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Story Notes: Dreamers Of Your Dream - 03 - SPOILERS: up to Season 5

NOTE: Thank you to everyone who helped me with my questions regarding this part of this fic, esp the folks in samandjack list (Rosemary, Ryven and Jo Rauma). I would also like to thank everyone who had been so patient with me and send their support, you make this story possible, I really appreciated it. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.
Beta-read: JayBee-Bug

EMAIL: blue-topaz@lycos.com

URL of this story:
www.geocities.com/bluetopazfic/dreamers3.htm

http://fly.to/bluetopazfic/

Copyright by Blue Topaz, 2003


Dreamers Of Your Dream
PART 3: TUT WURI HANDAYANI


Reed and several members of the original rescue team that were susceptible to Durga's pheromone mind-control had been sent back to Earth early that morning. But it didn't matter, as the new arrivals had made a total number of 67 personnel, and almost half of them were women.

The soldiers were divided into six teams. The first one was a five-man team to guard the gate. They would act as a mediator between the assaulting forces and the SGC as well as providing cover fire if necessary. The second one was another five-man team that waited inside the cargo ship, guarding the Rings.

The third one was a twelve-man team, plus Jack and Daniel. Jack was in charge of the whole operation, so his team would head to the Peltac (bridge), to take control of the mothership. His team went up through the transportation rings first to their designated level, and to avoid any nasty surprises, they sent some C4 first. The explosive knocked out any Jaffa waiting for their arrival.

The fourth one was another twelve-man team, plus Sam. She was their team-leader, and her team was responsible for taking control of the main generator. She had sabotaged it earlier and it was her job to make sure that she could fix it when they had everything done. Her team was the second to go up, imitating the same tactic as the first team to clear the ring room of any Jaffa.

The fifth team was led by Teal'c, and it consisted of Halle and ten other soldiers. Green and the rest of them made up the last team. Both teams would sweep the rest of the mothership. They went up in a similar manner as the first two teams.

Each soldier was armed heavily, they were ready and prepared for a big battle. And what a battle it was. Bullet after bullet spat angrily from P-90's from one side while beam after beam from staff weapons were flashing from the other side. Chaos was inevitable as orders and screams of agony mixed everywhere the humans made contact with the Jaffa.

Fortunately, the battle didn't last long. Durga's army was outnumbered and outgunned, and soon, all of the Jaffa were killed or captured. Durga herself surrendered once she realised her hopeless situation. She was in one of the holding cells now. However, the victory was not without casualties from the human's side. Jack counted at least four of his men down, eight of them severely injured, and almost all of them had some kind of cut or bruise. Sadly for them, the sarcophagus was damaged during the cross-fire. Thus it could not be used to resurrect the death or heal the wounded.

He stared blankly at the limp bodies as he sent them down to the cargo ship, ordering them to be taken straight to Earth to receive proper burial and treatment. The rest would stay on the ship and secure it, making sure that there were no nasty surprises waiting behind the doors.

"Colonel, we're ready to go now." Major Grant informed him. He would go together with the wounded and report back to the SGC and debrief General Hammond about the success of their mission so far. "Anything else that you want me to relay to the General, Sir?"

Jack thought about it for a moment. "Nah. Just make sure you get them home and safe, OK."

Grant nodded curtly. Jack's overprotection towards his team was well-known and earned him respect from his junior officers. "I will."

"Good."

Jack watched the rings engulf the Major and leave him alone inside the room. He always hated this part of the job, when he couldn't show any emotion and had to hold back the inevitable tears. He knew most of the victims, he even knew their families. Their deaths were not in vain, far from it; they died for a good cause. But he still couldn't stop the regret he felt for their part.

As the minute passed, he clenched his jaw as he set his emotions like he had done so many times. He still had a job to finish. He turned around and listened to his footsteps echo in the empty corridor. He could only be glad that his retirement would come soon, he didn't think he could keep this up. He was not as young as he used to be and he was so tired of being someone that he was not.

He headed towards Carter's position, she was trying to get the generator back on-line. He needed to see her, just to make sure that she was alright and to check on her progress. Two Lieutenants guarding the generator room straightened their postures when they saw him approaching.

"As you were."

He walked past them and was greeted by the sight of his Major and her temporary minions, (Lieutenant Hailey - her prodigy, Captain Tuppance - SG-4 mechanics and Sergeant Morse - one of Siler's men) who were hovering around the generator, holding a heated discussion about something that went straight over his head.

"Ehem," he cleared his throat to let them know that he was there.

She turned around and smiled at him. "Sir, is everything alright on the bridge?"

"Yes, Daniel is trying to read the ship's logs. As you are well aware, I don't read Goa'uld, so I let him have all the fun."

She rubbed her oily hands on her camouflage pants, attempting to clean them slightly. Then she gave a few instructions to her three sidekicks before she approached him. "Any chance that since I'm also aware you're not a mechanic, you'll let me have my fun too?" She whispered to him so that only he could hear what she was saying.

He glanced at her speculatively as he recognised the invitation for a smart-ass reply. But he didn't feel like it now. "I just need to check on your progress, any news?"

There was something alarming that flickered in her eyes. He rarely turned down her bantering offer. "I think we can have the generator running in around four or five days tops," she answered matter-of-factly, but it didn't completely hide the disappointment in her voice. "I had to make sure to make enough damage in the first place when I sabotaged the generator."

"I see. Keep me informed. I need to check on Teal'c now, I'll see you later." He patted her gently on the shoulder and tuned around.

"Sir." Her voice was laced with worry.

He looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm alright, just tired. It's been a long day." He presented her with a tight smile, acknowledging that his answer was only holding half the truth in it. She looked so dejected from his refusal to open up to her that he was tempted to pull her into a crushing hug, losing himself in her, but he knew better.

"I'll talk to you later, OK?" He tried to assure her. He needed time to think this over and this wasn't the time nor the place to discuss it.

"Okay." The reply came out weakly.

"Go and have fun with your generator," he managed to say before he disappeared from her sight. Even with his back to her, he could see her smile. And it lightened up his mood a bit.

He wandered towards his new destination, Teal'c, in the holding cells' area. Jack had personally asked the Jaffa to guard the Goa'uld -- it's not that he didn't trust the other soldiers, but Teal'c was the only one who could handle the Goa'uld if she tried something funny.

"Teal'c," he called out as soon as he arrived.

"O'Neill. Do you wish to interrogate the prisoner now?" Teal'c was eager, he had expressed his interest over this mysterious queen Goa'uld.

Jack sighed. "Well, we have to do it sooner or later." He smiled tiredly. "Might as well do it now."

Teal'c nodded. "Very well."

Jack turned towards the two Airmen that were guarding the door alongside Teal'c. "You two wait here and be alert. I don't have to tell you what kind of prisoner we have here."

"Yes, Sir," they chorused as they tightened their grip on their weapons.

And then he gave Teal'c the signal to open the holding cell's door. His P-90 was pointed forward, ready to use if necessary. Teal'c was holding a Zat, also preparing himself. They couldn't afford to look down at their prisoner.

As Teal'c punched the control panel, the door started to open. The Goa'uld was standing near the back wall, staring straight into their eyes. She held her head high as she watched Jack and Teal'c enter the room.

This was the first time that Jack saw her. It was Teal'c's team who found and detained her. And his first impression of her was as high as he could give any Goa'uld. She was beautiful, that was undisputable, those snakes did have a high standard when choosing their hosts. Her eyes were as dark as her hair, shiny and smooth at the same time. Her skin was honey-brown, in contrast to the white sari that she wore. But like any other snake-head, Jack could feel her arrogance radiate from where she was standing.

"So ..." he exchanged a look with Teal'c. "This is the Ragu girl."

Durga's eyes were flashing with indignity, but she held her tongue.

"Durga," the Jaffa corrected him. Jack gave him a 'do I look like I really care what her real name is?' look. To which Teal'c replied with his famous lifted eyebrow.

"Are you the leader?" She demanded.

"Yep, that would be me," he answered neutrally, but heightened his awareness. He was well aware that the Goa'uld in front of him was capable of a lot of things. As Carter had mentioned before, she used her human's voice and it was kind of disturbing, but he didn't let it show.

She regarded him for a while, trying to make an assessment of her capturer. "What do you want from me?"

Jack and Teal'c were taken aback. They were unaccustomed to her straight-to-the-point attitude, most snake-heads usually spent their first few minutes gloating about their nature.

"Well, we have several options available to you. None of them will be pleasant, but then again, we don't do pleasant," Jack replied coldly.

She tilted her head to one side. "I would not expect less from you. However," her eyes pierced like a sharp knife. "If I were you, I'd leave Mata while I still can."

Jack raised both his eyebrows. "Oh don't you worry, I don't intend to stay here."

She let out a small chuckle, her voice was surprisingly pleasing. "The foolishness of the human." She shook her head slowly. "I shall enjoy watching the day when you beg on your knees for the mercy of your god."

"Yeah well, just to be clear, which god are we talking about? We've met a lot of gods these past few years." He was irritated by her words.

Her smile was getting wider in spite of the insulting tone that he used. "You will soon learn how to respect your elders, young one," she chastised him like he was a small boy.

Jack shuddered at the use of the phrase that the Nox used to describe the humans in general; it was odd to hear it from the mouth of a Goa'uld. But he was not going to be outwitted. "I'll show you respect when you deserve it."

He jerked his head backward to motion Teal'c to step backward and close the door. This conversation was going nowhere and he was not in the mood to ride the endless merry-go-round of words with the Goa'uld. He waited patiently for the door to close down before turning around to face his team-mates. "What do you think of her?"

"She is ... different," answered the big man.

Jack muttered, "Tell me something I don't know."

"She is very much in control. As if she is waiting for something to happen," Teal'c added.

"Yeah," Jack had to agree with his friend's assessment. She was too calm, and he was pretty sure that it was not how a captive should react, Goa'uld or not. He had a really bad feeling about this. Jack could think of several fates for her as soon as they managed to ship her back to Earth, dead or alive. But they couldn't do it now, because she could take control over the base like Hathor did. "Any suggestions?"

Teal'c took a moment to think. "Perhaps we could interrogate the man."

"Her hostage? The Sappy guy?"

"Shiva," Teal'c once again corrected his friend's misspelling.

"Where's his cell?" Jack ignored the rectification, he didn't really give a damn about his name.

"Just over there, Sir." One of the Airmen who were guarding the holding cells pointed to the door several feet away.

"Teal'c." He headed towards the door with Teal'c following closely behind him. "Ready?" He asked when they had reached the door.

"I am."

Jack opened the door with caution, Carter had already warned him about the man. As he stepped inside, he took his first look at the man. He was sitting on the floor, legs crossed and eyes closed. His hands were rested on his knees, and judging from his position, he was meditating.

"Hello," Jack tried to make him aware of their presence.

The man opened his eyes, showing the deep brown eyes hidden beneath. "Who are you?" He asked.

Jack shrugged his shoulders slightly. "We're the new owners of this ship."

The man regarded him for a moment. "You must be related to the group that was held here yesterday."

"We are."

"What do you want?"

Jack could get used to these direct approaches, it was a nice change as well as saving him precious time and energy. "Who are you?"

The man answered straight away, "I am Shiva."

"Shiva is a god. You are not a god," Teal'c spoke for the first time since he entered the room.

"What does a Jaffa know about god and God," he said acidly.

"What do you know?" Jack turned the tables.

He snorted. "I know enough."

"Why are you here?" Jack asked again.

"It's not your concern."

"Well, this is my ship now and you're in it. It makes it my concern." Jack refused to back down. "The Goa'uld wanted something from you, didn’t she? What was it?" He pressed.

"What will you give to me if I tell you?" the man bargained.

"What do you want?" Teal'c asked, more intrigued than he was before.

The man contemplated for a while. "I want Durga."

Jack narrowed his eyes, his demand seemed reasonable, she *did* made him suffer for God knows how long. "What makes you think that we will give her to you?"

"Because you will want what I'm about to give to you more than you want her."

Jack and Teal'c exchanged glances. "And what is it that you're about to give to us?"

He raised his head high. "The Eye of Ra."

---

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked enthusiastically. "He really said the Eye of Ra?"

"I am certain," Teal'c confirmed.

Jack held an emergency meeting in the bridge right after Teal'c informed him about the power that the Eye held. He had recalled all high ranking officers to discuss the man's offer.

"Daniel, what do you know about this Eye, exactly?" Carter leaned forwards towards him. The generator was still off-line, but she was confident that she could let her two assistants handle it for the moment.

Daniel pushed up his glasses. "Well, according to the legend, there are six Eyes, some of them are in the possession of Aphopis, Osiris, Tiamat, and Ra. They are powerful and very dangerous, and when they are combined their power can increase ten-fold." He then frowned. "But I was so certain that Ra kept his Eye at Abydos."

"Daniel?" Jack asked for affirmation. If this Eye was so powerful, he had a difficult call to make. He wasn't sure that handing the Goa'uld to the man was a wise decision, but if they could get something out of it, then he had to have the complete information before he made that choice.

"The writings on the wall in one of the Abydos pyramids indicates that the Eye was there," the archaeologist insisted. "I was looking for it when I still lived there." Pain flickered in his eyes as he remembered his home. Jack's heart went out for him, he knew how much Abydos meant to his friend. Daniel continued, "I believe that Ra hid it in a secret chamber there."

"Well, if you couldn't find it there, maybe it isn't there. Or maybe it was there but then Ra moved it out from Abydos," Major Neill, SG-10 leader speculated.

"It could be," Daniel relented at the theory.

"Do you know what the Eye looked like, Daniel?" Jack asked.

"Yes." He fished out his necklace and showed it to them. "This is the necklace that Catherine gave me when I first joined the program. The Eye of Ra is some kind of jewel like it was shown here, I think I can recognise it when I see it."

Jack nodded. "What can we do with it once we have it?" He asked again. There was no point in having the technology if they couldn't use it.

"I don't know," Daniel admitted. "But I'm sure Sam could figure it out." He smiled in her direction. "Or we could always ask the Tok'ra or the Asgard. I'm sure they'd be willing to help us."

"What’s on your mind, Sir?" Carter asked as she detected his hesitance.

"He wanted the Goa'uld in exchange for this Eye," he stalled. "The Eye or the Goa'uld. Something just doesn't sit right with me about that."

"What is it, Jack?" Daniel watched him with interest, and so were the others.

"The Goa'uld had tortured him for a long *long* time," he started. "But he didn't give it to her. Why would he hand over the Eye to us just a few days after we met? The Eye must have meant a lot to him. Why would he give it to us just like that? Just for revenge? I don't think so." He thought outloud as his brain cells tried to make sense of it.

"Why not, Sir?" Captain Richardson shrugged. "Hate can do funny things to people."

"Yes, but not to the one who goes through a sarcophagus countless time. He should have turned into a soulless zombie by now, but he's not. He seems to be collected and ... normal," he reasoned.

"Something in his physiology?" Neill offered a weak excuse.

"Could be. But I agree with the Colonel. We can't trust him," said Carter.

He stared at her, amazed at how she read his mind. He never said that, but she could see right through him.

"So, what do you suggest we should do, Sir?" Richardson asked.

He sighed in resignation. He was still uncertain, but he needed to make the decision soon. "I need to talk about this to Hammond first. But I won't recommend taking up his offer. We got the mothership, we don't need the Eye. Not now. Not when we don't know exactly how powerful it is and how to use it."

"What are you planning to do with the man, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

He put on his hat and pulled it down his head. "We hold him in his cell for now."

Teal'c nodded. "Very well."

He turned his attention to Daniel. "How's the log going Daniel? Did you manage to get something out of it?"

The linguist replied, "Nothing important for now. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."

"Carter, what about the generator? Any chance that you could work on it faster?" He didn't like having a ship that could not fly. If there was a hostile situation, it could put them in a dangerous situation. The weapons and shields were also off-line. They were defenceless against any assault, or as Jacob often said, they were 'sitting ducks' right now. He really didn't want to lose the mothership just quite yet.

"Sorry, Sir. I can get some of the systems online tomorrow, but to make it fully operational, we need at least four days."

"Can you work on the shields first?"

"Sir?" She was confused.

"Just humour me, OK. It makes me feel safer."

She gave him a questioning glance but obeyed his request. "I'll do my best."

"How's the patrol going?" He asked the others. Although they had control of the ship, they were still sending patrol throughout it to make sure that there was no loose Jaffa around.

"We found no one so far, Sir," Richardson answered. "But we still haven't covered the whole ship."

"Keep it up." He started to get up. "I'm going down to report to Hammond about this development. Dissmissed."

The small party broke up, and everyone went to resume their jobs as Jack walked towards the transportation rings room. He needed to get down from the ship and radio the SGC from the surface. He didn't have to go back to the Gate, he could ask the men guarding the Gate to open the portal for him and he could communicate from the outside of the cargo ship.

"Sir, wait up."

He turned around to see Cater jogging slightly to catch up with him. He waited until she reached him. "Something wrong, Carter?"

"I need to send a message to SGC as well, Sir. We need extra equipment for the repairs."

"OK."

They walked side by side, their shoulders occasionally brushing against each other. He tried to concentrate on the sound of their footsteps when suddenly he heard a soft chuckle originating from the person beside him.

"What's so funny?" His curiosity got the better of him.

She crooked her head slightly so that their eyes met. "You."

"Me?" He smiled instinctively.

She turned her head back so that she was facing straight ahead. "Yes, you always accuse me of thinking too much. What you were saying about the man proved that you are also doing the same thing."

"That's not thinking too much, that's common sense," he denied her accusation.

"Whatever floats your boat, Sir."

"Watch the tone, Major." He knew that the warning never had an effect on her, but he had to issue one just for the sake of it.

"Me, Sir?" Her face was a picture of innocence that he could never get tired of. He couldn't help but smile at her.

He knew what she was trying to do. He hadn't been himself after the attack, and he knew why. This could be his last mission, *their* last mission. In some ways he dreaded it because he couldn't be by her side during the battles anymore. But on the other hand, he was glad because soon enough he could be with her. He could say and do things that he wasn't allowed to do. And the two opposite feelings had pulled him in different directions. He was aware of this and made up his mind on the matter long ago, but as time was growing near, his resolution seemed to fade away. She was trying to cheer him up, to keep him distracted so that he could overlook his dilemma. She could have written up a list of the things that she needed, but she chose to accompany him instead.

"Thanks, Carter."

She didn't even look up as he said that, didn't say 'What for?' or 'You're welcome'. Instead, she reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. Sometimes she scared him a lot. The way she could easily turn his world upside down just with insignificant gestures. But he would be damned if he let his fear control his actions. He wouldn't and couldn't let her slip away.

Looking at their entwined fingers, he smiled. This reminded him of what he was fighting for, what *they* were fighting for. He couldn't wait until this mission was over.

***

Sam wiped her sweaty forehead with the sleeve of her T-Shirt. She and her team had been working on the generator for almost 24 hours now. They managed to get the shields to work properly, and the weapons should follow in a couple of hours or so. All she had to do next was concentrate on the hyperspace engine, it was the one which took the most damage. Looking back, she grimaced at her own sabotaging technique, she was pretty sure that her temporary assistants gave her a funny look after they had their first look at the generator. But at that time, she didn't want to take any chances, so she inflicted as many dents as she could.

Another lesson learned from a certain Colonel. And she had proven herself once again to be a diligent student.

"Carter."

She looked around to see the Colonel in question was standing near the entrance.

"Sir. Something wrong?" She could see his annoyance radiating off of him as she approached him.

"We'll trade the Goa'uld for the Eye." The hidden anger was evident in his voice, but he had his order.

"Did they say why, Sir?"

"Apparently the Eye could defend us from Goa'uld attack. Or so they said. Hammond also had the orders from someone up there." He didn't make any effort to conceal the disgust in his eyes. "I'd like to take Teal'c, but I need him to guard the Goa'uld. So I'll take Richardson and maybe Green to accompany this Super guy to the surface."

"Shiva," she corrected him, a smile playing upon her lips.

He grunted but smiled nevertheless. "Not you too. I had enough from Teal'c. I don't know how long it will take. You have the command up here, Major."

"You're not taking Daniel with you, Sir?" Daniel had expressed his desire to look for this Eye and his eagerness to know Shiva better. He said that Shiva could be one of Ra's priests, thus explaining the symbol on his forehead, but not why it was written in Sanskrit.

"No. We need him up here to read the ship's logs. No one can do a better job on that than him."

Understanding his reason, she nodded. "When will you depart?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "As soon as possible, I suppose. I want to get this done and over with." And then he opened his eyes, smiling sardonically. "I'm far too old for these things."

She couldn't help but gave him a pointed look. "You're not that old, Sir."

"So, any progress on the repairs?" He smoothly changed the subject.

"Shield is online, as you requested. Weapons will soon be in a few moments, we still have a problem with one of the power relays. And it'll take us maybe another forty-eight hours to fix the hyperdrive engine and by then I think we should have all the systems fully operational," she reported.

"Good job, Carter. I'll leave you to it then."

She watched his back as he started to leave.

"Sir."

He turned around to face her.

"Good luck."

"Thanks," he replied with the smile of his own.

As she watched him leave, she sighed deeply. She really wanted to walk beside him until he was out of the mothership, prolonging their contact. Sometimes it sucked being the resident genius. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, she needed to concentrate, she had a generator to fix. No time for playing the victim.

"Tuppance, how's the calibration going?" She asked the SG-4 Captain.

"I need a few more minutes to complete the readings," she replied behind one of the conduits.

Sam acknowledged her. After it was completed, she could start working on the hyperspace engine. Morse and Hailey could handle the weapons system, it was almost ready. She shared the same uneasy feeling with the Colonel, she didn’t want to stay at this planet any longer than necessary.

---

She was worried. The Colonel had been gone for more than a day, and they were out of radio range by now. She knew that the Colonel was more than capable of taking care of himself, but she couldn't help it. The repairs had gone according to plan and Daniel had made real progress on the translations.

He found out why and how Mata's citizens disappeared from their planet. They were relocated by Durga to her planet, Agni, as her slaves a long time ago. He also found a record saying that Mata used to be Ra's planet, conforming his suspicion as well as explaining the claim of the existence of the Eye of Ra here. The record also said that there was a priest responsible for Ra's temple here, but there was no mention of his name or the location of the temple. Daniel had difficulty accessing all the logs because most of them were encrypted.

"Sam, you better get here. Fast." Her radio burst into life. The caution in Daniel's voice didn't go amiss.

"I'm on my way." She quickly left the generator room where she had spent most of her time and headed straight towards the bridge. Her three assistants were more than capable of handling the repair work for a while.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" She asked as soon as she arrived.

"You might want to take a look at this." He gestured at the transparent screen in front of him.

She glanced at the image in front of her. "Daniel, tell me it's not what I think it is." She really hated it when this happened.

"Sorry, Sam. I think this is what you think it is." He looked at her apologetically.

She shook her head in defeat. It was no one's fault. "Is it headed towards our direction?"

"Yes," Daniel verified her fears.

"Great. Just great." She just knew that their luck could not be this good. "Do you know whose ship that is?" She asked him again.

"Kali's," he answered somewhat carefully.

"One of Durga's children?"

Daniel nodded.

"How long before the ship arrives here?"

He typed something down on the Goa'uld's computer. "If they keep their speed, I'd say around three hours."

Sam closed her eyes as her headache approached. "We got the shields and the weapons online, can we defend ourselves?"

"Her ship is much more advanced than this one. We could hang on for a while, a *little* while."

Now she knew why Durga was so calm. She knew that her backup would come before the ship could be fixed. But even though the repairs were done, Sam could not leave Mata's orbit. The Colonel was still down there, somewhere.

"What are we going to do now, Ma'am?" Halle asked. She was helping Daniel with the translation with several other linguists.

She looked at the younger woman's trusting eyes and weighed her options. She could abandon the ship and head back towards the Gate on foot, but she knew that they wouldn't have enough time. And she really didn’t want to let this ship go. Besides, the Colonel had to be informed about it and she didn't have a way to do that. Or she could try her luck and fight back, but with what cost? She couldn't risk their lives more than she already had. They might still have Durga in their custody, but there was no telling whether Kali wanted her dead or alive. Goa'uld had a very dubious morality, and she just couldn't take the chance.

"Daniel, how far is the sun from here and how long would it take us to go there with thrusters only?" She started to plan her way out of this predicament.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "What are you planning to do?"

"I haven't planned anything yet. I just wanted to keep all of my options open," she told him.

He turned around and started to calculate the information that she needed. The display in front of him showed the result. "It'll take us around an hour to reach the closest sun."

"Good, contact the engine room and let them know that I want them to concentrate on bringing the thrusters online. Forget about the hyperdrive for now. Hopefully we can get that to work in time."

Daniel complied as she reached for her radio. "Teal'c, come in."

Almost instantaneously the Jaffa replied, "I am here, Major Carter."

"Something came up, I'm heading towards your direction. We need to ask more questions of our guest of honour."

"I will be ready."

"Good. Carter out." She put her radio back in her vest's pocket. "Daniel, I'll try to dig some information from the Goa'uld. Although I'm highly skeptical that she will be willing to answer my questions. Could you make an announcement and have everyone gather at the bridge for briefing as soon as possible? Tell them about our situation and let them know that I'll explain what we're going to do next after I come back. And have someone contact the SGC as well."

"Consider it done." Daniel smiled encouragingly.

As soon as she arrived at the holding cell area, she quickly let Teal'c know about their present situation. Wasting no time, they entered Durga's cell to question her.

"You know that Kali is coming, don't you?"

The Goa'uld just smiled at the question with no attempt to answer it.

But Sam was not to be deterred. "What do you want from us?"

"You're smart enough to know what I want," came the vague reply.

"You wish to enslave us," Teal'c stated evenly.

"Yes. I was always intrigued by the Tauri and the Sholva. You will make an excellent addition for my army." She averted her eyes to Sam. "I have to thank you for bringing more of your people here. I was disappointed when I lost the three interesting prisoners, but then I found out that you had brought more people for me."

Sam didn't miss the irony as she clenched her fists tightly. She did suggest the raid on the mothership and thus having more of her people on this damn planet.

"You can dream all you like but it won't happen. I won't let it happen," she said through gritted teeth.

"You cannot run away from your destiny," Durga said dryly.

"I build my own destiny, thank you very much. And being your slave is not on my list. Believe me when I say that I’ll do anything to make sure that it won’t happen ... even if it includes killing you."

She shocked herself after she said that. She was no saint, as a soldier, she had killed many people. However this was the first time she threatened someone and really meant it. She would do it without hesitation when it came to that. If this made her a cold-blooded killer, then so be it. As long as she could keep her people away from danger.

Durga smiled indulgently. "You need me alive. My child, Kali would be very upset if she found out that you had harmed her mother. She is a sweet child but has a bad temper."

Sam hated to recognise the truth in her words. "What makes you think that Kali will not turn her back on you? I never really found a perfect family picture amongst you. Does she really love you in the way that you wish her to?" She tried to put some doubts in the Goa'uld's mind.

Durga laughed out loud. "Love? There's no such foolish feeling between us. She respects and fears me. She wants me alive."

"You provided her with Goa'uld larva," Teal'c said.

"I provide much more than that."

"Like what?"

"It is not your concern."

Sam bit her lower lip to keep her head cool. Talking to a Goa'uld was always a frustrating activity. But at least now she knew that Kali would not blast this ship away as long as Durga was in it. As she said, Kali needed her. But can she afford trusting the word of a Goa'uld? The Colonel always said that their word was as good as a rotten fish. And she tended to agree with him concerning this matter.

She gestured Teal'c to walk away from the cell and closed the door. She then turned around to face him.

"What do you think? Can we trust her word? Does Kali really need her?" She bombarded him with questions.

The Jaffa considered his answer for a moment. "Goa'uld are never to be trusted. But I do believe that Kali does not want her deceased. A Goa'uld queen is rare, especially the one with Durga's ability."

"Ability? What ability?"

"There was a legend amongst the Jaffa that Durga is proficient in producing an advanced Goa'uld, who is more strong and powerful than an average Goa'uld. Unlike the normal Goa'uld, this advanced Goa'uld could only be produced one at a time and it took longer for the larva to mature. The maturation process itself could only be done inside the queen's body. The longer correlation between the larva and the queen was believed to create a bond between them, ensuring the loyalty of this new Goa'uld to their queen," Teal'c explained.

Her eyes went wide as she realised. "She carried the larva like a human mother carried her child."

The Jaffa raised his eyebrow. "That is a valid comparison. If Kali is one of these advanced Goa'uld, then ..."

"I got it."

A mother-child bond between Goa'uld, who would've thought? But she could understand it; for sentient beings, the more intelligent they are, the greater their need for affection. And she knew how lonely it was to be someone who was ... different. People were always intimidated by her achievements, by her brain, and she knew that her attitude didn't help either. She was always suspicious about people who had an interest in her, afraid that there was some ulterior motive behind it. Being a General's daughter had its ups and downs.

But she was different now. She met the right people. The ones who accepted her just the way she was, although she had a difficult time opening up to them at first. It was Cassie who showed her the way. Cassie trusted her implicitly even though the little girl knew almost nothing about her.

It took her by surprise as she realised that she had never thought about this before, that a Goa'uld could feel the solitude of life as well. That a Goa'uld was not as ignorant to its own feelings as she had first thought. But she couldn't make it a generalisation. Durga seemed to be a special case, besides, the other Goa'uld didn't have the same ability as hers.

"I need to go to the bridge now. Stay here and keep an eye on her."

Teal'c bowed slightly.

"Thanks Teal'c."

She headed back to the bridge slowly as she planned their strategies. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't realise that she had reached her destination.

"Sam, Hailey said that they could get the thrusters online in two hours." Daniel wasted no time to let her know.

She looked up as Daniel's voice stopped her trail of thought. "Two hours? We won't have enough time ... " she mumbled.

She was planning to hide behind the sun so that Kali's sensors could not detect the ship, as the radiation from the sun would provide interference to the sensors. But she had to scrap that plan now. Kali would arrive in less than three hours, and they needed one hour to reach the sun.

"Sam?" Daniel asked as he noticed her silence.

Her eyes met his as she made up her mind. "Tell Hailey not to be bothered about the thrusters. I'll go there in a moment after I finish here."

"OK."

She turned away from Daniel and found the bridge to be crowded with SGC personnel. They had already been briefed about the situation and were waiting for her. She walked towards the throne in the middle of the room and climbed on it. The extra height helped her to see all the officers inside the room.

"Atten-hut," she said to gain their attention.

All the soldiers straightened their pose and started to form an organised line. And then she told them what to do. She might like what she was about to instruct, but she didn't have many choices. This was the least she could do.

Once she finished, everybody went on their way to do as they were told, some stayed behind to ask for some more specific instructions regarding their orders. She then asked Captain Johnson from SG-3 to relay her tactics to the SGC and Halle to inform Teal'c about the latest development. After she finished with that, she went back straight to the engine room, briefing her assistants about the latest situation. She also checked up on the others, making sure that everything went according to plan. After everything was done, she headed straight towards the launch bay, where she knew Teal'c would be waiting. And waiting he was. Next to one of the only two cargo ships left inside the launch bay.

"Teal'c, is everything ready?"

"It is."

"Good. How's the evacuation going?"

"It went well. Four Tel'tac have left and are on their ways towards the Stargate."

She noticed the other cargo ship. "What about that one? Why hasn't it left yet?"

"They are waiting for Major Neill's team."

Right on cue, the Major arrived. His team brought several crates with them and they put it straight into the ship. Sam was moving towards him.

"Is everything ready, Major?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We just loaded the last cargo, we'll be leaving as soon as possible," he reported.

The evacuation was done step by step. She might not have a choice but to lose the ship, but she would be damned if she didn't take this opportunity to rip it apart and take whatever technology she could get her hands on. The first four cargo ships were also loaded with the ship's bits and pieces.

She nodded. "Very well. Let's go then."

"Ma'am," Halle's voice interrupted her.

She saw past Neill's shoulder to where she was standing. She was appointed to the Major's ship. "Yes, Lieutenant."

"I'd like permission to accompany you."

"Permission denied. I don't want to risk any more lives than I already have."

Sam's cargo ship would not go straight to the Stargate like the others, but would search for Colonel O'Neill's team. Kali's mother ship was due to arrive in less than half an hour, she was hoping that she could find them long before that. The Colonel's team traveled by foot, so they shouldn't be that far. But this was still dangerous. The rest of SG-1 would be in this ship, alongside Durga. She could not just send her to the SGC, the risks of her taking over the world with her pheromone-like substance were too great.

"With all due respect, Ma'am, one of my team mates is out there somewhere. It doesn't feel right for me if I just sit here doing nothing," Halle persisted.

"You're not doing nothing. You'll be helping Major Neill, following his orders, making his life a little bit easier."

Sam caught the smile that Neill had, and soon realised that she had just make a very Jack O'Neill remark. Not a bad one either.

"Please Ma'am. This is SG-Alpha's mission to start with. I really want to see it through," Halle pleaded. She made a good point, Sam would be very devastated if she was in her position and her request was denied. But this was a matter of life and death. She couldn't make an exception.

"I'm sorry, Halle. I couldn't ..."

"Major Carter, perhaps we could use Lieutenant Halle's assistance in the near future," Teal'c interrupted her.

Sam relented because she trusted Teal'c's judgement. And he was right, she could use some help later on. She glanced at Teal'c who just stood there stoically.

"OK then. Hop in," she said to Halle after a moment of consideration.

Halle's face brightened. "Yes, Ma'am."

***

The man had brought them deep into the forest. After almost one and a half days of walking, he led them to a cave where he said the Eye was hidden. He was not restrained, but Jack made sure that he was watched at all times. He kept silent for most of the journey, only talking when giving directions.

Using the flashlight on his P-90, Jack swept the cave's surface for any signs of hostility. Finding none, he motioned for the others to come in as well.

"So, where's the temple that you're talking about?" Jack asked as the man entered the cave. The cavern was only a few meters deep.

"Just inside." He walked to the right side of the cave's wall and ran his fingers along the rough surface. Jack watched in interest as he pushed one of the rocks down and the cave began to rumble slightly. One of his arms instinctively rose to shield his head from the dirt that fell through the roof.

"Whoa. What was that?" exclaimed Richardson as the back wall of the cave started to move upward at an agonizing pace. Once the path in front of them opened, a soft light illuminated from inside the secret chamber.

"Cool." Green smiled. Both Captains accompanied the Colonel to look for the Eye.

"You two wait here," Jack ordered as he gestured at the man to proceed. The man started to advance towards the cavity while Jack followed closely behind.

As he entered, he noticed that the dim light was produced by a crystal placed in the centre of the room. He looked around; the room itself looked like Daniel's lab, lots of tablets and objects lying around on the floor as well as on the table. A thick layer of dust covered them, telling him that they were abandoned a long time ago.

Jack paced the cave slowly and checked the items one by one. Having no success in finding the thing that he wanted, he asked, "So, where is it?"

The man was already standing in front of a wall decorated with pictures. Jack recognized them as Egyptian hieroglyphs, very similar to the ones he had seen in Abydos. If there was still any doubt in his mind that this planet was one of Ra's places, it was diminished by the evidence presented before him.

"It’s in here."

"Inside the wall?" Jack moved closer to get a better look.

"Yes."

"Well then. Open it."

He turned around to face the Colonel. "I do not know how. Only Ra could do that, he did not trust anyone with his deepest secret. I knew about this by chance, not because he told me."

Jack eyed the wall carefully. He tapped it with his knuckles and heard the unmistakable hollow sound. There was no lever or button for him to find, making it impossible for him to open it appropriately. But then again, he was not an 'appropriate' man.

"Step back," he told the man as he pushed him aside.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just step back." Jack put on his protective goggles and aimed his P-90 at the wall. Without any hesitation he set his weapon on automatic and fired it. The sound of gunfire echoed inside the chamber, amplified by the noise produced by the resonance. He could feel several sharp pieces of the wall scrape his skin, but he ignored the pain, his concentration focused on the job at hand.

After a few seconds, he stopped and waited until the noise had died down and the thin cloud of dust had settled to the floor. The holes in the wall were large enough for him to tear the rest apart and see what was inside. There was only one item.

A jar.

A ceramic jar with a lioness's head.

Jack frowned involuntarily as he took the jar out and studied it more closely. It was nothing like the picture on Daniel's medallion. There was a small crack on the jar, probably from the bullets that he had used.

"What's this?" He asked to the man. "Where's the Eye?"

The man gave him a confused look. "That is the Eye of Ra."

"No, it's not," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, it is," insisted the man.

"No, it's not," the Colonel retaliated with a bit more force in his voice.

The man looked at him straight in his eyes. "Inside the jar, you will find a Goa'uld. Her name is Sekhmet, meaning 'She who is powerful', better known as 'Eye of Ra'."

---

Damn it.

Damn it damn it damn it damn it.

How was he supposed to know that Daniel's version of the Eye was different from the Shippy guy? He was not an Anthropologist, an Archaeologist, a Historian or an Egyptologist, for crying out loud. He ruffled his own hair agitatedly. What should he do now? He just traded one Goa'uld for another. Actually, he traded a *queen* Goa'uld for an ordinary one.

This was worse than buying a cat in a bag. He didn't get the cat at all.

He stared at the jar in his hand. This was not the Eye that he thought it was. If he had known that it was just another snake, he would not have gone to all this trouble and accepted the offer. He wanted to screw the deal, after all he didn't get exactly what he wanted. But if he just did that, he was no better than those slimy evil parasites.

He sighed heavily before putting the jar inside his backpack. Daniel had better have a good explanation for this. Or else ... well, he hadn't thought about the 'or else', but Daniel should have that explanation ready anyway.

"Sir? Do you have it?" Green asked as he exited.

The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment. Taking out his sunglasses, he grimly shook his head. "I have it, but it’s not what we thought it was."

"So ... what is it then?" Richardson queried.

"Snakehead in a bottle."

Both Captains exchanged a look but knew better than to ask further questions when the Colonel's mood was definitely not in its best.

"We're going back. Our job here is done," he issued the order calmly even though he was royally pissed inside.

They were just about to leave the cave when his radio came to life. "Colonel O'Neill, this is Carter. Please respond."

He picked up his radio straight away. "I'm here. Where are you?"

"I'm inside a cargo ship, Sir. On my way to pick you up. Can you let us know where your position is?"

Just then, he noticed the ship flying around on his north. "I see you. Wait a minute, I'll send up a signal."

He then took out a flare from one of his vest pockets and lit it up. A red light shot up into the sky, giving the Major the visual that she needed.

"We saw it. There's a clearing near where you are, we'll land there."

"OK. I'll see you there and Carter ..."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Tell Daniel that he owes me one Hell of an explanation."

"Will do. Carter out."

---

"Whoops," Daniel's exclamation was the understatement of the century.

"*Whoops*? That's all you can say?" Jack was fuming.

The two of them were standing face to face just outside the cargo ship, the jar was in Daniel's possession now. The others just stayed back and watched the encounter. Carter had briefed Jack and the two Captains about Kali and her plan. He was disappointed that they lost the ship as soon as they got it, but he understood her decisions.

"When I heard about the Eye of Ra, I automatically assumed that it was the weapon. Sorry." This time, Daniel's face did show he was really sorry when he apologized.

"Why didn't you tell me that there's another thing called that?" Jack pressed.

"Like I said Jack, I automatically assumed that it was the weapon. I never thought Sekhmet actually existed in the Goa'uld world. I never found references about her off-world and I just thought --"

Jack cut him off, "Well, you thought wrong."

Carter cleared her throat. "Daniel, what do you know about this Sekhmet?"

"Well, in the Egyptian Mythology she's Ra's daughter. Very cruel and blood-thirsty goddess. To be called someone's eye is like someone's subordinate, where they are ordered to do things that their god wants them to do. She is the dark side of Hathor." The archaeologist said the last sentence in a low voice.

"I really hate that woman," Jack stated at the mention of her name.

"She's not Ra's daughter," the man spoke for the first time since he entered the cargo ship.

"She's not?" Daniel asked in astonishment.

He stared right through the linguist's eyes. "Ra asked Durga to bare his child. She agreed. But Sekhmet was not his, she was lying to him."

"Whoa, wait a minute here. What do you mean Durga bare Ra's child? Was Ra planning to have a Harcesis?" Daniel was confused.

"I think there's something that you guys need to know," Carter suddenly said. "Teal'c told me that there's a rumor that Durga can carry a Goa'uld larva in her stomach as it matures, like a human carries her baby. And these larvae are special, they're the best ... breed of their kind."

"Teal'c?" Jack asked for the Jaffa's confirmation as he could not believe what he had just heard.

"It is true, O'Neill."

Jack looked at Teal'c, and then at Daniel, and at Carter, and finally at the man who claimed to be Shiva. "Okay. What's going on here?"

"Ra promised to give Durga an army if she gave him a child. When he found out that she had deceived him, he put Sekhmet in that jar as punishment. He also pursued Durga, but he was never able to find her," the man enlightened the human further.

"Sekhmet was punished because she was disobeying Ra's orders. I have never heard of the tale that you have spoken," Teal'c questioned the man's words.

It was Jack who answered, with a smirk on his face, "Well Teal'c, I think it’s understandable. He wouldn't want the whole universe to know that someone had made a fool out of him."

"If that is true, than how did he know of this?" Teal'c turned his attention to the man.

"Because I'm the one who discovered the treachery," the man answered calmly. "I have given you the Eye of Ra as promised. Now it is your turn to give me Durga."

Once again, the Colonel contemplated his options, but he knew that he could not break his promises. His honor wouldn't allow him. "Carter."

He received a questioning look from her but she nodded nevertheless and then disappeared inside the Pel'tac, a few moments later she came out with Durga alongside her. The Goa'uld's hands were cuffed.

"You know that Kali's forces are coming, don't you?" Jack watched as the man approached Durga.

"I do." His eyes were focused on the woman before him.

"Just checking." Jack then faced his team. "Okay kids, now it’s time for us to leave." If the man wanted to stay here, then by all means, he was welcome to do just that. But Jack was not going to follow his example.

"Wait," Durga shouted at him. "Is it true, that he gave you the Eye?"

"You mean this?" Daniel showed her the jar. It was a similar jar to the ones that contained Osiris and Isis, the ones that were found back on Earth.

"Yes." Her brown eyes studied the object carefully. "Give it to me and I will let you go."

"Hey lady, you seemed to be confused about your situation," Jack snapped. Sometimes the arrogance was just too much to handle. "You know what. I don't have time for this. I'm out of here."

"It's no good to you dead. I can feel it weakening. Give it to me."

Daniel took a moment to study the jar and run his finger along the crack presented there. "Jack, did this just happen recently?"

Ignoring both of them, Jack turned away and started to head towards the ship. They wasted enough precious time already. Kali wouldn't wait for them to finish their chitchat. As the others start to follow, he heard a shrill scream. Automatically, he grabbed his P-90 and turned towards the sound.

Durga was still standing slightly ahead from the last time he saw her. Her mouth was partially open as her eyes showed great shock. But what interested Jack was that something seemed to go straight through her chest. He hadn't seen the blood taint her white clothes yet, but he knew that it was only a matter of time.

"You better go now. She's no longer your concern."

Jack averted his eyes to see the man who claimed to be Shiva standing extremely close behind the Goa'uld. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that he was still holding the other end of the dagger that now rested inside Durga's body. The dagger that he might have picked up inside the chamber when they went to retrieve the Eye.

"You heard the man. Let's go." Putting his shock aside, he forced himself not to ask questions. His words seemed to awaken the rest of his team, clearly none of them understood what was happening. Not because the man had just stabbed the Goa'uld, but because of the tear that escaped through his eyes. Was it a tear of relief? Or was it something else?

None of them said a word as they went back to the ship. Teal'c swiftly took his position in the pilot seat and flew the ship in the direction of the Stargate.

***

Sam watched the Colonel out of the corner of her eyes. She knew how disappointed he was about the whole thing, and how angry he was at himself. She knew the feeling as she experienced it herself right now. They both expected something big out of this mission, but in the end, they just took everything that they could carry while they ran away.

The Colonel was standing beside Teal'c, looking out the ship's window. His mood was unreadable, and it was worse than when he was angry. This was his 'leave me alone' mood. The only person naive enough to make a conversation with him when he was like this was Daniel. Not even Teal'c or Sam herself would do that, not because they were scared of his reaction, but because they knew that he just needed some time alone to think things through.

But Daniel seemed to understand the need now. He was talking with Halle just a few feet away from her, but Sam could see that his eyes darted towards the Colonel now and again, checking if his best friend was alright.

"Major Carter," Teal'c called out her name.

She looked up to him and then the screen in front of her.

"They're coming," she said as the screen showed Kali's ship had just exited hyperspace.

"She will soon realize that Durga is not here," Daniel said.

"Sir?" Sam asked for his confirmation as she looked straight into his eyes.

"Do it," he gave the order with a slight nod of his head.

She nodded back and took Teal'c's place in front of the control board. She made a few adjustments and then pushed one of the buttons. A few seconds later a loud blast was heard and the ship was shaken a bit. The screen in front of her blurred.

"Carter?" The Colonel asked. "What's that?"

"Just the shock wave, Sir. Nothing to worry about." She kept her eyes on the screen, waiting for the information that she needed. Once the screen refocused, she smiled broadly. "Confirmed Sir. The claymore has done its job, Durga's ship is destroyed. Kali's shield protected her, but the position was too close, we managed to damage it slightly."

They had planted explosives on the ship's power core when she realized they could not have the ship. It was better to destroy it than give it back to a Goa'uld.

"How far are we from the Stargate?" Richardson asked somehow anxiously.

"Just a few more minutes. The Death Gliders won't have time to reach us," Sam answered to calm his nerves.

"Okay then. Pack up and get ready," the Colonel once again issued an order.

Following his order, the others started to scatter around the room. Sam gave the control back to Teal'c and walked past the Colonel to get prepared. She could feel his hand catch her shoulder. She turned around to meet his eyes.

"Good job, Carter."

She smiled. "Thanks, Sir."

They both knew that the job was not finished and the compliment was premature, but somehow they also knew that it was the right thing for him to say and for her to hear right now. And perhaps she should say something too? But what? As she watched him turn his back on her, she couldn't care less.

"Sir?"

Once again their eyes met. "Yeah?" She could see so much emotion in them, and it gave her the courage to say something. Anything.

"I know this might sound strange, but ..." She took a deep breath. "I'm glad that you kept your promise."

He didn't even raise an eyebrow, he knew what she meant by that. She might have been confused when the Colonel told her to give Durga to the man as they didn't actually get the Eye that they wanted, but that was just the kind of man that he was. Even though they had the worse end of the bargain, a Goa'uld Queen for a Goa'uld, something inside her had said that it was OK. Her rational and logical mind screamed that it wasn't fair, but deep down she knew that life was not always fair. It took a lot of courage to do the things that he did, and she found it to be ... endearing.

He closed his eyes and sighed in relief as if someone had just lifted his burden. "Thanks."

She only gave him her smile as a reply. The Colonel had had his doubts and she was more than glad to let him know that she didn't think less of him because of that. Because he was who he was, a man of integrity, a commanding officer worthy of her service, a loyal friend and ... someone who made her realize that she cared more about him than she was allowed to.

***

Jack let out a long breath as he allowed the warm water to cascade down his body. His eyes were shut as he enjoyed his shower. He didn't know how to feel. The anti-climax of their latest mission somehow disappointed him. But why exactly, he didn't know.

He was supposed to be glad. Sure they lost the ship, but they managed to get quite a lot of doohickeys for Carter to play with, blow up another mothership, and get back home without any extra casualties. He should have been happy. It was much better than any other mission that went wrong (and boy, how wrong this mission could have gone). But why did he get this nagging feeling that something was not right? That something was missing.

"Jack, are you done yet? We got a debriefing in 10 minutes," Daniel yelled from the outside.

"I'll be done in a minute," he shouted back, fighting the noise of the shower.

Reluctantly, he turned off the water. Grabbing the towel, he rubbed it roughly throughout his body, letting the material soak in the extra moisture. When he reached the locker room, Daniel was already gone. He said that he had to go to his office first to get some materials for the briefing. Wasting no time, he put on his BDU and headed towards the briefing room.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of his team was already there, together with the other senior officers involved in the mission. Doctor Fraiser was also present, to keep them appraised on the conditions of those who were injured. Greeting the occupants of the room, he then proceeded to take his seat next to his 2IC. He took a pencil and twirled it around his fingers absentmindedly while he watched the others. Daniel and Carter were talking animatedly with each other while Teal'c listened to them with his usual Teal'c's face. Fraiser was having a conversation with Major Grant in the corner of the room, next to the coffee machine. They were waiting for the General to start the debriefing.

And when the General arrived, they wasted no time. Carter was the first to give a report, she spoke about the SG-Alpha mission, followed by the others to complete the whole picture of the mission. The Doc gave her information about the Goa'uld that they had. Because the stasis jar was broken, she had to put it in a water tank to keep it alive. She hadn't had the time to study its physiology yet, but she recommended asking for the Tok'ra's assistance. She didn't really know what to expect from this 'advanced' type of snake, so she was hoping that their allies could shed some light onto it. And then somehow the discussion wandered towards the direction of the Goa'uld queen herself.

"Are you sure that she's gone?" General Hammond asked.

It was Daniel who answered, "Well, we all saw her stabbed from behind. Unless Kali managed to get there and put her back inside a sarcophagus, then it's safe to say that she is ... gone."

"She is." Without even thinking, Jack let everyone know his opinion about the matter.

Madden frowned. "How can you be so sure, Sir?"

"Called it a gut instinct, but I'm quite sure that that Shiva guy will make sure that she stays dead." It was not a gut instinct, somehow he just knew. There was something in the man's eyes that looked familiar.

The General nodded. He was satisfied with the Colonel's reassurance. "Anything else?"

"Ah, Sir. What about the NID? Have they heard about Sekhmet yet?" Carter expressed her concern. And he could relate to her anxiety, the NID didn't really have a good record concerning 'valuable' SGC findings.

"Not yet. But they will soon. I'll talk to the President and make sure that we have the priority to keep it here. But we might have to give them something in return."

"I'll work out the list for the technology that we managed to get from the mother ship. We could give some of it straight away to the NID, the ones that we are already familiar with," Carter agreed but was still wary. No alien technology could go out of the SGC without being preliminarily tested by her scientist club.

Jack studied her cautiously as she talked with Hammond. Without her even realizing it, little by little she took on more responsibility and now he could see that she was completely ready to be the next SG-1 leader. It'll be good to the team. A little change in it would only strengthen them.

And suddenly, the reality kicked him hard.

He would miss all of it. He would miss all the struggles and fighting. He would miss the briefings, the debriefings and the post mission check ups. He would miss the sound of the klaxons barking in the middle of the night with Davis's voice echoing 'Unauthorized Gate Activation' though the corridors. He would miss the red and green lines on the floor. He would miss Thor and his little friends. He would miss bugging Daniel and Carter as well as conning Teal'c into doing something 'fun'. He would miss the mess hall's Jell-O and pies.

On the other hand ...

He wouldn't miss the opportunity to never ever have to talk to the Tok'ra anymore (except Jacob). He wouldn't miss dealing with the NID. He wouldn't miss Daniel's and Carter's technobabble, although they had the tendency to do that anyway in everyday life (he *definitely* was staying in contact with his teammates). He wouldn't miss calling Carter 'Carter' (... maybe he would miss it a little, since it will be a little odd to call her a different name at first).

And yet ...

He couldn't help but feel that something was slipping through his fingers. He was proud of his team and knew for certain that they would do well without him. Now he could truly understand how parents felt about their children growing up. She will make her own mistakes and learn from them, while he watched from afar. It was a hard thing to do, but he wouldn't let the apprehension control him.

"Dismissed." The General's voice took him back to the present. The briefing was over. As he watched the older man walking towards his office, he put all his qualms aside like he always did. He stood up, informed his team to go ahead without him, walked towards the General's office and knocked.

"Come in," shouted the voice inside the room.

He reached for the doorknob and gripped it tightly. He had to do it. It was the right thing to do.

And then he opened the door.

***

Sam held the glass closer to her side nervously. Colonel O'Neill was sitting right in front of her, in the middle of O'Malleys. He said that he wanted to talk about something. She was aware that he had just had a conversation with the General, but she didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet.

"I talked to Hammond..."

She concentrated on the table's surface in front of her and pursed her lips. She had sensed that something was bothering him during the debriefing. Here goes.

" ... you'll be the new SG-1 leader by the end of the month."

The glass that she was holding jumped a few centimeters, spilling some of the contents on the table.

"Wha … what did you say?" She stuttered when she asked the question. The grip on her glass tightened.

He looked at her in amusement. "You better put down the glass."

She glared at him. He made it sound like she was going to hurt the glass. He just smiled under her scrutinizing and enjoyed the sight of his 2IC following his advice and wipe the spill on the table with her napkin.

"I wanted it to be as soon as possible, but there's a stack of paperwork that needs to be dealt with. Why are you so surprised with the news?" He asked.

She put the wet napkin aside. "I thought ... since we lost the ship ... you know."

"What does the ship have to do with any of this?"

"It was supposed to be your retirement present, remember? And I blew it up."

"Wouldn't be the first one, would it?" he snorted playfully.

"Sir?"

"What about 'The O'Neill'? You blew that one as well."

She blushed as he reminded her. "I had to."

"Just like this one. You had to."

"But ..." she started to protest.

"Ah, ah, ah. No buts," he cut her off. His expression softened. "I thought you wanted this too."

"I do, but --" The glare in his eyes made her stop.

"Carter, I wouldn't do this if I wasn't completely sure."

She slumped back and rested her back against her chair. He made up his mind and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. But ...

"Back in the briefing room," she started in a low voice, "there was something that worried you. And for a moment I thought..." She didn't finish the sentence, but they both knew what she meant. "Anyway, I just want you to know that I understand if you don't want to go through with it."

He laughed. "There's no hiding from you, is there?"

She was confused by his laughter as she didn't find it amusing. Trying to get her message across, she raised her eyebrows at him.

When the laughter subsided, he continued, "You were right. Back in the briefing room I thought about missing so many things after I retired. But then I realized that it wasn't about the things that I will miss, it was about letting go."

Letting go? Of what? "What do you mean?"

She could see his hand tighten into a fist.

"I was afraid to let my life go. You know when you've been doing something for so long that you just can't remember exactly why you're doing it? And then when the reason is no longer a reason and you have a cause to stop, but you don't want to because you just don't know how to live a different life?" He paused. "It was like that." He took one of her hands into his. "There's some important things that I have to let go of so that I can gain. And I just know that you'll be worth whatever I'm giving up ..."

The emotion on his face caught her off-guard. And so did the sincere admission. It was frightening and yet exciting at the same time. She always knew that he was a deep kind of person behind the ignorant mask that he put on.

"... I know you'll be a good leader. Teal'c told me about Halle requesting to be on the rescue team. You have an effect on your subordinates; you make them want to do better..."

And he trusted her more than anyone had.

"... You are *you*."

He made her feel so precious. His compliment meant a lot more than a dozen of roses or gifts. Suddenly, her vision was blurred as she was fighting to keep her tears on hold.

"Thank you."

***

He watched her cough blood as her condition weakened. She was lying on the ground while he supported her head in his lap. He wiped the blood away with the end of his robe. The knife still rested inside her body.

"I've told you that I would never let you take my Ravi from me," his voice was steady, but not threatening.

Her eyes flashed, but the face softened as brown eyes met brown. "She is weak. And so am I. She's trying to repair the damage, but I don't think that she will succeed," she told him.

His eyes lightened up in expectation. "It is you? Tell me, is it really you?"

She raised her hand and reached for the symbol on his forehead. "I can't believe you did this. You always said that you'll never serve them."

He grabbed the stretched hand and held it close to his heart. "I also told you that I would never give you up. No matter what."

She laughed but then she coughed. "But at what price?" Her voice was getting lower and lower as she was getting weaker. "Serving a master that you despise, captured and tortured by the creature ... by me."

He cut her off straight away, "It wasn't you. You'd never do that to me."

"It was me. I killed you over and over again. With these hands ..." she trailed off as she stared at their joined hands that were covered in her blood. "It was me who made you suffer."

"But my suffering will not be for nothing. I'll free you from the creature."

He went to Ra and was his priest because of her. He told Ra of Durga's betrayal because of her. He asked to be the guard of Sekhmet because he knew that she would come back looking for her. He knew how special Sekhmet was to her. He purposely let Durga know where to find him, Ra had never really had any use for Mata for a long time, so he rarely visited it. He refused to give what Durga wanted because it was the only thing that chained her to him. He might be Durga's prisoner, but she was the one who was trapped. He waited for a chance for so long and finally it came and he took it.

"And for that I am grateful, but you shouldn't have. No one is worth that much sacrifice." Her eyes reflected gentleness that she hadn't shown ever since the creature took over her body.

"You are," he let his palm touch the side of her head. "You are."

They could hear the Jaffa approaching. Kali's troops had finally reached the planet's surface and were searching for their queen.

A look of panic flashed in her eyes. "They're coming for me. That's why she let me have control, so that she could concentrate on staying alive until they came for us."

"Shhh, don't be afraid. I won't let them take you away from me again." He cradled her like she was a fragile little infant. "And that's a promise."

She heard the Jaffa were closing their distance, but his voice had always had a calming effect on her. Always made her believe in the impossible.

His hand was trembling as it traveled to the handle of the knife.

"Sleep now. For the bad dream will soon be over," he whispered to her ears, his tears were flooding like an open dam.

And then he pulled the knife out with all his might.

"ARGHHH," she screamed in pain as her body tried to escape his death grip. But he was stronger. The white sari that she wore now started to turn into red.

He tried to block her cry to no avail; his heart was shattered into a million pieces. But he had to make sure that the creature was damaged beyond repair. The edge of the knife touched the back of her neck.

He planted a kiss on her hair. "My Ravi. No one can take you away from me."

And with that last word, he thrust the knife upwards.

Her eyes went wide for a brief second.

He could feel it went though the creature that resided inside her body. He twisted it as the body in his arm convulsed wildly. With that last movement, her body went rigid and then went limp. He left the knife where it was and held her tightly. The creature was history.

He sobbed and sobbed like there was no tomorrow. His Ravi had finally gone to a better place. He barely realized the rough hands that separated him from the still warm body of her. His brain didn't register the pain as his head was hit by the end of the staff weapon. His ears didn't hear the anguished holler that he had let out from his own mouth as he crumpled to the ground.

All that mattered was his Ravi was gone.

And without the sun, there was no life to live.

***

EPILOGUE


"What do you mean it isn't finished?" Sam said through gritted teeth. The nerve of that man. Couldn't he do anything right?

The slightly older man who was at the receiving end of her anger squirmed uncomfortably. "One of the machines stopped operating last night, thus we don't have the necessary data to ..."

The machine? How dare he blame the machine. The machine was perfectly alright, it was her baby, and her baby could never do anything wrong. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well, if you are competent in what you do, then obviously --"

"Dr. Felger, could you excuse us for a moment?" General Hammond who had watched the interaction between them interrupted, stopping her from going into a long and well-composed tirade.

"Of course, Sir. I'll be in my office if you need me." She saw him sending a grateful look to the General before finally fleeing to the office without waiting for the General's answer.

She looked at Hammond questioningly, wondering what was so important that he didn't want that idiot Felger to hear.

Smiling at her, he motioned to the chair. "Take a seat."

"Sir?"

"Have a seat," he repeated.

Obeying his request, she sat on the chair and waited.

Giving her a knowing smirk, he said, "Jack went fishing, didn't he?"

She blushed and looked down guiltily like a child who got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. "I was being too harsh with Dr. Felger, wasn't I?"

He chuckled slightly. "I take it things are going well between the two of you then?"

Sam sighed deeply. The question didn't make her uncomfortable, but it was still a bit personal. Hammond was like her second father and he was being supportive of her and Jack's relationship. As soon as Jack retired, six months ago, they had been seeing each other. But things went too slow, to their frustration, because she was too busy dealing with all the changes in the SGC since he had left. SG-1 had two officers as his replacement, Captain Charlie Green, one of SG-Alpha's members and Captain Peter Dean, who used to be one of SG-7's members. She also had to deal with more paperwork than she was used to.

"Sam?" he asked wearily, as she didn't answer his question.

She met his eyes. "We are ... alright."

They went on several dates, but that was it. They were not fighting or anything like that, but that was just because they didn't spend enough time together to talk, let alone argue. She missed him. A lot. Sure when she went home at night, he would be there to hold her through the night, but she wanted to be with him 24/7.

"Take a break."

She did a double-take. "Sir?"

"You've been working hard lately, Sam. You deserve a break."

She could just kiss him right now, but she knew that she couldn't take it. "But what about the experiment and the --"

"Two weeks. I'm sure we can handle things around here without you for a couple of weeks," he insisted calmly.

"But SG-1 has a mis --"

"It isn't an important one. We could postpone it."

She appreciated the generous offer, she did. But she didn't want to be treated differently just because she was the General's favourite subordinate (she knew it for certain since he was her surrogate Godfather).

"You have been banking your downtime since you joined the SGC. I think it's the right time to cash some in." As if reading her mind, he smiled gently. "You have a life outside the SGC now. Take as many chances as you can, Sam, because as someone who thinks of you as my own daughter, I want you to be happy." He paused for a moment. "Even though I'll have to face the wrath of Jacob."

She grinned at the mention of her father. Jacob liked and respected Jack, but he had a hard time accepting the fact that Jack was dating his only daughter. He said that he had seen it coming, but there was nothing to prepare even the most loving parent for admitting the fact that their children had finally found someone to share their life with. His response when she told him about Jack was classic. He was so stunned that Selmac had to take over and offer her congratulations while Jacob was recuperating from the heart-attack. Selmac even told her that he demanded her to tell him that it was only a dream (a severe case of denial). But when he did recover from the shock, he hugged her and told her that his baby girl had grown up (she didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or not).

"Dad likes Jack," she found herself defending him.

Hammond smirked. "He only said that so he wouldn't upset you."

---

It was only the second time that she had ever been to his cabin but she wished that it could have been more. She saw him looking at her car from the deck while she was parking it next to his jeep. By the time she got out of the car, he was already by her side. Without saying a word, his forehead rested against hers and his hands rested on her waist.

"Hi." She smiled at the welcome that she was given.

He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers firmly. She could feel the desire and possession in their kiss as her arms rose to wrap around his neck loosely while their bodies moved closer together. She felt relief to know that he had missed her as much as she missed him. He pulled away from the kiss first.

"Hammond didn't just sack you, did he?"

And then his lips were back on hers. But it wasn't brutal or forceful, it was gentle and soft. She giggled at the suggestion and pushed him to arm's length.

"He gave me two weeks downtime." She stepped forward and buried herself in his arms, her head resting on his chest. "I'm turning into this awful, bossy and demanding CO without you. Hammond sent me here hoping that you would be a good influence on my mood."

This was one of the best things that she liked when he was no longer her Colonel. She was able to whine and act childish around him. And it really helped that they had the same sense of humor.

"Me? Good influence? Has Hammond finally lost his mind?" He ran his fingers through her hair. She found out that he loved doing that, he could just play with her hair all day long even though it was so short. He liked planting kisses there, massaging her scalp with his talented hands, messing her hair up and then patiently combing it with his fingers.

"Miss you." She closed her eyes and welcomed the warmth of his body.

"Me too." He sighed in contentment. "Come on, let's get your things inside."

She let him go hesitantly. But her face brightened as she remembered something.

"Wait here, I wanted to give you something."

She crawled back in her car and took something from the large plastic box that was seated next to the driver seat. She held it carefully and then handed it to him.

"For you."

Jack held his present carefully as it wiggled, trying to escape from him. "For me?"

She nodded as she recognized the adoring look that he gave to her gift. "You always said that you wanted a dog, right? My friend told me that her Golden Retriever had just given birth. I saw him and I just knew that he was the right one for you. He's a bit rebellious, but I know that you can give him the proper discipline. It's too bad that I couldn't let you two meet earlier, but the owner wanted to make sure that he was old enough to be separated from his mother."

"That's why you've been saying 'no' to all the dogs that we look at in the pet shop?"

"Of course. I had to prevent you from having another dog besides him. He gets jealous easily, you know," she teased him.

Both the puppy and Jack looked at each other in such a similar fashion that she couldn't help but laugh. Their eyes were a picture of trust and love.

"What's his name?" Jack asked. He stroked the soft light brown fur of the puppy until it calmed down and started to settle in his arms.

She shook her head. "He's yours. You name him."

He leaned forwards and kissed her again. "You're wonderful. Have I told you that today?"

"Any name but 'Thor'."

He eyed her suspiciously. "How did you know that I was going to name him that?"

Gee, she didn't have a clue.

Maybe because she actually listened when he talked?

Duh.

She rolled her eyes. "You told me."

"Okay. Why not 'Thor'? He's a buddy, he named a ship after me." He kissed her again.

"It's not going to work," she stated calmly.

"What's not going to work?" Another kiss and her eyes were closed.

"You kissing me to get what you want."

"It worked before." Yet another kiss and she was fighting a losing battle. He had his way with her and sometimes it drove her nuts. He might not be her CO anymore, but he sure knew how to make sure that things went his way.

"No," she said firmly, trying to convince herself that she could resist this man.

"Please." He didn't kiss her fully this time, but he bit her lower lip gently, scraping his teeth on her soft flesh. She could feel his tongue tracing the outline of her lip slowly.

She shook her head and stepped backward. His kisses had clouded her mind. What were they talking about? She couldn't remember for sure, but her instincts told her not to surrender. Ever.

He advanced towards her as she kept moving backwards. When she felt her back bump into her car, she knew that she was trapped. He was still holding the little puppy, but that was not a problem for him. He leaned down and started to nibble on her earlobe, and then he whispered hoarsely, "You know you want it too."

Oh dear.

***

Jack watched her sitting in front of the fireplace from the kitchen, knowing for certain that she was pissed. Thanks to him of course. But then again, 'Thor' was definitely worth it. That and she was so incredibly stunning when she was irritated.

He walked towards her bringing two empty glasses and a bottle of wine. He took a seat next to her and handed her one of the glasses and poured a generous amount in it. She was just so beautiful that he couldn't resist kissing her again.

"I'm worried," she said as soon as their lips were apart.

"Why?" He poured himself some wine.

She sighed as she turned her head to look at the fire. "We've been together for almost six months now and yet we haven't even fought just once."

Did he hear that right? "What do you mean?"

She put down her wineglass and tuned to him. Taking his glass from his hand, she put it down next to hers and then her hands covered his. "Don't get me wrong, but I want to have a normal relationship with you."

"Sam, our life is anything but normal," he gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumbs. She still had that tendency to think too much.

"I know that, but I can't help it, I want it to be normal." Her eyes were pleading and he found himself falling to her feet, ready to do anything she wanted.

"What do you want?"

Her eyes went wide for a while. "I don't know. I want to spend more time with you, with ... the puppy."

"His name is Thor."

She flashed him an indignant look. "I'm trying to be serious here." And then her expression turned sad. "I'm thinking about giving up some of my positions in the SGC."

He knew that she was the head of the astrophysics department, SGC liaison with the Pentagon, as well as being the SG-1 leader and Hammond's unofficial 2IC. She handled the responsibilities well, but it came with a price. And he also knew how hard it was for her to do what she had just told him.

"Come here." He put his arms around her and held her close. "I won't tell you what to do and what not to do. Just bear this in mind. I'll support you whatever your decision is."

She snuggled closer to him. "I don't want to lose you." There was fear in her voice. "Do you remember Halle?"

He recognized the name. "Wasn't she the Lt. who was on SG-Alpha?"

"She's a Captain now. Just got promoted last month."

He vaguely remembered the young woman. "Good for her."

"She broke up with her boyfriend soon after that mission. Who was also her former CO."

And suddenly, he knew where the conversation was going.

"We're not them."

She looked at him with an exasperated expression. "I didn't say that we are. I just admired her. She was making a hard decision, set her priority straight and got what she deserved."

"And?"

"And I was thinking that what I want is to be with you. So ..."

Thor chose that precise moment to bark from his make-shift bed in the kitchen. He smiled at her, "I'll be right back."

He went to get him and got back to her. The Golden Retriever was safely cradled in his arms, his head resting on his front legs. "He must have missed his Mum," Jack said.

When Thor saw her, he leaped away from his new owner and started to climb on her shirt. She helped him a little until he finally was able to lick her face affectionately.

He couldn't resist teasing her, "Thor, buddy. That's my girlfriend you're licking."

She groaned. "This is why I didn't want you to name him Thor." She shuddered slightly. "I got some funny images in my head and I have to blame it all to you."

Thor just wiggled his tail as Jack laughed at her. "Blame me all you like Ma'am. I don't mind."

She gave him an annoyed look, letting him know that she didn't want to be his source of amusement. Too bad the position was especially made for her. Ignoring him, she turned her attention to the puppy and scratched his ear, eliciting a purr from him.

Jack put his arms around her. "Sam."

She looked up to meet his eyes.

"Thank you."

She frowned. "What for?"

He was in his beloved cabin with the only person that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and the dog that he had always wanted.

"Making my dream come true."

The brilliant smile was back on her face.

"Your dream is my dream."

*THE END*



End Notes: blue-topaz@lycos.com
http://fly.to/bluetopazfic/

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