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My Name Is Casey 

Prologue

The mission had been a success. The Jaffa who had undertaken the task found himself promoted to a position as personal guard to his god. His heart swelled with pride each time he put the sash across his shoulder. In spite of the rumors, the Tau’ri fortress hadn’t been impenetrable. He was proof of that.

Since his return, his Master had been exceedingly pleased...and happy. Which, for those in service to him, was a blessing in and of itself.

In time, the Jaffa would understand his part in what would become a nightmare for one young woman, and the descent into hell for a man of great learning. That knowledge would hasten him on his way to realizing the true nature of his god.

A A A A A A

The Being hovered nearby. One of Her rank and position rarely bothered to become ‘involved’ with the happenings of lower levels. There were times, however, when intervention - done with the slightest of touches, was necessary. The Oracle had been quite adamant in insisting that the events must play out. She and her Companions, however, were convinced that left alone, there was the slightest chance that what should happen...would not.

The Seer...the Guide to The One...would be allowed to access the information that had been sent to her... only after the time of intervention had passed.

One last - adjustment - to make; so slight that it would be undetectable by those who monitored so carefully. An adjustment that would ascertain that all events fell into place as needed...so that The One would garner the information he would need for future battles.

The Laws of the Nine Levels were succinct, and brooked no argument. The most important of all: the law of non-interference.

There were times the laws must be broken to maintain them. A paradox that not even the Beings of the Highest Levels could come against.

A A A A A A

The Jaffa shoved the prisoners into the cell with little regard to whether or not they remained on their feet.

"Woulda been nice to have had a clue about this," Jack muttered, stumbling slightly, accepting a steadying hand from Teal’c.

"Casey doesn’t get the full daily itinerary," Daniel snapped. Jack’s attitude he did not need at the moment! Once again Ba’al had managed to capture his Wife, and he wasn’t sure whether to scream in rage or drop to his knees and weep in agony.

The older man reached out and squeezed the archaeologist’s shoulder reassuringly. "I know, Danny," he said quietly.

"She’s okay," Sam said, stepping closer to the two men, putting her hand on Daniel’s back.

"Ba’al has her...she’s not okay," Daniel spat, pulling away from his friends. Not their fault. Stop acting like an ass. He took a deep breath, tried to get a grip on the mind-numbing panic that filled him. Attempted to push away the images of Ba’al dragging Casey with him, in the opposite direction that the Jaffa were jerking and yanking the four remaining team members, that continued to whirl in his mind. "Sorry," he murmured.

Jack nodded his acknowledgement. "Still got that doohickey?"

Daniel nodded, patted the pocket of his tac-vest.

"Did anyone else notice that Ba’al didn’t seem surprised to see us?" Sam asked, a frown on her lovely face.

"It did indeed seem as if he expected to find us," Teal’c mused.

"Either somebody gave him a head’s up that we were coming-" Jack started.

"Or he’s learning from our repeated appearances on his ship," Daniel concluded with a sigh.

"Well, we have made a habit of popping up here whenever we want something from him," Sam said. She tried to smile, but failed miserably.

The teammates continued to stand near the energy field that prevented them from leaving the ship’s prison cell. Hoping to hear something...anything. Things had certainly gone to hell quickly. Given their circumstances, not one of them bothered to worry about the bag of ‘stolen goods’ that had been taken from Teal’c.

Daniel put his hand on the wall, rested his forehead against his fist. Don’t piss him off, Angel, he begged silently. Don’t give him a reason to kill you.

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