives.

He rolled over and thumped at the pillow. His annoyance only increased when he realized he hadn't felt her test their bond since she had woken up. She'd been unconscious for a good couple of hours, but surely she must still be as exhausted as he was. What was she doing? Was she safe where she was? Was she being held prisoner? What new malevolent thoughts was the being implanting in her mind? His imagination ran wild and a shiver ran through him. What kind of torture was it putting her though?

Despite his best efforts, he fell into a fitful sleep. For a while he was in a state of oblivion; he was so exhausted dreams weren't given the chance to form. But gradually images of his wife danced in his mind; a mix of good times were flecked with the 'what ifs' his imagination conjured up of what she was going through. Eventually his subconscious latched on to a forgotten memory. He heard a remnant of Annika's voice from that time and then the image of his wife disappeared, replaced with a single pair of demonic eyes, watching him with an evil red glow. The eyes grew bigger, coming at him in high speed as though they wanted to consume him.

Daniel came awake with a gasp. He rolled off the bed to his feet. The sedative still running through his veins made him stagger a bit, but he determinedly headed back to his office, hoping Jack would still be there.

His hope was rewarded to see the general in the same position as when he'd left, except that his chin was now resting on his chest and there was the distinct sound of snoring. Keelah was no where to be seen and Daniel guessed the team leader, who had been in 'mother hen' mode since Annika's disappearance, had sent her to get some shut eye as well. Typical that Jack ignored that advice for himself.

Unceremoniously Daniel knocked Jack's feet from the desk.

Jack was awake before his boots thumped to the floor. He scowled at his friend, who practically flopped into the chair thanks to his still lethargic limbs. "I see your nap improved your mood."

Daniel ignored the sarcasm. "Jack, I know when this being got its claws into Annika."

Instantly he was wide awake. "When?"

"It was about two weeks after the we got rid of Anubis. She'd already been having nightmares, but they were specific to that mission. With this one there was an added element. When she described it she said that she felt like she was being watched. It's the only time she ever mentioned it and at that point she was telling me about all the nightmares."

Jack swiped his hand over his face to dispel the grogginess of his doze. "Ya' think she sensed whatever it was?"

"I do," he nodded then gave a shake of his head. "No, I know it. After that the nightmares specific to the Anubis mission stopped and changed to the night terrors."

The general took Daniel at his word. He knew his best friend was clinging to any straw that presented itself, they all were, but he also knew that he wouldn't let hope send them on a wild goose chase, not with the fate of his wife riding on it. "Where did this happen? Which planet?"

Some of the excitement of determining a specific timeframe faded from Daniel's face. "In our bedroom at home."

"Crap," Jack sighed. If it had been off-world it would have been a place to start; they could go back and investigate the natives, wheedle out anything suspicious. That it happened in the 'safety' of their home meant the being hadn't been anywhere near Annika. Unless... "Could this be an NID thing?"

Daniel considered the option. Kinsey's disgrace had been deliberately leaked to the media. The details of what had labeled him a traitor remained under wraps under the guise of national security, and the official story was that the former senator was on the run. The 'investigation' had opened the door to do a total cleaning of house of the organizations he'd been linked to, particularly the NID. There had been numerous arrests and the entire division had been replaced with people with unquestionably clean credentials. The President had even asked Annika to go through every potential personnel file as an added security measure and only those cleared by her were assigned. However after years of experiencing the NID's nefarious acts, Daniel wasn't the only one having trouble thinking of them as the 'good guys'. "Probably not."

"I'll send a message to Harry to have him snoop around to be sure," Jack decided. Maybourne could dig up dirt on Mother Theresa if the situation called for it.

Daniel was silent for a moment. "This just makes it harder to find the being behind all this, doesn't it?"

"Well, we've never said no to a challenge." He gave his friend a smile that was tight with determination. "And we've never let a challenge beat us yet." He glanced at his watch. "We got time to grab some breakfast before Sam and T get back. We'll regroup and consider options then."

Breakfast? Daniel raised surprised eyes to the wall clock to see that it was almost seven in the morning. Fought down his illogical annoyance that he'd slept for over six hours. Realized that the lethargy of his limbs was due to being startled from a deep sleep more than the effects of the sedatives. "Okay."

Both men headed to the locker room to shower away the last remnants of sleep then grabbed something that resembled food from the mess. An hour later the team and Hammond were once again sitting around the briefing room table.

The news Sam and Teal'c brought back wasn't optimistic. Aside from the Eye of Ra, neither the Tok'ra nor Jaffa had heard of a device that could manipulate a person to the degree Annika was experiencing. When Daniel relayed his conviction of when the being first 'arrived', it was greeted with the same duality of emotions Daniel and Jack had felt.

"We should rule out that it's a less benevolent version of Urgo," Sam suggested. "It did take a while before he made his presence known to us."

Though they all heard the doubt in her voice that this was the case now, they agreed it was a starting point.

"I'll have Doctor Fraiser go over the MRIs of Annika as soon as she arrives," Hammond said. He then voiced what they all were thinking. "While Doctor Jackson's revelation eliminates certain culprits, we still have no leads to follow to the source of whatever or whoever this being is."

"Our only hope is to continue our attempts to track where Annika Jackson will be," Teal'c concluded grimly.

"From your description, the assassin Annika stopped was waiting for his target, which means that family at least visits there on a regular basis." Hammond's gaze swept over the team taking in their heads nods of agreement to his assumption. "Someone must know who they are. I'm authorizing a more in-depth canvass of that town."

"Ya' know," Jack started quietly, "even if we can track this guy with a hit out on him, and providing Casper's still with him and we manage to snatch her back here, it will only be half the battle." He'd had this epiphany somewhere between going through the last mission report and nodding off. Hadn't really had a chance to voice that concern until now.

"How so, General?" Hammond asked.

"Casper's telekinesis hocus pocus still packs quite a punch," he shrugged. "When she's in her right mind she's limited in what she can do."

"Right," Daniel frowned unsure of where Jack was going. "Because of the migraines it causes."

"Do ya' really think this thing that's got her is going to care if she gets a headache? Especially if we corner it?"

Daniel wasn't the only one to turn pale as the ramifications of that sunk in.

Sam cleared her throat. "We have to figure out a way to block it from using Annika, for her safety as well as ours, until we can find a way to remove its influence."

"Doesn't Ba'al have that technology?" Keelah asked. "He protected Annika from Anubis."

"I don't fancy having to knock on Balls' door and ask for it," Jack replied though in his head he was already working out a possible search and retrieval mission for the schematics of that specialized force field. Then in the blink of an eye he rehashed everything that had happened in that cell when he was with Casper. He shook his head. "That shield only stopped things from getting in and out. Her hocus pocus was still working, as garbled as it was. There's no reason to think that her telekinesis wouldn't work either."

"Oh." Keelah gave a soft sigh. She felt Daniel's eyes on her and she raised an eyebrow at the intensity of his stare. "Daniel?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." He gave his head a shake. "I was just thinking about the planet where we rescued you and SG-2. Annika's abilities were all but useless there. She was almost passing out from the effort to use the Nox weave. Her telekinesis, to begin with she could manage to move small objects before it became too painful, but the more she used it the less...effective...it became. I could sense that it was draining her."

"But she could still use it," Jack pressed.

"But that was when her abilities were still being enhanced by the Nox," he countered. "She doesn't have that level of strength anymore."

"You think it may be enough to quell her abilities completely?" Hammond asked.

"I don't know, sir," Daniel answered honestly. "But it's the only time her abilities were weakened 'naturally'."

"We never did determine precisely what it was that affected her," Sam mused.

"Well, here's your chance to find out," Hammond declared. "I'll send you with all the diagnostic equipment you need to find out what's different about that planet."

"Boch mentioned something about energy based weapons not working there," Daniel dredged up the detail from his memory.

"So that points to it being atmospheric," Sam theorized.

At the mention of the bounty hunter Teal'c muttered a curse. The mystery of the assassin's weapon had been bothering him. He'd been unable to place where he had seen it before, only knew that he had not been on the receiving end of the pulse blast. His memory finally triggered where he'd seen it. "Aris Boch had a similar weapon as the assassin's on his ship."

"Boch is definitely a regular at the auction house." Daniel didn't try to hide the sudden spurt of hope that flooded through him. Finally they had leads they could follow up.

"We could nose around and see if we can track him down." Jack sat forward in anticipation.

"You have a go," Hammond's nod was just as eager. "Before you leave I'd like you to create identi-kit pictures of the family from the assassination attempt and of the assassin. I'll send a team to start the canvass."

Heads bobbed up and down with the first real hint of hope in a week.

A A A

He felt a vindictive burst of accomplishment recalling the little episode on the planet. He hadn't even had to 'nudge' her this time to runaway. That little display proved to him that she was completely under his control... He paused considering her current whereabouts. Well, he was in complete control as far as anything relating to SG-1 and her home planet. It had been difficult to arrange; her mind was tricky to manipulate and he'd had to alter his usual method of attack. Originally when he'd stumbled upon the little gem of the patched wound in the psychic's mind, that would have healed naturally had someone such as he hadn't reopened it, he'd tried to fill her with doubts. Firstly with doubts about Jackson's love for her. Yet every 'thought' of mistrust and unfaithfulness had simply rolled off her mind like oil on water. He was pretty sure that she hadn't even been aware of his tentative efforts.

He then attempted to make her doubt her abilities as a seer, only to find that her confidence in her visions were just as unquestioning as her trust and love for the archaeologist. The results of that little strategy confused him, for the thoughts hadn't slid and bounced off her mind. They had been absorbed, though where they had gone he hadn't a clue. It definitely wasn't into her psyche because there hadn't even been a twitch in her behavior or thoughts, not even to ignore them. And it hadn't helped his scheme of revenge that somehow she was able to share her visions with not only Jackson through some sort of telepathic link, but with the rest of her team if she used what seemed to be a modified Goa'uld device.

The SG-1 of this reality was more inventive than what he'd given them credit for. He'd made, what he called in his mind, a strategic escape from his original reality. His arrogance wouldn't let him admit that he had run with his tail between his legs, before SG-1 had clued in that there was a 'mastermind' behind the plot to destroy them. In the quiet times of his current 'game' he wondered which of his underlings had been elevated to 'head honcho' before being smote from existence. That original team had an advantage that this current team did not and he'd assumed, erroneously as it turned out, that it would make them an easy target. From what he had learnt from simple observation as he reassessed his strategy, this new team had experienced different events than the team he'd previously encountered. There was a subtle hardening of their souls, particularly in Jackson, that had altered the dynamics of that wretched moralistic code they lived by. He'd found himself absently wondering what had caused it. Theorized it was a traumatic event that had centered around the archaeologist since the major 'change' had been within him, whereas in the others it had merely been an increase in their protectiveness. He'd underestimated that change. He wouldn't do so again.

Those musings had led him back to the problem of the seer's unwavering confidence. Had decided to use her faith and love to his advantage. It had taken time, a lot longer than he'd anticipated, to convince her to abandon her team. Or rather, he thought smugly, to convince herself to leave. But once he had finally gotten the idea to take root, it had grown quickly, becoming stronger with each passing minute until it was practically embedded in her psyche. As long as she believed she was protecting them by staying away, it would be easy. On the planet she hadn't even paused in running in the opposite direction once she'd heard her husband call her name.

Seeing the devastation on the archaeologist's face and the anger at the seer made him smile. Even in that brief moment he could sense Jackson was close to breaking point. He figured another week, two at most, and the man's love would turn to hate, as long as he could keep them separated. His revenge against Daniel Jackson would be complete...at least in this reality. He'd then move on to the next reality and the next, intent on destroying the archaeologists' lives whether it be by snuffing his life out physically or emotionally breaking him. He couldn't decide which 'result' he preferred. Both soothed the knot of hatred he felt for the man.

He played over and over in his head that little unexpected scene, enjoying the pain the archaeologist was going through, until a persistent nagging marred his pleasure. As delightful as it was to see the fruits of his three month plan begin to take shape, it troubled him that it had happened at all. How had they found her?

He pondered the mental bond the couple shared. He didn't understand how such a connection had come into existence, however he was certain that they hadn't tracked her using it. His little unwitting minion was too paranoid, thanks to his manipulation, to have let her guard down. Which meant the others had found her some other way. But how?

The visions she'd reported to Hammond earlier in the day had not involved anything to do with her location, he was positive of that. He refused to believe that it had been a fluke of circumstance; that the team just happened to turn up in the short time that she had been on that planet. The seer herself had only received the planet's location a few minutes before dialing the DHD. Nobody had that kind of luck, not even SG-1.

Replaying the snippets of her 'report' caused another worrying concern. Despite his best efforts, he hadn't been able to stop her from making that report to give an update on what her powers of premonition had shown her regarding the goings on at the SGC. Somehow she had been able to resist his hold on her, get beyond the fear he had implanted, although his manipulation was strong enough that she had flatly refused the general's plea to come home. She had in fact given the CO an ultimatum to ensure her 'visits' would be kept secret.

That stubbornness had reared its head for a second time today with her resolve to stay and help the child seer. Annika had again shoved aside her panic and the 'need' he'd implanted to keep on the move. Never had he felt such a force of will from one of the mortal plane. He hadn't probed too much into why she felt the ingrained need to help, not only the fledgling seer, but those of the SGC. He also hadn't tried too hard to compel her to leave the ship. The reason he hadn't was for fear that she would become aware of his presence. If she did that then his power over her would be dramatically weakened.

From what he had gathered, this ship moved randomly from planet to planet and remained for less than a day in any one place. However he would have to tread warily. The fledgling seer was a wild card that could quickly turn into a threat. If she sensed his presence and told Annika, all of his careful hard work would unravel. He'd taken measures to conceal himself from the youngling.

There had already been one close call when the brat had had that vision of the Nox planet. He suppressed a shiver that he refused to acknowledge as fear, at the memory of the encounter in the sentient forest. He'd been unprepared to be suddenly in the presence of such power; a power that was oddly familiar yet contradictorily different from anything he'd experienced before. It had taken some quick thinking and immense effort on his part to conceal Annika's life force from the sentient trees. It had drained almost all of his power to disperse a mental rain of befuddlement over the forest to make the trees forget the seer's visit. He wasn't sure how long the confusion would last, but he was confident it would be long enough for the bond of trust the team members of SG-1 had for each other to be irrevocably destroyed.

He wouldn't admit that incident had weakened him and even after four days he still had not fully recovered. Wouldn't contemplate that his current lack of strength had given the seer a tiny foothold to resist his compulsions. He simply congratulated himself on his finesse in deluding the trees. His arrogance convinced him that having Annika remain on the clandestine ship suited his purposes for now. He hadn't detected another of his kind anywhere in this reality, not in the mortal or spiritual planes. Logically that meant no one had had any experience in dealing with his brand of power. That thought only fueled his confidence of invincibility. This reality was his to do with as he pleased. Once he finished his little game with the wife of his mortal enemy, who knew what other mischief he could cause? If he had hands he would have rubbed them together in delighted glee. He could hardly wait to find out.

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