Author's Notes: *

"Earth to Sam," Janet repeated as she slid into the chair next to her friend, exchanging a greeting smile with the man across the table as he glanced up from the book he was reading while he ate.

"Oh hi, Janet," Sam muttered, a slight flush coming to her face. "I didn't hear you."

"Yeah, I noticed," Janet teased. "What had you so enthralled? Surely not the tuna surprise."

"No. Ugh. Actually, I was looking at Daniel's mouth," Sam explained.

The mouth in question gaped open, a forkful of tuna noodle casserole stopping in route halfway from the plate. "Uh... Why?" Daniel asked, looking over the tops of his glasses.

"Nice, isn't it?" Janet agreed wholeheartedly.

"It's not fair," Sam grumbled, stopping to take a bite of her salad.

"What's not?" Daniel asked, narrowing his eyes as he slowly lowered his fork.

"Mmm," Janet agreed again with a nod, ignoring Daniel's growing disquiet while studying his face intently. "It's the lips."

"What about my lips?" Daniel queried, closing his book and reaching up to self-consciously wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"Exactly!" Sam concurred. "Why should a man get lips like that? If it wasn't for the colonel, I'd have the flattest lips on SG-1 and I'm the girl! I'm not even gonna start with the eyelashes."

"Nice package all the way around," Janet leered.

"Well, yeah," Sam granted. "I'm just saying what a shame it is to waste all that on someone who doesn't appreciate it. I mean, if he was a woman, he wouldn't even have to wear makeup."

"All that perfect skin," Janet sighed dreamily. "He's just so... pretty."

"I'm sitting right here, ya know," Daniel broke in, sounding exasperated and more than a little embarrassed by the appraisal.

"We know, sugar," Janet drawled. "We're just takin' inventory. We haven't even gotten to the best parts yet."

Daniel felt his cheeks go red. "Can't you do this girl talk thing somewhere else?" he sputtered, looking around to see who might be watching his torment.

"Don't worry, hon, you are one of the girls to us," Janet assured with a wink as she gathered her fresh cup of coffee and got up to leave.

"Wait up," Sam replied as she piled her dishes back on a tray. "I'll walk with you. It's almost time for my pre-mission physical anyway. See you in the gear-up room," she added with a grin to her irate teammate.

"Oh good, we can talk about a certain somebody's other assets on the way," Janet teased, smiling sweetly at Daniel.

Daniel stared after the pair as they walked away and sighed in aggravated bewilderment. "I don't remember touching any mirror," he muttered to himself, opening his book and going back to his lunch.

Daniel ran his fingers hurriedly through his hair in lieu of a comb, but paused to really take a look at his reflection in spite of the fact that Jack was already waiting. It wasn't often he considered his appearance. When he did stop to look in a mirror, he always seemed to be searching for something beyond what was merely skin deep, not the surface stuff. He pursed his lips and ran a finger along them in exploration. Same old lips; useful for speaking and eating, but rarely used for anything more exciting than that since... well, not for a while.

"Daniel?" Jack asked from behind in a perturbed voice.

"Huh?" Daniel replied absently, not distracted from his observations.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking at my lips," Daniel explained, tugging his glasses off to examine his eyelashes as well. Unfortunately, without the very items that obstructed his view, he really couldn't tell much. He blinked a few times and slipped his specs back on in irritation.

"Why?" Jack persisted, coming a little closer to join in the assessment from over Daniel's shoulder.

"Do I look like a girl?" Daniel asked unexpectedly, still studying his reticent reflection.

"Not since you cut your hair," Jack assured, tugging on a lock behind Daniel's ear. "Why? Are the marines picking on you or something?"

"Worse," Daniel assured with a snort. "Sam and Janet. They said I was pretty."

To his credit, Jack paused a beat before cracking up. "Well, I wouldn't go that far," he teased.

"I know!" Daniel agreed unconditionally, pointing at the obviously flawed image with his whole hand. "I knew they were just yanking my chain."

"Look on the bright side," Jack responded evilly as he hoisted his pack. "I've got a new nickname for ya."

Daniel groaned and turned away from the mirror to face his friend. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Come on, Pretty Boy, we're late," Jack purred as he pushed open the locker room door and headed out. .

Sam smiled as the Colonel and Daniel entered the gateroom, but it faltered quickly at the wounded look Daniel shot her as he joined Teal'c at the foot of the ramp. "What's wrong with Daniel?" she asked her CO in a low voice.

"You know those Pretty Boys," Jack replied flippantly, just loud enough for Daniel to hear him. "They're so sensitive."

"Oh God," Sam murmured. "We were just kidding around. Did we hurt his feelings?"

"He'll get over it," Jack assured. "He hangs out with me; he's used to sarcasm."

"We weren't being sarcastic," Sam denied vehemently. "We were picking on him, yeah. But we were serious. Daniel is gorgeous and every woman on base knows it."

As soon as the wormhole rushed the room and retreated Daniel glance up for the all clear and then disappeared into the blue light with Teal'c close behind him.

"Crap," Sam swore in a very good, albeit unintentional impression of her commanding officer.

"You don't really think he's, you know," Jack fished as they walked up the ramp, "all that?"

"And a bag of chips," Sam agreed readily, stopping just short of the event horizon.

"Come on! Daniel?" Jack insisted sardonically. "Anthro-geek?"

Sam huffed in indignation, but didn't bother to answer before ducking into the wormhole.

"Huh," Jack replied as he followed.

Stepping out onto a new world seemed to ease the tension. Daniel shook his head in bafflement as Sam sought him out with her eyes as soon as she hit the stargate dais, non-verbally begging for forgiveness. Daniel rolled his eyes and gave her a `don't worry about it' shrug. Jack snorted inelegantly at the exchange, but moved ahead without a word.

They found the planet to be uncommonly beautiful and none of them immediately disturbed the peaceful silence. The MALP hadn't quite done the place justice as the colors seemed more vibrant, almost surreal in their splendor. Towering deciduous trees, instead of the usual evergreens, gave way to a cool blue sky on the far side of the grassy, meadow that bounded the stargate.

Butterflies flitted from wildflower to wildflower and several birds passed overhead, squawking their displeasure at the noise when the `gate suddenly deactivated. With the mood broken, SG-1 took a collective breath of the clean, fresh air and paused only a moment longer before getting down to business, moving off in different directions.

There was such a sense of serenity Sam felt truly at ease for the first time in a long while. She half expected to hear a babbling brook and wished they had more than the few allotted hours to spend here. Unfortunately this would just be a quick in and out mineral survey. There seemed to be nothing of strategic value at the moment, but Sam mentally added the planet to the list of possible future sites for an outpost or research colony. Paradise, she thought.

Daniel seemed to be back to his normal, exuberant self and Sam thanked her lucky stars that he was such a tolerant soul. She wouldn't hurt him for the world and vowed to sit him down and have a heart to heart with him as soon as the mission was over. For the life of her, she couldn't understand how the brilliant man could be so obtuse when it came to his own physical attributes. With another deep breath, she went to work.

While listening to the Colonel wax poetic about the trees and Daniel hypothesize about the plain stone platform the stargate was situated on, Sam felt quite contented. The normalcy of the conversation lulled her as she methodically completed her internal checklist for arrival on an unexplored planet. She exchanged a look with Teal'c as he dipped his head briefly in an unspoken agreement of her assessment of the situation before moving on.

Still, with SG-1's luck, it shouldn't have surprised her when the peaceful mood shattered. Sam turned from checking the DHD to watch in horror as the stargate slowly shimmered out of existence.

"Sir!" she called out, jumping back as the DHD was caught in the same nearly translucent beam and disappeared as well.

"What the hell?" Jack muttered in disbelief, running his hand through the space above the dais where only minutes before they had stepped through the stargate.

"Watch out," Daniel cautioned urgently as the beam swept up the MALP. "Asguard?" he questioned after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"For what purpose would the Asguard strand us on this planet, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, but here it comes again," Daniel warned as another pale, bluish colored beam began bouncing around them, blasting the stargate dais, rocks, bushes, and anything else in its path. A second then a third bean joined in the destruction, each growing wider as they began to suck up the debris in long swirling tunnels that disappeared into the sky.

"Head for the tree line," Jack ordered brusquely, following as his team fled for their lives.

48 hours later

"Sergeant?" Hammond questioned hopefully.

"Nothing, sir," Davis answered in frustration. "The MALP seems to have just fallen off into space, the same as last time. It's like the stargate is still there but the planet is gone. I can't explain it."

"Very well," the general acknowledged softly. "Let me know if the Tok'ra or the Asguard ever get around to answering our messages."

"Yes, sir," Davis said with a slight nod as the control room lapsed back into a tense silence.

Daniel turned his canteen upside down and shook one last drop into his dry mouth. "That's it for the water," he said to no one in particular.

In the distance the light show steadily grew closer on another, deeper pass that appeared to be removing the top soil. Soon they would have to move again.

"They've taken everything," Sam swore softly in dull amazement as she scanned the now empty lakebed stretching out beneath them, "including our only way home."

"Sorry bastards," Jack grumbled, exhausted from two and a half long days of trying to keep one jump ahead of the nasty blue beams as they raped the land of all but trace amounts of vegetation, water, dirt; everything.

"So, we're just going to die here?" Daniel asked numbly. "Shouldn't we at least try to find some way to communicate with it?"

"Knock yourself out," Jack offered with only a hint of his usual sarcasm. "The blue-beam-of-death looks all ears to me."

"Jack," Daniel objected with a tired sigh.

"O'Neill," Teal'c hastily interrupted pointing to two bright points of light in the direction of the setting sun. Gradually the lights dimmed into dark spots that increased rapidly in size, morphing into small, sleek aircraft. As they approached they were accompanied by a deep roaring hum and gale force winds. Before the small space ships landed in the dry lakebed the blue beams disappeared completely.

"Daniel," Jack yelled above the noise, ducking his head from the rush of sand that swept past him, "here's your chance to communicate."

Daniel tried to peer through his upraised arms to get a better look but had to turn away as well until the cacophony of sound and bruising air abruptly stopped. He heard running feet pounding the barren ground and coming towards them as he used his equally dusty sleeve to wipe the fine film of dirt from his glasses.

Already on his feet, Teal'c raised his staff weapon and shouted to the two young men who breathlessly approached them. "Come no further," he boomed menacingly.

Jack and Sam held their P-90's ready to fire, and the men seemed to recognize serious weapons when they saw them and stopped their advance immediately.

"We mean you no harm," one of the men said hurriedly, lifting his empty hands in supplication.

"Right," Jack mocked. "So it wasn't you trying to wipe us off the planet with that nifty blue vacuum then, huh?"

"We only recently determined your life signs when we passed over this area in our scout vessels. Long range scans indicated that this planet was uninhabited," the other man explained rapidly and without pausing for air.

"Obviously not," Daniel put in. "We've been running from that vicious shaft of light for days."

"We have destroyed your planet."

"No," Daniel assured quickly, relieved by the stricken tone of the man's voice. "We're visitors here, just like you. Although we had actually planned to leave the planet the way we found it."

The two men looked at each other and then at the wanton destruction around them. "Your ship was destroyed?" one of them asked.

"We didn't come here by ship," Sam started to explain, but cut herself off at the sharp look from her commanding officer. "But yes, our means of transportation was taken out in the first wave."

"So, let me get this straight, you weren't intentionally trying to kill us?" Daniel asked warily.

"No!" the first man exclaimed. "We fight only for the defense of our people."

"And we take raw materials only from planets without sentient life forms," the other added. "I am Barret and this is Alam. How may we assist you in returning to your home?"

"I don't think you can," Sam said taking in size of the two tiny spacecraft.

Alam graced her with a cocky grin and clicked a knob on his arm. "Command, we require a shuttle. The last scan was not a malfunction. We have discovered four people on this world."

"Uh," Jack lifted a finger in protest. "We didn't say we would go with you."

"Sir, with all due respect, the stargate is gone. Our supplies are almost used up and frankly, they've taken or destroyed anything we could possibly live off of long term. There's not even any water left."

"It's a big planet, Carter," Jack argued. "And this is where a rescue will come when Hammond manages to convince someone to come looking for us. If you could just leave us some supplies, we'll be fine," he added turning to their would-be rescuers.

"For how long, Jack?" Daniel questioned unenthusiastically. "We can't even be sure anyone will come. And let's face it, this planet will never recover from... this," he said spreading his hands to encompass the havoc around them, "even if they stop what they're doing right now. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in this wasteland forever."

"It's not gonna be forever. I know somebody owes us a favor," Jack insisted stubbornly. "We just have to wait `em out. I've been in this situation before, remember?"

"No sir. You had resources. You had... people," Sam pointed out quietly.

"We have been without reserves far too long. If this is truly not your planet, then the harvest must continue," Alam cut in. "The continued survival of our people depends on it. All usable raw materials will be processed. Eventually everything will be taken, including the atmosphere. You cannot stay here."

"How long will it take to, uh, process everything?" Daniel asked, directing his attention back to the newcomers.

"Many cycles. Perhaps an absolute cycle or more," Barret estimated.

"Cycles? As in rotations of the planet around the sun?" Sam tried to clarify.

"No. A cycle is part work, part rest," Alam explained. "They are grouped into sections to better count the passage of time. An absolute cycle is three hundred and fifty cycles."

"You live on a space ship," Daniel guessed.

"Yes. It has been many generations since my people were bound to a planet."

"That makes sense," Daniel expounded thoughtfully. "They're nomadic. They travel space searching for food and resources as best they can, but ultimately they live on board a ship."

"An intergalactic mobile home?" Jack surmised lifting both eyebrows.

"Sort of. Of course they wouldn't relate time to any particular planet. Roughly a cycle is a day, an absolute cycle is a year, etcetera."

"If no rescue comes within a year, O'Neill, I fear one will not come at all," Teal'c intoned wisely.

Jack absently dusted the dirt off of his sleeve. "And if they're gonna be here for a year anyway, we might as well go with them," he relented.

Teal'c inclined his head slightly and Daniel shrugged.

"That would probably be the best plan for survival, sir," Sam agreed unhappily.

"Fine," Jack mumbled, turning to the closest pilot. "We accept your offer of a ride."

"This never gets old," Jack grinned as he leaned over the shuttle driver to peer out the front window.

A few steps behind him in the passenger area Daniel scrubbed at his face with the already filthy Wet wipe he had stolen from Sam. "Better?" he asked raising his head for inspection.

"Nice try," Jack teased as he glanced back. "Looks like you just made mud."

"That's what it feels like, too," Daniel complained as Sam placed another cup of water into his hand before handing one to the Colonel as well.

"Drink it," she cautioned when Daniel went to dip the cloth in it. "We're all still a little dehydrated."

"Whoa," Jack breathed reverently, bringing his three teammates forward for a look at the mammoth vessel rising before them.

"How many ships do you have?" Daniel queried, dribbling part of his drink down the pilot's back as he hadn't quite gotten his space legs yet. "Sorry."

"We have many, many shuttles, fighters and scout vessels," the co-pilot provided, hiding a grin at his unhappy partner. "But we live on the two large ships. This one is Heracles. It is the bigger of the two."

"That is big," Jack muttered. "Bigger than any old mothership, eh Teal'c?"

"By far," Teal'c agreed, awestruck as well at the behemoth beginning to fill the view port.

"Heracles," Daniel mumbled. "Well that certainly leans towards a common ancestry with Earth."

"Heracles?" Jack asked. "A god perhaps?"

"Uh, no. Actually Heracles was the greatest hero of Greek mythology, fathered by a god, but his mother was mortal. You probably know him by his Roman name; Hercules."

"Of course," Sam agreed. "We still tend to name really big things Hercules, don't we?"

Daniel nodded enthusiastically as he took a deep drink from the cup and shifted into lecture mode. "Heracles went insane for a brief time and killed his wife and children. As punishment from the gods he was given twelve labors, feats so difficult they were considered impossible. But the sympathetic deities Hermes and Athena dropped in from time to time to help him when things got too bad."

"Yadda," Jack groused.

"But the point is..."

"There's a point?"

"Yes there is a point," Daniel continued patiently. "The point is Heracles is the embodiment of pathos; the experience of virtuous struggle... and suffering."

"I knew I wasn't gonna like the point," Jack grimaced exchanging a worried look with Carter.

"That doesn't have to mean anything," Sam offered hopefully. "Does it?"

"Probably not," Daniel agreed with a slight frown. "I'm just saying."

"Well don't," Jack ordered, cutting off a protest with a raised hand.

As a group they fell silent, mesmerized by the enormous grey ship that blotted out more and more of the stars behind it as they drew closer. Constant flashes of blue light along the bottom provided a reminder of the days spent outrunning the destructive beams as it continued to digest the world below. The sun peeking around the edge of the planet seemed to be reflected back along the entire top of the ship as if it were made of glass. The display was brilliant, if a little hard on the eyes.

Soon however they were close enough that all they could see were the patches of lighter and darker metals that marked repairs and alterations to the ship's hull. An occasional window, bulkhead, blinking light or other blemish distracted the eye, but for the most part, Heracles was cold grey.

"Are we going to land on Heracles?" Daniel asked, fending off a yawn.

"No," the pilot scoffed distastefully. "Heracles is the service vessel. We're headed for Theseus. It remains some distance away."

Daniel pursed his lips and nodded but didn't expound on the new information.

Jack rolled his eyes to the ceiling before turning a repentant look to his friend. "Daniel?" he invited reluctantly.

"Ah, actually Theseus was Heracles' cousin."

"So it's a family thing," Jack joked.

"Theseus was the son of King..."

"Ack! Don't make me regret asking," Jack warned lightly. "Let's just have the condensed version for now."

"Theseus," Daniel began again, only slightly aggrieved, "was the national hero of Athens and was renowned for his sense of justice and his defense of the oppressed," he said succinctly.

"Was that so hard?"

"But?" Sam asked expectantly.

Daniel cleared his throat.

"Condensed," Jack warned again, lifting a finger.

"Well, his credo, so to speak, could be described as `do unto others before they do unto you'."

"Sweet."

"But, it probably doesn't mean anything," Daniel assured, rubbing his eyes.

"Are we there yet?" Jack turned to ask the pilot.

"No," the longsuffering man flying the craft growled. "It will be some time before we dock."

"Thanks," Jack called back genially. "That doesn't really tell me anything. Okay, kids, try to get a little rest before we get there."

They settled around the edge of the cargo compartment, out of the way but with a good view of both the forward area and the outer hatch. Not that anybody could come busting in on them out in space, but it was a good habit as far as Jack was concerned. Jack and Sam leaned against the bulkhead, Teal'c folded his legs to meditate and Daniel stretched out using his dusty pack for a pillow.

"Wake me in an hour," Daniel mumbled almost incoherently.

"Sure," Jack agreed, realizing Daniel was already asleep.

"Wakey, wakey," Jack said, nudging Daniel with his boot. "Sorry, no coffee."

Daniel peeled open one eye and glared up at his tormentor. "You had a shower," he accused. "And a shave." He noticed at a glance that Sam and Teal'c had cleaned up as well.

"Why, yes, Daniel. I did," Jack gloated. "These fine gentlemen were nice enough to let us use the facilities, such as they are. And now it's your turn."

"How long was I out?" Daniel rasped out as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"Only about three hours," Sam provided, handing over a bowl of what appeared to be noodle soup. "We all got some sleep."

Daniel accepted the food eagerly, quickly finishing it off by tipping the bowl to get the last few drops. "Wow. I was hungry," he declared, wiping his hands on his dirty pant legs. "Now where's the shower?"

"You must find a seat and buckle in," the co-pilot instructed, sweeping an arm towards the passenger seats.

"We're there?" Jack asked, sounding like an excited kid, bouncing forward to get of glimpse of the sleeker, shinier Theseus.

"What about a real quick shower?" Daniel pushed.

"There is no time," co-pilot insisted. "We're preparing to land now. You must clear the flight deck," he told Jack firmly pushing him out of the cockpit.

"I'm going. Sheesh," Jack grumbled, sounding hurt as he stepped back through to the passenger area. Daniel still sat in the floor behind the seats, rearranging the contents of his pack and muttering under his breath.

"Let's go," Jack ordered softly. He offered him a hand up, but thought better of it comparing his clean hand to Daniel's filthy one. Cramming his hand back in his pocket, he shrugged apologetically before joining Sam and Teal'c who were already buckled in.

Daniel rolled to his knees and found his footing before wobbling over as well. He sighed as he sat next to Jack who made a show of scrunching his nose.

"Keep down wind," Jack ordered.

Daniel shook his head as if to wake up, hiding an evil grin as the stirred up dust floated in Jack's direction.

"Hey," Jack bitched venomously.

"Sorry," Daniel swore with feigned innocence before he sneezed, sending another wave Jack's way.

"Bless," Jack uttered automatically, not toning down his glare as he waved a hand in front of his face to stave off the invading germs. "Next time, you can shower first, you vindictive little bastard."

"Somehow," Daniel said with a satisfied smile, "I just know you meant that as a compliment."

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked as they followed the pilot through the enormous landing bay of Theseus.

"The Director of Assignment will decide what your duties will be and your board."

"Bored?"

"Board, Jack. I think he means where we will stay."

"Yes," the shuttle pilot nodded. When they reached the bulkhead a door opened to admit them to a large elevator.

"Cool. A turbolift," Jack enthused. "Can I drive?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged an indulgent look and shook their heads at the confused pilot who leaned in and pushed a button to send them on their way. He stepped back with a relieved expression. "Welcome to Theseus."

"Thank you!" Jack called out as the door closed in his face and the car sped along to its destination. "I'm not sure, but I think that guy was glad to get rid of us."

"Us?" Sam asked innocently.

Jack narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I'm not the one who gave him a shower while he was flying the shuttle, now am I?"

"Shower," Daniel mumbled longingly, crossing his arms and resting against the side of the elevator.

"Yeah," Jack agreed running a critical eye over his friend. "You're not exactly dressed for a job interview. Carter? Got any more of those Wet wipes?"

"No, sir. He already used the last one."

"Hold still," Jack instructed as he licked his thumb and tried to corner Daniel.

"No way, Jack!" Daniel protested, pushing away from the wall. "You are not giving me a spit bath."

Teal'c's eyebrow shot up in alarm at what had to be another confusing Tau'ri euphemism. "Spit bath?" he questioned distastefully, as if the words tasted bad.

"It's a particularly vile treatment Earth mothers give their children in supermarkets," Daniel explained while fending off Jack and bolting for the opposite corner of the large elevator.

"Only when their children are too nasty to be seen in public," Jack countered. "Now come here and take your medicine, Danny."

"Sir," Sam pleaded for Daniel. "Let me."

Daniel scowled but allowed Sam to wipe his face with her dry hand.

"Put some spit on it," Jack kibitzed. "He's still dirty."

"Jack, I'm an archeologist. I'm supposed to be dirty."

"So... dressed for success? Too bad we don't have a cat to lick off this peach fuzz," Jack teased, reaching over Sam's shoulder to grab Daniel by the chin and give him a quick squeeze, much to Daniel's chagrin. The slight vibration of the car stopped and the door swooshed open to a wide, brightly lit corridor. "This must be the place," Jack surmised, ushering his team into the passageway.

"Hello. Welcome," a middle aged woman in an elegant, opalescent gown greeted them as she stepped forward to shake their hands. "I am Lorna, Grand Director of Assignment."

"Colonel Jack O'Neill," Jack introduced himself as he took her outstretched hand. "This is Major Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and, uh... Doctor Daniel Jackson. He's an archeologist," he added lamely as if to explain Daniel's less than aesthetic appearance.

Lorna smiled uncertainly but shook Sam and Teal'c's hands, pausing as she reached for Daniel's. Daniel wiped his hand down his shirt, looked at it, then bowed slightly to the Director instead. She returned the gesture and seemed pleased by the compromise. "An archeologist? What is that?" she asked politely as she ushered them into her office.

"I study the past," Daniel explained his beloved profession. "I uncover and study artifacts from people long passed."

Lorna gestured for them to be seated as she rounded the huge oblong desk and pulled up a display on her free standing monitor that only she could see from her side. "And there is a need for this where you come from?" she questioned politely.

Jack leaned forward and tried to catch of glimpse of the screen, but only saw a few squiggles he couldn't decipher. He shrugged at Sam and shook his head.

"Well, yes," Daniel said, sounding slightly put out. "By learning about our past, we better understand ourselves."

"Daniel," Jack warned before he got too wound up.

Lorna placed her hands on the desk and turned solemnly to the group in front of her. "We regret that we have caused your misfortune and to that avail, we willingly accept you into our society. However, it has been many, many cycles since we have had access to any raw materials and therefore resources are in short supply."

"Aren't you hacking up a planet as we speak?" Jack asked.

"Yes and there will be an immediate positive effect. However processing takes time. We are a practical people, nothing is wasted. And all citizens are expected to pull their weight. For whatever time you remain with us, we insist you provide compensation."

"Sweat equity," Daniel surmised. "You want us to work for room and board?"

"Yes. As do all citizens once they reach age of maturity. We expect no more and no less from each of you. Is this acceptable?"

"Sounds fair," Jack agreed. "And it looks like we really don't have any choice but to stay with you until someone comes to collect us or you pass a planet with another stargate."

Satisfied with the outcome of the conversation, Lorna seated herself behind the desk. "You are pilots?" she began the interview.

"Yes," Jack answered quite pleased with himself. "We are."

"Excellent!" Lorna exclaimed and began to touch her display enthusiastically. "We are always in desperate need of fighter pilots."

"I'm not a pilot," Daniel interjected. "Remember? Archeologist..." he trailed off at the look from Jack.

"Oh," the director said, failing to hide her disappointment.

"But we are," Jack put in, encompassing the rest of the team with a gesture. "That's something right? And Daniel's a smart guy. I know you can find something for him to do."

"That's right," Sam jumped in as well. "He's a scientist, a linguist ..."

"A male scientist?" Lorna asked in astonishment. "What is your area of study?"

"People," Daniel stated redundantly. "Ancient history, mythology, languages."

Lorna's face fell. "We have no need of these studies."

"How can you say that?" Daniel queried relentlessly, leaning forward in his chair. "How do you even begin to understand..."

"Daniel," Jack cut him off, grabbing his arm to rein him in.

"Daniel Jackson is a warrior of great cunning and bravery," Teal'c stated concisely.

"Yes!" Jack hissed. "Thank you, Teal'c."

"How can you be a warrior but not a pilot?" Lorna asked in confusion.

"Right," Jack muttered slapping a hand to his forehead. "I guess all of your battles are fought in space aren't they? I assume your fighters are all one-seaters?"

"Each craft requires but one pilot," Lorna acknowledged.

SG-1 grew quiet and Daniel slumped back in his chair to silently fume for several seconds. "I can teach," he offered at last.

"Our classrooms are automated and specialized to each vocation."

"Of course they are," Daniel muttered glumly.

Sam frowned in sympathy and patted his knee. "This is awkward. Do you often take in strangers?" she asked.

"I believe it has been done in the past. Mostly we work with young ones as they finish their studies and move on to internship or workers who have a need to change occupations. At any rate, today we have gained two new pilots which we badly need," Lorna said brightly, punching some buttons and producing two small, polygonal discs.

"Two?" Jack questioned, silently counting to three on his fingers.

"Yes. Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c," the director announced, handing one disc to each as she said their names.

"Um, what about me?" Sam queried uneasily.

"Women are not warriors," Lorna stated simply, looking from face to face.

"Maybe not here," Sam argued.

"It is forbidden. There will be no discussion of it. I am certain we can find a position for you elsewhere. What are your skills?"

"Easy," Jack soothed his irate officer. "She's also a scientist," he informed Lorna proudly.

Lorna sighed. "As I have told you, we have no need for languages or..."

"I'm an astrophysicist," Sam interrupted heatedly. "And I can hold my own as an engineer."

"Ah," Lorna replied thoughtfully. "I may have an opening." She touched the screen thoughtfully, apparently scanning through information as it appeared. "There is need of another shuttle mechanic and unfortunately, there are none near completion of training at this time. Do you feel that you are qualified for this position?"

"Absolutely," Jack answered for Carter with complete confidence.

"If I have someone to show me the ropes, then yes, I think I can manage," Sam agreed.

"You would work closely for a time with a preceptor," Lorna assured with a nod and a benevolent smile.

"Okay," Sam agreed grudgingly.

Lorna worked with her computer again and produced another disc. "Now, the three of you will report back to the hangar deck and you will be shown to your boarding from there. Doctor Jackson and I will continue to search for an appropriate venue for his... skills," she replied dubiously.

"Look, I know he's not so appealing now..." Jack started.

"Sir!"

"Jack!"

"...but he cleans up pretty good. Right, Carter?"

Daniel unhappily scuffed his dirty boot along the deck as he waited for the next shuttle to depart. He had already sat there for several hours and the noodle soup was long gone. Apparently he wouldn't get to eat again until he arrived at his assigned room for the night. He had one chocolate power bar left, but he wanted to save that in case of an emergency.

He'd hoped to see one of his teammates on the hanger deck to let them know they were shipping him off to the Heracles, but unfortunately, the rest of SG-1 was already in training for their new jobs. Unable to find them or anyone who knew their locations, he had finally settled down near the shuttle to wait.

His own new found vocation was something of a mystery and Lorna had been most apologetic about not being able to find him a job on board Theseus. All she would tell him about his new profession was that it was necessary and he didn't have to have any particular knowledge or skill to accomplish it. The down side was that he would not be boarded in one place but move each night to a new location where he would be provided a meal and a bed.

"Service provider," he grumbled under his breathe. "What the hell's that supposed to mean anyway?"

"You, too?" Jack asked, startling Daniel who scrambled to make room for his friend on the wooden rack he was sitting on.

"What happened?" Daniel asked worriedly, examining the bandage over Jack's eye.

"Some damn antigravity gadget on their spacecraft happened. They gave me one shot at flying a fighter and got all bent outta shape when I bumped the wall of the hanger... a few times."

"Are you alright?"

"Better than the wall," Jack admitted with a grimace. "Apparently these people have a better innate sense of balance than we do and it makes all the difference in the world when you're trying to pilot one of those things."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "They've been in space for so many generations they've probably evolved a better inner ear to offset the artificial gravity. Teal'c didn't have any problems?"

Jack fired off a disgruntled glare in answer.

"No, Junior probably helped him out, huh?"

"You still haven't showered," Jack mused with a quirk of his lip, abruptly changing the subject.

"I see the bump on the head didn't damage your keen sense of smell. Did they feed you?"

"You haven't had anything to eat?" Jack asked sounding pissed as he rummaged through his pack. "The hospitality around this place leaves something to be desired. Here I've got some MRE crackers."

"You might need them later," Daniel begged off forlornly.

"Dammit, Daniel, take `em," Jack insisted, forcing a couple of packages into Daniel's hand. "I can't eat `em anyway. They turn to lead in my colon; it stops me up for days."

Daniel used his teeth to tear open the tough brown plastic before breaking off a piece of the large, cardboard-like cracker and stuffing it into his mouth. "Jack, you know I don't like to talk about your colon," he scolded.

"Sorry. I forgot." Jack grimaced as he watched his hungry friend scarf down the contents of both packs of crackers before using his tongue to get the last of the crumbs. "Service providers?" he asked at last.

"I don't know. I'm thinking janitors? Maintenance men, maybe?"

Jack puckered his lower lip thoughtfully. "That's not what immediately came to my mind," he noted sagely.

"What?"

"Service providers," Jack drawled, enunciating each word slowly and rolling his hand in the air.

"I don't... What? You don't think... No," Daniel stammered and waved away Jack's leer. "Not that kind of service."

"Come on Daniel, think about the instructions. What did Lorna tell you to do?"

Daniel blinked twice. "She said once I got to Heracles I should get on the lift and go down to this level," he held up his disc and pointed to a symbol on the cover, "go to this room and make myself at home; bathe, rest, whatever. In fact, she emphasized bathe a couple of times. She said someone would be there eventually to tell me what to do. Apparently shifts don't necessarily correspondent to cycles."

"Doesn't really sound like much of a job," Jack pointed out. "More like a rendezvous."

"Where do you have to go?"

"Now see, I'm supposed to go all the way to the top," Jack gloated. "Class structure, you know. I'm thinking this must be the penthouse suite."

"Right," Daniel scoffed. "Better class of service provider."

"Face it Daniel, I am a colonel in the United States Air Force. That carries some clout even out here."

"Well, apparently they don't have any more use for colonels with a distinct lack of equilibrium than they do for archeologists."

"Or linguists," Jack added. "Or anthropologists."

"I get it, Jack."

"Apparently you're useless all the way around."

"So you've said for years."

"Not true," Jack objected strenuously. "I know how useful you are. I also know what an enormous pain in the ass you can be. But I mean that in a good way."

Daniel hadn't even formulated a response when a man signaled them to board the shuttle. Upon entering, they were dismayed to find the seats had been removed and the only place to sit was in the cargo hold with what appeared to be bags and bags of trash.

"Will this day ever end?" Daniel sighed at last, deciding it didn't matter and making himself comfortable on top of the garbage.

Trying to keep clean, Jack settled on the one cleared area of floor instead. "Janitors?" he asked again doubtfully.

"Sure," Daniel answered, not sounding all that certain.

"Dare to dream, Danny, dare to dream."

Teal'c eyed the occupants of the common room distastefully. After he had completed his brief initial training, he was released to do as he pleased until the beginning of the next cycle, but had yet to find anything of interest. Most of the men in the lounge were young and in Teal'c's opinion, undisciplined. They drank and gambled among themselves, or found a willing female out in the hall to take back to their board for sex.

It was reasonable to assume that these pilots did not have long careers. A combination of periodic battles against an unknown enemy, lack of proper training, and several structural flaws of the small spacecraft limited a fighter pilot's life span. As far as Teal'c could tell, no one except Lorna seemed too worried about the dwindling number of warriors. The young men themselves seemed only concerned with carnal pleasure.

The shuttle/scout pilots were down a notch in the hierarchy, but actually seemed to have better prospects. They lived longer, they too had their pick of the women who lined the corridor to the men's lounge, and they seemed to have a great deal of leisure time. The only ones who looked down on them were the younger, cockier fighter jocks. However, to be a warrior was a matter of honor, and Teal'c understood that all too well. Still, he longed for the company of his team whom he had not seen since they had been separated, although he had heard in great detail of O'Neill's misfortune. Ignoring the warriors around him, he headed for an empty corner to meditate.

The instructions were simple; take the turbo-lift thingy all the way to the top, exit to the left then enter the last door on the right. As he got off the elevator Jack squinted up and down the very long hallway then startled as he looked up at the clear domed ceiling far above the partitions. Obviously a very large observation deck had long ago been converted into many, many quarters to accommodate a growing population of the huge ship. But that didn't really stand to reason as he had yet to see anyone since he'd left Daniel in the hangar.

The walls along the hallway were thin and worn and reminded Jack of office cubicles with doors and ceilings. Other hallways bisected the main one every ten doors or so, turning the entire area into one giant grid that radiated out from the central bank of elevators. His boots echoed dully on the plain metal floor and Jack had to remind himself that he was in the ritzy part of town, shabby as it may seem.

It wasn't a long walk, and Jack occasionally heard a voice or strain of music through a wall, but he didn't pass anyone along the way, although another set of footfalls could be heard moving away from his position. Finally he reached the end of the line and realized that the cubicles around the edges of the huge dome were roughly twice the size of the ones in the middle, the equivalent of a corner office in his cubicle scenario. The last door on the right was one of the big rooms.

Resting the disc above the slot beside the door, Jack paused to wonder once again exactly what kind of service he'd be providing. When he deposited the disc, the door slid silently aside. Jack let out a low whistle as he glanced around. Even the big quarters were really quite small, but the view through the transparent outer hull which served as the room's fourth wall was impressive. The spectacle of the never ending star field was a sight Jack thought he'd never forget. It was simply breathtaking.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Jack turned toward the voice and let out a relieved sigh. "Yes, ma'am," he agreed, treating the plump, matronly woman to a charming smile. What kind of trouble could he get into with such a sweet grandmother type? He'd fix her pipes or whatever was broken, she'd feed him supper and let him bed down on the couch. Except there didn't seem to be a couch in the studio-like apartment, just the one, narrow bed.

"I am Under Director of Trade. Retired. You may call me Ahren," the old woman purred.

Jack swallowed and dropped his pack by the door. "Colonel Jack O'Neill," he began covering his returning suspicions with false bravado. "Of the Earth O'Neill's, maybe you've heard of us?"

Ahren laughed lightly and gestured toward the one inner door of her abode. "Perhaps you would like to freshen up while I prepare the meal."

"That would be great," Jack agreed enthusiastically, knowing his bladder was reaching capacity, but not sure if it was the odor of the trash or from Daniel that lingered in his nose.

"If you need anything, let me know," Ahren called out as Jack disappeared into the bathroom.

He scratched his head as he puzzled over the odd looking toilet. "I'll figure it out," he called back, deciding that the lid didn't lift.

Daniel rubbed his eyes as he continued along the dimly lit corridor. Although he'd already determined the characters were actually numerals, he hadn't quite figured out the counting order just yet so he had to stop at each door and compare the long string of what could have passed for Webdings with the disc in his hand. At last the characters matched and he did a double take as he'd almost missed it given his worn out condition and the simple fact that none of the other fifty or so doors he'd already checked had come close.

"Should have taken that elevator," he mumbled distractedly glancing two doors down before he examined the peculiar key-card for a second before fitting it neatly into slot `A'. There was a mechanical click as the card was gobbled up, then the door swooshed open. Daniel frowned as he entered the tiny, dark room. "I guess once you're in you stay in," he commented to himself as he didn't get the card back.

The lights automatically came up and Daniel took a good look around without ever actually leaving the doorway. Two small beds paralleled each other at the far side of the room and took up more than half of the available space. There was a table and two chairs crammed near the door and a tiny kitchen-esque area with a counter, sink, and a small all-in-one appliance. The low ceiling added to the cramped feel. In his booted feet, Daniel found he could rest his palms flat against the ceiling when stretching his arms overhead.

The room was unadorned and utilitarian. A few black disks were stacked on the shelf next to some sort of mechanical device and several bowls and cups. There wasn't anything on the walls or the one shelf to indicate who might live in the little apartment; no pictures, no reading material, nothing of a personal nature out in the open.

Carefully setting his pack on one of the chairs, Daniel made his way over to peek into the open door between the beds to find a small washroom with a shower, toilet and what appeared to be laundry equipment. Eagerly shucking his jacket, Daniel peeled out of his reeking t-shirt and placed it in what he hoped was the washing machine and not a microwave oven. He jumped back as a light came on inside the device. There was a whirling sound for several seconds and then the door popped open.

Tentatively sniffing the cool, dry, and obviously clean garment Daniel smiled at the fresh scent. He crowded his jacket in before heading back for the rest of his stuff. Within ten minutes he had cleaned everything in his pack including the bag itself, and his boots. In his still grungy boxers he looked around before discovering a stretchy vacuum hose built into the wall which he used to clean up the small mounds of dirt where he had sat his pack and removed his boots.

Slipping out of his underwear he placed them in the washer before moving over to the shower. As soon as he closed the stall a wave of not quite lukewarm, but already sudsy water drenched him forcefully from the ceiling. He barely had time to gasp his surprise when the deluge stopped. Bracing against the wall Daniel watched the dirty water around his feet being sucked forcefully down the drain. A second round of soap was followed by a thorough and invigorating rinse which left him tingling and pink-skinned from the sting of the spray, clean at last.

Sam sighed with satisfaction as she sat up and snapped the panel back into place. A key benefit of her new job was that in the process of working on the shuttles Sam would be learning things that would come in handy if... when they got back to Earth. Her natural mechanical abilities hadn't failed her with the alien technology and she had already exceeded her preceptor's wildest expectations. In fact, Steis had already begun to give her independent assignments with orders to call her if she ran into anything she was uncertain about.

"Steis?" Sam called out hearing the door open and footsteps in the cargo hold.

"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here," a tall, rakishly handsome man said with a smile as he stepped into the forward compartment. He was well built and maybe a few years younger than Sam.

Reflexively, Sam smiled back. "Hi, I'm Samantha Carter," she introduced herself as she climbed to her feet.

"DeLoach," the man responded, holding out a hand, his smile shifting to a subtle leer as his eyes wandered over Sam's form approvingly. "You're the worlder."

"Worlder?" Sam asked, suddenly feeling ill at ease. She shook his hand but had to tug free of his grip when he held on longer than was necessary or polite.

He continued to eye her proprietarily as if selecting a nice cut of beef. "Yes, I mean you're the planet dweller Alam rescued."

"One of them," Sam replied carefully. "Except we wouldn't have needed rescuing if your people hadn't destroyed our means of transportation."

"I meant no offense," DeLoach remarked easily. "Alam had said that the female was striking. But I must admit that up until now I've never had much confidence in Alam's taste in women."

Sam harrumphed in disgust and began to gather her tools. "I'm done here. I'll be out of your way in a couple of minutes."

DeLoach leaned against the open doorframe and watched appreciatively. "Don't leave on my account."

"My shift is over," Sam informed him coolly.

"Great! Mine, too. I hadn't intended to choose a mate this cycle because I have some reports to review, but I can do that while you prepare the meal..."

"Excuse me?"

"What?" DeLoach asked in confusion. "I choose you."

Sam felt her mouth fall open and made a conscious effort to close it. "Well I don't choose you. I'm not looking for a relationship."

"A what?"

"I don't want a boyfriend or husband or... or mate," Sam declared firmly, barely keeping her anger at bay.

"Husband? No, no, no. Permanent attachments have been prohibited for... well, for as long as anyone can remember. I only meant for the rest cycle."

Picking up her tool box in one hand and a large wrench in the other Sam tried to push past the big man. "Sorry, not interested."

"But I am," DeLoach insisted, throwing an arm across the exit and bringing his other hand up to cup Sam's closest butt cheek.

Instinctively Sam swung her wrench down into his knee which produced a satisfying crack.

DeLoach dropped his arm to grab his injury and fell to the floor with an outraged cry. "You bitch!" he swore. "I'll have you demoted to garbage detail!"

"Stay put. I'll send a medic," Sam said icily as she stepped over the injured man and left the shuttle without another word.

"This is, uh... interesting," Jack replied through a mouthful of the unpalatable greenish stalks Ahren had proudly prepared for him. "What do you call it?"

"I don't call it anything. It is a delicacy," Ahren informed him as she rubbed a hand up and down his closest arm while he stoically tried to continue to eat. "What would you call it?"

"Weed casserole," Jack suggested sweetly. "Got any hot sauce?"

Ahren made a throaty sound and leaned back in her chair to finger the broach that held her threadbare evening attire in place.

Jack swallowed nervously and fought to keep the contents of his stomach actually in his stomach. "Ahren," he bartered for time, "we need to talk."

"We have the remainder of the rest cycle," Ahren promised, releasing the clasp to let the front of her toga-style tunic fall free.

Jack stared in mute horror at the sagging breast. "No," he finally managed to choke out.

"What?"

"I said no," Jack repeated, pushing his plate away. "I'm sorry. And I'm sure I speak for Daniel, too. If you can't find something more appropriate for us to do you can send us back to the planet. We'll take our chances there."

"Yes," Ahren shouted. "Play hard to get. I love it!"

Jack's well honed skills overrode his dumbfounded brain and he rolled away as Ahren pounced. "Spry for your age," he commented glibly, noticing the older woman now stood between him and the door in the narrow confines of the apartment. "Step away from the door and no one has to get hurt," he warned.

Ahren let out a feral cry and lunged again. Missing by mere inches this time, she lost more of her gown which puddle around her feet. Jack made a move past her for the door but slipped on the slinky material and landed flat on his back. With her feet twisted hopelessly in the dress Ahren tripped as well and crashed down hard, knees first, right between his legs.

With a grunt, Jack spewed what little pea-green vegetation he had eaten and promptly passed out.

"Colonel? Colonel O'Neill?" Ahren gasped, patting his face. "Oh, dear," she muttered, gathering her clothes before calling for help.

The quick, cool shower was refreshing, but didn't exactly allow time to relax. Daniel shook the water from his hair before opening the opaque door only to come face to face with an obviously unhappy and very dirty female. She thrust a small towel at him which Daniel immediately lowered to cover his groin as she blatantly checked him out, still frowning contemptuously.

Daniel glowered back as he fumbled to tie the towel around his waist. "Do you mind?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest before thinking twice and returning his hands to reinforce the knotted towel.

The brown-eyed woman flung his underwear at him before disappearing back into the main room, the door sliding shut behind her. Daniel stared at the closed door for a minute before struggling to pull his shorts over his still wet skin under the towel. Unfortunately the rest of his clothes had vanished along with all of his other stuff.

"Excuse me," he called as he neared the door, jumping as it suddenly swooshed open. "What are you doing?" he asked the woman who stood between the beds angrily folding his clothes and stuffing each item deeply into the pack.

"What does it look like I'm doing? At least you had the decency to clean it yourself," she snarled.

"Stop it," Daniel said, wrestling the tightly balled up sock from her fingers. "You don't have to do that."

She dropped the pack to the bed and moved into the kitchen to turn and study him suspiciously as he folded his own laundry. "You're new," she finally ground out.

"Uh, yes. I'm Daniel."

"Marlena," she huffed out guardedly. "I'm not the one you're here for. I mean, I'm not on the list."

"List?" Daniel asked tentatively.

"For service," Marlena explained with an irritated glance. "I haven't been on the list for a long time. But Bethel let her supervisor bully her into it a while back. I'm surprised you got around to her so soon."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what's going on. This is where they told me to sleep tonight. The key fit so I thought..."

"You're not a service provider?" Marlena asked in confusion.

"No. I mean, yes, that's what they said my job would be. They just didn't exactly explain what that entailed. But I'm starting to get the idea," Daniel admitted reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Marlena laughed humorlessly. "I find that hard to believe. I know you pilots know the rules."

"That's just it, I'm not a pilot," Daniel explained quickly. "My friends and I were rescued from P3C-4889 today..."

"P3C?"

"4889... The planet your people are gathering raw materials from. We were stranded there after your ship gobbled up the stargate."

"I don't understand," Marlena answered backing away. "You're not from the home world?"

Daniel tapped his finger thoughtfully against his lip. "Actually, I probably am from your original home world, but no, I'm not from the planet your ancestors left to travel space in these ships."

"I see," Marlena uttered softly, obviously shocked by the news.

"I won't hurt you," Daniel said gently, spreading his hands in entreaty before quickly reaching back to grab the towel as it slipped.

Marlena laughed again, more relaxed this time, as she pulling the tight kerchief from her head to reveal short, dirty brown hair. "You'll never make it as a service provider," she said as she began to strip out of her work coveralls. "You're too modest."

"Oh, uh," Daniel stammered, trying not to watch, but not having anywhere to go except back into the bathroom where Marlena was obviously headed, or out into the hall which he had no intention of doing in his underwear. "Maybe you can explain how this works? You say there's a list?"

"Yes. A worker puts her name on the list when she feels the need for intimate relations."

"Intimate... right," Daniel flushed, his fears confirmed. "Wait a minute. Her name? Aren't there any male workers? Or female... service providers?"

"Of course not, men are pilots, not workers. Besides, they have their pick of women on board Theseus," Marlena slid past Daniel and into the washroom to cram her outer clothes into the washer. "This thing is still hot," she accused. "How many times did you run it?"

"A couple," Daniel lied, turning his back when she started to remove her skimpy undergarments. "So, where do the service providers come from?"

"Most are retired pilots. Some were injured or unable to fly for some reason. They're all asinine jerks if you ask me. Bethel was so distraught after the last time... I would have lost her if it hadn't been for the Sisterhood," Marlena paused, obviously distressed by the memories. "I couldn't believe it when she told me she'd submitted again."

"Oh. I have so many questions about what you just said I don't even know where to start," Daniel declared, closing his eyes for a second to sort his thoughts. "Okay, uh, do the service providers treat the workers badly?"

"Usually. Now if you don't mind I'd really like a shower before I have to go find somewhere to sleep."

"What?" Daniel asked turning to look at the naked woman, instantly flushing a deeper red and turning back. "I don't want to put you out. You don't have to leave on my account."

"Daniel, right?"

"Yes."

"This is the way it works; you provide Bethel with services, she provides you with food and lodging for the night. As the roommate, I'm required to clear out."

"But you said Bethel isn't really interested in, uh, services. I can just sleep on the floor," Daniel suggested hopefully. "Who would know?"

Marlena didn't answer, but when the shower came on abruptly Daniel knew the conversation was over. He moved away from the door and let it slide shut. Quickly dressing, he used the towel on his still dripping hair. By the time he finished, a much cleaner Marlena entered the room wearing a knee-length robe and a towel on her head. She had strong features, but overall she wasn't unattractive.

"It was over an absolute cycle ago," Marlena began as if there hadn't been a break in the conversation. "Bethel had never been with a man, she's very young. The provider took her roughly, then reported her as uncooperative. She's been terrified of men ever since."

"He raped her," Daniel reasoned softly, unconsciously clenching his hand into a fist.

"Call it what you will. It damaged her psychological profile and she has since been demoted to the lowest tier of sanitation. Her supervisor has convinced her that the only way she will ever be promoted out of there is to submit once again to get over her fears and raise her psych scores."

"That's crazy. Why do the workers put up with this? These... these men get everything thing they want and the women get nothing."

"No, that's not entirely true. Many, many workers feel that this is a great benefit. There is nothing cycle to cycle but work and drudgery," Marlena explained, pulling the towel from her head and roughly drying her hair with it. "To be held, to be made love to by a man is a strong motivator. It's just not usually a reality."

Daniel nodded unhappily. "So how many of these service providers are there?"

"Something like eighteen at this time, I think, counting you."

"Eighteen? Well, nineteen then, if we count Jack, too. But there must be several thousand workers on this ship?"

"Looks like you're going to be busy," Marlena replied with a smirk.

The outside door opened and a shorter, younger woman with a foul stench about her breezed in. Her smile froze as she spotted Daniel. She bit her lip and bravely tried to hold back the tears, knowing there was only one reason for a man to be waiting in her home.

"Oh, God," Daniel mumbled sympathetically, letting Marlena brush past him as Bethel burst into sobs and slid down the wall, shaking hysterically. Unable to get out of the apartment without getting closer to the terrified woman first, Daniel gathered his pack and backed in the bathroom. "I'll... I'll just be in here," he announced letting the door slide shut behind him.

He could hear Marlena's soothing voice under the heartbreaking cries of the younger woman through the thin partition and wondered how many of the neighbors were listening as well. Scratching his scruffy chin he glanced into the small mirror and decided maybe he did look a little sinister with three days growth of beard. He found the sink he had overlooked the first time and set about digging out his razor. By the time he finished shaving, he could no longer hear Bethel's anguished sobs.

The door opened and Marlena did a double take as he wiped the last of the soap from his face. "Is she okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Marlena answered wearily. "She wants to shower."

"Right." Daniel put on his now clean glasses, gathered his things, and slid past Marlena in the doorway. Bethel, who now sat quietly in one of the chairs at the table, eyed him nervously. "If you don't want me here, I'll leave," he told her gently.

"No!" Both women exclaimed simultaneously.

"If you leave, Bethel won't get credit for the service," Marlena explained. "Then she's back to the bottom of the list. Better you than some of the others."

"But how will anyone know?"

"Your card," Bethel offered, bravely making eye contact for several seconds before nervously running her hands through her short, thick blonde hair. "You get it back when you leave."

Daniel frowned. "It's a time card?"

"Yes," Marlena answered, motioning for Bethel to come toward the bathroom. Bethel hugged the wall and Daniel backed away as well to give her a wide berth. She smiled gratefully and disappeared behind the closing door.

"You're sure about this?" Daniel questioned as Marlena moved into the kitchen.

"I promised you won't hurt her," Marlena whispered, an unspoken threat lingering in the air between them.

"I'm not going to touch her," Daniel swore, eyes going wide. "If you want me to stay, I'll stay. But I'm not going anywhere near that young woman."

Marlena nodded her thanks and began making preparations for the evening meal. "Are you hungry?" she asked conversationally.

"I'm starving," Daniel admitted, seating himself at the table and resting his chin in his hand. He glanced up guiltily. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You don't have to feed me, because I'm certainly not going to be providing any `services' this evening."

"Just by being here you're helping Bethel," Marlena disagreed.

"Well, if it'll help get her promoted..."

"No, I mean, you can show her that all men aren't like... that. You can show her she doesn't have to be afraid."

"Ah," Daniel replied, licking his lip thoughtfully. "But maybe it's better that way? Safer?"

Marlena frowned and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "Maybe," she conceded and went back to cooking dinner.

"Easy!" Jack complained as the doctor probed his throbbing-- and not in a good way--family jewels.

"I think you're going to live," she advised with an evil glint in her eye as she covered him with a sheet to preserve what was left of his dignity. "I'm ordering intermittent ice packs and rest. Obviously you won't be able to perform your regular duties for a few days."

"What a shame," Jack muttered sarcastically, staring at the ceiling.

"I know it hurts..."

"You have no idea," Jack interrupted without looking at her.

"...so I'll give you something for the pain."

"Pass."

"Don't be stubborn. If you rest well, I'll let you go to the commissary at the start of the next cycle."

"Goody," Jack replied dryly, biting down on the inside of his cheek as the doctor carefully placed an icepack.

Daniel glanced up nervously when the bathroom door opened.

Dressed in an off-white robe identical to Marlena's, Bethel smiled uncomfortably as she slowly approached the table. "I'm sorry," she began timidly. "About before."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Daniel assured her.

"Why don't we pull the table over to one of the beds?" Marlena interrupted the awkward conversation. "We hardly ever have guests," she explained.

"Right, let me," Daniel offered and easily slid the table closer to one of the beds so someone could sit on the edge while they ate.

Bethel brought the chairs over and sat hesitantly in one while Daniel sat on the bed, as far away from her as possible.

"It's a good thing we found this planet, another twenty or thirty cycles and the hydro-tanks would have gone dry," Marlena said to try to ease the tension. "We've been rationing forever. Bethel's whole life in fact."

Daniel and Bethel exchanged uneasy glances, but neither spoke.

"And we found a sea creature in the sieve as they began to replenish us," Marlena continued excitedly as she sat a large platter of what appeared to be fish and rice on the table. "It's against the rules but we split it up and smuggled it out."

"Marlena works in the gardens," Bethel explained timidly as she dished up some of the food. "They get their water straight from the main station and then filter and treat it themselves."

"This fish is from the planet?" Daniel asked. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course," Marlena assured with a smirk. "At least it falls within the edible parameters, but if you don't want to risk it..."

"No! No, it smells wonderful," Daniel declared, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, his stomach rumbling in agreement. "If you say it's edible, then it's edible, right?"

"Eat," Marlena instructed, loading Daniel's bowl to the rim.

"Thank you." Daniel picked up the spork-like utensil and took a bite. "Mmmm," he approved. "It's very good."

"Were you not half-starved I might believe you," Marlena teased.

"Have you not been fed?" Bethel asked solicitously, shifting her concern from her own worries to the seemingly harmless service provider.

"I had some soup earlier," Daniel muttered through a mouthful of fish, sparing a glance at his watch. "Like, uh, yesterday. And then some crackers... I'm fine." Ignoring his audience Daniel concentrated on his food, surprised when he looked up to find both women watching him in fascination. "What?" he asked uneasily, reaching for a napkin.

Marlena poured some hot black liquid into a handle-less cup and offered it to him.

"Coffee?" Daniel asked hopefully. He took a sip and made a face at the strong, pungent flavor. "Whoa, that's... that's not bad, actually. I could get used to this."

"This one is not hard to please at all," Bethel whispered to Marlena.

"I told you, he's new. He'll change, and not for the better."

Daniel sighed and thumped the cup back to the table. "Please don't talk about me like I'm not here," he grumbled. "I hate that."

"See," Marlena offered as she continued to eat.

Bethel's lip began to quiver and she looked like she might bolt for the bathroom.

"I'm sorry," Daniel swore quickly, reaching out but not touching the frightened girl. "Please don't cry. I didn't mean to be gruff, I'm... I'm just exhausted. I've had a bad couple of, uh, cycles."

"Bethel, calm down," Marlena soothed, pulling the younger woman in closer to her side. "He's not going to hurt you. In fact, he said he doesn't mind if I stay."

"What?" Bethel asked tremulously.

"That's right, Marlena's not going anywhere," Daniel assured, kicking himself for being thoughtless. "You won't have to be alone with me at any time."

"But, the rules!"

"No one will know. I'm the only one they're keeping track of, right?" Daniel questioned looking from one to the other.

Bethel nodded and seemed to calm down. "I'm okay," she whispered and tried to smile.

"Daniel, why don't you finish this?" Marlena offered, pushing the remainder of the fish towards him.

"No, I'm good," Daniel lied, eyeing the food anyway.

"I'm just going to put it in the wet recycle if you don't eat it."

"Well, if you insist," Daniel replied readily as he scraped the rest of the food into his bowl.

"I've never seen anyone eat so much," Bethel observed in astonishment.

"This is first real meal I've had in a few days," Daniel explained contritely, consciously pacing himself.

Braver now that she knew her roommate wasn't leaving, Bethel reached out tentatively and removed Daniel's glasses. "What are these?"

"Oh, um, my eyesight's a little off. Those correct my vision," Daniel explained, polishing off the rice.

Bethel tried them on and frowned as she blinked. "They don't work," she quickly decreed.

"Well your eyes are probably a lot better than mine. They wouldn't work on you."

"I've never seen the color of your eyes," Marlena said softly.

"Blue?" Daniel asked in astonishment. "You've never seen blue? What about the sky?"

"The sky is black," Bethel corrected, returning Daniel's spectacles.

"I guess it is from your perspective. Haven't you ever been to the surface of a planet?"

"What for?"

At a loss for words, Daniel got up and went to his pack. "I live on a planet," he told them as he dug out the photo he knew was stuck between the pages of his journal. "To me, the sky is blue."

The picture showed Cassie sitting between Daniel and Jack on a blanket at a picnic with an arm around each of their necks, pulling them down to her level. It was Cassie's birthday and Jack had made a tasteless joke about the time Janet had snapped the shutter on her old fashioned 35 millimeter camera, so they were all laughing. Behind them could be seen grass, trees, and a beautiful blue sky. Daniel managed a small, sleepy smile at the memory as he handed the photograph over.

"That's Earth. That's where I'm from," Daniel pointed out. The women nearly ripped the photo as each tried to get a better look. "Keep it." Daniel offered. "I'll get another copy from Janet when I get home."

"Keep it?" Bethel echoed incredulously.

"Sure," Daniel mumbled tiredly, sitting on the edge of the bed then falling back to lie flat and relax as his new roomies analyzed the picture bit by bit. Really comfortable for the first time in days he let the excited conversation wash over him. As the girls chatted, they cleared the table and cleaned up. Daniel drifted off to the sounds of their voices.

"Lorna?" Sam called anxiously from the hallway, hoping she had the right door because it had slid open without warning when she approached it.

"Major Carter, come in," the other woman replied with a smile as she put down the discs she had been sorting. "Have a seat."

"I'm sorry to bother you when you're off duty," Sam apologized as she took the offered chair, sparing a glance at the elegant but simple surroundings.

Lorna sighed. "Trust me, as a Grand Director I'm never really off-duty unless I'm asleep."

Sam allowed a nervous smile as she folded her hands in her lap.

"I understand that you're doing remarkably well in your new job."

"Thank you. I'm enjoying it very much. I really like to get my hands dirty every now and then."

"Excellent. I'm glad we were able to match you so effortlessly. That's not always the case, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, that's sort of why I'm here. About Colonel O'Neill and Daniel..."

"I suppose you've heard about the accident then," Lorna interrupted, solemnly.

"The shuttle pilot," Sam managed, the color draining from her face as she misunderstood.

"What? Oh, yes. DeLoach. I understand that he fell and injured his leg. I'm afraid he won't be flying for awhile."

"He fell?" Sam asked, not quite believing her ears.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, right now I'm trying to decide who to pull down from the fighters to cover his duties. I wonder if Colonel O'Neill would be interested in learning to fly a shuttle while DeLoach is convalescing?"

Sam bit back a laugh. "I'm sure he would. And maybe we could try again to find something for Daniel to do on Theseus?" she asked optimistically.

Lorna looked down guiltily before fixing a worried gaze on Sam. "As I was saying... I understand that there has been an accident on Heracles. I believe that one of your friends might have been injured."

"How bad?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know. They don't fall under my direct supervision once they are over there. What I heard was only rumor. But if you wait in the bay you might be able to catch a ride on a service shuttle," Lorna advised grudgingly.

"Thank you," Sam muttered over her shoulder as she ran for the door.

"Just don't be late for your next shift!" Lorna called after her.

Still stretched out across the end of the bed, Daniel woke to a whispered, and not entirely accurate, anatomy lesson on the differences between boys and girls. His feet seemed to be elevated and someone was tugging at his boots without properly loosening the laces first.

"Ow," he complained reflexively, reminded of the several blisters he'd obtained while playing dodge with the ship's harvesting beams for two plus days. He opened his eyes to find Bethel guiltily holding one foot and Marlena determinedly gripping the other. They glanced at each other and slowly released their holds, dropping his feet to the floor.

"Sorry," Marlena blurted out. "We thought you'd be more comfortable."

"And I wanted to see your feet," Bethel confessed with a giggle.

"Why?" Daniel asked drowsily as he sat up, feeling very lightheaded and a little silly himself.

"They're so big," Bethel gushed.

"Oh. Um, thank you, I suppose." The room seemed hazy and had a strong, sweet odor. "What's that smell?"

"Incense. It enhances mood. Bethel burned too much. I think it's gone to our heads," Marlena managed, almost sounding coherent.

Daniel sneezed. "Great, there go my sinuses. I feel... wow. That stuff's strong." He thought he was swaying or that the room moving, but he couldn't decide which.

"They grow it secretly in the back of the gardens," Bethel informed him quietly, leaning over him drunkenly, no trace of her previous fear.

"Shhh. It's forbidden," Marlena added conspiratorially.

"Why do I think I'm going to develop a sudden craving for Doritos?"

"What?"

"Never mind. I didn't mean to fall asleep on your bed. I'll, uh, grab some floor over there," Daniel said, struggling to get to his feet.

"It's alright," Marlena assured him, seating him back on the bed with one firm push. "Rest cycle's more than half over anyway. We'll share the other one."

"Oh. Okay," Daniel lay back and sighed with an unnatural sense of fulfillment. "If you insist," he mumbled before he drifted back to sleep. He was vaguely aware of the girls' renewed efforts at removing his boots.

Somehow, Jack had managed to sleep for a couple of hours. Pleased with his progress, the doctor had allowed him to walk to the commissary for breakfast, walk being a subjective term. The bone-jarring pain in his left testicle had eased to a nagging ache, either from the numbing effects of the near-constant icepack or the magic medicine `doctor' Mary had slipped him.

The woman was sneaky. Jack had to give her that. They hadn't exactly hit it off and Jack felt about as welcome in her infirmary as a fart in a diving helmet. In fact he was homesick for Janet's more honest, if less subtle, bedside manner. Not to say that Mary didn't have her good points. Jack's manhood might be dented, but he wasn't dead and the fact that Mary was a knockout wasn't helping his condition in the least.

Luckily, the commissary was right around the corner from the main infirmary in a large common area. Jack's slow pace left him right in the middle of the morning rush as he shuffled along with his icepack in hand. He was a little astounded to realize that every swiftly moving body around him in the crush of foot traffic was female. The `ohs' and `ahs' of the appreciate crowd didn't go unnoticed either and Jack felt a little like a show pony with a broken... leg.

Finally he reached the `in' door and fell into the end of the short line, obviously arriving just in time if he wanted to eat. He took a tray and set his constant, cold companion on it as he smiled self-consciously to the woman next to him who gazed at him as if he was going to be breakfast. Helping himself to a stack of something that closely resembled whole-wheat pancakes and a cup of the strong, black brew that passed for coffee on the ship, he made his way to the closest table in the huge meal hall.

Making quick work of the food, Jack placed the icepack on his injury and with nothing else to do except head back to the infirmary, sat back to watch as the long buffet was taken down. True to form, Daniel wandered in a little too late. Jack grinned as he watched his coffee addicted teammate wheedled a cup of the black stuff out of one of the cafeteria ladies. Apparently it wasn't too difficult as she disappeared for a minute and returned with not one, but two cups.

Turning to survey the almost empty, airplane hangar sized room Daniel looked surprised to find Jack waving him over. Seemingly oblivious to being ogled by the few remaining patrons as well as the buffet staff, Daniel approached slowly as if in a funk. Careful not to spill a drop from either cup, he placed them both reverently on the table before dropping his pack under the table and meeting the glower aimed unerringly in his direction. He dropped groggily into the chair opposite Jack.

"Janitors?" Jack growled, readjusting the bag of ice in his lap.

Daniel pulled off his glasses and let them clatter to the table. "How was I supposed to know?" he muttered in his own defense. "Service provider. That could have meant anything."

"But it didn't, did it, Daniel? It meant gigolo, escort, BOY TOY!"

"Shh," Daniel grumbled, surreptitiously looking around to see who might hear.

"They all know what we are," Jack insisted dismally, waving off the curious glances from the half-dozen or so women still lounging around for whatever reason. Most of which continued to not so subtly check them out. "And I'm not even pretty. Talk about exploitation."

"Jack, we're not the ones being taken advantage of here. In fact, we seem to have stumbled into the pilot's retirement plan. In our case though, I say it's more like welfare for useless men."

"Okay, that makes no sense," Jack argued.

"The workers are all female, the pilots are all male."

"Yeah, I got that. So?"

"So just hear me out. All males are trained to be fighter pilots from an early age. They aren't given any other career option; they either fly or die trying. If they live long enough, they're downgraded to shuttle pilot eventually."

"And? So? What? When they aren't able to fly shuttles anymore they kick `em over here to the Heracles to sponge off the work force?"

"Exactly."

"And they sell it as some great benefit for the women," Jack nodded, catching on.

"Unfortunately, some of these so called `service providers' are nothing more than sexual predators," Daniel explained solemnly taking his first cup in hand to sniff it. "Worse, if a woman complains, these jerks turn around and report her as uncooperative and it reflects badly on the victim's psychological profile which is in turn used against them on their job."

"That's so wrong," Jack grunted with a frown as he once again shifted the ice pack in a vain attempt at comfort. He sat in silence for a minute and watched Daniel drink his coffee. "You missed breakfast."

"Not hungry."

"You look like shit. Bad night?"

"Strange dreams," Daniel said, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"At least you got a shower," Jack observed keenly. "You okay?"

"Uh, let's see, I'm mortified, humiliated, and embarrassed beyond my wildest expectations. I've been ogled, groped, and generally made to feel like a piece of meat, and that was just on the way to the commissary. If I thought Sam and Janet were bad, I was mistaken. At least they kept their hands to themselves. Well, Sam did anyway, but I'm sure Janet was completely professional in her groping," Daniel rambled, making Jack raise an eyebrow.

"But I'm not as bad off as you apparently," Daniel continued, dropping his gaze toward Jack's lap. "And aren't you a little worried about," he paused for a second to clear his throat, "um, shrinkage?"

"No," Jack spat out defensively. "Besides, it's not what you think."

Daniel rubbed his red-rimmed eyes before focusing them solidly on Jack. "Not chafing?"

"No!"

"So what happened?"

"Well, the... uh, client, I suppose we could call her..." Jack began awkwardly, flinching at Daniel's blatant wince. "Anyway, long story short; this naked old bat was chasing me around, then we fell and she accidentally kneed me in the nuts."

"Ouch," Daniel empathized as he sipped away at his caffeine. "Old and naked? Really?"

"God yes," Jack shuddered visibly. "Tits like tea bags with nipples. It's been a long, long time since she caught a man, I can tell you that."

"She caught you," Daniel observed meanly.

"Not caught, exactly. More like maimed," Jack declared with a smirk. "But it did get me off of the menu for at least a week."

"So you got hurt right away? I mean, you didn't have to, uh, perform or... anything?" Daniel questioned carefully, rolling the now almost empty cup between his palms.

"Nah, I was down for the count. I got to spend most of the night in the infirmary, and for once I was grateful. Believe me, I plan to milk this thing for all it's worth," he added pointing purposefully at his crotch.

"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed with a shocked voice before dissolving into uncharacteristic snickering like a naughty school boy.

"What?" Jack asked innocently as he mentally reviewed his plan. "Oh fer cryin' out loud," he scolded. "That is not what I meant! Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Sorry," Daniel flashed a quick, but unapologetic grin as he tried to contain his amusement.

Jack narrowed his eyes and studied his teammate closer. "You look like hell, but you're in a pretty good mood under the circumstances. You went through with it," he hissed accusingly. "You enjoyed it!"

Daniel considered Jack with the ghost of a smile before shrugging one shoulder. He yawned expansively and switched cups.

"Daniel!"

"What? I'm kidding. I didn't do anything. Besides, I'm pretty sure they were a couple."

"They?" Jack sputtered incredulously.

"Um, yeah... Marlena and Bethel..."

Jack cocked an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Old maids?" he asked almost hopefully.

"Not really."

"How not really?" Jack demanded.

"I guess Bethel is eighteen? Nineteen, maybe. And Marlena is probably close to thirty in Earth years," Daniel decided thoughtfully before making a dismissive gesture with one hand.

"You guess?" Jack queried, taking a swig from his own cup.

"I don't know. I was never any good with women's ages. Besides, I think I'm still stoned."

Coffee came out of Jack's nose and he coughed profusely for several minutes before he could speak. Daniel shielded his own cup from the spray but looked on sympathetically.

"Stoned?" Jack finally rasped out gruffly.

"I couldn't help it, Jack. I had to breathe. I fell asleep and when I woke up the room was full of the stuff."

"So I get the frisky seventy-year-old and you get a pair of whacked out lesbians? How is that fair?" Jack muttered raising his eyes to the dull grey ceiling.

"Class structure," Daniel chortled, throwing the earlier conversation in the shuttle bay back at Jack. "It must take a long time to climb to the upper decks around here, Colonel. By the time they get up that high, there's gonna be some wear and tear."

"Prick," Jack groused unhappily, still coughing slightly.

"Really, Jack, in our line of work, you ought to watch out for shrinkage," Daniel teased mercilessly, draining his second cup.

"Shrinkage," Jack lectured haughtily as he gave up trying to get comfortable and deposited the ice pack despondently on the table, "isn't permanent. Besides, it's not the size of the ship, Daniel. It's the motion of the ocean."

"Yeah, but it takes a hell of a long time to cross an ocean in a rowboat," Daniel smirked.

Jack's glare lost its edge as his lip mutinously quirked upward. "Damn. I think I like you stoned," he finally admitted with a laugh. "So please, humor me. Tell me all about your evening. Tell me it was awful."

"I had a nice meal, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was already high as a kite. They burned some plant leaves that had some sort of cannabis slash aphrodisiac affect. After that I'm a little hazy, I must have passed out again `cause all I remember is dirty dreams."

"Are you sure you were dreaming?"

"Yeah," Daniel assured. "The most they did was fondle my feet."

"Ew."

Daniel shrugged his eyebrows indicating he didn't understand that either. "I know. Weird."

"So we both got off easy..." Jack started. "Ack!" he warned, raising a finger as Daniel prepared to pounce on that remark. "We were lucky," he amended irritably.

"Agreed. But we can't expect our luck to hold out night after night for a whole year. This could get ugly."

"We could just eat in the commissary and then hide out in the ventilation shafts."

"What kind of life would that be? And it's not like we blend in or anything. I think they'd notice us showing up to eat every day. Besides, this place is only open for breakfast, I asked," Daniel argued. "Although they do offer boxed lunches."

"Great," Jack decided. "We live off stolen sandwiches."

"It wouldn't be fair to steal from these people, Jack, and we did promise to pull our weight. There has to be something else we can legitimately do. I don't think either one of us is cut out to be a service provider."

"You said that the men are always pilots, and we aren't qualified," Jack reminded him. "What else can we do?"

"I don't know. Obviously, they don't share our sense of morality when it comes to...you know."

"Whoring around?"

"It's not whoring around."

"Isn't it? We just fuck for food and shelter instead of money."

Daniel sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes again. "Still, who are we to question the way they do things?"

"You question things all the time," Jack pointed out. "Maybe it's time to challenge the system?"

"Maybe," Daniel allowed, a frown creasing his forehead as a familiar face appeared in the doorway. He opened his mouth with a warning, but it was too late.

"Sir!" Sam called as she entered the dining facility causing Jack to jump guiltily. "Daniel!"

"Carter!" Jack greeted glancing around furtively for anyone who might inadvertently spill the beans about their new occupations. "I thought you were boarded on the other ship?"

"Yes, sir, I am. But I heard there was an accident. I came as soon as I could get a shuttle. The doctor told me I could find you here."

"Good news travels fast, I see," Jack grumbled miserably, wondering what else had reached his 2IC's ears.

Daniel valiantly fought down a grin and ducked his head, suddenly fascinated by the worn tabletop.

"I'm fine," Jack assured, kicking Daniel under the table as he made a show of placing the ice pack on his elbow.

"What happened?" Sam asked solicitously, taking the seat on the other side of Daniel, who was busy rubbing his shin and shooting daggers at Jack.

"Well, you see... I was...uh..." he shot a desperate look at the linguist.

"Injured in the line of duty," Daniel declared honestly.

"Well, I already figured that," Sam said, rolling her eyes at the stalling techniques.

"I fell," Jack lied, making another pass with his foot at Daniel's leg for not coming up with anything better. He missed and kicked Daniel's pack instead, knocking it out from under the table.

Daniel drunkenly watched the pack slide away but made no move to retrieve it.

"Sir?" Sam asked, sounding suspicious.

"Like I said, I'm fine. Daniel's fine. We're fine. How are you?"

"Fine, but..."

"Glad to hear it. Teal'c okay?"

"Yes, sir, as far as I know he's fine..."

"Good. So we're all fine."

"Okay," Sam sighed, evidently relieved if somewhat baffled by her CO's behavior. "Good. I was worried, about both of you."

"We know," Daniel chimed in, wearing his best `earnest' expression. "And we appreciate your concern. But we're perfectly safe over here. All we have to worry about is little old ladies who... Ow! Jack! Would you stop doing that?" he finished, pulling both legs up into the chair and out of Jack's reach. "I wasn't gonna tell," he stage whispered angrily.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Tell what? What exactly is it you do?"

"We do our jobs, isn't that right, Pretty Boy?" Jack glared warningly.

Daniel pouted as he rubbed his shin, realizing even in his current state that he couldn't out Jack's job without outing his own as well.

"Which is?" Sam pressed.

"Janitors," the two men insisted simultaneously.

"Janitors?" Sam echoed in disbelief. "That's what you do?"

"Not much use for linguists around here, apparently," Daniel grumbled, dropping his feet back to the floor with a baleful look at Jack.

"Or Air Force Colonels," Jack agreed unhappily. "But there are always decks to be swabbed," he added with a sneer in Daniel's direction.

Daniel barked out a laugh. "Row, row, row your boat," he muttered, earning another glare from Jack.

Sam looked from one to the other before deciding to change the subject. "Um, Colonel, I may have good news for you."

"What's that, Major? I could use some good news right about now."

"Well, it seems one of the shuttle pilots had a little accident," she said, almost pulling off the innocent routine.

"Jack already washed out of the pilot program," Daniel reminded them, looking suspiciously into his empty cup and seeming to pale a little.

"Yes, but the shuttles don't have the same antigravity device as the fighters."

"What?" Jack snapped. "Why didn't they tell me that before?"

"Because they didn't need any shuttle pilots at the time."

"And now they do? What kind of little accident?"

Sam looked away.

"Carter?" Jack asked again, making the one little word sound an awful lot like an order.

"I didn't hurt him...that bad," Sam admitted sheepishly, her cheeks turning a nice shade of pink.

"You're not in trouble, are you?" Daniel asked worriedly, fighting past his own sudden nausea. He hid his shaking hands under the table but they didn't stay there long as he began to fidget.

"No. The coward didn't want anyone to know he'd been taken out by a woman. He made up some cock and bull story about falling..." she trailed off, eyeing Jack suspiciously again.

"What'd you do to him?" Jack redirected skillfully before she could ask him to repeat his story.

"I, uh, fractured his kneecap."

"And a service provider is born. Poor bastard," Jack uttered dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "So what'd he do to earn it? Get fresh?"

Sam snorted audibly. "Get fresh?" she echoed in disbelief.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes sir, he got fresh, but he regretted it immediately. Apparently, the women outnumbered the men at least three to one on Theseus. The pilots are in big demand and they're used to getting their way."

"That's nothing," Daniel murmured incoherently as he rested his head on his forearms. "Three hundred to one over here."

"I'm sorry, Daniel, I didn't hear you," Sam said reaching out to stroke the back of his head. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Never mind him," Jack interrupted. "He had a rough night. What did Lorna say about me flying a shuttle?"

"She said yes. Now we just have to find a job for Daniel so we'll all be on the same ship."

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "In the meantime, we need to think of something to keep him out of trouble tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't feel very well," Daniel groaned into the crook of one of his arms.

"Right!" Jack approved heartily. "That's good, Daniel. Keep that up."

"No, Jack, I really don't feel good. I think I'm coming down. Or maybe I drank too much coffee. I feel really shaky. And sick."

"Coming down?" Sam asked, thinking maybe she hadn't heard right.

"Fumes," Jack assured smoothly, shooting a concerned, sideways glance at his ill archeologist. "You think you can make it to the infirmary? It's not far."

Daniel raised his head slightly and squinted in Jack's general direction. "I'll be alright."

"You misunderstood me," Jack corrected as he collected Daniel's glasses off the table and slipped them into his own pocket. "It wasn't a question of if you need to go, that much is obvious. I want to know if you can make it on your own or do we need to carry you?"

"What about your injured... elbow?" Daniel asked, feeling a little worse as he straightened up, deciding the infirmary didn't sound so bad after all.

"Don't worry about my elbow," Jack shot back. "Carter, help him up."

Sam slid a hand under Daniel's arm and steadied him as he struggled to his feet. "How's that?" She asked. Reluctantly, she released him at his nod, even though he still felt wobbly to her. "Daniel?"

"Oh," Daniel said simply as he dropped like a stone, luckily hitting his head on his backpack instead of the floor.

Jack grimaced as he forced himself out of his seat to glance over the top of the table at his fallen comrade. "Off the menu," he mumbled under his breath. "Medic?" he called out a little louder, gratified to see someone go for help.

"He's out cold, sir," Sam informed Jack as she gently rolled Daniel onto his side, sliding a hand to his neck to feel his rapid but steady pulse.

Within minutes the emergency team arrived and set about getting Daniel loaded onto a high-tech gurney, efficiently checking him over as they went. Jack was relieved not to see the same lovely faces who had rescued him only the night before. He gathered his icepack and limped along behind the stretcher when they set out for the infirmary.

"How's your elbow?" Sam asked cynically, following along with Daniel's pack.

"Knee," Jack lied boldly, changing his story. "It's my knee."

"Daniel? Daniel, wake up!"

Pulling a pillow over his head, Daniel let out a groan and tried to roll over. Insistent hands kept him on his back and the pillow was summarily plucked out of his grip. "Wha...?" Daniel managed as he squinted up into the two blobs that might have been faces hovering above him.

"Doctor Jackson, meet Doctor Mary," Jack's voice chirped happily.

"Just Mary," the other blob replied dryly. "Doctor is a job description here, not a title."

"Whatever," Jack snarked as he tried to slip Daniel's glasses onto his face, inadvertently poking him in the eye as he did.

"Ow," Daniel complained, reaching up to complete the task himself. The blobs quickly transformed into Jack and a very attractive brown-eyed woman. He blinked at Jack before turning to the woman. "Mary? Just... Mary?"

"Be warned, she makes Fraiser look like Mother Teresa," Jack cautioned out of the side of his mouth. "Listen, I've gotta go. Doctor Mary is releasing me and I've gotta go learn to fly a shuttle today."

"Sam?"

"She had to go back this morning for her shift. You've been out for awhile," Jack explained. "Doc here says you're gonna be fine, but I didn't want to leave without talking to you first. Don't worry, we'll get you over to the Theseus before you have to... go back to work," he assured earnestly.

"Mmm, 'kay," came the muttered response as Daniel closed his eyes and tried to drift away again.

"Daniel," Jack said softly, pausing until a hazy blue gaze settled on him. "I'll be back at the end of my shift. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone." The innocent `who me' expression didn't reassure Jack in the least. "Crap. Do you want me to stay?"

"No, I'll be okay," Daniel assured, forcing his eyes to stay open and sounding much more like his usual self. "Can I have some coffee?"

"No!" Jack insisted loudly, giving Daniel a resolute squeeze on the arm.

"That was part of your problem," Mary lectured as she tried to circumvent the adamant colonel. "Our oral stimulant is apparently much stronger than yours."

"You overdosed and fried your circuits," Jack clarified unnecessarily, still standing in the way, "and on only two cups. Given your habit, I find that hard to believe."

"Four," Daniel corrected, sitting up and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed woozily. "I had coffee with Marlena before I went to the commissary."

"You're going to miss your shuttle," Mary advised Jack bitingly as she edged her way in and began to examine her patient. Forcing Daniel's head back she peered into his red and blue eyes, lifting one lid and then the other with her thumb.

"Pushy broad," Jack snipped. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said patting Daniel's shoulder. "I mean it..."

"...stay out of trouble," Daniel completed for him with a quicksilver grin as Mary palpated his neck.

Jack pointed at him meaningfully as he backed out of the room, clearly in much better shape than the last time Daniel had seen him.

"Mary, that's uh, that's a very common name where we come from," Daniel began as he tried to focus his attention on the doctor. "In fact it's religiously significant in some cultures."

"It's just a name," Mary informed him distractedly as she placed an object on his chest that amplified his heart sounds until they were audible. She moved it over one side of his chest and then the other, nodding in satisfaction that his lungs were clear. When she finished, she set the device aside and fixed Daniel with a cool stare. "I am aware that you did not complete your assigned task."

"What do you mean?" Daniel queried cautiously, aware that he was not fully alert just yet.

"I mean you didn't perform your duties as a service provider."

"Yes, I did," Daniel obfuscated, cognizant enough to realize that he and Bethel could both be in trouble.

"I know for a fact that you did not."

"You can't tell that by looking," Daniel started, pulling the sheet higher into his lap. "Exactly what kind of exam did you do?" he challenged indignantly.

"And if that's not bad enough," Mary continued, unfazed by Daniel's offended sensibilities, "your blood also contains traces of a biological toxin and an illegal substance."

"So I not only overdosed, I was also drugged and poisoned?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"You're saying you didn't knowingly smoke lithalar leaves or ingest an indigenous sea creature from the planet?"

"Litha... lithalar leaves? Oh, wait, the incense," Daniel remembered, leveling an assessing gaze at the doctor.

"I have already confirmed that Marlena and Bethel partook as well. I have examined both of them."

"They didn't mean to," Daniel covered, not liking where the conversation was headed. "It was mine."

"What was?" Mary interrogated.

"The fish. And... and the litha... lithaberry bush," he stammered. "They didn't know."

"Doctor..."

"Daniel. Just Daniel, and please, don't get Marlena and Bethel in trouble because I passed out."

"Rules are rules," Mary argued.

"Yes, but some of your rules, pardon the Jackism, suck. Hasn't Bethel been through enough? What else can you possibly do to her to make her life more miserable?"

"Doctor Jackson, our society is dependent on rules. They must be obeyed if we are to survive. Our people do not question what is asked of them. It is not for me to decide who is to be punished and who gets away with breaking the rules. Marlena and Bethel will be sent to Theseus to appear before Assembly."

"They didn't do anything," Daniel railed.

"They hurt you," Mary pointed out firmly. "Even if they didn't mean to."

"No, no they didn't. I'm fine. Besides, I told you, the stuff was mine. If you have to punish someone, punish me."

Mary harrumphed and placed her hands on her hips. "You are every bit as exasperating as Colonel O'Neill."

"Please, Mary," Daniel beseeched, "just this once, look the other way."

"No."

"Aurgh," Daniel growled, flopping back to the bed in agitation. "Don't you know what happened to Bethel? Don't you care?" he asked, his voice rising with his temper.

The doctor stalked to the door, but instead of leaving she closed it and stabbed at the keypad a couple of times to lock it. She appeared pensive as she wandered back toward the bed.

Daniel sat up again, narrowing his eyes as he took a more thorough appraisal of her. "You were testing me," he exclaimed softly, forcing himself fully awake for what he was certain would be an important conversation.

"I treated Bethel for her injuries at that time. They were horrific. I feared she would not physically be able to return to work," Mary said, closing her eyes and fighting to reign in her emotions. "And then when they... they punished her for what that bastard did to her, I lost control. I let my anger get the better of me and I fought the Assembly. Suddenly my job was in jeopardy as well."

Clenching his jaw, Daniel looked away.

"When I heard that she had submitted again, I was shocked," Mary continued a little calmer. "No doubt she had been pressured into it. But I was even more stunned when I saw her last cycle."

"You saw her yesterday? She's okay?" Daniel asked anxiously.

Mary nodded with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "She was practically giddy. She spoke nothing but praises of you. More surprisingly, Marlena agreed with her."

"So you're not gonna turn them in?"

"No," Mary assured handing over a small square piece of paper. "They said you were different. I just had to be sure."

Daniel accepted the photo hesitantly, noting it had been touched a lot since he'd last seen it. "I don't understand."

"You are a worlder," Mary explained, once again taking the well worn picture and slipping it into her pocket. "The Sisterhood needs your help."

As Jack stepped into the cargo hold of the shuttle he was greeted by a pilot he had seen in passing on board Theseus. "Hey," he mumbled in greeting, feeling like a shit for leaving Daniel behind. "Jack O'Neill."

"Kelton," the younger man replied with a grin. "Are you ready for your first lesson?"

"Now?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Sure, no time like the present. We cross this little expanse of space at least three times a cycle. It's ideal for training. You can change into a flight suit back there."

"Cool," Jack exclaimed, suddenly feeling a little more chipper.

Taking a break, Sam was watching a less than spectacular landing from across the shuttle bay when a familiar form appeared on the deck below her. She smiled and waved as Teal'c was easily recognizable even from a hundred meters away. She called out to Steis that she'd be back shortly, climbed down the ladder, and trotted across the open floor to meet him half way.

"Major Carter," Teal'c greeted, obviously happy to see her in his own stoic, Jaffa way.

"Teal'c," she breathed, patting him affectionately on the arm. "God, I've missed you! I can't believe we're so isolated from each other on the same ship."

"I have attempted to contact you during my down time, but I have found it much easier to speak than to achieve."

"Easier said than done?" Sam quipped with a smile. "But I know what you mean. This place is a mad house."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with contempt. "However I believe there is a pleasant surprise arriving as we speak," he informed her, his lip edging up slightly as he led her closer to the arrival area.

"Not on that shuttle, I hope," Sam shuddered, watching as it powered down. "It looked like that pilot had never landed before."

As they turned to inspect the shuttle in question the door latches released with a hiss and Jack appeared just inside wearing an ear-to-ear grin. When he spotted them, he waved excitedly. "Did you see that?" he shouted proudly. "That was me!"

"Oh, boy," Sam sighed. "Maybe I'd better have another talk with Lorna."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "O'Neill's flying abilities will improve with sufficient practice," he offered supportively, even as doubt clearly registered on his normally passive face. "Provided he survives the training," he added after some thought, turning to acknowledge their very own shuttle pilot as he jogged over.

"Hey!" Jack greeted enthusiastically as he skidded to a halt in front of them. "Teal'c how're they treatin' ya? Are you playing nice with the other warriors?"

"They are children," Teal'c sniffed disdainfully. "They would benefit from the services of a Jaffa master. I question their ability to guard against attack."

"Don't say services," Jack shuddered.

"How's Daniel?" Sam cut in worriedly. "Is he still in the infirmary?"

"What has happened to Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c questioned, showing a glimmer of his protective side and more than a little annoyance at having been left out of the loop.

"He's alright," Jack assured. "You know Daniel has a thing for infirmary beds."

"Didn't you already visit the infirmary, too? Sir?"

"That's beside the point," Jack grunted, irritably. "Don't worry, T, Daniel's fine. He overdid the local uber-java, which is funny `cause it's supposed to be a stimulant, but it knocked him out for like a whole day."

"That's called a paradoxical reaction," Sam started to explain.

"Whatever. He's fine now. He was awake and asking for coffee when I left. I'll check on him next trip over."

"Please keep me informed of further developments," Teal'c instructed with a tone more along the lines of an order than a request.

"We have to off load some supplies and then take back some stuff for recycle. These things run constantly so I'll have plenty of opportunity to see him."

"Oh, and I have an appointment with Lorna after my shift to try and find Daniel a job on Theseus," Sam added.

Teal'c nodded, finally appeased. Jack patted his chest affectionately as he started to leave. "Carter, why don't our radios work?" he asked as an after thought. "I tried to contact you on the way over."

"The radios are fine," Sam replied. "The problem is with the alloys in the ship's superstructure. They seem to scramble the frequency."

"Can you do something about it? I hate not being able to communicate."

Sam pursed her lips and thought deeply for a minute. "Yeah," she muttered distracted. "I think if I adjusted the frequency and added a power booster to each unit we could probably communicate from ship to ship even."

"Do it," Jack ordered, turning his radio over and nodding approval as Teal'c did the same.

"I'll have to do it on my off time, though. They keep me pretty busy."

"I believe that," Jack agreed readily, knowing how his own time was being spent. "I'd better go find Kelton. I think that boy has a weak stomach or something."

"Or something," Sam agreed, sharing a knowing smile with Teal'c.

"Worlder?" Daniel enquired politely, not sure if it was intended as an insult.

"Is planet dweller more appropriate?" Mary asked uncertainly.

"No, I just... that's not a division I would have considered. Worlder versus what? Ship person?"

"I see what you mean," Mary nodded penitently. "Let me try again. You have been to many planets?"

"Quite a few," Daniel admitted. "Why?"

"You have knowledge of weapons? Spacecraft?"

"Some," Daniel answered shrewdly. "Why don't you tell me what's going on? That's the second reference I've heard to the Sisterhood. What is it?"

"Can I trust you?" Mary asked leaning in a little closer as if disclosing something highly confidential.

"I hope so," Daniel answered honestly. "I suppose it depends on what you tell me."

"That's not much of an answer," Mary spat out, tensing up and moving away.

"What do you want me to say? I can't help you if I don't know what's going on. All I can say at this point is that I don't much care for the way things are run around here."

"Such as," Mary challenged from half-way across the room.

"Well off the top of my head," Daniel began to elaborate, "individuals are obviously devalued and exploited, entire planets are destroyed without a second thought. The division among the people on the ships is actively encouraged and I'm not just talking about the male/female split here, I'm talking about an enforced class structure of who lives on Heracles and who gets to live on Theseus. And from what I've seen, Theseus wouldn't survive long without Heracles and its workers. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

"Worst of all; young girls live their entire lives without ever seeing a blue sky..." Daniel paused, searching Mary's eyes for a sign. "But I'm preaching to the choir here, aren't I?" he asked at the approving smile Mary graced him with.

"You are very perceptive," Mary noted as she circled back to him.

"So tell me."

"I'm not really sure where to start," Mary shrugged apologetically. "It's rather complicated."

"Just start from the beginning," Daniel encouraged.

Mary sat down next to him on the bed and took a deep breath. "My people are short sighted," she offered unassumingly. "A long time ago for a reason no one can remember my ancestors abandoned their home planet for the stars. At the time they must have had a destination in mind, but even that was lost somewhere in the endless cycles."

"Can't you just look up the records?"

"Short sighted, remember?" Mary laughed humorlessly. "The story goes that there were initially four ships. When one of the great passenger vessels became disabled, the people were distributed to the three remaining ships. Non-essential items such as records, unused equipment, and personal belongings from all the vessels were sent to the derelict craft and left behind."

"Records are not necessarily non-essential," Daniel argued, catching a familiar look of exasperation and backing off. "Sorry, go on."

"The initial transfers were rushed and nearly all of the people ended up on Heracles, leaving the other two ships mostly unchanged. Promises where made, but efforts to relocate and even out the numbers were slow in coming and ultimately, didn't come at all. Soon after abandoning the ship, as people became more and more discontented with the inequities of their new living arraignments, there was a rising. This resulted in many, many deaths and the loss of the third ship," Mary continued dispassionately. "Peace came at a price, but as a people, we journeyed on."

"With no past and no future," Daniel observed. "Nothing's changed there."

"We survive."

"Yes, but you don't live."

"It wasn't always like this," Mary protested. "Once there were couples and children and whole families. There was off time and leisure activities. Men and women were free to form bonds."

"So what happened?"

"The Assembly didn't foresee the population explosion until it was already too late. Drastic measures had to be taken. There wasn't a free board on either vessel until they segregated; men on Theseus, women on Heracles."

"And all this has been passed down as an oral history?"

"For the most part, but after the segregation there are some records. A period of almost twenty absolute cycles passed before the ban on procreation was lifted."

Daniel scratched his head. "But if the men were all over there and the women were all over here..."

"Procreation is done in the genetics lab," Mary explained. "Each woman's ovum are harvested when she reaches puberty."

"Ah," Daniel replied noncommittally, filing the information away.

"We existed peacefully for years, but there was a series of wars along the way."

"With who?" Daniel asked, his Goa'uld radar going off.

"We had no one specific enemy, merely different worlders as we passed through their territories, but we were always triumphant. Not to say it wasn't costly. Heracles is capable of producing a great many warships when we have the proper materials, but the warriors were not as easily replaced. Slowly the male population began to dwindle until several generations ago it became necessary that all males be trained exclusively as warriors."

"And woman stepped in to fill the gaps they left in the workforce and governing bodies."

"Yes. And slowly the Assembly persons and scientists began to move over to the better accommodations on the nearly empty Theseus until only laborers remained aboard Heracles. So once again, there was male/female interaction, at least over there. At some point someone came up with the idea of service providers for Heracles, ostentatiously to prevent another rising."

"Why didn't they just let women into the ranks of warriors to even things out?"

"It is forbidden."

"Why?"

Mary stopped and opened her mouth to speak before shaking her head. "I don't know," she finally managed with a surprised laugh. "It is law. I never questioned it."

"Short sighted," Daniel muttered with a nod. "So, the Sisterhood?"

"The Sisterhood began as a secret society to look out for the needs of the laborers. Over the cycles, we have become strong. The Assembly now has no true authority aboard Heracles and they don't even realize it. The true power here lies within the Sisterhood."

"So change things."

"Believe me," Mary intoned seriously, "we're going to."

"Anyway, if I can get together with some of the engineers, I'm sure we can hammer out a hyper-drive system in no time," Sam exclaimed excitedly.

"Why?" Steis asked in confusion, looking up from under the console they were working on. "Where would we go that fast?"

Sam blinked and settled back on her heels. "Good question," she admitted reluctantly, knowing that Earth was still a long, long way off even at hyper-speed.

"I'm done," Steis announced as she snapped the panel in place and rolled over to get up. "We're a little early, but I think we can call it a shift."

"Sure," Sam agreed with a smile. "I'm starving. Do you want to go to the commissary with me?"

"Nah," Steis replied, wiping her dirty hands on her coveralls. "I've got a new dress. I'm going to try to snag a pilot tonight."

"For what?" Sam asked, more than a little surprised.

Steis laughed. "For what do you think?"

"You just go for sex?"

"Well yes and no. It is recreational, but I'd also like to be a surrogate."

"As in surrogate mother?" Sam inquired. "You're trying to get pregnant?"

"Sure. Surrogates have lots of benefits while they're carrying. I've done it twice already."

"You're a mother?"

"Of course not. We don't keep the babies; that's what the nurseries are for. You want to come with me? I'm sure I've got something you can wear. I know you'd get chosen."

"I... I... don't... no..." Sam stammered, looking for the right words, but giving up and merely shaking her head. "No thanks, I have to see Lorna later and then I think I'll try to find a shuttle over to Heracles," she said instead.

"Whatever for?" Steis asked in shock.

"My friend is in the infirmary over there," Sam explained as she put away her tools.

Steis looked around guardedly. "Don't let anyone know you go over there," she warned.

"Why not?" Sam asked, taken aback.

"Look, take my advice and forget anyone you know over there. Or you'll be ostracized for sure. I like you. I'd hate for that to happen."

"I'll take my chances," Sam ground out impatiently.

"You know what?" Steis said, abruptly changing the subject. "We should really pull that fuel tank before we sign out."

"That'll take hours," Sam protested.

"So we put in a little extra time," Steis answered with a shrug. "It'll look good on our work logs when it comes time for promotions. You'll thank me later."

"I won't just forget Daniel. You wouldn't either if you ever met him."

"Your friend is a man? On Heracles?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So do you know what his job is?"

"Janitor?" Sam asked uncertainly.

"No," Steis replied shaking her head with a smirk. "Service provider. Sit down and I'll tell you all about it. Then I won't have to worry about you sneaking off to Heracles."

"Hi," Jack greeted as he peeked around the corner.

"Hey, Jack."

"How ya feelin'?"

Daniel nodded as he sat up and put on his glasses. "Better. I've had some food and a little more sleep."

"Good. Where's Brunhilda?"

"Mary went off shift a while ago. A doctor named Becca is here now. She likes me. She let me have coffee. Well, decaf. Well, their version of decaf anyway, which is about like a normal cup of coffee."

"You must be in heaven."

"Yeah," Daniel replied dryly. "So? Did you get to fly a shuttle?"

Jack beamed back at him. "Oh, yeah, Kelton said he has never had a student like me," he proclaimed smugly. "He said when word gets around I'll be flyin' all by myself."

"I'll bet."

"Don't worry though. We're still working on your problem. Carter has an appointment with Lorna tonight."

"Uh," Daniel began, raising a finger and licking his lip nervously. "Maybe you'd better put a hold on that."

"Why?" Jack growled apprehensively.

"I can't leave."

"I repeat, why?" Jack asked again, calling on his last ounce of patience.

"There's going to be an uprising," Daniel explained carefully, grimacing as he waited for Jack's reply.

Jack very calmly settled on a stool and wet his lips as he studied his squirming friend for several minutes. "One day," he started softly. "I leave you alone for one day and you start an uprising," he accused flatly.

"Cycle," Daniel corrected in spite of himself.

"I beg your pardon?" Jack ground out between clenched teeth.

"It was one cycle, which is approximately twenty-six and a half hours... but that's neither here nor there."

"Daniel."

"Jack, I didn't start anything. But I am going to try to stop it."

"Why are you even getting involved? This is not our problem," Jack grumbled.

"Well, you said it yourself," Daniel explained waving his hand around expressively. "Things need to be changed around here. Besides, it is our problem. It's everyone's problem. If there's a rebellion, no one will be safe."

"So what are you planning?" Jack sighed reluctantly, rubbing his eyes as if suddenly in great pain.

"I'm thinking a bloodless coup would be good."

Jack dropped his hand and stared in disbelief.

"There is going to be an insurrection whether I'm involved or not," Daniel pointed out. "All they were waiting for was to replenish their resources. In a few more weeks, uh, quad-cycles they'll have everything they need to put their plans into motion. I'm supposed to meet the leaders of the underground movement in the morning when I get released from here."

Jack groaned to himself for a minute and twiddled his thumbs while he waited for his blood pressure to come down. "I don't like it," he said at last. "You'll need backup. I'll crash a shuttle or something and get reassigned back here."

"No, Jack," Daniel persuaded passionately. "We need someone who can move unencumbered between the ships. I can't do this by myself. I need you and Sam and Teal'c and we have to be able to communicate."

Jack snorted unhappily but didn't argue. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing right now. I'll know more tomorrow after I meet with the Sisterhood."

"Did you say Sisterhood?" Jack asked with a smirk.

Daniel pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Yeah. Why is that funny?"

"No reason," Jack muttered, laughing to himself as he glanced at his watch. "I gotta go. You're sure you're gonna be okay tonight?"

"How much trouble could I possibly get into in the infirmary?"

"Right. That's what I thought the last time I left you and now you're an honorary Secret Sister!"

"Shh," Daniel warned. "It won't be a secret if you keep yelling about it. Go. Fly. Spare me your politically in-correct sense of humor."

"Oh, yeah, give me your radio. Carter's trying to work something so we can communicate," Jack remembered, squeezing Daniel's knee as he got up to leave.

"That's a good idea." Daniel pulled his pack from under the bed and quickly located his radio and handed it over. "So, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in the morning. And don't think after this prank that I'll ever let you out of my site on a mission again," Jack harangued as he headed for the door, not looking back.

"Night, Jack," Daniel called after him fondly, settling back to study the alphabet Mary had given him.

Becca came in a few minutes later and smiled pleasantly as she settled at the foot of the bed. "You're all set, love," she announced, rubbing a hand a little too intimately over Daniel's leg.

"All set?" he asked in alarm.

"I've already discharged you and turned you back over to the system."

"But," Daniel objected, "I thought I would get to stay here tonight."

"Change of plans," she announced matter-of-factly. As if on cue a sharp ding sounded from the vicinity of Daniel's pack.

"What was that?" he queried as he reached tentatively for the bag.

"That's your disk updating with your new assignment," Becca explained. "You can leave as soon as you're dressed."

Daniel pulled out the disk and examined the new string of characters that decorated the top. "Great," he replied pessimistically.

"Sir," Sam pounced as soon as Jack stepped out of the shuttle. "We've got to get Daniel off of Heracles."

"Do you think I came in a little rough?" Jack inquired, checking the slightly crunched front landing plate. "One more trip?" he asked the man who stumbled out after him and sat heavily on the deck.

"We're done," Kelton swore, waving his star pupil away as he dropped his head in defeat.

"Cool. What were you saying, Carter?" Jack asked as he led the way to the turbo-lift.

"Do you know what Daniel is supposed to be doing on the Heracles?" Sam demanded. "Sir," she added in a meeker voice.

Jack stopped in front of the doors and met her gaze defiantly before signaling for the car.

"Oh my God. That's what you had to... and Daniel... and why didn't you tell me!" Sam sputtered, shocked and embarrassed.

"Carter!" Jack barked. "Settle down. We worked around it, nobody did anything."

"Yet!"

"Well our little boy lost is safely tucked into the infirmary for tonight, so relax."

"I've already talked to Lorna," Sam explained hopelessly. "She doesn't understand and she's not willing to make any special allowances for him. Daniel's stuck there, doing that!"

"It's just as well," Jack sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "He doesn't want to leave anyway."

Speechless, Sam cupped her hands over her mouth and nose and slowly blew all the air out of her lungs. She pulled her hands up over her face and through her hair, took another deep breath as she silently counted to ten. "Why not?" she asked evenly.

Jack nodded his head in satisfaction. "That was pretty much my reaction," he declared. "And next time I suggest a leash for the boy I fully expect you to back me up."

"Sir," Carter drawled out slowly just short of a whine, pleading for information.

"Not here," Jack warned, glancing around subtly. "Let's find Teal'c. It seems Daniel has stumbled right into the middle of the only thing exciting to happen around here in generations."

"So. Status quo then," Sam deadpanned as the elevator arrived.

"Did you finish the radios yet?"

"No, sir," Sam answered glumly. "I haven't been able to get into the workshop. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time before my shift."

By wisely learning the numbering system while holed up in the infirmary, Daniel found his board for the night in record time. The door slid open as he approached it and he hefted the disk for a second before making a decision and slipping it into the slot.

"Mary," he uttered in surprise as the occupant of the room turned in her chair to look at him.

"What were you thinking just then?" the doctor asked curiously.

"Oh, uh, actually I was trying to decide if I should come in or run hide in a ventilation shaft somewhere," Daniel explained sheepishly as he entered the room and let the door shut behind him.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to stay. You're a big boy. You'd probably hinder the flow of air."

Daniel licked his lip absentmindedly, ignoring the jibe. "Why do I think this is not some amazing coincidence?"

Mary offered a chair as she continued to work at a tiny computer station next to the table. "There are some benefits of rank," she noted sagely. "Ordering up a particular service provider on a moment's notice is only one of them."

"So you didn't even have to pull any special strings to get me here," Daniel stated as he looked around before sitting at the table where dinner was already laid out.

"The workers have no idea where they are on the list. They don't know they're being served until the provider shows up. That way no one gets upset at being preempted."

"And doctors don't have to wait."

"Nor do retired Directors or Assembly persons who've been used up and exiled back to Heracles."

"What a marvelous world you live in," Daniel replied sardonically as he rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand.

"Would you prefer I left you to the list?"

"No. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I just don't know what you expect me to do."

"What were you planning to do? If it hadn't been me?"

Daniel laughed lightly as he thought it over. "Beg, I suppose," he said simply.

"Beg?"

"Beg to perform some other service. Sing for my supper? Tap dance? Clean house, cook dinner? I give a foot massage to die for. I can earn my keep without putting out."

"I see," Mary muttered offhandedly. "Is sex so repulsive to you?"

"It's not that," Daniel denied cursing the flush he felt on his cheeks. "You see on my world this would be nothing more than sexual servitude. It's... uh, frowned upon, in most cultures anyway."

"So you've never had sex at all?" Mary asked in astonishment, finally stopping her typing to look up.

"I didn't say that," Daniel growled irritably. "It's just not generally in job descriptions that are accepted in polite society. The idea is to mate with one partner for life."

"The idea?" Mary question.

"It just never seems to work out that way," Daniel muttered defensively.

"And you have such a mate?" Mary asked, genuinely interested.

Daniel sighed wearily, not wanted to get into his personal business. "My wife died," he said simply.

"I'm sorry."

"So am I."

"Okay," Mary gave in with an understanding smile. "Go ahead and sing something so we can eat. I've got a lot to show you."

"Actually," Daniel replied as he weighed his hunger against the not so great offerings on the table, "the only song I know is Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and for reasons I'm not going to explain, it's entirely inappropriate for this evening."

"Eat anyway," Mary insisted. "You're definitely going to earn your keep."

"Now you're scaring me," Daniel remarked as he picked up his utensil and took a bite of the bland, unidentifiable casserole. "Got any hot sauce?" he asked.

Mary glared at him for a second before turning away from her workstation and beginning to eat as well. "I would have come to see you in the infirmary earlier but I had some end of abs-cyc business."

"Abs-cyc? Absolute cycle." Daniel frowned slightly as he puzzled over the information. "It's a new year? I mean the start of a new absolute cycle?"

"What? No. Not for the ship, just for me."

"Oh. Oh! It's your birthday," Daniel surmised, brightening up considerably.

"Birth day?" Mary asked, considering the words carefully. "It is the anniversary of my delivery, so I suppose the answer is yes."

"I wish I had known. Not that I could have gotten you anything, but... oh wait!" Daniel said excitedly. He dug around in his pack and came out with his reserve power bar. "Just a minute," he swatted Mary's hand away as she reached to examine the shrink wrapped package. "Close your eyes," he ordered.

"No," Mary resisted. "What are you doing?"

"Spoilsport," Daniel complained as he opened the chocolate and placed it on the table in front of Mary. He used the tip of his knife to puncture the center of the hard brownie, then stuck a waterproof match in the hole. "Are you ready? This is a tradition where I come from."

"What do I do?"

"Just a sec." Daniel lit another match and touched it to the top of the first one before flicking his wrist to put it out. Mary jumped as the match on the power bar flamed up.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Mary. Happy birthday, to you," Daniel sang shyly. "Now quick, blow it out!"

Mary laughed delightedly and blew on the match until the flare died out. "That song didn't sound like it had to do with a row," she observed, getting a little misty eyed.

"Okay, so I know two songs," Daniel grinned, ducking his head. "Happy Birthday, Mary. How old are you?"

"I don't think so," Mary declined, plucking the match and examining the charred remains.

"Well, I guess asking a woman's age is literally a universal faux pas," Daniel declared, still smiling.

"What do we do now?"

"Now you eat it. Well, after you finish your dinner."

"You are a very surprising man, Doctor Jackson," Mary decided quietly.

Daniel's smile faded. "Not really. You just don't have a lot to compare me with."

"You're nothing like Colonel O'Neill."

"Now, that's not really true. I suppose in a lot of superficial ways we're polar opposites, but fundamentally, we're a lot alike. Deep down. Really, really, deep down. Though I doubt you'd ever get Jack to admit it."

"If you say so," Mary said doubtfully. "But thank you for sharing your tradition with me."

Daniel shrugged self-effacingly and they finished their dinner in a companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Mary?" Daniel asked abruptly. "The man who hurt Bethel, where is he now?"

A slow, predatory smile spread across Mary's face. "I don't know," she lied, glancing away. "He went missing not long after the incident."

"Was he in trouble with the Assembly?"

"No."

"He just stopped showing up for work."

"Yes."

Daniel pushed the last bite of food around on his plate as his troubled thoughts reflected in his eyes. "Marlena told me that nothing is ever wasted on Heracles."

"That's right," Mary confirmed, growing serious.

Laying down his spork, Daniel picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Why am I suddenly thinking of Soylent Green?" he asked rhetorically as he pushed his plate away.

"I'm sorry? I don't know what you're referring to."

"Eat your birthday cake," Daniel responded absently, looking a little green himself.

Mary nodded and broke the bar in half and handed him part. "Hurry. I've got a surprise for you."

"I have selected a female," Teal'c announced to his roommate as he entered his quarters with Sam in tow. "You will depart."

"Why can't you go to her room?" the much younger man complained, rolling over to leer at the seriously angry and rapidly getting angrier woman.

Jack sauntered in behind Sam and fixed the youngster with his best you're-dead-you-just-don't-know-it-yet glare. "Beat it, kid," he advised coolly.

Before the pilot could formulate an answer Teal'c grabbed him by the scuff of the neck and hauled him unceremoniously to his feet.

"What about him?" the man questioned as he frantically scrambled for footing, too nave to fully grasp the situation.

"I like to watch," Jack replied casually, not daring to look in Carter's direction.

Teal'c slammed his new friend against the wall and loomed over him threateningly. "You will depart. You will speak of this to no one."

The kid went pale as he belatedly realized that Teal'c was not a man to toy with. As soon as the enraged Jaffa released him, the adolescent sprinted for the door without looking back.

"I miss him already," Jack quipped as he made a slow circuit of the nicely proportioned space. "You know, you could fit three of the big rooms on the Heracles in this place."

"That doesn't seem fair," Sam stated stiffly as she took a chair at the table.

Jack blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, apparently there's not a whole lot of fairness between what goes on over here and what goes on over there," he replied, taking a seat as well. "But I guess all that's gonna change here shortly. And Daniel, being Daniel, is already neck deep in it."

Teal'c stepped into the kitchen and placed three Theseus' equivalents of TV dinners in the warmer. "How was Daniel Jackson able to uncover this information?"

"No. No, no," Jack disagreed quickly. "Come on T, think about it. You put Daniel on a ship full of unhappy women and they're bond to gravitate to him. He's like magnetic north when it comes to messed up, evil, or just plain ol' psychotic women. They came to him."

"For what purpose?"

"He doesn't know yet. But he did find out that there's going to be a revolt."

"Heracles wouldn't stand a chance against Theseus," Sam argued. "Theseus has all the armament, all the fighter craft and all the warriors."

"Yeah, but Heracles controls the food, the fuel, and all the supplies. In fact, don't they make the weapons and aircraft over there?"

"Well,yes. But they've been without raw materials for a long time."

"That's what Daniel said they'd been waiting for," Jack agreed.

Teal'c brought the food to the table and seated himself. "Has there been sufficient time to build up an armory?" he questioned.

"No. No way have they had time to process raw metals or alloys, let alone go into production of anything," Sam insisted. "I'm sure the harvester hasn't even got deep enough into the crust of the planet for anything past top soil yet."

Jack stabbed a grey lump of food and sniffed it cautiously. "Got any hot sauce?" he asked hopefully.

Sam dug in her pocket and came out with a tiny bottle of MRE Tabasco.

"Carter! You're the best," Jack declared, reaching for the offering when Sam pulled it back.

"You like to watch?" she asked scathingly. "Sir?"

"I... uh... crap."

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked when Mary opened the door and leaned out to cover the disk slot with her hand.

"Shh," She warned, motioning him to step out of her quarters. When he was in the hall, his disk tried to pop out but the pressure of her hand kept it in.

"Neat trick," Daniel observed.

"This way," Mary said quietly, heading for the elevator. They traveled silently down the empty corridor, waiting only seconds for a car to arrive. Once inside, Mary pressed one of the lowest symbols on the control panel.

"So, we're going to meet with the Sisterhood?" Daniel asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We'll be concentrating on fuel cells and food," Mary answered with a seeming non sequitur. "Within a four quad-cyc we will begin moving workers to more sheltered areas of the ship."

"Okay, two weeks," Daniel calculated. "But that's still just preparation, right? What kind of timetable are you looking at overall?"

"That depends."

"On?"

Mary frowned and hugged the wall of the elevator. "On what you know and how fast you can teach us."

"I don't understand."

"You'll see. Be patient. This is a big ship. It takes awhile to get where we're going."

"Yeah... I understand that Heracles does all the manufacturing and waste disposal and harvesting and... you know, everything. Still, it's unimaginably big."

"At one time, Doctor Jackson, there were over twenty-five thousand people living and working on this vessel," Mary pointed out. "Now there aren't enough people to fill all the shifts of the essential jobs. And still Theseus demands more goods and services."

"I guess that would be the short sightedness again? You've gone from over-population to under-population."

Mary paused before speaking again. "The genetics lab is on Theseus. Positions are filled there first. We get what's left over which usually isn't much."

"I see. And where are the children raised? Let me guess, on Theseus?"

"Yes, until they are old enough to begin internship for their vocations."

The car slowed and Mary straightened up as the door started to open. "Here we are."

"Bottom level; sporting equipment, ladies underwear and... death gliders," Daniel gasped in amazement as he stepped out of the elevator and caught sight of his surprise.

"So as near as you can tell; the planet's not there anymore but the stargate survived?" Jacob asked wearily.

Hammond nodded. "That was the theory, but now we can't even get a lock at all. We won't know for sure what happened until you can send a scout ship over to check it out."

Jacob let out a long, defeated sigh. "We don't have anything in the vicinity. In fact, that region of space is like a dead zone. I don't even think the Goa'uld have a stronghold there."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's remote, George. It'll take a while to get a ship out that far. A long, long while. I'm not sure the Tok'ra council will authorize it."

"Do what you can, Jake. In the meantime, I'm listing SG-1 as MIA."

"My God," Daniel breathed softly. The enormous hangar was filled with row after row of the older version of the sleek, black attack vessels. "Where did you get these?"

"They've been hidden away down here for a length of time. They were appropriated not from the last planet harvested, but perhaps the one before that."

"You people really don't believe in keeping records do you? How often are planets harvested?"

"Rarely. One, sometimes two during each generation."

"So fifty years, maybe a hundred," Daniel reasoned sotto voce. "Why weren't these sent to Theseus?" he asked. "Surely the technology is superior to the fighters they're flying now."

"Theseus is unaware of them."

Daniel stared open mouthed at Mary for a second before turning back to the gliders. "How could they not know?"

"The Sisterhood has been around for a long time. There are very few workers who don't belong. Those who don't aren't allowed to venture to the lower decks. They are monitored closely. Not that anyone on Theseus would listen to them."

"But still, the Assembly has to know about these."

"Daniel, they don't care what goes on onboard Heracles as long as their needs are met. I doubt even the scientists remember what happens when a planet is harvested. They are so busy chasing creature comforts and pleasures of the flesh that they forget how dependant they are on us. They actually think it's the other way around."

The elevator doors behind them opened before Daniel could launch into the multitude of questions on the tip of his tongue. A gruff looking and rather large woman glared at him before turning her attention to Mary. "We're ready," she said.

Mary nodded and gestured for Daniel to get in. Taking one last look, he did as he was instructed, his mind racing to comprehend what he was seeing. He didn't have long to think as the car only rose the height of the hangar before depositing them on the next level up.

"That way," the other woman ordered, giving Daniel a not so gentle nudge down the corridor to the right.

"Iva," Mary rebuked immediately. "Doctor Jackson is our guest and you will treat him as such."

"No harm done. It's fine," Daniel assured, trying to keep the peace, earning glares from both women.

"It is not fine," Mary chided, staring Iva down.

"Forgive me," Iva requested caustically as she took the lead and continued down the hall.

Mary watched her go before turning to Daniel. "I'm sorry. There is still some concern of your loyalties. To most here you're just another pilot."

"That's understandable, I suppose. Let's not keep them waiting," Daniel urged quietly.

"After you," Mary replied with a flourish of her hand. "I hope you don't have a problem with public speaking," she added ushering him through an open set of doors and straight out onto a small platform at the front of the very large assembly hall.

Daniel's huffed response was cut off as he took in the standing room only crowd. A multitude of hushed murmurs ran through the spectators as he stepped forward. Scanning the sea of faces, Daniel spotted Bethel and Marlena near the front, trying to get his attention without anyone noticing them. He gave them a secretive little wave and received matched adoring gazes in return.

"This is High Director of Dispensation aboard Heracles, Allena," Mary introduced a stately, silver haired woman. "She is also currently the leader of the Sisterhood."

"Hello," Daniel responded, extending his hand. "I'm Daniel Jackson."

Allena took his right hand in her left and gave it a squeeze. "I've heard all about you, Doctor Jackson. It would seem you are too good to be true," she teased.

"Uh, somehow I doubt that. And please, Director, call me Daniel."

The older woman flushed and smiled benevolently. "As you wish, Daniel. And you may refer to me as Allena," she approved.

"Thank you," Daniel agreed with a tiny, polite smile of his own.

With a slight bow of acknowledgement, Allena released his hand. "What can you tell us of the craft below?" she asked, getting down to business.

"Those are death gliders. They are used by a ruthless and formidable enemy of my people. I'm sorry, but as I keep telling everyone, I'm not a pilot. I don't know how to fly them."

"He's lying," someone shouted out, making Daniel realize that their words were somehow being broadcasted to the room.

"No, I'm not," he protested, turning to the audience. "I really don't know. My friend Teal'c does, but he's currently on board Theseus. But even if he could come over here to teach you, you'd never be able to train workers to fly them without giving yourselves away."

Another round of discussion went through the crowd for several minutes until Allena raised a hand. "Sisters," she called out, immediately bringing the steadily growing hum of voices to silence.

Iva, obviously important in the Sisterhood rank, moved closer to Daniel. "We're not planning to use the, what did you call them? Death gliders?"

"Yes."

"We're not planning to use them to attack Theseus," she declared evenly. "The only real purposes Theseus serves for us are protection and procreation. Everything else we can manage on board Heracles. After the genetics lab is taken over and confiscated, we'll merely blow Theseus out of the sky."

"Killing everyone on board," Daniel stammered incredulously. "What about the people? What about the children?"

"By that time will have the means to reproduce our own," Iva expounded impatiently. "Then we'll have all the time we need to learn to fly the death gliders and form our own fleet to protect ourselves."

"That's not what I mean!" Daniel growled, speaking passionately to the crowd. "You're sentencing hundreds of people to death for living the way they've always lived. Changes have to be made, I agree. I don't agree that you should simply wipe them out!"

Allena shook her head sadly. "As long as our people are physically divided, there will never be equality."

"So remove the divide!" Daniel insisted.

"How?" Mary asked as if no one had thought of that idea.

"Move them over here. From what I understand there's a lot of room now. Better yet, give up this pointless wandering and settle on a nice planet somewhere instead of ripping it to pieces."

"Live on a planet?" Allena gasped, sending a wave of discourse through the crowd. "Even if we wanted to, Doctor Jackson," she said stiffly, "it will take more than our life times to reach another suitable planet."

"Then I guess I can't help you," Daniel replied regretfully.

Iva stepped over to a lidless crate and lifted a staff weapon out of it. "Do you recognize this?" she asked.

Daniel nodded mutely as he was ushered to a row of open boxes which were filled with various small to medium sized technologies. Most of the devices were of Goa'uld design; concussion grenades, zat guns, the horrible pain sticks, he even noticed a ribbon device. Other items were of unknown origin and Daniel couldn't image what they might be used for. He sighed thinking how orgasmic NID would be if they'd ever manage to bring back half as big a weapons cache.

"I know about some of these things. I'm sure they would provide you with a considerable advantage over the warriors of Theseus."

"Good. Let us get started," Iva ordered brusquely.

"No."

"Daniel?" Mary asked uncertainly, suddenly at his elbow.

Moving to the front and center of the stage Daniel once again addressed the crowd beseechingly. "I can help you. I can help you plan and carry out boycotts and acts of civil disobedience. I truly believe that a strong enough wake up call can bring about an understanding with the people on Theseus. I can help you map out a form of democratic government where all of your people are represented. However I can not... I will not help you murder your own people. I'm sorry."

Allena's face darkened as the stunned silence grew longer. "You put me in a difficult position, Daniel. You've heard and seen too much to allow you your freedom. Lock him away until the Council can meet to decide what to do with him," she instructed Iva and started to leave.

Ready for a revolution and hungry for blood, Iva struck Daniel in the face with the end of the staff weapon, knocking him off of the dais as a group of angry women surged forward. Blood tricked down the side of his head where he'd struck the edge of the platform on the way down and he struggled to get to his knees.

"No!" Mary cried out from up above as his arms were forced behind him and tied, leaving him defenseless to the attackers.

"Don't hurt him!" Bethel screamed as she rushed to his side, fighting her way through the mass of bodies. When she finally got through, she wrapped her arms around his neck, using her own body to shield him from the onslaught.

Marlena appeared on his other side, clinging desperately to him as well. "Leave him alone!" she shouted.

"Stop it!" Allena's voice rang out, bringing the melee to an abrupt halt, thoroughly demonstrating her power over the group.

Daniel staggered to his feet with Marlena's help while Bethel held on to him and sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder. "It's okay," he murmured to her, nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek. "Shh, Bethel, I'm fine. It's okay."

Iva jumped off the stage and rounded on him.

"Don't you touch him!" Bethel roared protectively through her tears with such uncontrolled vehemence that the bigger woman actually backed up a step.

"Look at what you've become," Mary spat at the crowd as she dropped off the stage to pluck at the hasty knots in the thin twine digging ever deeper into Daniel's wrists. "All he did was suggest another way. There was no need for violence."

Someone produced a knife and Mary startled before realizing it was only being offered to her. She took it and cut the binds, eliciting a small gasp of pain from Daniel. He had to reach around Bethel to rub his abused arms. Marlena hovered anxiously until Daniel noticed her and gave up on his bloody wrists to open his arms to her as well. She fell into the embrace wrapping one arm around Daniel and the other around Bethel. The women around them stared in awe.

"Take him to a holding cell," Allena instructed very softly, obviously shaken by the incident. "Return to your duties," she ordered the crowded room.

"Take her," Daniel told Marlena gently as he tried to free himself from Bethel's death grip.

"No, I want to go with you," Bethel protested tearfully. "They'll hurt you again."

"It's alright, Bethel," Mary promised. "I'll take care of him."

Bethel nodded reluctantly and brushed a kiss across Daniel's cheek. When Daniel managed a reassuring nod of his own she let Marlena lead her away.

"Move," Iva ordered.

Mary slipped under Daniel's arm to steady him and glared at Iva. "We're going," she growled and helped Daniel climb back onto the stage as the hundreds of workers filed orderly out of the other doors.

"Mary," Daniel urged persistently. "I need to talk to Allena."

"Shh."

"I think I can reason with her if I could just talk to her alone."

"Silence," Iva demanded, prodding them along with the staff weapon.

With a subtle squeeze, Mary let Daniel know they would talk about it later, then shot Iva a deadly look over her shoulder suddenly regretting sending Marlena and Bethel away.

"In there," Iva ordered as she punched in a code on a keypad next to a door.

Daniel peeked in, noting the cell wasn't that much smaller than any of the quarters he'd been in so far.

Mary followed him in. "I'm staying," she told Iva tightly.

Iva narrowed her eyes and studied them both. "As you wish," she finally allowed and closed the door.

"You don't have to stay," Daniel replied as he sunk down to the end of the only bunk.

"You're injured," Mary said, making her way to the tiny bathroom and returning with a damp towel to clean Daniel's superficial wounds.

"Just a few bruises," Daniel assured, grimacing while the doctor fussed over him anyway. "And as far as jails go, I've been in a lot worse."

"I find that hard to believe. You need to rest."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he pulled the top blanket off the bed and stood. "You can have the bed," he said and lowered himself to the floor on the other side of the bathroom door.

Mary seemed almost disappointed for a minute before taking him up on his offer and settling on the bunk.

"Mary?"

"Shh. Go to sleep, Daniel. I don't know how safe it is to talk here."

"Where are we going?" Bethel asked anxiously when Marlena stopped the elevator a dozen levels below their quarters.

"I have a hunch," Marlena informed her as she led the way down the hall. They moved along quietly for several minutes before stopping at a familiar door.

"Mary brought Daniel to the meeting," Marlena explained.

"So?" Bethel glanced around while Marlena slipped a stylus into the door slot next to Mary's room and jiggled it around.

A disk popped out and Marlena examined it with a frown. "I knew it. They've already deactivated his disk. They're going to kill him."

"No! We have to stop them."

"I don't think we can."

Bethel grabbed Marlena's arm and started back toward the elevator. "We have to try. Come on, let's go home and think of something."

Jack had been a little put out when Kelton was suddenly unavailable to be his preceptor. But after meeting his replacement, VonDale, Jack was livid. The new guy was a jerk.

"Shut up, sit there, and don't touch anything," VonDale had told Jack firmly before they had even started to pre-flight.

No uncertain terms there. How was he supposed to learn to fly the shuttle if he couldn't touch the controls? Jack realized if he got kicked off trash hauling duty he would be letting Daniel down, so he bit his tongue and kept his hands to himself. It was a painfully boring trip. He never thought he'd be so happy to see Heracles.

Once aboard, since he'd been stripped of all his duties anyway, Jack excused himself and made a beeline for the infirmary only to find that Daniel had been released the night before. Thinking like an ill tempered, caffeine deprived archeologist led him straight to the commissary. It was still early so he got a cup of the black poison and settled in to wait.

Realizing that he was just an oddity helped to keep his ego in check as every woman in the place glanced his way at least once or twice. The looks ranged from curiosity to longing to out and out hatred. And given the circumstances, he understood all of them. What he hadn't expected was the brief, startled look of recognition on the young blonde woman's face as she passed close by, hesitating as if she wanted to speak to him but was afraid.

"Hello," he said gently, trying to appear harmless.

She glanced around nervously as she approached. "You're Daniel's friend," she whispered, not coming too close.

"Yes," Jack confirmed, leaning forward urgently. "Have you seen him?"

As she hesitantly nodded a darker haired woman cleared her throat loudly as she nudged the girl toward the exit. She made eye contact with Jack then threw a quick glance over her shoulder toward a rather impressive Amazon type who was clearly moving their way. Jack nodded his understanding and continued to calmly drink his coffee.

The tall woman stopped directly in front of him and put her hands on her hips as she glared down at him. "You're not welcome here, pilot," she told him firmly.

Jack fired a winsome grin at her while secretly watching beyond her to where the dark haired woman put a black disk between two trays and placed them in the return pile.

"Ya know? I think you're right," he agreed amicably. "I'll just be on my way." Finishing his cooling coffee in one quick gulp, he rose to his feet and went to put it in one of the return bins. Checking that the enforcer hadn't followed him, he managed to snag the disk before anyone came over to gather the trays. Shoving it into his pocket he made his way back to the shuttle.

"Where are you going?" Daniel asked when movement across the cell woke him.

"I have to go on shift," Mary explained, smoothing the covers on the bunk. "I'll make sure someone I trust stays with you."

"Is that really necessary?"

Mary turned serious eyes his way. "Don't underestimate the hatred some of the workers have for you."

"Because I'm a man?"

"No. Because you're from Theseus."

"But I'm not," Daniel protested. "You know that."

"In their minds you are. You're a man, therefore you're a pilot, therefore you're from Theseus. It doesn't matter that you're a worlder, to them you are the oppressor."

Daniel nodded unhappily. "Thanks for staying with me last night."

"I'm sorry we didn't get to talk. I was just afraid of who might be listening."

"Right. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

With a slight smile, Mary tapped on the door. "I'll do what I can to protect you," she promised. "But I won't betray Allena." The door slid open and she stepped out.

By the time Daniel showered and shaved someone had brought him breakfast. As he sat down on the edge of the bunk to eat the door opened again. "Hello," he greeted cautiously.

"Wow. You are cute up close," the tall, tomboyish girl exclaimed as she entered the cell and sat cross legged on the floor halfway between Daniel and the door, resting a hand held weapon of some sort on her knee. "I'm Thane. I'm your guard for the cycle."

"Ah," Daniel replied, cursing Mary for making him mistrustful. "Friend or foe?" he couldn't help but ask as he dug in to the surprisingly still warm food.

Thane laughed and shook her head side to side in delight. She plucked a folded piece of paper from her pocket and flashed it at him.

"Mary sent you," Daniel approved, seeing his photo.

"Well, it's not like I'm going let you go or anything," Thane elaborated. "So don't get your hopes up. I'll carry out whatever Allena asked of me, just as Mary will. But in the meantime, I'm not going hurt you either, or let anyone else if I can help it."

Daniel harrumphed and fingered the bruise on his face. "Well Iva certainly doesn't have a problem with smacking me around."

"Iva's a bitch."

"I take it the room isn't bugged," Daniel observed wryly, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Bugged?"

"It doesn't have listening devices hidden anywhere?"

"No," Thane answered dismissively with an easy grin. "Even if it did, what could we say that would interest anyone?"

With a shrug Daniel finished up his breakfast as Thane sat and watched him with rapt attention.

"I like men," Thane volunteered abruptly after a long silence. "At least I used to until Bethel got hurt."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed warily, wiping his hands and putting the tray down on the bed.

"Relax," Thane soothed, not hiding her amusement. "I'm not going to jump you or anything. I just meant I don't have anything against the pilots or the service providers individually, just the system."

"That's good. I mean, I personally don't know any of them either, but surely they're not all bad?"

Thane smiled impishly and got up to take Daniel's tray. "Bethel is a friend of mine. I never thought I see the day she'd befriend a man. If she likes you, you must be okay."

"So you think she likes me?"

"Hey, I was at the meeting. I saw her defend you against Iva. I saw her touch you and let you touch her back. And Marlena didn't even rip your heart out. I never thought I'd see the day," she repeated as she headed for the door.

"Can you stay and talk?" Daniel asked quickly. "I have some questions."

With one trip to Heracles already under his belt for the day, Jack was free to look for Carter while supplies were offloaded and a new batch of recyclables were loaded. He wandered into the workshop he had been directed to and squinted in the dimly lit room. A familiar form was tinkering with some tiny electrical components under a much brighter light source, completely absorbed by her task.

"Carter," Jack called in a gruff half whisper, wincing at the dull thud as the startled Major whacked her head on the underside of the cabinet above her work space. "Sorry," Jack winced in sympathy.

"Ow!" Sam muttered, clenching her eyes and rubbing at the back of her head. "Sir?" She asked as she opened her eyes to look at him. "Did you see Daniel?"

"No. They released him last night. But I got this from a friend of his," Jack explained, quickly flashing the disk.

"What is it?"

"Like I know? That's what I keep you around for."

Sam took the disk and examined it carefully. "It looks like one of the ID disks that Lorna gave us, but this one's been deactivated."

"Can you find out for sure?"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Sam replied, changing seats to sit in front of a large computer console. She glanced around furtively before inserting the disk and punching a few digits on the embedded input device. "It's Daniel's," she reported solemnly.

"What's it say?"

"Um, mostly it's an itinerary of where he's been since he boarded Heracles, if it's like mine. I had Steis show me what's on it," she said pointing out a string of the strange numbers. "These are addresses, but I can't really read it. It may also include medical and personal information."

"Does it say where he is now?" Jack prodded.

"I don't think so, sir. But it tells us where he was last night. That's the last entry though."

"Write that down for me, in fact, write down every place he's been, then I've got to go. It's time to take out the trash. It's always time to take out the trash around here."

"Here," Sam said, punching another button and producing a printout. "Take these, too," she offered, pushing two of the radios closer to him.

"You're finished already?"

"With three of them, I'm still working on this last one."

"Good work, Carter. I'll try to contact you once I get back to Heracles."

"Yes, sir. I go on shift in a little over an hour, but it shouldn't be a problem," Sam agreed. "Good luck."

Jack nodded an acknowledgement and slipped out the way he'd come in.

Sam watched him go then got back to work, determined not to worry.

"What I'm asking," Daniel muttered as he worked out his frustration by pacing along the small cell, "is how did the death gliders physically get on board Heracles without Theseus seeing them when they were transported?"

"By beam," Thane explained, laying on her stomach on the bed and kicking her feet in the air while watching Daniel pace. The weapon lay next to her, all but forgotten.

"I thought the beam broke everything up into manageable pieces?"

"Well, yeah, the blue beam does, but not the clear beam."

"The clear beam," Daniel declared, understanding coming at last. "Yes, the first beam was translucent. So it's a transportation beam. How does that work?"

"See, the first thing we scan for is technology. Unfortunately, it either has to be pretty big, or a lot of stuff in one place, or use a lot of power for us to find it. From what I've heard, there was an abandoned fortress where the death gliders were found. There was a whole lot of other stuff too."

"So when the stargate activated, that's what attracted the attention of the scanners to us."

"The big round thing?"

"It's here? On Heracles?" Daniel asked fighting down his excitement.

"It was," Thane grimaced. "But then it exploded into this big blue stream of water and the automatic safety kicked in and jettisoned it out the port. I watched on the viewer. Luckily nobody was on deck at the time."

"Oh," Daniel pouted dejectedly. "General Hammond must have been trying to reach us when we were overdue."

"The other things are still down there, though," Thane tried to appease. "The robot? And the big mushroom."

Daniel sat on the edge of the bed, absently pushing the weapon out of the way. "They're not much use without the stargate. What else is down there?" he asked.

"Tons of stuff," Thane declared enthusiastically, "Everything that's been collected since the segregation. There's no telling what we'd find if we had time to poke around down there."

"Can we have a look?" Daniel requested hopefully.

"Are you crazy?"

With a sigh, Daniel picked up the weapon. "We'll say I forced you if we get caught."

"I like the way you think," Thane grinned as Daniel pulled her to her feet.

Never had timed moved so slowly. Mary wondered if she might be losing her mind. Ever since she had come into contact with the earnest young worlder she'd had trouble concentrating on anything else. It wasn't simply the fact that he was male. If that was the case she'd already been far more intimately acquainted with the acerbic colonel and all she wanted to do when he was around was throttle him. Her thoughts concerning Daniel leaned more toward soft lights and bare skin, a fact that was becoming harder and harder to conceal with sharp words and a bitter disposition.

Finding it impossible to concentrate, she finally found someone to cover the rest of her shift and made her way to her quarters to freshen up before going to see the object of her desire. She chastised herself contemptuously for the foolishness every step of the way. It frightened and bewildered her that she would allow her burgeoning feelings for the worlder to affect her job. Still, she couldn't wait to see him and rushed inside when she reached her room, leaving the door unlocked as she headed for a quick shower.

"Carter, come in," Sam's radio sputtered to life.

"Yes, sir. I'm here," she responded immediately. "You're coming in loud and clear."

"Hang on, I'm going to try the other one." A brief pause and then more static.

Sam frowned and bit her lip. After another pause she clicked her radio again. "I'm not reading you, sir."

"Sorry, I dropped one. Both radios work," Jack's tinny voice assured. "Good job. I'll check in if I find anything. O'Neill out."

"Out," Sam echoed, feeling much better now that they had a means to communicate and deciding to deliver Teal'c's modified radio at the first opportunity.

"This is incredible," Daniel exclaimed as they roamed through the maze of large to very, very large equipment haphazardly stored in generally similar groupings in the isolated corners of the storage deck surrounding the death gliders. "How do you know this place so well?"

"Before I was reassigned to sanitation I used to work down here. I love this place."

"Why'd they reassign you?" Daniel asked, noting that Thane seemed happy and well adjusted. He hoped something bad hadn't happened to her like with Bethel.

"Non-essential jobs are sometimes phased out. We just don't have enough people anymore," she explained. "I was the last one down here."

"So you can operate that crane?" Daniel asked, looking up at the mobile device attached to a grid far above them on the ceiling.

"Of course."

"This way," Daniel grinned, taking off in a new direction.

Thane followed merrily along, pointing out things of particular interest as they wandered around. "Do you know what that is?" she asked, gesturing to the huge oblong object that took up a large percentage of the floor space in the area they were exploring.

"I have no idea," Daniel replied, craning his neck to see the unfamiliar scrollwork at least ten meters above his head. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm thinking it's a storage bin maybe? Touch it," she advised excitedly.

Daniel huffed lightly as he placed a hand on the cool metal surface and felt a tingle of energy. "Why hasn't anyone tried to open it?"

"Everyone on Heracles has duties that take up all their time and all the real scientists are on Theseus anyway," Thane reminded him as she followed suite and began to touch the enormous cylinder too.

"Oh. Hey, there's the DHD," Daniel exclaimed, catching a glance of the well-known machine reflected back at him from the shiny surface. "This way," he said rounding the corner. "This came from the planet you're harvesting now."

"Can't be," Thane argued. "This is a really old area of storage. And all the stuff from this planet is still in the arrival bay."

"Oh my God," Daniel breathed softly, stopping so suddenly that Thane barreled into his back.

"What?" she asked, staring uncomprehendingly at the six mushroom shaped devices bunched together on the deck.

Jack sighed in relief when he finally found a matching set of symbols to the last set on printout in his hand. He'd been looking for almost an hour and knew that asshole VonDale had probably already left without him. The door slid open as he approached it and Jack took that as consent to enter so he went right in.

It didn't take long to search the small, unadorned main room and he found no evidence that Daniel had ever been there. As he approached the door to the bathroom it slid open to reveal a very surprised, and very wet, Doctor Mary.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, wrapping her robe tighter around herself.

"Easy, Doc," Jack cautioned raising his hands in front of himself slowly. "I'm just looking for Daniel."

"I haven't seen Doctor Jackson since he left the infirmary," Mary lied, convinced of her apparent sincerity until Jack reached into his pocket and held up a black disk.

"That's not what it says here. This says that you were Daniel's appointment last night."

"So," Mary shrugged, trying to appear at ease but still holding tight to her robe. "He's an attractive man. I arranged to have him for the cycle."

"So he was here last night?" Jack questioned suspiciously, leaning in to check the tiny bathroom.

"Yes."

"You had sex with him?" Jack asked, not hiding his disbelief.

"Of course. That's what a service provider is for, is it not?"

Jack pursed his lips doubtfully. Aware how uncomfortable he was making the woman he pressed the advantage and moved further into her personal space. "Where is he now?"

"How should I know? He probably went straight to the commissary for breakfast. By now I'm sure he's already received his next assignment..." Mary trailed off as Jack waved the disk under her nose again. "Where did you get that?" she asked, realizing she had forgotten to remove it from the door slot, if it was in fact Daniel's.

"Let's just say a friend gave it to me. Just so you know where we stand: I'm on to you, lady. If anything happens to Daniel, you'll be the first one I come to see. Comprende?"

"What does that mean?"

"Do you understand?" Jack translated with a sigh.

"You have no right to threaten me," Mary ranted. "Now I'm asking you to leave."

Jack backed up slightly and took another glance around. "If you see him, please let him know I'm looking for him," he requested with a forced politeness as he turned to leave.

Mary nodded reluctantly and held her breathe until the door closed after him. She ran to the door and activated the lock, tucking her shaking hands under her arms, completely unnerved by the dangerous side of the colonel.

Daniel laughed out loud and wiped at his eyes as he approached the mass of stargates stacked together neatly like pancakes next to the DHDs. He fondly ran his fingers over the edges. They fit together so precisely it was hard to tell where one ended and the next began. The top one had a thick metal cover wielded over it, effectively capping the lot.

"What's wrong?" Thane asked worriedly. "What is that thing?"

"Not thing," Daniel corrected holding up a finger, still grinning ear to ear. "Things. Plural. Since there are six DHDs, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess there are also six stargates. The height's about right," he added measuring the stack against his own six foot frame.

"All this time, I thought this was one unit," Thane declared, looking on in awe. "So what are they?"

"They are the answer to our problems. Thane, I really need to talk to Allena," Daniel implored, turning very serious.

"I'll see what I can do, but I'm not on the Council. She probably won't listen to me. We should get back anyway," Thane nodded her head back the way they had come. "Tell me what you have in mind."

"Come on. We'll talk on the way."

Jack was pacing in the cargo bay, waiting for another shuttle to hitch a ride back to Theseus when he decided to hell with it and thumbed his radio. "Carter? Teal'c?" he fought the urge to add `have you got your ears on?'

"O'Neill," came the immediate, deep reply, followed closely by a higher "I read you, sir."

"Daniel really is missing," Jack reported point blank. "But I think the doc knows more than she's letting on. I'm gonna stay aboard Heracles until I find him."

"What about your shift?" Carter asked worriedly.

"Screw it. If Lorna wants me she can damn well come over here and find me. It's a big ship."

"Indeed it is, O'Neill. How do you intend to find DanielJackson?"

Jack patted the extra radio in his pocket. "If everything goes right, I won't have to."

"Sir?"

"Let's just say I think Daniel has made some friends. At least I hope so," Jack added softly. "Out."

Mary still felt like her heart was in her throat as she made her way to the cell. It shocked her how different Daniel was from his friend, how different he was from any man she'd ever known. But maybe that was part of the problem as she'd never actually known any other men. She'd never spoken one on one with a man, not the way she had with Daniel, like a real person, not a patient or a service provider. Daniel had treated her with respect. He had listened to her, seemed interested in what she had to say. And Daniel didn't frighten her the way Colonel O'Neill did.

Arriving at the correct cell, Mary stopped to smooth her hair, once again feeling silly, but unable to stop herself. She deactivated the lock and the door opened to an empty room.

"Daniel?" she called, a tiny quiver in her voice as reality set in.

There hadn't been a guard outside and that was a bad sign, but Daniel's bag and jacket were still in the room. If he'd been disposed of, they had been sloppy or hadn't yet had time to clean up. Mary fought back the rush of panic that told her she might not ever see him again. Hastening toward the bathroom she forced the door open to find it empty as well. Her anger grew with her fear. Surely Allena wouldn't have disposed of him without calling the Council first.

Grabbing Daniel's bag, Mary turned to go and confront her leader when the door swooshed open and a giddy Thane ushered an equally excited Daniel back into the cell.

"Mary!" Daniel exclaimed when he saw her, crossing the room to grab her by the shoulders. "We found a stargate! In fact, we found half a dozen of them!"

"I thought you were dead," Mary breathed, dropping the bag in her hand and going weak in the knees, missing Daniel's happy announcement altogether.

Strong arms steadied her and Mary found herself sitting on the edge of the bunk staring into deeply concerned blue eyes. She felt weak again, but for a different reason. "I thought they'd taken you," she tried to explain.

"No. I'm sorry we scared you," Daniel soothed, releasing her and backing away self consciously. "We just took a little sight seeing tour, that's all."

Tearing her eyes away from Daniel's concerned gaze, Mary stared at Thane. She tried to dismiss the ugly feeling growing in her gut. Swallowing hard to fight back the burning sensation behind her eyes, she turned to Daniel. The door opened again before she could ask what they'd been up to.

A stocky woman leaned in without entering the already crowded space. "Oh good, Mary, you're here. Allena was looking for you. The Council is meeting. Thane, I'm your relief." With that she stepped back and let the door slide shut.

"That's Patrice. She's alright. I'll tell her to look after our boy," Thane told Mary, who turned a scornful glare back to her.

"Mary?" Daniel asked with a concerned frown.

"I have to go," Mary said as she brushed by him.

"Wait a minute," Daniel urged, slipping a hand around her arm to prevent her escape. "I need to talk to you."

Mary crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the floor, aware how childish she looked but no longer caring.

"You know what to do?" Daniel asked. Mary looked up in confusion but realized he was talking to Thane.

"I can handle it," Thane assured as she impulsively leaned in and kissed Daniel softly on the lips. "You worry too much," she added with a grin before slipping out the door.

Daniel touched his lip absently with his free hand, seemingly a little shocked as he watched her go then turned his attention back to Mary. "We found a stargate," he told her again.

"I don't care," Mary swore, fighting to break out of his grasp. She hated herself for the jealous surge she was showing, but couldn't fight it as the tears finally broke free.

"I don't understand. What's wrong?"

"Let me go. I have to go to a meeting," she spat out, still trying to free herself from the gentle but insistent grip of his hand. "They're going to decide your fate so I should probably be there."

"Just... just wait," Daniel implored. "Don't you see how important this is? This solves all our problems. There doesn't have to be an uprising, and me and my friends can get out of your hair and go home."

Mary stopped struggling abruptly. "Home?" she asked, stunned by the revelation. She was going to lose him anyway.

"Yes. Let me go with you. I need to talk to Allena."

The door opened and Patrice took a step inside. "Mary, they're waiting," she said, eyes wide at the scene before her.

With one last jerk of her shoulder Mary freed herself and walked out without looking back.

"Mary!" she heard Daniel call as the door shut, his frustration and confusion clear in the simple word.

Jack was tired he realized as he haunted the public areas around the commissary. He had been to the other address on the printout, almost certain that the blonde and the brunette who had given him the disk were the couple Daniel had visited his first time out as a service provider. That had been a wasted trip as no one was home and the door was closed down tight. His special ops training hadn't been much use either as he couldn't exactly pick the lock.

Scanning the area again, he felt certain that he'd eventually run into a familiar face here. There were small shops and places to purchase food for preparation on the rest cycle, and even a hair salon. Except the only service they provided was a quick, utilitarian hair cut.

As the food stalls began to close down he bartered for some bread with the tiny sewing kit that was standard issue in each SGC pack. He thought the woman would probably have given him the bread for free, as thrilled as she was just to speak to him, but he didn't want to take advantage. With his dinner in hand, he headed off to find a place to bunk down for awhile. Clich as it was, Daniel was a small needle in Heracles' very big haystack, and Jack knew he'd have to rest before he started looking again.

Stinging from Daniel's apparent rejection of her, Mary sat numbly and listened as Iva raged on and on. Soon Mary simply tuned her out as she tried to sort her own confusing feelings. She had no claims on the man. It was forbidden. Still the thought of Daniel and Thane together made her temper flare and her heart ache. Realizing the room was quiet she looked up to find everyone staring at her expectantly.

"Mary? Do you have anything to say?" Allena asked her; judging by the tone, probably not for the first time.

"No," Mary uttered to everyone's surprise.

Allena looked alarmed. "Are you certain? You have spent the most time with the man. Have you formed no opinion?"

"No, I haven't," Mary denied quietly. "He's just another pilot after all."

"So we can vote now," Iva declared.

"Very well," Allena allowed. "Let those who would have the worlder destroyed signify by saying `yes'."

A chorus of yeses sounded around the table. "Mary?" Iva asked expectantly.

"No!" Mary shouted coming to her senses. "You can't kill him! He still might be of assistance."

"The time for discussion has passed," Iva reminded her with a smirk.

"It is so," Allena agreed reluctantly. "The vote stands at six yes and four no. The sentence will be carried out on the new cycle."

"But Allena," Mary argued as the other members of the Council rose and whispered among themselves as they disbanded.

"Mary," the leader spoke quietly in a disappointed tone. "I don't want to see Doctor Jackson killed either. In fact I was counting on you to sway the vote. I was certain Marta and maybe even Killen could be influenced. You have spent the most time with him. If you say he is untrustworthy, then we have nothing else to base our opinions on."

"I'm sorry," Mary gasped. "What have I done?"

"By not speaking out, you have sealed his fate," Allena declared with disappointment.

Mary bowed her head remorsefully but waited until the room was empty to cry.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked softly as Mary entered the cell. Even in the dim evening light he could see her eyes were red and puffy.

"They're going to destroy you at the next cycle," Mary confessed.

"I need to talk to Allena," Daniel insisted as if he hadn't heard her.

"It's my fault. I didn't defend you when I had the chance."

Daniel swallowed and looked down at his hands. "Because you were jealous?" he asked.

"Was I that transparent?" Mary questioned contritely. "I'm sorry, I'm new at this. I've never felt this way before."

"Nothing happened between Thane and I," Daniel replied simply. "Just like nothing happened between us."

"I just thought... I just thought that I was special. You sang to me. You made me the fire cake!"

"Birthday cake," Daniel corrected automatically. "And you are special to me. You're my friend."

"If I were you're friend, I would have begged for your life."

Daniel sighed and leaned his head against the wall. "Yeah, well... What do you say we blow this Popsicle stand?"

"I don't understand," Mary pleaded.

"Let's get out of here," Daniel explained. "I really, really need to talk to Allena."

"We can't. Since the sentence was passed Iva has posted more guards and these are loyal to her. They can't wait to see you put to death."

"Oh," Daniel responded, wrinkling his brow in thought. "So, uh, how are they going to do that exactly?"

"You don't want to know."

"No, actually I do," Daniel persisted.

"Bodies are rich in nutrients," Mary began.

"Oh, God," Daniel grimaced. "That's what I was afraid of."

"They are ground into fertilizer."

"Oh. Okay, that's not so bad then," Daniel sighed in relief that he wasn't going to show up in anyone's dinner, not directly anyway. "So they take me down to the gardens and dump me in the fertilizer bin? Alive?"

"I can drug you, if you'd like?" Mary offered shakily.

Daniel snorted. "How kind. No, um, I'm hoping we can avoid that eventuality all together."

"I won't be able to get you out of this cell."

"That's okay. I'm thinking of something else anyway. If you're willing to help me escape, that is."

Mary nodded without wavering this time. "Anything," she answered breathily.

"Do you think Marlena and Bethel would be willing to help, too? I wouldn't draw them into this, but it's important. I think we can stop the rising. In fact I know I can offer your people a better way of life."

"Yes, I'm sure they will help," Mary managed a small smile. "They are as taken with you as I am. And then there's Thane..."

"Thane's kind of busy right now," Daniel hedged. "Can you still get to the weapons Iva had stashed in the assembly hall?"

"Yes. But I don't know how to use them. And I've never had to kill anyone."

"No one but service providers?" Daniel asked, unhappy with his own cruelty.

"Yes," Mary whispered guiltily.

"It's okay, just listen. In that first big crate next to the podium, there's a bunch of gray, hand held... uh, how do I explain a zat gun?" Daniel asked himself in frustration. "Frankly it looks like a big, bent penis."

"Okay, I know what you're talking about," Mary answered immediately.

"Good," Daniel muttered under his breath, happy not to have to elaborate. "Zat guns don't kill, not with the first shot anyway. You'll have to be careful not to shoot anyone twice, though. There's a button on the handle, you press that to extend it and then you just pull the trigger. Get enough for all of us. Marlena can set up an ambush near the fertilizer maker. Then we'll need a place to retreat to, someplace close to the cargo hold."

"Why don't we just take you from here if we have weapons?"

"Because we also need to capture Allena. That's assuming of course she comes to watch my execution. When she wakes up, hopefully I'll be able to reason with her. Can you arrange all that?"

Mary nodded.

"You should go," Daniel urged softly, getting up to usher her to the door.

Reluctantly, Mary allowed herself to be propelled along. "How can you trust me?" she asked, dragging her feet.

"Because we're friends," Daniel assured, solemnly. "And I don't think you'll let me down again. Not when the fate of your people rests in the balance."

Sam patiently waited for the group of expectant mothers-- surrogates, she mentally corrected herself-- to get off of the elevator. She felt like she'd already worn a trail to Lorna's office and knew the way now by heart. When the doors opened on the correct level, Sam squared her shoulders and marched into the Grand Director of Assignment's office.

"Samantha," Lorna ground out, keeping her irritation in check. "What can I do for you now?"

"Daniel's missing," Sam declared point blank.

"And?"

"And?" Sam echoed in disbelief.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that," Lorna replied icily. "Your people don't seem to grasp the concept of duty. Colonel O'Neill has disappeared in the middle of his shift as well."

"He's looking for Daniel," Sam explained impatiently.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Sam bit her tongue to stop the first response that came to mind from popping out and tried to calm herself. "What do you usually do when someone is missing?"

"Aboard Heracles? Nothing. If Doctor Jackson is missing, they will handle it from there. Actually, service providers go missing all the time. Out of the fifty or so who should be working, only eighteen or twenty are still on the job."

"What happened to the rest?"

Lorna leaned forward earnestly. "What happens on Heracles is none of our concern."

"Speak for yourself," Sam declared defiantly on her way out.

Bethel startled at the rapid knock on the door, looking up from the drawing she was making on the wall with the charcoal she had found in the dry refuse. Marlena patted her arm and disengaged the lock. "Mary," she uttered in surprise as the other woman motioned her back inside.

"Lock it," Mary whispered, moving to the table to deposit the woven bag in her hand with the distinctive thump of something solid. "The Council has ordered Daniel to be removed."

"No!" Bethel whined. "They can't!"

"We thought that might happen," Marlena said unhappily.

"We can stop it. If you'll help me," Mary implored.

"Of course," Marlena agreed immediately, pulling Bethel close and rubbing her back soothingly. "What can we do?"

"That's beautiful," Mary declared in shock, getting a good look at the large outline Bethel had been sketching on the wall. It looked amazingly like the image of Daniel and his friends on the planet where they lived.

Bethel shrugged. "I wish I had colors," she said wistfully. "I would paint the sky blue."

"Daniel has a plan. If everything works out, Bethel, you may get to see the real thing."

Exhausted but happy with her accomplishments, Thane returned to the control room to power down the crane. There was still a lot of work to do, but she had completed the first necessary steps. She was sure Daniel would be pleased. And if Daniel was right, she'd have a lot of help when it came time to finish.

The cell was dark when Mary returned, but in the light spilling through the door she could easily see the form reclining on the bed. The guards had frisked her thoroughly before letting her pass, but Mary had anticipated that and left all of the weapons with Marlena.

"Mary," Daniel said, raising up slightly, covering his eyes until the door shut and left them in darkness.

"Did I wake you?" Mary asked as felt her way along the wall when the light hadn't come on automatically. She found the switch and adjusted it to twenty percent, just enough to see by.

"No. It's not like I could sleep thinking about things," Daniel explained, still shielding his eyes. "I was just resting."

Mary inched closer, settling on the edge of the bed. As Daniel sat up to put on his glasses, she reached over and took them from his fingers, sitting them back on the bedside table.

"Everything is ready," she told him. "When they bring you in to the grinding area Marlena and I will knock them out. We practiced with your weapons."

"That's good," Daniel praised pushing himself up to rest against the wall.

"Then we'll go to the service elevator that Bethel will be holding and on to the last place they'd ever think to look for us."

"Which is... where?"

"The observation deck on top of the ship."

"Ah, that's not really near the cargo bay," Daniel pointed out.

"No, it's not. But if they search for us they won't look there."

"Why not?"

"That's where anyone expelled from Theseus is boarded. They have their own little community up there. Anyone involved with the Sisterhood avoids it completely."

"So they're shunned by both ships? How sad. What does one have to do to get kicked off Theseus anyway?"

"Have radical ideas. Think for themselves."

Daniel pursed his lips in disbelief. "So why does the Sisterhood avoid them? They could be valuable allies."

"It's a matter of trust."

"Right," Daniel sighed. "We'll have to deal with that eventually. In the meantime, you should probably try to get some sleep." He grabbed his blanket and moved to get off the bed.

"Wait," Mary urged breathlessly, running a hand up Daniel's arm to rest on his shoulder. "Stay."

"Mary," Daniel objected lightly. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" she asked, leaning forward to graze her lips across his jaw.

"That's why," Daniel replied as he pulled away reluctantly and rose to move to the opposite side of the tiny room. "I'm not a service provider."

"I know that," Mary insisted, following his movement with her eyes. "But you are a man. Are you not attracted to me at all?" she asked dejectedly.

"It's not that," Daniel denied fervently. "Believe me."

"Then what is it? I want to be with you, Daniel," Mary swore softly as she rose from the bed and cornered him. "I have feelings for you."

"Okay," Daniel sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders and flinching when she brought her hands up to his waist, "that's another problem."

"I'm not asking for any promises. Now is all I'm asking for. It's more than I ever dreamed of."

"I won't take advantage of you," Daniel insisted stubbornly. "And I can't take the chance if we do this that you won't do something to jeopardize the mission out of jealousy. I can't waste time worrying what you'll do if Thane or Bethel or God forbid, Allena gets too close to me."

Mary dropped her hands as if stung. "I'm sorry," she said as she sat down on the bed. "I'm so sorry. I thought you'd forgiven me."

"I have," Daniel insisted. "We just have to be rational about this. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression."

"No, you're right," Mary decried. "I've acted like a fool. You have no reason to trust me."

"I do trust you. And it's very, very hard to say no to you," Daniel assured, leaning against the wall and locking his arms around his chest in a self-protective pose.

"I understand," Mary said stiffly as she stood to leave. "I'll see you in the morning."

The door opened and she was gone. "I hope so," Daniel muttered before settling back on the bed for the rest of a sleepless night.

As a cool breeze kicked in and woke him up, Jack remembered that he had literally slept in an air duct. Dropping back down into the hallway, he stretched his stiff muscles and made his way to the commissary. He was going to have breakfast and he dared anyone to make anything of it. Then he'd wait around until the little blonde came back. He didn't know why, but he was sure she would lead him straight to Daniel.

Daniel realized it was morning when the lights slowly began to brighten. "Mary?" he asked quietly in surprise at the warm body cuddled up next to him.

"Sorry," Mary said, as she sat up guiltily. "You were still asleep when I got here. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"No. It's alright," Daniel granted reluctantly. "I'm just gonna..." he thumbed towards the bathroom and coughed once.

The door opened and Iva glowered from the door.

"Don't you people ever knock?" Daniel asked scornfully, climbing to his feet and straightening his clothes.

"It's time to go," Iva grunted.

"Well, I'm not ready," Daniel shot back as he ventured into the bathroom and shut the door. "Forgive me if I'm not the perfect victim," his raised voice said from behind the partition.

Iva glared at Mary, who ignored her and gathered Daniel's things, putting them inside his pack.

"You can't help him," Iva taunted.

"And we can't leave his belongings lying about," Mary shot back. "Or haven't you done this before?"

Daniel stepped out of the bathroom wiping his face dry with a towel. He tossed it to the bed and took his pack out of Mary's hand. "Well?" he asked Iva who blocked the exit.

"Daniel?" Thane's worried voice came from behind the larger woman.

"Can I have a moment with my friend?" Daniel requested.

"Don't be long," Iva warned as Thane brushed past her. Iva stood in the door for another few seconds before allowing it to close.

"What's going on?" Thane asked desperately.

"They're going to take me to the gardens..."

"No!"

"It's okay. There's an ambush already in place," Daniel explained quickly. "Did you get one of the stargates set up?"

"Yes," Thane answered, sounding uncharacteristically unnerved. "I got it wired to the controller and I even got the little robot in front of it like you said."

"That's great!" Daniel enthused. "We're going to hide out for a little while, but we'll meet you back in the cargo bay within a cycle. Okay?"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. Stay out of sight for now. Mary will be with me."

"Take care of him," Thane told Mary ingenuously then hugged Daniel tightly before Iva opened the door again.

"Enough. Let's go," Iva barked.

"What? No last meal?" Daniel complained.

"That would be a waste of food, now wouldn't it?" Iva replied nastily.

Thane growled and stepped forward, but Mary caught her arm and held her back. "Ignore her," she advised quietly.

"Let's get this over with," Daniel said grumpily, leading the way out into the corridor where four more guards waited for him. They fell into step as he passed them and Mary followed along behind.

Iva grudgingly admired the pilot as they lead him down to his death. He walked with a purpose, his head held high. In Iva's own experience, most condemned service providers had to be dragged down to the garden, crying and acting out all the way. Others had actually had to be restrained and carried. This one either didn't know what was happening or he stupidly thought he'd get a last minute reprieve.

Mary seemed much more distressed than the worlder. Inwardly, Iva envied the doctor. She was little and cute and had obviously enjoyed the man physically, perhaps on more than one occasion. If Mary were not on the Council, Iva would definitely push for punishment on that offense. As it was, she'd just have to enjoy the other woman's torment as she watched her lover die.

They entered the garden through the back entrance and made their way through rows and rows of climbing beans. In the background, they could hear the composting machine mixing wet recycle, used plant materials and new topsoil from the planet. As they grew closer they could smell the musky odor of decay.

A few workers lingered nearby, but all were of the Sisterhood and Iva was confident they wouldn't interfere. They never had before. Mary approached one of the workers for a hushed conversation, both disappearing behind a shelving unit for a moment before returning to the main floor. Not long after, Mary returned to the worlder and hugged him awkwardly. Not exactly the tearful good-bye Iva had been looking forward to.

Iva met the man's even gaze over the top of the smaller woman's head, but turned away as Allena entered with a small entourage from the opposite direction. Everyone bowed in a reticent greeting before Allena faced the man.

"Daniel, I'm sorry."

"We can talk about it later," the worlder responded without so much as a waver in his voice.

"There will be no later for you," Iva declared spitefully.

"That's what you think," the man replied, pulling out one of the grey weapons he had refused to teach them about.

The pain was intense as the electrical current crawled around her body. Iva was aware that her entire contingent had been taken out and the last thing she saw before she passed out completely was the worlder throwing Allena's convulsing body over his shoulder.

Except for filling his stomach, breakfast was a bust. Jack had been certain he'd eventually run into one of the women again in the commissary. Even though he'd been one of the first in line and had stayed until the cafeteria ladies had reluctantly thrown him out, he hadn't seen either of them.

After being kicked out of the commissary, it was a short trip to the infirmary where he was surprisingly welcomed and fussed over, even though he was certain he had been a worse patient than usual given the circumstances. Most of the staff were glad to talk to him and he couldn't help but notice how they all used every opportunity to touch him.

Apparently Doctor Mary had left her shift early the day before and hadn't been seen since. The sickbay was abuzz with rumors and speculations as to her whereabouts, but no one really knew. Jack submitted to a physical so he could hang out and listen, but he vowed to even the score with Daniel later. Other than getting felt up, but in a purely professional way, the infirmary was also unproductive.

Back in the main corridor Jack pulled out the printout and read it again. Except for the infirmary stay, Daniel had only been boarded two places. It was obvious Doctor Mary wasn't going to help, not to mention the fact that she also seemed to be out of pocket at the moment, too convenient of a coincidence in Jack's mind.

With a sigh, Jack headed for the elevator, deciding to camp out beside the first address on the short list. Sooner or later someone would either leave the apartment or come home to it.

Mary and Marlena ran ahead, wielding the zat guns like real pros while Daniel followed with the unconscious leader of the rebellion thrown unceremoniously over his shoulder. Up ahead, Bethel stood in the open elevator door anxiously motioning for them to hurry.

Once inside the car, Daniel lowered his burden gently while Mary punched a sequence of numbers into the keypad. "What are you doing?" Daniel asked breathlessly.

"Another benefit of rank," Mary explained. "I'm locking out all the floors except the observation deck."

"So now we've got an express elevator," Daniel nodded approvingly as Bethel jumped into his now empty arms. "Hey, kid," he muttered fondly, giving her a hug. "Thank you. Thank you, too, Marlena. You guys saved my life."

With a little more reserve, Marlena moved in for a hug, too. "What can we say? We're suckers for those big blue eyes."

Daniel glanced cautiously at Mary who smiled at the group hug compassionately.

Allena moaned and Daniel released the girls to drop down next to her. "Just relax, the disorientation will pass. I promise, you're safe. We'll talk when you're a little more alert."

Mary knelt down as well and soothed the older woman's brow with one hand while she took her pulse with the other. "I beg your forgiveness, Director. There was no other way."

Allena blinked up at them and managed a nod before closing her eyes.

"Is she okay?" Marlena asked Daniel worriedly.

"Yeah. It's not pleasant, though. I've been through it a couple times more than I care to remember myself. At least it's not deadly."

"We're here," Bethel announced, pulling out her own zat gun nervously as the doors opened.

Daniel scooped Allena up in his arms in a more dignified way since they weren't actually running this time. "I've got you," he murmured at her nonverbal protest.

Marlena and Bethel moved ahead and Mary brought up the rear as they headed down the narrow, deserted hallway. As quiet as they tried to be, their footfalls sounded ominously loud on the metal deck.

"Where to?" Daniel queried urgently as they rushed along.

"Almost there," Marlena called back, trotting ahead to slip a pilfered disk into a slot. "Damn," she muttered, "it's not working."

"We can't stay out here in the open," Mary complained.

"No kidding," Marlena shot back, angrily thumping the door with her hand.

"Are you sure it's the right door?"

"We've got company," Daniel replied unhappily as an older woman stepped out of a door at the end of the hall and walked rapidly toward them. "What the hell?"

The woman motioned at them insistently, pointing toward the room she had just come out of. "Here! Come here!" she insisted in a harsh whisper.

Daniel scanned the faces of the group that had turned instinctively to him for a decision. "Yeah, okay," he decided. "Let's go."

The old woman's face lit up when she realized they were actually coming with her. She led the way and held the door open as the small band piled into her apartment.

"Wow," Daniel exclaimed, taking in the view. He'd been too busy to notice the translucent dome before.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" the old woman replied as she moved into the room. "Here. Place her here," she offered the bed for Allena with a flourish of her hand.

"Thank you," Daniel acknowledged gratefully as he lowered the Director gently. "Who are you?"

"I am Ahren. Under Director of Trade. Retired."

"Exiled, you mean," Mary corrected acidly.

"Okay, just stop," Daniel insisted. "If this crazy plan is going to work, you people are going to have to break down all these artificial barriers you insist on building."

"You're right," Mary agreed ashamedly. "I'm sorry. Ahren, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mary. This is Daniel, Bethel, and Marlena. And that is High Director of Dispensation, Allena."

"You kidnapped her?"

"Sort of," Daniel admitted reluctantly. "But that's better than what she was about to do to me."

"You are the resistance. You are the Sisterhood," Ahren guessed giddily. "You kidnapped the Director to start an insurrection."

"Not exactly," Daniel said, shaking his head.

"I can help you," Ahren urged, her excitement evident.

"How?" Marlena asked suspiciously.

"I know things. I lived my life aboard Theseus until they retired me and dumped me over here. The boredom is insufferable. Please, let me help."

"She's got a point. I was only on Theseus for a matter of hours. She knows way more than I do," Daniel declared. "Let's sit down and discuss it." He motioned to the four chairs around the table.

Marlena and Bethel shared a chair and Ahren pushed Mary aside to take the chair next to Daniel, scooting it as close as possible.

"You are a service provider?" Ahren asked Daniel with a gleam in her eye as she wrapped her hands possessively around his forearm.

"No, he's not," Mary cut in firmly, taking the last seat.

"I'm a worlder," Daniel explained politely, getting used to the label.

"How do you know about the Sisterhood?" Marlena questioned, still wary of the old woman.

"I've heard rumors," Ahren supplied. "I've always hoped they were true. Nothing exciting ever happens around here."

"Well, Ahren, things are about to heat up," Daniel explained. "We're trying to stop an uprising."

"Why?" Ahren protested. "The only way things will ever change is if Heracles breaks her dependence on Theseus."

"Heracles is not dependent on Theseus," Bethel insisted.

"It's actually the other way around," Marlena agreed.

"Is it?" Ahren challenged. "Even if Heracles could protect itself, without a means of procreation, the workers would die out in one generation."

Daniel pursed his lips thoughtfully. "She's got a pretty good grip on the situation," he noted. "Actually, the original plan of the Sisterhood was to capture the genetics lab..."

"The genetics lab?" Ahren interrupted with a startled laugh. "There is no genetics lab. There hasn't been one in generations. There were ... problems, horrible accidents."

"What!" Mary exclaimed.

"So how do they... how do they... where do the babies come from?" Daniel sputtered.

"They mate, of course. A fact that is not shared with Heracles," Ahren explained. "I myself surrogated several times."

"Surrogated?" Daniel asked inquisitively. "You have children?"

"No," Ahren huffed. "When a woman becomes a surrogate she lives the life of leisure until she comes to term. The babies are taken into a nursery and soon isolated into groups to be raised as warriors, scientists and administrators, or workers. The workers aren't sterilized until they are interned, just in case they have to be reeducated for a needed vocation aboard Theseus."

"And in the meantime, the population of Heracles drops to nearly unsustainable levels," Daniel surmised.

Allena gasped as she slowly sat up in the bed, having been listening intently to the entire conversation. "So if we destroy them, we are also destroying our own future."

Daniel disengaged himself from Ahren's grip and moved over to kneel by the bed. "Allena, the rifts between the ships have to be healed. That's the only way your people will survive."

"They will not give up Theseus to live aboard Heracles."

"There's another way," Daniel implored. "We can move all of your people to a planet."

"Daniel," Allena said impatiently, "I've already explained, it will take a lifetime to find another planet."

"Just hear me out," Daniel insisted. "What if I said it wouldn't? What if I could help you move all your people to a planet tomorrow?"

"To live? Forever?" Ahren asked in horror.

"What's so wrong with that?" Daniel turned to ask.

"On a planet?" Allena echoed Ahren's disgust.

"The sky is blue," Bethel exclaimed. "It is beautiful. Where is the picture?" she asked Mary.

"Thane has it," Mary explained offhandedly, still reeling from Ahren's announcement. "Be quiet."

"The pilots often speak of planets," Ahren persisted. "There are wild creatures; tiny ones that crawl on your skin and sting and bite and large fierce ones that tear you apart and eat you!"

"Yes, there are insects, and they can be annoying, but they are manageable," Daniel objected patiently. "And we wouldn't pick a planet for you with large predators, so nobody's going to get eaten. I'm not saying your worries aren't valid, I'm just saying they're not insurmountable."

"I understand that water falls from the sky," Allena intoned fearfully eliciting alarmed reactions from every woman in the room.

"Rain?" Daniel asked bewildered by the strickened faces all around him. "Rain is just... rain. It waters the plants and restores the water tables. I mean, sure there are storms, but rain is beautiful, it's... it's romantic."

"Storms?" Mary asked worriedly.

"Sometimes. But after the storms there are rainbows. And flowers and... Bethel, there are colors in nature you've never even imagined," Daniel provided reverently. "Why don't we go have a look? I'll take you somewhere uninhabited to start with. If you don't like it, we'll come right back."

"We should probably find something to eat first," Mary decided pragmatically.

"Yes, I'll make you my weed casserole," Ahren declared, moving into the kitchen.

"Yum," Daniel deadpanned, following her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Certainly," Ahren glowed under the attention. "I'll teach you." She positioned Daniel in front of the counter to instruct him as she promptly dropped her hand to squeeze his round rump.

"Ah," Daniel muttered, backing away. "Maybe another time. We don't really have time for a cooking lesson right now."

Marlena and Bethel burst out laughing and Allena shared a smile with Mary as Daniel promptly retreated to join them near the bed, nursing his bruised dignity. He glared at all of them before politely smiling as Ahren turned to beam at him brightly.

"Can I go home for a bit?" Bethel asked. "I don't want to leave my charcoal."

"That might be dangerous," Daniel warned.

"No," Marlena cut in, "I think she'll be okay. They're looking for me, not her. Maybe she can see what's going on while she's out there."

"Are you sure?"

"Bethel is a member of the Sisterhood in good standing," Allena objected. "No one would dare harm her."

"Meet us in the cargo bay at the start of the rest cycle," Marlena instructed, kissing Bethel on the brow.

"Be careful," Daniel insisted worried.

"I will," Bethel assured and slipped out the door.

"She'll miss my casserole," Ahren declared with a pout.

Jack tapped a beat on his knee as he sat slumped against the bulkhead outside the door that had been Daniel's first appointment. He'd been there for hours and was growing more restless with each passing minute, but he didn't have anything else to work with so he stuck it out.

"Carter," he growled into his radio for the umpteenth time as a new thought occurred to him.

Several seconds passed before Sam's breathless voice came back to him. "Sir?"

"Daniel hasn't made any attempt to contact us on Theseus, has he?"

"Not that I'm aware of sir," Sam answered shortly. "What's your situation?"

"I'm still waiting. Talk to me, I'm bored."

"Sir," Sam protested quietly.

"What? Did I catch you at a bad time?" Jack asked acerbically.

"Actually..."

"Shower?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sorry. Out." Jack dropped his hand from his radio and pounded his head against the wall. Teal'c was on training maneuvers and hadn't been inclined to idle conversation either while he was flying so once again, Jack was left to his own devices.

Fortunately for Jack's sanity, he didn't have to wait long before the closest elevator opened and the young blonde girl stepped out. She only took a step or two before she noticed the man outside her door and froze.

"It's okay," Jack called to her, getting to his feet. "I'm Daniel's friend. Remember?" He inched closer, certain by the fear in her eyes that she would bolt any second. "I know you want to help him," he continued softly. "You gave me the disk that had your address on it."

"I..." the girl stammered, bravely standing her ground although Jack could tell she was terrified. "Daniel..."

"Yeah, Daniel. Where is he?" Jack asked patiently. "Is he okay?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

"Can you take me to him?"

The girl blinked and seemed to be thinking hard. "Okay," she agreed at last.

"Okay," Jack smiled back at her. "I'm Jack."

"Bethel," the girl said, swallowing nervously. "I have to get something from my room. Then we can go."

"Okay. Good. I'll just wait at the door," Jack said, not completely trusting that she wouldn't disappear inside and lock him out.

She opened the door and Jack leaned into the apartment to glance around, surprised to find an excellent rendition of his own face smiling back at him from the wall as the lights came on.

"That's pretty good," he offered, eliciting a small, pleased smile from Bethel as she opened a drawer that was recessed into the wall and took out a bag and started to put some things in it. "Hey, I recognize that. It was at Cassie's birthday last year. Daniel got a copy and I didn't?" he complained.

Bethel stopped packing and stared at him apprehensively.

"It's okay," Jack soothed quickly. "Just a bit of favoritism is all. I'll take care of both of `em when we get home."

With a quick nod, Bethel ducked into the bathroom to grab a few more things before coming back out.

"Going somewhere?" Jack asked with a lift of his eyebrow toward the now full bag.

"Daniel's taking us to a planet," Bethel whispered conspiratorially.

"Oh, he is, is he?" Jack asked, taken aback. "How is he going to do that?"

"I don't know," Bethel admitted. "But we're going to see blue... the blue sky and rain and rainbows and flowers..."

"Sounds nice," Jack cut her off with a slice of his hand through the air. "Let's go find him and figure out what he's up to, okay?"

Bethel nodded but hesitated as Jack still stood in the door.

"Sorry," Jack muttered, stepping back to give her plenty of room to pass.

"Men make me nervous," Bethel confessed hesitantly as they walked toward the elevator.

"I noticed."

"Not Daniel, though. He's different."

"Yeah. He's different all right," Jack agreed with a sarcastic grin just as the elevator opened and a group of angry women poured out, led by the Amazon from the commissary.

"Crap," Jack muttered under his breath.

"Where is Marlena?" the big woman rounded on Bethel and to Jack's surprise the formerly timid girl got right back in her face.

"I don't know, Iva. But I'm sure you'll never find her."

"Iva?" Jack mouthed.

"Take them both."

"You can't detain me," Bethel spat out fiercely.

"Until Allena can be found," Iva informed her tersely, "the Council has put me in charge of the investigation. We'll find Marlena, the traitor Mary, and that worlder you're all so fond of. Then his sentence will be carried out and he will be put to death."

Jack shook his head in resignation. "Death sentence? Why doesn't that surprise me?" A guard grabbed his pack and patted him down for weapons, but no one bothered to check the innocent young girl.

"Shut up, pilot," Iva grunted, taking the bag from Bethel and pushing her towards the elevator.

Trying hard to swallow without chewing, Daniel glanced at Marlena who was choking again after unsuccessfully using the same technique. Unwilling to spit it out and offend their host he gave up and valiantly chewed the bitter stalks. "Interesting texture," he observed, his eyes watering. "Like spinach flavored Cheetoes, that have been under a couch cushion for about a year," he added under his breath.

"Thank you," Ahren said sweetly, draping herself over Daniel's shoulder as he ate.

Mary stared at the food in front of her but at Daniel's and Marlena's reactions, she wasn't eager to try it. She pushed it around with her utensil and made crusty little piles of it on her plate.

Allena kept her expression blank as she took a bite, chewed, swallowed then hastily followed with a drink of water. She completed the sequence once before stopping to cough into her napkin.

"I'm not feeling well," Marlena announced, jumping up from the table and running to the bathroom.

"Oh, my," Ahren exclaimed following her through the door.

"Quick," Daniel muttered, jumping to his feet and raking the contents of his plate into the wet recycle. He traded plates with Mary and then with Allena, sitting down with the last empty one right before Ahren ushered a pale and shaky Marlena back to the bed.

Exchanging guilty glances, they got up from the table to circle around the side of the bed.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked with concern.

"I can't believe it made her sick," Ahren declared worriedly.

"Maybe it's just a stomach bug," Daniel offered.

"A what?" Marlena asked in alarm.

"You know, a virus?"

"A what?" Mary echoed.

"I know you know, a tiny little... thing that gets in the bloodstream and makes people sick? Viruses? Bacteria?" Daniel explained. "Come on, you're a doctor. You have to know about viruses. Maybe you call them something else?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mary insisted with a shake of her head.

Daniel licked his lip thoughtfully. "Your people never get sick?"

"Of course they do. When they do stupid stuff like eat foreign substances and smoke lithilar leaves and then drink four cups of stimulant."

Marlena laughed in spite of herself and Daniel glared at both of them. "Never mind," he sulked.

"Daniel," Allena said. "I'm willing to look at a planet. I will suspend your sentence for now and grant you safe passage."

"Okay," Daniel agreed quickly. "Then we don't need to wait for the rest cycle. We can go now."

Marlena moaned as she tried to sit up. "Easy," Mary instructed her, pushing her back down. "Why don't you stay here and rest?"

"We can't all go this trip anyway," Daniel agreed. "Ahren? Can we count on you to look after Marlena for a little while?"

"Of course," the older woman answered, happy for the company.

"If you don't hear from us before the rest cycle..."

"I'll bring Ahren to the cargo bay," Marlena agreed solemnly.

Iva paced around the Council chambers while her guards went through Bethel's fully loaded bag and Jack's pack. The remaining Council members sat on one side of the table and Jack and Bethel on the other.

"Where is Marlena," Iva asked again.

"I told you," Bethel lied, "we had a fight. She betrayed the Sisterhood so I decided to leave. When I went to get my things, this... pilot accosted me."

"Iva," Killen came to a decision. "You have no cause to keep Bethel here. She has answered your questions adequately. I insist you let her go."

"I am in charge of finding Allena," Iva declared viciously. "And this woman demonstrated her affection for the worlder in front of everyone. She cannot be trusted!"

"Know your place," Marta snapped peevishly. "You may be the military liaison, but you still take orders from this Council."

The guards stopped what they were doing and stared, engrossed in the ongoing battle of their superiors.

"Forgive me," Iva responded, bowing her head slightly. "I meant no disrespect. But you cannot seriously allow Bethel to go free."

While the Council hashed out their differences, Bethel calmly reached into the deep side pocket of her work coveralls and without looking down slid a zat gun over to Jack. The girl's expression never changed and Jack grinned inwardly, chastising himself for doubting Daniel. The boy always had good instincts when it came to choosing allies.

Jack brought up the zat gun as he stood. "You people are amateurs," he declared, cutting the meeting short.

Iva's eyes went wide right before he shot her. She dropped like a stone and shivered uncontrollably for several seconds before passing out. Snatching the nearest radio off the table Jack grabbed Bethel by the arm. She instinctively screamed and fought before he got a good grip and pulled her to him.

"Stay here or I'll kill the girl," he threatened, backing out with one arm clenching a struggling Bethel to his chest and the other pointing the zat at the distraught council members and guards.

Out in the hall he shot the keypad and released his `hostage'. "That was good. I think they believed us," Jack praised, noting how easily the girl had followed his lead.

Turning to the panic-stricken woman huddled on the floor he realized that Bethel hadn't been acting. "Shit," he muttered remorsefully. "Bethel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I promise, I won't touch you again," Jack urged, "but we have to get out of here now."

Pulling herself together, Bethel wiped her eyes and nodded her head. "This way," she instructed and ran to the nearest emergency access hatch.

Jack helped her open it and followed her into the narrow space.

"Ah..." Jack muttered, looking up the long, dark ladder, "We can't climb all the way to the top."

Bethel shot him a look and started up. "We can climb a deck or two and then get on an elevator from there."

"Right," Jack agreed and pulled the hatch closed behind him. "Ladies first."

The crane was in motion when they entered the bay so they had to wait behind the safety line per Mary's instructions. Daniel looked up and smiled as he caught sight of Thane high above them waving excitedly.

"What is she doing?" Allena queried nervously.

"You'll see," Daniel grinned. The crane docked and the all clear signal sounded.

"It's safe now," Thane's voice echoed around them from the intercom.

"Follow me," Daniel instructed, taking off for the farthest corner of the bay.

Mary shrugged and urged Allena forward. "I don't know either," she confessed on the way.

Keeping up with an excited Daniel proved to be no easy feat and the Director was hot, tired and thirsty by the time they reached a huge cylinder where their guide waited for them with a mischievous expression on his face. "Allena, Mary," he said motioning for them to join him, "This is a stargate."

As they rounded the curve of the big machine they stopped to stare at the large metal ring held upright by two enormous clamps. Off to the side was a group of smaller devices, one of which was linked to the ring with cables and what appeared to be a robot of some kind.

"Way to go, Thane!" Daniel enthused, noting she had also cleared a wide area around the `gate like he had asked her to do. She had even fashioned a makeshift platform from which to step into the wormhole out of a big, flat piece of metal that looked suspiciously like the covers on the enormous air ducts around the storage bay.

"You're early," Thane called, running towards them from the control room elevator.

"Allena has agreed to visit a planet," Daniel explained. "In the meantime, she's delayed my execution."

"Daniel," Allena objected defensively. "It wasn't my idea. There was a vote."

"I know," Daniel agreed. "I'm just stating facts, not making a judgment. Let's see, where should we go?"

"I need to rest for a minute," Allena admitted sheepishly. "And I'd really like a drink of water."

"Oh, uh, I could go back up to the booth," Thane offered.

"No, that's okay," Daniel decided. "We'll just go to Earth. I suppose I should really check in anyway." He moved over to the DHD and tested the first symbol. When it lit up he began dialing the rest.

"Let me get the Director some water. It'll just take a few minutes."

Daniel grinned evilly. "Earth is closer," he teased as he hit the last symbol.

"How?" Mary challenged doubtfully, awestruck as a blue spout erupted from the ring before Daniel could answer. The blue pooled inside of the ring and shimmered as they stood mesmerized by its beauty.

"That's how," Daniel replied smugly, turning to the robot and adjusting something on the side. "Hello? This is Doctor Jackson. Do you read me?"

"Doctor Jackson?" A stunned voice sounded from the robot. "Someone get the general! It's Doctor Jackson!"

"Hi Sergeant Davis," Daniel said, as if speaking to someone in the room. "Tell General Hammond I don't have a GDO on me."

"He's here."

"Doctor Jackson?" another voice asked excitedly. "Where is the rest of your team?"

"Uh, they're on another ship, General. It's a long story. I have some delegates with me. Can we come through?"

"Get some more security forces down here," the voice muttered. "Open the iris. Doctor Jackson, the iris is open, come on home."

"Yes, sir. We'll be right there," Daniel answered happily as he climbed up on the platform. "Director?" he offered his hand.

Allena hoisted her gown and with as much dignity as possible took Daniel's hand to pull herself up before cautiously approaching the blue light pool. "Is it safe," she asked still clutching his hand tightly.

"I do it all the time," Daniel assured. "Mary?"

Mary climbed up and took his other hand and they all turned to look at Thane. "Come on, Thane. You deserve to see this, too."

Thane lowered her eyes from the wormhole to Daniel's face and broke out into a huge grin. "I can come?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Daniel smiled back at her. Thane jumped up and grasped the back of Daniel's shirt firmly in both of her hands before nodding that she was ready. "Oh, uh, there will probably be a lot of guns on the other side..." he began as he stepped into the blue circle, pulling them along with him.

When they suddenly clattered onto a metal ramp in another place altogether all three women grabbed tighter onto their guide. "It's okay," Daniel soothed both the frightened women and the mass of warriors pointing a myriad of weapons at them.

"Stand down," Hammond order from the control room.

"Sir?" Daniel called out to him. "Do you think we could get some water for my friend here?"

Hammond spoke to someone as he rapidly made his way to the stairs.

"Its okay, Allena," Daniel repeated. "You can open your eyes."

"Wow," Thane breathed in awe. "Look at all those men."

"That's a woman," Mary added pointing to one of the heavily armed guards.

"Yes, it is," Daniel agreed. "We have lots of women warriors."

"Welcome home, Doctor Jackson," the general greeted as he came through the door. "We thought we'd lost SG-1 for good this time."

"No," Daniel assured as he freed up his hands. "We just had a little detour. In fact, we're just stopping in to get a cup of water and then we'd like to go planet shopping."

Sergeant Siler appeared next to the general with a paper cup full of water. "Thank you," Daniel said graciously, taking the cup and handing it to Allena, who gulped it with shaky hands.

"That was faster," Thane told Mary. Both of them held firm to Daniel's shirt.

Daniel began the introductions. "General, this is Allena, Grand Director of... uh, something, and more importantly, leader of the rebel faction on board the space ship Heracles. And this is Mary and uh, behind me is Thane. General Hammond is the leader of our facility."

"Hello," Thane said, releasing Daniel and stepping out from behind him.

"Welcome to Earth," Hammond said with a gentle smile. "If you'll step this way, I'd like you to report to the infirmary while Doctor Jackson gives me a quick report."

"Oh, we weren't really planning on staying," Daniel explained. "I just wanted to check in."

The look on the general's face told Daniel all he needed to know. "Right. Uh, that's okay. The infirmary's good. Then maybe we can get some real food?"

"Ladies?" Hammond said patiently ushering them out of the gateroom.

"Sorry," Daniel muttered to his guests. "Standard procedure. We should go."

"Uh uh," Jack protested when the elevator door opened. "I can't go down there. It's too dangerous."

"That's where Daniel is," Bethel called over her shoulder as she headed straight down the corridor.

"I am so gonna get him for this," Jack muttered sotto voce as he hefted his zat gun and followed.

Bethel moved quickly and as Jack neared the end of the hall the door he remembered well slid open and she ducked inside. "I'm armed," Jack announced when he followed.

"Colonel O'Neill," Ahren sighed dreamily, greeting him at the door. Ignoring the zat gun she pulled him in for a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Jack endured the embrace for a few seconds before gently but firmly pushing her away. "Where's Daniel?" he asked.

"They've already gone," Marlena said, sitting up on the bed and taking Bethel into her arms.

"Gone where?" Jack asked in mild exasperation.

"He took the Grand Director to see a planet," Ahren explained.

"Did he happen to mention how he was gonna do that?"

"The young man seemed quite confident that he could do so, but I have no idea how."

"They went to the cargo hold near the bottom of the ship," Marlena said, getting to her feet, holding Bethel by the hand. "We'll take you."

"I'm coming, too." Ahren declared quickly.

"Oh, no you don't," Jack warned. "You just stay here... where it's... ah, safe."

"If you don't take me with you, I'll turn you in," Ahren warned. "They've been calling for your capture over the ship-wide intercom."

Jack gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the zat gun. Ahren smiled at him hopefully and he couldn't bring himself to squeeze the trigger. "Okay, I'll just tie you up," he decided, lowering the weapon reluctantly.

"Later," Ahren chided and led the way out of the room.

Bethel and Marlena exchanged amused looks as they followed.

"That is SO not what I meant," Jack yelled after them. "Daniel is a dead man."

General Hammond squeezed the bridge of his nose as he listened to the harrowing story of running from the savage blue beam for days and the subsequent rescue. Only SG-1 could have both the bad luck to step out of the gate at the wrong moment and into the middle of an impending uprising on the ship that rescued them. He knew Doctor Jackson well enough to realize that as bad as the report sounded, it was nothing compared to the real thing.

"I haven't actually seen Teal'c since they separated us, but I've seen Sam and Jack and they were both fine, uh, relatively fine anyway. Jack had a little incident but now he's..."

"Fine?" Hammond guessed with a glimmer of amusement in his eye.

"Yes. Fine," Daniel agreed. "At least he was the last time I saw him."

The general nodded, hating the team had been split up but knowing each member was capable of taking care of themselves. Knowing however did not mean he wouldn't worry. "So what is it your doing with these delegates from the ship?"

"Actually, I'm trying to convince them to give up their nomadic lives in space and settle on a planet," Daniel explained.

"Haven't they done okay for centuries living the way they do?"

"No, they haven't," Daniel denied vehemently. "Maybe they were okay at first, when they actually had some sort of goal, but now they exist only to exist. There is no quality of life for the laborers on board Heracles. That's thousands of workers, General. And as a people, they've narrowly avoided one disaster of their own making after another.

"I realize now that we have a way home, it might not be our business anymore, but I'd hate to walk out on them. The rebellion they are planning will effectively doom all of them to extinction."

"And you think moving them to a planet will solve things?" Hammond asked doubtfully.

"I'm not saying it will be easy, sir. I'm just saying it would be well worth the trouble to save this race of people. And they really don't need anything from us except a little guidance. With the proper resources, they've been completely self-sufficient on board two space craft for, I'm only guessing, at least two thousand years."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we've been logging planets for future research sites all along."

"That's true. But we haven't got the budget to set up any more long term facilities at the moment."

Daniel shrugged expansively. "So we relocate these people to one of those planets and we've got an instant colony."

"As usual," the general approved, "I see you've thought this out. But how will moving them to a planet stop the rebellion?"

"Well, the main problem with them has always been the physical separation. They depend on each other, but they don't really know each other. I mean, how could they? They live totally separate lives. Unfortunately, they're also secretive and they lie to each other constantly. But if we take away the division, they'll have to learn to live with each other."

"And you think they might be willing to take a chance?"

"We'll have to overcome some of their fears first," Daniel said thoughtfully, "but Allena has a great amount of influence over the laborers. I believe if we convince her, the people of Heracles will follow."

"What about the other ship?" Sergeant Siler spoke for the first time, still unsure why Doctor Jackson had insisted he join the briefing.

"Simple. They'll follow too, or they'll go hungry."

Stunned by the seeming callous remark from the usually overly humanitarian linguist, Hammond's mouth dropped open. "That seems a little harsh."

"Sir," Daniel explained, "for whatever reason, these people no longer have the means to sustain a large enough population to keep Heracles viable. After taking a census of sorts from Thane, I did a few calculations. If things remain as they are now, they will perish within two generations. Without the manpower needed to maintain their environment and grow food, they'll simply starve. I think relocation to a planet is the best bet."

"It'll be a long row to hoe," Hammond advised.

"Yes, it will. But it will be worth it in the long run. And there may be a benefit to us as well."

"How's that?"

"Technology. Not just their own either. They've got a treasure trove of stuff down in the hold that they don't even know what it is. I'm sure if we help them relocate, they'll be grateful enough to allow us access. Provided we can get Allena's approval, I'm thinking we can get the people of Heracles moved in less than a week."

"But Doctor Jackson," Siler objected. "I don't think that's possible if your estimate of four to five thousand people on the big ship is accurate. Then you've got supplies and equipment. I'm thinking more like two to three weeks."

"That's why I asked you to be here, Sergeant. I have some questions. What if we had five working stargates?"

"At the same location?"

"Yes. I'm assuming they would all activate at once when dialed in to, since they essentially have the same address?"

"Probably," Siler agreed. "The wormhole would most likely split five ways."

"So what would happen to a traveler who came out that end?"

"I'm not sure, Doctor Jackson. We really need Major Carter to figure that out."

"But could you dial out to five different addresses from that end?"

"I think so, but I'd have to get a look at the setup before making a judgment like that."

"There are five gates aboard Heracles. Well six if you count the one with a permanent iris. But if we could dial out to five different locations, we could evacuate the ship of people, equipment, and supplies in no time. Then we could reassemble them at the new home world at our leisure. General Hammond? What do you say?"

Hammond nodded firmly and smacked a hand against the table top. "Alright. And he can get a look at some of that technology while he's there. Sergeant, you have a go."

"Me?" Siler balked. "Me? Sir?"

"Don't worry, son. I'll send SG-2 along with you."

"And Thane would probably be a big help, too," Daniel suggested. "She's an engineer... of sorts."

"Very well," Hammond agreed. "In the meantime, why don't you take our other guests up to the surface to have a look around?"

"Holy moly," Jack exclaimed, taking in the neat rows of death gliders as the rag tag group entered the storage bay. "Not what I expected to find down here, that's for sure."

"Which way now?" Marlena asked, obviously not feeling well as she helped Ahren to sit on a crate near the door and then joined her.

Jack glanced around before coming to a decision. "Look, I don't know what Daniel has planned, but if he's down here, I'll find him. I want you to all get out of sight and wait. If anyone comes in, shoot them. Okay?"

"I'm coming with you," Bethel announced.

"Fine, whatever," Jack gave in easily. The young woman had already proved herself and it seemed like a good idea to have someone watch his back.

"Be careful," Marlena advised, pulling the older woman to her feet to find a hiding place near the door. "We'll wait for you here."

"Which way?" Jack asked.

Bethel shrugged and started off to the left.

"Carter?" Jack followed as he thumbed his radio and waited for a response. "Teal'c?" he tried again, but got nothing but static. "Damn. Something's wrong with this radio. It must be the one I dropped yesterday."

Before they got a hundred yards, Jack heard a faint but unmistakable sound. "Beth," he called. "This way."

"What was that?" she asked fearfully.

"That," Jack declared happily as he took off in the opposite direction, "is how Daniel was going to take you to visit a planet." He cut across the middle of the deck, weaving in and out of the old attack vessels, Bethel hot on his heels. When they ran out of death gliders, they kept low taking shelter from one large piece of space junk to the next.

Hearing voices, he pulled Bethel behind what looked like part of an old space station. She flinched hard but didn't otherwise resist and Jack quickly released her. He hand signaled that they should advance and the girl nodded once and followed orders without question, far better than a certain linguist Jack could name.

Quietly, they made their way closer to the rather technical sounding conversation between a man and a woman. The deep male voice was familiar, but definitely not Daniel.

"Siler?" Jack asked in stunned recognition, rising up and confronting the last person he ever thought he'd run into aboard Heracles.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

"Hi, Bethel," the rail-thin young woman Siler was talking with called out. "Oh, look! That's him!" she exclaimed.

"Him who?" Jack asked warily, looking over his shoulder.

"You! You're the other guy in the picture," the girl explained, pulling something out of her pocket and handing it over.

"Huh," Jack said almost taking possession of the photo before Bethel snatched it away.

"I almost got it right," she murmured, staring intensely at the picture. "Thane, this is Jack," she added absently without tearing her eyes away from the prized possession in her hand.

Jack nodded his head briefly to Siler's new friend. "Where's Daniel?" he asked.

"He was headed for the infirmary the last time I saw him, sir."

"On Earth?"

"Yes, sir," Siler acknowledged. "He briefed General Hammond and then he was going to get checked over by Doctor Fraiser."

"Colonel?" another familiar voice called out.

"Ferretti," Jack greeted with a relieved grin as the leader of SG-2 spotted him and came jogging up. "Listen, I've got a couple of non-coms hiding out by the main door in that direction. Why don't you send someone to collect `em. But be careful, there might be hostiles in the area."

"Yes, sir. Daniel briefed us on the situation," Ferretti confirmed as he moved away to hand signal to his nearest man.

"Good. I'm going to check in with the General and see if someone can't fix this damn radio."

"Our radios don't work either, sir," Siler began to explain.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Carter jury-rigged ours. They were working there for a while."

"I want to come with you," Bethel said, correctly interpreting Jack's intent.

"No."

"Why not? I want to see Daniel."

"Just... just because," Jack began, stopping at the crestfallen face. "Believe me, I'll take care of Daniel. Look, I need you to take Ferretti's men to find Marlena and Gypsy Rose Lee, Senior," he fudged.

Bethel's eyes grew wide and she began to back away in dread, already unnerved by the number of men in the area.

"Okay, bad idea," Jack admitted.

"I'll go with you," Thane volunteered, quickly catching on. "I'll tell you about Earth."

"Did you see the sky?" Bethel asked as Thane pulled her along, Ferretti sending a sloppy salute as he followed at a distance.

"Not yet, but Daniel promised..."

Jack sighed and turned back to Siler. "Where's the `gate?" he asked.

"Not `gate, sir," Siler corrected, coming as close to smiling as Jack had ever seen. "Gates."

"Did you save some for me?" Daniel asked, dropping back into the infirmary after seeing Thane, Siler and SG-2 off. He plopped down next to Mary and stole half of her sandwich.

"Daniel," Janet lectured with amusement. "That's no way to treat guests."

"Hungry," Daniel explained, shoving half the sandwich into his mouth. "The last thing we had to eat was `weed casserole'."

"I'll get you a tray, Doctor Jackson," one of the nurses volunteered while eyeing up the competition.

"Sorry, no time," Daniel exclaimed, pulling Mary up by the hand. "Director, if you'll come this way, General Hammond has given us permission to go up to the surface."

"What about your physical?" Janet objected, having already noted the bruises on his face and abrasions around his wrists.

"No time. The sun's going to be setting soon and I want them to look around before dark." He crammed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and headed for the door dragging the two visitors with him.

"You come right back here afterward," Janet ordered firmly.

"I will," Daniel promised, already out the door and halfway down the hall.

Carter set her radio down calmly. What she wanted to do was throw it against the wall. She assumed that Teal'c still had his radio turned off, but she hadn't been able to contact the Colonel in several hours. That meant either both the radios he carried were broken, or more likely that he was simply unable for some reason to respond to her hails. None of the reasons she could think of for that contingency were good.

She decided she would go to Heracles herself and damn the consequences. In fact, she'd take Teal'c with her. Since the maneuvers would be over soon, she thought she might head up to the fighter deck to wait for him. But first she wanted to make sure the garbage shuttles were running on schedule.

"Whoa," Jack exclaimed at his third big surprise in the last hour. He ran a hand up the stack of `gates but couldn't accurately count them. "How many?"

"Six altogether, sir, but one of them has an iris permanently attached which is keeping the ones under it from forming wormholes whenever we activate this one. Since the current follows the path of least resistance...

"Siler," Jack muttered, rubbing his head.

"Yes, sir," Siler stopped his lecture before remembering one more thing. "Oh, and the stargate from the planet is out there somewhere nearby. We're hoping it has drifted far enough away that the address isn't valid anymore. The action of the ship jettisoning it should have had enough force to push it out of orbit and into space."

"So?"

Siler looked confused for a second. "So no one pops out of a wormhole out into space," he explained as if it were obvious.

"Right. So you think this set up is safe?"

"We got here okay."

"So you think it's safe?"

"Yes, sir."

"Dial me up then," Jack requested as he handed over his zat gun. "Here. You may need this."

"Here we are, watch your step," Daniel cautioned as he stepped out into the waning sunlight. He took another several steps before he realized he was alone. "Mary? Allena?" Looking back, he saw them peering tentatively out of the door. "It's perfectly safe," Daniel assured with a reassuring smile.

"No," Allena refused softly.

"Come on." Reaching back, Daniel grabbed each woman by a wrist and insistently dragged them out onto terra firma.

"Daniel," Mary muttered, sounding horrified as a dragonfly darted past them.

"It's okay," Daniel soothed. "I'm not going to let anything hurt you. The sun's going to start setting any minute. If we hurry we can get a good seat."

"The ground is uneven," Allena complained. She seemed near tears and as ruffled as Daniel had ever seen her.

"I'm going over there and the guards are coming with me. You have your choice," Daniel advised determinedly. "You can come with us or you can stay here by yourselves. With the spiders... and snakes... and BUGS."

The male SF tried to hide a smirk, but the female guard started to protest. Daniel furtively shook his head and placed a finger on his lip before turning on his heel and walking away. The guards followed without a word.

In a flash Mary was at Daniel's side burrowing under his arm. Allena hobbled along the rough path behind them quickly catching up and latching on to the back of Daniel's shirt a'la Thane.

"We'll be okay," Daniel told the guards as he pried Mary's fingers off his arm and seated her on the large, relatively smooth bolder with a clear western view. Allena refused to release his shirt and since he couldn't really reach her, he stood by Mary and let Allena huddled miserably behind his back.

"Is the star burning out?" Mary stared in breathless horror as the sun streaked the horizon with orange and red.

"No," Daniel sighed, finally realizing the magnitude of his task. "Just... please, both of you, relax!"

"The planet orbits a star," Allena muttered as she finally peeked around Daniel's shoulder at the magnificent sun set.

"That's right. And the planet rotates on it's axis as well. We're entering our rest cycle. We call it night. It happens at the end of every day. When we find a planet for you, the same thing will happen. Only the day there will probably have a different amount of hours."

"Your world will be plunged into darkness?" Mary asked wrapping her arms around herself.

"Only part of it. As the sun sets here, it's rising somewhere else. It's a real, continuous cycle, not an artificial one like aboard Heracles."

"The temperature is plummeting," Allena noted, huddling a little closer to Daniel.

"Yes, it usually gets a little cooler at night. I'd hardly call it a plummet."

"The ship's temperature never changes," Mary harrumphed.

Daniel sighed in defeat. "I guess I just expected you to step outside and fall in love with Earth. Look, it's gonna get a lot darker out here so let's go back inside."

"What's that?" Mary asked, pointing towards a nearby valley where the street lights were starting to twinkle to life.

"That's part of a town, well a small city actually."

"It's beautiful," Allena allowed, finally relaxing enough to release Daniel's shirt. "It's like watching a star field from the observation deck. Can we sit for a few minutes?"

"As long as you want," Daniel agreed taking a seat next to Mary. She huddled next to him, presumably for warmth. Allena sat on his other side and huddled close, too.

"Teal'c," Sam called as she spotted the big warrior coming down from the fighter deck. He had already seen her and was rapidly moving her way.

"Major Carter," he greeted. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Well, I don't know if there is. I haven't been able to reach Colonel O'Neill."

Teal'c nodded solemnly, turning his own radio on and speaking one word. "O'Neill." Sam's radio echoed with his voice.

"So it's not mine," Sam grimaced.

"It is time for action," Teal'c declared adamantly.

"I agree. I went to the shuttle bay but Lorna has apparently revoked our ship hopping rights. Do you think you can fly a shuttle?"

"I can," Teal'c stated with a touch of offended dignity.

"Of course you can," Sam amended apologetically.

"Jack!" Daniel greeted in surprise as he entered the infirmary as per his much delayed promise to Janet.

"Daniel," Jack returned affectionately, glad to see his teammate alive and in one piece. "Where's your contingent?"

"Oh, uh, I set them up in the briefing room to view some MALP tapes of possible sites for relocation. I have to admit, they're not real big on the idea. How did you get here?"

"The same way you did," Jack explained. "Duh."

"Oh, right. You must have been looking for me."

"Yes, Daniel, I was. In fact, I've been looking for you for... cycles."

"Sorry."

"I supposed it never occurred to you to check in?"

"Come on, Jack, when I wasn't being held prisoner I was busy running for my life. And it's not like I could just pick up a phone."

"True," Jack allowed as Fraiser peeked around the curtain.

"There you are," she admonished Daniel in an `it's about time' tone.

"Check him out good, Doc," Jack advised with the air of a man about to tell a secret. "He did tell you he overdosed on caffeine and spent two days in the infirmary didn't he?"

"Jack!"

"No," Janet grumbled, eyeing Daniel with displeasure. "He neglected to mention that little piece of information."

"Jack crashed a space ship and hit his head," Daniel retaliated, crossing his arms over his chest obstinately.

Janet turned back to Jack with a lifted eyebrow and pulled out her pen light.

"Daniel got stoned," Jack quickly tattled. "And poisoned. Did I mention poisoned?"

A slow, evil smile replaced the glare on Daniel's face.

"Don't do it," Jack warned seriously, pointing a finger in Daniel's direction.

"Jack injured his neither regions."

"Aurgh! You are SO gonna pay."

"Enough," Fraiser growled. "Both of you, down to your shorts right now," she ordered flicking the curtain shut with one hand behind her. "We need full workups on Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill after all," she advised her staff. "In fact, from now on that will be SOP for these two."

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel muttered in irritation as he began to unbutton his shirt.

"Don't mention it. I promised Bethel I'd take care of you."

"You talked to Bethel?" Daniel asked in astonishment. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. We had a few tense moments but she bounced right back."

"What about Marlena? And Ahren?"

"Everybody is fine, Daniel. Quit worrying. Just how many girlfriends did you make over there anyway?"

"Not girlfriends," Daniel objected with a pout.

"Oh? Not friends? Or not girls?"

"Just... shut up."

"There it is again," Siler paused with a worried frown. "Feel that?"

"Yeah," Ferretti agreed reluctantly. "I feel it whenever I'm not moving around. It's almost like a deep metallic groan."

"Yes, sir, and it reverberates right up through the ship."

Thane shook her head. "That's just the harvesting beams," she insisted for the third time.

"Do they always do that?" Siler asked, not convinced the subtle, sub vocal creak was harmless at all.

"Yes. They have ever since we turned them on two quad cycles ago."

"But did they do it before? The last time you used them?" Siler questioned persistently.

"I... I don't know. They've never been turned on before in my lifetime," Thane explained.

"Is there any way for me to examine the outer hull of the ship? I mean without actually going out there?" Siler added sheepishly.

Thane nodded, getting excited. "We have a camera drone. I've just never had the time to use it."

"Sir?" Siler requested permission.

"Sure, whatever you want to do Sergeant," Ferretti granted. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Sorry," the shuttle pilot replied without looking up as he finished up the pre-flight checklist. "The Director of Assignment has suspended all unauthorized transports between ships."

"Yeah, I know," Sam replied derisively as she stepped into the forward compartment.

"You again," the pilot sneered. "What has you so hot to go to Heracles anyway? You got a girlfriend over there or something?"

"Not exactly," Sam muttered lightly. "Look, we'll let you off the hook and just take the shuttle ourselves," she informed the pilot as she took the co-pilot seat.

"What? Are you nuts?"

"Do you require assistance exiting this craft?" Teal'c asked threateningly.

"I can't just let you take this shuttle," the pilot exclaimed, cautiously reaching toward the intercom. "I'll have to report this."

Sam slapped his hand and waved a finger under his nose. "Uh uh," she admonished seriously before producing a roll of something similar to duct tape. "Last chance, leave and keep you mouth shut or else."

The pilot made a desperate lunge for the control panel.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Sam replied as Teal'c grabbed him from behind. She taped his mouth first and then his hands and feet.

Pulling the futilely struggling man over his shoulder, Teal'c deposited him with a thud into one of the passenger seats and buckled him in.

"We must secure you so as not to reveal our deception," Teal'c warned the man. "Any further resistance will be met with force."

The man nodded his understanding and settled down immediately.

"A wise choice," Teal'c intoned with an amused twinkle in his eye.

"Daniel, please," Allena said wearily. "You're asking us to change our entire way of life."

"Allena," Daniel persisted as he paced the briefing room in exasperation at the leader's unwillingness to bend even a little. "I'm just asking you to consider it."

"Doctor Jackson," General Hammond interjected with a kindly tone. "I understand how you feel, but ultimately, it is their decision. We can't force them to move to a planet."

"Yes, sir, I know that, but..."

"Daniel," Jack cut in. "I'm in total agreement with you here, but what's the hurry? Why don't we let them go back to Heracles and talk it over with their people before making a snap decision?"

"If they're not convinced," Daniel replied taking in Allena and Mary with a swoop of his hand, "then what's the point?"

"So we give it a few days and try again. There's no rush here, now that we've got a working stargate, we've got all the time in the world."

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to rush anyone," Daniel sighed and took a chair. "Frankly, it's Iva. Or rather what she represents."

"Iva?" Allena questioned. "I don't understand."

"Look, it's obvious that in your society even the factions have factions. You've got the Assembly on board Theseus, and then you've got the Sisterhood's Council on Heracles, and then you've got Iva's little band of warriors..."

"Warriorettes," Jack corrected, earning a glare from Mary.

"Well Iva is bloodthirsty and unfortunately, I think she has a lot more power than you give her credit for. They will rise up against the Assembly soon whether the Council orders it or not."

"I think he's right about that," Jack agreed reluctantly, "And they won't be any match for the pilots. They couldn't even figure out the zat guns, for cryin' out loud."

"They didn't have a lot of time," Mary protested indignantly. "We have never used weapons of any kind before. We only thought of them when we learned that the new Service Provider on board was a worlder."

"Service Provider?" Hammond asked.

"Uh, that would be me. Don't... ask," Daniel waved his hand expressively as if to remove that particular memory. He got up to pace again.

The klaxon sounded and the general glanced around the table. "Carry on," he advised as headed for the stairs. "I'll be right back."

Sergeant Davis met him halfway down to the control room. "It's a message from SG-2, sir. They'll be sending Siler back with some information in a few minutes."

"Very well," Hammond allowed. "Send him on up to the briefing room when he gets here."

"Yes, sir." Davis acknowledged as he turned and trotted back down the steps.

The general took a minute to clear his head before returning. Doctor Jackson was in rare form and Colonel O'Neill was guardedly backing him up. One of the stubborn men was a force to be reckoned with. Together they were virtually unstoppable. He almost felt sorry for Allena.

The argument was still in full swing as the general took his position at the head of the table. "Sergeant Siler's is on his way back," he informed Jack, who was the only person not talking at the moment.

"What's up?"

"Look's like we're about to find out," Hammond said with a nod toward the stairs.

Siler hurried into the room with an obviously upset Thane in his wake.

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked with dread as Thane rushed past Siler and unexpectedly into his arms. He let out a little `oof' of air as she collided with him. Jack watched, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise at yet another Daniel groupie, catching Mary's flinch as she turned away.

"Heracles is failing," Thane explained shakily. "We used the drone to look at the hull!"

"Sergeant Siler?" Hammond prodded as Daniel helped Thane to a seat. Jack poured a glass of water and handed it over to her.

"The structural integrity of the hull is failing, sir," Siler replied, picking up a marker and moving over to the white board where Daniel had been listing possible sites for the people of Heracles to colonize. "The storage deck is here," he explained drawing a rough approximation of Heracles on the board. "Beneath it is the..." he paused and looked at Thane for the right word.

"The sorters," she supplied. "The harvesting beams transport the raw materials from the planet there to be broken down into their core components. Then they are distributed to the proper sections of the ship to be further processed and used for manufacturing or food production or any number of things."

"The initial processing, along with the beams themselves cause a lot of heat to build up in this lower section," Siler picked up the explanation. "The outer hull is actually buckling from the extreme temperate."

"But the ship is at least two thousand years old," Daniel objected. "They've been doing the same thing for generations. Why would it fail now?"

"Nothing lasts forever, Doctor Jackson," Siler replied with a shrug. "The hull probably weakened a little bit each time the processing was done. Apparently the engineers of the later generations were not as meticulous as they should have been or they would have noticed the defect and tried to fix it a long time ago."

"Can we not reinforce the hull now?" Allena asked anxiously.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Ma'am," Siler informed her gravely. "The compromised portion is much too big for any kind of patch."

"When will it go?" Jack asked with a sympathetic wince.

"There's no way to tell for sure, sir. It could be next week or thirty years from now, but the structure will fail. I think its stable enough to evacuate the ship in an orderly fashion, but that's only if we turn off those beams right now."

"We can't," Mary objected. "Without the materials from the harvest, our people will have no resources."

"Mary," Daniel said gently. "If the hull goes, lack of resources will be the least of your worries."

Allena covered her face and sighed deeply. "Thane?" she asked. "Do you agree with this man's assessment?"

"Yes, Director," Thane answered sadly. "I do. I operated the drone myself. I saw the damage with my own eyes. The hull is failing."

"Very well," Allena gave in. "Thane, return to Heracles and shut off the harvester. Also see to it that the shuttle bay is closed and communications with Theseus are suspended."

"Why?" Daniel asked, not hiding his concern.

"Daniel, I can only speak for the Heracles. We have a lot to digest and I don't want to deal with the Supreme Director of Theseus until we have a better understanding of what must happen."

"But you realize this is their future we're dealing with, too," Hammond cautioned.

"I do. But believe me, you'd much rather deal with me than with Roshand."

Hammond accepted the explanation. "Colonel, I want you and Sergeant Siler to go back and see what we can do to help."

"Yes, sir."

"Mary, go with them and arrange a meeting of the Council. I'll stay here with Doctor Jackson and try to find us a... planet," Allena instructed unhappily.

"You know," Jack grumbled under his breath to the general. "These women think Daniel's the only man on Earth."

"Actually," Daniel said, ignoring Jack and raising a finger. "We have people better qualified for that sort of thing. They can determine the best three or four sites for your needs and let you chose from those?"

"That sounds fair," Hammond encouraged. "Then we can come up with some type of plan for evacuation."

Allena nodded resolutely and patted the general's hand as Jack ushered the group going back to Heracles toward the stairs.

"General, since you really don't need me here anymore," Daniel requested, thumbing over his shoulder towards the stargate even as he backed out of the room.

"Granted," the general agreed genially. "He likes to be in the middle of things," he explained to the one remaining guest.

"I noticed that," Allena answered with a sigh.

Sam reached for the intercom to respond to the hail from Heracles' shuttle bay but Teal'c gently intercepted her hand.

"Right," Sam muttered. "I guess a woman answering the landing beacon would look a little suspicious."

"Shuttle Hermes acknowledges final approach," Teal'c replied and waited for the all clear signal before expertly maneuvering between the outer bay doors as they opened. He powered the shuttle down to auxiliary and waited for the doors to close behind them. "Where do you wish to begin the search for O'Neill and Daniel Jackson," he asked his partner in crime.

"I'm not sure," Sam replied with a sigh as the shuttle passed easily into the inner bay and settled onto the deck with a soft thump. "Like the Colonel said, it's a big ship."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "But now we are moving in the correct direction."

Daniel followed Jack through the wormhole and stepped out into the butt-end of a staff weapon. "Ow!" he complained as he stumbled and grabbed his bleeding nose. Iva prodded him toward the edge of the platform and rough hands grabbed at his legs to yank him down to the ground.

"Easy!" Jack yelled from the spot on the floor where he, Siler, SG-2, Mary, and Thane were forced to kneel.

Siler looked pale as he took in the mass of bodies surrounding them. "I knew there was a reason I never wanted to be on an SG team," he mumbled to himself.

"Where is Allena?" Iva demanded as Daniel joined his friends on the ground. "And what trick is this?" she gasped as the wormhole disintegrated into nothing.

"I was trying to explain the stargate when you guys came back," Ferretti reported to Jack, ignoring the rampaging woman.

"They got the jump on you?" Jack asked derisively.

"No, sir," Ferretti denied. "Well, sort of. They outflanked us."

"Oh, well that's alright then," Jack rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, sir. They outnumbered us ten to one and they came from every direction at once," Ferretti explained running his eyes around the crowd that roughly circled them and the stargate.

"Allena is safe," Daniel said to Iva, cutting his eyes at Jack and Lou to shut them up. "She's on our planet, Earth."

"Silence," Iva growled.

"I was just answering your question," Daniel sniffed indignantly. The blood dripping down his chin began to slow and he wiped it with his sleeve.

"The Sisterhood is now in full control of Heracles," she baited. "However it appears that your people still need a demonstration of our resolve."

The big woman moved closer and stuck the back end of the staff weapon threateningly into Daniel's face. A group gasp sounded from the nervous crowd and Mary moved protectively closer to him.

"You're holding it backwards," Jack replied helpfully. "If you fire it now you'll take out your own people standing behind you."

"Jack!" Daniel protested.

"So much for your bloodless coup," Jack quipped as he took in the restless, uncertain mob.

"Yeah, but why does it always have to be my blood to get things started?"

"Iva," Mary challenged as she defiantly leaned over to help Daniel hold pressure on the bridge of his nose. "They speak the truth."

"Yes, we do," Jack insisted. "You are holding it backwards."

Iva snorted and glared to hide her embarrassment as she quickly turned the weapon around. Fortunately, she still didn't understand the firing mechanism.

Jack shook his head affably as he climbed stiffly to his feet muttering all the while about his bad knees. In one swift surprise move he snatched the weapon out of Iva's hand and abruptly knocked her on ass.

"You people aren't soldiers," he told her dangerously as he activated the staff and sent a bolt of energy to destroy a nearby piece of junk. The group closest to the little explosion jumped away and a nervous murmur echoed through the crowd.

"We are trying to help you," Daniel implored passionately, holding Mary's crimson stained hand up for everyone to see. "No more blood has to be shed if you'll just hear us out."

"Please listen to them," Thane called out. "Or we are all going to die."

"Iva, maybe you should listen them," someone urged from the crowd.

"No! I will not listen to pilots," Iva raged until Jack pointed the staff weapon at her and casually flicked the switch sending a small charge cascading around the tip of it. "Never," she reiterated, lifting her chin mulishly. "I'll die first."

"Jack, stop scaring her," Daniel admonished, pushing Mary's insist hands away from his face as he clamored to his feet. "No one is going to die. If you won't listen to us, then maybe you'll listen to Allena."

"Allena isn't here," Iva pointed out, trying in vain to hide the shiver of fear running through her.

"She's a lot closer than you think," Daniel replied, moving to the DHD.

"This ship feels different," Sam decried as they walked through the busy common area. "It's got almost a... shimmy to it."

"It does," Teal'c agreed returning the startled glances around him with an aura of calm as he walked with his hands behind his back. "Perhaps this vessel is older."

"I don't know about older, but I do think it's been worked much harder through the years than Theseus. The people who've lived here all their lives probably don't even notice it," she extrapolated. "But as big as Heracles is, I'm surprised we feel it either."

"There is a sense of urgency here," Teal'c announced, stopping to take in the mood of the crowd. The shops were being closed and everyone seemed to be clearing out.

"You're right," Sam agreed, suddenly feeling the loss of the very shimmy they had been discussing. "What should we do?"

"We must follow them," Teal'c decided, once again moving along with the streaming crowd.

Sam nodded and hurried to catch up. "Yeah, if something is out of the ordinary around here I'll bet even money that Daniel and the Colonel are right smack in the middle of it."

"Lorna," Supreme Director Roshand greeted as she entered Theseus' executive sauna. "I've been meaning to speak to you. How are the worlders doing?"

"Hello, Director," Lorna bowed respectfully. "I'm afraid they're more trouble than they're worth."

"How so?" the Director questioned with concern as she sat down with her subordinate.

"For one thing, they come and go as they please. They fail to finish shifts and disappear frequently. Except for the large warrior, I'd say we'd be better off without them. Just last cycle the woman burst into my office yet again to demand I do something about the service provider. It seems they don't like being split up."

The Director thought for a minute before smiling deviously. "Why don't you bring him back? We could set him up for the Directors. It's not like the pilots are responsive to our needs. No one would have to know."

"Director!" Lorna gasped. "The man was filthy! Not only was he unkempt, he also wore these ridiculous dirty round circles on his face. I dare say he's more at home with the laborers. Besides, I'm afraid he might have already met an unfortunate fate."

"Pity," the Director sighed. "It was just a thought."

"However," Lorna began thoughtfully, "the Colonel doesn't seem to be doing well as a shuttle pilot, and he is attractive and relatively clean."

"I'll make the arrangements," the Director decided.

"Supreme Director!" a hesitant voice called urgently from outside the door.

"Never a moment for myself," the leader complained bitterly to Lorna. "What is it?" she snapped at her assistant.

"The Heracles has stopped harvesting!"

"What!?" both Directors shouted at the same time.

"Are there mechanical difficulties?"

"We don't know! They won't answer our hails. And they are no longer allowing the refuse shuttles access to the bay."

"It's a rising," Lorna managed past the lump in her throat.

"It's not a rising," the Director hissed in agitation.

"How do you know?" Lorna persisted fearfully.

"Simple. They have everything they need. What do they have to be unhappy about?"

"Hey. You okay?" Jack asked when he finally located Daniel near the door of the storage bay rooting around in his stashed backpack.

"Yeah, I just wanted to clean up a little," Daniel explained as he shrugged out of his bloodstained tee shirt and scrubbed at his face and neck with it.

"Right, so the little disappearing act wouldn't have anything to do with that pushy doctor hovering over you like you have three seconds left to live then, huh."

With a non-committal shrug Daniel went back to looking for something clean to wear. "I see Thane got the beams turned off."

"The actual turning off was no problem," Jack agreed, allowing the change of subject. "That was a good idea to send Iva the Terrible to Earth to help Allena."

Daniel nodded as he pulled out a semi-clean tee and sniffed it cautiously. "I figure as long as she's in the loop she won't be too much of a problem."

Jack picked up Daniel's dirty shirt and wet the corner of it out of his own canteen. "Lemme see."

Feeling tired, guilty for ditching Mary's overzealous attempts to look after him, and crusty with dried blood, for once Daniel didn't object to Jack's mothering. He obediently raised his chin and allowed Jack to wash his face and neck.

"That's the second time she's hit me. If she does it again I'm gonna..."

"Hit her back?" Jack questioned doubtfully, using another corner of the shirt to pat Daniel's skin dry.

"Well, no. But I'll do something. I'll... I'll..." Daniel stopped for a second to ponder just what he would do. "I'll tell Sam," he finally decided.

Jack cracked up. "Right. Poor Carter'll have to take a number."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked warily as he rolled up the wet shirt and stuck it into an outside pocket of his pack.

"I mean she'll have to deal with Brunhilda first."

"Her name is Mary," Daniel corrected defensively as he pulled the tee over his head.

"And the Tomboy..."

"Thane."

"And the cute little blonde and her, uh, significant other..."

"Bethel and Marlena."

"That would be a cat fight," Jack laughed. "Not to mention the fact that Allena would probably take Iva out at the knees, metaphorically of course."

"Of course. At least you got one name right."

"And then there's the old bat."

"Jack."

"She might not take on Iva, but I'm sure she'd kiss all your boo-boos afterward. Then there's the nurses and the cafeteria ladies and who knows how many more."

"What are you getting at?" Daniel queried apprehensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing," Jack assured. "I'm just saying if it was anybody else, I'd be worried."

"About what?" Daniel asked, pulling his jacket on and finding it still gooey with blood. He shrugged it off again and draped it over a crate to dry.

"I just think a lesser man might take advantage, that's all," Jack replied honestly,

"Well, you're here and SG-2 is here. And Sergeant Siler..."

"Yeah, but we haven't connected the way you have. Just... just be careful. It would be awful easy to break some hearts around here."

Daniel snorted softly and shook his head at the well-intended but totally unnecessary advice. "Sure, Jack," he agreed anyway, looking over towards the area where several women had congregated near the door. Bethel was in the group and smiled broadly when Daniel waved at her.

"What's her story?" Jack asked, jutting a chin towards the shy but fiercely protective young woman.

"Who? Bethel?" Daniel asked as he undid his belt and top button to tuck in his tee shirt. As several small gasps of approval sounded Daniel realized why the crowd had gathered so close. He hurriedly finished tucking and buttoned back up.

"Yeah. Please don't tell me she was the victim of one of the Service Providers."

"Okay. I won't tell you," Daniel answered softly.

"Son of a bitch," Jack swore, finally getting the picture. "Dammit. She's just a kid."

"Yeah, and it was a while back, too. I don't know that she'll ever really be comfortable around men."

"She likes you," Jack pointed out.

"Hey, what can I say?" Daniel mocked self-deprecatingly. "Janet says I am one of the girls."

"Yeah. Come on, Allena is coming back for the big conference. Let's go meet her at the `gate. We've got to protect your interests."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means George may just take that one away from you," Jack teased.

Daniel sighed in exasperation and followed. "If it's any consolation," he called out spitefully. "I think Ahren prefers you."

"Holy Hanna," Sam declared as they reached the overflow area of the large assembly hall. "There must be a couple thousand people in here already."

"At least," Teal'c agreed.

"We need to get in there," Sam said as she ignored the irritated glances and began to edge her way through the crowd into the main area.

Teal'c's head shot up and his eyes grew wide as they squeezed in through one of the side doors and made their way down an already over crowded aisle. He looked behind them crossly as he rubbed his left buttock with his hand but couldn't decide who the culprit might have been.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked worriedly, looking over her shoulder as she led them closer to the little stage.

"Nothing," Teal'c replied stoically, covering his butt with his hands as he followed.

A hush fell over the crowd as a stately middle aged woman took the stage. "Sisters," she said, her voice amplified enough that everyone could hear. "We are in grave danger. The hull of our much-loved Heracles is damaged beyond repair. It can no longer stand the strain of the harvester. That is why it has been turned off."

A panicked cry rang out above the audible gasps of shock.

"That's not good," Sam muttered to Teal'c.

"Fear not!" the woman urged. "We have made new friends who are willing to help us in our time of need. Please welcome them..."

"There's the colonel," Sam exclaimed as they spotted a shock of grey hair moving onto the stage. They both renewed their efforts to get down the standing room only aisle and closer to the podium.

"When did you have time to put together a Power-Point?" Jack's voice echoed through the hall.

Stopping in front of the stage now close enough to see, Sam couldn't help but grin at the long suffering glare Daniel leveled at the Colonel as he stepped forward. Another man leaned over a woman who was busily working on some type of device in the middle of the stage.

"That guy looks just like Sergeant Siler," Sam muttered in disbelief, exchanging a bewildered glance with Teal'c.

"That man is Sergeant Siler," Teal'c corrected leaning forward to get a better look.

"Hello," Daniel began. "Do you remember me?"

A small, nervous laugh ran through the audience. "I'm Daniel Jackson and this is Colonel O'Neill and Sergeant Siler. First let me just say that we are not pilots and we are not representatives from Theseus. We are worlders from a planet called Earth."

"It is so," Allena confirmed, raising a hand to silence any protests.

"You're all set, Doctor Jackson," Siler advised as he rose and retreated to the back of the stage with the girl.

"Thank you," Daniel replied as he picked up a remote and pointed it at the device that Siler had plugged his laptop into. "As Allena has already told you, Heracles' hull is failing." A picture of the worst part of the damage filled the screens all around and the crowd lapsed into dead silence.

"As someone told me earlier, nothing lasts forever," Daniel said sadly. "I'm also told that there is no immediate danger as long as the hull is allowed to cool. That means the harvesting beams have had to be turned off, but there's no need to panic."

"How will we survive?" a small voice asked. The sentiments echoed numerous times around the room.

Daniel clicked the remote again to show a beautiful pastoral view of a planet. "This is PX4-7446... your new home world."

"One down, one to go," Jack congratulated at full volume at the end of the long town-hall meeting. The workers obediently began to file out to make the preparations their leader had asked of them. The animated drone of thousands of worried and excited voices reached a jarring level.

"Heracles was easy," Daniel shouted back succinctly as he plucked the tiny wire that connected his laptop to the alien device. "These people trust Allena completely, and she knows they have no other choice. Theseus will be another matter all together... Teal'c!" he interrupted himself as he glanced down at the people still standing around the stage.

"Carter," Jack exclaimed as the Major finally caught his attention by waving her arms furiously. He offered her a hand up onto the stage and Teal'c followed quickly, glad to be out of the amorous crowd.

"You guys okay?"

"Yes, sir," Sam reported in a half-yell. "When we couldn't contact you by radio we got concerned."

"Major Carter!" a familiar but totally out of place voice called out. "I'm glad you're here, ma'am. Can you come to the storage bay with me? I've got a couple of logistical problems with the stargates."

"Sergeant Siler? Stargates? Will somebody please tell me what's going on," Sam insisted loudly.

"Later," Jack cut in. "Right now we've got work to do. Go with Siler. He can fill you in some place where you might actually hear him."

"Yes, sir," Sam sighed, following orders even though the suspense was killing her. "Daniel," she greeted with a confused smile.

"Hi, Sam," Daniel said as they passed each other in the chaos of the deafening crowd. "Teal'c, we need to make a trip to Theseus. Do you think we can requisition a shuttle?"

"That will be unnecessary, Daniel Jackson. I am currently in possession of a service vessel," Teal'c replied smugly, his voice not noticeably raised but none-the-less understandable.

"You guys stole a shuttle?" Daniel questioned, looking back at Sam's disappearing form.

"Borrowed perhaps?" Jack offered wryly.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed with a slight bow. "We borrowed one."

"Cool. I'll fly," Jack enthused.

Teal'c lifted an expressive eyebrow and all but frowned.

"Or you can," Jack amended, "and I'll co-pilot. After all, you went to all the trouble to steal it, even though you do get to fly those neat fighters everyday..."

"You may assist," Teal'c granted generously. "If you swear on your honor not touch the controls."

"So basically I just get to sit up front?" Jack clarified.

"Take it, Jack," Daniel advised sagely.

"Deal," Jack accepted glumly. "We can get out faster this way," he indicated the stage door and ushered the gathered Council members out.

The group gathered in the relatively deserted and much quieter back corridor outside of the main assembly hall. Allena continued to give directions to the Council members surrounding her and Jack pulled Daniel and Teal'c off to the side.

"Daniel, go advise the general that Heracles is a done deal," Jack ordered as he checked his watch. "Then we'll see you in the shuttle bay with the Director in thirty minutes. That'll give us time to pre-flight."

"Right," Daniel quickly agreed with a nod as he moved over to the group of women. "Director, if you would like to sit and rest for a few minutes, I'll pick you up on my way back and escort you to the shuttle."

"Thank you, Daniel," Allena acknowledged absently, her attention obviously on other matters. "We'll be in the Council chambers."

Daniel nodded to the rest of the group and turned back to Jack who pointed as his watch face. "Thirty minutes," he reminded.

"Thirty minutes," Daniel parroted and made his way to the end of the hall to begin pushing his way through the bottlenecked crowd waiting for the elevator.

The fleet of death gliders had been a shock, but nothing compared to the five stargates all lined up side by side in a row about a hundred yards apart. An extra, sealed one lay off to the side flat on the deck. "Whoa," was all Sam could get out. Several well-known faces were busy laying cable between the last couple of `gates and their DHDs.

"Impressive, aren't they?" Siler asked with a touch of awe in his voice. "I can't wait to see them all lit up at once."

"How?" Sam managed at last.

"They've been collecting them for hundreds of years according to Doctor Jackson."

"Yeah, but I mean, why set up all of them? What could we possibly... oh, I get it," Sam smiled as she caught on. "An incoming wormhole would split apart, but with five DHDs we can dial out to five different addresses at the same time."

"Yes, ma'am," Siler confirmed. "The plan is to send most of the people to the abandoned Jaffa barracks on PC7-800 until permanent shelters can be set up on Herculaneum."

"Herculaneum?"

"Yes, ma'am. That's sort of what we designated PX4-7446-- the new Heracles homeworld."

"Okay, Sergeant, why don't you give me a quick run down?"

"The SGC has already started shipping cleaning supplies and a couple of generators to the barracks and the Director is organizing fifty or so volunteers for a little housekeeping detail to make the place livable for a few weeks. They should be arriving shortly for transport.

"There are pre-fab, snap-together shelters up on the observation deck of this ship. Those will be broken down and transported to Herculaneum for initial housing through the second `gate. Meanwhile, the death gliders will be sent to PC6-970 through the third `gate for safe keeping until flight training can begin. Eventually, they'll have an Air Force for protection.

"We'll send supplies and equipment through the fourth `gate to C3-6755 for storage until needed. Basically, we're gonna take everything that's not bolted down," Siler continued, "and actually, a lot of things that are. After the big meeting, the Director was going to start crews tearing non-essential systems down.

"And the last `gate will be free for a line of communications with Earth to help coordinate things. So it'll be one way trips to start with."

"Right. I couldn't guess what would happen to a traveler in a five-way split."

"Yes, ma'am. And General Hammond's not willing to risk another MALP after losing three to space. When the bulk of the evacuation is complete, we can pull down the extra `gates and cap `em back off. In the meantime, SGC personnel can gate directly to each of the sites as needed, they just can't come back here."

"We could send a table," Sam muttered thoughtfully.

"No time to experiment, Major," Siler replied shaking his head. "With five gates, we'll have Heracles cleaned out in no time."

"Teal'c?" Jack asked as they entered the shuttle and spotted the bound pilot on the floor struggling inch by inch towards the door.

"Yes, O'Neill?" Teal'c answered ingenuously as he hefted the man up and returned him to a seat.

"Nothing," Jack muttered as he moved to the forward compartment.

When Daniel got back to the Council chambers after a quick check-in with the SGC and a few minutes of catch up with an exuberant Sam, all of the women fell silent as if he was interrupting something important. Mary glanced at him as he approached but quickly averted her eyes.

"Ready?" Daniel asked the Director expectantly.

Allena looked up with a tired smile. "Our work has just begun," she offered cryptically.

"Yes," Daniel agreed. "And I'm afraid your future as a people rests on what happens now on board Theseus."

"No," Mary muttered.

Daniel's eyebrows shot up as he turned to her. "No?"

"We will soon have a protective force in place for our new planet, thanks to you. Then we will have all we need."

"For one generation," Daniel argued quickly. "You have what? Eighteen men and four thousand sterile females?"

"No," Mary said again, shaking her head and looking almost guilty. "The youngest women among us have not had their eggs removed."

"But you said they do that to all the workers."

"As I was telling the Council, Bethel became pregnant during her... service," Mary explained reticently.

"What?" Daniel gasped.

"I thought it was a fluke at first," Mary rushed on. "She didn't know what was happening to her. She came to the infirmary bleeding and in pain. There had been so much damage the first time... we thought she had been hurt again. But then the baby came. It was far, far too early. It never took a breath."

"Does she know?" Daniel asked, mortified.

"No. I kept her drugged for the whole ordeal. Only a few of the medical staff were aware. But we started keeping records. Many of the younger women have no scars on their abdomens. When we questioned them about it, they reported that they remember going to sleep and waking up, but nothing of the procedure itself."

"And no one else ever came up pregnant?"

"We made it our priority to keep them off of the Service Provider list."

"How many?" Daniel asked worriedly, glancing around to try and read the faces of the Council members.

"Perhaps thirty. Fifty at the most."

"That's not a lot," Daniel replied tersely, knowing what was coming next.

"It's enough," Mary insisted, turning to Allena. "Forgive me, Director for not telling you sooner."

"You're still looking at a pretty small gene pool," Daniel argued. "Any flaw in DNA will be amplified within a few hundred years."

"Daniel," Allena replied. "Apparently procreation was still handled in the genetics lab until the last few generations. No flaws were ever permitted in the lab and there hasn't been much time since it closed for many natural mutations to occur."

"Well that might explain your excellent health, but you can't be genetically perfect," Daniel insisted.

"Not perfect, but close," Mary said.

Allena rose and turned to Daniel. "I have much work to do," she advised him and started to move away.

"What about Theseus?" Daniel asked bitingly.

"I do not believe that they will be receptive to our plan. But you may offer them a place with us if you wish. We will turn no one away."

"You don't need them anymore," Daniel accused.

"No," Allena said softly, almost regretfully. "We do not."

The Council broke the impromptu meeting and scattered in different directions until only Mary remained.

"Mary? Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Up until now, none of this seemed real," Mary replied shamefully as she looked down at her hands. "And I had other foolishness on my mind."

"Aw, Mary," Daniel sighed, reaching for her shoulder.

"Don't let me keep you," she said, shrugging away from his hand.

"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed as he boarded the shuttle and saw the elaborately taped-up pilot strapped to a seat.

"What? I didn't do it," Jack proclaimed his innocence as he pointed in Teal'c's direction.

"It was a necessary precaution, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c declared unrepentantly.

"Sorry," Daniel winced as he ripped the tape off of the man's mouth. "They get a little carried away sometimes."

The man heaved a sigh as Daniel pulled out his knife and carved away the web of duct tape securing him to the seat.

"Where's Allena?" Jack asked.

"She's not coming," Daniel informed him sourly without looking up from his task.

"Uh... why not? I thought that was the whole purpose of this little field trip."

"Get out of here," Daniel told the pilot. "If you have any sense, you won't come back."

"I can't give up my shuttle!" the man exclaimed.

"Do you want to get taped up again?"

With a frustrated harrumph, the man bolted from the cabin and out the door.

"There's been a new development," Daniel put away his knife and dropped into a seat unhappily. "It seems Heracles no longer needs Theseus."

"How is that possible?" Teal'c asked.

"Bethel got pregnant from her... encounter with the service provider."

"Christ," Jack swore.

"She lost the baby. In fact, she never even knew she was expecting."

"Okay, that sucks. But how does it fit into the scheme of things?" Jack asked.

"Well, we were working on the assumption that all of the females on Heracles were sterile. But as it turns out, when Theseus shut down the genetics lab, they didn't need to collect the ovum anymore, even though they kept sterilizing the workers. Sometime within the last generation they stopped doing that."

"Why?"

"Who knows. Maybe they forgot. Maybe Lorna didn't think it was necessary anymore."

"Maybe someone got lazy?"

"For whatever reason, they kept up the illusion so nobody started to ask questions. But the bottom line is; the women from Heracles can make babies."

"So they're just going to abandon their own people?"

"Without Heracles," Teal'c put in, "the people of Theseus will perish."

"There's not a lot of sympathy for Theseus," Daniel agreed. "But Allena says if we can convince them to come along, they'll let them join the colony. She's just not going to waster her time with them."

"Shut it down, T," Jack ordered.

"We have to at least try," Daniel insisted. "This was our idea... okay, it was my idea. I have to offer them a chance."

"Daniel, if three worlder-pilot-service providers show up to tell them they have to change their way of life, do you really think they are going to listen?"

"If we don't convince them, they will die."

"Let's just eat one shit sandwich at a time, shall we? Our first priority is to evacuate Heracles," Jack decided. "Once things are underway, we'll drop an invite for the top dogs of Theseus to join us over here for a little pow-wow."

"What good will that do?"

"We can show them the damage to Heracles, we can show them the stargates," Jack counted off, "and they'll be on our turf. Since it looks like we're actually gonna get out of this in one piece, I don't want to give them another shot at separating us."

"Okay. But what's to keep them from attacking Heracles in the meantime?" Daniel queried seriously. "I mean, it must be pretty obvious to them by now that something is amiss."

"I didn't say it was a perfect plan," Jack groused as he led the way out of the shuttle. Once they hit the deck, Jack studied his battered and weary friend closely. "Look, Daniel, why don't you find a place to bunk down for a while?"

"There's an awful lot of work to do," Daniel countered reluctantly.

"I know, but when we do have to deal with Theseus, I think you're our best hope. I'd rather you be fresh for that."

Daniel nodded and thumbed over his shoulder. "There are some cells right above the assembly hall. I'll be there if you need me."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack agreed turning back to the shuttle. "Teal'c? Is there anyway to secure this thing? I understand they're easy to steal."

Daniel wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but he certainly felt rested. Someone had taken his pack and cleaned his clothes and left them neatly folded next to the door, but since he'd been so out of it, he could only guess who it might have been. After a shower and shave, he felt pretty good as he dressed.

"Come in," he called at the timid knock on the door. "Thane? What's wrong?" he asked as soon as he caught sight of the girl's long face.

"I came to say good-bye," she replied, her usually bright smile down a few notches. "We've got the secondary crane moved to the planet and we're ready to start moving the death gliders through."

"That was quick," Daniel replied. "I'll miss you."

"I'm going to be a pilot," Thane informed him, perking up a bit.

"That's great, if that's really what you want to do. But please be careful."

"I will. Iva's going to be one too, but she's settled down now that she's got something else to focus her attention on besides the rebellion. And she seems to be really impressed with your friend Teal'c."

"Well, Teal'c is pretty impressive," Daniel agreed.

"I think Sergeant Siler's kind of nice, myself."

"Oh you do?" Daniel teased with a grin just as the door slid open again on a surprised Sam Carter.

"Damn, I wish these things wouldn't do that," she complained.

"If you stand to the side, they don't," Thane explained as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh," Sam replied, eyeing the pair suspiciously. "Daniel, we're going to have a team meeting over lunch. The Colonel wanted me to come get you."

"I'm ready," Daniel said, grabbing his now clean jacket. "Take care of yourself," he told Thane as he gave her a quick squeeze.

"Bye," Thane called out, as she heading down the hall before turning back to shout "I love you!"

"I... what?" Daniel managed, staring after Thane with his mouth open. Finally shrugging at Sam he murmured, "It's just an expression."

The ship was abuzz with activity. A conveyer belt of sorts had been rigged from the door of the cargo hold across the now open span of floor all the way to the second stargate. A steady stream of the interchangeable sections of Jack's office cubicles hummed along.

Overhead, Siler worked the crane, carefully lifting a death glider and maneuvering it toward `gate number one. A line of workers, with a couple of service providers in tow, waited to step through the fourth gate to the barracks where they would be housed until Herculaneum was ready for them.

Several hard-hatted SGC personnel could be seen in the distance moving around the enormous room examining pieces of alien technology and space junk. On the safe side of the white line other people, including Jack and Teal'c were sorting through items that were being steadily moved into the room.

"Well look who finally crawled out of bed," Jack joked when Daniel followed Sam over to the crate where he was unpacking a box of food.

"Sorry," Daniel replied, picking up a sandwich and sniffing it. "I guess I was more tired than I thought. Is there any coffee?"

Jack grunted and picked up a carafe to pour a cup. "Go easy on this stuff," he warned.

Daniel rolled his eyes as he accepted the cup and took a good long drink. "How's the evacuation coming?"

"Well," Sam replied with a smile, "except for a few small problems planet side, I'd say it's going remarkably well."

"Yeah, I understand there was a particularly ugly incident with a butterfly," Jack interrupted. "But whadda ya do? This is it for the fresh food, by the way. The kitchen is officially closed."

"As each group finishes their assigned tasks, they file in to relocate to the barracks," Sam continued to explain. "I'd say we're already a third of the way done."

"Really?"

"Indeed," Teal'c assured. "The structures on the observation deck have already been disassembled and removed."

"Yeah, if you get a chance go up there and have a look around," Jack agreed. "You won't believe it's the same place."

"I can't believe how quickly these people adjusted to the idea of moving," Sam said thoughtfully.

"If I were to guess," Daniel replied unhappily, "I'd say unquestioning obedience had been programmed into their DNA."

"But they were getting ready to revolt," Jack reminded him.

"Yes, after hundreds of years of abuse. And no one alive now was actually conceived in the genetics lab."

"So their natural feistiness is finally coming back or what?" Jack asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Have the gardens already gone through?"

"Yeah, all of the plants went straight to Herculaneum so as not to stress them with two climate changes," Sam replied. "But most of the equipment was so worn out they decided to just leave it. They'll start building greenhouses for some of the plants, but others can go straight into the ground. With any luck at least some of the crops will respond well."

"Looking for anyone in particular?" Jack asked.

"Not really," Daniel said with a small smile. "I just wanted to see Bethel's reaction to the sky. Where's Allena now?"

"Sorry, Daniel, she's already jumped ship, got the hell out of Dodge, made like a tree and ... leafed?"

"Damn. I was hoping she'd changed her mind and was willing to talk to Theseus."

"Nope, she's officially planet side. She left Brunhilda in charge. You can probably find her up on the observation deck. Apparently Theseus is coming in for a closer look."

"Yeah," Sam put in worriedly, "this is as close as the two ships have been to each other in decades, maybe even hundreds of years according to the locals."

"So it's time we open a line of communications with them," Daniel insisted.

"Hey, I just work here. Take it up with the boss," Jack declared, holding his hands up in supplication. "Don't worry, Ahren's already planet side, too. It's safe."

"That's what you think," Daniel gritted his teeth and finished his coffee. "If I'm not back in an hour, check the compost bin for me," he muttered cryptically as he wandered towards the exit.

Luckily, Daniel found Mary near the elevators. Not that she had anywhere to hide, the huge observation bay was now clear of cubicles. Only a few discarded personal items and scattered trash marred the immense deck. He walked past her to stare out at the planet. Theseus hovered on the horizon, steadily growing closer.

"Don't you think it's time we talk to them?" Daniel asked quietly. When Mary didn't answer, he turned to look at her.

Mary wiped her face and sighed. "Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Mary insisted.

"No, I mean about everything. I'm sorry you're losing your way of life. I'm sorry the rising didn't go off the way you all hoped it would."

"The results will be the same. We'll be free of the tyranny of Theseus."

"You'll still have a lot to overcome," Daniel pointed out. "Don't think it's going to be easy to build a civilization from the ground up."

"We have friends who are willing to help," Mary whispered.

"Yes you do. Come on, let's get this over with," he said, holding out his hand.

Mary accepted it gratefully and allowed him to lead her to the elevators. She stopped at the doors and took one last look up at the ship in the distance. "They're going to be difficult," she observed.

"Oh, yeah," Daniel agreed. "I have no doubt about that."

The group gathering around the intercom was somber. As soon as the technician flipped the switch the room was filled with an anxious voice.

"...please, if anyone can hear me respond... Theseus to Heracles. Is anyone there?"

"This is Heracles," Mary began. "We wish to speak to the Supreme Director."

"Who is this?" the other voice asked in a relieved tone.

"I am speaking for the High Director of Dispensation, Allena. We request a meeting with the Supreme Director."

"I will let her know you're coming..."

"No," Jack cut in. "The meeting takes place aboard Heracles or not at all."

"What? Who is this?" the voice asked again, shocked to hear a male voice coming from Heracles' control room.

"This is Colonel Jack O'Neill. Go tell your boss to bring her butt to the radio now," Jack insisted. "We'll wait."

Time passed slowly for the next hour and a half. "How freaking long does it take to get to the radio?" Jack groused, not for the first time.

"It's a power play," Daniel surmised as he chewed on his thumb nail. "The Supreme Director is letting us know how far down on her list of priorities we are."

"Heracles, come in," the radio crackled.

"This is Heracles, go ahead," Mary answered.

"Colonel O'Neill?" Lorna's voice asked icily. "What have you done?"

"Lorna," Jack purred. "I wasn't aware you had been promoted. Congratulations."

"The Supreme Director is extremely busy. What do you want?"

"We want to talk to your leader, face to face."

"Impossible," Lorna scoffed.

"Yeah? Well when you're ass deep in trash and haven't got anything for supper, maybe you'll change your mind," Jack shot back.

"Lorna, this is Doctor Jackson," Daniel cut in. "There's been a rising. The Assembly is no longer in control of Heracles."

"What?" Lorna gasped. "What have you done?"

"We haven't done anything," Jack insisted. "Do we sound like members of the Sisterhood?"

"Jack," Daniel objected lightly.

"Oh, that's right," Jack remembered mischievously. "You are one of the girls."

"Lorna," Daniel said into the microphone, trying to ignore Jack's abrasive comments. "We can work this out. Heracles is damaged beyond repair, but I think we have a workable solution. It would be helpful to meet. Lorna?"

"Theseus?" the radio operator adjusted the controls and tried again. "Theseus, come in. They're no longer transmitting," she advised.

"We're going to have to go over there," Daniel said solemnly.

Jack shook his head. "They'll call back when they get hungry," he insisted.

"We have visual confirmation of the damage to Heracles," the fighter pilot's voice reported through the communications console. "If we fire on her, we might very well compromise the hull."

"What do we do now, Director?" Lorna asked quietly.

Roshand harrumphed and turned away without a word.

"Hold your fire," Lorna advised the pilot in the Supreme Director's stead. "Just... just keep an eye on them for now."

All but one of the `gates were back in their stack and the SGC now had a stash of backup dial home devices.

"This is the best we can do, Daniel," Jack assured as he tugged on the younger man's elbow and pulled him over to the one remaining DHD.

Daniel looked around the enormous and all but empty storage bay. Only the items too large to pass through a stargate remained. "I feel like we're abandoning them."

"In case you haven't noticed, they're not taking our calls," Jack pointed out. "Look, they'll make it over here eventually, right?"

"I guess," Daniel agreed unhappily. "Let's just hope they do it before the hull collapses. Siler says it's already venting atmosphere out into space."

"Look, they probably have stores of reserve food, but you said yourself they won't just jettison the trash."

"No, they won't," Daniel muttered. "They are really into recycling. They have to be."

"Trust me when I tell you this; those people are trashy. Another week and they'll be drowning in their own garbage. They'll come."

"Are you sure my directions are clear enough?" Daniel asked, picking up the instructions Mary had transcribed for him onto a legal pad.

"Would you stop worrying and dial us out," Jack replied.

Daniel replaced the writing tablet and faced the DHD "Where to?" he asked with a sigh.

"Where else?" Jack shrugged as he grabbed his pack. "Herculaneum."

The pilot glanced around nervously as he made his way to the shuttle bay. He'd been hiding out on a deserted deck for three cycles and had finally found the nerve to make his way back to his shuttle. The control room was empty and he hurriedly opened the outer bay doors before making a break for his ship.

Almost as soon as the doors were released fighters began pouring into the airlock.

"Yes!" the pilot proclaimed as he made his way to the docking area.

"Bethel, leave the bugs alone," Jack scolded gently as they stood in front of the gate, ready for the last group to head back to the SGC.

"They're just so cute," Bethel exclaimed, crawling around after a particularly viscous looking beetle.

"I told, you she was weird," Daniel teased, glancing at Mary who stood gloomily nearby.

"Bethel," Sam warned. "Some of those things bite."

"You might be better off admiring them from afar," Jack agreed. "Maybe put some of that artistic talent of yours to good use and just draw them instead of trying to pet them."

"I'm almost out of charcoal," Bethel replied offhandedly.

"Yeah, I heard you've been drawing on the walls again. That's why I got you this," Jack said, reaching into a box that Ferretti had sent through for him a few minutes before. He produced a large pad of paper with a flourish.

"Jack!" Bethel exclaimed happily taking the gift. "What is it?" she added, a little confused as she thumbed through the blank art paper.

"You draw on them instead of the wall," Sam explained earnestly.

"With these," Jack beamed as he handed over the sixty-four pack of crayons.

Bethel opened the box in awe. "Daniel! Look!"

"Yeah, some men give flowers. Jack gives crayons," Daniel observed with a wry smile, suddenly finding himself with an armful of an ecstatic Bethel.

"I bring the goodies and Daniel gets the hugs," Jack complained to Marlena and Sam. "Hey, kiddo? What about me?" he asked, holding his arms wide open.

Bethel clutched Daniel a little tighter and glanced uncertainly from Marlena's face to Jack's.

"Go on," Daniel urged. "Make an old man happy."

"Hey!" Jack growled in mock outrage. "I can still kick your young butt."

"It's okay, Bethel," Marlena encouraged, hugging Jack profusely. "See?"

"That's more like it," Jack approved cheerfully. "What do ya say?" he asked, keeping one arm around Marlena and holding the other out to Bethel.

"His bark is worse than his bite," Sam insisted.

"No it's not," Daniel argued. "But he won't bite you. He usually saves that for people he doesn't like and... me."

Holding Daniel's hand, Bethel inched forward and touched fingertips with Jack. Slowly, bit by bit, she released Daniel and stepped into Jack's embrace.

"That's my girl," Jack cooed, giving her a brief, fatherly bus on the forehead.

Daniel's grin faded as he looked around for Mary, who seemed to have disappeared.

"What do you mean they're all gone?" Roshand shrieked. "Gone where? If they were on the planet we would read them on the scanners."

"Forgive me, Supreme Director," the shaky pilot replied. "But Heracles is empty."

Roshand turned to Lorna who shook her head in disbelief as well.

"However they did leave a message..."

"There you are," Daniel said softly when he finally found Mary lying in the meadow behind the impromptu hospital staring resolutely at the wispy white clouds overhead. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Given your fear of insects, I can't believe I found you in the grass," he replied dryly.

"I thought you'd gone," Mary muttered, sitting up quickly and wiping the tell-tale moisture from her cheeks self-consciously.

"I wouldn't leave without saying good-bye."

Mary tried to smile as Daniel dropped down beside her in tall grass. He pulled a tiny wildflower and tickled her nose with it. "Stop," she ordered without any real heat behind it.

"Mary," Daniel started, flicking the flower away. "I feel the need to apologize."

"For what?"

Daniel sighed and plucked unhappily at the grass. "I'm not really sure, exactly. I just... I hope I didn't do anything to give you the wrong idea."

"No, Daniel, you were honest with me all along. You have nothing to apologize for. But if you're ever back this way," Mary offered with a teasing leer, trying to hide her broken heart but failing miserably.

Daniel played along and forced a laugh as he got to his feet. "I'll miss you," he said sincerely before turning to go.

Mary watched him walk away before picking up the flower he had discarded. She tucked it into her pocket with a tattered photograph and lay back to contemplate the clouds that decorated the sky of her new world.

The final debriefing was crowded and seemed to last forever as one by one each team leader who had helped relocate the `ship people' as they had come to be known, much to Daniel's secret amusement, reported. At long last General Hammond stood and nodded his approval. "Good work, everyone. And of I haven't mentioned it officially, welcome home SG-1."

"Thank you, Sir," Sam spoke for the group with a smile. "It's good to be home."

"I'll second that," Jack agreed.

Teal'c bowed his head slightly and Daniel muttered a distracted "me, too," while he dug through his papers looking for something.

The room cleared slowly and Jack remained seated as he waited for Daniel so they could go to lunch. "What are you looking for?" he asked impatiently.

"There was a memo that declared us missing in action."

"And you want to keep it?" Jack asked incredulously.

"I always do."

"That's morbid. Do you keep your obits, too?"

"Just the one," Daniel admitted.

"Just one because now we always wait three days before we officially declare you dead."

"That's not funny."

"I'm not joking."

"Missing in action," Ferretti said slowly from the doorway, having stopped to listen to the conversation. He turned to Daniel conspiratorially and grinned. "I know we've all heard the official version, but now give us the real scoop."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, tilting his head to look at his friend quizzically.

"He means he thinks we were more in action than missing. Isn't that right?" Jack queried with a smirk. "Sorry, Lou, our story stands."

"So let me get this straight," Ferretti teased insistently as he wandered back over to lean against the table next to Daniel. "All that time you were stuck on a space ship, surrounded by nothing but beautiful women..."

"Okay that's a bit of an exaggeration," Jack objected, raising a finger.

"...and your jobs were basically to show `em a good time..."

"Basically," Daniel agreed with a disinterested nod.

"... and neither one of you managed to get laid?" Lou finished with mock disgust. "Now if that had been SG-2..." he trailed off suggestively.

"You guys were there," Jack pointed out. "And I noticed that none of you were missing in action."

"Yeah, but we weren't sex providers."

"Service providers," Daniel corrected haughtily.

"Unlike you and your fellow SG-2 goons," Jack lectured indignantly. "We on SG-1 take our missions very seriously. There's no time to monkey around with the natives. Isn't that right, Daniel?"

"Now, Colonel," Ferretti persisted, "You didn't see the good Doctor Jackson when he came traipsing through the stargate with ladies hanging all over him. Come on and admit it, Daniel, you got some."

"I don't kiss and tell," Daniel replied, mischievously batting his eyelashes.

Ferretti laughed good naturedly and slapped Daniel on the back as he walked away. "You're one in a million, Daniel," he quipped on his way out the door.

"Don't kiss and tell," Jack snickered. "Good one, Daniel. That shut him up."

Daniel smirked as he began to straighten his papers and place them in a folder.

Jack gradually stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the linguist. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"What?" Daniel asked innocently without looking up.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I don't think so," Daniel said, his brows drawing together in mock contemplation. He made a show of adjusting his glasses as the klaxons began to blare.

Within a minute General Hammond stepped out of his office. "Doctor Jackson," he began, "It appears you have a `gate call. The Supreme Director of Theseus is asking for you."

"I knew it," Jack crowed as he followed Daniel down the stairs. "Defeated by their own garbage."

Epilogue

"Is this seat taken?" Janet asked as she approached the last seat at the table, and unfortunately the one closest to Daniel. Sam hid a grin as she continued to eat.

"That depends," Daniel replied cagily. "Are you two going to discuss my body parts?"

"Not me," Sam swore.

"Ew," Jack muttered, looking up from stabbing his pie with a fork.

Janet sighed and sat her tray down. "I'll be good," she promised. "What's going on?"

"We're still trying to figure out just who rang Daniel's bell on board Heracles," Jack smirked.

"I really think it was Thane," Sam insisted.

Daniel ignored them and went back to his lunch. "Oh, Janet?" he asked. "Can I get another copy of the picture from Cass' birthday last year?"

"That reminds me," Jack complained, lifting a finger for Sam to hold that thought. "How does Daniel rate a picture and I don't?"

"You mean the picture that you dropped into your inbox when I gave it to you? The one that's probably still there drifting in oblivion between half written reports?" Janet asked with aggravation. "That picture?"

"Oh," Jack uttered contritely and turned back to Sam. "Thane was too young," he insisted.

"I don't think so, Sir. I mean she was attractive, smart, funny... and she did say that she loved him. Plus, they had plenty of opportunity."

"Too young," Jack dismissed. "Right, Daniel? Please say too young."

"Too young," Daniel echoed absently as he opened a file and started writing in it.

"How about that big gal that came to Earth?" Janet asked with a twinkle in her eye, glad to get in on the discussion even if it put her back in the doghouse with Daniel.

"Iva?" Jack laughed. "Nah, that's Teal'c's woman. Although she and Daniel did have some major sparkage."

"Teal'c?" Janet sputtered.

"Sure. That's why he's there with her now," Jack declared.

"He's there to help Braytac teach them to fly the death gliders," Sam corrected.

"That's the cover story, anyway," Jack persisted with a knowing leer before turning his attention back to the much maligned archeologist. "At least we know it wasn't Marlena or Bethel. It had better not have been Bethel," Jack repeated threateningly. "Daniel!"

"What?" Daniel asked, looking up in confusion, having completely tuned the annoying conversation out.

"Tell me it wasn't Bethel."

"It wasn't Bethel," Daniel answered defensively. "How could you even think that?"

"Aw ha!" Jack proclaimed triumphantly. "You admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"That it was somebody."

Daniel sighed and closed the folder. "Can't we just talk about my body parts?" he asked plaintively.

"No!" Sam and Janet both exclaimed at the same time.

"We are not going there," Sam declared firmly.

"It couldn't have been Brunhilda," Jack reasoned. "She didn't like men."

"No, Jack," Daniel replied as he stood and gathered his things. "Mary likes men. She just didn't like you."

"So it could have been Brunhilda..." Jack started before stopping with a pout. "Hey, wait a minute. Why didn't she like me?"

"I don't know," Daniel remarked as he walked away. "She said something about shrinkage..."