Free Spirits

fighting shadows

Summary: Storytelling takes on a new dimension.
Thanks to the gals for the excellent beta as ever. Be warned, there's a Brit joke in there. They told me to take it out but I'm being stupid, so it stays. And if it doesn't make any sense - sorry! Not.

Since I had my idea to map Abydos, I've had another one. Idea, that is. I want to map Annwn. And not just with the scanner on Mia, but I want a paper one. Don't know why. It's not as if the scanners don't give me 100% accurate information. But there's something more... real... tangible... solid, I guess, about a paper map. I want to be able to draw an entire planetary map and then break it down to the three green continents that we have.

It's not as if I'll need to do a political map; no country boundaries are here, thank God. A map of the various natural resources would help, too.

You'd think this would be easy, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, unless you're drawing a small island, you have to take into account things like the curvature of the planet. I am many things, but one thing I am not is a cartographer. So I'm feeling a tad frustrated.

Also unfortunately, where as Sam undoubtedly has the maths skills to work out the curvature, she is no artist and neither does she understand my desire to map out the planet when I have access to a perfectly good scanner.

I can't win.

Jack sort of understands. He reckons it's Nick's fault. He was an explorer first and foremost. Guess I am, too. And explorers love maps. Nick wasn't home much, but when I did visit him when I was little, I remember a huge collection of maps in his study.

Nick may have been a crappy grandfather, but mercifully he didn't mind me doing a little exploring of my own and I'd spend hours poring over the beautifully-drawn atlases full of ancient and modern maps. He knew I'd treat the written word with respect, even when I was too young to understand what it meant.

I'd probably been born with that knowledge given my background. A kind of genetic memory. Not sure if it's always a good thing as I've been nearly driven to violence when seeing someone write in a book or worse, turning down a page.

So I've been driven to cheating now instead (of either learning to draw maps or beating people up, that is). Using the modified star chart tech on Mia, I've pulled up a large, floating, holographic ball onto the middle of the bridge.

Having input all the scan data of Annwn into Mia's computer, the floating ball is showing me what the planet looks like. Then I got Sam (using home-made chocolate pudding as bait) to program the computer to show the latitude and longitude lines on the planet, using our home as the 0° longitude line.

The next bit was the tricky bit. I had to make a globe. In the end I settled on getting Teal'c to make me one out of wood. He's got a hand-, or rather foot-operated lathe and he's getting rather good with it. He got a large block of wood from one of the trees he's using to build his and Sam's little retreat, and turned it and turned it until he had a slightly elongated circle - the planet isn't a perfect circle and he's got it as near to the exact shape as he could.

Then he cut that down the middle and hollowed each side out for me, so that it wouldn't be too heavy. A bit of wood glue and the thing was stuck back together again.

I got to do a fun bit then. I had to stick a thin layer of paper on it, making sure the join lines were barely there. It took a good deal of fiddling but I finally got there. When that was dried, I very carefully sketched the latitude and longitude lines on it.

Seeing as we have an Antarctic-like polar region with nothing but snow and ice and nothing of mineral interest, I've drilled a hole at the pole and stuck a... well a pole in it which stands on a, er, stand. I'm now standing in front of the hologram and carefully copying each land outline onto its place on the globe. When it's done, the real fun bit starts.

With extreme care, I will make a few 'orange peel segment' cuts at the poles in the paper, then slit the paper on the 180° line. It should then come off in one piece with all the lines and continents in a perfect projection, ready for me to copy and do whatever I want with individual maps.

The really neat idea I had before I stuck the paper on in the first place was to cover the globe with carbon paper so all the lines will be traced onto the wood. This was at Teal'c's request.

He gets the map thing. Partly because of strategic importance, I think, but also from an artistic point of view. His plan is to do a physical map actually embedded in the globe. He's going to chisel out the features such as the mountains and river edges so that they stand out proud from the wood. I don't know if he's going to paint it later on, but it'll be a work of art, that's for sure. I hope it works for him. Making a single slip would mess the whole thing up.

Daniel is very happy at the moment. He has decided to work on his atlas rather than help us finish scanning the big ship. The ship has yet to be named. It is not certain that we will keep it, though we wish to. The results of today's scans should tell us whether or not we have taken too much of a chance in having it in our solar system. So far, as O'Neill says, so good.

Unfortunately, we have not discovered Hades' location. It would appear that the destination was not pre-programmed so we must assume a few things.

One possibility is that Alecto knew the address and that she was waiting for the larvae to be moved onto the ship the moment it was ready before she would impart it to whichever Jaffa would fly it to Hades. This seems to be the most likely scenario as we cannot imagine why the larvae would have been left relatively unguarded in the way they were.

Of course, it is also possible that the ship was never destined to go with Hades but was purely left there as a lure for us.

Either of these suggestions fill us with hope that we can keep the ship but at the same time, depress us because we have no way of finding Hades' location. As yet.

Tomorrow, we will all be concentrating on something else, so today we must finish the scan. Samantha and Frankie concluded with their programming of the inner scanner and it has been searching every inch of the ship for electronic anomalies. All that are found have to be checked manually.

So far, they have all been loose wiring and similar bad workmanship. This does not bode well for using the ship in battle. The ladies have announced that before we use the ship again, they will go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Though how a hair-care product will assist them in fixing any mistakes is beyond my understanding.

"I think we're nearly done."

Samantha's announcement cheers us all up and we watch the scanner with renewed interest.

"Uh, do you think I could go visit Daniel?" DJ asks. "If you don't think you'll need me," he adds.

Samantha and I, along with our android replicas, say nothing. We do not object. It seems to be up to O'Neill and John to decide. They look at each other and shrug.

"Sure, why not?" John replies. "Go. Enjoy yourself."

DJ grins back at him.

"Thanks. I just want to check on him."

We all nod in agreement. Daniel is much better than he has been, but in the last week or two, he has nearly lost both his brother and brother-in-law. Given his history, it is no wonder that he is still a little quiet.

I am glad that he is concentrating on the map of Annwn. I am not sure that Samantha appreciates the symbolism of it, but O'Neill does. Mapping the planet - his home - will aid his sense of security and permanence. I am not even sure that he understands why he needs to do this. Perhaps when he has finished it, he will.

When he has finished with the ball of wood, I will carve a relief map of the planet. This I will present to him on his birthday. I will hope that by then, he will understand that Annwn is going to be our home for life. Hopefully, a solid globe will help him.

At O'Neill's request, Samantha has calculated our year. It is three hundred and sixty days long, with a leap year every sixth year. The days are slightly longer than twenty-four hours (by about twenty seconds), but as we have adjusted our watches accordingly, we now count our seconds 'Annwn-style'. To reduce confusion, we continue to have twenty-four hours with sixty minutes each and sixty seconds per minute. It just takes a fraction longer for our minutes to occur than on Earth. We do not notice it as it is barely a second an hour longer.

Last night over dinner, she took out a print of Earth's calendar, every day listed under the previous one in a long line. It took a few pieces of paper and she stuck them together to create one long one. On the right-hand side of each Earth day is the equivalent Annwn day.

She started with 'day one' next to January the first and then worked her way down. Most Annwn days are right next to Earth days, but some overlap two - the overlapping continues for quite a while until they match up again. That way, our five days less actually equal Earth's year almost exactly, at least in the number of hours per year, if not in days. This is good, it will help us to keep Earth's calendar in mind.

Over the years, she said, she will need to adjust the calendar to keep it accurate, but it is close enough for our purposes. O'Neill insisted on this being done. We need to keep track of the days, he says. I believe he wishes to mark natal days and other happy anniversaries, as well as being aware of the not so good ones.

She has promised to make him a dual clock, one which will continually tell him the date and time on Earth, based at the Stargate Command for the time. The other side of it will mark off our days. Daniel has said that he will come up with names for our months as it would be better for us to have our own.

Samantha has promised me that she will design a computer program for me to make a calendar with pictures on it. I would like that.

That's it, it's done. The ship is clean. Now we have to wait for the brains to fix the problems we found. Sam and Frankie are going to go over the engines, too, trying to figure out what makes them tick. I ordered them not to touch anything, at least until we get Thor here. I want him to look at why there's Asgard tech on board. I guess he'll want to know, too.

I'm hoping he's going to turn up sooner rather than...

...later.

"Hi Thor."

"O'Neill. You called?"

"That's supposed to be 'you rang?'" I correct.

Is it possible for an Asgard to give you a withering look? 'Cause that's what it sure looked like. Mercifully, he's ignoring the comment.

"Yeah," I say, moving on swiftly. "You might want to have a look at this ship we found."

"Why?"

"Because there's Asgard technology on it."

My little friend looks shocked. He blinked. It was a shocked kind of blink. Believe me, I can tell these things. I've had plenty of practise with emotionless faces. Thor, Teal'c... my ex-wife...

"Very well. We should go."

Yeah. The 'go' thing. I forgot to mention he just did the Scotty thing on me again.

Dammit. He just did it again!

"Thor, a warning next time, please!"

"I told you we should go," he replies with another blink. A sarcastic one. "Where is the technology?"

"This way." I point towards the rings. It's my turn to do the bad Scottish accent. Or possibly not.

At least I show him I'm about to use the rings, which is more than he does for me. Learn by example, old buddy.

-

Right, we're in the engine room with the ladies and John. Kar Shel and Teal'c are currently on some fault finding expedition, I think. Or they could be practising origami for all I know or care.

"This is Asgard technology," Thor announces.

"Yeah. We know. We told you that."

Now I get his 'I'm a patient being' blink.

"You did," he concedes. "I will remove it."

"HELL NO!"

Tee hee. He just jumped. Not much, but he definitely jumped. I've still got it.

"Why not?"

"Because we're guessing that Hades, whose ship this was," I emphasise on the grounds that I'm not giving this baby up, "has a whole fleet of these mothers. No way are we going after a snake without a chance to fight them on equal terms."

"But if there is a fleet of these ships and only one of you, you will not have equality," he reminds me.

I shrug. "Yeah, but he's a snake. This is us. We only need one. If we can get another one, MIB could have their own," I suggest in the hope that he'll come up with something for them.

I guess not. That was definitely a negative blink.

He's looking at the technology again. Sam is showing him where the two systems have merged and is telling him that the ship, while exceedingly impressive for a snake, still doesn't match a full Asgard ship for speed or technology.

He sees that and I think it's going to help stop him from taking this baby off us. I mean, he may be little, but the only weapon we have against him is logic. Currently, with the Asgard still battling the damned Replicators, the last thing they are going to want to do is get involved in a fight with the Goa'uld.

I point this out to him, dropping hints that with this ship, we'll be of more use to the Asgard than we are without it.

He's definitely thinking about it.

"There are problems with this ship?" he asks, seeing that Sam - or is that Frankie? - has got her tool kit out.

"Yeah. We think this one was left as a lure, or it just wasn't completely finished when we, er, found it," I reply.

He thinks again.

"You should brief me on where you found it and the circumstances surrounding the... finding thereof."

My stomach growls and reminds me I haven't eaten.

"Can we do it over dinner?" I ask. Plaintively. Dammit.

"Are there others on this ship?"

"Yeah, Teal'c and Kar Shel are..."

...Currently in the kitchen with the rest of us. Daniel's looking a bit surprised, that's for sure. So's DJ. Still, they recover quickly.

We get some food on rapidly and before long, we're sitting around the table. Thor decided that our chairs didn't look comfortable, I guess, 'cause he just transported one of his own down and he's now sitting at the head of the table.

"Take what you want," I offer, waving my hand over the food.

"I have already eaten," he says, eyeing the food warily. Don't know why he's looking like that. Not after what he gave Carter that time.

"Tell me about Hades."

So we do. We give him a complete rundown of the circumstances, leaving little out just in case it's important.

When we're finished, he thinks for a while then finally agrees with us about Alecto joining Hades at a later date.

"Do you think you could find him?" Daniel asks suddenly.

"I would not know where to look," Thor sighs. "I am sorry."

"Okay, just a thought," Daniel shrugs. "Only we think we have a copy of the blueprints of his new palace."

Thor looks interested and Daniel admits to breaking the masons' rules about anonymity.

"We can't go back there and ask," he insists when Thor asks us why we do not just do that instead of searching the galaxy.

"Why not?"

"Because they know where we live. They've been here. Annwn is off the Goa'uld map. It's our home," he says passionately. "If they find out we copied the blueprints, what's to stop them from telling Hades to keep him on their side? They're supposed to be neutral. They deal with everyone. It's imperative that they never find out what we did.

"So going back and asking them is out of the question. And whereas their security isn't as good as it could be, breaking in there would be a lot harder than you'd think. Not to mention they destroy all their records as soon as they have completed their contract. They may have destroyed our address in their records but I'm not prepared to take that chance because we've dealt with them very recently.

"Given how long it took them to build this place and the fact that they'd already started to build the palace on their planet before we saw the prints, there's every chance that they've already destroyed the address of the palace."

Daniel's not making a great deal of sense but the panic in his voice is kind of obvious.

"Very well," Thor replies after one of his dramatic pauses. I think he just does that for effect, ya know. "I will do what I can, but it may take a while."

"We get that," I assure him. "And we're grateful for whatever you do. Our biggest fear is that the Tok'ra have been infiltrated by one of Hades' cronies and that Earth is already a target of his as a result."

"You do not know if he has a spy there?"

"Not yet. We're going to find that out tomorrow. We're going to move the Tok'ra to a new planet, one which isn't on the Goa'uld cartouche. But we're going to move them one at a time. Before they find out where the planet is, we'll question each one. Daniel's come up with a list of questions, a kind of 'catch all' for spies and infiltrators."

"I see. Then you should concentrate on that. In the meantime, I could take your ship back to the Asgard..."

"I thought you agreed that we'd keep the technology!"

"...And repair, or rather complete your ship," he continues as if I hadn't spoken.

Oh. Well, seeing as he's put it like that.

I look at the others and even the ladies nod. I take it we all agree.

"Okay, thanks," I reply for them. "We'd appreciate that. But please, don't leave us underpowered."

"I will not. I will return as soon as the ship is completed."

"Grea... Dammit, I wish he wouldn't do that!"

He's gone. Just like that. Don't know how he's going to take the ship to his homeworld but that's his problem.

"Well, that's saved us a job," Frankie mutters.

"Hey, look on the bright side. At least now you'll have time to do the dusting."

Somehow, I think that was just the wrong thing to say.

Jack likes living dangerously, especially as Frankie is an android - something he seems to forget from time to time. She's way stronger than him.

"Frankie, put him down. I think he's suffered enough," I call out, trying not to laugh.

Jack's put out. Neither John nor either of the Daniels helped him out. Very sensible if you ask me.

"What shall we do now?" Jack asks, trying to recover.

We look around at each other and shrug. It's too late to do anything like housework or anything else, I think.

"How about a story?" Daniel suggests.

"Yes!" Oh yes, I love his stories. "You promised us that you'd tell us more about Annwn and the characters in the story."

"Okay, I'll tell you the next bit about Pwyll, King of Dyfed if you like."

We agree and the four of us pour some drinks and we all retire to the living room. Teal'c lights the fire, I shut the curtains and we all settle down in the darkened room, some candles lit, to hear Daniel's story.

"This is the next story of Pwyll from the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh tales," he announces. Teal'c puts his arm around me and soon I see that all of the couples are snuggling up together.

"After returning from Annwn, Pwyll, King of Dyfed, and now Lord of Annwn, was attending a feast in Narberth, where his main palace was. After the first meal, he decided to go for a walk and ended up on Gorsedd Arberth, a mound beyond the palace.

"His court had gone with him, of course, and one of them told him that if you were to sit on this magical mound, something strange would happen. You may fall victim to ghostly blows and even wounds. Either that, or you would see something wondrous. Now, Pwyll was no coward and he was prepared to face injury, so he took up the challenge and sat.

"Not long after, he and his men saw an elegant lady on a pure-white horse appear on the road that led to the mound. He was totally enamoured with her and he sent one of his fastest runners after her to discover who she was. The youth left immediately, but although the horse never seemed to speed up from a walk, he was unable to catch up. He returned breathless to the king and apologised for not being able to carry out Pwyll's orders.

"Pwyll told him that it was okay but that he should go to the palace and take a swift horse and try again. So he did, but even though the horse went fast and he chased her as best he could, he still couldn't catch her. Yet all the time, her horse never got faster than a walk.

"So, confused, they returned to the palace. The next day, after the next feast meal, they went back to the mound. But this time, Pwyll ordered that the fastest horse at the palace should be brought for him to ride. When the woman appeared, he got on his horse.

"But by the time he'd gotten on, and remember that he was bound to be an expert horseman so it wouldn't have taken more than a few seconds, she had already gone past him. He spurred his horse into action and rode after her, but no matter that her horse was walking, he couldn't get close.

"In the end, he called out, 'My lady! For the sake of all those you love the most, please stay with me!' She turned and looked at him and said, 'I will gladly stay with you. It would have been better for your horse if you'd asked me sooner'."

Jack mutters something about that being a typical female response but Daniel pokes him before either Frankie or I get a chance at revenge.

"Do you want this story or not?" Daniel mutters.

Jack doesn't reply but he does drop a kiss on his nose.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then, shall I?" Daniel asks wryly.

"Get on with it," John snipes.

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch."

"I don't wear panties," John sniffs.

"Oh yes you do," DJ teases. "With little pink flowers on them."

We can't help but laugh as John flattens him and then kisses him to shut him up. I guess tickling an android is pointless.

"Please, Daniel. Continue it for me?" I've got to get this story back on track.

"For you," he replies with a grin. "Anyway, as I was saying, she stopped and turned back to face him, then removed her headdress. He asked her where she was going and she said she had an errand but that she was glad to see him. He was pleased to hear that but asked her why.

"Then she explained that her name was Rhiannon, daughter of Hefeydd Hên, and that she was to be married off against her will. But she would not marry because she loved Pwyll. She would never marry anyone else unless he rejected her. He decided that he would not do that and that she should be his bride.

"Of course, being a tale like this, it wasn't that simple. He couldn't just up and marry her. He had to promise not to tell anyone of their conversation and that twelve months to the day, he should turn up at the palace of Hefeydd. He promised to do so and kept that promise, taking with him one hundred of his best knights. Their arrival was a cause for great joy and he was given the palace as a home for the time of his stay."

I love telling them stories. Either that or listening to them when DJ does it. Even though I know them well, it's great to see everyone listening. Of course, I'm cutting down the tale a lot. Well, it is Welsh. If I were to tell the tale fully, it would take all night!

"Anyway, as usual in these stories, there was a feast. Hefeydd sat on Pwyll's right side, Rhiannon on his left. All was going well till a red-headed youth walked into the feast. As was customary, the head of the household - in this case Pwyll as he'd been granted the honour - called the youth to him and asked what he wanted. The young man, Gwawl, said that he had a request of him.

"Ever the gentleman, and the ale loosening his tongue, he swore that whatever the man wanted, as long as it was in his power, he would grant the request.

"Needless to say, the youth declared his love for Rhiannon and asked for her hand, and for the feast that was there to be given over to him. As Pwyll was given the highest position in the court, he had the power to give her hand to Gwawl. And as he had not yet asked Hefeydd for his permission to marry her, she was not yet betrothed.

"To keep his reputation as an honest man, he had no choice but to agree. He didn't want to, but Rhiannon told him he should.

"Mercifully, Rhiannon was not just a pretty face, she was a clever woman and well-versed in the arts of magic. She knew just what to do. Having scolded him for being a bit of a twit, she gave Pwyll his instructions and knowing when he was in a spot, he followed them to the letter.

"He told Gwawl that he would grant his request. However, as he had already given over the feast to those present, it was not currently in his power to grant that aspect. Gwawl should return twelve months hence to the palace where a feast would be prepared just for him. Gwawl was not a very wealthy man so the prospect of a wedding banquet being given to him - in other words, being prepared at someone else's expense for him to host and therefore look good - he agreed.

"Rhiannon, meanwhile, had slipped Pwyll a cloth bag. She told him to go back to Dyfed and come back in twelve months, dressed only in rags and carrying the bag. His men should come with him, but not into the palace. And, as a last instruction, she told him to wear a good, loud horn around his neck.

"He went home and returned a year to the day later, dressed exactly as he was told. He waited with his knights in the orchard, and when he heard the carousing taking place after the meat course, he knew it was time to act. Just as Gwawl had done the year previously, he entered the hall and asked a boon of the head of the house - who was, of course, Gwawl.

"Doing the right thing, Gwawl promised that any reasonable request that was his to fulfil, he would do it. Seeing as his clothing was that of a poor man, Gwawl suspected nothing when Pwyll asked him for some meat to be put into the bag until it was full."

I stop for a moment and take a few sips of wine, ignoring the impatient looks that I'm getting.

"Gwawl announced that that was a fair and reasonable request and that he would indeed grant it. He called to the attendants to take some meat to the tramp and they did as he asked. But no matter how much meat they put in the bag, it didn't seem to fill up. He called out, 'My heavens, will this ever be filled?'

"Now was Pwyll's chance. 'It will not,' he replied. 'Unless one who has lands and domains and treasure shall arise and tread down with both his feet the food that is within the bag, and shall say, "Enough has been put therein".'

"Of course, Rhiannon urged Gwawl to do just this and he stood up and walked to Pwyll who held open the bag. He put his feet in the bag and made to tread on the food when Pwyll, acting on the instructions Rhiannon had given him the year earlier, drew up the sides of the bag, tied it at the top and blew as loud as he could on the horn around his neck.

"His men came crashing into the hall, seized the crowd that had come with Gwawl and cast them into the palace's prison. Pwyll tore off the rags that covered his back and the heavy old shoes that covered his feet and everyone saw that it was the King of Dyfed and not a poor man.

"As his men re-entered the hall, each prodded the bag with his foot or a staff, asking what was in there. Pwyll replied, 'a badger'. They had a bit of fun at Gwawl's expense for a while until he called out, 'My lord, if you would but hear me, I do not deserve to be slain in a bag'. Heyfydd Hên agreed, sticking up for Gwawl. Pwyll also agreed, saying that he would take counsel, and naturally he went to Rhiannon for advice.

"Rhiannon advised that he should ask of Gwawl the payment for the minstrels that played that night and that he should give surety that he would never seek revenge for what happened in the evening. Gwawl, from inside the bag, made his promise willingly, and it was given again in front of his liegemen when they were released from the prison. As soon as that was given, Gwawl made his excuses and left with Heyfydd's blessing.

"The wedding wasn't the way we see them. That night, after the feast, Pwyll retired to the master's quarters and took Rhiannon with him, making her his wife. The next day they feasted again, and Pwyll granted boons for all the servants and minstrels, knights and other guests, all of which were reasonable and well received. After the end of three days' feasting, it was time for Pwyll to return to Narberth and he left with Rhiannon at his side."

I stop there, thinking that's enough for tonight, but they remain silent as if they're waiting for more.

"That's it?" Jack asks.

"For now," I shrug. "There are other stories. Maybe another time, eh?"

-

MIB have gone home, we're off to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

"Thanks for the story," Jack says with a yawn. "I enjoyed that."

"I'm glad. I love that book. I've read it lots of times."

We snuggle under the covers and look at each other as if we're waiting for the other one to make a move.

"You want to do anything?" he finally asks.

"I don't know," I admit. "I'm kind of comfortable as I am."

"Hmm, me too. Okay, let's get some sleep instead."

We snuggle even closer and this time my groin brushes his and the inevitable happens. Damned treacherous dick. I want to sleep! I'm tired!

Annoyed, I lift up the covers and look at it.

"Damn you, get down!"

Jack cracks up.

"You talk to it?"

"You don't?" I ask astounded.

He waggles his head. "Um, yeah, I guess."

Mine's pointing up - in his direction! What is he? The magnetic north fucking pole?! Dammit, it's not going down. If anything, it's twitching towards him.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not going to get to sleep like this."

He laughs again. Bastard. I push down the cover and see that his isn't behaving any better. My animal magnetism is obviously working on it.

Giving in, I slip my left hand under Jack's neck and pull him close, facing me as we lay on our sides. My right hand drops down and as we start to kiss, I take both desperate dicks together.

Yeah, that feels good. The kissing and the jerking. I'm taking it slow, loving the feel of the heat and the soft skin as it moves through the palm of my hand. Jack's taking over the kissing, letting me concentrate on the stroke. That's good, that's really good.

His hips move in time to my hand and I grip a little firmer, urging us both on. He's kissing my face, my ear, my neck... God, that feels good. My breathing speeds up, his responds. We're not making any sounds, as if we need to keep quiet. Somehow it's adding to the erotic atmosphere. This is way more erotic than a loud and nasty fuck. That's fun; this is hot.

"Yeah, c'mon, do it," Jack urges in a whisper.

I respond by jerking harder and faster, he gets more passionate, biting my neck, sucking at the skin, running his tongue over the undoubtedly red patches he's leaving. I don't care, I really don't care. I want the universe to see what he does to me. His free hand is on my ass, he's pulling it towards him in time to our movements. Now it's going up my spine, his fingers lightly brushing a trail and sending me into a frenzy.

Oh fuck, this is good. Great. Incredible. I want it to last forever. I want it to end now. His fingers are moving around, they're on my stomach, firmly stroking the skin so as not to tickle me. I respond by kissing him hard, eating his mouth in-between gasps for breath. Yeah, his fingers are on my chest, he's touching my nipple, twisting it...

I come, covering him, heating him, setting him off, too.

"Wow," I finally say when we catch our breaths.

"Yeah," he agrees.

We hold each other tightly for a few minutes and then he gets a cloth and cleans us up.

"Better now?" he asks with a grin.

To be sure, I lift up the cover again and see that my dick has beaten the rest of me to it and is out cold. Probably snoring.

"Yeah. Definitely. Thanks."

He chuckles to himself.

"My pleasure, babe. Believe me, it was my pleasure."

Mine too.

I am not looking forward to today. We have already tested the High Council of the Tok'ra. Selmac brought them to us a few days ago, ostensibly to see the new planet, but before they were allowed to find out the address, they were questioned with the memory retrieval device and zaytarc detector brought by Selmac and Jacob. All were proved beyond doubt to be loyal Tok'ra with no outside loyalties or interests. That was a relief for all concerned. We were also pleased that they all were happy to be questioned and understood why we wished the level of security to be so high.

When they had been cleared, we took them to the new planet and they were delighted with it. The only downside to it is the fact that as it is outside Goa'uld territory, it will be impossible to keep any ships there as it will be too far to fly anywhere in a hurry. So Jacob announced that he would scour Goa'uld territory to find a safe haven with an unused gate for them to be accessed easily.

As there are many abandoned planets, that should not be too difficult. It is also far less of a security risk for them to lose ships than for their home to be discovered.

We have one hundred and sixty five people to question today. There are more, but they are all currently on assignment. Some of the Tok'ra, when they have been cleared, will remain on their current planet until each of the remaining Tok'ra have returned and been questioned using Daniel's suggested list.

MIB offered to help, so they have been given another zaytarc testing device. All of the humans, along with some of the Tok'ra council are going to yet another empty planet for the testing - this is a security precaution, of course, as few outside the council know either our address or that of the palace.

The council members are with MIB and the humans will be sent to the planet one at a time. We have timed the questioning and it should take no more than five minutes for each, assuming that nothing untoward is discovered. So every five minutes or so, a human will be sent to MIB.

We have also gone to an abandoned Goa'uld planet, one which we discovered when we were SG-1. Jacob/Selmac and Antec with his old host Markus are accompanying us. We have drawn the short straw and will be testing the Tok'ra themselves. As with MIB, every five minutes, a Tok'ra will be sent to us.

Unfortunately, it is raining. We have set up a few tents but even the air inside them is damp and not pleasant. We will question the Tok'ra in one tent and when cleared, as we expect most of them to be, they will go to the other tent. When we have enough, we will send them through en masse to the new home where two more of the council are waiting for them.

None outside the council know that they are moving. It was deemed safer to surprise them. I have no idea how those at the present homeworld are dealing with this, but we have to assume that they will manage.

The gate is opening. We wait at the door of the tent for someone to emerge. The first one through is Anise. This will please O'Neill. Not.

"Hello?" she calls as she steps towards us.

"Anise. Come here, get out of the rain," Daniel calls back.

She moves quickly.

"Doctor Jackson, what is going on?" she asks as she enters the tent.

"Ah, well, you see," he stumbles, waving her to sit on a chair set up opposite the detector.

"It's like this," O'Neill says. "The High Council decided that it would be a great idea to double-check that everyone is who they say they are. Not that they have any reason to believe otherwise," he adds quickly as she opens her mouth to complain. "It's just a precaution. You'll find out why as soon as you've gone through the questioning. It'll be quick. No personal questions - at least nothing about your, er, private life if you get my drift."

I do not think she does. Daniel steps back in to finish explaining.

"Anise, I think you've been sent through first because you're one of the most trusted Tok'ra," he soothes. I do not know if that is the truth but it seems to work. "It will be worth it, I promise."

Selmac speaks.

"Anise. Please just go through the procedure. I can assure you that all of the High Council have been questioned in the same manner. This is, as O'Neill says, purely precautionary."

"Very well. Begin," she states, sitting up and looking directly at the machine. At least she knows precisely what to do.

Samantha puts the memory device into her temple and Daniel starts questioning her.

"Is your name Anise?" he asks.

"It is."

"And your host is Freya?"

"Yes."

"Are you Tok'ra?"

"I am."

"Have you ever knowingly given information that could help the enemy to anyone who was either not Tok'ra or Tauri?"

He decided to ask that as opposed to just asking about the Tok'ra as he knows that some Tok'ra have voluntarily given the SGC information, sometimes behind the backs of the Tok'ra council. This will protect those that have and will not let anyone who has given information elsewhere get away with lying.

"No."

"To whom are you loyal?"

"The Tok'ra."

"Have you any loyalties elsewhere?"

"I do not understand."

"Have you ever sworn, either freely or under duress, to serve anyone else, whether Goa'uld or other species?"

"No!"

His questions continue in this vein, but only for another minute. It does not take him long to announce that she is not a spy or agent of any other being or species.

"You're free to go," he says with a smile. "Teal'c, would you take her to the other tent, please? There are some refreshments in there," he adds for her benefit.

Anise, still looking a little stunned, accompanies me out of the tent without another word, at least until we enter the other tent where she sees Antec.

"Would you tell me what's going on now?" she pleads.

"Of course. We have found you what is probably the safest planet for you to have a homeworld on. Just to be certain that you are never betrayed to the Goa'uld, it was decided that being overcautious would be the safest thing. As you were told before, every single person, whether Tok'ra or human, who is associated with the rebellion, will be tested in this manner.

"When it is time to bring the Jaffa to your homeworld so that you may work more closely, each one of those will be questioned similarly. It was not suspected that you were a spy, Anise. In fact, we have no idea if anyone is. It is purely pre-emptive."

"I understand," she replies. "And now I agree. But I must admit to being more than surprised. I have experiments on our current homeworld which cannot be left."

"They will not be. Once everyone has been tested, the High Council will allow all of you back to pick up your things and to erase any signs that the Tok'ra were once there. In the meantime, when enough people have been tested here, we will take you directly to your new home so that you may look at it properly. There is one advantage of this planet which you, yourself, will appreciate."

"Oh? What is that?"

"Near the gate, there is a plentiful source of naquada. That and many other minerals which may well be of use to you."

Her eyes light up and she is about to talk when I hear my name being called. The gate is dialling up again.

Okay, we've been at this like, forever! We've only questioned about fifteen people so far, out of the eighty we need to do! The Tok'ra are so damned argumentative. Selmac's starting to lose her temper, though, so when the latest snake opened his mouth to complain about being tested, she snapped, told him to sit down, shut up and listen. He did. I like Selmac.

"Have you ever sworn, either freely or under duress, to serve anyone else, whether Goa'uld or other species?"

Poor Daniel, he's been questioning them with the same questions time after time. I'm thinking he's going to question me in his sleep tonight. We decided that he'd be the best one to do the questioning because if he picks anything up, he's the quickest on his toes to discover what's going on.

-

"To whom are you loyal?"

"The Tok'ra."

There's another one.

-

"Have you ever knowingly given information that could help the enemy to anyone who was either not Tok'ra or Tauri?"

"Absolutely not!"

And another.

Yawn.

-

"Selmac, I think Daniel needs a break. We'll send this lot through to the new world. Call back to the planet and tell them to give us a half hour, will ya?"

"I shall," Selmac agrees. I think she's bored, too. At least we haven't found a snake in the grass, anyway.

Daniel looks at me gratefully. He's gotten through forty Tok'ra in three and a half hours. Pretty much on schedule. Not bad.

Jacob goes directly to the gate, dials it up, then I see him speaking on his comms unit. I guess he's just told them to take five. It's still fucking raining, too, which isn't going to please some people.

"Come on, Daniel," I call. "We'll go to the other tent and tell them they can go see their new home. There's food and a flask of coffee in there."

"No there isn't," he mutters.

"But..."

"I hid the flask in here," he explains. "Sorry, but I knew I'd need it. It may get drunk by someone else otherwise." I should have known. "Look, Jack, could you go tell them and bring me something back, please?"

"Sure."

I see him looking tired, so leave him to rest up. His throat is starting to croak. Probably won't be a good idea for him to get wet again.

-

They've all gone through with Selmac and Antec - or is that Jacob and Markus? I don't know. Don't care, either. Daniel's got some food, so I'm doing a little dialling of my own.

"John?"

"I'm here. What's up, Jack?"

"Just wondering how things are going with you?"

"Fine. So far, so good."

"Yeah, same here. We're just taking a break."

I notice the pause - the one that says they don't have to. Dammit.

"How many've you got left to do?"

"Uh, thirty-nine. You?"

"'Bout the same." I'm not saying 'forty'. It's noticeable that they had eighty five to question so they've done more than us as it is. "You know what these Tok'ra are like. Talk about feisty, sheesh."

"Having problems with them?"

"Nothing Selmac can't handle. It just takes a little while to settle them."

"Understood. Ah well, I'm expecting another dial up in a minute."

"Gotcha. Shout if you need anything."

I disconnect the gate. We can't have it open during the time the Tok'ra are expecting it to be shut down - they might think there's something going on. No need to worry them unnecessarily.

"What is your name?"

"That of host or symbiote?"

Daniel rolls his eyes. That's been a standard response.

"Either. Both. Whatever."

"I am Darien. My host is Amos."

"Are you Tok'ra?"

"We are."

We? Tok'ra tend to talk about themselves as individuals. But then if this one's particularly close to his host, he may well answer for them both.

"Please, answer for yourself. Amos can speak to me of his own accord later on," Daniel snaps.

Poor baby's really tired. We only have another ten to go.

"I am Tok'ra."

"Good. Have you any loyalties elsewhere?"

"In what way?"

"In the way it sounds."

"No!"

I don't like the look of this. Daniel's sounding more agitated.

"Have you ever sworn, either freely or under duress, to serve anyone else, whether Goa'uld or other species?"

This is a question he's only tended to ask if he wasn't sure about the answer to the previous question. Sometimes the emotions are hard to detect. This is a more direct question.

"No!"

He's lying.

We hear Daniel's warning and I see Jack start to react. This is why we are good at this sort of thing. We can react without letting the enemy even guess we've figured it out.

Daniel isn't asking any more questions at the moment, he's just staring at Darien - if that's his name.

"Who do you work for?"

"The Tok'ra! Look, I do not appreciate these questions! Are you questioning my loyalty?"

Every time Daniel's been asked this before, he's shaken his head. This time, he stares at him, straight in the eye.

"Yes."

Before Darien can move, Jack has a gun pointing at his head, right at the base of the skull.

"Move so much as a twitch," Jack growls, "and my finger pulls the trigger. Now. Answer the nice man's questions. Nicely. And believe me, he knows if you're lying."

I see Darien swallow hard.

"Who do you work for?" he asks again.

Darien doesn't answer.

"Yu?" Daniel suggests. I'm staring at the readout screen.

No, it's not Yu.

Up till now, Daniel's been watching the screen as well as me, but this time he's staring into the guy's eyes without so much as blinking. It's making my eyes water to see him.

"Svarog? Hades?"

I give him the negative each time. I can almost feel the disappointment radiating off him. If it's not Hades, and Hades has a spy in their camp...

"Nirrti?"

Pay dirt!

Darien hasn't said a word, but now he looks very afraid.

"She is holding my family!"

That wasn't Darien, it was Amos.

"He's telling the truth," I tell them. Absolutely no doubt about it.

"Fuck!" Jack yells.

"Where?" Daniel asks. I'm assuming he's still talking to Amos and not Jack at this point. I think he's too tired to do anything, er, naughty.

"I... I do not know. Darien promised to help me, help us. It is not his fault. We have not told her much, I swear. Just little things, scientific things. We did not tell her anything else. I swear it! We did not want to tell her."

"How did she find out you were host to a Tok'ra?" Daniel asks.

"She did not. She captured my family and took me to a planet where the Tok'ra would find me. There she left me for dead. She was certain that an old Tok'ra would need a new host. All I had to do to live was to say 'yes' to hosting one. When Darien entered me, he discovered what Nirrti had done. We were afraid that she would have another spy in the Tok'ra camp so we could not say what had happened. My mother, my sister and my young brother are all held hostage."

"So you did not want to be a host?" Daniel asks.

Amos starts to shake his head and freezes. Jack sees that and pulls the gun away from him slightly. Like us, he doesn't think that they're a direct threat. The gun's still pointing at him, though.

"Not initially," Amos replies. "Until that time, I had not heard of the Tok'ra."

"Are you unhappy?" Daniel prompts.

"No. Darien is a part of me now. I would not be without him. I do not regret being Tok'ra - I hate the Goa'uld and what they do. Please, believe me."

"He's being as honest as he can be," I say. "What he tells us is what he believes to be the truth."

"It is the truth!"

Daniel shakes his head. "Possibly," he sighs. "There is also the possibility you are a zaytarc. Are you?"

"No. She did nothing else to me."

There is no hint of a lie, even an unconscious one, so I let Daniel know that.

"Selmac, we need to help them," he says, looking at Dad and then at me and Jack. Teal'c's still with the others in the other tent.

"But how can we trust them now?" Dad asks.

Daniel looks back at Amos.

"Look at the device," he orders. Amos does as he's told. "If your family were to be released from their capture, who would you serve?"

"The Tok'ra. With my life, I would serve the Tok'ra."

"Darien? What of you?"

Darien is a lot quieter when he answers, a lot less spirited.

"I was born Tok'ra," he says. "I will die Tok'ra. Everything that Amos has said is true. I felt guilt for taking a host who had not been truly willing, even though I had no idea that he was not. It is one of the reasons I felt I should help him."

"We understand," Selmac answers. "You should come with us back to the Tok'ra. Tell us everything that you have told Nirrti. We will discuss this with the High Council and do whatever we can to free your family."

I see Amos nearly collapse on his chair. I can tell that doing what he's done has weighed heavily on his mind.

"In the meantime," Jack says, "take him to the third tent."

We put up a smaller tent, just in case we had to hold anyone.

"Call Teal'c," he adds. "He can accompany him."

"I will not fight you," Darien says.

"We know. But if you were in our position, would you let you just walk out of here?"

Darien shakes his head and stands up, waiting for Teal'c to come for him.

Three more to do. I'm exhausted. I so feel for Amos. I can't blame him for what he's done, neither can any of us. Teal'c had been listening into the conversation in his mind so we didn't need to explain anything to him. Jack said - out loud - for him to take them to the 'prison tent' so no one would question how he already knew.

Since then, I've questioned another six. Mercifully, they were not spies.

Dammit, the gate's opening again. We have a routine. The tents are about a hundred yards away from the gate, near the edge of the local woods. There are 'doors' at the back of them. When the gate opens, we watch carefully just in case of unwelcome visitors. Should there be, the order will go up and we will escape to a rendezvous point in the trees.

Another lost-looking Tok'ra. Jack waves her over and she makes her way warily towards us. There's something about the way she walks...

Jack? Are you getting a bad feeling about this one?

Yeah. Guys! he calls the others. Be on your guard.

"Selmac," I whisper. "Who is this?"

"Magda. Her host is Ilyana."

"How long have they been with you?"

"Magda is very old. Ilyana joined with her about sixty years ago."

"Trusted?"

"Of course."

"Do they go on missions?"

"Occasionally. Few would suspect them."

"Of course," I agree. I'm getting a sinking feeling.

Selmac greets them as old friends but Magda - or rather, Ilyana - still looks nervous to me. Perhaps it's just her way. Some people are permanently skittish.

"Please, sit down," I say, pointing to the chair.

Selmac encourages them, laughing off any concerns the host and possibly the symbiote seem to have.

"Don't worry, we've all been through this. You'll see why we're doing it soon. Just do as we ask, answer Daniel honestly and you'll find out what's going on." Selmac sounds conspiratorial, in a friendly way. Her words don't seem to relax her friends too much.

"You are Magda and your host is Ilyana?" I start. We always start with the names. If that comes up with something wrong we'll know right from the start to watch closely.

"We are they."

"And you are Tok'ra?"

"We are."

Again with the 'we' thing. Okay, it's not a proof. I've had a few do that. It all depends on how shy the host is. If the host is like Jacob, the snake tends to say, 'I' and orders me to question the host separately. Perhaps Ilyana is just that. Painfully shy.

"Are you solely loyal to the Tok'ra?"

"As opposed to whom?"

Okay, no one's asked that.

"Anyone. Everyone."

"We are loyal to the Tok'ra and to ourselves."

"Anyone else?"

"No."

She's lying. She's fucking lying!

GUYS! We've got another one.

I see Jack look like he's about to make a move but I stop him. It's bad feeling time.

Jack, stay away. Sam, get ready to grab your dad.

"Have you ever knowingly given any information to anyone who was not Tok'ra?"

I don't bother with the Tauri, here, they were unknown to us.

"No."

Liar, liar...

Get ready.

"How long have you worked for Hades?"

-

Yuck.

-

"I'm sorry, Selmac," I shrug as we clear up the mess.

"Do not be sorry."

"But she was your friend!"

"She was a traitor!"

Jacob stomps off. Probably just as well. I don't think that Magda was a zaytarc, her last words - the Goa'uld equivalent of 'Eat shit and die, sucker!' - were a bit of a giveaway, but they blew themselves up anyway. Fortunately, Sam had already grabbed Jacob and Jack was near the door. We all got away in time, but not quick enough to avoid the body parts.

This was why we chose to do this in a tent on another world. No bricks and mortar to come crashing down on us, no one telling Hades about our...

"Dammit! Selmac! Jacob!"

They come back, still looking furious.

"Did Magda know our address or that of the palace?"

"No. Only I have ever dialled your address; not even when I have sent someone to you have I allowed them to see it. As for the palace, it's a known address but I have never discussed MIB's location with anyone. The council knew of your existence off-world, of course, but that was it. They knew not to ask me exactly where you were."

Thank God for that.

"Thanks, Jake, Selmac. We appreciate that."

I must sound extremely relieved at that. Jack wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"Jake, do us a favour, will ya? Tell the last couple of Tok'ra to go to the others. I think we've had enough for today."

He nods and goes to the gate. Jack and I watch as it dials up and then, when his conversation is ended, he dials up again. Probably the other team. We say nothing until he returns.

"MIB have found a spy of their own; one of the human 'helpers' that you rescued from Petrocus' little party."

The words are dripping with irony and sarcasm at the same time. I guess Jake's more devastated than he's letting on.

"Turns out he decided that helping the Tok'ra wasn't enough for him, at least financially, so when he got the opportunity, he sold us out to Yu."

A quick look at Jack tells him to not even try to lighten the atmosphere with his usual Yu/you 'jokes'. I put that in quotes deliberately. Fortunately, he seems to have had a sense of humour bypass today, too.

"Can't blame Yu for taking him up on the offer," I shrug. "We'd have done the same thing in his stead."

They have to agree with me. Today, we've had three types of 'traitor'. I'm not sure which hurt the least, but I think it was Darien and Amos. They had a chance to put things right at the beginning by spilling straight away, but it wasn't a surprise that they didn't.

Then there's the deliberate treachery by someone who'd been rescued and provided for, and that of a very old friend. At a guess, Magda had always worked for Hades, right from the beginning. And we can hate them all - perhaps with the exclusion of the first. Yet we have spies in the camps of the Goa'uld. Are they any different? I don't think so.

Today has not been an easy day. We are all home now. The Tok'ra have dealt with their traitors - Darien is being held in the cells on the first homeworld until Amos' family have been found and freed. They do not believe that he will betray them again, but he volunteered to be held - they volunteered to be held, to prove that underneath it all, they were loyal.

Yu's spy, unfortunately, had to be given a choice. Die, or become Tok'ra. There are still some old hosts clinging on to life until a new one can be found. The spy could not be released on his own recognisance and the Tok'ra life is not conducive to holding people for a lifetime. Becoming a host was Daniel's idea. It is punishment and lenience at the same time. The spy chose life, as a coward would do. He will soon learn why what he did was a mistake.

MIB have returned to their home and we are trying to find the appetite to eat. O'Neill is insisting that we do, but none of us wishes to. In the end, he makes us all a sandwich each. That will have to do.

-

"Jack, can we go off on one of our own missions soon?" Daniel asks as we all settle in front of the fire.

"Don't see why not," he agrees. "I just hope that Thor comes..."

Thor would seem to have an amazing sense of comic timing. Perhaps he has seen many Marx Brothers' films.

"...back with the ship soon," O'Neill finishes on the bridge of Thor's own ship.

We are all on the bridge of Thor's own ship.

"Hey, Thor. Nice to see you," he says lightly, but his voice also tells us that he is once again annoyed at having been beamed up without warning.

"O'Neill. We have finished repairing your ship."

"Already? Wow. That's great. Bet you don't have many cowboys in your neck of the woods, then?"

"We do not have any cows," Thor responds.

"Uh, it's a figure of speech meaning people who will pretend to work on whatever you need fixing and take a long time and charge you too much," Daniel explains.

Thor just blinks.

"Guess not then," O'Neill mutters. "So?" he asks a little more brightly. "Where is she? What have you..."

"...done?" he asks when we reappear on the peltac of our ship.

Daniel and Samantha are giggling. I fear that is not wise. O'Neill is most perturbed.

"We have repaired all the defects, strengthened your shields to withstand any known Goa'uld weaponry, including that found on this ship which had Asgard technology embedded in it, replaced the engine with a full Asgard engine, replaced your weapons with full Asgard weapons and provided you with a cloak."

Daniel and Samantha now let out long whistles while O'Neill stammers, "Y.y.you did? Wow. Thank you!"

"It was felt that as you are fighting the Goa'uld, sometimes on our behalf, you should have the best available technology to assist you."

Samantha moves straight to the control panel and pulls up some information. It is all in Asgard runes.

"I can't read that!" she complains.

Thor moves towards the panel and presses a button. All of the display changes to English.

"Wow!" she calls out. "Thanks!"

We leave her to explore the information, trying not to laugh at the occasional squeals of delight.

When she starts to run out of the room, I call out, "Samantha, where are you going?"

"I want to see the engines!"

"Wait, Sam!" O'Neill calls. "I don't want you messing with them." Then he turns to Thor and asks, "How will she fix them if they go wrong?"

"There are sufficient spare parts stored on board to replace the entire engineering system while flying," Thor replies. "There are also instructions and blueprints stored on the computer. If there is something wrong that you cannot fix, call me and I will see what I can do."

"Thank you so much," Daniel says, then he looks a little shy.

"You are welcome, Daniel," Thor answers. "What is bothering you?"

"Nothing's bothering me," he replies, "but, what if we 'find' another ship for MIB? Could you do the same for them, please?"

Thor thinks about it then answers, "Possibly. Should you 'find' another ship, call me and we will see if there are sufficient parts available. This ship was only able to be converted because of the original design incorporating so much Asgard technology."

"Yeah, about that," O'Neill says. "Any idea which Asgard they got the data from in the first place?"

Thor blinks. "No. And that is worrying."

"Why is that?" I ask.

"Because no Asgard has gone missing in the last fifty years - at least not that we know of. This level of technology is less than fifty years old."

We all agree with O'Neill when he says, "Aw shit. Not again."

Fucking typical. Well hell, it's up to the little guys to deal with their own. There's fuck all we could do about that anyway.

"What are you going to do about it?" Daniel asks, sitting on the floor with a thump.

"We are not sure. Perhaps you could advise us? We have never had to search out a spy before. If anyone has betrayed us in the past, they have always been open about it, becoming an enemy to face rather than hiding in the shadows."

"I don't know if what we did today would help you," he sighs. "It would all depend on how susceptible you were to the Tok'ra memory retrieval device."

"We have something similar," Thor says a little more brightly.

"Okay, then this is what you have to do."

Daniel tells him that in itself, it's quite simple. If the subject cannot lie you just make sure you ask the right questions. He gives examples of what he asked today. I see him flagging, so I take over, telling him that you can't let anyone know beforehand that they're about to be questioned, and to make sure to question the questioners first.

"Do not assume that there is only one," Teal'c adds. "Start at the top. Make sure that all those in power are cleared. Do not let anyone get away without being questioned. Then you will need to go through the rest of your population."

"But there are many millions of us!" Thor yelps. Yup, he yelped.

"Start with the people who would have the knowledge to help Hades convert the ship, then go to those who would have had the opportunity to travel to him. I don't think you'd need to go much further than that. Check out the people who know the people who have either the motive, the data or the opportunity. The spy may well come from the ranks of the acquaintances. In fact, that's a distinct possibility. Unless your leaders have been hacking one another off, it's quite possibly someone who has delusions of grandeur."

Thor nods in understanding.

"Very well. I will call on the rest of the Asgard Council and question them in the manner which you suggest. Then I will inform them of my suspicions."

"Didn't anyone get suspicious when they were fixing the ship?" Daniel asks.

"I do not know."

Daniel smacks his head in his hands.

"Thor, you've really got to find your leak quickly. If it was someone who was involved in doing up the ship..." He smacks his head again.

"Daniel?"

Looking up with pain in his eyes, he says, "Thor, can your ship scan ours to see if there is anything wrong with it, or something like a homing device having been planted."

"Why?" Sam asks.

"Because if one of the engineers who upgraded this ship was the one to tell Hades in the first place..."

He doesn't say any more.

"I will do it immediately."

Thor disappears and we all sit on the floor next to Daniel. I give him a hug. There's not really anything else we can do, yet.

"If there is a homing device or anything like it," he whispers, "we're going to have to leave Annwn."

He's right. I don't like it, but he's right.

"Then we find somewhere else, don't tell anyone where we are, and just have another planet as a meeting place for dropping off messages and things, just like we did when we first left Earth," I say.

He nods, unwilling to speak again. Can't say I blame him. All the time I've been promising him that this was our last home. If we have to leave it, I know it will be his last home. Not that he'll do anything dramatic like kill himself, but that he won't let himself ever get attached to another place again. He loves Annwn now. Even more than he did Remoc. I've never seen him so at peace in one place before. Not even Abydos gives him this sense of peace.

Fuck it. Even if there is a homing device on the ship, we're not leaving. I tell him that.

"We'd have to, Jack," he says, his voice no louder than a whisper.

"No, we wouldn't. The Tok'ra have early-warning devices for the solar system they're in, don't they?"

He nods.

"Then we get some off them. God knows they owe us enough. Failing that, I'm sure Thor would come up with something like it. Not to mention the ship is cloaked, Mia is cloaked, we have rings from outside the house to the ship and from the tunnels to the ship... We can get away in no time. Hell, we can defend our home from all-comers and we will." I look at Sam and Teal'c to urge them to agree.

"Damn right we will," Sam says. "Nobody's taking my home from me."

"I concur," Teal'c announces. "They will have to kill me to remove me from Annwn."

Daniel shakes his head with a sad smile.

"No. I appreciate what you're doing," he says sadly. "But I will not allow you to put yourselves in unnecessary danger because I happen to like the place."

"Don't you think that it's home to us?" I ask him. "Don't you think that we want to fight to keep it?"

He looks up at me and blinks. I think he's been taking lessons from Thor.

"Daniel, it's our home. We've all been driven from our original homes; Teal'c from Chulak and then from Earth. Sam and I only had Earth. Then we all lost Remoc. Don't you think that we know how you feel about Annwn? Don't you think that we want to stay?"

"I'm sorry," he mouths. "Really sorry. I didn't mean it like that, it's just..."

"It's just that you've lost more homes than we have and you're getting fed up of having to start all over again. We get that, Daniel. Believe me, we get that."

"I'm sorry," he says again.

Sam gets on her knees and the next thing he knows, she's hugging the shit out of him.

Poor Daniel. If he didn't feel bad earlier, he now feels dreadful. I know Jack meant well, but he's just added guilt to Daniel's feeling that he may lose Annwn. Not to mention all that happened today. It's been a real emotional roller-coaster. I'm absolutely shattered and my body betrays me as I yawn.

"That's it, go home," Jack orders. "And take Daniel with you. We'll call you if anything amazing happens," he promises. "In the meantime, get to bed, the pair of you. We'll be with you as soon as Thor gives us an answer."

"You may go, too, if you wish, O'Neill," Teal'c says. "I will stay and wait."

Jack shakes his head. I think he's saying something to Teal'c but I can't guess what it is.

"Nah, I'll stay. I won't be able to rest until I know if the ship is clean or not. But you two, you need to sleep."

I don't need it as much as Daniel, but I agree to go with him.

Actually, I wonder if Daniel's coming down with something. He doesn't look too well.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" I ask as we head to the rings.

"I'm fine. A bit tired, maybe."

I put my hand on his head. It's a little warm but nothing too bad.

"Perhaps you're getting a cold?" I suggest.

"Possibly," he shrugs. "Though I don't know where I'd have got one from. The only people I've met up with recently, apart from you three, of course, are four androids and a whole bunch of snakes. Not the sort of people to carry a cold virus with them."

"Unless there was something on Abydos?"

He shakes his head.

"No cold viruses on Abydos," he says. "Fortunately."

"Hammond?" I try. "You met with him."

The rings work and he looks even paler when we emerge.

"Oh shit. Sam, if I caught a cold from him, what if I gave it to the Abydonians? They have no natural immunity to virtually all of our viruses."

Oh hell. This is turning out to be one of those days.

"Let's get a radio."

We ring straight down to the tunnels, then back up with a GDO and radio and we run to the gate and dial Earth quickly.

It's Sergeant Davis on the other end. Thank God.

"Sergeant. Where is General Hammond?"

"Uh, Major Carter," he obviously keeps forgetting to drop the rank. "I'm afraid he's off sick with the 'flu."

"Oh shit."

I look at Daniel and he's gone really pale.

"Sergeant. Get a medical team out to Abydos stat!" he calls. "I may have passed on the virus not knowing I even had it. They have no immunity to this sort of bug. They will need help immediately. They won't have a clue what is wrong with them or what to do."

"I'm sorry, Doctor, I can't make that sort of decision. I would if I could."

"Is Doctor Frasier there?" I ask.

"Yes, Ma'am. I'll call her now."

We wait impatiently for Janet to turn up. If anyone can get the order given, it's her.

Finally. "Sam? Daniel? Sergeant Davis tells me you think that the Abydonians may have the 'flu?"

I tell her that Daniel's getting sick and we're worried he may have passed it on to them. I know without seeing her that she's probably lost some of her own colour, whether she is sick or not.

Of course, we can't go to Abydos to check up on the people. If Daniel's picked something up, it's probably only a matter of time before we pick it up. Teal'c could go, I guess.

"I've just spoken to Colonel Monkewitz. He says it's okay for me to go and check up on them. If this is something that we caused, even indirectly, we should do our best to help out. I promise, guys, if they're sick, we'll take care of them."

"Thank you," I say, probably sounding every bit as relieved as I feel. Daniel nods in agreement. Suddenly, he looks like the stuffing has been knocked out of him.

"Come on, home," I order as we say goodbye to Janet.

It's a mark of how tired he is when he doesn't argue with me.

I just had a call from Sam. I can't believe it! 'Flu? That could explain why Daniel's been so damned tired. We haven't been sick since we left Earth - at least apart from that alien vomiting bug that Sam got, and I'm still suspicious as to how she got that. It just didn't occur to me.

"You should go to him," Teal'c says.

"Nah, Sam says he went straight to bed. I don't want to disturb him. Besides, I need to know if there's anything on the ship that shouldn't be here."

I can't help it, I'm pacing back and forth. Dammit, Thor, hurry up, please!

-

Finally. He's back.

"Well? Was there anything there?"

He looks at me and I could really do without his dramatic pauses.

"No," he says, sounding both relieved and frustrated. I get that. It probably means that it wasn't one of the engineers he used but that then doesn't give him a clue as to who the spy is.

Frankly, I don't give a damn. I'm just happy the ship is clean.

"Thanks, Thor. I appreciate what you've done."

He nods but says nothing.

"We should go to the others," Teal'c says. Then he looks at Thor, "We believe that Daniel may have caught influenza."

Thor thinks for a moment, then he asks, "Would you like me to check?"

"Can you?"

"I can."

"He's probably asleep."

"That does not matter."

I get the feeling we're going to...

Yup. We're on board his ship again. Moments later, Daniel's in one of those pod things. He's out cold, totally unaware of what's going on.

Thor looks at the reading and eventually he says, "You are correct. He has a virus. Correction. He had a virus. He is now cured."

"Thanks, pal. I'm grateful for that."

"You are most welcome." He presses one of his rune things and Daniel disappears. Hope he's put him back where he found him and didn't drop him off in the garden like he did with me.

"I should go," he says.

"Yeah. Thanks again," I reply. "For everything."

Before I get the chance to say anything else, I find myself in the garden. Dammit. Teal'c is in the house!

I'm sure he does it on purpose.

-

"Wake up, sleepyhead," I call, wafting a mug of coffee under Daniel's nose. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he croaks as he sits up, his hands heading directly for the mug.

Then he screws up his face.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"What's up?"

"I'm fine," he states. "Why? Last thing I remember, I was coming down with the 'flu. I was tired, my throat was sore... but now I'm absolutely fine."

He's even more confused when I start laughing.

-

"That's great news," I say into my radio. "Thanks, Janet."

"My pleasure, Jack. Is Daniel all right?"

"He's good. Thor helped him out."

"Wish he could have been on Abydos. You should have seen them, Jack. None of them had a clue as to why they were all sneezing!"

I can't help but laugh at her tone.

"You're sure they're going to be okay?"

"Absolutely. It's not 'flu or even a serious cold. The General only has a cold, too. Typical man thinks it's 'flu. I've dosed them all up with vitamin C, told them to drink lots of hot drinks and keep themselves warm. They're under strict instructions to call the SGC if anyone gets any worse than they are now. I don't think they're going to deteriorate, but I'll keep a close eye on them until it's all over."

"Daniel, especially, will be very grateful," I say.

We chat a little more and then sign off. It's time for me to pass on the good news.

-

"Thanks, Jack," Daniel sighs as I finish telling him.

He's working on the globe with renewed enthusiasm. After everything that happened yesterday, I'm glad to be able to give him all the good news.

In fact, I think it's time to celebrate.

I put my hand on his, take the pencil out of it, put in down and then turn him around till we're face-to-face.

"Come on," I say. "It's time we spent some time together."

He smiles broadly and 'surrenders' to me.

"Where?"

I shrug. "Here? There? Anywhere?"

With a wicked grin, he says, "Do you think the guys would mind if we borrowed Mia and took off for the day?"

"Doubt it."

"Good. Wait here."

I stand and watch as he scoots off the ship. Can't wait to see what he's got in mind.

Daniel was like a whirlwind a moment ago. He ran into the kitchen, grabbed some food, asked if we would mind if he and O'Neill went off in Mia, then, before we could answer, he ran into his bedroom and came out a few minutes later with a bag bulging with what, I do not know. We granted him permission to use the ship and with a brief 'thanks', he ran back towards it.

"Well, that was..." Samantha says.

"Unusual?" I suggest.

"Brief, I was going to say," she laughs. "It would seem that he's cheered up a lot."

"Indeed. It is just as well. It would also seem that you and I are going to spend some time alone today."

She looks at me with that special smile that she has.

"Oh dear," she says evenly. "What a pity. Never mind."

I laugh. Her eyes tell me that she does not think that it is a pity in the slightest.

I land the ship at a place I found when I was searching for provisions. Jack's face is a picture.

There is the most enormous waterfall which ends in a huge pool, which in turn spills over a tiny waterfall and into a river. On one side of the river is a plain, on the other is a forest. We're on the plain side, naturally. The best bit about it is that the waterfall is almost exactly on the equator. It's hot here.

I put my hand into the pool and the water, while cool, isn't freezing cold like ours is. It must warm up in the river above us. There are no snow-capped mountains anywhere near this place, so it's not melt-water feeding it but the warm, equatorial rain.

Jack grins as he sees me standing up and starting to strip.

"Is this a good idea?" he asks. "Remember what happened last time we did this?"

I laugh. "Oh yeah. Three days solid, fucking like rabbits. I'm game. Are you?"

His clothes are off so fast I can barely see him move.

"It is safe around here, isn't it?" he checks.

I nod. "There aren't that many wild animals on this planet, Jack. I did a complete scan of the area recently and just double-checked the basic results before we landed. There's nothing bigger than a small 'big' cat within three hundred miles of here, and currently, there's nothing that big within about ten miles. There are no fish in this pool - they could only get in it if they fell from up there," I point the three hundred feet up the waterfall to the river above, "and few, if any, species could survive that. It's as safe as it could possibly be. Of course, I give you no guarantees, but then..."

I just shrug. He knows as well as I do, there never are any guarantees.

"Just as well I like a little danger in my life," he purrs.

Oh shit, yeah. I know that tone of voice. Nothing will make me surrender to him faster than this.

"Me too," I gasp, as if he didn't know it already.

He strolls over to the bag I brought and tips the contents out onto the grass, grinning maniacally when he sees the lube. He picks it up deliberately and then walks back to me. One step, two steps... we're nose to nose.

"Maybe we are being watched," he says, his voice low and dangerous. "Maybe we're gonna get caught, any minute now."

"Maybe I don't care," I gasp.

He laughs. It's not a pleasant laugh but it does the job, going straight to my groin. My already half-hard cock stands straight up.

"Get on your hands and knees," he orders. "Show me what you've got."

I turn around and drop onto the grass immediately, my ass pointing in his direction, inviting him to own it.

"Beautiful," he whispers and then I hear him moving.

He kicks my legs further apart, so far apart that I lose my balance and fall forward, my head resting on the grass.

"Better," he announces. "Much better."

He's kneeling between my legs now and even above the loud roar of the waterfall, I hear the pop of the cap on the bottle. I've tuned out everything except him; he's the only thing that matters to me.

It's only a matter of moments before I feel something thick and wet push inside me. It's his thumb, I can tell by the shape. He pushes it this way and that, slapping my ass when I push back on him.

"Stay still!" he orders. "You don't get to move till I tell you to."

I freeze, trying not to freeze my ass at the same time.

The heat of the sun is beating down on my back, the chill of the air from the waterfall is brushing over the hot skin and giving me goose bumps. I don't care. My senses are on edge. On fire.

He's pulled out his thumb. I fight down a giggle as my mind remembers the kids' rhyme.

Little Jack Horner,
Sat in a corner,
Eating his Christmas pie.

He put in his thumb,
Pulled out a plum,
And said 'what a good boy am I!'

Damn, he is good. Better. The best there's ever been.

Oh yeah, two thumbs now. Probing me, stretching me, pulling me apart. I moan, I yell, I urge him on. He stops what he's doing, removes his hands and slaps me again, telling me to be quiet. I don't even feel it, I really don't.

He can't wait. I know it. I can feel the tension in him even though he isn't touching me. Maybe it's our minds connecting. I don't know. I don't care. I just know it.

Feel this, he says to me.

I feel it. It's him, he's lubing his cock. I feel what he feels; his hand, his dick... I see what he sees; my ass waiting for him, my body bent and inviting him to take it... I hear him breathing, I feel his heart beating. It's overlapping mine, the beats suddenly merging so that they're working together. Thump, thump, thump... It's all I can hear now. No breathing, no waterfall, no birds screeching, just our hearts beating at the same time. So damned loud.

Fuck! He's speared me. That's the only way to describe it. In in one shot. My ass is on fire, the pain shoots through my body and it feels amazing!

"YES!" I scream, but I don't hear my voice.

He stops dead, lets me adjust, then he starts. What little breath I had is knocked out of me as he slams into me time and again. His fingers dig into my hips as he grinds against me, his balls trying to get into my ass with his dick. I'd take them if I could, I really would.

I love this, I need this. Need to feel all of him the way I do. He's got a rhythm going; steady, harsh, loving at the same time. He hits the spot every single time. My cock dances to the beat, jumping up and down, slapping against my stomach and then touching the long grass.

He slows down, he's pulling me to kneel up. I'm on his lap and he's as deep as it's humanly possible to be inside me.

"You okay?" he whispers.

"Yeah. Wonderful," I say. I think I sound a bit drunk. I feel it.

His strong arms wrap around me, one over my chest, the other around my waist, hugging me to him. He's biting my neck again, gently this time, interspersing the bites with whispers about how much he loves me.

"Love you," I gasp. "So fucking much."

He moves his head and kisses the nape of my neck, then his right hand trails down and takes my cock, grasping it firmly. It's all I can do to not come straight away.

"Ride me," he says.

I rise up, feeling his cock pull out of me and his hand slide down my own. Slowly, I sit back down and feel the reverse. Oh yeah, oh yes, this is incredible. I repeat the movement, not fast, trying to drag this out as long as I can, but it's not easy. It only takes a few of these repeats before I start to speed up, urging him on, urging myself on. He stays perfectly still, letting me do the work, to dictate how this goes.

He lets me see it in my mind. I see me riding him, imagine him riding me like this and flick the image to him. He laughs.

"Later," he promises. I know he'll keep that promise.

I stop, bat his hand off me, get off him and push him to the ground. He lets me kiss him, devour him, every inch of his body except for his cock. I want that to last a bit longer.

We stop for a moment and catch our breath, then my desire for him takes over again and I kneel across his abdomen, reach back and take his cock in my hand, then I sit.

He watches me, smiling as he does, as I ride him again. This time I let loose, as fast and as hard as I can go. He holds my dick again, pulling it toward his face. The wicked grin he gives me is enough and I come so hard I hit his chin. I keep riding him, even as he comes, going as long as I can until he's too soft for me to continue. I'm still hard. I can't believe it.

Jack grabs my ass and pulls me further up, then he tilts up his head and I get the message. I shove my cock into his mouth and he starts sucking, sticking his fingers ruthlessly up my ass and abusing my already tender gland. I really couldn't care less. Nothing has ever felt this good.

He takes all I can give him, shifting so that he can tilt his head back, letting me go right down his throat. When I feel his throat spasm around the head, I come again, giving him what little I had left.

I fall off him and onto the grass. He rolls on top of me and kisses me until neither of us has any strength.

"Wow," I say. It's all I've got left for him.

He grins.

"You okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Never better," I reply. And it's true.

He smiles broadly now.

"Sweet."

fortean slime