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Playing Ba'al

Chapter 9

Colonel Simpson paced the bridge. "All stop," she said quietly. The ribbons of color that indicated the ship was moving in hyperspace faded. She paused directly in front of the windows that offered a spectacular view of a nebula…she had no idea which nebula it might be, or if it had even been discovered by the astronomers on Earth.

She continued to stare at the darkness of space, as if she’d be able to find the answers she needed there. The stars in the distance sparkled like diamonds on black velvet. Solar systems they could see offered an array of colors. It was beautiful…breathtaking. And out there…somewhere…SG-1 was in trouble.

She was feeling completely out of her depth. Not only did she know absolutely nothing about commanding an honest-to-goodness spaceship, she had no clue how to deal with an enemy that was apparently stronger than the forces on Earth.

Turning to face her bridge crew, she offered a small smile. "I want to thank you for the amazing job you’ve done so far. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. We need to find our missing team. How seems to be the question. Comms, send a message to the SGC. Give them our location. Then…" she crossed her arms in front of her stomach. "Then, tell them we’d appreciate any advice that they can offer."

"Yes, ma’am," Sergeant Phillips replied. "Nav, can you give me our coordinates?"

"Sending now," the navigator replied quietly.

There were a few minutes of silence. Then the comms officer’s voice filled the room. "SGC, this is Odyssey. Do you copy, over. Ship time, 01:32:47, date 10-14-04."

"How long for a response?" the commander asked.

"I’m not sure, ma’am. It depends on how far we are from Earth."

"I have that calculated," Lieutenant Grogan reported. "According to the star charts, we’re at plus forty-one degrees, twenty-four hours and twenty minutes. We’re actually closer to Earth right now than we were."

"How close?" Phillips asked.

"We’re at about fifty light years," Grogan said.

Phillips did the calculations. "Message should be received in two minutes, twenty seconds."

It was all Simpson could do to make it to the captain’s chair before her legs gave out…with sheer relief. "Then we should hear back in about two or three minutes," the commander mused.

"Yes, ma’am."

The speaker for the communication system crackled. "Odyssey, this is SGC. Good to hear from you. Report? Local time 02:23:14, date 10-14-04."

Simpson frowned. "I’m guessing our little jaunts through hyperspace account for the time difference."

"Yes, ma’am," Grogan nodded. "We weren’t in hyperspace more than twenty minutes to arrive at our target destination. And we dropped out of hyperspace about ten minutes after losing Ba’al’s ship. If we had been in hyperspace longer, more time would have passed for the SGC than for us."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. She was a flight specialist. Her specialty had been Military History. She was not an astronomer nor an astrophysicist. What she did have was experience in commanding squadrons. She knew that utilizing the abilities of those under her was the best way to get the job done. The young people in her crew had the training they needed to perform their jobs. They would be there to hold her up when she needed help.

"What do you want to report, ma’am?" Phillips asked softly.

"Tell them we were unable to continue pursuit of Ba’al’s ship. Give them our spatial location. Then ask for that advice."

"Yes, ma’am." Phillips turned back to her station. "SGC, Odyssey unable to continue pursuit of enemy ship. Our spatial location is plus forty-one degrees, twenty-four hours and twenty minutes. Odyssey requests orders."

The commander nodded approvingly. "Best crew in the universe," she murmured. Bit back her own smile when she saw the pleased reaction of the young people around her.

"We should receive a reply in…two minutes, six seconds."

"Mr. Grogan, call down to the mess. Have them bring up sandwiches and coffee. I have a feeling we need to eat while we can."

"Yes, ma’am."

All eyes were on the clock that ticked just above the windows of the bridge. Just a few seconds more…

"Odyssey, this is Colonel Ronson on the Prometheus. We were in the same position on our maiden voyage," an amused voice said.

"That’s supposed to make me feel better?" Simpson grumped.

"Advice…stay put. You’ll probably be receiving word on SG-1’s whereabouts in the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Suggest you scan every ten minutes for any potential threats. Remain cloaked. And just call out if you need anything."

"Start those scans," the commander ordered immediately. "Do a full sensor sweep around us every five minutes. Increase distance ten kilometers each sweep for ten sweeps, then repeat."

"Yes, ma’am," the weapons officer, First Sergeant Michael Dorman replied. "Scanning now."

"Reply, ma’am?"

"Can I send the message?"

"Yes, ma’am," Phillips smiled.

"Colonel Ronson, thank you for letting us know we haven’t breached new territory on this mission. We’re scanning now, and will remain at these coordinates until orders to move are issued," Simpson said, smiling at her crew.

Two galley staff appeared at the door, pushing two carts that carried sandwiches, cookies, potato chips, apples, oranges, bananas, and two pots of coffee.

"Tell the cook he’s a saint," Simpson said, reaching for a mug and pouring a cup of coffee.

"Yes, ma’am," one of the young Airmen replied. Each saluted smartly, then hurried back to their work in the galley.

Checking the clock, Commander Simpson determined to have her second-in-command – whom she had barely had time to greet when she’d arrived on the ship – and the night crew assigned to the bridge take over in two hours. She called Major Jeremy Haynes to the bridge.

He arrived a few moments later, saluted, then greeted the Commander.

"Help yourself," Simpson said, waving at the carts.

"Thanks," he replied, and poured a cup of coffee.

"I’m so sorry I haven’t had a chance to say more than hello," Simpson began.

"Ma’am, the way we tore out, I’m surprised half the crew didn’t get left behind," the major said, only half joking. "I was able to read the mission report. I’ve been monitoring from the engine room-" He broke off, his cheeks going red; he looked down at the floor.

"Major, you don’t know how relieved I am to know that. Having you up to speed on what’s going on is the only way that we’re going to be able to work together. I understand that you’re a mechanical engineer," Simpson replied.

"Yes, ma’am. The engine room is sorta hard to stay away from," the major admitted.

"Well, thank goodness someone on the command staff has a clue how this ship works," the commander said, the smile on her face genuine. "I’ve already learned I have the best bridge crew in the universe."

Once again the young faces in the room reflected their pride in hearing the praise.

"I think you’ll find that everyone on the Odyssey is top-notch," Haynes said.

"I believe you," Simpson nodded. She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed thoughtfully. "Will you be able to take over in a couple of hours? I know there’s a night crew assigned to the bridge. I don’t know what we’re going to be facing in the hours ahead. I’d like for us to do four hour shifts. Mostly because we have to be alert and ready for anything. That type of stress can wear a body out in a hurry."

"I’ll be glad to relieve you. I’ve met the bridge night crew. Great bunch of young people. And I agree…keeping alert is going to be a priority."

Simpson nodded. "Good, good. Get your crew together. Tell them to get some sleep. Then bring them up here in two hours."

"Two hours…yes, ma’am."

"And Major?"

"Ma’am?"

"You keep monitoring what’s going on up here. Unless you’re supposed to be sleeping."

Haynes grinned. "Yes, ‘ma’am."

They were moving slowly, Daniel could do little more than hop on one foot, even with Teal’c’s assistance. They weren’t in any danger of being hunted by Jaffa…at least they’d not seen or heard any Death Gliders since the two that had followed them from Ba’al’s ship had disappeared.

Jack was clearing a path…the undergrowth was thick, and the number of vines that crisscrossed the forest floor were astounding. The vines climbed the trees as far up as they could see.

"This reminds me of that planet Keku was on," Sam mused. "I was so relieved to find those vines. They made excellent ropes."

Jack stopped, turned to face his wife. "You don’t think this is the same planet, do you?"

Surprised at the question, Sam stumbled slightly. "I don’t know…I actually have no idea."

"Was there any sign of a village near the Stargate?" Daniel asked.

She shook her head. "I didn’t have access to information like that. I had a map, and that was it. The map marked the lake, mountains…" she paused. "I didn’t actually look at anything else once I located the Stargate."

"Well, I remember a few low mountains," Casey said. "But nothing like those." She pointed to an opening between the trees where tall, jagged mountains could be seen.

"I don’t either," Sam said. "I didn’t climb anything like that."

"So," Jack said, leading the way again, pushing the branches of a bush out of the way, "what you’re saying is that we’re not on Kookoo’s planet."

Sam grinned. "No, we’re not on Kookoo’s planet. There are similarities, but then, we’ve found numerous planets that seem to be very much alike."

"Seeded," Casey said, pushing a small branch from another bush out of her way. "The Ancients seeded the universe. They were either trying to duplicate what they’d found on Earth, or improve on it."

"Guys, I gotta rest," Daniel groaned, panting slightly.

Teal’c looked around and located a fallen tree. He helped Daniel make it to the downed giant, easing him onto the rough bark.

"We can wait until you heal, Danny," Jack said quietly. "We’re in no rush here."

Daniel nodded. "It shouldn’t take too long. I hope." He smiled and put his arm around his Wife when she settled beside him.

"I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting hungry," Sam said.

"I could eat," Casey agreed.

"As could I," Teal’c chimed in.

"Do you want to build a fire here?" Jack asked, looking from one face to the other. "We’ve been on the run for the past two hours, and we’ve been working on this mission for damned near fifteen hours today. We could just hunker in and spend the night here."

Daniel frowned. Was that all it had been? It felt as if two days had passed since the final briefing with SG-7, just before boarding the Odyssey.

"I think that’s a good idea," Sam nodded. "I think we could clear some of this foliage out, and have a decent place to set up camp."

"Okay, Big Guy, let’s get a fire pit dug. We’ll bury it before we leave," Jack said.

Casey was frowning. While they had all the gear they needed for their hike to the Stargate that was somewhere – in that direction, she thought her eyes going to the mountains that were barely visible from where she sat – the gear was not ‘their’ gear. There weren’t the ‘personal’ items they all kept in the packs stenciled with their names.

"What’s wrong, Angel?" Daniel asked, noting the look of frustration on his Wife’s face.

"We don’t have that battered old pot to warm up water," she mumbled. "And we don’t have coffee…or cream and sugar for the coffee."

"Actually, Case, those MREs have tea bags and instant coffee packets, as well as cream and sugar packets," Daniel told her.

"I know that," she admitted with a sigh, "but it’s not my instant coffee and my creamer and my sugar. It’s the cheapest crap the military could find to stuff into those pouches."

Daniel chuckled, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close. "Thanks to you, we at least have the cheapest crap the military could find."

She glanced sideways at him. "True. Even the cheap stuff would have been welcome on Big Foot’s planet."

"Yes, it would have been. And it’s nice and temperate here. Not too warm, not too cold," Daniel pointed out.

"So, what you’re telling me is to suck it up and stop complaining."

He pressed a kissed to her temple. "Suck it up and stop complaining," he repeated teasingly.

"Right. How’s your knee?"

He moved his leg slightly. "Not as bad as it was," replied.

"Hey, Danny…give your tent to Casey, Teal’c and I can set it up for you," Jack said. He was in the process of erecting the small tent he and Sam would share.

Casey dragged his pack forward, and carefully unhooked the tent from the bottom, just below the Thinsulate sleeping bag. "I can put this up," she said. "Just show me where."

Jack shook his head stubbornly. "The Big Guy and I will get a spot cleared and get it up."

She studied her CO for a moment. Noted the stubborn set of his jaw. She realized that the fact that Daniel had been injured during the jump to safety was a little detail of their escape that Jack would blame himself for. There was no need for him to feel guilty, it was just one of those things that happened. But Jack O’Neill took his role as team leader very seriously. Toss in the fact that Daniel was his best friend…and he’d beat himself up over the wounded knee for weeks to come. She nodded. "Okay."

He watched those green eyes study him. No doubt her radar had her seeing far too much, Jack thought. That wouldn’t stop him from taking care of the two members of his team that needed protecting. Oh…maybe Daniel didn’t need as much protection as he had when he’d first joined the SGC. And Casey was no slouch at taking care of herself. But without her, his team would be on a planet facing at least a week’s worth of travel with nothing, possibly not even their weapons. And Daniel had been hurt when he’d jumped from that crashing tel’tak. He was the team CO. That meant taking responsibility for anything that went wrong. And it meant taking care of his kids. Whether or not they actually needed him to do so.

"Thanks, Jack," Casey said softly, laying her hand on his arm as she handed him the tent."

He self-consciously patted her fingers. "Any time, Radar," he replied, just as softly.

The sunlight that had dappled the ground through the multitude of leaves was turning golden. The sun was beginning to drop lower in the sky. The forest around them had been silent, but as they set up camp, birds began to sing and twitter above them.

"Well, there are birds. Probably insects, too," Jack said. "Everybody make sure your weapons are loaded. Don’t know if we’ll run into any critters out there or not."

In less than fifteen minutes, the three small tents were up…a nice fire was burning, and the teammates were relaxing for the first time in at least sixteen hours. Muscles that had gone stiff from the stress of the mission began to loosen up.

"We should probably keep the empty water bottles," Sam said, opening one of the bottles of water from her pack. "We can refill them with water if we find a stream or river."

"Good idea, Sam," Jack nodded. He grabbed his pack, and dug until he found his med kit. He checked the contents. "Yep, plenty of test strips, and a packet of chlorine tablets if we need them."

"Casey Jackson, it is most fortuitous that you saw our need for these supplies," Teal’c said quietly, also sipping on a bottle of water.

"I’m just glad I got the message before we left the Odyssey," Casey muttered. "As it is, I didn’t see anything at all about packs until we were loading our P90s. I mean, could whoever sends the messages have cut it any closer?" She paused…frowned… opened the water Daniel handed her. "I am so going to have to find whoever that ‘someone’ is and have a nice, long talk with him. Or her."

"With, Case? Or more of a ‘talk at’ him or her," Daniel teased. He lifted his bottle of water to his lips and drank gratefully.

She scrunched her nose at him. "With, at. Whichever." Quiet laughter filled the air as her teammates laughed.

"So, tell us about what you said to Ba’al," Sam said, settling herself comfortably against Jack’s side.

"Well, we just sashayed right onto the pel’tak, and the looks on the faces of those Jaffa was priceless," Casey started. "They didn’t know whether to shoot us or run."

Daniel snickered. "Casey planted herself in front of Ba’al’s throne, where he was trying his best to look all relaxed and not at all concerned about how we’d managed to get on his ship," he added. "Then she says, ‘hey, Ba’al, how’s it hangin’,’ at which point I damned near laughed out loud."

Jack did laugh out loud. "You really said that?"

Casey nodded. "Yep. Then I gave him the lowdown on what was going on."

"He really didn’t want to believe it," Daniel said, shifting slightly in order to ease the pressure on his knee.

"I kept pushing…I knew that he was already dealing with doubts and questions," Casey continued. "I had to make certain that I added to that. I wanted him unsure enough to be pissed, and pissed enough to be determined to prove me wrong."

"You hit all the right buttons, babe," Daniel told her.

"I even remembered to tell him that he’s a bad copy of a lousy Goa’uld…well, I said it the way I did when we were planning the mission," Casey told Jack.

"Way to go, Radar!" Jack laughed, clapping his hands. "So you screwed with his brain, he had Daniel taken to that ‘interrogation-slash-torture’ room, just like we expected. Then, we were standing outside his quarters not more than fifteen minutes later.

"By the way, that room looked like all hell had broken loose…what happened?" Sam asked.

"Oh…well, Ba’al was going to drag me along while he killed Daniel, then he was going to drag me back to his quarters to have me all prettied up for some ‘binding ceremony’, and then he was probably thinking he and I were going to do the sheet shimmy," Casey explained. "I could sense that you guys were on your way, and I knew I had to keep him and me in that room, or it would totally screw up our plans. I thought I had everything pretty much under control, until he figured out that you and Jack and Rocco were on the ship as well. That’s when we had a bit of a fight."

"Fight?" Jack asked, trying to recall if he’d seen any bruises on the seer’s face when the door to the Goa’uld’s quarters had opened.

"I actually got to his hit his sorry ass a couple of times. Even knocked him down once," the slender seer reported gleefully. "I have to admit, I’m sure glad you guys were standing there when the door opened…he’s stronger than he looks!"

Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Did he hit you?"

She examined her Husband’s face for a few moments, taking note of the barely suppressed anger in his cerulean blue eyes. "Just slapped me a couple of times. I hit him…right hook…that’s when he hit the floor. I was going to try to get the knife I know he hides under his pillow. He of course tried to stop me. That’s when I kicked him in the chest. Then I rolled off the bed, he grabbed my ankles…when he stupidly let go of one leg, I kicked him in the side of the head." She smiled when she saw the relief…and the amusement…in the eyes that held her world.

It was impossible not to laugh at the pride on her face and in her voice. "So, you did more damage to him that he was able to do to you," Jack surmised. Casey was a little hell-cat when she was pissed off, he thought. Gonna have to get a body-cam for her to wear on missions. The videos of her dealing with Jaffa and Goa’uld would be off-the-charts entertaining.

"Pretty much. But, all that exercise kept him from doing anything really stupid, and I was right where I was supposed to be when you got there," Casey said proudly. "You know, now that I think about it…I kicked his snake ass!"

Jack howled with laughter. Sam and Teal’c were laughing just as heartily.

There had been no time to make certain his Wife was all right, not in the midst of trying to make a successful escape from a Goa’uld ship. Daniel had feared the worse when she’d greeted him with such obvious enthusiasm. Listening to her recitation of what had transpired in Ba’al’s chambers had him almost feeling sorry for the Goa’uld. Her absolute glee in her success in beating up the one Goa’uld she hated…and feared…the most had him laughing along with his teammates.

"I should send Balls a note," Jack said, wiping his eyes, still chuckling at the thought of Casey fighting the snake so successfully (willing to ignore the fact that the Goa’uld had her in his clutches…literally…when the team arrived at his quarters,) "and tell him that he owes us from keeping Casey from kicking his ass all the way up and down the corridor."

Once again the air was filled with raucous laughter.

"Didn’t we decide to eat? I’m hungry," Daniel announced, once the laughter had subsided to quiet chuckles.

"As am I," Teal’c agreed.

Packs were searched and favorites pulled out. More water was opened and poured into the ‘pan’ from each mess kit, then nestled down into the coals to warm for coffee…and tea.

"So, you think he’ll be looking for the real Ba’al?" Jack asked, sliding the heat pack into the MRE he’d decided would be his dinner.

Casey opened her pouch, and followed suit. She sat the warming MRE on the ground beside her, and opened the packet of crackers and peanut butter. "He’ll be determined to prove me wrong. Especially because he’s full of doubts now. He was worried before," she answered, "but I think I have him panicked. He has to prove he’s the ‘real’ Ba’al, because the second that the Jaffa get the hint that he’s not, they’ll either turn on him or just walk away. I honestly don’t even know if there were…are…well, I don’t know if there were any other Goa’uld on that ship or not. If so, they’ll kill him in a heartbeat if they figure out who…rather what…he is. They’ll take whatever the clone Ba’al is claiming as his as quickly as possible." She paused for a moment. "That would actually be to our advantage…because whatever those snakes take, the real Ba’al will have to fight to get back. Any fight means losing at least a few Jaffa and gliders. The more his ass is knocked down, the faster the sharks will start swimming around him, waiting for the chance to destroy him."

Jack leaned back against the giant tree behind him. "So, we managed to start something."

The young blonde nodded. Licked peanut butter off her finger. "Mission accomplished."

"Can’t wait to get back to the SGC and find the latest copy of the Snake Times," Jack grinned.

"By the time we get back, it’s possible that the real Ba’al will have destroyed the clone," Sam mused.

Daniel smirked slightly. "It’s always possible the clone could take out the real Ba’al. Then, according to Thor, he’ll drop dead."

"What we don’t want is for the other snakes to slither in and take over what Ba’al has," Jack said.

"If he’s challenged often enough, he won’t have much left," Daniel pointed out.

"It is also possible that Master Bra’tac and the rebels can take command of at least a few of his ships. And if they can do that, they’ll be able to free many of the planets he has been controlling," Teal’c said.

"That would be awesome," Casey sighed.

"And if we come in behind the weaker Goa’uld, and knock them out…" Sam said. "We really could see the end of the Goa’uld Empire. Or at least strike such a devastating blow that none of the System Lords will ever be much more than an annoyance. It could totally wipe out the majority of System Lords."

"If we can destroy enough of their fleets, their holdings, destroy their ability to rebuild, we could prevent any minor Goa’uld from ever achieving the rank of System Lord," Daniel added.

"It will help if we can close off any assistance they might have had from trading planets," Jack said. "We need to focus on doing that. The more we can cut them off from what they need, the less likely it is that they can rebuild their fleets. And the more we pound on those fleets, the more likely we’ll take the snakes out."

"Goa’uld free," Casey sighed. "We’ll party for at least two weeks."

"Probably three," Jack grinned.

"I hate to be a downer here, but there’s still Zeus and Nergal, and the rest of the House of Zeus," Daniel said quietly.

"I can’t help but wonder…if the Tau’ri manage to destroy all of the Goa’uld in the Milky Way galaxy, what are the chances of them trying to avoid us?" Sam replied.

"Zeus already knows that screwing with us isn’t a good idea," Casey grinned. "Three of us damned near killed him, and almost destroyed his flagship. He won’t be eager to take on Earth, because a few billion pissed off Tau’ri could destroy him and his fleet." She began to giggle. "Especially now that we have that awesome Ancient weapon."

Jack chuckled. "It’s possible that knocking down the Goa’uld in our backyard…even if we don’t actually kill them all, but make it impossible for them to carry on business as usual, will give ol’ Zeus second thoughts."

"Indeed," Teal’c said, nodding his head. "It would not be a surprise to learn that the Goa’uld of the Andromeda galaxy are preparing to defend themselves."

"I dunno…from what we do know about Zeus and Nergal," Jack said, sighing deeply, "each of them have more Jaffa and ships than all of the Goa’uld in our galaxy combined."

"What we need are more allies to join us in fighting the Goa’uld," Daniel said. "Finding anyone advanced enough willing to do that, though…" he shook his head.

"Well, let’s celebrate this victory, see what happens, and then we can make plans," Jack suggested. Nods of agreement met his declaration. And they settled down to eat their first meal on the planet. They had a lot of hiking to do in order to reach the Stargate. They needed to be rested enough to take on that challenge.

SG-1 was together, alive, and had a way home. Those three facts would see them through the days to come.

Casey had drawn the last watch. She’d found a perch on a nearby tree stump. Her mind was wandering…no farther than the area around her. She studied the rings of the remnants of the old giant beneath her boots. She’d lost count at around two hundred. No telling how long ago the tree had fallen, nor why…she couldn’t see anything in the abundant undergrowth that looked like the trunk of a tree, so it had obviously fallen so long ago that the tree was now nothing more than dust and dirt. She looked around again. The forest was filled with trees that were at least several hundred years old, probably older. This planet was old…it felt older than Earth. And what she’d seen so far was beautiful. From her surprisingly comfortable spot she could see the sun beginning to peek up over the horizon. No doubt the oranges and pinks and golds that were filling the sky were reflecting in the water of the lake that was just behind them. Bet it’s really pretty, she thought wistfully.

She had identified at least three different bird songs, and it appeared that they were surrounded by dozens of each of those species. The occasional calls back and forth were becoming louder and more frequent. It was, she thought, as peaceful and relaxing a place as she could imagine. We deserve this. We need this. We need the next few days to be as stress free as possible. If we managed to start a Goa’uld civil war, we’re gonna be busy as hell.

As there was no reason to wake everyone up so early, she continued to sip on the last of her cup of coffee. When everyone was awake, and they’d had something to eat…damn it, I have oatmeal in my pack!…then they could begin their trek to the Stargate. Twenty miles. SG-1 had walked that far before. Granted, it had taken the better part of three days, and they had been following a nicely paved road…and they had been traveling at a pretty brisk pace…but still…a hike of twenty miles wasn’t anything the team hadn’t done before.

Jack was the first to wake up. Casey wasn’t surprised. He was always the first to wake up, no matter who had watch. She smiled at him when he carefully crawled out of the tent he’d shared with Sam. Apparently the colonel was still asleep, Casey mused silently. "Morning, boss."

"Morning, Radar. Why didn’t you wake me up?"

She shrugged. "We deserve a bit of a break, don’t you think? Yesterday was pretty damned stressful."

"Good point," the older man admitted. He searched his pack, and pulled out the pan from his mess kit. Partially filled it with water, and put it into the still glowing embers of the fire. "How’s Daniel’s knee?"

She smiled. As was their habit, they’d made love orally the night before. Daniel had been on his back, his knee still tender, he admitted, but not as sore is had been earlier in the day. "It’s getting better. He’ll probably be limping today," Casey replied.

"We don’t have to push today. Don’t want to keep aggravating it if we can help it," Jack said.

"I totally agree."

He looked up at the trees when an particularly loud ‘conversation’ between at least three birds erupted. He watched for a moment, then smiled. "Kinda nice to hear something besides engines and machines and gizmos, isn’t it?"

"It is," the seer agreed. "I was just sitting here thinking how absolutely lovely and peaceful it is here."

"Almost makes me wish we could stay here for a couple of days. That lake isn’t that far behind us. We could go fishing."

Casey giggled. "I wonder what General Hammond would say when we stroll down the ramp, tanned and relaxed."

Jack laughed. "I’m certain he’d want an explanation for why it took us two weeks or so to get home."

Daniel crawled out of the tent he’d shared with his Wife. Grinned at the bit of conversation he’d caught. "So we’re gonna do a bit of sight-seeing on this trip?"

He glanced over at his best friend. Noted that while he was standing well, when he moved, Daniel was indeed limping. "We might. How’s the knee?"

"Sore, but not too bad," Daniel said. "Mornin’, Angel." He dropped a kiss on his Wife’s sweet lips. He would complain to her in private about not being able to ‘greet the girls’ as was his custom every morning.

"Morning, Stud Muffin." She bit back her giggle when she watched her Husband’s gaze drop to her breasts. If he couldn’t see and touch her breasts first thing in the morning, he pouted for the majority of the day. That man is so weird when it comes to my boobs! she thought with amusement.

"We’re not gonna push, today," Jack informed the archaeologist. "Don’t need to make your knee worse."

"I appreciate the thought," Daniel replied, tossing a grateful smile at his friend.

Sam and Teal’c appeared from their tents at almost the same time.

"I was ticked yesterday because we don’t have our own packs…because of coffee. I’m pissed this morning," Casey announced.

"Why…" Daniel started to ask. Frowned when realization hit him. "Hell. No oatmeal."

"Well that sucks," Jack grumped. "Okay, campers. New rule. We never leave the SGC without our packs, no matter what the mission is."

"Or at least Casey’s pack," Sam grumbled.

"Indeed," Teal’c agreed sullenly.

For a moment the team stared at one another, exchanging glances. Casey was the first to begin giggling. Teal’c chuckled. Sam began to chortle. Jack and Daniel exchanged one last glance, then both men barked with laughter.

"At least we have food," Sam said, opening her pack and sorting through the MREs she’d grabbed.

"Thanks to our seer," Jack reminded all of them.

"Indeed. We are most fortunate to have Casey Jackson on our team," Teal’c concurred.

"I’ll second that," Daniel nodded.

"Well, if whoever sends the info had been more on the friggin’ ball, we could have had our own packs. I am so gonna find out who that is!" Casey complained.

"Something is better than nothing, Radar," Jack said quietly.

"True." Casey frowned at the MRE in her hand. "Not by very damned much, though." Her comment elicited more laughter.

They took their time eating, enjoying their coffee. Quiet conversation focused mostly on the direction they needed to go in order to find the Stargate. Knowing that they had a general idea where it was, at best, meant it might take a day or two to actually find the ancient device. Agreeing that until Daniel’s knee was completely healed, they wouldn’t be doing more than one or two miles a day…if that. If the thought occurred to any of them that being on the planet longer than the week they’d planned for could become a problem, it wasn’t mentioned out loud.

Ba’al listened as the pilot of one of the gliders that had actually been able to follow the stolen tel'tak gave his report. That it was a full day after the escape of the Tau’ri was because of those damnable humans. He’d been forced to spend time in his sarcophagus in order to heal from the broken nose he’d suffered when Jackson had hit him with such force. And during the time he’d been ‘unavailable’, the two pilots had been scheduled for patrol near the ha’tak. Their duties had prevented them from giving their recitation of events until late in the day. The delay of almost a full day in getting the report put the Goa’uld in a foul mood.

"I do not believe that there were any survivors. The shol’va was obviously poorly trained, as he could not handle the tel’tak," the Jaffa scoffed.

The Goa’uld knew for a fact that Teal’c was as well trained as any Jaffa; he had been Apophis’ First Prime, after all. He looked at the second pilot. "Do you agree?"

"I do, My Lord," the rebel spy replied immediately. "My brother noticed an area by the lake that had been disturbed, but we agreed that it looked more like a place where a wild animal had lain in the mud."

He continued to study the two Jaffa standing in front of him. Neither were displaying any signs of nervousness…nothing that would indicate they were lying. However…"I wish for the two of you to return to this planet. Take at least four others with you. I want to you search carefully for any signs that the Tau’ri might have survived."

It was all the rebel Jaffa could do to keep the panic that filled his heart from showing in his eyes or on his face. Six Jaffa would certainly find SG-1…no matter how well hidden the team might be.

"I believe the planet where the crash occurred has a Chappa’ai," the first pilot disclosed.

Ba’al’s eyes narrowed. "I want every inch of land between this lake where the tel’tak exploded and that Chappa’ai scoured! Do not return until you have SG-1 in your custody!" he roared.

"Yes, My Lord," the pilot responded, saluting with fervor.

Saluting with as much eager obedience as his companion, the rebel began to desperately recall other rebels on the ship he knew to be pilots. If he could get at least two of them on this mission, they would be able to offer some protection to the Tau’ri. He also needed to get a message to Bra’tac as soon as possible.

Following the pilot into the corridor, barely able to refrain from striking the man for the situation he now found himself in, the rebel began to formulate his excuse to leave the other pilot’s presence…for just the few minutes he needed.

"I have need to refresh myself. I suggest you do so as well. We will leave as soon as we had done so," the pilot said, looking over his shoulder.

"I will do so as quickly as possible." The rebel replied, nearly collapsing with relief. His rather flimsy excuse wasn’t needed. Nor for the first time, the rebel offered thanks to the true gods for the fact that this pilot was assigned to a different barracks room than he. He also knew that six of the men he bunked with were rebels. If only one of them were present, he could give that man the message to get to Bra’tac, and be assured that it would get to the Jaffa Master as soon as possible. He barely took time to note the smile of approval on the pilot’s lips when he broke into a sprint, heading directly for the elevator.

Luck continued to be with him. The only two people in the room when he walked in were rebel brothers. Both immediately noted his unease.

"What has happened?" one of the rebels asked quietly.

"I have little time," the rebel replied. He pressed a tiny device into the hand of the closest Jaffa. "This holds the coordinates of the planet to which SG-1 escaped. Master Bra’tac must be told about this immediately."

"The planet does not have a Chappa’ai?" the second rebel Jaffa asked, knowing that if the Ancient device was nearby, the Tau’ri would make use of it as soon as possible.

"It does…but Ba’al just ordered me and Ar’ron to lead four other pilots to the planet to locate the Tau’ri," the rebel sighed.

"I am a qualified pilot. I will accompany you," The other Jaffa rebel informed him

The rebel smiled. "I will tell Ar’ron that you insisted on joining us, that your desire to locate the Tau’ri is as strong as his and mine."

The Jaffa nodded. "So it is. Although not for the same reason."

The three men chuckled.

"I must hurry. I will meet you in the hanger bay," the rebel said. He dashed to the equivalent of barracks type bathroom…which contained both showers and several of the Goa’uld version of a toilet. He could only hope to find one other rebel pilot between now and the time he arrived in the hanger bay.

Certain that the true gods were indeed watching out for him, ten minutes later the rebel led two of his brethren into the hanger bay. His barracks mate was waiting for him. Ar’ron had found four others.

"I do not believe that Lord Ba’al would hold back any Jaffa eager to find and recapture the Tau’ri," Ar’ron said, taking on the mantle of leadership. "We will all go."

The Jaffa exchanged smiles, four of them more relieved than pleased. The rebels agreed with carefully exchanged glances…they would do anything and everything they could to prevent SG-1 from being captured again. Even if it meant shooting down the loyal Goa’uld, and fleeing to the safety of a rebel base.

Unbeknownst to the rebel Jaffa, Ba’al was – at the moment the gliders were leaving the ship to search for SG-1 – attempting to contact one of his spies. When the man finally responded, the Goa’uld was in a fit of temper. "Where have you been! I sent for you hours ago!"

The spy shook his head. "But, My Lord, I spoke to you last night, when you summoned me to your ha’tak. I am still searching for the information you requested."

For a moment it seemed as if everything around him was spinning in circles. Sitting back on his throne, his face pale, Ba’al was faced with the thought that perhaps Casey hadn’t been lying to him. He shook his head mentally. No…she might have believed what she told him, but it was a lie. There was someone out there pretending to be him…claiming to be the System Lord Ba’al. "Very well. Report to me as soon as you have found…what I’ve asked for," he replied.

He waved his hand over the communication orb. Watched with morbid fascination as his hands began to shake uncontrollably. He managed to get to his feet, and staggered toward the corridor.

Clone.

For a moment he was certain he could hear Casey’s soft laugh…

He could not just ignore this outrage. If he allowed this ‘pretender’ to move about freely, it would disrupt his plans. SG-1 had just escaped from him…again, but he was in the position to recapture them in a matter of hours. He’d just sent gliders to do just that. His dilemma, he decided, sighing mentally, was deciding which threat was more dangerous to him in that moment. Turning on his heel, he went back to the pel’tak. "Have the gliders left?"

If he were forced to battle this fraud, he would no doubt need all of his gliders. "Tell them to return immediately. We must go to Praxyon at once."

Praxyon was the one planet that Ba’al protected viciously. It was hidden in a star system on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. He had used it often for hiding when he was rebuilding his fleet. If there was an imposter, he wouldn’t know of the ships he had there, waiting for him to call them into battle. He, the true System Lord, would lead those ships against the arrogant fool who dared to call himself ‘Ba’al’.

He shoved the thought to the back of his mind. I am Ba’al! he ranted silently. I am the greatest of all System Lords!

The forest they were in seemed to grow denser, the trees – giants that reached several hundred feet or more above them, with trunks so wide the entire team could hide behind one of them – seemed to grow even larger.

"This is a very old forest," Sam noted, watching carefully as she made her way through a tangle of tall grasses and weeds that filled the spaces between the trees and the wide, low bushes.

"Reminds me of the Redwoods and Sequoias in the National Forest in California," Jack mused.

"I wonder what the Ancients wanted from this planet," Casey pondered, following Sam’s steps.

"Hard telling," Jack replied. He was just in front of Sam, hacking away the largest of the branches from the bush that prevented him from moving forward.

"If it’s near the mountains, my bet would be naquadah," Daniel said, breathing heavily.

Casey turned to examine her Husband. "You need to rest," she said softly.

"I’m fine," he insisted.

"No, you’re not. Your limp is worse," the seer countered. "Jack? We need to take a break."

"No, we don’t," Daniel countered.

Jack made his way to where the archaeologist stood. It was warm, and they’d been doing a lot of work trying to get through the undergrowth. But the sweat on Daniel’s forehead was from more than just a bit of strenuous exercise. "We’ll take a break."

Teal’c was already clearing an area of the tallest of grasses so the team could sit down.

In spite of his persistence, Daniel grimaced with pain as he lowered his body to the ground.

"Damn it, Daniel, you can’t push yourself, or you’re going to screw that knee up to the point one of us will have to carry your ass," Jack snapped, angry that the young man refused to watch out for his own well-being. Trying…but not succeeding…to ignore the fact that he’d done the same thing on multiple occasions. Do as I tell you, not as I do, he grumped to himself.

He’d been ready to argue, but the sharp pain that shot through his knee as he shifted forced him to face the reality of the situation. "Point taken," he said, wincing again as he straightened his leg in front of him.

Sam had pulled her med kit from her pack. She searched through it, then triumphantly held up what she’d been searching for. "I have an ace bandage here. Daniel, we need to wrap your knee."

"Good idea," Jack nodded. "Casey, help him get his pants off."

"Say what?" Daniel protested.

"Sam can’t wrap your knee with your pants on. You should be able to get them back up once she’s finished," Jack said, his gaze holding Daniel’s.

With a sigh, knowing he’d never win the argument, not with his over-protective Wife and equally mother-hen clucking teammates, Daniel heaved a sigh of resignation . Before he could reach for his belt, Casey’s hands were already busy.

"Put your weight on your arms and lift your hips, Stud Muffin," Casey said softly.

He did as she requested, felt her tug the BDU pants from his hips. Pressed a kiss against the side of her face when he felt her soft fingers tugging his boxers back into place.

"That’s good," Sam said, as soon as the pants were below his knees. "Oh, Daniel!"

Swollen, a lovely shade of purple, and a small scrap in the very middle of the kneecap, the knee looked as bad as it felt. "It’s not that bad," Daniel reiterated.

"Yes, it is," Casey insisted.

"Here, you clean that scrape while I get this bandage opened," Sam said, handing her med kit to the seer.

Casey carefully cleaned the scrape, then covered it with Neosporin. She put a large Band-Aid in place, then carefully packed the cotton swabs and paper into the small can used for holding trash. "Why didn’t you say something last night?" she whispered. "I should have done this last night!"

"I didn’t know there was anything there," Daniel whispered in return. "I recall having other things on my mind at the time. Much more important."

She looked into blue eyes that dance with mirth…and in the depths, she could see the love…and the lust…that lurked there as well. "You are impossible, sometimes," she whispered fiercely.

"Yeah, but you love me, anyway." Daniel grinned as she shook her head. "Ow!"

Sam glanced up, her hands moving the elastic band around his knee. She’d bumped him slightly as she’d reached beneath his leg. "Sorry."

"No problem," he smiled.

Making certain the bandage was tight, but wouldn’t restrict blood flow, Sam pinned the bandage into place. "That should help considerably."

Sam pulled a packet of Ibuprofen from her kit, ripped it open and put the two pills in his hand. Casey opened a bottle of water, took a sip, then handed it to her husband.

"Thanks, Sam. You, too, Angel."

Both women smiled at him.

"Ya know…if we can find a nice cool river, or another lake, a nice soak would do that knee some good, too." Jack said, watching as Daniel and Casey got the archaeologist’s pants back into place.

"Indeed," Teal’c said. "It would no doubt ease the muscle strain we will also be feeling."

"Wouldn’t warm water be better?" Casey asked.

Jack shrugged. "Just being in water will help…takes the pressure off our legs."

"If the water is deep enough, we could just float for awhile. If it gets any hotter than it is right now, that cool water will feel good, too," Casey admitted.

"Yes, it will," Jack agreed.

"Well, that lake behind us has to get water from somewhere, and we’re heading toward the mountains, so I’d say our chances of finding a river or another lake are pretty high," Sam added.

"Too bad we didn’t bring swimwear," Daniel chuckled.

"We have a change of clothes. Underwear will work just fine," Jack told him.

Casey glanced at Sam, then grinned. "What’s wrong with skinny-dipping?"

"Skinny-dipping?" Jack repeated, in a strangled voice.

Sam snorted, ducked her head, then laughed quietly at Jack’s wide-eyed reaction.

"Stop laughing, Carter, it just encourages her," Jack growled.

"Boss, we’ve seen each other in the all-together, and we survived. We won’t even be standing around, we’ll be in the water," Casey argued.

"But…we…that wasn’t…we didn’t have a choice," Jack stammered.

"Jack, have you never been to a nude beach before?" Daniel asked, not bothering to hide his laughter.

"Well…once…but not with anyone I knew!" Jack retorted. Rolled his eyes when the laughter around him grew louder.

"Well, after we’ve rested a bit, we’ll see if we can find a nice river…or a lake. Or even a big pond," Casey said, settling herself beside Daniel. "Then we’ll strip down and play in the water.

Jack glanced at the seer, barely biting back his smile. When he’d first met Casey, she’d been so shy she would barely look him in the eye. Now she was confident enough in herself, and comfortable enough with her teammates, to suggest skinny-dipping. What a change Daniel’s love, his unwavering support, had made in that timid, insecure girl. What an amazing woman Casey had become. His glance moved to his best friend. As amazing as the man Daniel Jackson was.

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