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The team heard the Percuese before they saw them. The sound was blood chilling. It was the sound of millions of roach sized bugs eating everything in their path. There was actually a discernable crunching sound.

Casey shivered. "I hate bugs. I hate roaches especially. Those are some of the ugliest damned roaches I’ve ever seen."

"Okay, let’s give them a little dose of SG-1 attitude," Jack said.

The team opened fire on the huge swarm, taken aback when the creatures began to assemble themselves into larger, more dangerous ‘bugs’.

"Oh, hell, they did not like that," Casey whispered.

The newly formed bugs began to advance on their position, huge maws and claws clicking and clacking as they approached. The team opened fire again…and continued to fire. They lost count of the number of the large bugs they killed, watched as even more of the surviving Percuese formed even larger creatures.

"I’m out!" Jack called, dropping back behind the rest of the team.

"Out!" Casey yelled not more than thirty seconds later.

"Me, too," Daniel announced, dropping behind Sam and Teal'c.

"We are in big trouble here if those Marines don’t get here in the next few seconds," Jack murmured. As if in response to his comment, three Marine teams suddenly appeared behind them. Another flash of light and several crates of ammunition appeared as well. SG-1, completely out of ammo by now, raced to the crates. The Marines had opened fire on the advancing creatures.

General Hammond had sent along two flame-throwers. It was a disappointed group that watched as the Percuese showed no response at all to the flames. Only the armor piercing bullets seemed to have any affect on the creatures.

The humans were slowly retreating before what seemed to be a moving wall of black…the creatures forming and reforming larger, more threatening ‘bugs’. Sam and Casey were fighting on the right flank, firing again and again at a human sized bug that was suddenly looming over them.

"Fall back," Sam shouted as the bug raised up on two ‘legs’, towering over the women.

Casey took a step backward in preparation to turn and run, tripped over the exposed root of what had once been a very large tree, and fell onto her back. The creature lunged for her, two ‘arms’ with terrifying ‘pincers’ reaching for her. She screamed.

"No!" Daniel yelled, his face white when he saw what was happening. Without realizing what he was doing, he raised one hand, and a ribbon of blue energy flew from his fingertips. He hadn’t even been aware of bringing up the Fire.

The energy impacted on the creature, making it explode into hundreds of individual ‘bug’ components. They rained down on Casey, she covered her head and face with her arms.

Daniel was on his way to her, knowing that the Percuese could have her destroyed…eaten…in a matter of minutes. His heart was pounding against his chest.

Casey was still on the ground, could feel the bugs crawling over her, was trying to brush them away from her body. A large black hand reached down and grabbed her by the front of her vest, and pulled her to her feet. Sam and Daniel, who had just arrived at her position, were frantically trying to clear her body of all the roach-sized bugs. Three Marines moved in front of them, firing on the new creature that had been formed from the surviving Percuese. She was trembling, still terrified, but bug free within a matter of seconds.

"Fall back!" Jack ordered

The team and the Marines scrambled over an embankment, slid to the opposite side. The Percuese continued to follow them.

"This is not good," Jack said, watching as more large creatures were formed. They were firing as they ran, killing thousands of the creatures, but never, it seemed, enough of them.

"We’re fighting them all wrong," Daniel said, reloading his P90.

"Whaddya mean?" Jack asked, his finger holding the trigger of his own weapon down to provide a steady spray of bullets.

"If they’re like Replicators, they have a Queen somewhere. We have to find her, take her out," Daniel explained.

Jack looked at him. "The ship!" they said in unison. The older man grabbed his radio. "Thor, buddy, we need to get to their ship. All of us and our equipment."

In a flash of light, the team and the Marines found themselves, and their crates of ammunition, a few hundred yards from a large ship. It appeared to be a freighter of some sort. Outside, several large creatures seemed to be patrolling the area.

"Damn!" Jack swore softly. "Didn’t expect them to be that smart!"

"The minute we take them out, all those on the inside will be alerted," Daniel groused.

"If we could just find a way to blow that ship up, I think we’d be rid of them," Jack said.

"Too bad the engines aren’t on. Launch a few grenades into the engines, and what a magnificent ka-boom we’d have," Casey sighed.

"Yeah, but once again that means getting inside," Sam said.

They remained where they were, crouched low on the ground, just watching the ship. Casey cocked her head as if listening to something, or someone, then looked over at Daniel.

"Bring the engines online, My Heart," she said softly.

"What? Do what? How am I supposed to do that?" he asked, his blue eyes wide.

"You’re The Chosen, Daniel. You can do this. You have to do this, it’s the only way to beat these damn things."

He shook his head. "I haven’t got a clue how to do it."

She took his hand. "Concentrate, Daniel. Think about the engines. Just think about them."

With a shake of his head, he closed his eyes and did as she said. He didn’t know anything about engines of any kind. He felt her take his other hand, felt the warmth of her Fire coming through to him. He began to concentrate, thinking not of any specific type of engine, but simply the words ‘ship engines’. Suddenly he was standing inside the ship. He knew where he had to go, what he had to do. He ran through corridors patrolled by hundreds of Percuese. They didn’t seem to notice him at all. He found the engine room, and the control console. It took him a few minutes to be able to decipher the symbols in front of him.

Jack was watching the ‘guards’ on the outside of the ship. They had noticed the humans, and were advancing on them. "Hurry up, Daniel, we’re about to get company," he whispered fiercely.

"Just keep them off us for a few more minutes," Casey said softly, her eyes locked on her Husband, her fingers wrapped tightly around his hands.

The older man glanced at them, then nodded. "You heard the lady. If they get too close, we open fire."

The Marines around him nodded. Sam and Teal'c raised their weapons in preparation.

Daniel was still studying the console. His fingers began to tremble, he could feel a slight vibration in his body. Watching the Percuese that swarmed around the room, he slowly lowered his hands onto the controls in front of him. On, he thought desperately, turn on! Come online, do something!

"Get those grenade launchers ready," Casey whispered, ‘feeling’ what he was doing.

Jack nodded, and four of the Marines hurriedly unpacked the launchers, and loaded them. They targeted what they believed to be the engines, and waited.

Now, turn on now! Daniel thought, sweat breaking out across his brow. Suddenly, there was a muffled roar, and the lights went on all through the ship. The Percuese still didn’t seem to notice him standing there, although the activation of the interior systems seemed to agitate them. He pushed his fingers harder against the plastic and glass and metal of the console, pushed them through to the very components beneath the controls. On, now! The engines came to life, a burst of energy blowing apart two of the exterior guards.

"Get ready!" Casey cried.

"Take cover!" Jack shouted almost simultaneously.

Casey pulled Daniel down to the ground with her, understanding that he was still ‘inside’. "Run Daniel, run now!" she whispered in his ear.

Daniel looked around him, began to run through the corridors. His body gave a jerk, and he was looking up at his Wife.

"NOW!" she screamed, and the Marines fired at the glowing coils of the engines.

The ship exploded into a ball of fire, shoving itself deep into the crater the explosion had created. Debris rained down on them, they covered themselves the best that they could. Much of the debris was the roach sized Percuese. None of them seemed to be alive. The large ‘guards’ had disappeared completely, vaporized in the explosion.

Ears ringing, shaking from the concussion of the explosion, the humans carefully stood to their feet.

"Ka-boom," Casey said softly.

Jack grinned at her, then slapped Daniel on the back. "Not bad, Danny. Not bad at all."

Daniel grinned, then hugged his wife. "How did you know?"

She shook her head. "You told me."

"I what?" Daniel said, his eyes wide.

"I…I heard your voice tell me what had to be done."

"Now that is just weird," Jack said.

"Holy Hannah!" Sam said, facing away from them. They all turned to follow her gaze.

Coming over the hill toward them was a swarm of Percuese.

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