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Playing Ba'al

Colonel Simpson smiled when she saw the planet coming into view. "That’s it?" she asked the navigator.

"Yes, ma’am. These are the coordinates that the SGC sent," the young man replied.

"Let’s hope we’ve beat any Goa’uld here. If those bastards have a clue that SG-1 is here, they’ll be hell bent to recapture them," the captain said.

"Odyssey, this is Daedalus. As far as I know, SG-1 should have at least one radio on them. You brought ‘em out here, so I think it’s only fair that you get to take ‘em home," Cam’s voice filled the bridge. "Try givin’ ‘em a call."

The colonel smiled. "Comms, see if you can reach SG-1."

"Yes, ma’am! SG-1, this is Odyssey, do you copy? Respond. SG-1, this is the Odyssey, waiting for your response."

On the planet below, the voice coming out of the radio on Jack’s shoulder startled all of them.

"Did I just hear that?" Daniel asked, his eyes wide.

Jack grinned, and grabbed the radio. Keyed it and held it closer to his mouth. "Odyssey, this is SG-1. How in the hell did you manage to find us?"

"The story is that the leader of the rebel Jaffa made a little visit to the SGC," Colonel Simpson’s voice replied. "Apparently some rebel managed to figure out where you were."

Jack grinned from ear to ear. "Gotta love the rebel Jaffa. Bra’tac must have taken the word straight to General Hammond."

Teal’c was smiling as well. "Indeed."

"Odyssey, I don’t suppose you’re here to offer us a ride home," Jack said, still grinning.

"I suppose we could be persuaded." The team could hear the colonel and the bridge crew laughing.

"Well, if you can get a lock on us, we’re ready to beam up."

"Let me talk to my transport tech," Simpson responded.

"We’ll be waiting right here," Jack quipped.

"SG-1 good luck," Casey sighed. "May it never fail us."

"Amen," Daniel agreed, wrapping his arm around his Wife’s shoulders.

"General, my tech has you five by five. Stand by to beam up," Simpson’s voice announced.

The team formed a tight circle. In a flash of bright white light, they disappeared. The air was filled with the sound of rumbling. The ground began to shake once again. Where SG-1 had been standing, the ground gave way, and tumbled into the deep chasm that the earthquakes had caused.

Ear-to-ear grins lit the faces of SG-1 as they looked around the transportation room of the Odyssey. The tech grinned in return. "Welcome back, sir," he said, nodding at Jack.

"Glad to be back," Jack responded. "Let’s get our packs to the supply sergeant, and then go to the bridge."

"Uh…sir…Colonel Simpson says that Doctor Jenkins wants to take a look at you all," the tech interjected.

Casey turned to look at the young man. "Seriously?"

"Yes, ma’am. Post medical checkups after a mission are a requirement," the tech intoned. "As I’m sure you know, ma’am."

Daniel snickered. "She knows. She just prefers to push the limits if she can."

The tech grinned. "I suggest you stop by the med bay before going to the bridge. If Doctor Jenkins doesn’t come up there for you, Colonel Simpson would probably just have you escorted there."

Now Sam was laughing. "Oh, is our reputation biting us in the ass!"

"So it would seem," Jack groused. "Okay, Airman. Let the doc know that we’ll be there as soon as we drop off our gear."

"Yes, sir."

The team sauntered into the corridor, and made their way to the elevator. "You just know that Janet has sent all sorts of notes about us," Casey grumped.

"Probably," Jack agreed, commiserating with the seer.

"Why don’t we just pretend we’re adults, and follow orders like we’re supposed to?" Daniel suggested sardonically.

"You are just annoying," Jack said. "When have I ever not acted like an adult?" He held up his hand when Daniel took a deep breath. "You’re annoying," he repeated.

The supply sergeant and the two airman who worked in the supply department took the packs, insisting that there was no reason for the team to remain there to see everything put either into laundry or restocked on the shelves. Which left no excuse for not heading directly to the medical bay.

Waiting for them…leaning casually against one of the stationary beds…was a tall, red-haired man with a neatly trimmed beard, and huge, red-rimmed glasses. He chuckled when he noted the reactions of the team. "I’m Doctor Jenkins. And yes, I’m an Elton John fan."

The comment was met with laughter, and an easing of tension among the team. They arranged themselves on the available beds, watching as three medics entered from a side room.

"Anything to report? Did you come into contact with any alien parasites that you’re aware of?" the doctor asked.

Glances were exchanged. "We did some fishing…tasted just fine. So did the tomatoes we found," Jack told the man.

"Any illness as a result– nausea…heartburn…diarrhea?"

"None."

"Then I’m going to assume that the fish and the tomatoes weren’t poisoned, nor different – or not much different – than what we have on Earth," Doctor Jenkins mused.

"The Ancients seeded the galaxy," Casey murmured. "I’m guessing that everything that we have on Earth, we’re going to find a lot of the same things out here."

"Interesting," Jenkins said. He took the stethoscope from around his neck, and approached Teal’c. "Any insect bites, scratches, coughing, headaches, sneezing?"

"None," Teal’c replied. He took the required deep breaths as the doctor listened to his lungs.

"If we have this medical exam here, we won’t have to do it again at the SGC, will we?" Casey asked, watching one of the medics taking her blood pressure.

"That is entirely up to the CMO of the SGC. I don’t think it would be necessary, but that’s not my call," Doctor Jenkins told her. He hid his smile at her frown. Doctor Fraiser had been quite forthcoming about SG-1, their dislike of all things linked to the infirmary, and their penchant for trying to escape whenever possible. After he’d signed at least a dozen additional confidentiality forms, he’d been ‘read-in’ on the secret the team of five shared…unaware that three other people at the SGC, including the doctor who had been briefing him, shared the same secret.

Glancing at the results of the exams the medics had performed, Doctor Jenkins looked up at the team. "Well, nothing seems out of the ordinary. If you do develop symptoms of any sort, report to me immediately."

"Will do, Doc," Jack said, jumping to his feet. "Let’s go, campers. We’ll check out the bridge, and then see if we can rustle up some lunch."

As the team filed out, Casey stopped and turned to face the amused medical officer. "Thanks," she said softly.

"You’re welcome," Jenkins said, not quite certain why the seer was thanking him.

"Hopefully you’ll never have to come up with a cover story for us…but if you do, talk to Janet…er…Doctor Fraiser. She has plenty of experience."

Jenkins laughed. "I imagine so. And…thank you for the advice." He watched as the seer joined her teammates, wrapping her arm around her Husband’s waist. SG-1 was exactly what he had expected. And nothing like he had expected. As contradictory as it sounded, he knew instinctively that SG-1 was a very special team. He decided to read the mission reports filed by this team. He was certain he’d learn much about them through their own words.

Colonel Simpson looked up when the members of SG-1 drifted through the door and onto the bridge. She rose to her feet. "General!"

Jack motioned her back into her seat, did the same with the other crew members who had jumped to her feet. "So, are we heading home?"

"Just waiting for your order, sir," Simpson replied.

"Order given," Jack said.

Simpson nodded at her comms tech. "Daedalus, this is Odyssey. We have SG-1. General O’Neill says it’s time to go home."

"Roger that, Odyssey. Have your navigator plot us a course home. This time you lead, and we’ll follow," Cam’s voice echoed.

"I was afraid he’d say that," the captain muttered. "Nav, let’s get home. But we need to avoid the Goa’uld. We just took out two, I’m sure word is getting around by now."

"Whoa…wait…what?" Jack stuttered.

"We had a bit of a…situation…on the way to pick you up," Colonel Simpson admitted. She told the team what had happened. "I have to admit, seeing all those ships like that…I was scared to death."

"I know exactly how you felt," Jack said gently. "Seeing that many Goa’uld ships in one place is enough to scare the bejeezus out of anyone."

"So which snakes bit the dust? Whose names to we get to add to the Dead Goa’uld Wall?" Casey asked, trying to lighten the somber mood that had filled the bridge.

The captain of the Odyssey chuckled. "Well, if my communication officer is correct, and I’m certain she is, Olokun and Zipcana are no more."

"Yes!" Casey crowed. "I just knew Zippy was going to be stupid enough to get himself knocked out!"

"The Tok’ra will be glad to hear about Zippy," Sam said. "They’re not sure how he does it, but he manages to find at least one of their compounds on a regular basis. He never manages to do much more than threaten and cause damage…and usually force a move to a new place, but still…not having to deal with that will be welcome, I’m sure."

"He doesn’t have a spy among the Tok’ra, does he?" Daniel asked.

"No…Dad thinks he’d developed a way to detect their crystal corridors and rooms," Sam replied.

"Let’s hope he didn’t share that information with any of the other snakes," Daniel sighed.

"Please…those idiots wouldn’t share their own names if they didn’t have to," Casey snorted.

Jack laughed. "Very true. How about finding something to eat?"

"I could eat," Daniel nodded.

"We have a good cook," Colonel Simpson told the team.

"That’s good to know," Jack said. "We’ll grab something to eat, and then be back."

"We should have an arrival time for you when you get back," Simpson promised.

With a nod, Jack led the team back to the elevator.

"Things are going to get interesting now," Casey said, slipping her hand into Daniel’s.

"Yeah, I figured they would," Jack said.

"We did it, you know. We started a civil war among the Goa’uld," the seer continued.

"Let’s just hope that we can stay out of the middle of their little dispute," the general responded. "If the Tau’ri aren’t ‘seen’ around any of their battles, we can’t be linked to what’s going on."

"I just hope that Ba’al…the real one…gets his ass knocked out. By another Goa’uld or by us, I don’t care," Daniel declared.

"Me, too!" Casey agreed fervently.

The team trooped into the dining hall that was attached to the galley of the ship. The aroma of cooking food greeted them.

"Whatever it is, it smells good," Daniel said, sniffing appreciatively.

One of the cooks appeared at the ‘window’ that connected the two rooms. "Lunch won’t be ready for about twenty minutes," he said.

"No problem," Jack said, waving a hand. "We’ll just grab some coffee and wait."

The cook nodded and returned to work.

Settled around a table in the far corner of the room, the team nursed cups of coffee, and discussed the real-life ramifications of a Goa’uld civil war.

"System Lords will be desperate for the supplies and naquadah needed to rebuild ships that they lose in battles," Teal’c said. "It will not matter from where the naquadah comes. They will raid the planets of other Goa’uld, if they believe they can do so."

"Which is just going to cause more hate and discontent in the empire," Daniel nodded.

"The problem comes in trying to protect the people on planets that are free from Goa’uld enslavement…but have hills loaded with ore," Jack mused. "If we can put an SG team or two in those villages or towns, that might help them a little bit. Our people could give those folks a quick course in self-defense."

"If we can get the Pentagon to agree to send the needed weapons," Sam pointed out.

Casey smiled. "I’m sure I can come up with a dirty little secret or two that would keep the grumbling to a minimum. President Hayes doesn’t seem to mind when I ‘out’ people and their not always legal and never ethical behavior to him."

"Well, so far you’ve managed to help Hayes avert a couple of nasty scandals," Jack chuckled.

"Those ‘scandals’ were based on lies and innuendo," Casey countered. "I had no problems letting those three reporters know that they were spreading lies and disinformation. It helped when Emmett Bregman stood up and called them on their bullshit, too."

"Bregman has put out two documentaries about ancient civilizations," Daniel told the group. "I was honestly impressed with his research."

"He’s also been a staunch, vocal supporter of President Hayes and his administration. That hasn’t gone unnoticed among other reporters," Sam said. "Apparently the word is out that he worked on a ‘special project’ for the President."

"I’m sure the speculation is mostly lies and fabrications," Casey huffed. "I just wish I could have seen the faces of those reporters when I pointed out that their ‘sources’ were biased liars…and that they – as supposed journalists – should be smart enough to check other sources for the same story."

"I think it would have been more entertaining to have seen their faces when you exposed some of their not so reputable secrets to the President," Daniel grinned. "They had to have been spooked by the President having information on them that only they knew about."

"Well, them and a few well-placed ‘sources’ on The Hill," Sam laughed. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen General Hammond laugh as hard as he did when he read those retractions in the newspapers."

"You know that dozens of other reporters and journalists were wondering just what in the hell was going on. To have not one, not two, but three well-known reporters retract half a dozen stories, and offer apologies to any injured parties had to have shaken them up," Jack said. "That just doesn’t happen in the Fourth Estate."

"It does now that we have Casey and her little tidbits of information," Sam giggled.

Jack took a deep breath. "Okay, back to our current problem. We can’t leave Earth undefended, but I’m thinking we can spare a couple of ships to fend off any Goa’uld going after planets we’ve helped free. We got those people to revolt against the snakes, it’s up to us to help them stay free."

Sam nodded in agreement. "We can’t abandon our allies. It would certainly help if we had a few advanced allies who were willing to help."

"The Tegerians don’t have ships, at least not that we’re aware of," Daniel said, "but I wonder if they’d be willing to offer assistance to any planets in danger from the Goa’uld."

"They’ve been willing to help us," Jack observed. "The upgrades on the engines of our ships have been impressive. They don’t seem to have much in the way of weapons, other than those satellites, but then, from what I understand about them, nothing else is needed."

"Those satellites are amazing," Sam declared. "The fact that they draw all their energy from the sun will make them darned near perpetual. Add the fact that over half of the weapons on those satellites are energy-based weapons, and we’ll have a grid that can protect the planet from darn near anything."

"Do you think the Tegerians would be willing to put up a few of their satellites for a few of those planets…given the circumstances?" Jack asked Daniel.

The archaeologist shrugged. "I don’t know. But it wouldn’t hurt to ask."

The clatter of trays being stacked echoed through the room, and the deep pans that filled the buffet were being inserted into the steaming table. Delicious smells wafted through the air.

One of the airmen approached the table where SG-1 was sitting. "You can come on up and get something to eat now," he said, offering a smile.

"Thanks," Jack replied, smiling in return. "Let’s go, kids."

As SG-1 made their way into the chow line, the announcement that lunch was ready was echoing through the corridors. The room began to fill with crew members. While there wasn’t as much variety as there was at the SGC commissary, the food was good, hot, and filling. The team ate with gusto, delighted with ‘real food’ again after several days of MREs.

They had barely finished eating when they were called to the bridge. Hoping that it was just an announcement that they were home, the team agreed – as they rode the elevator to the upper level where the control room was located – that chances were high that the Odyssey and Daedalus had stumbled across a Goa’uld or two. While Casey hadn’t received any downloads…they were certain that their fabled ‘bad luck/good luck’ was kicking in.

It was all he could do to keep from moaning. While he and Casey had been able to make love orally, he was craving a heart-pounding romp in bed with his Wife, and to have that, they needed to get home. Daniel rolled his eyes with frustration when he looked out the windows that lined the front of the bridge. Nearly two dozen al’kesh and five pyramid ships were sitting motionless in front of them.

"Do they know we’re here?" Jack asked immediately.

"I don’t think so," Colonel Simpson replied. "We dropped out of hyperspace about fifteen minutes ago, before this group showed up. We’ve had to do a bit of maneuvering to keep from having a ship land on top of us."

"Communication with Daedalus?" the general inquired.

"We were starting a discussion on our next jump when the first pyramid ship appeared, with seven of those smaller ships," the captain replied.

"Al’kesh," Daniel murmured absently.

"We’ve received a text message from the Daedalus, giving us their location. We’re keeping quiet, don’t want the bad guys to know we’re here," Simpson reported.

"Good thinking," Jack told her. "Okay, for now, we wait and see what’s about to happen." He glanced over at the young communication officer. "Scan and see if you can figure out who we have out there."

"So far, there hasn’t been any type of contact between the ships, at least, not that I can pick up," the young officer replied.

"Colonel, see if you can hone in on anything," Jack said to Sam.

The blonde astrophysicist smiled at the young officer, waving her back into her seat. "I’ll just hover over your shoulder and annoy you," Sam teased. "Okay, let me show you a little trick we learned on one of the ships we captured."

"Which one?" Casey asked, her green eyes dancing.

"Remember the one that we just kept ringing parts down, and sending them through the ‘gate?"

"Not off the top of my head, no," Casey replied.

"That might have been before you joined the team," Sam mused. "Anyway, we stripped everything from that ha’tak, including the engines; rode the husk into the atmosphere to make certain it would crash, and then ringed out."

"I remember that," Daniel said, shuddering slightly. "We almost didn’t make it off in time."

"Well, before we had all that fun, we had to get it to a deserted planet-"

"Uh, Colonel?" The helm officer interrupted. "Why didn’t you just keep the ship?"

"It was nine kinds of blown to hell," Jack chuckled. "The Goa’uld had deserted it."

"And us," Daniel added. "We were prisoners at the time."

"Wow!"

"You can find the mission report in the archives," Jack promised.

"Okay, here’s what we learned," Sam said, pulling attention back to the job at hand. "This is the range that Goa’uld use for their ‘public’ conversations. Down here, in this range, is where they try to hide any ‘private’ messages that are going back and forth. And usually those are in text, rather than audible. Sometimes they code the messages, but their codes are notoriously easy to break."

The communications officer nodded her understanding.

"And here’s the beauty of our system," Sam added. "You can have the computer continue scanning for any coded or uncoded messages, while you monitor for any vocal communication."

"Got it! Thanks, Colonel!"

"You’re welcome," Sam smiled. She patted the young woman on the shoulder.

"The whole group sat for over thirty minutes, not a word between them during our last encounter," Simpson said quietly. "Don’t know if there were any private messages going back and forth."

"Considering the outcome, I don’t think it matters," Jack told her.

"True."

"The computer should be able to recognize Goa’uld signals, and give us an idea who’s out there," Sam said, almost absently. She leaned over the console and adjusted several of the controls. "There we go. Kali and Amaterasu."

Daniel felt his blood run cold. The last thing in the world that he wanted was a confrontation with Kali.

Casey felt his body jerk slightly. She put her arm around his waist, and stretched so that she could whisper in his ear. "I wanted to physically kick her ass when she invaded the SGC. Please promise me that if we get the chance, I can rip her hair out and shove her out an airlock."

It was impossible not to chuckle, especially when he looked into her green eyes. Without a doubt his wife would beat the snot out of Kali if she was given the opportunity. "I promise."

She placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thanks!"

"Oh, here we go," Sam said. With another smile at the comms tech, she activated the internal speakers, so that they could listen to what the Goa’uld were discussing.

"That’s Kali," Daniel said quietly. He shivered slightly. He’d know that particular voice anywhere…Goa’uld or not.

"He always was a coward," the other Goa’uld, Amaterasu said.

"They can do nothing," Amaterasu insisted. "Their ships were too badly damaged to be of any use to them. The best they can do is escape in whatever tel’tek they might have."

"They don’t know that those two are dead," Jack surmised. "Let’s just hope that they don’t get too curious about who took them out."

"If Camulus took off during the battle," Daniel countered, "they’ll just believe he slithered back and finished what they started."

"That would be the typical snaky thing to do," Jack agreed. "And keeps our name out of the conversation completely."

"I will not discount them until I have seen their bodies," Kali argued.

"Very well." Amaterasu relented. "We will worry about them later. Right now, we must find and destroy Ba’al,"

"Spies, or a little ‘gossip’ among the Jaffa? Bra’tac indicated he was going to have his rebels stir the pot as much as possible," Jack frowned.

"I don’t think Kali has that many spies…and not good ones, at that," Daniel said. "My guess is Bra’tac has managed to get a few rebels among her Jaffa, and they’re telling those loyal Jaffa exactly what we want them to know."

The two men grinned at one another.

Kali gave a quiet laugh. "I have learned of a planet in the far reaches of the galaxy. It is said Ba’al hides much of what he owns there."

"I do. Tuoni will be most eager to throw off the yoke of servitude to Ba’al, I’m certain he will gather as many ships as possible to join us. I have also alerted Lord Yu and Lord Morgan. They will meet us there. We will take what Ba’al has, and use it against him," Kali bragged.

Almost immediately the ships began to move away…the Tau’ri on the Odyssey and the Daedalus watched as ship after ship jumped into hyperspace.

"Tuoni?" Casey exclaimed. She would never forget the first Goa’uld she’d ever met…nor the results of that mission. "I thought I killed him!"

"You did, Angel," Daniel said, squeezing the hand that was wrapped around his so firmly. "Sometimes the Goa’uld just don’t stay dead."

"Someone tossed him into a sarcophagus," Jack grumped. He reached out and rubbed Casey’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Radar, when we take him out this time, he’ll stay out."

"I hope so," the seer replied.

"I thought Lord Morgan was dead," Daniel said.

"That’s what all our intel indicated," Sam replied.

"Unless someone was getting ‘Morgan’ and ‘Morrigan’ confused," Daniel sighed.

"Possible," Sam agreed.

"I am not taking her status off the database. If this little war goes as we plan, she’ll probably get her ass kicked, anyway," Casey declared.

Daniel pulled his hand free, and put his arm around her neck and pulled her close. Planted a kiss on the side of her head. "Don’t worry about it, Angel."

"We’re gonna have to try to find out where this secret planet of Ba’al’s is," Jack said, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "We’re gonna need to make sure he can’t get away, and then come back and rebuild."

"There are rebels on the ships of both System Lords," Teal’c pointed out. "They will be able to send the location of this planet to Bra’tac."

The area around the ship was devoid of any Goa’uld ships…at least, as far as they knew. If there were any al’kesh left behind, seeing the evidence of two ships entering hyperspace wouldn’t give them a clue about who those two ships belonged to…or so they hoped.

"Okay, let’s get the rest of the way home," Jack said. "The snakes seem totally preoccupied with finding Ba’al and his clone, they won’t be looking for us."

"Yes, sir," Colonel Simpson replied. "Let the Daedalus know we’re going to hit our solar system in one jump. Put us as close to Mars as you can."

"Yes, ma’am."

Jack watched as the blackness of space was replaced by ribbons of gold, blue, and green. SG-1…and SG-7…had succeeded in their mission. They’d started a civil war among the Goa’uld. For the moment, it was a loose confederacy of System Lords against Ba’al. But when they had disposed of that snake, they’d fight one another for anything and everything Ba’al had controlled. On the very first day, two minor System Lords had been eliminated. So why did he have the feeling that something was about to go wrong?

Thirty-three minutes later, Mars was looming in front of them, the red planet spinning slowly. Another very small jump, just ten minutes, and the Odyssey was sliding into place beside the Phoenix and the Prometheus, the Daedalus settling on the far side of the Phoenix.

"Colonel, it has been quite an adventure," Jack grinned. "You did a great job out there."

Colonel Simpson gave a slight nod. "Thank you, sir. I hope not all of the assignments given to the Odyssey will be so…adventurous."

Jack chuckled. "Here’s hoping. If you would be so kind, let the folks at the SGC know we’re coming home, and then zap our asses down there."

The colonel laughed. "I’ll be glad to let General Hammond know you’re on your way."

Jack studied the Colonel for a moment. "You were just baptized in fire. Welcome to the SGC."

"Thank you, sir. I just hope we can continue the tradition of outstanding performance that those of the SGC have so bravely established," Simpson replied softly.

"You and your crew are going to do just fine," Jack predicted. He gave a nod, then followed his team into the corridor.

The captain looked around at her bridge crew…they were all watching her carefully. "Best damned bridge crew in the Air Force," she proclaimed.

Smiles lit every face. They turned back to their stations, putting the ship into orbit, and setting up routine monitoring. Their shake-down cruise had been an experience they would never forget. What they had learned, they would no doubt use again. And what they had become – a crew of individuals molded into a unit that could…and would…work together seamlessly – would make them as strong, as capable, as any SG team in the mountain.

General Hammond was waiting beside the ring transport when SG-1 appeared in a flash of bright light. "Welcome home, SG-1."

"Thank you, sir," Jack replied cockily. He gave a sloppy salute. "I’m pleased to report that we accomplished our mission."

"So I hear," Hammond chuckled. "We’ll debrief in forty-five minutes. That should give you enough time to shower."

"That bad?" Jack asked sheepishly. "I mean, we wiped down every day."

"Let’s just say that it’s obvious you haven’t been near water for a few days," the general replied, his cheek twitching. He gave a nod, turned, and left the room.

"Okay, campers, let’s hit the showers," Jack said, waving toward the door.

"I hope Doctor Jenkins sends Janet all the details of our post-mission exams. Then we won’t need to-" Casey started.

"SG-1, report to the infirmary. SG-1, please report to the infirmary."

The seer glared at the speakers. "I’m not amused!"

"You jinxed us, Radar," Jack growled. "You were the one who brought it up."

"I’m taking a shower first," Casey said determinedly. "Janet can wait that long before she starts poking and prodding."

"Well, the general did tell us to take showers, and he outranks Napoleon," Jack nodded.

"Come on, you two. We’ll take showers, stop in and see Janet, and then do our debrief. I want to be home in a couple of hours," Daniel said.

Safe at home, knowing that they’d been successful in accomplishing what they’d planned, SG-1 strolled through the corridors of the SGC. The team parted ways when they came to the locker rooms.

Casey was peeling off her BDU as soon as she’d passed through the doors. While it was true that the team had used their Wet Ones to wipe down, and put on clean clothes…at least clean underwear…every day, it wasn’t the same as showering. And the seer couldn’t wait to get her hair washed.

She took her time washing, and spent extra time shampooing her hair. She stood under the spray of warm water, and gloried in feeling of being clean as she waited for the few minutes needed for the conditioner to work. Once she was completely rinsed, Casey wrapped a towel around her slender body and made her way to her locker. She was tempted to put on her street clothes…but that was just tempting fate to create a reason why she wouldn’t be able to go home tonight. And as soon as she and Daniel were in their little house, alone, she was going to make love to him until they were both screaming with pleasure.

Dressed in clean fatigues, Casey dropped down onto the bench beside Sam. "So, we’re gonna be running asses to elbows now, aren’t we? To protect all those planets…rather, the people on them."

"Probably," Sam replied. "I have faith that Daniel will be able to get some help from the Tegerians. They’ve been so willing to give to us, I just can’t see that they’d refuse to help any group of people too primitive to protect themselves."

"Daniel told me that the Tegerians seem to delight in ‘guiding’ us to new discoveries, or just flat out giving us what they consider to be ‘outdated’ technology."

Sam nodded. "I agree. The schematics they’ve sent for several of their energy sources are amazing…and while they haven’t given us working generators, it won’t take much to build them. The best thing is, we can build generators on a massive scale to help provide energy to entire cities. Without all of the problems we’re facing with fossil fuels, and they’re an improvement on what we have as far as solar and wind generators."

"I wish we could just announce that the SGC exists, we have a few problems with snakes, but we’re dealing with those, and that we have some amazing allies who are willing to help us move forward with our technology," Casey sighed. "Then I think about the chaos it would create, and that just gives me a headache thinking about it."

"One day, girlfriend," Sam said gently. "One day, something is going to happen that will make…exposing…the SGC the right thing to do."

"One day," Casey agreed.

"Well, we’d better get to the infirmary. We don’t have long before we’re supposed to meet with General Hammond," Sam said, standing to her feet. "I’m guessing Janet only wants to use the snake-detectors on us."

Casey nodded. "That makes sense. I guess we need to get snake detectors for the infirmaries on each ship."

"I’ll see if I can reverse engineer one. I don’t think it would be too complicated," Sam said.

Jack and Daniel were leaning against the wall opposite of the door when the two women emerged from the locker room.

"Teal’c went on up to the infirmary," Daniel said, when he noticed his Wife glancing around.

"Well, it has been what…four days?" Casey smiled.

"Something like that," he replied.

"Okay, we satisfy Doc’s need to mother-hen us," Jack said, "and then we get our debrief taken care of. Chances are it’s going to run into overtime."

"Dealing with the repercussions of what we’ve done," Daniel noted.

"Yep."

"Well, no one ever said getting rid of the Goa’uld would be convenient. They are, however, making it easier than we thought it would be," Casey said. She pressed the button for level twenty-one.

"Very true," Jack grinned.

"Oh! We have to tell Lee that she can add two names to the Dead Goa’uld Wall," Casey told Daniel.

"I’ll leave a note for her before we leave," he promised.

The team hesitated at the door. The last time they’d been in the infirmary, it had looked as if all hell had broken loose. Today, everything was in order. Beds were made. Cabinets were closed. A feeling of calm filled the large room.

Standing in the middle of the room, hands on her hips, was Doctor Fraiser. "I was wondering if you’d actually show up."

"Hey, the general wanted us to take showers," Jack protested.

Janet grinned. "Well, thank you for obeying that order," she teased. "I take it that you weren’t able to bathe at all?"

"We had wet ones," Casey replied. "The lake was too damned cold to bathe in."

"That explains it," Janet mused.

"Explains what?" Jack asked, only slightly confused.

Janet looked from one curious face to the next. "Teal’c didn’t shave his head. His hair is growing out. Didn’t you notice?"

The teammates exchanged surprised glances. "Uh…no?" Jack managed to say.

"Well, I told him I like it," Janet grinned. "He said it would save him time each morning if he doesn’t have to shave his head."

"Teal’c with hair," Sam mused. "That will take some getting used to."

"Okay, enough talk about Teal’c’s hair," Janet said. She pointed to the empty beds. "Pick a spot."

"Didn’t Doctor Jenkins tell you about our post-mission check ups?" Casey asked innocently.

"Yes, he did. But…" Janet held up the device that the SG teams referred to as the ‘snake detector’.

Casey and Sam exchanged a look, and began to laugh.

"Wanna share the joke?" Jack asked.

"We discussed the reason…or reasons…Janet would want to see us. And this was the only thing we could think of," Sam chuckled.

Jack and Sam sat side-by-side on one bed, Daniel and Casey on the bed opposite. Teal’c, they realized, was nowhere to be seen.

"A message from Rya’c was waiting for him," Janet said, when she realized that the team was looking for Teal’c.

"Not bad news?" Casey asked promptly.

"No, I don’t think so," Janet replied. She placed the monitoring device on the back of Casey’s neck. "I think it’s just something like a letter…‘hey, dad, how are you, I’m fine’ sort of thing."

"That’s good," the seer sighed.

"Well, you’re snake free," Janet announced. She checked Daniel, and declared him to be snake free as well.

"We’ll head on down to the briefing room," Daniel said, wrapping his fingers around his Wife’s hand.

"Yeah, after you stop for coffee," Jack snorted.

"So sue me," Daniel muttered, leading Casey into the corridor.

Jack glanced at Sam. "I suppose you need a cup of coffee, too?"

"I wouldn’t say no to one," Sam replied.

"Well, you’re both snake free, so go get your coffee," Janet grinned.

With matching smiles, Jack and Sam headed out the door.

General Hammond hesitated before he walked into the briefing room. SG-1 was in a celebratory mood…which they most certainly deserved. He knew that they were well aware of the stress that everyone in the SGC was going to face, now that they’d succeeded in starting a war among the Goa’uld. Let them enjoy their moment of success, he thought. They’ll need the memory of those feelings in the days to come.

"Congratulations, SG-1. You did exactly what you planned," Hammond said, settling into his chair. He pushed a folder to the middle of the table. "That holds copies of the mission report from SG-7. They were able to get aboard Ba’al’s ship, give him the message, and leave, all within about two hours. Most of that time, according to Major Andrews, was spent crawling through ventilation shafts."

"Sweet!" Jack exclaimed.

The general waited patiently while the team scanned the contents of the reports. He knew exactly what Jack was reading when he began to laugh.

"Radar, did you really give Andrews a note to read to Ba’al?"

"I most certainly did. Why miss the opportunity to just give that snake hell?" Casey replied.

Daniel was laughing now, as well. "Pretty succinct, Case."

"I tried," she said primly…then grinned broadly.

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m glad they didn’t kill the bastard," Jack said, reading Sergeant Sutter’s report. "Not at all surprised the snake was gonna toss a knife into the major’s back."

"Ba’al was so totally pissed off," Casey said, also reading the reports. Her gaze went slightly unfocused as images began to dance in front of her eyes.

"Incoming," Teal’c said quietly.

All eyes focused on the slender seer. Daniel scooted his chair back, prepared for his Wife to move to his lap. Instead, she reached out with one hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed gently.

She shook her head slightly. "Just a few images. He is so pissed off! First, his personal guard…didn’t. Well, that’s because the guys of SG-7 rendered them very unconscious."

"I believe that was due to your foresight," General Hammond said quietly.

"Yes, sir. It wasn’t much ‘foresight’, just that I needed to make sure they had sedatives. I figured they’d know when and what for when the time came," Casey explained.

"Well, they did," Hammond nodded.

"He was in one hell of a snit, and then when Pete shot him…he was so damned shocked he couldn’t even speak for almost an hour!" Casey continued, her head cocked to one side. "Then, in spite of the fact that he didn’t believe what Major Andrews told him, he decided he should probably check it out, just to make certain. Someone else must have tipped him off to the fact that his clone is alive and out there, because he’s in a snit and he’s starting to panic. He has to get rid of the clone before any of the other System Lords sees him…then he can deny the entire thing. But if the other snakes find the clone first…I don’t think ‘pissed off’ is going to cover what those System Lords are going to be."

"And we know that once they’ve knocked Ba’al down a peg or two, they’ll turn on each other to try to scoop up as much of what Ba’al owns…or owned…as they can," Daniel said.

"Free for all," Jack replied.

"What we have to do now is make certain none of our allies are attacked by these Goa’uld as they battle," General Hammond said.

"Yeah, we were talking about that," Jack acknowledged. "We figure we’re going to have to send SG teams to some of those villages and small towns. If our guys can give those folks a clue on how to defend themselves, one team should be able to keep those villages or towns snake free."

"The problem that we see is getting the weapons and supplies we’ll need," Sam added.

Hammond pursed his lips in thought. "I believe the President will understand the need for the additional resources. It’s certain generals in the Pentagon we’ll have to convince."

"Let Radar at ‘em, sir. I’m sure they’ll have something in their closets that they’d prefer left there," Jack interjected.

The general ducked his head in an attempt to hide his smile. He had absolutely no doubt that Casey could indeed convince certain men to cooperate. "We’ll just wait and see if we need Casey to have a little chat with those gentlemen."

Wide grins crossed the faces around the table.

"For the time being, SG-1, take a down day tomorrow. It might be the last break you have for awhile," Hammond said. "We’ll discuss which of our allies are most at risk, and make plans for protecting them."

"I’d like to contact the Tegerians when I get back," Daniel said. "It’s possible they might be willing to help us protect those allies."

"That, Doctor Jackson, would be most appreciated. Do whatever you can to get as much help as possible," the general said enthusiastically. "I believe that’s enough for now. Dismissed…and enjoy your day off."

The team jumped to their feet when the general stood. He smiled and nodded, and hurried back to his office.

"You heard the man," Jack said quietly. "Let’s go home."

Home. Was there a sweeter sounding word? Daniel knew that the coming weeks, possibly even months, would provide little chance for downtime. He had every intention of enjoying the few hours he would have alone with his Wife.

Following his Wife and teammates to the elevator, Daniel contemplated what they were facing. Oh, they’d known when they started this adventure what they were doing…and what they were setting themselves up for. But the chance to defeat the Goa’uld, or at least knock them down so far that they were nothing more than an annoyance, was too important to pass up. As Casey had said…twice, in fact…there was nothing ‘convenient’ about fighting the Goa’uld. But for the first time since they’d entered the battle, they could see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. While the thought that it was simply another train barreling toward them teased at the edges of his thoughts, Daniel was going to hold onto the hope that the good guys – the Tau’ri – were going to win after all…and sooner than any of them had dared to hope.

Praxyon filled the view out the window of the pel’tac. Ba’al sighed with relief. There were no other ships in sight…only those he knew to be waiting on the planet itself. He settled back on his throne. In spite of the…gaps…in his memory, he was the only Ba’al. The true Ba’al. There was always the possibility that he’d been wounded somehow, and that had affected his memory.

He smiled. He would set those two scientists on the planet…whatever they were doing that pertained to controlling time was too important to wait. Then he would gather the remainder of his ships, and he would begin to strike at the weakest of the System Lords. It was important that he do so, and that he begin as soon as possible.

Confident that he was about to finally maneuver himself into the position of Supreme System Lord, Ba’al began to relax. He stretched one leg out in front of him. All was going according to plan. In spite of what Casey had told him. And in spite of the fact that she had once again escaped from him. He was already making plans to go to the First World and demand her in exchange for sparing the mostly useless planet.

"My Lord, another pyramid ship approaches," one of the Jaffa exclaimed.

"Who is it?" Ba’al asked.

The Jaffa checked the scanner, then checked again. "It is one of your ships, My Lord. But whoever is on the pel’tak is refusing to respond."

He sat up abruptly. "Demand that the ship identify the Jaffa in charge."

Before his officer could respond, a face appeared in the view screen.

He felt the world around him beginning to spin. NO! NO! This couldn’t be!

Ba’al watched as the three ships began to move toward the planet. No doubt the clone was going to attempt to land, and then hide in the caverns that went deep into the planet. He had other plans for those caverns, at least one of them. And he had to get the two Goa’uld who were working on ‘the project’ into that cavern as soon as possible, so that they could continue their work.

"If those ships attempt to land, destroy them," he ordered.

The Jaffa exchanged nervous glances. "Yes, My Lord," the man at the communications control replied.

It would only be a matter of an hour or so before he could see the scientists into the cavern and to work. Ba’al understood that at this point in their research, they would need the device he had discovered. He hurried to his quarters. He would take the beautifully carved wooden box and meet the men who worked for him.

Then he would destroy the clone. Once again he was certain that his plans would be successful. No matter what Casey believed, he had no need to run and hide. No need to fear the meager fleets of the few minor System Lords who remained. He was about to become the most powerful Goa’uld that had ever existed. And he would control every world known to be inhabited.

A smile on his face, he strode into his quarters. Opened the cupboard. Moved aside two blankets…reached for a box that was…

Gone.

He looked frantically, tossing out everything that the cupboard held. Opened every drawer in the room, again throwing out the contents in a surge of panic.

He knew…without a doubt…that someone had betrayed him. Had taken the device he’d discovered nearly two years prior.

Ba’al threw back his head and howled his frustration. "NOC!"

Just outside of the sensor range of the ships that hovered above the rocky planet, nearly three hundred al’kesh and dozens of pyramid ships gathered…representing the remaining System Lords in the Milky Way galaxy…all but one. And those gathered were prepared to eliminate that one, so that they might continue to reign in their own territories…the desire to become the Supreme System Lord nothing more than a pleasant dream that no longer fit into the reality of the Goa’uld Empire.

And in a far away galaxy, two System Lords listened with growing unrest as spies informed them of the state of the Empire in the Milky Way galaxy…birthplace and home of all Goa’uld. Whispers and rumors of the intervention and machinations of the Tau’ri were most troublesome. The death of the Goa’uld responsible for bringing the Empire to such a low point…the verge of total destruction…was only a matter of time. And not much time at that, given the reports. Now the two were once again focused on one another. With the Empire in their home galaxy nearly destroyed, each believed himself the strongest, the ‘Supreme System Lord’ who would rebuild and rule the Goa’uld Empire.

The war was just beginning.

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