Brotherhood (16a/27)
Title: Brotherhood ( Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen
Chapter1 Chapter2a-- 2b Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10a-- 10b Chapter11 Chapter12 Chapter13a-- 13b Chapter14 Chapter15 Chapter16a-- 16b
XXXXX
The Abydons
XXXXX
1 December 1999; Vorash; 2300 hrs
Skaara did not remember his brother being so tall. They had not stood together through the entire Triad. Skaara was not certain if this was because of the demon still within him, or because of the formality of the occasion, or simply because they were both so different now from who they had been, but it was only when they followed the Tok'ra through the chaapa'ai that Skaara realized he was the smaller one now.
And his brother called himself Daniel Jackson now, no longer Dan'yel. Or perhaps he had used Daniel as a mask for years, waiting to be able to become Dan'yel of Abydos again. Skaara did not like that thought; it was too much like being Klorel for those years and waiting to be able to become Skaara of Abydos again, and yet it was somehow very different, too.
"Do you know of the Tok'ra?" Daniel asked him as they followed the Tok'ra messenger through the sand.
It was good to hear their own tongue again and not to cover it with the Tau'ri speech that the Tollan had learned. Skaara listened to Abydos flow through his ears and had to force himself to stop and think hard for the demon's memories to rise. "Klorel thought them cowards," Skaara answered, searching through his mind for the answers. He gestured toward the Tok'ra who walked in front of them. "I feel the demon inside him."
Daniel nodded. "They carry Goa'uld as well, but they are different from the System Lords. We count them among our friends."
"I thought you were dead," Skaara blurted, then bit his tongue in embarrassment.
Daniel turned to him and blinked. "I am alive and well," he said, too gently for a person who should be dead. "I thought...that I had had a hand in your death also, until..." He stopped.
"Until what?"
Tilting his head at Skaara curiously, Daniel said, "Until Sha'uri told me she had seen you alive and spoken to you."
Skaara stopped where he was and spun around to grab Daniel's arm. "That is what I must tell you--" he started, but then he saw Daniel's other hand resting on his Tau'ri gun, his eyes startled at the sudden movement. Skaara swallowed and released his grip. "I am not going to hurt you."
Only then did Daniel see his hand on his weapon as well, and he snatched his hand away as if the metal burned him. "I know. I did not think that... I did not think."
"We must hurry," Aldwin said impatiently, so Skaara released Daniel and they both turned hurriedly away from each other to continue on their journey.
Clearing his throat, Daniel said, "You wanted to tell me something?"
"Stop," Aldwin commanded. "Do not move."
Skaara looked around himself nervously. The land was too open here. Why were they stopping?
"Do not worry," Daniel assured him. "You will see."
Goa'uld transport rings rose from the ground. "Ah," Skaara said in understanding, and then they disappeared.
...x...
When they reappeared, Skaara flinched instinctively. It felt as though there were worms crawling through his skin, and he knew without question that he was surrounded by Goa'uld, as he had not been for days after living with unblended humans on Tollana. Without thinking, he took two steps back and turned to flee.
Immediately, several zat'nik'tel sprang open around him, while a voice--a blended, Goa'uld voice--called, "Ar'ee!"
"Tal bet! Do not shoot!" A firm hand pressed him against the hard, rocky surface of the chamber they were in. Still confused, Skaara stood where he was, staring at Daniel's back. "He is not trying to escape," Daniel said. "He was only taken by surprise."
Too late, Skaara reminded himself that he was surrounded by blended Tok'ra and that the sensation of naquadah was nothing to fear. Then he saw Daniel standing between himself and four zat'nik'tel, and something like fury or humiliation filled him as he realized that his little brother was trying to shield him from harm.
"Is this the Goa'uld Klorel?" one of the female Tok'ra said.
"Yes," Aldwin said.
Skaara ground his teeth together but did not speak. Daniel stiffened, and it seemed that he had not learned to hold his tongue any better than he had as a child, so he said, "This is Skaara, Garshaw. Klorel sleeps. The Tollan sent us here for the removal of Klorel from Skaara's body."
"I am Garshaw of Belote," the woman said to Skaara, "of the Tok'ra High Council. Come, and we will perform the extraction immediately."
That name was familiar in that confused part of his mind that was Klorel, but Skaara did not have time to dwell on it before Daniel turned back around and said, "Are you all right?"
Skaara stared at him for a moment--stared up at him, yi shay--and nodded. He had to force down the urge to snap that he was not a child to be protected. Klorel was sleeping now, and Skaara could feel something like exhaustion and yet like restlessness trying to sneak through his bones, without even a symbiote to heal it away.
"The Tollan ask that Klorel be kept alive," Aldwin was saying to the Tok'ra in the lead.
Garshaw turned to face Skaara and asked, "Is this true?"
It took a moment to remember to speak--it had been so long since Skaara had spoken when someone addressed his face. "They said you would take Klorel away," he said between teeth clenched with fear or anger.
"The extraction is the priority," Daniel said firmly from behind him. "If Klorel survives the process, they ask that you either give him a willing host if you can find one, knowing the parasite that he is, or leave him on a Goa'uld planet of his choice."
Skaara scowled at those words, and he could not help feeling a little betrayed. Klorel had taken his mind, his body, his life--yet they wanted the Tok'ra to let it live, perhaps to take over another human. But when he turned, he saw the way Daniel walked, fists clenched and arms crossed with eyes staring hard at the wall, and he knew it was not Daniel's choice, either.
"Perhaps you can leave him on a planet to find a host on his own," Daniel added.
Garshaw nodded seriously. "Unfortunate though it may be," she said, though her tone did not sound like it was unfortunate, "a symbiote alone on a planet has only minutes to survive without a host. We cannot promise that a host will find Klorel where we leave him."
When Skaara realized that they were talking about a way to kill Klorel without disobeying the Nox woman, he relaxed. Then he saw Daniel's satisfied expression, and he did not know how he should feel that his brother was suggesting ways to kill Goa'uld while walking among the Tok'ra. These were truly rebels, then, who fought for a different life.
"It is true, what they say about the shol'va, Teal'c?" Skaara said to Daniel as they continued on.
("This is the face of the traitor, Teal'c," Apophis said. "I will reward the Goa'uld or Jaffa who brings him to me. If he lives, your reward will be greater still.")
"Teal'c...is one of the best men I know," Daniel said.
"I remember his face."
"Yes, I have heard that all the Goa'uld and their Jaffa have seen images of him--"
"No," Skaara interrupted. "I remember he took us from Abydos."
Daniel's back stiffened. "He was a different man then," he started, then quickly shook his head. "No, he was not. He was the same man, looking for a chance to leave that life. They are also slaves to the Goa'uld, but now, the Tau'ri have no warrior more true than Teal'c."
"I know they have little choice." Perhaps Jaffa could be good men, but Daniel was quick to trust--or he had been that way before, at least, and it was Skaara's responsibility to ensure that he was not fooled by a false intention. "Do you remember very much of that night, brother?"
"I remember it," Daniel said, and now his voice held warning, but Skaara continued.
"I only wish to know that you understand. Teal'c was there. Claire and Mel--"
Suddenly, Daniel whipped around to face him, his expression hard like Skaara could not remember seeing ever before. "Do not speak of them to me or to Teal'c. That is a matter between us. He is as a brother to me now. You do not have to forgive him for what he did to you, but I have done so for what he did to me." Skaara stared at him and Daniel finally cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing. "Come. The Tok'ra are waiting."
Skaara followed, so lost that he could no longer even feel surprise. "Then it is also true, that there are other Jaffa who oppose the Goa'uld?"
"Yes. The rebellion is growing in numbers even now, and they are our allies. You know that Bra'tac has been named shol'va as well?"
It took a moment to call up Klorel's memories, but Skaara nodded. "I know. It was Klorel who named him so. But Dan'yel, how do you know so much of these happenings? Why were you on my--his--Apophis's hatak two years ago?"
As if he had not been angry a moment ago, Daniel gave him a small smile and twisted slightly so that Skaara could see the symbol of Tau'ri on his arm, SG-1 stitched into the cloth. "I joined the Tau'ri and the SGC to find you, brother. And now I have." The smile stretched wider, but only for a second before disappearing. "Bra'tac taught Teal'c to oppose the Goa'uld; Teal'c has taught me the same. They have both saved my life and many others."
"Then that is enough for me," Skaara said, and the smile returned, just as brief as before but so bright, the smile that meant Daniel was pleased to have his approval. Skaara forced his lips to remember how to smile back without Klorel making him.
They reached another chamber, this one larger and more open, but with an odd device at one end.
"Danny?" someone said.
Skaara's breath caught. He spun around, almost expecting to see Mel standing there, because only Daniel's parents had called him by that particular ren nafi, but the speaker was a man whom Skaara did not recognize. His brother's expression became exasperated, but to Skaara's surprise, he turned to the man with a more reserved but sincere smile. "Jacob. It's good to see you well," he added in English.
"Thought we'd be getting SG-1 here," Jacob answered."How've you been, kid?"
"Fine," Daniel said, his stance shifting so that he seemed at once to be standing straighter and also somehow more relaxed--more confident, perhaps. Skaara could not decide if this was another mask, too, or if perhaps this collection of masks was not a collection of falsehoods but rather who Daniel truly was now, beyond the boy who had melted away while Skaara had been gone. "And Sam's fine, and so is everyone else. They're busy getting scolded for saving Tollana, or they'd be here, too."
Jacob chuckled. "I'm not even gonna ask."
"Are you going to be here for the...uh, the..."
"The Extraction ceremony, that's what we call it. Yeah, the High Council will be here--we're just waiting on a couple of people and we'll get started. It'll be short, don't worry--you won't feel a thing," Jacob added to Skaara. Then his eyes narrowed. "Klorel! This is the brother you were telling me about, Daniel?"
Skaara frowned, not sure what to make of this man. Daniel gave him an anxious look but said, formally, "Jacob, this is my brother, Skaara, son of Kasuf of Nagada, on Abydos. Skaara, this is Major General Jacob Carter of Earth's United States Air Force, host to Selmak of the Tok'ra High Council. He's also, uh, Major Samantha Carter's father."
The man called Jacob and Selmak gave Skaara a curious look. "Bit of a mouthful," he said. He dipped his head, then raised it, eyes glowing with Goa'uld light as Selmak said in a Goa'uld voice, "We are very happy for you, Skaara of Abydos. Within the hour, your ordeal will be over. You can return home."
To his shame, Skaara felt heat gather behind his eyes. He swallowed and nodded wordlessly.
"Selmak," Daniel said as they waited, "the SGC has had to change its codes. We were going to come here immediately with the new information, but the Tollan contacted us and we were sidetracked. Can I tell you now? It will save us a trip." Selmak nodded, and Daniel handed him a slip of paper from his vest.
"Thank you," Selmak said, reading the paper carefully before destroying it in a nearby torch. "I will make the necessary changes in our systems."
"What is this code?" Skaara asked, confused.
"It is..." Daniel started, then made a face. "It will be easier to explain when we return to Abydos. You can see our iris for yourself."
One more person walked into the chamber. All of a sudden, the Tok'ra slid into position around the edge of the chamber. For once, Daniel seemed to be as confused as Skaara was as the two of them were left standing alone in the center.
"The Extraction ceremony will now begin," Garshaw announced.
Jacob and Selmak gestured for Daniel to step back. Simultaneously, another unfamiliar Tok'ra came and stopped before Skaara. "Please proceed to the Extraction device."
"Extraction device?" Skaara repeated. Then his eyes widened as he realized what the big device with all the straps was.
Garshaw held up something that looked like a small pebble, round like a wheel. "Because this is not an execution, you do not need to be awake to give Klorel an opportunity for final words. We will place you into a sleep-like state. When you awaken, you will be free of your Goa'uld."
Daniel gave him an encouraging nod, saying, "They said it will not hurt you. Trust me?"
"I trust you," Skaara said, bolstered by the confidence his brother had in these people, then steeled himself and walked to the device against the wall. "I am ready."
The restraints on the device were quickly fastened around him--one on each arm and another on each leg. Garshaw stepped forward and something cold touched his temple. He gasped as a short, sharp pain pricked him, and then he felt no more.
...x...
The same brief pain woke him. Skaara opened his eyes, and this time the chamber was much more empty than before. Daniel stood before him, holding the small, circular pebble in his hand. A movement at his hands made him turn to see Aldwin unfastening the restraints.
"Skaara?" Daniel said.
Skaara looked down at his chest and, for a moment, panic overtook him when he saw the Tollan device gone, the only thing that had ever held Klorel at bay without pain.
"Klorel has been removed," Aldwin said, holding up a container. Skaara backed away in horror, not wanting to see his demon curled within. In doing so, he stepped off the device and fell into Daniel, who made a soft oof sound and barely managed to cushion them both awkwardly as they landed on the ground.
"He is gone," Skaara said in wonder, searching for the other presence in his mind and body, but he was truly gone. He laughed. "The demon is gone!"
A sharp inhalation made him turn to see Daniel kneeling before him, staring. "You--" Daniel started, then stopped, blinking very fast.
"I am here," Skaara said quickly, pulling his brother into his arms. It was strange, now that Skaara was the smaller between them, but a desperately strong grip returned the embrace nonetheless. Dan'yel buried his face in Skaara's shoulder, and somehow, it became right again, that his little brother had become a man but was still the child he remembered, and that Skaara could still be the protector, at least sometimes. "I am here, Dan'yel. Hush, or I will tell everyone at home I can still make you cry." At home, home, home!
Immediately, he was pushed away. Dan'yel's face was pink, but his cheeks were dry when he scowled back. "What would Seinah say to see you mocking your brother?" Skaara's smile faltered. Dan'yel saw this and rushed to say, "She misses you. Every time I go to Abydos, she visits from Kalima and comes to ask if we have found you yet."
"Then we should return to Tollana," Skaara said. "Perhaps High Chancellor Travell has finished scolding your friends now."
Daniel rose to his feet and said, "Yes! Jack wants to meet you. I mean Jack O'Neill. He remembers you from the Rebellion. Teal'c, Sam, all my friends--I have told them about you. They all wish to meet you. Kasuf is waiting for you, too." Now Daniel moved to a corner of the room to reach for something.
Skaara raised his eyebrows and felt a flush of surprise that Jack O'Neill remembered him, who had been no more than a child during the Great Rebellion.
A pile of cloth was thrust at him as he rose. "If you want to change your clothing before we return," Daniel said, looking uncertain again. "It does not matter, but perhaps--"
"I will change," Skaara said, suddenly wishing nothing more than to strip himself of his Goa'uld trappings.
XXXXX
2 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 0200 hrs
"Father!" Skaara said when the door slid open. Kasuf raised his head. He spread his arms to show he was completely himself again. "It is finished. I am myself again, only myself!"
Kasuf met him partway and crushed him into an embrace. "My son," he whispered, his voice choked and muffled in the top of Skaara's head. "My son."
When Skaara finally pulled away, Travell was gone and only SG-1 remained in the room. To his astonishment, Daniel was before Teal'c, head lowered as if in shame and speaking quietly. Skaara saw that the others also did not seem to know why--it was in the Goa'uld tongue--but O'Neill seemed unconcerned and approached Skaara with Major Carter at his side.
"Hey, Skaara," O'Neill said, in English. "Don't mind them. It's better to let them get whatever it is out of their systems."
"Dan'yel is asking for forgiveness," Skaara said, puzzled. "It is in the way of the Jaffa."
"Of course it is," O'Neill said. "He kind of blew up at Teal'c when he thought we were gonna do something... Don't you worry about it--it all worked out. Hey, congratulations! I've been waiting to meet you properly. Daniel's told me all about you."
Then it was true--the hero of the Great Rebellion knew of him, Skaara, and not only as Klorel or the host of Klorel. Remembering what he had seen of Tau'ri soldiers, Skaara stood tall and raised a hand to his brow.
O'Neill stared at him for a moment, then raised his own hand in return of the salute before dropping it with a sharp motion. Skaara lowered his hand as well. "Colonel O'Neill." O'Neill smiled at him, so he turned to the woman and said, "And Major Carter. Thank you."
"We weren't the ones arguing for you," O'Neill said. "Thank your dad and Daniel."
"No," Skaara said, shaking his head. "Your people stopped Zipacna. If not for you--and Teal'c--they would have taken me away without removing Klorel. And...you have kept my brother safe. Thank you."
At this, O'Neill and Carter exchanged odd looks. "Well, we...try," O'Neill said.
"It is difficult, with Dan'yel," Skaara agreed.
Carter ducked her head and pretended she was not smiling. O'Neill let out a short laugh, and turned to say, "You hear that, Daniel? Respect your elders more!"
Daniel was standing straight now, both he and Teal'c looking happier as O'Neill had predicted, and he replied, "Teal'c's your elder, too, Jack. That means we should all just obey him--I mean, that's fair, right? I'll do that if you will."
O'Neill turned back to Skaara and raised his eyebrows. "You see what I have to deal with? How'd you put up for him for so many years, huh?"
"I was bigger," Skaara told him. "It will not be so easy now."
O'Neill grinned again and reached out to put a hand on Skaara's shoulder. "I knew I'd like you."
By then, Daniel and Teal'c had joined them--the rest of SG-1 from the Tau'ri SGC, Skaara thought, realizing with a jolt that his little brother and a First Prime Jaffa were among the threat that was so feared by the Goa'uld. Skaara suppressed the apprehension he could not help feeling at the sight of Teal'c and solemnly clasped the Jaffa's arm the same way that he had often seen his--Klorel's--Jaffa greet one another. He received a solemn bow in return.
"We should go back to..." Daniel started, then stopped. "Um. Where...I mean, what now?"
There was hesitation hanging heavy around SG-1, and even his father. Skaara wondered for a moment why there was a question--the Abydons would return to Abydos and the Tau'ri to Tau'ri...and then he remembered Daniel saying 'Every time I go to Abydos' and 'I have joined the Tau'ri...'
"The three of us should report back to base," O'Neill finally said. "Gotta send a team to take the death glider apart and bring it back, too--"
"Death glider?" Daniel interrupted. "What death glider?"
Carter smiled widely. "The one Klorel and Skaara flew here--it's damaged, but worth salvaging. The Tollan don't need it, and it's Goa'uld technology, so they don't mind letting us have it."
"Anyway," O'Neill said, "Daniel, why don't you escort Kasuf and Skaara back to Abydos. We'll go to Earth first and then meet you guys there, in the SGC house. Skaara...if you don't mind, we have a few questions for you."
"Jack," Daniel said, "don't you think the interrogation could wait--"
"No, it should not wait," Skaara interrupted. "I will tell you all I know, and I have things I must tell you without delay."
Kasuf seemed surprised by his answer but said, "We will meet with you on Abydos, Colonel O'Neill."
"Will you return to Earth first?" Skaara asked Daniel.
Daniel glanced at O'Neill, then shook his head, reaching into a pocket to pull out a device with rows of numbered buttons and a screen. "I will go with you. You need my code to return."
XXXXX
2 December 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 0300 hrs
Skaara turned, startled, when he heard the sound of scraping metal behind him as the wormhole closed. What...?
"We call it iris," Daniel explained. "The Tau'ri built it last year. It will stop enemies from attacking again through the chaapa'ai, but friends also need a code to be able to open it."
"Skaara!"
There were voices coming from behind him, some wary but most excited. He turned again, and this time, he saw four people rising to their feet, Tau'ri guns falling to their side. "My son has returned," Kasuf said, and before Skaara could move, there were bodies surrounding him, people emerging from outside the chaapa'ai room and others leaving the shadows, everyone crowding together to speak and touch, and he did not understand why it terrified him so--
"Enough!" Daniel called sternly, and, surprisingly, most of them stopped. "Skaara is tired. You can talk to him if you can do it without crushing him, too."
Bemused, Skaara watched the crowd thin away--they listened, Skaara realized with a touch of surprise, the way they might have listened to something Mel or Claire said, although they were not afraid to tease Daniel or give him friendly slaps to the back of the head or elbows in the ribs as they did. Skaara was tired, in truth--his skin felt tight and uncomfortable, as if it were not truly his own. He had almost forgotten what it felt like for his limbs to be his own.
"SG-1 will return soon to meet us," Kasuf told the others. "Should we remain here to wait?"
"There is still time," Daniel assured him. "General Hammond will want to know what happened to Skaara, to Heru-ur, to Tollana. I think they will also take time to bring recording devices if they are to ask questions. We can wait for them at the SGC house."
Tobay clapped Skaara on the back as they passed. Skaara responded automatically, wondering what the SGC house was and feeling strangely disconnected from his body. He stopped at the entrance, realizing that he had stood passive and not opened his mouth once since returning to Abydos.
Turning around, Skaara spread his arms wide and said, "Hello!"
Hearty cheers and a few laughs answered him, and then they turned back and set off into the desert.
...x...
The SGC house was what they called the house under Melburn and Claire Jackson's, the one that had been empty for years until now. There were a few boxes scattered around that he did not recognize, but if this was being used as a base for SGC soldiers when they visited Abydos, Skaara supposed they most likely contained supplies.
Now, Kasuf took a seat. Skaara followed his lead as Daniel stripped off his thick Tau'ri jacket. Skaara noticed his arm, bared of the jacket now, and caught the wrist in his hand. "You still wear this," he said, astonished that the band he had given his brother years ago was still there, if somewhat battered. There was another loop, too. "What is this?"
"From Teal'c--leather from his homeworld." Daniel gently took his arm back. "I keep them to remember why we fight the Goa'uld."
"I must learn more of your friends. The last I saw of them--"
(Klorel spun the Tau'ri boy around, slamming his hand against the transport crates until he screamed and the zat'nik'tel fell from his grasp. "Skaara," the boy begged.
Skaara's mouth opened for Klorel's laugh to spill forth. "A child? This is what the Tau'ri have sent to oppose a god?")
"Skaara?"
He met Daniel's worried eyes and shook his head. "I have...I remember things sometimes." Frustrated because he could not decide how to explain this, he sighed and shook his head again. "I do not know how to say it."
But Daniel looked thoughtful. "Major Carter says the same. She was host to a Goa'uld once--a Tok'ra, but it was also not by choice. She would understand some of what you feel."
"Sha'uri said the same," Kasuf said. "She saw things from the mind of her demon."
("Heru-ur comes," Sha'uri whispered. "I will give you your time. Go to Dan'yel--go to the Tau'ri.")
Skaara's eyes widened. "I spoke to Sha'uri! Only days ago."
Kasuf straightened in his seat. Daniel leaned forward, not looking surprised, but his expression was intent. "You said that before. It was when you went to meet Heru-ur?"
"Yes," he said, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to remember everything. What had she told him? "She said--"
"Wait," Daniel interrupted. "Sha'uri or Amaunet?"
"Sha'uri," Skaara said, then wrinkled his nose. "I think. I do not know. I think it was Sha'uri--she was...weak. When the body is weak, it is harder for the demon to take control. She said he had not allowed her a sarcophagus in many, many days--perhaps this makes the body weaker."
A strange look was on Daniel's face. "Mm," he said. "That may be true. Then you spoke to her. She was on the hatak with you?"
"Heru-ur wishes to form an alliance with Apophis. He believed that if he had Amaunet and Klorel as prisoners, Apophis would help him, in trade. Amaunet had not tried to escape in more than a year, so he did not expect that she would try so suddenly. She fled while he was speaking to me, then when they tried to stop her, I escaped also. I used the rings to return to my--Klorel's hatak. They pursued us to Tollana, then I escaped in an udajeet."
"How did Sha'uri escape?" Daniel said. "To where?"
"She went toward the peltak," Skaara remembered, "but I did not see her leave. Only udajeet were on the hatak; she could not have gone far in that, but there was a planet within reach."
Daniel nodded, thinking fast. "There were transport rings in the peltak, yes? Could she have reached an udajeet from there and flown to that planet before the hatak flew out of distance toward Tollana? Then she would have used the chaapa'ai from there."
Skaara nodded. "Perhaps--some udajeet can use rings as well. Or if she used the rings to reach Klorel's ship, she may have taken one of those udajeet before I arrived. I do not know for certain where she went. She said she was going to where you found her."
"But Sha'uri is not here," Kasuf said. "This is where Dan'yel met her last time."
"I thought she might be here," Skaara admitted, the too-familiar feeling of defeat beginning to creep in past the joy of returning home. "She would not say the name of the place--"
"Why?" Daniel said sharply. "You are sure she said nothing else? Why would she--"
"I do not know! Perhaps...there were Jaffa who might be listening. I do not know, Dan'yel."
Daniel subsided, but Skaara knew he was not finished; he was only thinking.
Kasuf looked between the two of them, his expression as disturbed as it was confused. "Perhaps she did not know of the iris--" Kasuf started. Daniel's eyes widened in horror, but then Kasuf said, "No. The Guards would have told me if someone had tried to use the chaapa'ai. Does this mean that she was unable to escape the warriors of Heru-ur, if she is not here on Abydos?"
"There are other possibilities," Daniel said, blinking at the floor as he thought. "But...I may need to ask people at the SGC. You also said that Heru-ur wishes an alliance with Apophis, even now? But Apophis is dead, is he not?"
"No," Skaara said with certainty. "He lives. He spoke to Klorel recently."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "How recently? He was prisoner to Sokar--we destroyed Sokar's moon only weeks ago--"
With a dejected feeling in his gut, Skaara said, "Dan'yel, the message Apophis sent to his son said that Sokar had been killed. He said that he was the only Goa'uld left on Delmak."
"Gods," Daniel breathed, his eyes widening. "Then that means..."
Skaara nodded grimly. "Yes."
Looking frustrated, Kasuf said, "What is it? What does that mean?"
"It means that Apophis has taken control of the greatest army of any Goa'uld we know," Daniel said. He stared at Skaara for a long moment, and then looked away. "I apologize. I should wait before asking these questions. The others will know better what we need to ask."
As if he had been waiting for that signal, O'Neill's voice called, "Hello?" Daniel rose and walked outside. Skaara joined him, where he saw SG-1. "Hah! Told you I wouldn't get lost this time," he added to Teal'c.
"I did not say otherwise, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Jack, can I talk to you guys for a minute?" Daniel said.
"Well, yeah, that's why we came--"
"No, Jack," Daniel said impatiently, making room for them as they strode along the ramp and taking a bag away from Major Carter as she reached them first. He put it down carefully inside the house, then moved into SG-1's path to stop them when they tried to follow. "Sam, someone checked P3X-974 a few months ago, right? The Hammer's been rebuilt?" SG-1 stared at him, then at Skaara and Kasuf. Daniel added, "Can I talk to you outside? I have a question I really, really need to ask."
"Ah...okay," O'Neill said, frowning.
Daniel turned back to him and smiled tensely. "I apologize. I will be only a minute."
Continued in Part b...