The colonel slipped off the safety on his gun, seeing no other way out of the situation. Suddenly Jack felt a familiar force surround him a split second before he torpedoed directly up into the air, flipped horizontal and found his back and legs plastered to the roof of the chamber. Only years of working covert ops kept him from uttering any exclamation of surprise. Managing to catch his cap before it fell off to the unsuspecting Jaffa below him, he flashed Annika a grateful smile giving her the thumbs up.

The psychic’s eyes were wide, her returning smile taut. She didn’t dare return the gesture, needing her hand not gripping her nine mil to maintain her telekinetic power suspending her friend. Annika was eternally grateful that when back in the mud hut she had followed her instinct to switch weapons to the one handed gun.

From his elevated position the team leader gave the signal for them to get away from the enclosed space to the corridor. Sam took point, followed by Daniel who was staying by Annika’s side. He was acting as a back up set of eyes for his wife, knowing that her concentration was now thrice divided. Teal’c was close behind them. Jack was being skimmed across the ceiling until there was enough space to be lowered down.

The colonel was finding his circumstances unusual to say the least. Thinking like the spec ops agent that he was, tactically he was sitting pretty. He had a bird’s eye view of his kids and the roaming Jaffa, and if need be could play sniper if things turned ugly. On the other hand the little kid in him that was normally locked away in the recess of his mind, was dancing a jig. How many times as a boy had he wished he could fly? It had been that burning dream that had made him join the Air Force and become a pilot. And now thanks to Casper’s talents he was zipping around like Superman. How totally cool was that? Banishing the thought he concentrated on the situation at hand. They had to get off this high traffic level and find a console that was linked to the mainframe of the ship’s computer.

A pair of Jaffa exited the elevator at the end of the hall and Sam ducked in, holding the door open for the others to catch up. Annika adjusted her telekinetic grasp, lowering Jack to his feet. Before the approaching Jaffa behind them could enter the now crowded lift, Daniel hit the button closing the doors.

The warriors seeing the ‘empty’ car assumed someone from above had summoned the lift and they waited patiently for it to return.

Teal’c flipped open a hidden panel near the control glyphs and twisted a couple of the wires inside. The simple tweaking overrode the request buttons on the individual levels giving the team control of where the elevator would stop next. Sam tapped at the button for the engineering level. Generally, unless there was a malfunction, the room was left unattended. But they already had a back up plan if by chance there were Jaffa working on the engines.

When the lift glided to a halt Teal’c replaced the wires as they had previously been, shutting the panel with a quiet click. The doors slid open and the team cautiously peeked out. Lady Luck was with them. The corridor was empty. They crept out stopping at the corner. There was the shuffle of metal boots on the floor and the quiet conversation of men. Two guards were stationed at the main entrance of the engineering room. The doors slid open and a third strode out, his head bowed studying a data pad in his hand. He didn’t look up as he crossed the way and entered a second room a couple of meters down the hall. Before the first set of doors slid shut they caught a glimpse of at least another half a dozen Jaffa busily working within. It looked like routine maintenance.

Okay, so Plan B it was. The team did an about face and headed back the way they had come. While every system on the ship was centralized to the main engineering room, back up consoles were set up in case the primary one malfunctioned or became inaccessible. The location of those consoles, which looked no different from the numerous other consoles that had limited capabilities, were only known to the Jaffa of high station who had proven their unfailing loyalty to their god. Ba’al was well aware of the possible infiltration of the Tok’ra in his ranks and he wasn’t about to impart that knowledge to just an ordinary foot soldier. Despite the Goa’uld’s precautions, Selmak’s operative had identified where three of them were. One was conveniently on this level, another on the science level and a third in Ba’al’s private quarters. It would take longer accessing the information this way due to the need to cover their tracks, but unless they wanted to fight their way into main engineering, they had no choice.

They slipped into one of the last rooms and Teal’c entered the sequence to lock the door behind them. Secure for the moment, Annika released the weaves of air and though the team didn’t sense it, their bodies shimmered into view. Immediately Sam moved to the controls and began tapping at the glyphs.

After a few seconds she beckoned to Daniel to join her a relieved smile on her face. "Okay, we’re in." She hit a few more buttons. "Anything we do will piggyback through the life support system, the one constant on the ship. Nobody should pick up that this console is even activated."

A holographic screen sprang to life in front of them. Two pairs of blue eyes studied the information displayed.

"Standard Goa’uld," Daniel murmured more to himself than in explanation to the others. "Only encryption seems to be planet designations."

"I’ll take the right side," Sam began opening the files down one side of the screen.

"Uh huh." The linguist was already moving down the columns on the left, his eyes skimming the information that popped up.

Annika was standing to one side, watching Daniel and Sam’s hands flying across the console, the holographic pages flickering and changing with such speed she could barely comprehend what was being displayed. The two scientists working in tandem only needed a glance to know if the folders they were navigating was the information they sought. Teal’c and Jack were poised at the room’s golden doors, ears straining to hear movement on the other side indicating that they had been compromised. So far everything was going according to plan…

A gentle vibration shot up through Annika’s boots and a low rumbling echoed in her ears.

"The ship’s engines are powering up." Though Teal’c spoke in his normal stoic tone a frown creased the golden crest on his forehead.

A second later the rumbling stopped and there was a slight jolt of the internal gravity being activated.

"Ba’al is preparing to rise into orbit."

"But it’s barely been twenty minutes," Annika protested in disbelief. "They couldn’t have loaded the ship up that fast."

"He knows that we’re here." Sam voiced what the others had also concluded.

"Oy, that snitch is becoming a pain in the ass," Jack grumbled.

"Ba’al’s most likely strategy is to move the ship out of range of the planet’s ring transporters and then conduct a search at his leisure," Teal’c quietly informed them. "The glider bay and the Stargate shall be heavily guarded."

Jack twisted his cap backwards on his head and then gave them all a stern look. "Alright, which one of you thought it?"

"Thought what, Jack?" Daniel blinked in confusion, an action mirrored by his teammates.

"Who thought this mission was going way too smoothly?"

Annika gave a guilty wince only to see Daniel and Sam look just as sheepish.

"Couldn’t you have waited until after we had the snitch Intel?" The colonel gave a resigned sigh though his telltale smirk tweaked his lips.

"What do we do?" Annika asked.

"We do what we came here to do," Jack shrugged. "We’ll just have to find a more inventive escape route."

"Hello." The archaeologist’s quiet voice drew everyone’s attention.

He, nor Sam, had stopped their search and Daniel had found one of the files they were after.

"Snitch info?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Nope. Records of the experiments with the isotope. Ba’al kept meticulous records of the progress. They kept strict account of every drop used."

"Makes sense." Sam was also scanning the screen. "A drug that gives control to a host would be monitored. Ba’al would be paranoid that it could be used against him."

Daniel nodded. "But here’s the interesting part. Imesty’s supervising the project. Two days ago he logged that three vials were destroyed. Apparently dropped when the ship came out of hyperspace."

Jack’s eyes narrowed. "Ain’t that a coincidence since we know he and his two snake kin are planning on using the stuff to get revenge."

"Exactly." The archaeologist adjusted his glasses. "We have to assume that Ba’al knows we’re after the modified isotope, the science labs are more than likely a trap. If we can get the isotope elsewhere…" He let the suggestion hang.

"Don’t we also have to assume that Ba’al knows that Imesty is planning the revenge attack?" Sam pointed out.

"If he does, then he has yet to seek retribution from Imesty and his brothers." Teal’c spoke up. "Ba’al would have made their punishment for planning such an attack without his knowledge a public display. The punishment would be the main topic of conversation of the Jaffa who witnessed it. We have not heard any such discussions in the corridors."

"So he doesn’t know?" Annika asked.

"However," the Jaffa continued on giving a different scenario. "Ba’al may be delaying retribution to deceive us into believing he is unaware of the plot, to lure us to Imesty’s quarters."

Annika gave a huff of frustration. She hated flailing around in the dark! Maybe her gift would play nicely today… She reached out to touch the screen on the broken vials log entry. She flinched as she felt the remnants of Ba’al’s thoughts. "He doesn’t know we know about the isotope. He thinks we’re here solely for the zatarc information and technology."

"Anything else?" Daniel could feel his wife’s revulsion as she concentrated on the Goa’uld. In fact due to their bond his own stomach was roiling.

"Traps…two traps…science level and the entrance to Ba’al’s quarters."

"Casper, can you see what kind of traps?" Jack prompted quietly.

Annika fought down the bile in her throat, trying to focus but her vision clouded over. "No. It’s foggy, I can’t see anything."

"Okay, we stick to the original game plan except Carter and Annika go to Imesty’s quarters."

"Sir," Sam started. "Given Annika’s knack for honing in on what’s hidden…"

"I should go to Ba’al’s room," Annika finished.

The colonel inwardly recoiled at the idea. There was a very specific reason he had assigned himself and Daniel to search Ba’al’s private quarters. It had nothing to do with his confidence in Sam and Annika, and everything to do with the System Lord. Though they were on Ba’al’s ship, he wanted to keep his ‘kids’ as far away from the snake as possible. Daniel and himself were the only ones who had had up close and personal experiences with the sadistic bastard. If things went to hell, and let’s face it, they usually did, then he’d much prefer to spare his fiancée and his best friend’s wife from learning precisely what Ba’al was capable of. "Annika can do her thing in Imesty’s nest."

"Jack," the psychic pressed, "we have a month before the isotope is a threat to us."

As much as Daniel loathed to admit it, the women were right. "The zatarc information is more important right now than the isotope."

"Okay, Annika’s with me." The colonel gave in. Technically the original pairings should have remained the same. Daniel and Sam were more fluent in not only Goa’uld but in identifying the doohickeys that Ba’al could have used to contain the snitch Intel. Having them in separate pairs made sense. However, Jack had to be part of the pair that went to Ba’al’s den. He had his own inner demons that had to be dealt with. Every time the snakehead’s name was mentioned he had to wrestle down the gut wrenching almost immobilizing fear that gripped him. The memories of the torture and that damned sarcophagus that just wouldn’t let him stay dead, refused to stay buried in the back of his mind. Jack knew he had to face them before the fear grew to the point that it tarnished his judgment. If that happened then the snake-bastard won, and there was no way Jack would let that happen.

The team accepted the designations though Daniel and Sam tried to hide their flash of concern.

Daniel understood the reason for Annika to go to Ba’al’s quarters. Hated it, but understood. As for Jack…only Daniel knew just how close Ba’al had come to breaking the will of his friend. He got that the colonel adhered to the adage, ‘never send your people to do what you weren’t willing to do yourself’, however even without the full details of his capture, no one on SG-1 expected Jack to put himself through that. He caught the guarded look in his eyes. No one, that is, except Jack.

The major opened her mouth to suggest she should go with Annika. She even had a legitimate ‘excuse’ to give her fiancé an out. Daniel and her were the best qualified to identify the Intel, and Daniel had to remain separated from Annika for the three way ‘Casper comm’ to work. Then she saw the stubborn set to Jack’s jaw and promptly altered what she’d been about to say. "Evac plan?"

Teal’c did not understand what Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were so concerned about. In his mind there was never any doubt that O’Neill would face his fear of Ba’al and emerge stronger for the experience. "If we are successful in procuring the base of the Ancient weapon, the Stargate is the logical point of retreat. There would be insufficient space in a glider."

"I don’t suppose there’s a convenient alkesh in the hanger bay?" Annika wasn’t really optimistic but it was worth a shot.

Daniel brought up the inventory list on the screen. "There’s fifteen currently docked, but for each ship there are at least five Jaffa moving around them. It seems today’s the day for general maintenance in all areas."

"Carter, how long before we’re out of range of the ’gate?"

Sam switched screens so the holographic display showed their current trajectory and speed. "As long as he doesn’t jump into hyperspace, less than five minutes."

"Can you stop the ship from getting any further away from the planet?"

The scientist considered her options. "I could reroute the power couplings…"

"Nuh uh!" Jack cut off what he knew was going to be a long string of techno babble. "Dead in the water, yes or no?"

"Yes." Sam paused. "But as soon as I start tweaking, Ba’al is going to know precisely where we are."

"Nope, he’ll know where we have been," the colonel corrected. "Teal’c, why don’t you break that lock so no one can get in?"

The Jaffa nodded and immediately opened the control panel to destroy the mechanism inside.

"When we get our goodies we regroup at the holding cells."

"Why there?" Annika asked.

"There’s no reason to guard the cells unless they catch us." Daniel was already moving to the ventilation shaft and working the hatchway open.

"We’ll sneak down to the ’gate room, use stun grenades on the Jaffa and ’gate home." Jack gestured for Annika to join him at the revealed hole in the wall that would lead them anywhere in the ship. "Radio silence, we’ll use Casper comm. Regroup in thirty minutes."

Annika accepted the boost up the wall from Daniel who gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She glanced over her shoulder to the others. "Good hunting."

Jack let his eyes rest on each of his original team, then included the ghostly figure of Annika’s astral self as she appeared beside Teal’c. "No heroics. Get in and out, so we can make it home for the mess lunch special."

"Not exactly an incentive, sir," Sam grinned, her blue orbs wishing her life partner luck.

"Maybe some of my RCPTs will be left," Annika suggested the more palatable foodstuff she’d left with the base kitchen staff.

"A suitable enticement, Annika Jackson."

Jack followed Annika up and the pair headed for the upper level where Ba’al’s private quarters were located. Teal’c lifted his big bulk into the shaft a few seconds later, though he moved in the opposite direction down towards the lower storage levels. Casper floated ahead of him trying not to drift through the walls into the open corridors. It took only a few seconds for Sam to override the ship’s safety protocols and set the engines to overload. In less than a minute the console began emitting a high-pitched squeal and sparks began to fly from the controls. When it actually exploded, the energy pulse backwashing into the ha’tak’s primary engine and frying the circuitry and crystals, both Daniel and Sam had slipped into the access shaft and were two levels above.

Daniel slid across the polished sheeting of the tunnel, being careful to not let his P-90 clatter against the metal. He peered through the slotted vent into the gaudily decorated room, looking for any clue as to which minor Goa’uld had taken up residence. Sam and he had split up, each taking a different direction when they had reached the ‘dormitory’ level to speed up their search. He had already eliminated three of the boudoirs. They had been occupied with the lo’tars cleaning and tidying the rooms, wearing large pendants around their necks with the insignia of their god embossed in the golden metal. The identifying ‘badges’ made sense to the anthropologist, considering that there were over a dozen Goa’uld sharing this floor. The Goa’uld wouldn’t be interested in remembering the human faces other than their own servants, but the pendants would ensure that messages and orders could be given and passed along to the right Master. Daniel filed away the Egyptian deity names in his memory. Knowing who was in league with Ba’al may come in handy in the future.

Some rather interesting noises were coming from the current room. Between the slits he could make out a bed in the far corner. A woman had her legs wrapped around the waist of a man standing at the end of the mattress, his hips thrusting back and forth. From the skimpy dress she was almost wearing she was one of the human slaves. The elaborate coat that had been discarded to the floor was a typical ‘costume’ of a Goa’uld. But is it the Goa’uld they were after?

The slave’s moans became more fervent. "Ohhh, my Lord Khnum, you fire my body with your essence!"

The linguist automatically converted the name ‘Khnum’ into the literal translation, meaning unite or join. I see this snake is living up to his name in an unembellished sense….but moving on. At the juncture he saw Sam wave him to her, a strange expression on her face. It was like she was battling to come to terms with an unexpected, definitely unwanted, revelation. Puzzled, he scooted over and she signaled there were two people in the room beyond. He recognized the dual tone of the Goa’uld before he comprehended the words. As what was happening beyond the grate dawned on him he realized what had freaked Sam out.

The major wasn’t alone in finding it disturbing to hear the alien, a species that he’d primarily associated with cold arrogance, speaking words of comfort. And as for the second Goa’uld…Surely he’s not crying, is he? Daniel adjusted his position pressing closer to the vent.

Along the far wall he could make out two figures. One was lifting shaking fingers gripping a taper to light a candle on a small shrine set up. The other, more composed, rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Hapy, this is a pointless exercise," he said gently, soothingly.

Daniel immediately recognized the name as one of the trio Goa’uld from the dream vision and he fought down the hatred that pumped through his body. It would be so easy to slip the safety off his gun and let rip. Killing them now ensured that they wouldn’t be able to enact their revenge. Annika wouldn’t die, Brooklyn and Nyan would live, Ferretti wouldn’t go crazy, the SGC wouldn’t be blown up... He inwardly sighed, controlling the urge. And the second he let off a single round, Jaffa would descend en mass, shooting him dead or if he was lucky taking him prisoner. Hmmm, considering this is Ba’al’s ship we’re on, perhaps the latter should be changed to unlucky. He concentrated on the conversation, trying to distance himself from his feelings.

The weeping Goa’uld jerked away from the other’s touch. "How I choose to remember our brother is my business."

"If Imesty sees this-"

"We should never have agreed to this allegiance," Hapy spat. "Ba’al cares naught for extending the rule of the Goa’uld unless it is in his name."

"He serves a purpose-"

"But at what price?"

"If we had not aligned with Ba’al, Anubis would now be in control of our holdings and he would have annihilated us." Duamutef was obviously the more temperate of the siblings.

"So instead Ba’al reigns our people and we’re just figureheads."

The heated debate was interrupted by a hidden door on the sidewall sliding open and a third Goa’uld entered.

Before it slid shut, Daniel and Sam saw the room beyond was another boudoir.

Duamutef turned his attention to his other sibling. "Have you further news on our plan?"

"None." Imesty shook his head. "Ba’al has refused to impart what knowledge he has of the movements on the Tau’ri base." His gaze flickered to the shrine. "We shall have to bide our time to seek retribution for Qebehsenuef." He paused, changing the subject to the reason of his visit. "Ba’al believes the Tau’ri are aboard the ship. He demands we assist with the search." Eyes glowed as he grabbed a silk cloth runner from the back of a gilded chair and tossed it at his emotional brother. "Wipe your eyes, Hapy, it is unseemly to show your weakness to the others."

Hapy visibly pulled himself together, the vulnerable stoop to his shoulders melted into the haughty stance typical of the parasitic race. "So now we are glorified Jaffa," he grumbled, taking a ribbon device from the bedside table and pulling it over his wrist.

"It shan’t be for long, brother," Imesty assured him. "Once we have the information we need, we shall leave the ‘great Lord’ Ba’al and the ‘almighty’ Anubis to battle it out between themselves. While their attention is diverted on each other, their holdings shall be ripe for the picking."

The three left using the main doorway.

Daniel and Sam waited a minute until they were sure they weren’t going to make an unexpected reappearance, then jimmied the vent casing off and climbed down into the room.

"That was disturbing on many levels," Daniel murmured, beginning the search of the room methodically from one corner and moving to the right.

"I’ve never considered the Goa’uld capable of grieving before." Sam kept her voice low as she moved to the left, her hands skimming over the panels seeking any hidden compartments. "Of having any sort of emotion beyond the desire to dominate and enslave."

It wasn’t something that Daniel liked to dwell upon, but it wasn’t a foreign concept to him. It surprised him that considering Sam had been a host that she hadn’t thought of it. "What about Jolinar’s feelings for Lantesh?"

The major’s shoulders shrugged. "I know, technically they’re the same species, but Jolinar was Tok’ra not Goa’uld."

He picked up on the distinction. He also knew the reason behind her need to keep the two separated. "Knowing they’re capable of emotions like grief humanizes them, doesn’t it?" Daniel was careful to replace the clothing in the drawer he’d opened exactly the way he’d found it.

Sam looked sharply at her friend from her place on the floor, picking up on a hidden nuance in his tone. She had moved on from the walls and was checking ‘traditional’ hiding places like under the bed. "Yes, it does."

Daniel caught the questioning lilt. "Apophis loved Amaunet." He grimaced, "Well, his version of love. When he was dying and I told him that she was dead and that we had taken his child…his grief was as real as mine was for Sha’re." And for Annika, he added silently. He shook off the remnants of that horror dream, tracing his fingers along the back of a dresser. Years of working with the blonde on the other side of the room told him that Sam needed an answer to a question she didn’t quite know how to phrase. He had a pretty good idea of what it was. "Just because they share human emotions, doesn’t make them any less evil."

With a grateful smile Sam got back to her feet, finished with the search of her side of the room. "Ready to move on to the next one?" Now that they knew where to look, finding the button to open the secret door to adjoining room was relatively easy.

Daniel nodded. "One down, two to go."

A  A  A  A  A  A

Despite his large bulk, Teal’c had had little trouble navigating the tight confines of the access shafts to the second lowest level. Annika’s astral embodiment had been able to notify him well in advance when any Jaffa or Goa’uld were near, by cautiously peeking out through the walls. In less than two minutes he was exiting the shaft into a large room crowded with devices and treasures of numerous species. Halfway down the ship had lurched to a shuddering stop and the Jaffa was content that Major Carter had been successful in her sabotage. They now had the needed time to conduct their search.

The knowledge that Jacob and Selmak had provided was proving to be invaluable on this mission. According to the Tok’ra operative, Ba’al normally had his individual projects, of which there were a great many, scattered all over the ship. However for the move he had suspended most work, relocating the lesser projects to his new home base to make room for the possessions from his palace and temples. The items he deemed important, and thus would not allow them to be left unattended even if it was on a secret new planet, he had gathered together into a large holding bay. The one thing the Tok’ra hadn’t been able to supply was the lock combination since that was only known to Ba’al, however Teal’c was confident that he and Annika would be able to work it out. The lock was designed to keep people out, not in.

With no one able to get into the room except for the System Lord himself, the Jaffa and ghostly psychic were able to search the room without fear of discovery. They worked together moving down the haphazard isles removing protective sheets to study what was beneath.

Annika kept up a steady stream of quiet chatter, ranging from a running commentary on the progress of their teammates, exclamations of wonder at the alien artifacts, and non-work related subjects. Teal’c let her jabber on, knowing that it was the young woman’s way of coping with her nervousness of their mission, and that she would shut up in an instant at any sign of danger. The Jaffa just wished that the ‘personal’ topics she chose were of a different nature. He had yet to decide on who to approach for his love interest charade, and Annika was taking her self-assigned task as matchmaker very seriously.

"C’mon Teal’c, throw me a bone." She ducked her head through a wooden crate so her next words had a bizarre echo effect. "Blonde? Brunette? Jet black? Redhead?"

"I believe one redhead in our family is more than enough," he replied straight faced, moving on to the next large cloth covered object.

Annika drifted up through the crate that was almost as tall as her teammate and propped an elbow on top of the wood, resting her chin in her hand. "Awww, shucks, what a sweet thing to say." Her eyes danced merrily at him.

"This is not an appropriate time to be discussing such trivial matters." Teal’c tried to inject a note of seriousness in his tone, but like Hathor the night before, it was studiously ignored.

"Sure it is! There’s no one else here." Annika cast him a sly look. "And you can’t runaway."

"I do not want a woman in my life," he insisted, dismissing the small crate at his feet as unlikely to contain the weapon base.

"Of course you do. It’s one of life’s fundamentals." She peeked beneath the drop cloth of a hexagonal shaped device. "Ooooh, wouldn’t Felger love to get his hands on this."

"Perhaps I am homosexual."

"Yeah, and I’m the Tooth Fairy." Annika barely contained her snort of laughter. "But even if you were swinging for the other team, everyone wants someone to go home to at night." Her gaze fell to the back of the room and all thought of Teal’c’s commitment issues vanished. "Look at this. Isn’t it one of those alternate reality mirrors?" She drifted over to the Ancient device.

"It does appear to be." The Jaffa joined her.

"I though there was only one of those in each reality."

"That was the assumption made," Teal’c corrected.

"It couldn’t be ours, could it?"

"Doubtful. General Hammond scheduled it for destruction, however it was one of the items counterfeited by the NID. After its recovery it was secured in the SGC with the other devices and is under constant guard."

"Why didn’t he follow through with his original order?" she asked curiously.

"That is something you would have to ask General Hammond."

"Wonder what this is?"

Attached to the top of the framework was an elongated device with a single red stone in the center. The way it sat flush against the unusually shaped frame and the glass itself, it was clearly an original attachment designed specifically for the mirror rather than a jerry rigged experiment.

Hesitantly Annika let her fingers ghost over the anomalous device.

"Do you think that wise, Annika Jackson?"

"I don’t kn-" A grey shadow crossed her vision like a curtain and the entire room swam out of focus. "Uh oh. Ba’al’s using this. He’s set a plan in motion already."

"Is that really our concern?" From previous experience with the mirror he did not consider what was happening in parallel realities of great consequence. His reality was all that mattered. "Would it not only affect the alternate reality to which the mirror opened?"

"Somehow it’s going to affect us." She tugged at the device and it came free with a soft click. "We’ve got to find out what this does." Annika held it out to the Jaffa who stowed it in his side leg pocket. "It will be…it is more important than this entire mission…the spy, the weapon…everything."

"In what way?" Teal’c, like the rest of SG-1, had learnt to probe for answers when the psychic began spouting cryptic riddles.

"I have no idea." She shrugged. "Something to do with timing."

"The timing of what?"

Slim shoulders lifted up and down again and she gave an apologetic half-smile. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Then we shall speculate when we have returned home."

The two once again resumed their search.

"So, Teal’c, blue eyes? Brown eyes? Hazel?"

A  A  A  A  A  A

Annika silently crawled the length of the shaft. They had reached the top floor and the vent had leveled out into one single shaft that encircled the opulent throne room. At the moment Jack and she were parallel to the main room, heading to the back wall where Ba’al’s private quarters were located beyond the elaborate throne. They had slowed their progress taking extra care. Through the slotted vent openings they could see at least a dozen Jaffa standing to attention like an honor guard, their positions less than four feet from the sneaking pair above them. A scrape of a gun against the metal or a boot scuff would clearly echo through and with no side shafts to duck into they would be easily caught should the Jaffa open any of the hatchways to investigate.

Jack was concentrating on the goal ahead, not on the orders being barked from a voice he recognized all too well. A voice that haunted his nightmares making him break out in a cold sweat. A voice that was growing louder the closer they got to the end of the access shaft. Heart thudding in his chest he started to pass the final grate before the tunnel did a sharp one eighty.

"What caused the overload? It is a simple question."

The colonel froze. For a second he was transported back to a year and a half ago, pinned to the spider-webbed wall, barely able to breathe as drops of acid melted his skin. Ba’al using that same tone that was deceptively calm and reasoning as another drop burned his body. The interrogations that always started with "It’s a simple question. What was the Tok’ra’s name?" Jack shook his head to clear the memory. Enough is enough! He forced himself to look through the grate at the demon who had taken such pleasure in torturing him.

The Goa’uld sat on his throne, his pose deceivingly nonchalant as he addressed the Jaffa standing before him. He almost absently flexed his fingers, smoothly drawing attention to the golden device gloving his hand. He repeated the question. "What caused the overload?"

The Jaffa swallowed, his eyes never leaving the hand device that could scramble his brain at his god’s whim. "A feedback loop in the main thrusters, My Lord."

"Can we jump to hyperspace?"

"No, My Lord. The loop is still running. If we try to start the engines again a second overload will occur."

"How long to repair?"

"It is difficult to say. To stop the loop we need access to the console in which it started. We are still trying to un-jam the lock." He dared to meet his god’s gaze, fearful of what Ba’al’s reaction would be to the unspecific timeframe.

"Return to your duty and increase the guard on the Chaapa’ai."

"Yes, My Lord." The Jaffa bowed lowed and hurried from the room.

Jack’s fingers unconsciously tightened on his P-90. One bullet, that’s all it would take. Just one bullet. He even had the perfect shot. From this angle Ba’al’s neck was exposed. He could take out the snake wrapped around the host’s spinal column and he could get a modicum of peace. Jack felt a light caress of air against his cheek and he dragged his eyes away from his nemesis to his teammate ahead of him.

She must have sensed him stopping because she had paused at the corner, twisting her head around to look at him. Her violet depths were filled with a mix of concern and understanding, not judging him or trying to urge him to keep going, only questioning what his next move would be.

Annika knew precisely how hard it was for Jack to be so close to Ba’al. From that first vision all those months ago when she had first seen SG-1 together in Daniel’s living room, she had seen the torture Ba’al had inflicted upon him. Even if she didn’t have that insight, Jack’s aura had been jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof since they had stepped foot on this ship. She saw his finger tighten around the trigger, the blank look of his face telling her that for a moment Jack had forgotten the mission they were on. Gently she had used her telekinesis to bring him back to reality. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to kill the being that had murdered him on a daily basis for weeks. Understood that he needed the closure Ba’al’s death would bring. But that couldn’t happen today. Besides the obvious predicament it would leave Jack and herself in, there was a third life that could be affected.

Jack sent her a lopsided grin of thanks, letting his hand fall away from the trigger and once again began shuffling through the shaft towards her.

In less than a minute they were peering through the vent into Ba’al’s room. After making sure that no one was inside they carefully opened the hatch and climbed down into the room. Immediately they began their search, keeping their ears tuned for anyone outside the door. They could barely hear Ba’al still rattling off orders and the metallic clomp of Jaffa boots as they rushed to do as bid. As long as those sounds remained the same, then it was a pretty safe bet the System Lord had no idea two ‘thieves’ were pawing through his belongings. While Jack physically searched in the conventional way, Annika focused on her third eye for any anomalies hidden from normal sight.

Her sixth sense immediately tugged her in two different directions. Deciding on a process of elimination she moved to the closest of the ‘pulling’. Sitting on a side table was a wooden chest the size of shoebox. A bronze lock was inlaid in the paneling. Compared to the ostentatious décor of the rest of the room the rather plain, quaint design was a stark contrast. Annika reached out her hand only to snap back when a force field sent an electric shock shooting through her. "Holy shit," she hissed.

"What? You okay?" Jack nearly jumped a foot at the quiet exclamation. Christ, I am edgy.

Annika nodded, sucking on her fingertips to ease the burning sensation. "This is odd."

"As in, it’s odd that you found the snitch Intel so quickly and we can get out of here?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope. As in, for a second it felt like time stood still." She hesitantly poked at the force field again and was treated to the same shock.

"Will you stop doing that?" Jack demanded. This time he had distinctly heard the sizzle of her skin.

"But, Jack, this is important somehow," Annika objected.

"Does it have anything to do with the snitch, the icy-tope or big honking weapon?"

"Um…no." That second touch had told her it was totally unrelated to this mission.

"We don’t need another item on our shopping list, so stop zapping yourself and move on."

Reluctantly she did as ordered and concentrated on the second direction her ability was guiding her to. Bizarrely it seemed focused on a spot in the wall that to the naked eye was no different to rest. There was no break in the glyphs, nor any seams in the gold to indicate that there was any kind of concealed compartment. However, as Annika traced the raised pattern she could feel the residue of Ba’al’s touch in specific areas. She tapped the glyphs where the essence was strongest, six in all, and a second later a small drawer popped open. What she saw inside would make Tiffany and Co drool with envy. It was jammed packed with jewelry, everything from rings and bracelets to golden collars and pendants. Annika knew enough about the designs to know they were all devices of great power similar to the hand device the Goa’uld used. She was about to move on, thinking that she had only zoned in on Ba’al’s personal stash of weapons, when her eye caught sight of plain onyx partially hidden by a ruby the size of her fist. She pulled it out to find it was a common data pad the Goa’uld typically used.

"Jack, I think I’ve found it," she whispered.

The colonel had just opened a cabinet to reveal a collection of data pads set up like a CD rack. At Annika’s excited declaration, he drew his hand back before touching any of them and hurried over to her. He immediately recognized the device, but had learned that these doohickeys were perfect for concealing nasty little surprises. The main one that came to mind was Machello’s slimy slugs that had sent Daniel to the nuthouse and Janet and himself on a quick trip to PCP Overdose Central. And that whacky inventor had supposedly been on their side. He shuddered at what nasty booby traps Ba’al could have come up with. "Casper, can you use your hocus pocus to read it without touching it?"

Annika nodded and hunted around in the drawer for the hand device that would turn the page.

"Don’t suppose there’s any sign of those nano-things?" Jack peeked into the drawer rummaging around himself for the actual zatarc technology. "Crap," he cursed, seeing only the collection of jewelry.

Annika, however, had had success in her hunt. She plucked out the matching onyx tool, focused her will on both the page turner and data pad and they rose into the air. She ran the hand device over the tablet.

Both colonel and psychic held their breath waiting for something to happen. To their relief the screen simply flickered to reveal a string of glyphs. The pair studied the writing, translating a few keywords to verify this was the information they were after.

"Interview transcripts," Jack concluded. "Asking about Daniel being kicked out of the Oma Desala fan club."

Annika read out loud the first few questions. "Has Daniel Jackson retained the powers of the Ascended? No. The knowledge he gained? No. Why has Daniel Jackson returned? To determine who he is." She gave a low chuckle as she scanned the rest of the page. "Is it me, or does Ba’al seem to be a little frustrated with the answers?"

"Oh, he’s definitely irked. Looks like the zatarc only gives the bare essentials, no elaboration. But we can critique Ba’al’s interrogation process later." Jack strode across the room back to the cabinet and picked up a data pad from the top of the neatly arranged stack. "We’ll copy the data to one of these and then replace the original in its hidey hole." He tossed the device to her.

Annika caught it and transferred the data, simultaneously sending their Morse code signal through to Daniel, letting him know that they’d found the zatarc information. As she returned the original data pad and slid the compartment shut, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Uh oh, that is not a good sign. "Jack," she hissed to warn him.

She needn’t have bothered. The colonel’s own gut was telling him something was wrong. It took only a second to realize what had sent his danger meter to red alert. The background noise from outside had stopped. Which meant one of two things. Either Ba’al and his Jaffa had developed an acute case of laryngitis or they had switched to stealth mode in preparation for an ambush. He motioned for Annika to hide, grabbing a second data pad from the cabinet and shoved it between his vest and shirt.

The psychic did one better and twisted her hand in the Nox hiding trick that had been so useful today. The pair shimmered from sight just as the golden doors slid open to reveal a half a dozen Jaffa with staff weapons raised.

Annika had seen Jack snatch the second pad but couldn’t fathom why. Surely that will be the first place the Jaffa will pat down if they were caught. She gave a perplexed look and the colonel simply pointed to the device in her hand and then tapped at his boot. Comprehension dawned. Jack’s pad was a decoy. Annika slid the slim line data pad beneath the waistband of her pants, feeling it slide down her leg. She bent down and shoved the device down the back of her boot.

Okay, they were set to play an old fashioned game of hide and seek. When the Jaffa entered, the pair would do their best to dodge around the warriors into the spacious throne room where it would be easier to avoid anyone colliding with them. They waited tensely for the Jaffa to move but they simply remained blocking the doorway.

Ba’al appeared behind one of the Jaffa who stepped back to give his god room in the chain mailed wall. "Come out, come out wherever you are." He sounded smug. "I know you’re in there."

Annika couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Did he really think they’d surrender? Especially when it was clear that neither Jaffa nor Goa’uld knew exactly where they were. She expected to get a similar reaction from Jack but the older man had turned distinctly pale, his eyes darting around the room almost frantically looking for a place to hide.

"There is no point in hiding. There is no escape." The Goa’uld scanned the room for any signs of movement but found none. "I grow weary of these games." He gestured to the Jaffa nearest the door jam.

The Jaffa flicked out a gauntleted fist and hit a glyph in the wall. There was a loud hiss from the above and for a second Annika thought some sort of gas had been released. Then suddenly a sheen of fine white powder sprayed out from a half a dozen small holes in the ceiling above the door.

Jack and Annika could only watch helplessly as the cloud drifted down coating everything in the room, including themselves. The Jaffa moved in as soon as the outline of the invisible pair began to form. In the time it took for Annika to blink the powder from her eyes, she had a Jaffa on either side gripping her arms tightly. Jack also had a set of Jaffa manacled to his biceps.

She released a huff of annoyance causing the powder particles on her to puff from her lips. "Crap, Momma told me there’d be days like these."