Not Man, Not Woman Be 3

Be Thy Man Or Woman

by Lady Arkin

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asl/larkin/bethyman.php
Summary: Daniel has been kidnapped. Physically unable to runaway, he has to stay, survive, and wait for a rescue. Meanwhile, Jack and the rest of the Royal Family race against time to save the Hiro of Hiros

PROLOGUE; A NEEDLE IN MY HEART

"Point your toes, boy," Daniel said yet again as he raised the little tea cup in his hand so he could sip. When he'd pulled the cup's rim away from his lips he added, "Straight, like an arrow pointing to heaven."

Daniel turned to the other one, "Hands flat on the floor, Helleck. Press down to the earth. She's there to hold you up."

Juno came close with a fresh pot of tea in her hand. As usual, she curtsied meekly before approaching.

"Hiro," she offered the tea pot forward as she lowered her eyes.

Under normal conditions he would have been the first to correct her...all of them. He'd be the first to tell them not to bow, or worship. He'd normally tell them all to not be so formal with him. He would normally tell them all how uncomfortable it all made him. But the situation wasn't normal.

The situation was anything but normal.

Daniel held his tea cup out so she could pour as he said, "Hold your balance!"

A few seconds later Damat faltered and fell forward. He managed to touch down on the tips of his toes, but fell down onto his knees in a controlled manner. The sweat poured off of him. His face was red. He looked dizzy.

A few seconds later, Helleck lost his balance too and down to the ground.

They both looked dizzy as they panted and watched him.

"Better," Daniel said as before taking another sip. "Balance is the beginning of all things. Concentrate on achieving it under all situations. Now, one more. This time a short stand; count to twenty. When you're finished walk to the end and do your morning exercises."

Daniel continued to sip lightly from his cup as he watched the two boys. Simultaneously, they dropped down again and then carefully stood on their hands balancing their legs high in the air. As requested they each counted to twenty before walking on their hands to the end of the platform away from Daniel.

He watched as they directly went into the Yoga/Martial Arts routine that Daniel taught the boys while he was still small and flexible enough to endure it. The same routine that Jack had taught him. The same routine that he'd done every morning since he'd learned it, until a few weeks ago.

As it was...

"Juno," Daniel said, feeling the all too familiar pressure on his bladder, "I have to go again."

Juno hustled the nearby guards that never went too far from Daniel. By the time Daniel had set his tea cup down on the low desk that had been built to fit over his crossed legs. Two guards had already moved in to remove it from him. The low desk was carried away and two other guards stepped forward to grab hold of him. Daniel was hauled up about as awkwardly as he now felt.

He grabbed his back and stretched it out as best as he could as he looked around. He was now always uncomfortable and always in some kind of pain. His back was always bothering him. He felt incredibly awkward and the camp did nothing to make him feel any better.

"I'll be back soon. I want to see effort from the pair of you." As he began to walk away, Daniel continued to say, "I'll be watching."

As usual, he took Juno's arm and used her for balance. He didn't trust any of the guards enough to use any of them, even though their size would have been preferable. So he waddled along with only little Juno to keep him upright along the rocky and uneven path to his tent.

By the time he'd reached sight of his other attendants he was winded. Daniel stopped to catch is breath as Juno rubbed his ever-sore back. Daniel stood for a few minutes as he surveyed the camp. Unlike every other camp that he'd been kept in over the past three months, this one was large. More than large, Bohonte was drawing in new men from every direction. It seemed as if Bohonte's influence, and sway over his people was growing exponentially as the news of the Hiro of Hiros was spread from village to village.

Daniel shook his head like he'd done a thousand times since his abduction. He turned to the awaiting faces of his attendants and let them fuss as he made his way into his tent so he could relieve himself before he wet his dress.

CHAPTER 1 - WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER

Daniel took his time about dressing.

He didn't give a damn if the High Priest of whatever was waiting for him or not. In fact, he preferred to keep the man waiting.

To put it mildly, Daniel was pissed. There were very few ways in which he could show his contempt, anger, or frustration. If holding up the man's audience was all he could do, then he'd do it gladly. Besides, he felt rotten.

Being pregnant was uncomfortable at best and horrifyingly miserable at worst. His back was sore. His feet were about as sore and swollen as his hands. He was still occasionally nauseous. And to top off the pregnancy cake his hormones were still getting the better of him.

Daniel sat down carefully at his vanity. He hated that he even had a vanity, but the Siarran's insisted that he was a female. Even worse they insisted on treating him like a female.

Daniel stared at the person on the other side of the mirror with a deep frown on his face. The misery and loneliness were there. Despite all the people who surrounded him constantly, Daniel felt so alone that it made him ache as if there were an open wound sitting inside of him.

He hadn't seen Jack in far too long. Distance did not make the heart grow fonder. And the idea that he might never see him again cut him every time he weakened and the idea crept into his mind.

"With your permission, Hiro," Juno said as she crept into Daniel's quiet time.

Daniel looked up into the mirror but didn't move otherwise.

Juno bowed low and apologetically, said "The High Priest is asking to see you, Madam."

Daniel sighed without realizing that he'd even done it. He hated being called 'madam' almost as much as he hated being called 'her,' 'she,' or 'my lady.' It just felt wrong and the words always made a part of him cringe.

Before Daniel could respond so Juno would go away and stall the man, Daniel saw a man walk into his tent unannounced. The intricately embroidered robes, the staff with the gilded head, and the jewels on him told Daniel who he was looking at. He didn't have a very clear memory of the man. In fact, Daniel didn't have a clear memory of much surrounding his abduction, or transport to Siarra.

"No, sir!" Juno hesitantly hissed at the man in her timid manner. "You are not to come in. You should have waited."

"It's alright," Daniel said gently. He reached out and held her hand. He could feel her trembling. Her hand was sweaty. "I expect nothing from these people. They have no manners, no idea of propriety. They're no better than an animal shitting itself in the woods."

"Your point," the priest said louder than was needed, he caught himself and then in a more normal tone added, "is made."

"Is it?" Daniel said as he looked back into the mirror at the man. "Because my point had been intended to be that I am held against my will and that you are nothing but Bahonte's latest whore. That you bend yourself over at will and will continue to do so as long as the right amount of coins are being pressed into your palm."

The priest managed a small, and very fake smile as he walked in farther and took a seat on a nearby chair. "You will not anger me, Hiro. We are to discuss His Highness's arrival."

"He can go to hell," Daniel said as he picked up a hair brush. "I'll do nothing for him."

"His Highness has been as patient with your behavior as-"

"Patient!" Daniel shrieked. He caught himself and swallowed the screams and outrage that he wanted to shout out.

Daniel turned himself slowly. The round wooden seat that was used on his vanity had once been a trunk that had been carved and then polished to a smooth texture. It was conducive to smoothly turning something as large as his current body.

"Out of curiosity," Daniel said as soon as he was properly facing the man. "Can you still see the bruising on my face? My maids tell me that they can't see them any more, but I do." Daniel turned his face right so the Priest had a good view of his left side and the new small scar that had been left on his cheek. "I can still feel his fists," Daniel added.

"Hiro," the priest began. "His Highness has to maintain order. You of all people must understand-"

"I understand only that I have been abducted. That His Royal Highness is a mean, nasty, bully that has no problem with endangering my child whenever he has a tantrum. And of course that the Siarran Temple is so far up Bohonte's ass that they won't ever help me, let alone pause long enough from collecting tithes to actually do their duty."

The Priest looked upset. He breathed in and then released the breath before speaking again. "Hiro," the Priest said conversationally. "In these times-"

"Tell me something," Daniel said undaunted, "your country is struggling along on its knees to survive. People are starving, children die every day, the old and infirmed go without medical attention," Daniel turned to look at him. "Have you ever even thought of helping?"

"His Highness has sent word that he arrives in the next few days," the Priest said in an angry tone.

"Nice jewelry," Daniel responded. "I wonder just how many people the rings on your fingers would feed?"

The Priest ground his teeth before he said, "There will be a ceremony."

"Or have you never thought of doing such a thing for the people that you claim to love and protect?"

The Priest was looking away from Daniel as he said, "You will be expected to stand with the other Hiro and-"

"You're pathetic," Daniel said quietly. Quite honestly, Daniel said, "I'm ashamed to be in your presence. This is my tent, so I'm asking you to leave."

For a moment the priest seemed indecisive. After a few seconds, he stood, turned, and left.

The next few days came and went the way all the previous days had come and gone. Eventually, Bohonte arrived.

Daniel was doing his best to take a nap when it happened. He heard the trumpets sound. He heard the people in the camp cheer as the ruler entered the encampment. Daniel heard the mass of warriors that surrounded the camp banging loudly on their breast plates, chanting, and singing songs of glory.

Daniel rolled over and tried to find a more comfortable place.

About an hour later, Daniel heard Bohonte approaching his tent. Daniel had given specific order to his guards, orders that he was constantly repeating to them, "Don't let anyone near my tent."

Daniel didn't even hear a discussion. No one slowed, stopped, or questioned Bohonte as he made his way to Daniel's tent. Daniel stared out as the feeling of nausea returned with Bohonte.

The moment the tent's flap opened, the man growled, "How dare you embarrass me?"

"Back so soon," Daniel said sleepily, "what a pity."

"Get your lazy ass out of bed!" Bohonte thundered. "I've brought important guests!" Bohonte walked around Daniel's bed and looked down. Much quieter, and much more ruthlessly, he said, "You will come and you will behave." Bohonte reached down and gently took Daniel's throat in his hand.

Daniel had enough sense to be frightened enough to reach up and grab the man's arm. Bohonte still tightened his hand. Slowly, ever so slowly the pressure increased around his throat. It wasn't long before Daniel opened his mouth and strained to take in air.

"Okay," Daniel gulped unintelligibly.

The pressure released enough that Daniel was able to take in enough air to fill his lungs a little. He coughed despite what he wanted.

"You will obey," Bohonte added before releasing him completely. Bohonte turned to leave as he said, "You're presence is needed now."

By the time Daniel sat up, the tent was empty, his breathing was better, and his maids were back.

He was dressed. Siarran Hiro's had to wear more than Kassantian Hiro's. The role of Hiro wasn't enough. Being the King's whore was also a major role to be played. Like the other Hiros, Daniel was dressed in a form fitting gown that might have been sexy on someone else, with a different body, and of the female persuasion. After dressing he was then covered in a long gossamer cape that completely covered his dress in sheer drapery that didn't hide so much as accentuate what was being hidden beneath.

Daniel arrived at the main tent with a feeling of dread. He knew enough about himself to know that he wasn't going to handle this meeting well. He hoped and prayed that he wouldn't be beaten up again, or in the least, that he would know when to stop.

Despite the fear, Daniel walked inside.

The tent instantly went quiet. Daniel looked over the new arrivals sparing no one in particular a lingering glance. It didn't take much to notice everything that he needed. Nobles were all the same. The only thing that changed were the names.

Daniel walked in and went to the bench to the King's left that had been left empty. Helleck was waiting for him and approached to stand by the soft-padded bench when he saw Daniel approaching. Daniel held out his hand, ignoring and sidestepping the guards that tried to help him, so that he could take Helleck's hand.

Though young and still slight, Helleck was a great help in lowering his ever growing form down into a comfortable place. As usual Helleck fused with pillows ensuring that Daniel's back had all the support it needed before he took his ever protective stance behind Daniel.

Daniel ignored the goings on. He expected there to be pomp and circumstance and he wasn't disappointed. Even out in the middle of no where, His Highness felt the need to allow his subjects the opportunity to bow down low and grovel before him. He gave them that chance. And they in turn took the opportunity to lick at his feet and ass...some more than others.

The usual crowd gathered once it was appropriate to do so.

Helleck placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder. Daniel reached up and held it. He'd grown to like the boy's calloused little hand. It was always warm, and always near a short sword.

Daniel looked around the tent at those in attendance only because he had nothing better to do.

The Priest was there, again, presiding over the event as Bohonte's mouthpiece. There were other priests there too, but none of them interested Daniel.

The newest arrivals had to have been the ones towards the front. The woman was all smiles. She tried to catch Daniel's attention. He looked at her just long enough to note the slight curvature to her fingers, and the yellowish nails. Despite the heavy makeup he could still make out the tale-tale marks of a rash that left behind small brown stains on her cheeks. The husband had the same. He skipped over the couple to the young boy standing next to them.

Unlike the parents, the boy's big blue eyes were bright and clear. He had none of their symptoms. More important, he didn't resemble either one of them. He wondered briefly what the situation with the boy was, but he lost interest quickly.

As Daniel's eyes looked over the rest of the new arrivals, the one's who were already making themselves at home, and the ones who had been there from the beginning he noticed that most of them were contaminated. It had taken Delina less than a minute to describe to him the affliction that often struck nobles. Rich and excessive food, little exercise, and unhealthy lifestyle choices often created the opportunity for the disease to move between sexual partners. The signs were all there: the crooked fingers, the stained fingernails and stained faces.

A part of Daniel was disgusted, and the other half thanked God that Cistus was so committed to keeping fit. He might not have been a soldier, per say, but he was a natural athlete and worked hard to keep his physique. A combination of his young age when he'd met his Peditus and his commitment to his mate kept him faithful and free of disease. Thankfully, there weren't any stains on Cistus' face and therefore nothing to hide.

"Oh, great Hiro of Hiros!" Someone drawled out to the heavens.

Daniel rolled his eyes hating that his line of thought had been interrupted.

It was the new arrival, the nobleman with the stained face that had the stained wife and the kid that wasn't his.

"We've come far and seek your blessing upon us," the stained man said as he dramatically swept his heavily bordered cape back away from him so that he could attempt to kneel.

"Don't bother," Daniel said easily.

The man stopped and looked up a little surprised.

"I won't grant you anything," Daniel said quickly.

The man looked at Bohonte momentarily before his eyes flew back to Daniel.

"Don't bother seeking his help," Daniel said. "You're a sinner. I can see it from here. You're also dying, but," Daniel said checking the man's badly scarred face for a second time, "by now you know that you're dying."

Daniel folded his hands in front of him as he clearly said, "I can't give you forgiveness, an easy death, or redemption. Don't look for it here."

The man straightened out with a look of shock on his face.

"Here's the funny thing about life. You can accumulate all the power and wealth that you want, but when you die you cross into a place where none of that means anything. The only thing that you can take is your soul." Daniel looked at the man meaningfully. "You've already been judged and sentenced, sir. I can't help you or your wife."

The woman gasped and shrank away.

Daniel held out his hand and motioned for the boy to come closer.

He wore the clothes of a noble man but there was something about him that immediately told Daniel that he wasn't. His eyes looked older than his years. A part of him looked lost, maybe even damaged.

Daniel held out his hand to the boy until he took it. Daniel pulled him closer and urged him to kneel, mostly so that the kid's height wouldn't hurt his neck. Daniel smoothed his heavy black hair back away from his face.

"There's hope for you," Daniel said quietly. "You haven't been with them long enough to be effected yet."

The boy shook his head, unafraid.

"My son," the man began.

"No," Daniel said quickly. "He isn't that at all." Daniel looked up at the man again. Delina was sure that sterility was the greatest, often denied, symptom of the affliction.

"I doubt that you've ever been able to father a child." Daniel looked at the wife. "And she's completely barren." Daniel looked down at the boy. "This child's mother was smart enough to trick you and put her son somewhere that he'd be safe. And now he's come to me."

Daniel looked up at the nobleman. "If he stays with you, you'll end up spreading your poison right into him and he will follow in your footsteps destroying everything that he touches. Or, you can leave him with me and I can teach him how to be a decent human being."

The man looked shocked. He staggered back a few steps before he marched quickly out of the tent with his wife scampering behind him.

Daniel patted the boy's hand and told him, "Stand next to my Helleck."

The boy did as he was asked and walked beyond Daniel's view.

Accidentally, Daniel caught sight of Bohonte and the look on his face. Daniel turned his eyes away and made a mental note to try and behave.

It was the Priest who came forward. He bowed and said, "There are others who would like your blessing, Hiro."

"Why?" Daniel asked despite himself. "I have no power or ability."

The Priest smiled and gently but rather annoyed said, "It is expected that you would-"

"I don't whore myself for anyone, Priest. I leave that to you."

The man ground his teeth loud enough for Daniel to flinch.

The only thing that saved Daniel from more flinching was the announcement of Damat's arrival. Daniel sat up as those gathered in the tent stood as Damat made his first presentation to his father in many months.

Daniel turned his head and caught the surprise on Bohonte's face when he first saw his son. Daniel turned back to Damat and smiled; very pleased with himself. The calorie-dense, and meat-rich diet that the nobility survived on hadn't done the boy any favors. Daniel's first decree to Damat, after they'd rejoined, was to ask the boy to stop eating those foods. Fresh vegetables and grains from the field, fruits and from the trees and seeds were his main diet now. And the proof that Daniel had done right was the foot and a half that the boy had grown, the fifteen pounds of muscle, and the growth in self-confidence that Daniel now saw before him.

Damat bowed to his father before presenting himself with the proper words.

When he was finished, Bohonte stared at his son. For long seconds he said nothing as he looked at the boy-man that stood in front of him. When he finally spoke it was to say, "You've grown."

"The Hiro is all powerful," Damat said with one last bow.

Bohonte either had nothing to say to him or was too surprised to speak. He waved Damat away.

Daniel wasn't surprised when Damat walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek before taking his place next to him. In truth, Damat's place was next to his father, but the boys were both worried about Daniel's safety. Daniel didn't think that his presence would do much, but Damat still believed in his father.

The remainder of the evening was long and tedious. Daniel didn't eat or drink, neither did the boys. The nobles, however, did drink. Daniel watched as they feasted to over consumption and eventually to vomiting. The only other person that didn't was Bohonte. Unlike his subjects, the King drank steadily but slowly.

Eventually, the King rose and left. He stopped on his way out to speak to one of the guards. The King left. A moment later the guard walked quickly to Daniel's side and announced that Daniel had been summoned to the Kings chamber.

Daniel cursed inwardly.

Daniel walked in and out of Bohonte's chamber rather quickly. It didn't take long. He swallowed hard as he made his way along the dark. The reverie of the camp was still rather strong.

~ ~ ~

He was too ashamed to walk back through the main tent so he walked around behind it and through the dark, avoiding torch light wherever he could. He held his nose as he knew he should, but he felt as if he was swallowing quart upon quart of blood. He'd never liked bloody noses; they always felt so wrong to him. The uncontrolled blood was always the worse. He was sure that it looked worse than it really was, but it felt worse than anything.

When he approached his tents, his guards came forward.

"Halt!" they shouted.

Now they were willing to stop intruders!

Daniel didn't have the patience or the strength to deal with them. He kept walking. A small morbid part of him actually hoped that one of them would kill him, at least then he wouldn't have to deal with it all.

No one did.

Daniel entered the torch light and staggered into his tent unimpeded. He came to stop in the center of his tent. He looked down at the white animal fur on his floor. Drops of bright red blood fell staining the fur. A few tears joined the blood.

Daniel looked up at his maids. They looked too shocked and horrified to speak. Daniel tried to smile but passed out before he could wonder if he'd managed it or not.

~ ~ ~

He woke up some time later lying on his back.

The boys were there starring down at him. Daniel could hear his maids scuttling around in the background. The first sensation that he felt was of a cold cloth being applied to his face. Daniel closed his eyes and let it sweep over him.

His entire face was gently swabbed. Daniel moaned a little. His face was sore; his nose was still throbbing, but he knew that he'd had worse in his time. But before the cloth wandered down to his neck. Despite however nice it felt, Daniel pulled away and quickly reached for his neck. He felt the bruising with his fingers and pulled the neck of his gown closed.

"He did this," Damat said.

Daniel didn't doubt that it was a statement.

He felt his eyes water as he realized that whatever hope Damat had been harboring was very much dead. Daniel reached up and touched Damat's face. His fingers still felt raw from defending himself and then falling on his hand after Bahonte had hit him, but he still swept his finger tips along the boys' smooth face.

"I can only give you one thing now," Daniel said as he let his hand fall. He sounded congested; his swollen nose made it hard for him to breathe. "After he kills me, I want you to leave Siarra. Mell'e loves you. She wants to be your wife. Cistus will believe you when you tell him the truth."

Daniel looked around him until he found Juno.

"My writing box," he said to her.

When his box appeared with Juno, he said, "Open it. Inside you'll find a letter with a strange seal."

Daniel didn't have to look. He knew what he'd put in there. He knew the letter that had taken him a month to write. He dropped the wax over the carefully folded letter of thick, homemade paper. And in the still soft wax he'd carefully carved the SG1 insignia with the tip of a sharpened nib.

"That is my letter to my family," Daniel said. "My last will and testament in this life. In it, I'm instructing Jack and Cistus to help you however they can. In it, I'm blaming your father for my death."

Daniel felt tears slide out of his eyes and into his hair. "It's all I can give you," he whispered.

Damat shook his head as he reasoned, "You're holy."

Daniel took in a breath through his mouth before he said, "I'm dangerous. I defy him. And I refuse to be his willing accomplice."

Damat shook his head, this time with a fierce jostle. "Just for now can't you be..."

"No," Daniel said gently. "Not for one minute. Not ever."

Daniel swallowed. "All that evil needs is for good men to do nothing. Pretending that wrongs don't exist is the same as condoning and committing them."

Daniel breathed in deeply before he reached out for Damat and for Helleck. The new boy scampered around behind him and pushed until Daniel was in a sitting position.

"I want to lie in bed," Daniel announced weakly.

CHAPTER 2 - A WOUND SO DEEP IT'S NEVER GOING TO SHOW

Jack looked over scroll that he'd been handed. The scroll held lists of names, family names, and more importantly - to the Siarran's - the relations and associations of the different families to the royal line.

He looked up at his recruits.

He rolled the scroll tightly in his hands before holding it behind his back. He grasped it with both hands as he surveyed the people in front of him. He was quiet for a long time as he carefully looked each one over.

There seemed to be a hush that fell over the entire hall, even the guards were unusually quiet.

"I understand the tension that I'm feeling from this room right now," Jack said in an even tone. "I understand just how badly everyone in this room wants to participate in this mission. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen."

Jack walked across to the men who had lined up to his specifications: arms length apart from each other, side-to-side, and back-to-front. About as regulation as he could get the men standing in their finest togas, and sandals.

Jack held up the scroll in his hand, "This document contains everything about who you are, what your name is, who your family is, and why society deems you to be the right person to be here." Jack opened his hand and let the scroll fall to the ground. "I could really give a goat's fart who your family is or what your name is! I don't care what your grand daddy did, or who your daddy knows! I don't care who your uncle went to school with or who your mama had lunch with last week!"

Jack studied the faces in front of him carefully as he said, "If you can't do what I need you to do, then your ass is out of here. I've already given directions to the Guard to weed you out." And like a good drill instructor, he nastily said, "Take a good look around because by the end of the day only ten percent of you are still going to be standing...if you're lucky!"

Jack turned to leave as he said, "Gadvin, they're yours."

Jack walked out and found His Highness standing in the wings. And he remembered to bring the Vestals.

Yeah!

Jack had been hoping that the man was there to see and not interfere, but that was not the case. That was not the case because the moment that Jack had cut a sharp turn to walk away from him the man quickly asked, "Was that wise?"

Jack didn't answer.

He heard the trump of footfalls scampering across the marble to catch up with his long stride.

"Those young men are from the finest families from across the kingdom."

"So what?" Jack replied.

"Their families are important!" Cistus insisted.

"Not to me," Jack said as he walked towards the porticos so he could exit out the back way towards the pier.

"But, Consort!" the King whined.

Jack stopped suddenly.

He wasn't shocked when he felt the slam of the King's body against him and then the assault of the man's perfume surround him.

Jack turned slowly and fixed the most practiced Colonel's stare on the man that a lifetime of military service had taught him to hone.

"What are we doing?" Jack asked. "Answer," Jack said before the man could respond. "We are going to invade a nation that is larger than your nation. We have to overcome an enemy on their own territory, with a standing army that is twice as large as yours, with fortified cities on every shore. And somehow we have to not only get there, we also have to find Daniel, rescue him, and then extract him."

Cistus was quiet. Not even the Vestals said a word.

"I think that I have my work cut out for me, Highness. And I most certainly don't have the time to deal with your political meanderings. If those men can pass the hell that they are about to undergo then they're good enough. I'm not carrying anyone. Everyone who goes will go with purpose or not at all. Now leave me," Jack growled. "I'm in a fowl mood and don't have it in me to deal with you."

As Jack walked away from the crowd of people he realized that Cistus wasn't completely stupid. At least he knew when to stay away.

Jack walked out of the Palace and down the portico's stairs. He wandered down to the pier and managed to angrily drop his body into his chair.

His head usually hurt when he was overstressed. But the word overstressed didn't begin to cover what he was feeling, what he'd been feeling for the past few days. When he'd arrived on Siarran soil, that first moment had been filled with anticipation and expectation. He'd been away from Daniel for three and a half months and couldn't wait to see him. Daniel had already been showing when he'd left. The little bulge had finally made things real for him. They were having a baby.

Instead of seeing Daniel, Ferretti had met him. The look on Lou's face was enough. Jack didn't have to hear a word. He'd rushed forward and grabbed Lou as he screamed, "Is he alive? Is he?"

"Daniel's been kidnapped!"

Jack had just stared. He hadn't even been aware that his hands had tightened on Lou or that he'd hurt the man.

Jack just shook his head as Lou squeezed out the words, "Couldn't tell you. The King swore he'd end all diplomatic relations if we squealed to anyone on the other side. But I had to get you here, Jack. That's why I lied and told the General that we had a possible diplomatic situation that only the Hiro's Consort could fix."

Things hadn't gone any better from that moment onward. Intel was sketchy and unverifiable. The usual channels that Cisuts' military used to spy on Kissante were not panning out. He couldn't call home for reinforcements without broadcasting his and Daniel's relationship, the fact that Daniel was pregnant, and creating a situation that pit Earth against one of their biggest potential suppliers of naquadah. The latter alone was enough to result in months or years of negotiations, a thing that Jack couldn't allow. And Cistus was almost as desperate as the Temple to get the Hiro of Hiros back, desperate enough to give Jack the title of General and entrust him with the rescue mission.

Yeah, no pressure.

He wasn't shocked when he heard a little pair of feet followed by the distinct sound of four long-nailed paws clicking along on the wood behind said little feet. Jack opened his eyes to find Adiani staring up at him with a smile on her face. The wind whipped her dark curly hair to frame her face.

She didn't ask or wait, but she did start the climb up onto his lap with a biscuit in her hand that she kept at bay so as not to crush it.

He knew when he was defeated and didn't bother to fight. He pulled her up the rest of the way so he could hold her as the dog lay down on one of his booted foot so he could lick himself in comfort.

Jack let his head fall back as the sounds of men screaming, panting, and pain reached his ears over the pounding of feet churning over the Palace grounds as Gadvin and the other guards ran the latest recruits. Adiani didn't waste any time in standing up on Jack, grabbing on to one of his ears, and peering as the sounds of the ragged men sped by.

When it was over Adiani sat back down and put her biscuit in her mouth. She bit down on it and chewed before looking at him, crumbles on her face. "Daddy screaming."

"Daddy's going to be screaming for a while. Important stuff what Daddy's doing."

"And you," Addet asked as she approached with a bowl in her hand.

Jack closed his eyes. "Please leave me alone, woman. Your sister already came by to mistreat me. She did everything except lash me and I've had enough."

Addet offered him a bowl without replying.

Jack sighed as he looked at it. The scent of a meat broth reached him.

"I'm eating enough," Jack said ignoring the bowl.

"When?" Addett asked.

"Earlier. Next time I'll write the menu in blood as well as how many bites I took."

The bowl did not retreat.

He looked at again, "Are you pregnant too?"

"It's good broth," she offered.

"You really need to teach that man to roll over and go to sleep at night! You haven't finished having the last one and he's already working on the next one." Jack shook his head. "He's trying to populate his own country."

"You won't deter me, General." Addet leaned in as she hissed, "The Hiro speaks of you often. I know exactly what you are like and I will watch you drink this broth."

Jack heard what she said. He also knew enough about marriage to understand to implied little threat that had been left unsaid. He took the bowl from her.

Addet smoothed her dress down and watched contently.

"So," Jack said on an exhale as he looked down into the murky depths of the broth, "Where's the other one?"

Addet was suddenly quiet as she considered her next words.

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Jack said with a smirk.

Smoothly, Addet replied, "Drink your broth and I'll leave you in peace."

"That's what they all say," Jack said before doing as he was told.

The liquid went down like a lead ball. He was sure that I probably tasted fine. Under normal circumstances he probably would have enjoyed it, but these weren't normal circumstances. Food tasted like sawdust; the only thing that he was enjoying at meals was beer. Lots and lots of beer. Copious amounts of beer with small cups of something strong called juaro. It tasted like a cross between gin and castor oil; he was pretty sure that it was some kind of moonshine. It hurt going down, made him feel like road kill come morning, but it did the job.

No one said anything, not really. By the time dinner time rolled around all Jack wanted to do was collapse from exhaustion and drink himself into oblivion.

Since he'd arrived it was just family at the table. King Cistus and his Consort Peditis, Cistus' Vestal wives -all fifteen of them-, and then Gadvin and his family. Jack hadn't failed to notice that Gadvin had pulled out the big artillery after Jack had gotten drunk two nights in a row, and spent most of those two days drunk as a rail...Hypocritical behavior as far as he was concerned from people who drank like fish.

Since their arrival, Addet and Bedai had successfully managed to keep him sober. Not only that, they also managed to nag him at every waking moment. Even though he didn't want to eat, they were effectively keeping his stomach full...with non-alcoholic items.

Jack offered the bowl back and then reached up to wipe his mouth on his sleeve.

"I'll take the liberty to remind you, General. Dinner is in exactly one hour."

"I just ate," Jack shot back.

She took on a very stern look as she repeated, "One hour."

She managed to give him an entirely new look before turning on her heel and walking away.

Jack looked away, his eyes finally settled on Adiani.

She looked up at him and sweetly said, "You in t'wouble."

Jack stared at her in return. Then he managed to laugh until there were tears rolling down his face. He even managed to make the dog nervous enough to jump on his two paws onto Jack's lap so he could sniff. By the time Jack opened his eyes and caught his breath, the dog had found Adiani's biscuit and was licking at it as she held it out to him.

"Don't share with him. You know what your father says."

Adiani smiled so that all of her baby teeth showed. Then she offered the dog-licked biscuit to him as she said, "You can have some."

"Mmm," Jack said. "But I just had all that broth. I think maybe Bobi wants the rest." As he watched her offer it to the dog and the dog in turn wolf the morsel down, Jack said, "Let's go down and see how your brothers and sisters are doing?"

He set her down carefully on her feet. The dog was up and ready to go. It took Jack a few long moments to ease his body out of the chair where it had settled.

Jack let Adiani take his hand and lead him down to where the others were. Jack could see and hear them. With a look he knew that they'd turned it into a game. He wasn't surprised. He probably should have been, but he wasn't.

Mottick and Mayalli were sitting on the pier as their brothers and sister jumped on the raft of lashed barrels that he'd put together for them earlier that morning. Mottick shouted and encouraged them on as Mayalli sat quietly, sadly. Unlike the others, she looked upset.

Jack surveyed the other three. Mad'rin, the oldest at fourteen, also seemed to be the one with less fear. Ello, the oldest girl and second eldest, was managing to keep up and give her bothers a good run. Nadal, the third one down, was enjoying himself much more than he was trying to master his balance or the rhythm of the water.

Jack didn't interrupt the game. Instead, he wandered over to Mayalli and slowly lowered himself onto the wooden pier. The dog didn't hesitate to wander up into his face to lick. Jack had to push him away.

"Did you fall?" Jack asked as he watched the other children.

She sniffed.

"I'm no good at that kind of thing. I hurt my hand." Mayalli turned and looked at Jack as she said, "I'm not like Ello. I don't like playing with boys." Then in an extremely dejected voice she said, "I won't make a good warrior."

Jack smiled at her as he said, "There are many different kinds of warriors. Just look at the Hiro."

Jack reached out and smoothed her long braided hair. Long ringlets of thick hair had come undone and few around her face. "Don't worry," he said gently. "You'll figure out what you're good at. If a child of Adivus wants to serve, there is always a way."

She sniffed again.

This time when she looked at him, she asked, "Can I stay with you?"

He smiled a little, not loving the idea but not wanting to spurn her either. "You want to be my Shadow Clerk?"

She looked confused.

"Military talk. That's a person who isn't a clerk but does the work of one." He looked at her and then nodded, "Okay, but realize that you will be working."

Like the other children had taken to doing, she saluted him and sat up a little straighter as hope spread across her face.

He did his best to smile back. But like every other smile, it didn't last long. Memories of Skaara were sharp and painful. The boy that would follow him around saluting him wasn't usually this sharp. But the pain that had been brought into his life from Daniel's abduction was almost enough to overshadow all of the happiness that Daniel had brought in. The man who had dispelled the darkness from his soul was gone and it felt as if his soul was being smothered. Like an undertow pulling him into the black water that he couldn't find the will to fight.

And with every giggle, every smile, every breath of baby freshness that each of the children brought out into the world, all he wanted was to weep.

His soul hurt.

~ ~ ~

That evening's catastrophe turned out to be not so big, but he felt guilty just the same. Mottick had managed to slip on one of the barrels. In his struggle, either during or just before falling, he managed to step down hard on a large splinter.

He managed to cry as one of his mothers cleaned his foot and his other mother held him. The Vestals even got into the act of mothering him, coddling, worrying, helping...

Cistus said nothing. He seemed to never get involved when the Vestals were preoccupied with something that wasn't him. Besides, Peditis was keeping his Highness distracted by feeding him slowly with his bare fingers. It was such obvious foreplay that Jack had to envy them.

Jack lay on his couch next to Gadvin and drank heavily.

Gadvin looked fucked. He'd managed to spend the entire day doing as he'd asked. He was sunburned. He looked very tired and though the food was within reach. He was favoring his mug of juraro flavored beer, like Jack.

Neither of Gadvin's women had noticed yet. For the moment, they were safe.

Gadvin had run the new potential recruits as hard as he could. They all washed out. Jack hadn't imagined it any differently in his mind.

Jack tossed back what little was left in his mug before he reached for the pitcher.

"It's not going to work," Jack said confidently as he poured himself a new beer. He slammed the ceramic pitcher on the wooden table.

The room went silent. Even Mottick's whining ended. All chatter stopped. All motion stilled.

Jack breathed in as he repeated, "It's not going to work."

Jack's hand went limp on the pitcher until his hand fell away from the low table and hung uselessly. Jack turned his face into the couch and hid there.

When he found the courage, Jack lifted his face and looked at Gadvin. It was intended for Gadvin, but he knew that everyone in the banquet hall heard when he conversationally said, "An all out assault will never work. We have minimal intel. We don't even have a definite location that we can confirm."

Jack let out a long steady breath. "Even if we had a location. I can't get trained men here. If we launch a heavy assault they're going to be waiting for it. Anticipating it."

Jack rolled over onto his back. He stared at the ceiling as he said, "As we speak, Bohonte is going to rally his people up into a frenzy. If we attack, we'd have to kill thousands of civilians just to face off with Bohonte's army."

Jack shook his head, "We can't win. Not like this."

Slowly, Gadvin said, "If they get in the way-"

"No!" Jack said as sternly. "I don't kill women and children. And those will be the first people who will run through the streets to defend the Hiro." Jack closed his eyes as he finally admitted, "We can't invade."

"Consort," Gadvin said tired, "with enough preparation-"

"With enough preparation," Jack said in the hollowest voice that he'd ever heard come from his own mouth, "the baby will be born. Bohonte won't need Daniel anymore, and he'll either kill Daniel or lock him away somewhere. Either way, we'll never be able to reach the baby; he'll disappear into thin air and no amount of bribery or force will help us find him."

Jack shuddered at the reality of what he himself had just said. "What we need is a fast solution. Something quick, something...agh," Jack pinched the bridge of his nose as he said, "If I were home I'd send in a couple of birds on recon and it would be over in a few days!"

"Birds?" Gadvin questioned.

Jack opened his eyes and lifted his head just high enough to explain, "Flying machines. They're big and go fast. We use them in fight-"

Jack sat up slowly.

At one point he felt a little dizzy and had to steady himself but he made it to a vertical position. Jack found himself face to table with the banquet that had been laid out.

Proudly, Jack announced, "I'm an idiot!"

A half-a-second later, Jack was running out of the banquet hall. The blood rushed immediately to his head and the halls began to move around in unpleasant ways. He wandered down those fun house halls just the same. He was full of determination, if not balance.

He more or less managed to stumble his way across the halls and the Palace to the Library.

It was late in the hour, but the lamps were still lit. Jack probably should have found it odd that Adevers was there still reading by lamp light, but his mind didn't grasp the thought. More importantly, he didn't care.

"Where's that thing?" Jack asked as he walked in and turned.

When he didn't see what he was looking for he wandered over to a large table piled high with map-sized scrolls. Jack didn't waste any time in digging through unrolling each large scroll as he went.

"Consort!" A panicky voice half-shouted. "Please! Tell me what you're looking for!"

"The thing," Jack replied as he continued to search. "You know!" Jack said growing frustrated.

Jack threw a few of the scrolls off the table.

"Which thing, Consort!"

Jack stopped and turned to look at Adevers.

Jack had to think before he responded, "Siarra. The big...."

A light went on in Adever's face as he said, "Here." Adevers pointed to the other part of the room.

As Adever's acolytes scurried around the room more and more lights went on. Each hazy, yellow lamp's glow illuminated the room by a few puffs of radiant light until finally Jack could clearly see the big map of Siarra hanging on the wall.

Jack felt his mouth water the way that it usually did when he felt the dawning of an attack plan.

"Do you have a copy of that?" Jack asked surprisingly sober.

Hesitantly, Adevers said, "Yes. It's a copy of an older map-"

Jack didn't wait to hear more. He walked right up to the map and ripped the heavy paper down from the wall.

There was a loud, single yelp from Adevers but it didn't go far.

Jack turned with the map in his hand. Seeing Gadvin standing by, Jack said, "Grab those two tables."

A second after the two tables in front of him slide together, Jack unfurled the map over the extra wide surface and stared down at it.

"Alright," Jack said studying the map. "I need this again. All of it, again."

Jack pawed through his pockets and managed to find a ball-point pen.

"Adevers," Jack said looking around. "Here. This time write in all the ports and major cities."

"Sir," Adevers said as he took the pen but still managed to say in an 'over-protective of books' tone that Jack knew all too well, "this map-"

"Isn't more important than Daniel," Jack said sternly.

Adevers managed to look ashamed of himself before he nodded and then began doodling on the map.

As the ports began to take shape on the bland map and outlines of cities began to take shape Jack felt more and more that his idea might just work.

"Shur," Gadvin said drearily, "their biggest fortified city."

"It's in direct line-to-sight with Kasante," Jack murmured.

"It's their first line of defense. They will be ready for us."

Jack looked up at Gadvin; they were in agreement.

As Adevers' hands moved over the map, Gadvin said, "They've spent the past sixty years building its walls. In most places it's as thick as twenty decas. The walls go up sixty decas from the ocean's surface. There is no way around it." Gadvin studied the map's surface as he mournfully said, "It guards the waterways that form their infrastructure. That's how they hid the Holy."

"You were there," It was thoughtless statement brought about by his still foggy mind. Jack could already hear the story and he already knew the ending.

Gadvin shook his head, but, his eyes never left the map as he said, "My grandfather was in the first wave. He made it as far as the harbor's wall. Most of his men were slaughtered. He told the story of what he saw from his death bed shortly after they made it back."

Gadvin looked up and met Jack's eyes. Jack was surprised that anyone else's eyes could be as empty as his.

"That city fought. All but four Guards fell there. The second the Siarran's were able to put the Holy on a small boat, they rowed into the channels and disappeared." Gadvin looked, sounded as if he were personally responsible for it all as he said, "They were overwhelmed. Not a single one of them actually made it onto Siarran land. They were driven back from the walls and barely managed to get away."

"What would you do?" Jack asked. "If you had a chance?"

Without hesitation, Gadvin responded, "Seek revenge, uphold, and clear my grandfather's name. All their names, everyone who's fallen."

Jack nodded. There was nothing that could be said. Nothing that could follow Gadvin's statement. Jack knew and understood that. He'd felt that drive before. He knew exactly what it was.

Instead of plying him with stupid responses meant to try and alleviate what wouldn't and couldn't heal through another person, Jack said nothing.

"Consort," Adevers said after a few more moments of quiet. "You must understand that this is not to scale, but it should do for general purposes."

Jack nodded once to the man and stepped up he pointed to Shur and its harbor. "How big is this city exactly?"

"Their largest city," Cistus replied. "But still much smaller than this. Bohonte is no fool. He doesn't allow his cities to grow too large."

Delina, Vestal queen, 'humpf'ed loudly. She rubbed her nine-month-large belly as she said, "The man is a beast. He defies the gods by placing laws on procreation."

Jack looked up at Gadvin for confirmation as he asked, "Small and mobile?"

Gadvin nodded, "All the villages and smaller surrounding towns are the same. Any buildings are built to withstand attack; otherwise they're always ready to attack or run."

Jack looked the map over again. The system of channels ran through most of the map like veins as they cut through every land mass.

"My spies have secured the information on that map," Cistus said. Then more cautiously he added, "Unfortunately, there is no way to know just how accurate they are."

"This is it." Jack touched the flat surface detailing several veins. "This is their weakness. It doesn't matter how accurate they are." Jack looked up at Cistus as he asked, "So long as they exist. Are we sure?"

"Yes," Cistus said confidently. "Our spies have been telling us about that water network for years. We just haven't gone in far enough to visually confirm it."

"It'll work," Jack said determinately. He pushed away from the table and began to pace. "I can get them. T and Carter will help."

As he realized that there wouldn't be anymore help coming, Jack stopped and pushed the heels of his hands onto his eyes. Jack crumbled down to the table as he tried to think through the fog.

"Consort," Gadvin inquired. "Tell me what you're thinking?"

"I can't get more men. Ferretti and his men went through to take my and my team's place so I could come here for this nice little retreat. If I request men my General will ask questions. I can request my people. Two. Two jocks to take those birds up won't do much."

Jack sighed. He turned to Adevers and asked, "So how big is that country?"

Without flinching Adevers said, "550,980,645,123 decas."

"English!" Jack said impatiently. "In feet." Jack held his hands out at a foot length. "This is a foot. I want you to convert that measurement into square feet."

Adevers didn't hesitate to pull out a length of cord from one of his pockets. He measured the distance between Jack's hands with the cord. As he walked away to a near by desk he said, "You do realize that this won't be to scale?"

"Feet, Adevers; I want to know how big it is in feet!"

One of Adevers' acolytes brought an abacus. In seconds the slamming of wooden beads could be heard as he made calculations. Adevers wrote a figure down and then walked it to Jack.

"I had to extrapolate. Even if my initial guess on what a feet translates into that could turn into thousands of decas in difference-"

Jack reached out and ripped the paper from Adevers' hands. He looked over the number and felt an internal cringe grab him.

"So basically Siarra is about as big as North America." Jack sat back in his chair. "Even if we fly twenty four hours a day on a rotating shift we still won't be able to cover the area."

Jack got up again and began to pace, "I need to think."

"You need more men," Gadvin offered, "the Palace Guard-"

"No," Jack said quickly. "I'm sure they're more than trustworthy, but I can't turn these ships over to them."

"You said they were birds?"

Jack sighed. "What do you call something that is small, mean, and flies fast?"

"A tail hook!" Delina said instantly.

Jack looked up at her.

She didn't hesitate to lift up her sleeve and show him a large nasty looking bruise on her upper arm.

"It's a large insect. The barb goes in and the poison hurts. I found a nest in the garden yesterday."

Jack nodded once, "Then we'll call them Tail Hooks." He took a step away before he turned back and said, "You're okay, right?"

She smiled pleasantly and said, "Of course I am. My sisters have cared for me quite well."

"Courteously," Cistus said catching Jack's attention as he came forward confused. "A machine that flies?"

Jack looked at him, "You remember that long, little boat that ran without sails? Well this is a small heavy looking thing that flies high. You attack the enemy while they are on the ground. It's powerful and they don't have the weapons to take it out of the sky."

"The advantage of height is very powerful," Gadvin said approvingly.

"But only if we can draw them out. These channels are our only hope. Bohonte has to have supplies brought to him." Jack began pacing again as he thought out loud. "Right now, he has to be near frantic. Yeah, he has Daniel but Danny is a real pain in the ass. He's defiant, argumentative, and uncooperative. He's the most stubborn bastard that I've ever met in my life. If he wants to cause trouble..." Jack couldn't help the smile. "He'll find a way."

Jack turned and walked the other way as he argued, "Bohonte has to keep him safe and out of the way. He can't take Daniel into public. Besides, political rivals might try to take Daniel away."

Quickly, Cisuts said, "There are several political rivals that would gladly step up."

"Which means that he'll have to keep the Hiro very safe," Gadvin said. "That means many men. He can't trust any one battalion."

Jack replied, "He either feeds them or risks chaos. Either way, we watch the waterways and the shores. The supply lines should lead right to them."

"They could move," Gadvin challenged. "What if they simply take the Hiro away?"

"No," Delina said very sure. "The Hiro's baby is too precious. No one serving any Temple would allow it. The Hiro is too close to delivery now to travel. It's a matter of the sanctified."

"Then we do it now," Cistus said to Delina before turning to Jack. "The anniversary of the Holy's theft takes place in less than ten days. I won't see another one go by."

"Cistus," Jack said exhausted, "I still need pilots."

"I have warriors to choose from," Cistus insisted.

"This isn't a matter of wielding a sword. This is completely different manner of waging war. I can't take a person who doesn't even know my language and teach them how to fly a machine that they would have to coordinate with two other people that don't even speak your language! That's the most-"

"How big do you have to be?" Ben'ai asked quietly.

It caught his attention though. He had an entire tirade that he would have gladly unleashed on Cistus. Anything to take the pressure out of his head.

Instead, he turned to see Ben'ai standing by her sister. Each woman had her five month old baby on her shoulder.

"How big do these new warriors have to be? How strong?" she asked.

Dryly, Jack asked her, "Did Daniel teach you English?"

"No," She said easily. "But he was teaching the children. They know."

Jack only stared at her for a few long seconds. A part of him wasn't sure if he heard her correctly.

It took a few more long moments before it even occurred to Jack to take two steps away from the table's area to circumvent the people so he could see the children who were standing out of the way by their mothers.

Jack turned to Adevers and said, "Fetch me paper, pens, and ink."

Jack was careful with his body language and eyes as in English he said, "Children, come to the table and sit down."

He watched as Mad'rin, Mayalli, Ello, Natal, and Mottick walked over and sit down without further urging.

"Shit," Jack murmured under this breath. He caught himself and then asked, "Exactly what did Daniel teach you?"

Mad'rin was quick to say, "Movies! He brought DVDs and showed us movies about the Air Force and what you do. I understand what a bird and bogey are. We saw Top Gun!"

Just as quickly, Jack said, "Tom Cruise was Navy, not Air Force."

Mayalli nudged her brother as she added, "The Hiro also showed us ancient Greek plays. We've studied them and the words they use are about the same so learning English wasn't very hard."

"And military speak," Nadal said. "Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. The Hiro said it would make you happy."

Jack didn't even realize that he was smiling as he asked, "How much of the military speak did he teach you."

As if they were in a class, Jack heard them recite the military alphabet code word by word.

The children were on Romeo when Adevers arrived with the items that had been requested. The man didn't hesitate to give each of the children a sheet of the thick homemade paper a pen and two pots of ink to share between them.

When they were finished with the recitation, Jack said, "I'm going to speak in military. I want you to write down the meaning of the words."

Jack waited until they each had an ink dipped pen in hand.

He wasn't sure but he said it anyway, "Sierra Gulf Niner. Angels flying at coordinates Tango Zulu four, three, zero, bogeys in pursuit, driver punching out."

He didn't expect much.

Still in English, Jack said, "Pens down. Close your eyes."

They obeyed.

Then he added, "Turn the papers around and push them forward."

Jack walked up to the table and said, "Stand."

After another moment he said, "At ease."

"Well," Jack said in Kissantian as he looked over their happy faces. "At least you all know how to obey orders."

Jack looked down at the papers.

"Mottick," Jack said as he looked over his 'test.' "Your spelling is bad, but at least you understand some of it."

He pulled the next paper over and said, "Nadal. Same."

He pulled the next paper over, "Ello." Jack flinched. "Don't any of you know how to spell?"

"With respect, General." Mayalli said. "The Hiro didn't teach us how to write...much, only how to speak it. We're writing based on our language."

Jack didn't respond but he did line up all the papers. He found the same answers across the board.

"Then you all either did very badly or very well. Mayalli?"

"Sir?" she said standing a little straighter.

"Sierra Gulf Niner. Angels flying at coordinates Tango Zulu four, three, zero, bogeys in pursuit, driver punching out. What did I say?"

Mayalli thought for a moment before saying, "A member of the SG 9 team flying a...Tail Hook at position TZ 4 3 0 is being followed by the enemy and has to abandon their Tail Hook."

Jack walked away from the table and the children as he ran his fingers through his hair. It wasn't a long debate.

He turned and found Gadvin. "I won't do this without your and your wives permission. Teaching them this is stupid, dangerous, and self-serving. Under normal circumstances I'd never teach anyone this young these skills. Never!"

Ben'ai quickly walked up doing a little jiggling, bouncing walk for the sake of the baby in her arms. Looking into Jack's face she said, "The children of Adivus stand ready."

She bounced away still rocking the sleeping baby.

Addet walked up next. She didn't seem to be as sure but she nodded before bouncing away with her sister.

Jack turned to Gadvin.

Gadvin managed a small smile. "Do you really think that I'd go to war without at least one of my children at my side? Mad'rin is old enough to wield a sword."

Jack countered by saying, "I'd be taking Mad'rin, Nadal, Mottick...and the girls. Your culture makes that distinction between women and men, not mine."

Gadvin looked away for a moment. His consideration took the length of ten seconds. Ten long seconds filled completely with doubt that was evident on his face. At the end of it, he nodded. "They're yours."

Jack returned the nod.

~ ~ ~

Jack was sobered quickly once he had a plan. Most of the others had gone off to bed. The library was still populated only because Adevers' acolytes were used to burning the midnight lamp with their master.

Jack heard the steps behind him and turned. It seemed as if Gadvin reneged on his decision quickly.

Jack turned back to the map and quickly said, "I told you I wouldn't teach them without your permission. All you have to do is say a word."

Gadvin was quiet; that in and of itself was both bad and good. When Gadvin didn't speak, Jack knew it was more bad then good. He quickly cleared the library by ordering all the acolytes away.

Jack sat up on the table and lazily said, "Okay" in English. Then in Kissantian he said, "Speak your peace."

"I can understand the boys. They can grow strong from your teachings. I can...understand."

Jack doubted the words. It was in Gadvin's body language, his voice, and his eyes.

When he didn't continue, Jack said, "Here's the truth. Mayalli has more drive than anyone her age that I've ever met. And Ello's as good as any boy at anything that I've seen her do. I don't expect anything but the best from her. They're both extremely smart; I think they'll actually make good pilots."

Gadvin was stony in silence.

Despite the cultural differences that he knew were fixed in place, Jack had to ask, "Do you really think that they're that feeble-minded or is this a philosophical thing against women doing men's work? I'm just trying to understand."

There was a stretch of silence from Gadvin again, but before Jack could speak again, Gadvin said, "May I ask you a question, General?"

"Yes."

"It's very personal."

"I understand." When Gadvin didn't readily speak up, Jack said, "I doubt that you can insult me, Gadvin."

Jack saw Gadvin swallowed hard just before he asked, "Have you ever bedded a woman?"

Jack was surprised by the question but did say, "Yes. I was married once, before Daniel."

Gadvin didn't seem to take the news well.

"Is this a problem?" Jack asked as he wondered if he'd now be forced to prove his loyalty to Daniel in some way.

"General," Gadvin said almost teary. "I may not have fathered them. I may not have raised them from swaddling, but they are my daughters."

Jack nodded and waited for more information.

Jack saw tears in Gadvin's eyes as he said, "They just aren't old enough yet. Ello is still only a baby."

Jack's face twisted into a knot. He jumped off the table and approached Gadvin carefully. "Gadvin," Jack asked, "what exactly do you think I'm going to do with your children?"

Gadvin looked away as the tears in his eyes fell.

"Oh, man," Jack groaned in English as he walked away. He breathed deeply a few times but somehow didn't manage to lose the anger that was building up.

Weakly, Gavin said. "It's a master's right to teach all things-"

"Gadvin," Jack said carefully. "I don't know what your people do to children. And at this point, I really don't want to know. But when I say that I'm going to teach them; that's all I intend to do."

Gadvin looked up at Jack but he looked unconvinced.

"There are laws on my world against that kind of thing. I've never ever touched a child like that, and I never will. Your girls and your boys are perfectly safe." Jack thought about it for a moment and then easily added, "If I ever break that promise; I command you to kill me in the Hiro's name because that's on whose name I'm offering that promise."

~ ~ ~

"Sir," one of the many Generals said as they entered the room on Cistus's heels, "We have over 20,000 men prepared to go. By the end of this month we can conscript another 10,000. We'll be ready to march on Siarra-"

"And cause the deaths of thousands of people," Jack cut in.

The General ignored Jack's comment as he said, "We have the full cooperation and backing of the Naval forces-"

"Who will lose ships and men too," Jack said.

"You're Highness," the General pled only to be quieted when Cistus raised his hand.

Cistus looked at Jack for a long moment before turning to the crowd of Generals before him.

He turned to the General who had just spoken and said, "The Hiro once said to me, 'an army travels on its stomach. You must be able to feed your men if you are to win any war.' How do you intend to support an army of 30,000 men fighting in another country, across the water, when that nation has, to this day, a hard time feeding its own people?"

The General looked stumped. His mouth opened a few times but nothing useful came out.

"And in the meantime," Jack announced, "I'd like offer your Highness a way to get the Hiro back with a fraction of men, time, effort, and cost."

Cistus turned to Jack. "You have my attention."

Jack looked at Gadvin and Adevers and nodded.

"We've been putting this together all morning. I think we have a plan that will work. But, in order to make it work I need you to trust me."

~ ~ ~

"They're completely, fucking useless," Jack pronounced as he looked over what was being done.

There was no argument. Not even Cistus tried to defend what they were seeing.

"What do you want to do?" Gadvin asked as he watched yet another Guard dressing down another recruit who couldn't do what was required of him.

Jack turned away from the scene in front of him. The latest batch of recruits were being tested on land for speed, strength, and ability before being driven into the water. Half of their original numbers couldn't swim and were eliminated because of it. The subsequent eliminations were happening every few minutes. Like popcorn in hot grease, one followed after the other.

There where now only a dozen or so left from the original one hundred.

Pathetic.

Jack leaned down on the railing and said nothing.

The activity on the Palace grounds had started gathering a lot of attention. By law, regular folk couldn't set foot on the Palace's grounds, but they could sit on the pier opposite those grounds or float on small crafts in the narrow channel of water that flowed behind the Palace and Temple grounds. From those places everything was being watched.

Jack had noticed the boys who maneuvered the channels before. Sometimes they rowed little boats. Other times large floating pieces of wood. He'd noticed that they were more often than not dressed in rags, ranged wildly in ages, and were always in the water.

"Who are they?" Jack asked.

"Who? The Trepa?"

"Those boys," Jack asked as he pointed with his chin.

"Trepa," Gadvin said disdainfully. "They're lost boys. Their mothers are usually whores. What good are they in the whore houses? The lucky ones are killed at birth or kept until they're too old to have in the brothels. Then they live by running in packs, fishing, stealing where they can."

"So they spend a lot of time on the water?"

Gadvin was quiet.

It was Cistus that said, "They can't be trusted, Consort."

"I don't want them to hold my money," Jack said as he straightened. "I need strong swimmers that can keep their balance on water no matter what happens. Tail Hooks whip up a lot of wind and water." Jack turned to sweep his eyes over the 'recruits' one last time, "They're not going to be any use." Jack turned to Gadvin. "Round up as many Trepa boys as you can find. I need a flight deck crew."

Jack left the field and walked back to the Temple where the children were being taught. He walked past the security that he'd set up himself. The soldiers had standing orders from Cistus himself not to allow unauthorized personnel inside, including Cistus himself, until the classes were over.

Jack was glad that claiming sacred knowledge had worked. No one would break the vows surrounding the Temple's sacred knowledge. It didn't matter to Jack if no one understood English or not, his more paranoid side wanted no unauthorized personnel in the room. Period.

He entered the room and found the children where he'd left them, in Carter's capable hands.

He watched without saying anything as they went through yet another class. The children already looked tired. They looked a little droopy around the edges and ready for a break. He was surprised that they were as upright as they were. As it was, he knew that they'd been up since the crack of dawn and they'd been at their 'piloting crash course' for ten straight hours.

Jack didn't hang around long; he had an appointment to keep.

Jack picked up his pace to the Temple's Great Hall. He saw that the 'gate had yet to activate and he was a bit surprised. He checked his watch.

He was still looking at his watch when the 'gate activated. As he saw the ring begin its turn Jack couldn't help the smile.

"Right on time," He said gladly as he stepped forward.

The Palace Guard that surrounded the Stargate 24/7 knew about this appointment. It was expected, and so no one reacted or overreacted.

Within seconds, the wormhole activated and Teal'c stepped through dressed in full Serpent Guard armor. Teal'c stopped only long enough to deactivate his helmet. It quickly folded back and sunk down with an audible clunk and slide of metal on metal.

Teal'c's sharp eyes zeroed in on Jack inside of a second. Despite the lack of emotion on his face, Jack could clearly make out the twinkle in the man's eye.

"Tell me that it's great news," Jack said as he fell into step with Teal'c.

"Indeed," Teal'c responded impassively. "There's been a great battle just above the planet. Reinforcements have been called but they are hours away. At the moment there is a crippled Ha'Tak stuck in orbit."

"Compliment?"

"Minimal. The attack was serious, the ship is useless, but there are should still be ships left in the bays." Tea'c stopped and turned to face Jack, "We only have a few hours."

"More than we need," Jack said as his mind raced ahead. "We still have the gear that SG 2 left. I was packing heavy when I left the base. I think we have enough ammo for an assault."

"There is no way to know exactly how many men are left on that ship." Teal'c wasn't a man to waste words. Jack turned to face his friend and waited. "I will follow you, O'Neill. Daniel Jackson is my comrade too, but you are leading with your heart. Be careful that this mission does not cost you more than you are willing to pay."

"Daniel is worth anything," Jack replied.

"Even your life?"

"Yes."

"And ours?"

Jack was quiet.

"I'm not ordering you to come. If you want to tag along, you're welcome."

Jack began to walk away. He wasn't surprised when he heard Teal'c's footfalls keeping in step.

It infuriated Jack almost immediately. He stopped quickly and turned with it showing across his face.

But it was Teal'c who spoke first, "We will require more men. Able to fight, able to kill."

Jack forced himself to release the anger so he could say, "Gadvin will help."

Teal'c bowed his head.

Jack turned to head back out to the Palace grounds as he bothered to say, "Carter will be needing you with the children."

CHAPTER 3 - A TIME TO STAND

Jack didn't hesitate to open up his compact and dig his finger into the black, green, and brown paint. He smeared his fingers across his face in the same way that he always did. He wasn't a horribly superstitious person but the same checks and habits had kept him alive this far, this long. There was no reason to change now.

He checked himself carefully. For all intents and purposes they were going Black Bag. No orders. No authorization. They couldn't afford to be recognized by anyone.

It was the only reason that he allowed any of it. This wasn't how he wanted to go. He felt uncomfortable and ill-equipped but at least he wasn't wearing a toga or the man-skirts that most of the soldiers usually wore.

It was his outright refusal that had prompted the Vestals to design pants. They weren't combat gear, but at least they covered what he needed covered. Everyone who was going was wearing them, in addition to the usual Temple Guard uniform. There was one addition, the U.S. made body armor that Daniel had stockpiled in the Palace for the royal family and the few P-90's and hand weapons that they had on hand.

The moment that they committed themselves to the task, every person left aboard that Ha'tak had died. They just didn't know it yet.

He bent down to double check his gear just as the Vestals and the priests began their prayers. Incense was lit and swung in braziers around the room as the priests blessed each Place Guard in turn before each Vestal queen took a warrior and anointed their heads and weapons with oil before praying quietly over him.

It was a little much, but Jack didn't care as long as they did their job.

Jack also didn't miss the fact that Cistus was making his way back towards Jack.

"No," Jack said before the conversation began again.

"All-"

"No."

"General, I am-"

"No," Jack said as he shrugged on his cloth sack. It wasn't the usual kind of nylon rucksack that he was used to, but it would do. "You're not going. I don't care what training you have. It's too dangerous. But you will follow orders and stay. We'll either be back in thirty minutes or we'll be dead."

"I can fight," Cistus explained again for the hundredth time.

"Good," Jack conversationally. "You're not going. You have a crown. You have to stay here. After your son is born, you can take whatever stupid chances you want with your life. However, until such a time...no."

"All right!" Jack said loudly. "We leave in," Jack checked his watch, "three minutes...mark."

Jack walked towards the 'gate as he shouted to the Palace Guards, "Clear the room! The Royal Family is to be secured now. The second that the God's Eye activates, this entire world is in danger. Any thing could come through! This world will be protected at all costs!"

The sound of a hundred men crammed in to the room clanking their fists on their breasts plates bounced around the Great Hall's high ceilings. Every solider in the city was converged on the Temple and Palace grounds. Two thousand in total.

He hoped it would be enough if the worst case scenario did take place.

"As I've stated," Jack said clearly so that everyone within ear shot would hear, "getting in is easy. Coming home without bringing them with us, is not. Be careful!"

Jack walked over to his team.

Quietly, he said, "You can still back out."

Carter looked up at him. She looked surprised.

"We're going to do something really stupid here. I'm not asking either of you to risk your lives."

Sam locked her weapon with a practiced hand movement. Her eyes looked tired; but dead serious when she said, "Ready, sir."

Teal'c didn't have to say a thing. His face showed his feelings.

"Okay," Jack said on an exhale. "Then we're ready."

Jack walked away from them to the bomb. Sam had managed to piece it together from raw chemicals and components that she'd found around the Palace, Temple, and what she could scrounge from the supplies that they had on hand in the grounds keeper's sheds.

It was little more than a series of barrels filled with a hodge-podge of improvised chemicals and basic fertilizers connected to the one remote control trigger that Sam was able to rig.

There were five men assigned to carry their load through the gate and set the barrels behind the DHD.

"On my signal," Jack said to the lead Guard responsible for transporting the first bomb.

Jack turned to face the 'gate.

Usually, he loved it. He lived for it. He enjoyed the anticipation that built up in the minutes leading to the wormhole's activation. That first step up the ramp that lead to the cold rush stepping through never failed to make his heart pound in his chest. But this time, all he seemed to feel was a deep sense of shame.

He pounded that feeling down as far and deep as he could. It was selfish. He knew that. He also couldn't think about it. He had an objective to accomplish.

Jack looked up at the ropes, pulleys, and rigs that stretched up to the frame that had been built up above and around the 'gate. The large cover stone that they had improvised was part of a wall that had been taken from a demolition site, literally masonry and mortar. If it all worked the way it was supposed to, maybe he wouldn't be bringing hell to Kassante.

With any luck...

Jack took two steps up the wooden ramp that he'd demanded be built.

He turned and looked over the men in front of him.

In his best voice, Jack said, "We have one chance! Everyone has their assignments! There will be no mistakes!"

The sound of a hundred men pounded on their armored chests with metal clasped wrists resounded at him.

"Masks!" Jack shouted a second before he reached down and pulled his cloth up across his face and tied it around where the cloth was secured around his head like a turban. Jack reached down and pulled his helmet on and then dropped down the metal face plate.

As he walked down he noticed that Sam was given a demon horned helmet. Teal'c was stuck with spikes on his helmet.

Jack felt a certain kind of pride that Cistus had given him his own armor. The helmet he wore bore a crown, his faceplate was skull like, and the chest plate over his black outfit was as gilded as the draped black silk that joined the cape at the back of his armor. He held no illusions that Cistus' armor would actually stop a staff blast. However, he was sure that if he did manage to take a direct blast, the armor would probably cook him alive. But, in the least it completed the disguise.

He reached down and adjusted his bullet proof vest under his breast plate as he joined his team at the base of the ramp a moment before the 'gate was dialed.

Jack took his weapon in hand and gripped it tightly as he dove deep to call on the same lack of emotion and anger that he'd carried into a fight every time he had to do something distasteful during his Black Ops days.

It was when the wormhole activated that it all became a dream to him. Like a switch the ballet began with a nod from Jack's head that he didn't even feel.

The guards on either side of the 'gate pulled the pins and sent in the concussion grenades across to the other side.

"Five, four, three, two, one," Jack took a deep breath and said, "Last one in."

In synchronized fashion honed from mission, after mission, all three pointed their weapons and readied themselves for action as they ran up the ramp and into the blue.

The disorientation only ever lasted a few seconds. The cold passed quickly. But the smoke and acrid smell of destruction and death in the immediate area was strong and immediate.

They found the door that led out of the room by rote. Luckily, Goa'uld weren't overly creative in their building plans. They opened the door and marched out as the sounds of the Temple Guard coming through the Stargate began.

They encountered their first Jaffa in the next hall. He was alone. They never shot. Jack simply walked up behind him and slit his throat before wiping the blade on the Jaffa and walking on before the man could fall.

They made it to the next level with very little trouble. The ship was on minimal compliment, and they were either busy or somewhere else. Either way, they were meeting far less resistance than Jack had expected.

That thought ended when they turned the next corner.

Six Jaffa turned all at the same time to face them.

Jack had been holding one of the knives that he'd borrowed from Cistus' arsenal in his hand at the time. He didn't hesitate to throw it the second it registered in his mind that he was looking at the enemy. He nailed the first Jaffa in the throat before running and diving for the closest wall.

He heard staff blasts, several aimed in his general direction.

Jack didn't bother to look back to see where the others were once his survival instincts kicked in and he knew, he just knew, that someone was sneaking up on him. He quickly ran to the end of the short wall. He could see the next and the break in between. There was someone behind it.

Jack pointed his weapon around the corner and fired a few rounds. Between shots he heard someone, more than someone, take the bullets and fall.

Jack turned his head and saw Teal'c at the other end raise his weapon at him. Jack inhaled as he ducked down as low as he could get. Teal'c fired.

Jack heard the popping sound bounce off the walls as the sound of cartridges flying and bouncing off the tight golden walls tinkled like little bells.

The second the shots ended Jack rose and turned. Weapon pointed, he found a dead Jaffa.

Jack quickly changed gears and checked around the wall before proceeding out. Carter was already waiting in the hall with her weapon drawn.

Together they continued down the hall.

Staff blasts behind them turned them quickly. Instead of finding a horde of Jaffa, they saw two Jaffa running towards them before being shot in the back. As the second one hit the ground they saw Gadvin run up, step down on the Jaffa's head and ram his spear into the back of his neck.

And Jack knew that it was Gadvin. The red helmet with the tufts of scalp hanging from the three high horns couldn't be anyone but him.

Gadvin didn't waste any time picking up the Jaffa's staff and dropping his spear. Several other Palace Guards ran up, several already had staffs in hand.

"A question, General," Gadvin said as he held up a zat. A moment later the zat primed up ready to fire. "What do these do?"

"Shot them once, they faint. Shoot twice, they die. Three times, and they're in hell!"

Gadvin's eyes smiled brightly as he gripped the staff in one hand and the zat in the other.

The sound of more Jaffa converging on their position became very evident.

"Make noise! Keep them here! We're headed to the Tail Hooks! Count down in," Jack checked his watch as Gadvin checked his, "Ten minutes!"

"Understood, General!" Gadvin said before barking out orders to his men to take position.

Jack took his team in the other direction and hid behind one of the many walls available in the passage. Within seconds of the pounding footsteps passing by the sound of staff blasts and death filled the air; SG 1 ran quietly away from the sound and towards where they hoped the glider bays would be.

They side stepped more than a few Jaffa. Most were too busy to bother with anything else. It appeared as if the ship was barely keeping together. Most of the Jaffa that they passed in the halls were stripped down from their armor, their weapons resting nearby as they worked on trying to keep their life support systems and ship together long enough for their rescue to come.

They weren't quite at the glider bay when they stopped cold. The sound of a Jaffa speaking Goa'uld reached them.

Just after a particularly long winded sentence, Jack turned his head to Teal'c.

On cue, Teal'c said, "They are emptying explosive materials from the glider bay. There is severe structural damage."

Jack neared the end of the hall and took a quick peak around the edge. He saw several Jaffa pulling boxes and crates out of the bay's open doors.

Jack thought for a horribly sobering moment.

"Grenades?" he asked the other two in a quick hand signal.

They shook their heads.

It had been too much to ask for.

He checked his watch. They had a full three minutes and twenty seven seconds to get into the bay, secure the shuttles, and fly around to the other side of the ha'tak.

He would have rather done it quietly, quickly, while attracting minimal attention from the surrounding Jaffa on the floor, but if there wasn't a choice...

Jack held up three fingers, two, one. He turned and ran towards the Jaffa hugging the inside wall as he fired. Sam's line-of-fire streaked by him the entire time. Teal'c didn't get to squeeze off a shot before it was over.

They regrouped on their side of the bay's open door. Three seconds later Jack gave the nod that led them inside.

The bay was surprisingly empty.

They moved fast just the same.

What they were looking for wasn't with the gliders. They went past them and down one level of steps to the next level down and then ran towards the small shuttles that they needed which were kept of to one side.

Jack neared his and tripped the catch that popped open the canopy. He climbed up as quickly as he could into the driver's seat; one leg in he heard the first staff blasts that announced unwanted visitors.

He fell back against the seat so that his hip hit the cushion as he fired his weapon before he was even able to balance it properly in both hands. He slid other leg over the side and into the cockpit as he continued to fire. The Jaffa disappeared back into the hallway quickly. Jack could hear the sound of one of the shuttles taking off and the second's engine was roaring to life.

Jack continued to lay down cover fire from his seat. Until Teal'c's ship was up and facing the bay doors. Jack didn't waste time. He lowered the canopy, secured a communication unit onto his jaw, and started the engine as Teal'c fired his ship's weapons.

When Jack felt the ship respond to his commands he looked up to find that Teal'c had taken out most of the glider bay's wall.

"Time to go," Carter said. She fired from position.

The wall, structurally sound or not, gave way quickly. They were able to fly out without any problems.

"Rendezvous time," Jack said as he maneuvered a tight curve as he exited and flew as fast as he could. "We've got forty seconds to the light show."

Flying there was easy; it was the waiting once they arrived that was nerve wracking. No one said anything as they hung in the cold of space and lingered in the unknown. Unable to turn back. Unable to help their men inside. Unable to go forward or backwards. They waited, depending on the work of others to get them home safely.

The side of the ship stood solid and invincible just before a powerful explosion burst through those walls releasing the atmosphere that it contained inside to the vacuum of space. Several bodies wearing Jaffa armor, rubble, and metal came shooting out of the gaping hole that had been created in the ship. When it had settled Jack flew in.

The 'gate was still active. He flew through it slowly. He realized quickly that 'threading the needle' was easier at a faster speed. Easing through it kept the possibilities of blowing himself up to a minimum but he hit the 'gate twice. He felt stupid.

Jack arrived at the other side facing the Temple's great ceiling. He maneuvered the ship all the way to the top, right to the delicate renditions of the 'gate addresses that had been skillfully crafted from precious stones. Jack could look up and see them sparkle and his only thoughts where that they were no match for Daniel's eyes.

The grief welled up inside his chest. He had to look away.

He looked down and found Sam and Teal'c in their own ships. The Temple Guard were below them. The Stargate had been lowered down by the pulleys to lie on the Temple's marble floor and the men were carefully lowering the cover stone that they had in ready.

Jack nodded to himself.

He could see several Temple guards lying on the ground. The unmistakable sight of blood stained more than a few of them, and the white marble floor beneath them.

It wasn't a perfect mission, but it would do.

Teal'c had been the last through and in the lowest position. He was also closest to one of the nearest large windows.

The Temple's priests had held great opposition that they might be bringing a war to their Temple, on holy ground. But they weren't given a choice. They had the great stained glass windows, furniture, and statues removed because of it. Judging by the shrapnel buried in the walls as he passed through the window himself, Jack realized that it was a good thing that - for once - the priests had been right.

As he exited the Temple, he heard the cheers. Even through the ship's insulated walls he could hear the buzz of people cheering. Jack had to the side and down to be sure. The Palace Guard surrounding the Temple cheered and waved their shields as they flew overhead.

It wasn't even a short-lived trill for Jack. He flew to the prepared area; the impromptu landing pad. The only place with a strong enough foundation to hold the weight of the ships, provide the security that would be needed, and proximity that Jack wanted.

As he landed on the porticos behind the Palace, Jack saw the children pile out. Mayalli even had Adriani on her hip as they watched the ships land by their mother's sides. They weren't supposed to be there. They were supposed to be somewhere safe.

Jack wanted to get angry and yell, but he couldn't drum up the passion.

CHAPTER 4 - AND THE CHILD SHALL LEAD

He couldn't sleep anymore. Most nights he tossed and turned until it hurt so badly that he just had to get up. That's when his maids would wake up and light lamps. No matter how quiet Daniel tried to be, they always woke up...if only to sit and worry over him.

He appreciated it, but he also hated it. Daniel always would rather that they returned to bed, but they never did.

This night however, there was no sleep.

Daniel sat up and sniffed through his clogged sinuses. The bruises were at least in a new place. He didn't get it in the face this time. Bohonte had taken notice of the way fat lips and black eyes upset his nobles. No. Bohonte was a lot of things; stupid wasn't one of them.

Now, instead of just hitting he was lashing. He was methodical in the way he took pleasure in discipline. He liked to watch Daniel take his top off, admired it. Daniel would be asked to bend over, if not he was usually pushed down roughly before the first sting of the leather came down on his back.

As he shifted, he felt one of the bandages pull. He knew from long experience that he'd bled through again. His bandages needed changing, again.

Despite what he wanted, Daniel said, "Juno. Wake the others."

In moments, Juno was awake and rousing the others.

Daniel leaned over to one side trying to take the pressure off his bad side.

It didn't take long for the lamps and torches to cast their hazy, yellow light across the tent. Then the first tugs at his sleeping gown would come. Daniel allowed them to strip him to the waist so that they could begin the process of soaking his bandages. His back was cleaned and dressed carefully.

Daniel had spent time training them in how to deal with wounds. He didn't want to risk an infection that might hurt the baby...if there even would be a baby.

Despite his best hopes, a part of him wondered if they would both live through it. Daniel knew that Bohonte was more and more careful about hurting the baby. He wanted it. That much was certain. He didn't seem to have a use for Daniel anymore. And that worried him.

The moment his maids were finished, Daniel was helped up and then dressed properly. When he was ready he walked out into the night.

He figured that it was around four, maybe four thirty. It didn't matter. With the moon up or not, he knew the way in the dark. He knew where every rock was, every step to take and avoid.

With Juno on one side and another maid on the other, he made it down to the platform. He was winded and tired by the time he got there, but he made it. Every day the short trip grew harder. Both directions were miserably hard and he hated that. He hated that he had to relive himself so often. He hated that he had to walk around hurting. He hated everything...except this.

Two guards walked up and helped him down onto the cushions. A back rest and pillows were brought in and then, finally, he could rest in the one place that was left for him and him alone. Sitting on the platform at that time of night was beautiful. From the advantage of height he could look out over the entire encampment.

The nobles camped up higher than the army but lower than the Hiro's tent. Surrounded by guards and the ever-burning torches they could see anything that came at them. But below, below lay the army and the villages that dotted the waterways.

During the day the army seemed to almost scatter. Running drills and preparing themselves in the wooded areas made them almost disappear from sight, but at night it was evident that there were thousands of them. The moon lit up the landscape shedding its light on everything and every sleeping body. The water shone like silver as it slithered lazily away.

He counted fifteen small villages or encampments, several of which had sprung up after the army had started to arrive. In total, Daniel estimated that there were over three thousand men and more arrived every day.

War, Daniel thought. He'd been at war for years now. He knew it by heart and he didn't want to see it there. And yet every time he closed his eyes he saw it. He knew that there would be blood shed. He knew that Bohonte would get the fight that he was preparing for. He didn't know how or when, only that it would happen.

And so he sat.

He sat and daydreamed that Jack would appear. Night and early morning were the best times to attack, infiltrate, spy. Daniel often hoped that as he sat out on the platform, that Jack would somehow rescue him. Sometimes he imagined that a mother ship would appear above and that he would be ringed up before he even saw the full ship. Other times a small elite force of marines would run up the hill with Jack at the front. Still other times he would return to his tent and find all of his maids tied up and Jack waiting with open arms. Once in a while he saw a contingent of hover craft floating across the canal water system shooting at the soldiers on shore, and making noise. Everyone would run, except him. And there again would be Jack.

Try as he might, he couldn't figure out how Jack would come, or if he would come in time. All that he knew was that he was waiting. The platform was in a good place. It was observable by all. On each of the four corners were large torches that the guards lit. He always demanded that his guards step away by fifty paces to give him some semblance of privacy, but there wasn't much of that. In fact, there was very little privacy when guards stood by twos; once facing Daniel, and one watching the other one's back.

And so Daniel sat and waited.

He gave up on the idea of running away. He was too far along in his pregnancy. He hurt too badly and he wasn't sure how much more his already abused body could take. Besides, he was guarded day and night. There was nowhere that he could go and no one who would help him, even if he still had the nerve.

So he waited for the rescue to come.

Daniel stared off in a daze after a while, he always did. Damat was usually the one to shake him awake from his stray thoughts as he said, "Good morning to you, Hiro."

Daniel didn't even pretend anymore. He woke himself from his wandering mind and tried his best to focus.

"Good morning," he replied absently. Daniel looked around and found the other two boys. "Your exercises," Daniel said quickly. "You should be practicing."

Daniel swallowed and wiped his face. Then he noticed, none of the boys had moved.

"We seek an audience," Damat asked gently.

Daniel nodded and waited.

Damat waved the others over. To Daniel's surprise, not only did Helleck and Cerpet - the new boy - come over, so did a fourth boy that he didn't recognize.

Daniel looked the timid looking boy over. After a moment he realized that he'd seen the boy somewhere before and then finally it came to him. "You're Juno's little brother, aren't you?"

The boy smiled from ear-to-ear with a smile that was far too big for his small face. He nodded happily and Daniel held his hand out as he said, "Come here."

Daniel pulled him down to the platform and smoothed his wild hair down. His clothes were rough, torn in some places, and dirty in others.

"His name is Hungris," Damat said. Then a little more quietly he added, "He's joined our army."

Daniel looked up as he stopped petting Hungris. "Excuse me?"

Damat cleared his throat as he explained, "I've decided that we need an army if we're going to get you to safety. You are the Hiro of Hiros, not even a King has the right to beat you." Damat squared his shoulders as he added, "We stand ready to fight for you."

Daniel smiled for the first time in a long time. He felt tightness as a warmth spread out in his chest. He nodded as he said, "That is the kindest thing that anyone has ever said to me. Thank you."

Damat looked upset. "We're serious, Hiro." Damat leaned forward as he said, "We have weapons. We're moving slowly only because we must. My father has many spies and we're trying to avoid them."

Daniel breathed in as he said, "Damat-"

"Really," Damat motioned to Hungris who removed the gourd that had been slung across his body.

Hungris presented it to Daniel as he said, "Careful to not spill, Hiro."

Daniel unstopped it and sniffed. "Water?" he guessed.

Damat shook his head.

Daniel pushed the cork back into the gourd and gave it back as he asked, "Alright. What is it?"

"Spiro," Hungris said. "My father has barrels and barrels. When he makes guaro from junko berries it's left over."

Daniel was well acquainted with guaro, Bohonte and the nobles' favorite sludge to get plastered on.

"It's actually an oil," Helleck added. "My father used to soak our torches in it before nightfall because it burns hot."

"Then why aren't all torches lit with it?" Daniel asked.

"Because," Helleck said as he scratched his arm, "it can't be easily controlled. If you get it on your clothes, you can't tell until you're on fire."

Daniel quickly asked, "If it's so dangerous-"

"It's a weapon," Damat insisted.

Daniel looked from boy to boy and realized that they were serious.

"Alright," Daniel said. "But you do nothing without my say so."

All of them smiled at the same time, the same bright smiles.

"You three, Daniel," said to Damat, Helleck, and Cerpet, "you will do your exercises. And you," Daniel said to Hungris, "you can sit and keep me company."

~ ~ ~

It turned out that as public as the platform was, it was also the only place that they could speak freely.

Daniel fully realized this as Damat ended his exercises and walked over to take a drink of water. Kneeling on the platform just close enough to Daniel, Damat casually said, "I've been thinking that perhaps we should recruit your maids into our army."

Daniel looked over at Damat and quickly said, "What are you thinking? I don't want them in danger."

"I'm thinking," Damat said as he poured some water from a jug into a bowl, "that your maids, that women go unnoticed in general. No one thinks much of them. They're there to do the menial work. They hear everything, but they're also..."

"Invisible?" Daniel offered.

Damat smiled as he nodded.

"Now you're starting to think strategically, but you're also drawing people in that could get hurt. Are you prepared for that?"

"Your life-"

"Isn't so important that I'd risk anyone," Daniel replied.

Damat stared back at Daniel for a moment before he said, "I would."

It wasn't long after that conversation that Juno chased all the guards away from the tent as she told them that the Hiro needed to bathe. Daniel found it odd at first, but he agreed with her assessment. Hauling water up the hill was difficult and he had to be content with one bath a week and a bowl of hot water the rest of the time to wash from.

As Daniel reached up to begin undressing Juno waved him to stop. Then she quickly motioned for him to come over. Juno held her finger to his lips as she shushed before turning away. All at once his maids removed a large floral display and gifts that had been presented to him by the village people, maids, and even guards that stopped by from time-time-to-time to pay their respects. They pulled away a large blanket and opened up a big chest hidden underneath it all.

Daniel approached and looked inside and found himself looking at a trove of gourds like the one's that Hungris often sported when he came to the camp to visit with his older sister.

Juno crept up and whispered into Daniel's ear, "He's been bringing them for the day of your freedom, Hiro."

Daniel looked at the very pleased girl and realized that despite what he wanted, he had a very young, inexperienced army, that was going to fight for him...whether he wanted them to or not.

~ ~ ~

The next night, Daniel sat on his platform as he waited for the sun to come up.

Unlike any other morning, Daniel sat on the platform with a small smile on his lips. He was unaware of it's presence until finally he felt a smile blossom across his face. He let his head fall back.

The morning sun was coming up and he was very pleased with himself.

When he opened his eyes he looked around. He spotted the commanding officer of his personal guard. Damned if he could remember what the man's name was, or what his rank was. Daniel was sure that the man had told him, but Daniel had dismissed him so many times that it didn't even bear remembering.

"You!" Daniel yelled. "Come here!" When the man didn't hustle, Daniel shouted out in English, "Hey! You! Come here!"

Finally the man turned and began walking towards him.

When he arrived he knelt and was about to pound on his chest so he could properly report.

"Bring me chalk," Daniel said as the man was still taking his breath.

As the man opened his mouth to reply, Daniel said, "Just a small piece. But I need chalk."

The man opened his mouth.

Daniel said, "And a straight stick. A long one about as long as your leg, as thick as your smallest finger. Bring me a good piece of string too."

The man nodded and as he opened his mouth Daniel said, "Leave now."

The man looked upset, but he did as he was asked.

The sun's rays underwent the miraculous change that they took every morning. The sky went from deep purple to red and then orange. The sun played with the orange for a long time until finally it gave it up and revealed its blues.

It was almost over when the guard arrived.

"I want to stand up," Daniel announced before a word could be uttered.

The guard left and returned with more men. He was effectively hauled up.

Daniel walked over to the head guard and took the chalk, string, and the stick out of his hands. Without a word to any of them, Daniel walked away. He used the string to tie the chalk carefully to the end of the stick.

He started at the upper left hand side of the platform and began to carefully trace out an image. Jack had once told him that he had the most anal handwriting in the history of man. Jack often mistook his neat block style writing for type; a thing that pleased Daniel to no end.

As he worked, he tried hard to keep proportions in mind. He traced the image out trying to keep it uniform and even. In the end he knew it wouldn't matter. But on the off chance that Jack might come at least there would be a signal for him to see.

Daniel nodded when it was finished. He stepped back and looked at his work from the safety of the grass.

He waited on the grass instead of on the platform. This day, he had something more interesting to occupy his mind than just day dreaming about his rescue. And that prospect alone made him feel alive.

It wasn't long before the boys came along. Damat walked at the head. Helleck, as usual, trailed behind his prince. And bringing up the rear, Cerpet walked along lazily as he noticed everything except where he was going.

Daniel wondered if this was what Jack often saw in him.

"Hiro," Damat said with a smile.

"Quiet," Daniel snapped. Then much louder he said, "We're waiting for Cerpet to join us, if he would be so kind!"

Cerpet heard and stopped then he jogged over and came to stand next to Helleck wide-eyed and curious.

"Well," Daniel said as haughtily as he could manage. "Now that I'm done waiting for you lazy little boys, we can begin."

Daniel picked up the stick and cracked Damat on the shoulder with it. It wasn't as hard as it could have been, but it made an interesting slap on him. Damat's eyes went wide as he took a sudden step back.

"Pain, children!" Daniel said clearly as he smacked the stick down on Helleck's shoulder. "Is your friend." Daniel remembered his own boot camp experience with Jack and his words as he said, "It lets you know that you're still alive."

Daniel brought the stick down on Cerpet who cringed a little. "It can keep you going and can wake you up. Or it can be the death of you, it's your choice."

Daniel stepped back and said, "Kneel down." When they didn't move fast enough Daniel yelled out, "Faster! Kneel! Down! Down!"

Daniel promptly bent over and pushed Damat and Cerpet's heads into Helleck's. Apparently, he did it a little harsher than he'd meant to. He saw them wince and 'oh.'

But he got the reaction that he needed when the head guard came running. His eyes were wide as he saw the crown prince kneeling on the ground in front of the Hiro.

"Oh, good, whatever-your-name-is. Go to my tent and find my maid, Juno. Tell her to find her smallest sponge. She is to cut it into four little pieces and to find four large gourds of water. You are to bring me these things."

The guard opened his mouth.

Daniel said, "Now." When the man didn't move, he added, "Or I'll put you on the ground next to them."

The guard pounded his chest and walked away.

"Heads together!" Daniel snapped. "If one of you is in trouble, all of you are in trouble!"

Daniel spent the time that it took the guard to return yelling and occasionally smacking the boys lightly with the stick.

"Ah," Daniel said as he saw Hungris following the guard with the four gourds. "The last one cometh."

"Do you have the sponges?" Daniel called to Hungris.

"Yes, Hiro," Hungris replied with a wide smile.

"Good," Daniel said. "Give them each a sponge and a gourd. Then join them on the ground."

Though a little confused, Hungris did as he was told. He produced the four little sponges and gave one to each of the boys in the cluster. He gave each one of them a gourd in their other hand and then knelt before laying his head next to Cerpet's.

"Now," Daniel announced, "we're going to have a lesson in diligence, team work, and discipline. I've written in chalk on the platform. You are each to use the sponge and the water to wash inside the chalk's outline."

Damat was the first to stand up.

"And," Daniel added. The boys all froze. "If I see any of you smudge, smear, or wipe away any of the chalk each of you will receive a beating. You're to wash only the inside."

Damat walked around and began at a corner. Each of the boys did the same. Daniel watched as they uncorked their gourds and carefully wet the little matchbook sized sponges before they began the chore of washing the platform's floor.

"Whatever-your-name-is!" Daniel called out.

The man hadn't even approached when Daniel ordered, "Bring me a chair with a back. I need to sit."

The man was about to open his mouth and was about to pound on his chest when Daniel said, "I expect to see you run. I'm already tired."

Daniel watched all day. Unlike usual, he didn't go inside. He didn't retreat away after the soldier began to march by. Daniel waited right there by the platform and watched as the boys rubbed and rubbed at the platform's surface.

The boys sweated heavily though the day. They stopped for breaks when Juno came with a water bucket and a ladle. They stopped to eat when their food came. Otherwise, they didn't stop. It took them all day.

The sun was just about setting when Daniel looked down from a hilly knob that poked up just next to the platform and surveyed his work. The spiro might not have been oily but it did leave the weathered old wood looking rejuvenated in those places where it had been rubbed in.

In the setting sun, the spiro shone a little. At the edges, it was fading slightly. Daniel was sure that it would be gone by morning. Whatever-your-name-is was the only one at his side and he wasn't asking any questions. Even if he could read, Daniel was sure that he didn't know any English or that he'd ever guess what the alpha-numeric code rubbed into the platform meant.

Daniel walked away as he saw Juno and a few other maids heading towards him carrying goods in their baskets. Daniel waved them to follow.

"Come," Daniel said to the tired looking boys.

Daniel felt strong, at least strong enough that he didn't feel the need to ask for help. Besides, going down hill was easier than going up. He watched his steps and went down farther than he'd ever gone before.

When Whatever-your-name-is realized his intentions, Daniel saw an entire unit of men rush past them just off the side of the path as they rushed for the river.

As Daniel watched, he saw the soldier arguing with people by the side of the river. It looked to Daniel as if a small skiff carrying passengers hit something hard in the water. Half submerged near the shore the rickety-looking thing tipped over to one side as its former passengers stood around trying to argue with the guards who looked to be doing their best at removing them forcibly.

Daniel turned to the boys and said, "Wash." Then he walked towards the skiff.

"What's going on?" Daniel demanded as he approached.

Whatever-your-name-is opened his mouth to speak and Daniel held up his hand as he said, "Never mind."

He walked past Whatever-your-name-is and went to one of the men.

"Who's in charge?" Daniel asked the man.

The man looked a little intimidated as he gladly pointed out another man.

Daniel turned to the other man expectantly.

"We didn't mean to stop," the man mumbled. "There was a rock. We don't usually sail at night, but the soldiers kept pushing us down stream."

"Then you have my apologies," Daniel said smoothly. "They get ambitious to protect me. I didn't mean to cause you bad fortune. But maybe," Daniel said noticing the pregnant woman standing next to him. "Maybe I can be of service."

"Who are you?" the man asked suspiciously.

"Daniel Jackson," Daniel said with a slight bow. "I'm the Hiro of Hiros."

It took a few seconds for the people staring at him to actually understand what Daniel had said. Then their eyes went large in their head and they began to fall to the ground.

"No!" Daniel said just loud enough as he reached out for the pregnant woman. "Not you." Daniel reached out and cradled her swollen abdomen. "You have to be careful," he said as he took the liberty to touch her stomach.

He felt the baby start to kick almost immediately.

"Strong," Daniel said as he smoothed her dress over her rounded shape. "This one has a heart of thunder."

The woman smiled brightly, gratefully. Tears gathered in her eyes.

Daniel looked down at the man on the floor next to her feet.

"You're her husband?" Daniel inquired.

The man didn't rise, but he did nod.

"Good," Daniel said. "Get up."

Hesitantly, the man began his rise. When he didn't move as fast as he should have, Whatever-your-name-is grabbed the man and hauled him up. Daniel glared at Whatever-your-name-is. He was smart enough to back off.

"I'm going to ask you a question," Daniel said to the man. "And I expect you to answer me truthfully."

"Yes," the man gushed as he bowed.

"Have you ever beaten her?"

The man looked caught. Awkwardly, he stammered the word "N-n-yes" before looking down at the ground. Daniel could see him shake.

Daniel let out a breath and said, "Never again. I forbid you from ever teaching your son how to behave like that. You won't ever beat her again, not if you want something better for him."

The man bowed jerkily, but he seemed too frightened to speak.

Just then Daniel caught movement out of the corner of his eyes; the arrival of a procession of priests heading towards them. He sighed and tried to steel himself for it.

Lord, he hated them all.

It was the High Priest that approached him, the others usually didn't.

"Hiro!" the man exclaimed holding his arms out as if Daniel would actually ever allow the man's touch.

It took Daniel a moment to make up his mind.

"Priest, I'm glad you're here." Daniel waved him forward as he said, "Your hand, my Lord."

The Priest smiled broadly as he extended his bejeweled hand out to Daniel. Daniel in turn took it happily and then slid four of his rings right off.

Daniel turned to the wife and gave her three of the rings. "These are for your boy. You make sure that he gets the education that he's going to need." Daniel then turned to the man and said, "And this is for a new boat." As Daniel pressed the ring into the man's hand he looked into his eyes and said, "There is a terrible war that's coming. My husband will come soon and will destroy this army. You have to get as far from here as possible."

Daniel turned to Whatever-your-name-is and motioned him closer. He didn't hesitate to rip the Temple shield off of the man's chest. The crest attached on the Siarran uniform through one strap that looped over the left shoulder and was secured at the waist, and a second that secured the shield down against the body as it tied to the right side of the waist. Daniel took it and immediately placed it on the man.

"You're mine now," Daniel said as he secured the shield down. "Your job is to take my message to as many people as possible." Daniel looked up into the man's shocked eyes. "War comes. Either leave or find shelter soon. When it starts you'll know. The noise, the fires: it will be very apparent."

Daniel looked to the other people that the skiff had been carrying and said, "Take as many others as want to leave. Go as far from here as you possibly can. All the way to the other side of the country if you have to, but go quickly."

The man looked dumbfounded but he nodded.

Daniel turned and suddenly felt very tired. He turned back to the travelers and said, "You all have my blessings. May your trip be easy and uneventful. May you be protected at every step."

Daniel turned, this time he walked back to the children.

He felt the burden of his pregnancy and the long day in his body and he felt very tired. He found an old stump by the water's edge. Thankfully, it wasn't so low that he couldn't get down to it on his own. Whatever-your-name-is tried to help but Daniel pulled away from him.

He sat and watched the children. Young and beautiful, the boys swam in the water without a care in the world. So free. The girls sat on the water's edge as they gossiped, Juno and another girl rinsed out the boy's clothes as they talked to each other through smiles.

Daniel envied them.

"Why do you hate me?"

For a moment, Daniel wasn't sure who had spoken. It took him a moment to come out of his own mind and realize that Whatever-your-name-is had just spoken to him.

"Hate you?" Daniel repeated. "No, I don't hate you. I just can't stand that idea of a whore passing himself off as a Temple Guard."

Daniel looked up and found the man staring down at him hard. Annoyance, hurt, and a good deal of anger looked back at him.

And for all that anger, Whatever-your-name-is somehow managed to keep a level tone as he said, "I am a faithful Temple Guard."

Daniel looked away as he thought about it. He knew that he didn't need to have this conversation. He knew that it would only upset him. He knew that he could just let it go, but he didn't. He felt like there was a rock stuck right in his craw and he wanted to flush it out so badly that he could taste it.

Daniel pried his ever growing ass up, off that stump and turned around to face off with the man.

"First of all," Daniel said sternly. "Don't you ever, ever think that I'm a fool! Second of all, I know what a Temple Guard is! I'm related to the best that I have ever seen, and you're not it! Third!" Daniel knew that he was shouting. He stopped and tried to calm himself down. Between clenched teeth and what he hoped would be a more cordial tone he said, "Any man that will stand by and do nothing while that no account beats me like an animal is no one that will ever call himself a servant of the Temple in my presence."

Dumbly, Whatever-your-name-is managed to say, "He's my King."

"Is that what you'll say when my dead body is found?" Daniel yelled.

An arm tried to circle his waist. Daniel pushed away only to find a very frightened Juno still trying to comfort him as she said, "Please, Hiro. The baby. You must calm yourself."

Juno came and offered herself for support as she tried to pull him away.

As they passed Whatever-your-name-is, Daniel looked into the man's eyes and said, "You're nothing...less than nothing."

CHAPTER 5 - A NEW BREAD OF SEABEES

He'd taken to keeping Cistus's armor on. His uniform hadn't come back from the washing. He wasn't sure if it would be returned to him at all. He didn't care much.

The tunics that had magically appeared in his quarters had been soft, his size, and clean. He liked the soft cotton feel against his skin. He had found more black cotton pants and the armor commanded the respect of Kassantians. Apparently, being given the King's armor was a great honor.

The Trepa boys who had been rounded up by the Temple Guards started causing problems the moment they were brought in, so much so that a hall had to be cleared and they had to be locked in.

"Most of them are terrified. They're angry, and they keep charging at the guards," Gadvin said as he walked Jack down the hallway.

"Of course they're terrified," Jack responded. "Has the army ever given them a reason not to be?"

Gadvin didn't answer.

They arrived at the closed double-doors quickly enough. Two guards stood in front of it. Before Jack was able to say anything, something heavy slammed into the door from the other side.

"Lively bunch," Jack quipped. "Good. Open the doors."

"General," Gadvin said quickly. "Let my men go in first."

Jack allowed it.

Four guards with shields drawn went in first.

A few seconds later, Jack grasped his hands behind his back and strode in.

"We won't let you have us!" An older boy of about sixteen shouted as he waved a broken chair's leg. "We haven't done anything wrong!"

A ruckus swelled up as the rest of the boys began yelling.

Jack went beyond the guards and looked over a few of them. They looked angry but they quieted down when they saw him. The boy with the chair's leg even backed away.

Jack waited a few more seconds before he spoke, "Do you know who I am?"

"The King," the boy said as he dropped the chair's leg.

"No," Jack said simply. "My name is General Jack O'Neill. I'm the Hiro's Consort. The Hiro," Jack announced "has been kidnapped. This is common knowledge. What no one knows yet is what we're doing to get him back."

"The flying things," the boy said. "I was in the channel when I heard them. Saw them."

Jack nodded as he turned away to pace. "I find myself in a unique situation here, Gentlemen. I need fast, able swimmers. I need people who would be able to hold onto a ship while the Tail Hooks fly over head."

Jack stopped and looked around. Eight to sixteen years seemed to be the ages that he saw represented. They seemed far too young. He was sure that he'd have to weed them out.

"Unfortunately, the King's Navy isn't trained for what I have in mind. They're far too big for the platforms. I need people able to fit under and around the Tail Hooks while they're on the platforms. I need fast swimmers. People who I know don't have any military, political, or ideological goals that conflict with mine."

Jack turned and faced the crowd of still angry looking boys.

"I won't force anyone to say. I can't. I need you to want to stay."

There were looks of disbelief and distrust evident across the room.

"In exchange for your efforts on behalf of the Hiro," Jack said crisply. "You will be paid the wages of a regular military man. You will be fed throughout the day. You will receive clothes, shoes, and all the equipment that you will need."

Several of the faces in front of him seemed more interested.

"But in exchange I will demand a lot from you. I can't take you until or unless you are trained properly. That means discipline, which means commitment. I make you five promises on my honor. One, no one will ever beat you unnecessarily. Two, no one is going to humiliate or belittle you. Three, you will get paid. Four, you are going to leave this place a lot different than when you walked in. And five, your training will push you farther than you ever thought that you could ever go."

When Jack stopped speaking he noticed the dead silence in the room. He took it as a good thing.

"The door will now be open. Thank you for listening to me. If you want to leave the guards will let you go. But, if you want to stay and do something worthwhile with your life and maybe even learn a trade...stay."

Jack wasn't surprised when no one moved at first.

The boy near him pushed on the chair leg on the floor with his bare toe as he said, "What if we try to leave and it's a trap?"

"I am the Hiro's Consort," Jack said. "The King, the Vestals, and the Temple have forbidden me from lying to anyone. My honor and the Hiros are tied together."

The same boy looked up and quickly asked, "You said something about learning a trade?"

"If you're good enough, if you work hard, if you do as you're told, I'm willing to speak to His Highness about absorbing your units into his regular Navy. That would mean work. That would mean pay on a regular basis. That would mean that you could afford to marry, have a home, and raise a family."

"That's a lot to promise," the boy replied. "We aren't given that. Trepa live in the channels until we die." The boy looked down as he said, "No one cares."

Jack believed him. "What's your name?"

"Lind."

"I'm not from your world, Lind. I don't care where you were born. Or what anyone else thinks you are. All I care about is what you do, and how you do it. A person is defined by his actions, despite his circumstances." Jack stepped out of the way of the doorway, "It's time for everyone here to decide who and what you are."

Jack wasn't surprised when several of them ducked out of the room quickly. A fourth of the room emptied out. There were even a few discussions with friends persuading other friends to leave with them; some went, some didn't.

When the people leaving thinned to trickle, Jack loudly said, "Alright! I want them fed and clothed properly before we start running them."

Gadvin saluted with a loud pound on his plated breast before he turned crisply and walked away.

"Everyone that's left!" Jack said sharply. "I want four lines of men running from left to right, across the room."

Slowly, a few of the boys began to walk.

Jack raised his voice to say, "When you are given and order! You obey! Move you asses!"

Ten seconds later Jack was looking at a sorry looking attempt at a formation.

"Extend your right arm forward and touch the neck of the person in front you. You should be exactly an arm's length back."

Awkward though it was, with the varying heights, they did as they were asked.

"Now extend your arm to the right. You will stand one arm length from the person to your right and they from you."

Once it was finished, Jack said, "Good. This is called formation. Every morning you will do this. Every time you are called to formation, this is what will be expected from you. One arm's length from every man."

Jack looked them over carefully as he said, "Military life is full of rules. It is regimented. You eat when you are told. You do what you are told. There is always work. There is always someone higher than you are in rank. Even I report to someone; that's how it works."

~ ~ ~

"General," one of the Sub-Captains that he'd been given said a little unsure. "I wasn't going to bother you, but..."

"Go ahead," Jack said neutrally.

The Sub-Captain moved aside and looked behind to a mostly empty room.

Jack moved aside a little so he could see who was standing in the room. What he saw were two young girls. The oldest couldn't have been more than fifteen, the younger ten or so. The older one held her sister by the hand. Both wore the costumes of peasants; homespun dresses secured with wooden pins, and undyed muslin himations. Both had their long hair pulled back in loose braids. The older one held a basket covered in a linen cloth. Both girls looked hungry.

"My name is General O'Neill," Jack said as he approached them. "What can I do for you ladies?"

The older girl looked unsure. She swallowed hard, found her back bone and quietly said, "My name is Shio. This is my sister Et'twi. My father died three days ago. Debt collectors came and took our family fishing boats, the nets, even our home."

Shio swallowed again before she said, "We had to sleep on the streets last night. I can't keep my sister safe there. I don't want to work in the brothels."

Et'twi began to cry.

She quickly said, "I'm a good cook. Before my mother died we helped her in the kitchens. I'd like to offer my services to your Trepa army. We can cook, and clean, and wash. We're much stronger than we look."

She was breathless and sweaty when she finished speaking. Jack saw tears in her eyes, but she wouldn't shed them.

Jack looked her over carefully as he asked, "Can you swim?"

"Yes," she said quickly, "we both can."

"How well do you know the water?"

"Very well, General," Shio replied, "we've worked the ships since we were babies and have worked on them in all weather. My older brother died a year ago. Since then Et'twi and I worked with father on the boats. We know boats...and fishing."

"The Vestal Queens are seeing to my men's diet. I don't need cooks. What I need are more hands. Unfortunately, many of the Trepa boys that I've recruited have left or given up on their training." Jack looked in her eyes and just knew that she was a fighter. "If you're willing to try, I'll put you with the boys. If you can hold your own, you'll be entitled to a soldier's pay."

"Yes," she said quickly. A second later she stiffly added, "I'll do it."

"Good," Jack said before turning. "Sub-Captain, outfit these ladies with the right clothes, put their luggage into storage, and then process them. They can join the others when they come in to dinner."

Jack took two steps out when he stopped. He turned and looked at the Sub-Captain, "The opportunity is now open to any female that comes here if she's a strong swimmer, knows boats, and is willing to enter the training."

The Sub-Captain looked shocked as he half-dazed tapped his chest with a half-hearted fist.

~ ~ ~

It was still pitch black out when Jack started the day.

His new recruits and his pilots were all sleeping under the same tent. The lamps that surrounded the edges of the tent illuminated the area just enough for the guards to keep watch, and for them to see Jack nod. As one the guards all began yelling and hurrying the troops along.

Half-asleep, surrounded by mostly dark, they were forced to dress as the Palace's servants walked around lighting more lamps.

"You are called to formation!" Jack yelled out. "Hurry! Hurry! Everyone to formation!"

Jack watched as it took all thirty eight recruits far too much time to get it together. Jack reached down after the frenzy was calm and checked his watch. The blue neon glow told him the time.

"Am I to understand, that it takes four minutes for the lot of you to dress and come to attention?" Jack looked up and down at the faces and bodies half hidden by moonlight. He quickly spat out, "This is pathetic!"

Jack turned to Gadvin and said, "Run them."

When morning had dawned there were two unfortunate happenings. The first was when Delina waddled out of the Palace, accompanied by a gaggle of coddling Vestals and servants, down the path to the beach, and then trudged across the sands to scream, "I demand to be told what you think you are doing, General?"

Jack looked down at his sandaled feet half buried in beach sand. "Standing," Jack said. "I am standing and watching my latest recruits get smoked by their new instructor."

Confusion crossed Delina's face. After another second she caught her second wind, "I was told that you woke those children up well before dawn, that they haven't eaten, haven't rested, and have been treated like animals!"

Jack didn't take his eyes off the beach where the morning exercises were unfolding. "They are soldiers now. They are undergoing the process, no different than anyone else."

"General," Delina hissed. "You know very well that I hadn't planned on making breakfast so early-"

"No one is telling you to." Jack turned and faced off with the formidable woman. "I understand that you want to be mommy here. You can be, when I give them to you, until then they are soldiers. You don't have to change your schedule; there is no hurry."

Jack could see the fight brewing behind her eyes.

"This is discipline," Jack said strictly. "They must learn what will keep them alive. I have very little time to teach them what they need." Then much more gently, much more quietly, he said, "Let me do my job and I will let you do yours."

It was almost eight when Gadvin ordered his kids away from the beach. Jack checked his watch. They'd been undergoing PT for two and a half hours, just in time for Sam and Teal'c to take over their piloting training. Delina, her servants, and her Vestals had lain breakfast out. All the kids had gone from running, to eating, to running. Today, Gadvin's children were going to be sat in the Tail Hooks and drilled.

The training for the flight deck crew would be different. While the children had been dressed in the little tunics that Delina deemed to be appropriate for their training and put to bed by the Queen; Jack had overseen the construction of the landing rafts. They were little more than wooden barrels that had been lashed together with a short wooden railing to hold on to, and a flat 'stage' in the center to hold the Tail Hooks when they landed on the open water.

At the moment the decks where sitting in dry dock on the beach. Jack had already divided the Trepa into three groups. One group for each deck.

Now the work would begin. They all had to learn: what to do, when, why, and how. They had to learn: how to hold on to the decks, what to do in an emergency, how to secure the Tail Hooks, but most importantly they had to learn how not to die and keep from underfoot.

It unnerved him, the thought of taking such young children out to work in the open ocean. The only thought that soothed him was that they were used to it. From their mouths, he knew that each had on occasion successfully gotten work on fishing boats. It was the only thing that made him feel a little better.

Then, later on that morning, the second unfortunate thing happened; Jack heard the familiar sounds of someone getting the snot beaten out of them.

"Knock it off!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs over the din of frenzied boys. "Off!"

It took seconds for the mass to clear away revealing a bloody faced boy and one of the girls that he'd taken on recently. The older girl that had worn the loose braids before they'd been shaved off...Shio.

Jack wasn't surprised.

On the ground, her face was dirty, bruised, and blood smeared where she'd taken a few hits. Her tunic top was torn revealing the torn white undergarment below. Her buzzed hair was riddled with dirt and she was breathing hard through a stiff pout.

As the boy that she'd been fighting with got off her, she managed to get one last good kick in that took out his knee. He fell like a stone and she quickly scampered up to stand at attention in front of Jack.

Jack looked her over carefully before looking at the boy writhing on the ground. "Who started this?"

"He did," the girl said. "He tried to get under my clothes, so I hit him."

Jack reached down and checked both of her hands. Her knuckles were scrapped raw in many places.

Jack turned to the boy, "Do you agree with her statement?"

"She's a whore!" the boy spat out.

"Do," Jack asked sharply, "you agree?"

The boy looked up suspiciously as if weighting his options as he looked at her and then at him. After deciding the boy nodded as he said, "She hit first."

Jack was quiet for a moment as he considered the children around him. Many of them were rough, little more than little wild animals that had somehow managed to survive on the edges of society's excess. All of them were having problems obeying orders or following rules. None of them fully understood what was expected of them.

"This is a good moment to revise some of the rules that we went over earlier. When we went over the rules I used words like soldier and respect. Words like unit and team. I don't see any of that here. You will all learn what these words mean and you will learn them very quickly."

Jack looked around and emphasized the words, "There are less than six days until we leave! The Hiro's life depends on what you do! This behavior is not acceptable! You all need to learn that if one of you hurts, you all hurt! If one of you needs, you all need!"

Jack turned the boy and said, "You will be punished. You will be punished because you've disrespected a fellow solider in a way that violates military conduct."

Jack sped away from the boys to one of the small boats that littered beach. He grabbed an oar and quickly walked it back to the waiting crowd of boys. Jack could see that most of them expected to see some kind of blood shed.

Instead, Jack threw the oar on the beach sand in front of the boy's feet and said, "I want a hole dug. It will be four feet deep and fifteen feet across from side to side. And you will not stop digging until it is finished."

As Jack turned to walk back to the tent he said, "I believe that there are tactical drills that the rest of you should be running through."

Two steps into his walk, he saw Delina staring him down. Imposing, immovable, and very pregnant she looked every inch the matriarchic archetype that she so often resembled. Still he marched the entire length of the beach without turning back or looking away from her.

"They are only children," she began said as she initiated the fight.

"Do you expect me to argue with you?" he said as he entered the tent and took his usual seat at the small desk that had been set up for him.

"You can not expect them-"

"To what? Behave according to the laws of decency?" Jack huffed. "They most certainly will. That boy ripped the girl's clothes and it wasn't for wholesome purposes."

Delina paled a little as she turned to stare down the beach towards the children.

"They all look like boys from far away," Jack said. "But I've got girls there too."

Delina shook her head, but before she could say a word, he said, "Nothing that you say will change my mind. The girls stay. They need a home, food, and training too. What needs to happen is that they all need to learn a culture of teamwork, cooperation, and respect. Once they have that, it doesn't matter who the person next to them is."

Delina became quiet as she wrung her hands in front of her swollen belly. Carefully, she said, "I need to know that those girls are treated carefully."

"They'll get nothing more or less than the boys," Jack said as he sorted out his papers. "They will sleep under this tent, under guard on cots as assigned." Jack looked up and stressed the words, "No more, no less."

A small smirk crossed her face, "I was wondering why you were being so careful with their sleeping arrangements."

Jack sat back in his chair. He could have left her statement alone, but it wasn't completely true. To it he added the words, "I'm being careful with them because they are young and your culture has an unfortunate habit of both allowing and encouraging older men to...indulge in young children."

She didn't respond.

"I don't agree," Jack said as he bent his head to work.

She went away as she usually did.

There was a great deal of work to do. He had a war to plan. Delina had a kitchen to oversee. Instead of just food she also oversaw the processing of the fruits and vegetables for the children's meals. Everything took time and effort.

Later, when she brought him his early afternoon tea, Jack quickly asked, "What are they doing?"

Delina looked up and studied the children before she said, "Drilling on the platforms."

Jack bit down hard. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and found that he needed the tea, if only to calm him down.

An hour later, Delina was walking by.

"Your Highness," Jack called.

She complied by walking closer.

"What are they doing now?"

Looking a little confused, she asked, "Why don't you just turn?"

Instead of answering, he asked, "Please tell me what they're doing?"

She sighed a little before squinting a little. She turned her head a little to one side as she studied what was happening down the beach. "I'm not sure," She finally said. "It looks like they're all digging."

Jack smiled to himself.

Delina looked surprised. "You wanted them to do that?"

Jack merely said, "They have to learn to become one."

~ ~ ~

Jack walked into the kitchens and found Delina sitting in a chair drinking from a wooden cup as she conversed with another Vestal.

"General," Delina said happily once she'd spotted him. "Forgive me for not standing."

"Nonsense," Jack said as she surveyed her ever-growing belly. At a little over eight and a half months she was as round as could be. He remembered what eight and a half months had been like with Sara.

Jack didn't hesitate to grab a nearby chair and drag it over to sit in front of her.

"You look exhausted, Highness," Jack said as he, pushed his silk cape out of the way so he could sit and promptly bend over to pick up her feet.

"General," she protested as he removed her sandals.

She 'oh'ed quickly as he began to dig his thumbs into her feet.

"As far along as you are, Madam," Jack said as he rubbed her feet, "you should have a designated foot rubber following you around wherever you go."

"Oh," she moaned. "I will dually consider it." Then she opened her eyes. Practical as always she smiled, forgot the pleasure of having her feet rubbed, and said, "What do you need, General?"

"I came to see you about the children's nutrition."

"Oh," she said happily. "They are going to be eating very well. I've taken care of the menu for the week."

"Yes," Jack said easily agreeing. "I expected nothing less from you, Highness. That's not what I meant. Have you seen those powders that the Hiro drinks?"

Delina made a face. "Yes, the Hiro prescribed that we should drink them for the babies," she shook her head as she said, "but General, I must confess that they taste awful. I can hardly drink it."

Jack nodded. "He's done the same to me. But the truth is that Daniel is right." Jack cocked his head, "Daniel is always right. The powder is nothing more than a drink of dried fruits and vegetables. And they do work."

Jack continued to dig his fingers into her feet as he said, "What I'd like to know is if it's possible to extract the juice of fruits and vegetables for the children. I ask because many of them haven't eaten well in a long time. They need as much nutrition as possible."

"What kind of fruits and vegetables?"

"All. Every kind that is in season. The juice from young crushed grain grasses too."

After a moment of thought, the Queen nodded and said, "It will be done."

"Good," Jack said trying to sound happy.

It didn't work. He knew he couldn't fool her.

He tried to get away but she stopped him by asking, "A question. Where did you learn to rub feet like that?"

Somehow Jack managed to say, "I was married. My wife was pregnant once."

He knew it showed in his face. He knew he couldn't keep it off his face. He tired, but he felt dead.

Delina didn't hesitate to pull her feet away and to sit up. She pulled him a little closer as she said, "You do realize that the Hiro of Hiros is blessed. He will not be killed. He and his child are neither ordinary nor vulnerable."

Jack felt the tears gather in his eyes. He couldn't look at her. He knew that if he did, he'd bawl like a baby.

She stroked his hair back lightly as she said, "Remember that. Remember that the Hiro is protected by on High and all shall be well."

Jack could do little more than nod and then make as quick an exit as he could.

~ ~ ~

Jack met his guest at his tent with two cups of coffee in hand.

Theropius was walking backwards, still staring at the Tail Hooks stationed behind the Palace under heavy guard. He had a big smile on his face. His eyes were shinning as he said, "Good morning and good day to you, Consort."

"Morning," Jack replied as he handed the man a cup of hot coffee. "Try it," He said. "The Vestals excel at making this drink from my home world."

Theropius tried the coffee as smiled happily as he half-savored it in his mouth, but it was obvious that his entire mind was on watching the marvel that was the Tail Hooks.

Jack watched with the man for a few long moments before he said, "In my military, we usually call those that touch the clouds 'angels.' They soar so high that nothing can stop them."

Jack turned and studied the soldiers in front of him on the beach. "This isn't a hand's up dog fight that we're going to be engaging in. We're going to be fighting a theological battle as well as a physical one. An advantage, even if it's only psychological can be extremely powerful."

Jack surveyed his 'fleet' again.

"We're calling them Tail Hooks. These little ships are the only things that fit through the God's Eye. Your planet is just too far for a larger ship to make the trip. So this is what we have to work with."

Jack turned to the player and said, "The Actor's Guild has helped Daniel when he's requested. I'm asking for your help now."

Jack finally had the man's full attention. Seriously, the man said, "How Consort? Name it?"

"From the air all anyone can see and hear is their bellies and their noise. I want them to see the Hiro's banner. And I want them to hear the Temple. I want them to know that we are right and that Bohonte is in the wrong. I want them to see punishment coming down on their heads when those ships pass overhead."

The man's brow furrowed. "I don't understand, Consort."

"Gadvin's told me that your troupe has the best singers in the nation."

Theropius smiled brightly with pride. "Well," He managed to gasp. "With his Highness's kind patronage we've managed to attract better people."

Jack managed a smirk that quickly disappeared. "Money talks," he mumbled.

Theropius stared for a moment. "Yes," He said simply. "Precisely," the man said reverently as if he were receiving sacred knowledge.

Jack fished into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to Theropius without another thought.

"I've consulted with Adevers. These are extremely important symbols to the Hiro. I want your people to paint these on my ships in the biggest script possible so that it can be seen from the ground. And I also want you to go through your best singers. I want you to find two main singers: One with resonance, someone whose voice is hard, sharp, deep. The second shouldn't be too soft, sweet, or gentle. Figure something out. If you have questions talk to Adevers."

Jack walked back to his desk. His plan. His insanity.

He stared down at all the papers, the hair-brained ideas that he wasn't sure about.

He felt like crying again.

"Please leave me." Jack took in a deep breath. He felt sick again.

"I'm tired," Jack managed to say.

Thankfully, Theropius didn't try to speak with him like the others. He left quickly and without another word.

CHAPTER 6 - SMALL VOICES IN THE WILD

Dinner was always interesting. Daniel didn't speak at dinner anymore; it wasn't worth it. Instead, he sat throughout it minding his eyes and holding perfectly still.

It was the usual bullshit.

Bohonte was forever trying to impress the courtiers that surrounded him. The nobility seemed to thrive on the festivities that always took place. The food was to excess. The drink was to excess. And sooner or later, dinner would often turn into an all out orgy.

"Eat," Bohonte said to Damat. "Don't you eat anymore?"

Damat looked right at his father and said, "I've already eaten my fill, Your Highness."

"When?" Bohonte replied already a little drunk on the guaro from his never-empty cup.

"Eating this late in the night is bad for the digestion."

"What you need!" Bohonte hollered, "is more food!" He threw back his cup and then slammed it down. He belched loudly before turning to his son with a big smile and saying, "You need to drink more and a good fuck. After, you'll be fine."

"I am fine," Damat replied.

Despite the answer Bohonte called over a woman and motioned her towards the boy.

Damat pushed her away, but she was too drunk to either notice or care. Damat struggled with her until finally he pulled away, stood and walked towards Daniel as he straightened out his clothes.

"It's your fault!" Bohonte said as he pointed his finger at Daniel.

Daniel said nothing. But he felt his boys surround him a little tighter.

The woman may have lost the son, but she found the father's crotch. Bohonte soon lost interest.

The next day, Daniel thought long and hard about the past, present, and the future. By the time the boys were sitting in his tent waiting on their evening meal, before they had to attend dinner with the nobility, Daniel had made a few decisions.

Juno walked in with a large stew pot. She set it on the table and began to ladle a thick vegetable soup into their wooden bowls. A dark, heavy bread sat on the table. Good peasant food. Daniel was convinced that it was changing Damat's diet to the more simple fare that had helped him grow so well over the past few months.

Without really meaning too, Daniel blurted out, "I've been having a lot of waking dreams."

Juno's hands froze. The conversation at the table between the boys immediately stopped, and the maids stopped moving all together.

A part of Daniel didn't care. He continued smoothly as if he hadn't noticed their reactions.

"Jack is coming. I know he is." Daniel shut his eyes. He had to. He knew that he was right when he said, "Many will die." He breathed in. "There's an entire army of men here and they will soon be lying in their own blood."

Daniel shook his head. "I just wish I knew how he was coming. It would be easier if I knew what he was planning."

Daniel opened his eyes and stared at a spot on the table where a gap between the planks of honey colored wood created an uneven juncture. "Land, sea, or air," he said to himself. "He won't come by land. We're far too inland. It would take forever. Sea or air is left. Traveling the channels is slow." Daniel looked up and said, "That leaves the air."

Daniel reached out and pulled the loaf of bread closer. He took his wooden spoon and jammed it down into the top of the loaf as he said, "This is my tent."

Daniel reached for a small fruit and balanced it on a small shelf created by a slop of the bread's surface. "This is the main tent."

He turned his bowl upside down and placed it at the base of the bread saying, "This is the army below the hill."

He pulled Damat's arm a little closer to the bowl as he said, "This is the river."

As Daniel touched the bread's surface he said, "What we need is to make this hill impossible for them to cross. I think I know how to do it, but it's dangerous and I won't ask anyone to risk their lives."

His answers came when Juno reached out and touched his hand. Daniel looked up and saw happy smiles on all their faces. A small part of Daniel felt lighter, freer.

After they'd spoken quietly amongst themselves and shared their meal, Daniel left for the main tent. He walked into the reverie of the start of another party. As he stood at the tent's entrance he waited to be seen, acknowledged, or in the least announced. He didn't expect much, the servants, priests, as well as the nobility were growing ever lax in their treatment of his position; a thing that was starting to become a worry.

After a few moments, Daniel saw a small unit of men stand and salute. Immediately, it was apparent that they were new...and unknown. Right down to their dress, they were different.

Daniel didn't wait for the announcement, he proceeded forward. On the first glance, his immediate impression was that they looked like desert people. Their clothing was mostly inappropriate for the often cold mornings and wet evenings that this wooded land provided. Instead of boots, they wore sandals. Instead of heavy clothing to protect from the wind and cold, they wore many light insulating layers. Their heads were wrapped in ways that reminded him of the Middle East. And on their chins they wore simple, black tattoos.

Daniel looked at each of the dark faces as he passed them. When he neared Bohonte he found someone extremely important. The tattoos on his face, both black and red, marked him as a tribal leader.

Daniel bowed and curtsied as he was taught was proper for the Hiro of Hiros to do. "I stand and greet a great son of the Mountain's of Hath. I greet you warmly and with affection."

The man stared hard for a few long seconds as if making up his mind. Finally, he said, "How do I know this isn't some sort of trick?"

Daniel turned slowly and looked at Bohonte. As he turned back to face the new arrival he said, "Yes, I can clearly see why you'd doubt your eyes and ears." Daniel held up his hands and said, "I am not going to convince you of anything. I have no powers and no magic to impress with or impart. I'm sorry that you came all this way for nothing."

Daniel turned and proceeded to his seat to Bohonte's side without bothering to look at the ruler. He didn't have to. Daniel could feel the man's anger from where he was.

"We've brought a test," the stranger said as a young man stepped forward with a wooden box. "If the Hiro will be so kind?"

"I don't want to play," Daniel said before he was able to catch himself. Instantly, he regretted the words.

He felt Bohonte lean closer as he said in that calm tone that preceded a beating, "You will play."

Daniel only nodded.

The tribal leader easily said, "This was given to us long ago. It's a gift from His Majesty the Warrior King Melius. If you are the Hiro of Hiros then you will know how to solve the puzzle."

The young man holding the box stepped closer and offered it to Daniel.

Daniel's first thought was that it looked heavy and he felt very tired. He looked around and saw a small table nearby. One of the desert men was close enough to it.

"Excuse me," Daniel said to that man. "Do you think you can fetch that table for me, please?"

The man by the table pointed to himself questioningly.

"Yes. The table, please."

The man hesitated but did eventually walk to it. He picked it up and threw off the fruit and the pitcher that had been sitting on it.

"Good," Daniel said sitting up. "Right here," he said pointing just over his knees.

The table was placed in front of him. Daniel pulled it forward a little more before he patted its surface and the box was set on it.

Daniel looked the box over very carefully before he ever touched it. His first thought was that it was so well constructed that it didn't seem to have any seams at all. It looked solid at first glance, but closer observation showed him a flaw in the wood's surface. A small rounded hole no bigger than a millimeter or so held a sharp right angle to it. Daniel turned the box a little so he could study it closer.

The hole, he realized was a chipped corner of a little piece of wood that had been inserted into the surface. It was the right size, shape, and color; all except that one flaw.

Daniel reached up to the pin that held his himation in place. He opened the pin up and then carefully inserted the sharp pin's tip into the little hole. As carefully as he could, he pried up the little wooden chip. On the chip's underbelly he found a stain mark. Without touching the mark he set it down on the table's surface.

In the hole created by the missing chip he found another layer of wood, darker wood. Carefully, Daniel touched the wood around the opening and found that some of the pieces were now loose. He pried gently and found that the top half opened up revealing a left and right inside. The top left side moved much easier than the top right. The top right's golden hinges needed a little extra care.

Once open Daniel found the real puzzle. A mosaic of half-faded tiles peppered the revealed surfaces. Daniel saw several familiar shapes from the Stargate they were the same shapes repeated over and over again facing in different directions. He realized quickly that it was the same exact 'gate coordinates that he had used to solve the test in the Temple.

When he couldn't find a solution on any one surface half, he began to cross reference the symbols and quickly realized that the solution lay on the inner edge of the top left half and on its inner edge.

In checking the sides he realized that once open, a groove was revealed. Daniel pushed gently on the top left half and found that it slid easily to the right until it completely covered the inner left half.

The second half of the puzzle had to lie in somehow raising the inner right half to the height of the top left half. As he checked the other half of the box he noticed immediately that that half was very different than the left.

"You do realize," Daniel said looking up, "that if I try to do this other half, I could break it completely."

The man didn't answer. He didn't blink. He didn't move in the slightest. None of them did.

"Thank you," Daniel said. "You're a great help. Really."

Daniel turned the box to the side and took hold of the hinges at either side to give him the best hold on the mechanism. He applied gentle, even pressure on it as he tried to figure out how it went down. He knew that logically, down was the only way that part could go.

It took a few seconds and a little maneuvering before he realized that the reason that the right side had moved so badly was because it was out of alignment. Daniel pressed inward on the hinges and found a spring action that allowed the hinges to be compacted inward. When released, the mechanism didn't allow entry into the bottom half.

Daniel pressed both sides in and gently eased the top right half down at a slight angle. It only took a few seconds for the lid to work its way inside. Half an inch from solution, it got stuck.

He pushed and jiggled nothing.

"It's stuck," he said to his audience.

As he picked up the box to get a better grip he realized that there was a large crack created in the wood. With the darker surface of the interior - now visible now on the outside - the crack appeared like a discoloration, a very symmetrical discoloration.

Daniel picked up the chip of wood that he'd originally removed. What he'd originally thought to be a stain seemed to be pigment. Once slid into place in the crack, the stain created a softening transition in the surface so that it camouflaged into the wood grain.

Daniel let the box come to a full rest on the table and he gently pushed the 'stuck' half in the rest of the way. It smoothly eased in.

A moment later the wooden box cracked in half with a soft puff of stale smelling air.

Daniel lifted the heavy lid and found a large, heavy looking silver and white necklace that he recognized from the design alone.

"Let me guess," Daniel said letting the box lid fall back down gently. "It's a matching set. Look," Daniel said to the shocked man in front of him, "I really appreciate that you came all this way to test me. But I don't like the white crown. I hardly ever wore it because it was heavy. And this looks just as heavy."

"You are the Hiro of Hiros," the tribal leader mumbled before he fell to the ground. His people followed suit. Before Daniel knew it, he was watching a dozen men worship him on their knees.

"Please don't do that," Daniel said feeling as if the room had just sucked the strength out of him.

"Put it on," Bohonte said amused.

Hesitantly, Daniel said, "It's heavy and I'm very tired-"

"Put it on," Bohonte growled.

Daniel looked down but didn't move. He wasn't surprised when the High Priest slithered forward and retrieved the necklace and put it on him.

As the heavy thing settled on his neck, he felt tears gather in his eyes. He didn't want to cry but he felt like it. He hated it when his emotions got the better of him. He did his best to push it away.

"Now, what say you Aliba?" Bohonte said happily.

The desert leader still knelt, with his eyes down, and his tone respectful he said, "I see the Hiro of Hiros, but I don't see the Hiro of Hiros working for your greater good. I will never put a yolk on my people's backs unless the gods have spoken. I am unconvinced of that."

"The holy child comes soon," Bohonte said happily. He managed a smile as he said, "And as my son, he will sit on my throne."

Daniel turned to look at the King with all shock and disdain.

Beating be damned!

"My son will never serve you or your aims in any way!"

Daniel wasn't completely shocked when he watched as Bohonte stood and drew a sword. What did shock him was that anyone in their right mind would ever bother to help him. As Bohonte's sword drew near his neck, Aliba's sword drew near Bohonte's side.

"Shed one drop of her blood," Aliba hissed, "and I'll force your kingdom into civil war as the dogs scramble for the remains of it."

Bohonte turned to the man and snarled, "I have thousands of men with me."

Aliba smiled widely so that his white teeth showed. "In this tent? Within reach of me and my sword?"

Bohonte mirrored the smile. "Then kill me. My men will be along in a moment to strip the skin off your frame and leave you for the birds to feast on as you watch your men roasted alive."

"Oh, for love of-," Daniel shook his head and carefully grabbed Bohonte's sword and pushed it just enough away that he was able to duck way. He stood and took a few steps away. "Alright," Daniel said pleased. "Now go ahead and kill each other." He turned as walked out as he said, "I'll be in my tent and would like to be left alone."

~ ~ ~

Daniel was in his tent for less than two seconds before he grabbed his little pot of ink. At his vanity he picked up one of the rounded pieces of polished horn for makeup application that had never been used.

Daniel tucked both things under a blanket next to him at his usual seat.

"Guard," Daniel called.

Whatever-his-name-is walked in a moment later.

"Do you know the man named Aliba? Where his tent is?"

Whatever-his-name-is nodded.

"Good. I didn't get his full title or a proper introduction, but I have a debt to pay him. He kept me from being beheaded tonight." Daniel looked around his tent. His eyes finally settled on Juno. "I think I'll send him my maid for the night...if he wants her. You're to go and wait outside the tent. You can make sure that she returns safely."

Whatever-his-name-is nodded hesitantly and then left.

"No," Cerpet said with a shake of his head. "Hiro..."

"Calm down child," Daniel said as he motioned a worried looking Juno to him. "You are to do as I say."

Juno nodded but still looked rather pale.

When she came to stand in front of him, Daniel looked her over very carefully.

"This dress is all wrong." He turned to one of the other girls and said, "Fetch me the blue dress in my chest, with the matching himation."

Daniel pulled on sash securing her waist; it fell away easily. Then he pulled on her dress as he pulled out the pins that secured it at her shoulders. The top half of her dress fell down revealing the cloth that she'd wound around her small breasts to keep them in place and then her wrapped underwear of the same rough cloth. As he reached up to remove the cloth, Daniel pulled her hands away and shook his head.

The other maids came with the new dress and held it out around her.

"Here," Daniel said before they were able to cover her completely. "Let me straighten you out."

Daniel reached for the ink pot and the dull edged implement. He dipped the white tip into the ink and quickly began to write his message across her mid-section.

"You are to present yourself to Aliba."

I will be dead soon - Help me.

"I am very pleased with him. If he likes you, you will stay."

No bargain or trade. War comes. My side or his?

"But if he sends you away, come back. I won't be angry."

Send this child back to me untouched.

Daniel quickly shoved the ink pot and the improvised pen back under the blanket at his side. When he looked back, she'd already concealed herself and the message.

"I will obey," Juno said.

Daniel nodded and she left.

Daniel spent the next anxious fifteen minutes waiting for her return and finding it extremely interesting that Cerpet didn't seem to be able to sit still. He quickly began pacing and rushing from side of the tent to the other unable to hold himself still for very long.

Daniel smiled to himself a little surprised that even under these circumstances love could still bloom.

"Hungris," Daniel called.

"Yes, Hiro," Hungris replied quickly as he stood from where Damat, Helleck, and he had been playing dice.

"Do you think that your sister would make a good wife?"

Hungris half-smirked a little crooked smile as he said, "Who would marry her?"

"I asked if you thought she'd make a good wife. She is your sister. You would know her better than anyone else."

Hungris scratched his arm as his face fell into serious thought. A little reluctantly the boy said, "Well, she makes good porridge. Mama says that she sews goodly; better than even her. And she doesn't misbehave." Hungris seemed to brighten up as if he'd found the right answer for the Hiro. "Papa is always beating me. Juno never gets beaten. She even stopped him a few times; said it was because I was too little and the littler you are the more you're not 'sposed to be beaten. That makes her really good."

Daniel smiled. "Thank you, Hungris. You've answered my question fully."

Hungris smiled happily before sitting back down to the game of dice.

Daniel looked over at Cerpet who was staring at him with big, wet eyes.

It took the boy less than slow minute to wander over and kneel down in front of him. Daniel kept his eyes on the big, puddle-laden spheres.

"You know what's inside me," the boy said.

Daniel stroked Cerpet's thick black hair as he said, "It's not hard to guess." He bent over and kissed Cerpet on the crown of his head. "She'll be back in a minute. Untouched."

"Damat, Helleck," Daniel called. "I need you to go summon the High Priest. I have need of him."

Seconds later the two boys strode out of the tent.

"Go wash your face," Daniel said to Cerpet. "Your bride shouldn't see you crying."

"Hungris," Daniel said turning. "Come."

Hungris was at his side in seconds.

"Tomorrow morning," Daniel said. "You are going to wake, eat your breakfast, and then return home to your parents."

Hungris looked a little unsure but he nodded.

"I want you to take a message to your father for me. You're to tell him that he is a good and faithful man and that I greatly like his family. Tell him that I'd like to offer him a proposal of marriage to his eldest daughter and one of my boys. Can you do that?"

Hungris smiled and nodded.

"Good, boy," Daniel said with a pat on his head.

Juno returned to the tent before the High Priest arrived.

"Are you alright?" Daniel asked.

She nodded and smiled.

Daniel's response was to nudge his head towards the wash basin. She obeyed without question.

Juno was still washing when the High Priest came into the tent. The priest looked drunk.

"We found him on a maid," Helleck said with a look of disgust.

"My lord," Daniel said as he held out his hand to the priest.

The man came forward, extending his hand. Daniel took it and worked off the one ring that he found there and then reached up for a heavy bracelet.

Helleck grabbed the High Priest in a headlock before he could either say or do anything about it.

"Throw him out," Daniel said as he studied the jewelry.

He realized quickly that it might not be enough so he wandered over to his vanity and pawed through the small jewelry box that Bohonte had given him. Most of the jewelry there probably wasn't worth much. It sure wasn't worth anything to him. The only thing that he had that was worth anything was the wedding ring that Jack gave him, the ring that he still had on his finger.

Daniel dropped the new pieces into the box and then offered them to Hungris saying, "You are to carry this to your father and tell him everything that I've told you."

Hungris quickly stepped back as she shook his head.

Daniel smiled and said, "None of these things mean anything to me. Here," Daniel said putting the box down onto his lap. "Do you see this?" Daniel said holding up his left hand. "This ring is all that means anything to me."

Daniel removed it from his finger and showed the boy the inside. "On my world the bride and groom will exchange rings and then wear them throughout their lives as a sign of love. Jack wrote inside my ring, 'To my Daniel, my love, my life.'" He replaced the ring on his finger. "This is the only possession that I value. And," Daniel said picking up the jewelry box and placing it in the boy's hands, "this is to insure a marriage."

"We're supposed to pay the dowry," Hungris said in a small voice.

"Yes, I know," Daniel said. "But the next few days will altar a great many fortunes. Your family may have to relocate somewhere soon. They may need to take others. They're my family now too, these few things will make sure that they can take care of themselves...and maybe all of you too."

CHAPTER 7 - PICKING A FIGHT; SMALL BATTLES ARE ALWAYS HUGE

"Sit," Jack said to Mad'rin.

"Wow," Mad'rin said amazed as he slid into place.

Jack had to smirk. The kids were picking up every word he used whether he wanted them to or not.

"This is a lot different than those drawings," Mad'rin mumbled as he looked around.

"Yes, it is." Jack reached for Mad'rin's hand and held it as he said, "No touching anything until I'm done."

The other ones gathered around and peered into the ship as Jack pulled out the thin whip of a twig that he'd requested.

"Now," Jack said as he pointed with the wood. "This entire area is the screen that is used for what?"

"Speed," Mad'rin said quickly. "The information for direction, fuel, and coordinates are there."

"Very good," Jack pointed elsewhere, "and this?"

"Radar," Ello chirped. "Enemy are seen there."

"Good, and this?"

Jack drilled them, first together then individually. He quizzed them, questioned them, explained to them, and spoke with them. He said everything twice taking his time to explain why and how.

By lunch time he was exhausted, and talked out. His mouth had dried out a while ago, and even worse his jaw actually hurt. The children were tired and quiet as they ate their food. Their mother's had brought some kind of a thick vegetable stew, heavy bread wrapped in linen, and a soft cheese full of chopped herbs for them all to share.

Jack picked up his cup. The water was flavored sour with lemons and some other kind of fruit. He drank it down enjoying the tanginess that washed over his tongue.

"I think we've done enough," he said as he looked into his cup. "We'll go up next."

Jack didn't have to look at them to know that their exhaustion was gone. They were happily content now.

"You need to be in the air to learn what I need you to know."

He was sure that he was going to go to hell for what he was about to do; but desperation often breeds a sick kind of clarity that forces situations into being.

Jack looked at their bright, shiny, happy faces as he said, "This isn't a good thing. Men spend months learning what you've reviewed briefly in a few days. I'd never let an experienced pilot near one of these Tail Hooks without first instructing him...a lot." Jack looked away as he said, "You don't have the experience. All I can hope is that I don't get you all killed."

Jack set his bowl and cup down. He got up to the sound of his knees popping.

Once upright, he said, "Finish your lunch and then join me."

Jack walked away. He had to.

He spent the next twenty minutes at the pier, staring at the water. He'd never admit to anyone, but he spent the time praying. He prayed hard. He prayed that Daniel would forgive him what he was doing.

When he heard the footsteps behind him, he said, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, General," Mad'rin said happily.

Quietly, Jack replied, "This isn't a game, boy."

"I know, General. But this is amazing." Quietly he added, "We're going to fly."

Jack turned and faced the boy.

"You're going to fly," Jack repeated simply. "I'm giving you the first chair. I'm only going to take the stick if you mess up."

He waited a few moments for the reality to sink in.

"That thing that you're feeling right now: that's fear. I've been carrying that since this began. Soon you're going to realize that every time you go up, you are taking your life in your hands. Your life, the people on the ground, and anyone who goes up with you...it's all your responsibility."

Jack looked away. He couldn't look the boy in the eyes as he added, "And I have to carry the burden of knowing that I'm putting children in that role."

"We can do it," Mad'rin said quickly.

Then more gently, Mad'rin said, "We can."

"I hope to God," Jack said as he began to make his way up the pier.

~ ~ ~

They began much the way they did when they were doing the student flights. The only major difference this time was that Jack was standing on the deck of His Highness's flag ship monitoring the situation as it took shape.

Jack looked through his binoculars. The dummy fleet of old ships was ready. Barely able to keep afloat, most of the ships had been reinforced with anything that would float just so that they could be dragged out of the harbor and into open sea for the demonstration.

On shore, half the city had turned out and were watching from every and anyplace that they could find. The richer citizens floated in the harbor on their private yachts behind the King's fleet with the fishing boats and dinghy's that crowded the water.

Jack changed his focus to the shore. He could see Maiyalli surrounded by her mothers and her remaining siblings under the little tent that had been set up.

"Alright!" Jack barked. "First Group! Hit the water!"

On his order all ten bodies ran off the ship in turn and broke the surface of the water so that they could swim out to the floating platforms hanging onto the ocean's surface twenty feet beyond the water.

"Second Group! Hit the water!"

Jack watched as second group obeyed their training and did exactly as Jack had expected. So far the Trepa had exceeded his expectations. He was very pleased.

"Third Group! Hit the water!"

Jack smelled Cistus' cologne long before he ever heard or saw him.

"There's great expectation today," Cistus said as he came to stand next to Jack.

"Yes," Jack said as non-committally as possible. "You'll be wanting these," Jack said as he gave the King his binoculars.

Jack pulled out a communication device and slapped it onto his jaw.

"On your word, Highness."

Cistus spent a fun-filled two minutes looking all around with the binoculars...utterly amazed.

"Highness," Jack said slightly annoyed. He could, under normal circumstances, enjoy himself as much as anyone else but these weren't normal circumstances. "That way," Jack said pointing to shore.

Jack didn't have to have the binoculars to know what he was seeing. Red was the color of the gods and all ancient warriors wore it into battle according to Adivus. Adivus had stood in and advised the Theropius' people on the design and construction of the uniforms. They even painted the standard warrior helmets in a bright, gaudy and vibrant red.

The ships had been painted bright white, Vestal orders which had been backed up by the Temple. According to Delina, "A thing which fights for the Holy, the Temple, or the Hiro must be blessed. A blessed thing is pure and contains prayer."

So the ships had been painted white and red prayer symbols had been painted on where the Vestals had dictated. The Vestals had spent the morning praying over the ships and the children. Even Jack had wanted it that way. None of the Queens had even joined them on the water; they were on shore still offering prayers, burning incense, anointing with water and oil; basically doing their best to intervene with the gods on high.

Every little bit helped.

The three bright red uniforms standing in front of the ships had to be Mad'rin, Ello, and Nadal. They stood out against the white quite easily; in a way, that was the point.

Cistus put the binoculars down and turned to face Jack. He actually managed to sound reasonably impressed as he smiled and said, "When you're ready, General."

Jack nodded.

"Flag Bearer, call the Deck Crews to order."

The Naval officers would have nothing to do with the Trepa. So Jack had designated his own Flag bearers to signal his Deck Crews. The boy stood, rang the bell, and began to signal DC 1, 2, and 3 to their work.

Jack tapped his communicator. "This is SG 1, SG 1 to Mother Hen. Come in Mother Hen."

A moment later, Maiyalli's voice came back at him, "This is Mother Hen. Please proceed, SG 1."

"Mother Hen, you have orders for a go. Repeat. You have orders for a go."

"Understood, SG 1. This is Mother Hen, we are a go. Confirming that we are a go."

Jack removed the communicator. Come what may, he wasn't going to interfere. He placed the little device in his pocket and instead reached for the remote in his other pocket. He pointed it at the sound system that Carter had rigged on the mast. They'd hear everything that was said.

The ultimate test of a week's worth of work and countless prayers were about to be realized, for better or worse.

"This is Mother Hen, Mother Hen to pilots. You are a go for boarding. Deck Crew to the ready, three Tail Hooks approved for take off."

"General," Cistus asked. "Who will be doing the flying?"

"The children," Jack said carefully. "Two of my men will ride with the two younger ones, but are under orders to not interfere unless there is a problem. Mad'rin, the eldest; he's flying alone."

As he watched the children and the two dark-clad adults board the Tail Hooks, Jack breathed out.

"The idea here is that they will have three tasks to accomplish. Their first task is to take off. In and of itself this is the first they'll be doing it on their own. Task two, they will fly to the coordinates that they are given and then destroy the designated enemy ship that are assigned. Task three, they will land on the open water without assistance."

Jack looked down on the decks where the DCs were waiting.

"This is the first live test for them too. We'll see what happens."

Cistus was silent; which Jack took for disapproval.

Jack had no expectations what Cistus' thoughts were regarding the boys and girls that he had on the platforms. It didn't matter. They had a job to do; Cistus was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

A few moments later, Jack heard Mad'rin's voice come over the sound system, "This is Angel 1 to Mother Hen."

"This is Mother Hen, Angel 1. You are a go for take off when ready. Your target is at coordinates four, zero, zero, niner. Confirm, Angel 1."

"Mother Hen, Angel 1 confirms target at four, zero, zero, niner. Angel 1 preparing for take off."

A few seconds later, Maiyalli said, "Good luck, Angel 1."

Jack gripped the ship's railing but fought to keep the tension off his face and out of his body language.

"Your Highness," one of the Generals on deck began again. "We understand that the Consort is desperate, but what good will a bunch of children do in time of war? And to use rabble like Trepa, to drag them in under the guise of...of what?"

Jack ignored the man. It was the same ones who said the same things over and over again, it wasn't worth it.

"There," Jack said calmly as he saw the familiar tale-tale signs of a ship taking off.

He'd seen it a thousand times. And to his relief this take-off went smoothly. Most of the Generals and most of the city, however, had never seen anything like it before. And the stunned silence only emphasized the noise of the ship taking off.

Like Jack had taught him, Mad'rin maintained no more than a twenty foot height from the surface of the water. Jack had warned Mad'rin about going too high or too fast until he had a better feel for the controls. He was glad to see that the boy had listened.

His flight was still a little rocky. Jack could tell just by watching the ship's movements that Mad'rin was still nervous at the controls. His hands were shaking.

Jack wasn't shocked when he saw Mad'rin fly in low along the water and pick up speed.

"Down," Jack said as he grabbed Cistus and pulled him down into the side of the railing. Peditis, who was on deck with the King, obeyed quickly and joined them on the floor a second or two before Mad'rin flew by hard, ripping up the wind and water as he sped by in a roar of noise. Sea spray kicked up with waves as the ship began to rock.

Jack stood up and then helped His Highness as he looked around. Several of the Generals had been knocked down. Jack couldn't help the smile. As Cistus stood and looked around at the wet Generals on the floor, he managed to crack his own smile.

Jack looked over the side at the DCs.

"No bad," Jack said as he saw that they all managed to keep their places on their platforms.

"Now he needs to find his target. He was given a specific target; he has to figure out which one it is and then destroy it."

"How?" Cistus asked confused.

"Watch," Jack said as he listened hard for what he wanted to hear.

The first Tail Hook flew to the dummy fleet and hovered above the water for a few long seconds.

"Mother Hen, this Angel 1 confirming target at four, zero, zero, niner."

"Angel 1 this is Mother Hen. Fire when ready at four, zero, zero, niner."

"Understood, Mother Hen."

Jack was both proud and glad to see that Mad'rin was obeying him. Jack had spent fifteen whole minutes drilling the fact into them that they were not to do anything fancy, not for the demonstration. Too many things could go wrong.

A second later, the Tail Hook opened fire.

The Tail Hook never moved. It maintained its place and fired from bow to stern just above the water line before laying down massive fire that burst the masts apart in a splintering of wood that ended with the tattered old sails fluttering down helplessly. The next volley destroyed the decks. Mad'rin continued to fire even after the ship had started to sink. The ship was pounded into driftwood before it could become an artificial reef at the bottom of the sea.

When the first demonstration was over, nothing but the wind could be heard. Not even sea gulls chirped.

Then, like a swell of water, the people watching began to cheer and howl.

Jack felt his jaw clench. He turned to Cistus. Unlike everyone around them, both he and Peditis were still.

"This is the power of your ancient enemy," Jack said for the two of them. "This is what your ancestor's fought and won against. This is why you can't ever freely open the God's Eye."

"One ship," Cistus said dumbly.

"The runt of the litter," Jack said quietly for his ears only. "They have ships bigger than your Palace. Ships that could destroy your world from the heavens. That's what Daniel wants to protect you from. Look at me."

Jack waited until Cistus was looking him in the eyes, "You can never open the God's Eye to retrieve more of those ships. If even one person on the other side sees the address to your world. They will come. It's as simple as that."

Jack saw the fear. He believed Cistus when he nodded.

Jack was also not terribly surprised when the Generals patted themselves on the back and then began to ask about seeking permission to retrieve more ships for the Army before Mad'rin had ever begun to land his ship on his designated platform.

~ ~ ~

"I have a chest full of anger and someone to focus it on." Jack turned and looked at Gadvin. He managed some semblance of an O'Neill smirk, "Time to get dirty."

Gadvin only nodded.

They both turned to look at the other end.

"Ugh," Jack groaned again with a roll of his eyes.

"Your own fault," Gadvin said...again. "You gave him that machine."

"This feels so anticlimactic. And I will regret it until the day that I die," Jack said as he watched Theropius using the camcorder to record the King and his Consort, the son of Adivus, in a 'private' moment over the old King's grave.

The private moment would of course be shared with the entire nation when the first movie was produced by an increasingly happy Theropius. Theropius had mentioned something inane about wanting to capture the moment that his Highness swore to avenge his father before 'falling on Siarra like a plague.'

There was only so much that Jack could take.

He turned away and did his best to escape to the flag ship that would lead the way to Siarra when he saw Delina approaching. She suspiciously looked as if she was ready for some kind of a trip. And with one look he knew that she was primed and ready for a fight. It was the way she carried her swollen pregnant belly in front of her, full of attitude and purpose...a belly stance to contend with.

He could have said a lot of things. He could have reasoned or used logic, but instead he said, "You realize that the motion of the sea will make you nauseous?"

She huffed and said, "I'm nine months pregnant. How much worse could this possibly get?"

"Which brings up another topic," Jack said quickly. "But then, I'm not your husband and I'm not going to go through the grief. Would you like us to take your luggage up to your room?"

"Thank you, General," Delina said pleasantly as she turned to await her husband.

Jack didn't hesitate to pick up one of the big, rounded, wicker 'trunks.' He had to use both hands and walk up the plank very carefully, but he got the heavy thing there. By the time his foot hit the deck he could hear Cistus screaming at the top of his lungs and Delina giving it right back.

Jack opened the estate room where Cistus had already directed all of his luggage, and miscellaneous crap. Jack set Delina's wicker trunk down and moved a big trunk of Cistus' out of the way. He was setting it by the doorway when Gadvin came in with the other one.

"Over there," Jack said by the bed. He picked up the wicker trunk that he'd taken charge of and set it by the one that Gadvin set down.

"Hear this!" they heard Cistus screech. "If you go, you go alone! No other Vestal! And you go carrying the unborn heir!"

Jack tapped Gadvin on the shoulder as he said, "Let's go help the Queen aboard. Looks like she finally won."

Gadvin snickered but followed without further comment.

~ ~ ~

It would have been kind to say that the trip was boring. It was beyond dull.

Four empty days of staring at nothing but water stretched out ahead of them. Despite Jack's objections, Cistus demanded that each yacht carry a contingent of armed guards. The elite of the elite were picked. Twenty men on each ship weighed them down. The down below quarters were occupied mostly by the ship's crew. Cistus did his best to take quarters elsewhere once he realized that his suite was taken by his wife, but he quickly learned that there were no quarters on the ship as comfortable as his private suite's bed. He quickly gave up sleeping below in the and soon joined everyone else above.

"It's tight down there," Cistus said as he slid down the mast to the floor.

"You don't like small places," Jack said.

Cistus jerked a nod. "I can breathe up here."

"Well," Jack said tilting his head back to stare at the stars. "You are more than welcome to share the deck, Sire. The night is cool and we have the room."

Cistus looked around at all the bodies lying on the deck in various stages of sleep. Several men had started a game of dice. Two were off in a private corner quietly lying under a blanket. Some were sleeping, some speaking, some just lounging around waiting for sleep. Theropius was the only one fast asleep, on his blanket, curled up protectively around the camcorder that he seemed hell bent on defending.

When he looked back at Jack he lowered his voice drastically and said, "Do you really think that this will work?"

Jack was tracing figures in the brilliance of the thousands of pinpoints in the sky. Absently, he said, "My father used to say that the only certainties in life are death and taxes."

"And my father used to say that only fools and lunatics follow themselves."

Jack turned to the ruler and asked, "What does that mean?"

Cistus faltered as he sheepishly said, "The one that leads doesn't really know where he is going. He is merely laying a path to where he thinks is right."

Jack turned his head to Cistus and smiled a little. The only response that he gave the man was when he said, "Death and taxes."

Jack went back to staring at the stars as he tried hard to find Earth in the smattering of worlds, moons, and suns up above their heads.

~ ~ ~

They were within site of Siarra long before they were ready...long before Jack was ready.

It was still the night before the anniversary of the Holy's theft, but they were already within sight of shore. Jack called for anchors to be dropped. The order was repeated to the two other ships. Jack walked to the ship's stern and looked out. Despite his better judgment, Cistus and his personal film crew followed him.

"Not that I want to question," Cistus said from behind Jack.

"But you will," Jack repeated as he raised his night vision sensitive binoculars. Right off he found himself seriously impressed. The walls that surrounded the city were massive. Rising up out of the sea they stood white and imposing in the darkness of night. Rising up in the center of the walls that followed in the undulating of the shore was a great big lighthouse that burned brightly. The fire at the top could be seen clearly for miles. They were a feat of engineering.

"You can't possibly see anything," Cistus said. "Why are we just sitting here? We could be mounting a surprise attack."

Jack lowered the binoculars and said, "I don't want to surprise anyone." He offered the binoculars to Cistus and said, "Take a look. I don't remember that on Adivus' map."

Cistus squinted in the moonlight before bringing the binoculars up hesitantly to his eyes. He quickly pulled them away and looked at them before bringing them back up. As he looked at them a second time he said, "This is extremely clever. How does it see at night?"

Jack paused.

"Magic," Jack replied dryly. "How new do you think that lighthouse is?"

Cistus peered through the binoculars again, "Very new. It can't be more than ten years old. No wonder we don't know about it."

"Ten years," Jack repeated. "Why wouldn't you know about it?"

Cistus bothered to set the binoculars down long enough to say, "All things are politically charged. Not even our spies would betray something of such importance so quickly."

Following the logic, Jack said, "So anything that we know about is old."

"Yes," Cistus said before returning to study the shore. "Do you realize that this is the closet that I've ever been to Siarra." Cistus paused. "I didn't expect it to look so much like my country."

"With any luck you won't ever get any closer than this, Highness." Jack turned to Gadvin and said, "All pilots and deck crew are instructed to sleep and rest. They are all going to have an early morning. I want the deck crews drilled one last time before the first run."

Gadvin pounded on his armored chest.

"Oh," Jack said before he could walk away. "When you're done with them, I want to see you in the control room."

Gadvin nodded before walking away to carry out his orders.

"So we're just going to sit here," Cistus said still studying the coast. "You do realize that Siarran's have a habit of swimming up to invading ships and attacking?"

"Come on Cistus, use your brain a little," Jack said turning away, "What kind of an idiot would bring only three ships to invade a nation that big?"

~ ~ ~

The ship's Captain's quarters had been taken over by Mayalli before they ever left dock.

Gadvin's one and only mission aboard that Goa'uld ship was to secure a very important piece of equipment. The panel had be stripped clean of non-essential parts by Carter and bolted down to a heavy wooden table which was secured to the floor.

As Jack stared at the table with everyone else they saw the unmistakable silhouette of the shore and the presence of several small, red dots slowly distinguishing themselves away from that silhouette. Jack didn't have to step outside to know what was happening. It was all very clear to him.

It was no shock when the door to the room opened and Cistus barged in followed by a slew of Generals that had deemed it not only appropriate but right that they should come over to the flag ship for the invasion. Theropius walked in last, took up a good position where he could film the goings on.

"They're coming," Cistus announced.

No one in the room replied as they continued to stare at the screen on the table.

Jack pointed to the table and said, "We've been watching them for about ten minutes. We have ten ships so far, each of them is carrying roughly seventy men. The larger ships closer to a hundred."

"They intend to board," Cistus announced.

Jack looked up at the man and clearly said, "They won't get that close."

A few moments later, Cistus asked, "What are we waiting for?"

"Her say so," Jack said as he casually pointed to Mayalli who suddenly seemed a little more unsure.

The Generals quickly said, "With protest!" "Your Highness!" "This is insane!"

Cistus quieted their protests as she stepped closer and looked at the small inching lights on the screen.

It wasn't long before Mayalli said, "Confirm, DC1."

She scribbled on the clip board in front of her, "DC 2, please check in."

Chatter on the other side spilled into the little room.

"Check. Confirm DC2. DC3, please check in."

Chatter again.

"Confirm DC3." Mayalli looked up and said, "We are a go, General. All deck crews report ready."

Jack nodded and gave the internal breath that always cleared his head for these kinds of matters.

Jack tried to move away but Delina grabbed his hand. He stopped and turned back. Sitting in the only chair in the room, pillows stuffed behind her to hold up her awkwardly balanced body, she looked uncomfortable and worried.

"Save who you can," she pled. "Many will die today. Though they are not Siarran, they belong to our Lord."

Jack caressed her hand with his thumb as he raised her hand to his lips.

"My word, your Highness," Jack said. "Promise that you won't go out of this room?"

There were tears in her eyes as she nodded and looked away.

Jack looked over at Peditus.

Peditus quickly stepped closer to say, "I'll stay with her. Go."

Jack nodded and left a little easier.

Cistus walked out before him. Jack waited for the Generals to all file out after his Highness like a string of little ducks.

Jack reminded himself that he had to do this in order to get Daniel back and then stepped out as well. Unlike the Generals he didn't follow Cistus along blindly. He stopped at the threshold and said, "Flag Bearer." The young man on duty came to attention. "Go find me a chair. There's one in the Queen's room."

"Sir," the boy said with a salute before running off to obey.

Jack walked completely out of the Captain's quarters and down the small flight of stairs to the main deck. His pilots were standing at attention in formation on the deck. He could see beyond them to one of the floating platforms on the sea. Tethered from the aft, bow, and stern each platform held its compliment; the deck crews stood in formation around the Tail Hooks that they were responsible for. So far, so good.

Today, Gadvin stood on deck with his children. Like them, he was dressed in what was now a pilot's uniform: red pants and tunic, his helmet -hornless- in his hand, pressed into his side. The children mirrored their father in their stance. Jack couldn't help but feel a great pride. He knew that there was a good chance that they might not make it through the day; but he was very proud of what they'd been able to accomplish so far.

...and even with her hair braided back tightly, Ello still looked like Adiani when the wind picked up and blew her cowlicks up. It was cute.

Jack stood on deck facing his pilots as he tried hard to ignore Theropius and that damnable camcorder that he was using to 'preserve the moment.'

The flag bearer walked up. Jack indicated next to him. The flag bearer set the chair down and walked away.

"This is a big day," Jack said cautiously. "The three of you have never been through anything like this before. Don't think for a single moment that today will be easy. Today," Jack said for the children as he reached into his pocket, "you are going to become murderers."

Jack carefully pulled out a small stone box from his pocket. The stone was lightly green and looked a lot like jade. He liked it. The little box came with a little tight-fitting lid. He worked the lid off and set both lid and box down on the chair.

"Why did I just say that?" Jack asked the box. "Because it's true." He looked up at the children who looked a little confused. "No matter how hard to you try to minimize civilian casualties, you will end up killing innocent men, women, and children. When you're bringing those walls down, you will be killing people. With any luck, you won't die in the process."

Jack grabbed the back of the chair and looked down at the box as he said, "I've based a lot of what is going to happen from what I learned about the second world-wide war on my planet. My countrymen had to build huge platforms to transport men and equipment to a very large invasion. And this tradition," Jack said nodding toward the box, "we are going to take from that war too."

Jack swallowed hard before he was able to continue. "They were called 'Kamakazie.' Men who would fly to their deaths in the name of loyalty and honor; they willingly went up in the air and flew their Tail Hooks into ships at sea to create maximum damage to the enemy fleets." Seriously, Jack said, "It worked too."

Jack picked up the little green box and held it up. "But this is the tradition that we are going to use. They would trim their nails, or cut some of their hair and leave it in a small box. This way their family would have a part of them to bury.

"A pilot's life is in his own hands and your hands have never been in battle, never held a Tail Hook for this purpose, and that creates the possibility for accidents, error, and failure." Jack set the box back down before putting one of his nails between his teeth. He bit down and ripped it off. He carefully took the nail from between his teeth and set it in the box. "I'm going to ask you each to do the same."

Gadvin didn't hesitate to step up and bite off a nail. He dropped it in before any of the children followed suit.

Hesitantly, one-by-one they stepped up and left a little piece of themselves in the box. It was apparent by their faces that the reality of it all was finally sinking in.

"Angels," Jack said clearly as he set the little box's lid on it. "You're grounded until orders come to you from Mayalli." Jack looked at Gadvin and said, "Let's go."

Jack went over the ship's side first. He descended the ship's ladder to the small platform waiting just below it. Platform 1, holding DC 1 was waiting within stepping distance.

The moment Gadvin stepped on the crew went to work pushing and then paddling the platform away from the ships body. Jack got into the Tail Hook with the ease of a hundred mounts. Gadvin approached it with caution, but sat down with determination.

Jack slapped the communication patch on his jaw a moment later and began his pre-flight checks. When he heard the static of Gadvin setting his patch into place, Jack smiled.

"Don't worry," Jack calmly. "We'll be there in time. Your fondest wishes are about to come true."

"With all due respect, General," Gadvin said tightly. "My fondest wishes don't involve anything that flies a thousand decas up in the air."

Jack smiled as the DC1's team leader gave him the signal for an all clear.

"Don't worry, Gadvin. I know you're a virgin. I'll take it easy on you the first time."

Gadvin sniffed, "That's what my wives told me...couldn't move the next day."

Jack managed a laugh, "I don't need to know this, Gadvin."

DC1's team leader gave the okay.

Jack knew that the flag bearer had picked up the signal and was relaying it to Mayalli.

"SG1, SG1 you are cleared for take off," Mayalli instructed a moment later. "When ever you're ready, General."

"This is SG1. Our boards are green and we're a go. See you in a few, Mother Hen."

Jack started the engines and took off easily enough and without incident. He even lingered for a moment to see if the deck crews were doing what they were supposed to. They were, and were sufficiently out of the way. He took off, satisfied.

The flight to the Siarran coast would be very short. But before they reached it, they heard Mayalli giving orders for another take off. Mad'rin would be flying with Teal'c and Ello would be flying with Carter. Until further notice, Nadal was grounded and waiting for Jack's return so he could earn a few hours in the chair.

Jack swooped the ship in close to the small fleet of ships. From the advantage of height, they could both see that there where just a few ships out on the open ocean. The fleet was filing out from the very narrow opening in the fortified walls in as straight a line as they could create. The line of ships went back into the harbor where they could see an entire fleet of ships waiting to pile out and join the rest.

Their lofty presence seemed to be making a commotion on the decks. Neither of them said anything.

Jack ignored the ships and maneuvered to the lighthouse.

"You've got to admit," Jack said as he positioned the Tail Hook just parallel to the lighthouse's base. "It is kind of pretty."

"I think it it'll look better in the water."

"Well," Jack said on an exhale as he checked his watch. "It is about noon. The anniversary date is here and the stage is yours."

Just like in their practice the previous night, Gadvin pressed the right buttons so that his voice would project outside of the ship for Siarra to hear.

"My name is Gadvin Et'uip Mod'vi, Captain of the Temple Guard for the nation of Kassante, in loyal service to His Royal Highness Cistus Eblianen 'd Hermes. It was my great grandfather, Eftin Et'uip Mod'vi that stood on your walls fifty years ago today leading the rescue for the Holy. He and his men shed their blood here to try and prevent its theft. They failed. We won't.

"Your King has stolen something that does not belong to him. We are here to reclaim. In the name of the men that have fallen and our Lord's name, we are here for what is ours."

A few seconds later the cannons began to fire and Jack watched the lighthouse that towered above them tip as it began to fall on their heads.

"Low bridge," Jack said as he moved the Tail Hook aside and out of the way of the falling marvel.

The sound of more cannons caught Jack's attention. As soon as they were in the clear, he turned his head for a moment to see that the straight line of ships flowing out of the harbor did so to the advantage of Teal'c and Mad'rin. Their Tail Hook had fired, bringing down several masts and setting a dozen sails on fire.

"The children are here," Jack said as he moved the ship back so that Gadvin could gun the walls down.

"They can find their own target," Gadvin said before the overpowering noise of the cannon's firing filled the cabin as the imposing walls that surrounded the city began their fall.

CHAPTER 8 - THE COURSE OF LIFE

He wasn't shocked to be called to Bohonte's tent, not after the last few days.

Daniel stopped outside of the King's tent and took a deep breath to prepare himself. Whatever-his-name-is was still with him. Daniel didn't enjoy the idea of the man constantly with him but the dizziness that had been plaguing him more and more wasn't getting any better. He loved Juno, but she wasn't strong enough. Daniel needed him.

Daniel tightened his himation around him causing the fabric to tighten against his back. He could still feel the welts on his back. He didn't look forward to more, but he also knew that this might happen. In his estimation, the risk still outweighed the punishment that he dolled out. So long as he was careful with the baby...

Daniel knew that angering the King was always a huge chance, bigger than he should take, but he knew that he really didn't see another way out. And with their latest work, they were ready to move against Bohonte himself.

He wasn't sure when. He wasn't sure how. But Daniel knew enough to be patient and to continue to move slowly. They were almost there.

After steeling himself, he moved forward. The guards outside of the tent opened the tent's flap as they parted for him. Daniel proceeded inside with Whatever-his-name-is on his heels.

He stopped three steps in and froze. It took him a moment to figure out what he was witnessing. When it finally penetrated his mind what he was viewing, Daniel took in a sharp breath and turned. Unfortunately, the memory of one of Bohonte's Hiro sucking him off seemed to have permanently burnt itself behind his eyelids.

To his credit, Whatever-his-name-is put his arm around Daniel and tried to lead him out only to be stopped by the King's guards.

Daniel stared at the fur-covered ground for a moment. When he realized that the sounds were just as bad, he covered his ears and began humming to himself.

He didn't stop. He didn't want to. The last thing in the world that he wanted was to carry a live sex act in his mind while he was pregnant. The idea was repugnant.

Eventually, Whatever-his-name-is tapped him on the shoulder. Daniel tentatively opened his eyes and slowly released his ears. He didn't relax until he was sure that the offensive sounds were over.

"What wrong? Haven't you ever had your pole licked? Oh," he said with a smile in his voice. "I forgot, you don't have one."

Daniel said nothing.

"Come here, woman," Bohonte said with a slam of his hand on a wooden surface. "You've been summoned to my presence."

"I'm not a woman," Daniel said conversationally.

"Do not correct me!"

"I am not correcting, His Highness," Daniel said, a-matter-o-factly, as he watched the already uncomfortable guards in front of his eyes beginning to frown as they watched him go through it again. "I am merely pointing out facts."

"I said," Daniel could already here the anger in the now conversational tone, "don't correct me."

Daniel swallowed. "Yes, my Lord."

"We are too speak." The smile was back in his voice.

Daniel said nothing.

"Come here!" Bohonte snapped.

Slowly, Daniel turned. Whichever of the Hiro had been between his thighs was now lost in the cluster of androgynous faces sitting in 'places of honor' just off to the side of the King.

Daniel stepped forward hesitantly, while still trying to appear as if he was obeying.

"You," Daniel said picking his words, "requested that we speak."

Daniel saw the man lean back. "I'm very displeased with you," the King said as he reached for his cup.

"Please tell me how you are displeased, my Lord. It isn't my wish to offend you."

An annoyance shadowed across his face as he studied the Hiro of Hiros, and then it was gone. "Then you will explain to me why you treat a Prince of the Realm as you have." Bohonte's lip curled as he said, "My son is to follow me. He will be a King. I will ensure that he will be a great ruler, and yet you seem fit to punish him like some kind of servant!"

Bohonte relaxed visibly and stared to seethe as he said, "I have reports of your ordering him to move rocks from one end of a field to another, gather firewood like a woman, and dig holes. How do you explain yourself?"

Daniel took a moment of silence before he calmly said, "I like him. I like him and more importantly I think that he will make an excellent ruler one day. Unfortunately, my Lord, in order to be a good king, a man requires things that aren't handed down with the crown. Things like self-discipline, thought, honor, pride, knowledge, character, and inner-strength are things that a person must search for on their own in their journey through life."

"And a person finds these digging holes?"

Daniel smiled, "No. A person begins to realize these things through hard work, trial and error, triumph, failure, self-sacrifice, joy, and sorrow. Even a king must live in the world of men. And in that world the only constant is pain, loss, and the eventuality of death."

As Bohonte sat speechless, Daniel thanked every Eastern philosophy book he'd ever read.

After a short-lived period, Bohonte said, "My son will stay in my tent from now on." He reached for his cup as he said, "I haven't spent the kind of time that I should with him. It will be good for him."

Daniel felt the disappointment show on his face, but he bowed just the same.

"Leave," Bohonte said gruffly.

Daniel didn't hesitate to turn and leave. He couldn't walk out fast enough.

He needed Whatever-his-name-is' help before he got ten feet from the tent. He was already tired and the up hill climb to his own tent, at the apex of the enormous hill, was already wearing on him.

Throughout the journey, Daniel had to stop six times to catch his breath so he could rest as he leaned against Whatever-his-name-is. The trip back to his tent seemed a mind boggling trek at first. But step-by-step, the tent drew nearer until his maids spotted them and ran down the hill to meet them.

~ ~ ~

"I'd rather be living with you," Damat said as he mournfully accepted the large bowl of salad. As he dug into it and portioned some out for himself, he grew increasingly upset.

"Are you eating enough?" Daniel asked far more patiently than he felt. He'd had a craving all day for what was in Damat's hands now. He had to remind himself to keep calm and wait his turn.

Damat suddenly became quiet. He finally passed the bowl to Daniel but he'd stopped speaking.

"Damat, I asked you a question."

Damat shrugged. "I don't like the food. Never have. It's too rich."

"Then don't eat much. I'll have Juno watch the tent and bring you food when the King is away."

Damat looked up and gave a nod.

Daniel smiled and was finally able to turn his attention to the bowl. As far as Daniel was concerned, the grain and herb salad was Juno's specialty. The lightly boiled grains were tossed with a little olive oil, lemon, and lots of herbs. No one flavor overpowered the others. The grains were still firm and whole.

Daniel didn't mind pouring himself a hefty portion.

Juno's vegetable stew would be next. He knew he probably wouldn't have room for much, but it didn't matter. It was just what he'd wanted.

Daniel was able to enjoy that first bite without incident. The grains required thoughtful chewing. The herbs were flavorful and there was just a hint of an acidic tang as he smiled through the first bite.

"I think that there's something upsetting my father."

Daniel, like everyone else, looked up at Damat.

The boy held up a spoonful of grains. As he evaluated them, he said, "Yesterday a herald came and said something to him that made him extremely angry."

"What?" Daniel asked, very curious.

Damat shook his head. "I'm no longer trusted. No one told me." Then Damat shoved the spoon in his mouth and began to eat.

"Damat," Daniel said as he felt a chill whisper across his spine. "On a scale of one to ten, with ten being angry enough to kill-"

"He was nine," Damat said. "I caught sight of him beating the herald. The only reason that he didn't kill the man was because I walked in." Damat looked at Daniel and said, "His anger evaporated, like the conversation, the man was told to leave."

Daniel nodded.

"Juno," Daniel called as he used his spoon to play with his grains.

"Yes, Hiro," Juno said as she approached.

Daniel felt whatever hunger he had disappear as he realized that he'd have to finally give the orders that he'd been hesitant to give.

Daniel inhaled and let it out in a huff of air. He swallowed. Daniel did his best to haughtily say, "The soldier's stink all around. I want you to make some soap. Then get the other women in the camp organized. I want them clean."

Juno bowed. "As you say, Hiro."

She turned and left the tent quickly leaving Daniel with his sickening thoughts.

He'd made the plan for it. Juno had been more than willing. Daniel wasn't surprised. The army had effectively bankrupted her family. Every farm within three miles had been forced to give up their livestock, grain stock, and most of its winter stores. Many would probably die in the upcoming winter.

And yet, soldiers were still sent out farther every day to find more and more. Hunting parties were now sent out every morning. Fishing parties were set up for miles along the different rivers that neighbored the area. And still, more was needed to feed the mass of men.

The local people wanted them gone. The local people were terribly angry. Not just at their own losses, but also at the way the Hiro was being treated. Word of it got out and spread easily. The local people had no voice, save one. And Daniel had promised them that the army would soon be gone. One way or another, he knew that he'd make good on that promise. Even if he had to go at it alone.

~ ~ ~

The next morning Juno quietly came to Daniel and informed him that the kitchens had been putting aside lard and ash for soap.

Daniel turned to look at her. Juno had a pleased look on her face that told him she'd been looking forward to it.

Daniel nodded, and kept his peace.

The next day, the smells of the boiling vats reached him. Even at the height and distance where his tent sat, the smell of boiling lye sailed into his nostrils. Daniel walked out of his tent just far enough to look out. He could see the women stirring the large vats of offensive chemicals. The soap was being made. In a day or so, the crude lumps of soap produced would be used to kill a great many people.

Daniel turned back to his tent. He didn't want to see it. He couldn't.

He found his pillowed bench and sat down. He rubbed his hand gently over his swollen belly and prayed. He prayed for his baby, his husband, and for the people who were about to get hurt.

He didn't like it, but truth be told, Daniel was willing to wipe out everyone if it meant getting his child away. He had no illusions that Bohonte had had enough of him. Daniel knew that he was now only a vessel for the holy child. If he somehow managed to survive Bohonte, he knew that he'd never be allowed to see his baby again.

And that was unacceptable.

The next afternoon, Daniel took the three remaining boys and his guards on a long walk. They picked flowers and wild herbs. Everyone carried two baskets, except the Hiro who got dizzy when he bent over for any reason. Daniel made sure that everyone filled their baskets before they walked back.

As they approached his tent, Daniel casually said, "Do take the baskets to the kitchen's the women will know what to do with them."

Then Daniel retired to rest.

Two hours later, he saw for himself. His desperation had been made manifest. The only ones who knew what was happening were his own maids: eight girls. A total of thirty eight women were gathered to wash. An assembly line was set up. Some women chopped wood and watched over the fires going. Other women stirred the clothes in the boiling, soapy waters. Still other women beat the clothes on the river's edge before wringing them out. Finally, his maids took the clean clothes and gave them a final rinse.

The flowers and herbs had been used to make a fine smelling rinse water...made from the very flammable spiro. Each item was carefully scented and then hung to dry in the fields surrounding the encampment, and allowed to drip along the ground all the way to where they were hung on lines stretched around the base of the hill that held the Hiro's tent.

Daniel only stayed long enough to realize that Bohonte's great army would soon be dead, and that he'd be the one to light the match.

CHAPTER 9 - I'M THE ONE AT FAULT, SO I'LL NEVER FIGHT AGAIN

Jack was on downtime. He checked on Nadal and Ello. Both were fast asleep next to Carter on the deck. Unlike the others, they were exhausted. The rotating schedule that they were keeping maintained someone in flight at all times. Right now, it was Mad'rin and Teal'c who were flying an evening mission. Ello and Carter had another twenty minutes of sleep before it was their turn to get up, prep for flight, and then run another eight hours over Siarran space.

Nadal had done well, just like his siblings. The boy wasn't as intoned with the machinery as his sister or as proficient as Mad'rin, but Jack knew that, with a little time, the boy would get there. Jack pulled the blanket up to cover Nadal more before he walked away.

His feet took him directly to the place that he didn't want to be. At the ship's stern he looked out over the damage that they'd inflicted in a few minutes. The city would be recovering for years, decades, maybe even longer...if they ever rebuilt the walls. As it was, Jack imagined that it's what the great lighthouse of Babylon looked like, after it fell into the ocean.

That was Daniel's influence. Jack had to laugh at himself over it. In his right mind, when not dripping in love with a historian, he would have more clearly said that it looked like the scene from Planet of the Apes when Charlton Heston fell to the ground cursing at the human race as he stretched his arms up towards the remains of the shattered Lady Liberty.

Tatters, pieces, and remnants of a great and awesome feat of engineering that once was, but now only protruded from the ocean in a mountain of rubble that still managed to stretch up out of the water in some places. But the only place to really see it was from high above as they rode through the clouds off to another desolate place.

Beyond it, the city of Shur sat alone. Without its massive walls to protect it, the city was completely open to them. It was actually rather nice looking, and extremely similar to Siarran in its architecture. The Siarran had altered their structures slightly. The older buildings looked as if they had been deliberately built to mirror their mother nation; but the newer ones; they looked like something completely new and independent of the old. It was a culture slowly finding its own identity.

Jack could tell just from looking that whatever Siarran was moving towards, it was a completely new nation of its own. And a part of him felt like hell for having to bring this to them because of the power-hungry actions of one man.

He closed his eyes tightly and tried to shut it out. He knew deep down that if he had to carpet bomb the entire nation to get Daniel back, he would do just that. He didn't want to. He hoped that he wouldn't be driven to it; but if push came to shove, there was no one and nothing that he wouldn't send to hell to get Daniel back.

The first touch on his shoulder startled him from his morbid thoughts.

Peditus pulled his hand away quickly, but once he realized that Jack's initial reaction was of start and not of malice he replaced his hand gently.

"The Hiro will return," Peditus said kindly. "Don't lose your faith in him when you're this close."

Jack looked back at the city of Shur. He felt a thousand miles away as he said, "I've killed. In service to my nation, I've killed so many. I don't want to be that person again." Jack felt heavy tears in his eyes as he said, "But if they've hurt Daniel, I'll lay waste to it all."

Jack felt a soft, comforting hand stroke his hair back. Jack pulled away quickly. He felt stupid right after. It felt nice, but also wrong. Clumsily, he said, "Daniel's the only one that's ever touched my hair."

He felt even dumber after he'd said it, but Peditus didn't laugh.

Instead, Peditus said, "The Hiro is sacred to them too. The child is sacred, and still safe inside the Hiro. He will be for months yet."

Peditus stroked his arm as he said, "We've come quickly. The Hiro will return."

Jack wanted to agree but he wasn't so sure. He turned his face away and continued to stare at the rubble.

Peditus seemed to give up. He slid his hand up to Jack's upper arm and patted him lightly before walking away.

Jack was glad for it. He didn't want to talk. He didn't need the encouragement. All he wanted was to sulk.

And sulk he did. For a long time he stood there and stared at Shur, sulking. The only thing that roused him was the sounds of an engine.

He turned starboard and saw that he'd lost some time. Carter and Ello were in their Tail Hook and preparing to take off from Platform 2. Carter saw him and saluted. Ello, in her red armored helmet, waved at him happily just before the Tail Hook sped off ripping up water as it quickly disappeared into the distance.

Jack turned and walked back to control. He found Gadvin at his post with Mayalli. Neither of them really trusted Cistus' generals. They agreed between the two of them to take turns at control, just in case something actually happened that Mayalli couldn't handle by herself.

Gadvin looked tired and bored, but he still looked animated enough.

"Anything?" Jack asked as he closed the door behind him.

"The usual," Gadvin replied. "Mad'rin and Master Teal'c are returning. The coastal cities haven't turned up anything. Carter and Ello just left to continue their search inward in a North West direction along the River Dak'shi."

"What about the canals?" Jack said as he scrubbed his eyes.

"Nothing. They're completely clear."

"Good," Jack said as confidently as he possibly could. "All travel in Siarra has just been suspended."

Jack placed his hands on the wooden table top and stared at the screen as he said, "When Nadal and I go back on our shift we'll travel in deep along the main canals and warn every camp, and settlement to discontinue travel." Jack turned away as he made up his mind, "As of tomorrow we begin firing on anyone traveling over land or water."

Mayalli replaced the communication patch on her jaw as she said, "Attention Angel 2, you have new orders. Repeat, Angel 2 you have new orders."

Jack left. He needed to get some sleep. He walked to where Nadal was asleep, removed his armor, and bedded down for a quick sleep next to the boy. Mad'rin and Teal'c's return woke him, but years of military experience had long ago taught him to pull the blanket over his face, ignore the spray of sea water, and go back to sleep.

Four hours after shutting his eyes that last time, Jack woke up for good. He checked his watch. It was six fifteen, Earth time. He rolled over onto his back and wiped at his eyes. He heard Nadal roll over and moan out sleepily. Jack smirked, it sounded as if the boy was having a dream.

Jack sat up and felt the effects of the ship's hardwood deck on his aging back. He stretched out as best as he could before looking around. The soldiers they'd brought with them looked bored out of their skulls. They literally had nothing better to do than sit around and wait for something to happen.

Jack cracked his neck from side-to-side before stretching out his back and making the decision. As he shook Nadal awake, Jack said, "Come on, boy. It's time to fly."

Nadal woke up eventually. Very sleepy and only half-awake, but he was following orders.

"I would have thought that you'd be moving faster than that," Jack said as he struggled to get his aged body up and mobile. "You'll be driving today; not me."

Jack was picking up his blanket when he heard Nadal whoop happily.

Jack kept his promise too. He was ready the entire time, just in case, but he gave Nadal control over the Tail Hook. It was the kind of uneventful milkrun that was perfect for a cone head. It was a repetitive stop and go over camps and settlements along the canals. All the kid had to do was fly straight, not kill them, and follow the relatively straight lines of the constantly flowing water and the unchanging landscape.

The reactions from the locals were all about the same. Jack imagined it to be rather frightening for the locals. Middle of the night, calm and quiet, and then the blazing light and noise of the Tail Hook as they intruded on their immediate air space. It was probably rather horrifying. Not only was the machinery blaring at them, but the sounds of the Theatre Guild's singers belting out the Hiro's songs and the sight of the Hiro's scripts that had been painted on the ships would have been one hell of a message from the heavens.

Most of the people that they encountered guarding the settlements fell to the ground begging for mercy. There was always hysteria and fear, especially at night when the people didn't know what was going on.

Under normal circumstances, the darker part of his personality might have enjoyed it. Hell! That darker part of him had a wicked sense of humor that probably would have done something childish and inane that probably would have further scared those people into some form of trauma. Daniel. He probably wouldn't have approved...which is why he didn't do it.

He didn't even enjoy it.

The eight hours in the chair with the kid doing all the work went by far too quickly. Because Jack woke them both up earlier than intended they had another one and half extra to go. It still went by too quickly.

"Home Nadal," Jack said when he realized that their time was up.

Nadal's silence was about as close to whining that he usual went with 'The General.'

Jack smiled, the kid loved the seat. It was about as cool to him as to any other nugget just starting out after they first got their wings.

"You've got the chair, not me. You call it in." Jack turned his head and went back to staring out of the window like he'd been doing for the past few hours.

"Sir, yes sir," Nadal said happily. "Mother hen this is Angel 3, Angel 3."

Silence.

"Mother hen? This is Angel 3, please respond?"

More silence.

"This is Angel 3, please respond?"

Now Jack was worried; he strained to listen.

"Sir?" Nadal asked. "I know I'm doing this right. I'm doing it right, aren't I?"

"Let's see," Jack said as he rechecked their frequency. It didn't seem to have changed and he knew that there weren't any other radio signals anywhere on that world. "Come in, come in. Mother Hen, come in."

Silence.

"Mayalli? Someone? Come on, someone answer me before I start to get really worried."

Silence. Then static. For a moment the static went from just static to a fluttering sound, as if a dog had gotten to the communication patch and was both licking and panting on it.

"Hello?" Jack said trying again. "Can someone hear me?"

Far off he heard the sounds of Delina screeching out something, and then that fluttering sound was back again.

"Delina!" Jack yelled loudly. "If you can hear me, stop waving the damn thing around in the air and put it on your face!"

More fluttering sound.

"Put it on your face!" Jack yelled again.

Jack shook his head as he heard the sound of someone tapping at the communication patch, and then finally he heard Delina huff, "Oh, General! Such a state! There is such a state here!"

"Is everyone alright? Where's Mayalli?" Jack demanded.

"On deck," Delina countered. "She'll be right back. There was a problem with the Tail Hooks."

Jack heard wind hitting the communication patch. Delina or someone else was fanning her.

"The Kassantian's attacked the ship. Outside the men are shooting those new weapons at them. They're swimming up and shooting arrows."

"You're safe?" Jack asked quickly.

"Oh, yes," She huffed. "But the others are away."

"Alright," Jack said calmly. "Here's what I want you to do. Look on the screen. You should see the three dots that represent the Cistus' ships. Are there any other dots?"

"No," Delina said quickly. Then she asked, "Is that yours? Are you returning, General?"

"Yes, we are."

"Well the others are here."

"Are the decks secured? Can a Tail Hook take off?"

"Not yet. I've sent guards down to the platforms to protect the children, but I don't think that it would be safe to take off just yet, General."

"Mad'rin and Teal'c are due to take off soon. Don't give permission until the danger's past."

"Oh, um," Delina stammered.

"It's okay," Jack said with a smile. "You'll do just fine until Mayalli returns. It's nothing but minding and telling others what to do. You're good at that."

Jack didn't have to be watching her to see the smile on her lips as she said, "Really, how utterly kind of you."

Jack returned the unseen smile and said, "We'll be back on platform 3 in about an hour."

"Understood," she said in her maternal way.

The flight back seemed a lot longer than it should have. Jack ordered Nadal to gain more altitude and punch it harder. They made good time, but it still seemed to take far too long.

As they flew over the three ships bobbing peacefully on the surface of the ocean, Jack said, "Circle. I want to see what's happened."

There were bodies in the water. There were a lot of bodies in the water. There was debris too, like bits of charred and smoking wood that had been woven together.

"What is that," Jack asked out loud, "little boats?"

"Blifa, sir," Nadal responded. "They're small, floating screens that swimmers can hide behind. The men on the ships usually can't shoot through them. It's a safe place to surface and breathe while attacking ships."

Jack shook his head as he said, "I bet other kids get told nice bedtime stories, you and your siblings get Blifa and tactical maneuvers."

Happily, Nadal said, "Yes, sir!"

"Let's see if you can land this thing."

As the ship began to move into place Jack reminded him, "Ask permission first."

"Oh," Nadal said. "Yes." A moment later he added, "Mother Hen this is Angel 3, Angel 3. Seeking permission to land, Mother Hen."

The words, "Oh, Darling! You're back. How nice" let them know that Mayalli still wasn't at her post.

"Permission to land, Queen Mother," Nadal asked.

"Of course," Delina responded.

Jack could see that Platform 3 was ready to receive them but he knew that they hadn't been signaled.

"Delina," Jack said a little tired. "You have to signal the flag bearer so that he signals the right platform. There's a switch on the table. Flip it forwards and then back, three times. That's all you have to do to give us permission to land."

From their position, Jack saw the deck light outside of control light three times and the flag bearer begin to signal.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Jack said.

"You are most welcome, General."

As they began their careful descent onto the platform, Jack noticed the two Temple Guards on platform 3. Standing straight up, braving the gale force wind they were knocked off into the water rather quickly. The deck crews, on the other hand, were down. Heads down, grabbing onto the platform the way that Jack had showed them; as usual the deck crew kept their place on the platforms.

The Tail Hook landed without incident. The deck crew swarmed the Tail Hook, threw the lines over it and secured it down to the platform.

They waited the usual three minutes that it took for the crew to secure the craft, and for the DC leader to check over their work. Lind was on 3 today. He walked around the ship and came to stop near Jack. He gave his signal and Nadal opened the canopy.

The first thing that hit Jack was the smell of boiled water.

"It's the weapons, sir," Lind said wearily. "The water was boiling not long ago."

The heat was evident and the sea sprayed a prickling heat on the skin. Jack climbed out of his seat and quickly picked up one of the youngest boys that he could get his hands on. He picked him up and sat him on the edge of the ship. A slightly older girl was next.

"Get them up," Jack said as he removed the communication patch from his face. "Any casualties among the deck crews?"

"No," Lind replied. "We've been well guarded. The Queen Mother ordered guards for us as soon as we saw the Blifa swimming towards us. They didn't get very close at all."

Jack nodded. He was annoyed and very worried, but he nodded. He walked around the ship to the awaiting rope ladder and climbed up the side of the ship. He was all too aware of the arrows that were dug into the wood. Like spines, they stuck out nastily from the ship's side.

Cistus met him at the top. Cistus met him with a staff weapon in hand. By the feathers and paint that had been added, Jack knew that it was Gadvin's weapon.

"Casualties?"

"None," Cistus said happily like a dog that finally got the easy fight that he'd been raring for to give him the victory that he required.

Jack had no doubt that was exactly the case as Cistus said, all too satisfied with himself, "We saw the enemy and dealt with it."

"Good," Jack said gently. He turned to Gadvin and waited.

Gadvin quickly said, "Your second in command and two others took arrows. They'll live."

"That's it?" Jack said.

Gadvin nodded as he said, "I sent the Lord Peditus below with the wounded. He was almost struck. Right now we're getting them drunk so we can remove the arrows." Gadvin handed a wooden arrow to Jack as he said, "They like to tip them with twisted metal when they can. It'll hurt badly; they need to be numb."

Jack studied the thing in his hand. It wasn't a spindly arrow. It was a thick, hardwood thing tipped with bits of metal meant to cause serious harm; going in and coming back out.

"Out of curiosity," Jack said twirling the arrow between his fingers, "why is Mayalli not at her post?"

"The Queen has just started labor," Gadvin replied. "She was with the Queen, but when this happened I sent her to help Master Teal'c and her brother pull arrows out." Gadvin shrugged his head a little. "The first baby takes the longest; there will be plenty of time for her."

~ ~ ~

Jack worried the entire time that he heard Delina struggle through the pain of child birth. Peditus and Mayalli where in the room helping her through it. Cistus was on deck pacing nervously for the last six hours of it. Jack wasn't worried about Delina. She was a strong lady and he knew that she could take whatever was thrown at her.

Delina would be alright.

Jack was more worried about Daniel.

At nine months, Delina was right on schedule. Daniel would soon follow. Jack knew that Daniel would now be exactly seven months and one week into the pregnancy. And Jack had managed to miss most of it.

They didn't know about the baby for the first three months, one week, and four days. He got to enjoy a family, his family, for two weeks before he had to leave. Since that time he'd spent a total of three weeks with Daniel. Three weeks that had been snuck in between missions. Many of which he could have canceled.

He blamed himself. Who else could he blame? He could have done a lot of things. He wasn't so indispensable that he couldn't retire again. He could have asked for vacation time. He could have done...anything, something! Anything but continuing to leave.

He left Daniel.

He left Daniel to deal with it all alone. Defenseless.

Something hit Jack in the head with a sharp sting. He looked around quickly and found Gadvin smiling at him.

"Stop it," Gadvin said before popping a nut into his mouth. He chewed and then stopped long enough to say, "I know that look on you. I've seen it to many times. Don't make me waste my nuts."

Jack leaned back. The deck was hard, his ass was numb, and Cistus was annoying the hell out of him with all his pacing. Jack shook his head.

Another nut flew at his head.

"Stop it!" Jack growled at Gadvin. "I've got enough problems without you pelting me with nuts!"

"You do not have problems," Gadvin countered. "I had problems, you do not!"

Jack leaned back unhappily but didn't say anything.

"My wives suddenly had a live first husband who wanted to take everything that I had away. All you have is a separation and the will to blame yourself." Gadvin threw a nut up and caught it in his mouth. "We've got all possible technology, and we've frightened the hell out of Siarra."

Jack heard the nuts crunch in Gadvin's mouth. "We'll find him," Gadvin said. "Those people are so frightened right now that they won't dare travel anywhere. Bohonte will be desperate for supplies soon. And that will cause trouble. Trouble we can see from the air."

~ ~ ~

The announcement of the Prince's birth was made during the middle of the night. Everyone woke up for it. Everyone did the 'yeah!' thing and then happily fell back to sleep.

When morning came, Cistus walked out on deck with his new son in his arms and Peditus next to him. Peditus had a rattle in one hand and a big, white, soft cloth in the other. They looked very happy as they showed the pink, still wrinkled baby off.

When it came Jack's turn to say something nice, he stood. He looked the kid over and said, "I'm glad that he doesn't look like you, Cistus. The kid has a half-way descent chance at life." Jack leaned in and whispered to the baby, "Don't ever listen you your father, your mothers know everything."

"Goodbye, General," Cistus said haughtily. Peditus even snapped at Jack with the soft cloth before scampering off after Cistus and the baby.

"What?" Jack said innocently. "I was just talking to the baby." Jack paused. "For the love of...Gadvin! Stop hitting me with those damn nuts or I'll take them away from you!"

CHAPTER 10 - CLARITY OF MIND; CLARITY OF PURPOSE

Earlier Daniel had received a message through one of the priests informing him that, "You are being called to the tent of His Highness, King Bohonte O's'pisitntis the First for a formal state occasion. A ceremony shall be held. As Hiro of all Hiros you will preside as honorary guest and formal companion to His Highness and see to your seat."

That at least was the first stanza. There was more, much, much, more. Daniel stopped listening and caring rather suddenly. Eventually, the priest left.

Daniel went back to sitting quietly and relaxing afterward. He even managed to take a nap before Juno woke him up for the dinner date.

Despite the overall exhaustion and weariness, Daniel got up from the comfortable bed and let his maids begin the long and arduous task of dressing him. He didn't want to do that either, but he allowed it. Somewhere along the way, he even managed to wake up...without coffee.

Before he knew it Daniel was making that long and unfortunate trip down the hill towards the King's Tent. He could hear the feasting and joviality going on inside the lit surface of thick fabric. Daniel shriveled inside. They already sounded drunk. He hated it when they were drunk.

Mass drinking meant that the King had already started drinking down the juaro. He was probably two sheets to the wind. The man drank slowly but steadily. He was a mean drunk. And when he got mean, it was never a good thing for Daniel.

Daniel stopped just outside the then. Still in the shadowy area outside the yellow torch light that radiated out, Daniel stopped to center himself.

"Just," Whatever-his-name-is said quietly, "try to be...nice."

"Subservient," Daniel countered. "Mindless, spineless, without honor, intention, spirit, or courage. To possess no mind or the ability to think for myself for the sake of self-preservation." Daniel wanted to fight. He would have loved to spar with someone, anyone. But he knew that the man was right. Hell, he'd entertained the idea most of the day himself.

Daniel let out a gush of air from his lungs. Finally, he said, "Yes, I know." He breathed in a few times and tried to mentally prepare himself for the ordeal.

"Let's see how this goes," Daniel said as he took the first tentative steps towards the tent's entrance.

Unlike what had become the usual, he was announced. Not only was he announced but everyone in the tent stood. Daniel found it just odd enough to be extremely suspicious and uncomfortable with it. And though he wondered what lay ahead; he was in no hurry to find out.

Daniel proceeded forward slowly. His body still felt slightly asleep and he didn't like the feeling at all in his limbs. He never appreciated having to act or defend himself off world right after waking. He always felt as if his body was well behind him and that made his reactions slow. This felt no different.

As he approached the King, he saw the latest guests. By their robes and colors, Daniel knew that they were dignitaries of the Temple. Five people in total, the leader looked like a woman. A Vestal.

"Praise be," Daniel said as he came to stand in front of her. "A Vestal. I see a Vestal of the Temple and it warms my heart. I wasn't aware that there was such a creature on Siarran soil."

The Vestal smiled. "Oh, there is such a creature, Hiro. Though we are few in numbers, we do serve faithfully." The Vestal bowed gracefully. She was a bit passed middle age, round, and solidly built, but her smile was genuine. She had the air of peace and humility around her and that made her familiar. "I am Est'ana of Ritvis," the Vestal said as humbly as she could. "I am here by order of the Eastern Temple to officially recognize the child."

Daniel smiled as he tried with great difficulty to hide his instant discomfort with her words. "Why does my child need to be recognized by anyone?" He realized that it could have sounded more confrontational than he'd meant too. "I wasn't made aware of any requirements needed by the Temple for my baby."

"Well," the Vestal said quietly, "an event of this magnitude." She folded her hands in front of her as she said, "The Temple merely wants to confirm that you are carrying a live child. That he or she-"

"He," Daniel said confidently.

She smiled. The happiness in her eyes was evident. "He," she repeated. "That he is healthy and able to take his place."

Daniel felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "His place?" he repeated in a dead tone.

"The little prince needs guidance and instruction. Prince Damat spent his first few years with us at the-"

"My son," Daniel said as calmly and as firmly as possible as he could manage, "will remain with me until he is old enough to be educated on Earth. Your presence isn't required. We are sorry that you had to travel all this way for nothing. And I do suggest that you leave this area before the war begins, or you could wind up hurt."

The Vestal's face was a glacial expanse of quiet contemplation. "I understand," she said calmly. "No mother wishes to be away from her child. But you must be kept in hiding for your own protection. The prince-"

"Why in the world," Daniel snapped, "do you continue to call my baby a prince? He is no such thing!"

The Vestal finally looked shaken from her pedestal of peace. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She looked over at the King.

Daniel followed her eyes to Bohonte. Daniel glanced at him. He looked expectant.

"Don't look at him," Daniel instructed. "My son's father is my husband, the only man that I have ever lain with. And when he comes to rescue me, this entire population with be punished for their crimes."

The Vestal looked unsure and very confused.

Daniel didn't mind taking a step forward. Feeling that he needed to put her in her place he quickly said, "My son will be born in Kassante with his father's name, O'Neill."

Daniel never saw it coming, but he felt it as his head whipped off to one side. He fell heavily on his left hip before he really knew what was happening. There was a moment of dull, numbness when he was able to lay his head down on the fur. It smelled like stale juaro, food, and rot. Daniel sobbed before he felt the full extent of the pain in his neck, shoulders, and hip.

He breathed out in a tight breath that released even more pain into his blood. He felt it, experienced it, and did his best to deal with it as he heard the sounds of people. He heard the sounds of swords unsheathing, and anger.

Too dizzy to really see straight, he did his best to get up on his knees. It hurt and he wasn't sure if his left him would hold him up, but he'd be damned if he was going to lie on the ground like a beached whale.

Daniel pulled his robes up, just high enough that he was able to get some semblance of balance on his right leg. He pushed down from the ground and did his best to stand as he balanced carefully on his unsteady feet.

When he didn't fall over he tested his neck carefully before looking around. He found Aliba and his men sheathing their weapons slowly as more than a dozen of Bohonte's men held swords at the men's backs.

"No one challenges me," Bohonte declared proudly.

Daniel swallowed hard. He knew that he'd be next.

He wasn't shocked when he felt Bohonte walk up behind him and embrace him. "I've tried to keep a gentle hand, to teach you how to behave properly."

Bohonte pulled a knife out and held its sharp tip just at Daniel's throat.

"You're not that stupid," Daniel replied.

"And you're not worth the bother," Bohonte said as he dropped the knife's point down the front of Daniel's dress. "I should have killed you the first time you disobeyed me."

Daniel reacted by grabbing at the man's hand as soon as the blade was pointed down into the heart of his swollen belly. Even the threat was too much.

"We're going to call this a reminder," Bohonte said quietly. "You will not speak unless you are spoken too. You will do nothing that I don't tell you to do. And you will always obey."

Bohonte pressed his face close as he said, "Defy me and I'll cut it out and burn it." The man's hand moved so fast that Daniel didn't have time to react. One moment he was holding the blade at bay, and the next he was watching his dress torn open and his blood spill out wetly as he tried to cover it.

Bohonte moved away.

"I've had a dream!" Daniel proclaimed loudly before the shock could fade and the fear set in so deeply that he couldn't think.

As he expected, the tent went dead quiet.

"I've had a dream!" he said again still holding his belly with both hands. He could feel the warm blood oozing between his fingers. "It's the same dream that I've head every night since you illegally abducted me!"

Daniel turned to face the ruler as he showed the man his bloody hands. "You threaten to cut my boy out and burn him...then the same for you. By the sword! And by fire! This is how it starts," Daniel said quietly as the tears spilt out of his eyes. He felt cold. "My blood, shed by your anger." Daniel closed his eyes and let his dizzy head fall back. "When walls come falling down around you, the fire will rain down, when you watch you army in flames, that's the day that your crown will be taken, and all that follow you will share the same fate as the one that you have carefully created for yourself by word and by deed."

Daniel opened his eyes. He was sure that he'd struck a cord. The Priests looked frightened and the King shaken.

"That day will mark the end of your reign, King Bohonte O's'pisitntis the First. Your army will be cleansed away. And it will happen soon."

Daniel pulled his himation around and covered his wound as he turned to leave. He made it five steps before he heard Bohonte declare, "Fetch the Hiro back!"

"No!" Damat snarled. Daniel froze immediately.

He turned, despite the discomfort. To his misery, he found Damat walking around to stand in front of his father. Daniel hadn't seen the boy. He hadn't known that he was there. And now, he wished that Damat had had enough sense to have kept his place.

Daniel couldn't stop the tears as he watched Damat declare, "I've never been more ashamed to be your son than I am right now!"

Damat spat on the ground before walking away from his father to Daniel's side.

"Leave now, and you leave your crown behind!" Bohonte shouted.

Damat turned just long enough to say, "A thing that matters solely to you, sir."

With Damat on one side and Whatever-his-name-is on the other, they somehow managed to get him back to his tent. Daniel couldn't see because of the tears. His hip hurt too bad to walk very well. And to make matters worse, Daniel passed out somewhere along the way.

He wasn't sure how they got him there, only that they did. When he woke up it was on his back, in his tent. His maids tended to his wound and kept cool, wet rags on his face to keep the swelling down. Where he'd been cut on his stomach hurt.

"There's a curse," Damat said gently. Daniel knew better than to turn his head and face the boy. He could feel the tension and strain in his abused muscles. He lay and concentrated on relaxing his body.

Damat leaned forward and said, "Somehow what happened last night in the King's tent has been spread to the men in the camps down below."

Juno knelt at his other side. As she applied a wet rag smelling of herbs around Daniel's split lip she said, "Yes, somehow. Somehow your maids told the other women. Gossip has a tendency to get out of hand if you tell the right people."

Damat seriously said, "My father's frightened."

This time Daniel did turn his head. Slowly, he turned just enough to face the boy.

"I've never seen him frightened," Damat admitted thoughtfully. "I don't know if it's what you said, or the heralds who have been arriving." Damat nodded as he said, "He's been shaken."

"Heralds? More?" Daniel asked carefully, mindful of his lip which felt five pounds heavy.

"Four since yesterday morning. Today another one arrived."

Daniel's mind began spinning. "Do you know what was reported?"

Damat sniffed out a twisted smile. "I haven't left your tent. If I do, I'll probably be punished for what I did last night." Confidently, he said, "I'd rather be here with you, Hiro."

Daniel held out his hand and only felt better when he felt Damat take his hand. "Give to Juno anything of value that you have." Daniel swallowed as he tried to draw out some saliva into his dry mouth. "Juno, go to the kitchens-"

"I did," Juno said with a smile. "I have."

Daniel stared at her.

"No one had heard everything," the girl said looking a little confused. "And what has been heard makes no sense."

"Tell me," Daniel mumbled.

"One of the girls told me that she heard a herald say that the walls of Great Shur fell into the ocean. Another one said that demons have been flying the skies at night. The heralds talk of balls of fire. Of vengeful spirits that are seeking you out village-to-village. No one will travel the canals, one said. The people are afraid."

"Demons...balls of fire," Daniel repeated with a smile. "Thank you," he said to Juno.

The girl managed to smile before standing and walking away.

As she left Daniel noticed Whatever-his-name-is step closer into Daniel's view.

"I haven't told," the man said quickly.

"Do you want a reward?" Daniel said despite himself. He closed his eyes and tried to remember that he wasn't looking at his enemy. "You say you are Temple Guard. Soon you'll be tested. But then," Daniel said with a little hint of a smile; what he could manage. "You know what we're planning, don't you? Time to choose."

"Go," Hungris said approaching with a bowl in his hands. "Go outside. You'll only upset the Hiro."

Hungris knelt by Daniel's bed.

Damat and Cerpet helped to sit him up just enough so he could drink. The water was good. He needed it, but the torn skin on his swollen belly hurt. It made him cry.

CHAPTER 11 - BREAKING THE HABIT

The next day, Carter was grounded due to her injury; she took over Mayalli's duties for the time being.

Mayalli and Peditus took a few hands down into the kitchen and prepared a lemon and egg soup to celebrate the prince's birth. Two cauldrons were put into a little boat with the intention that they be sent to the other two boats for the other crews. On their boat, Peditus came up from down below with a big, copper pot cradled carefully in a thick cloth, wrapped around its large handle. He set it up on a table as Mayalli followed behind with a big ladle.

"Madam," the flag bearer called from control, as Mayalli was about to serve up the first bowl, "there's word from Angel 2. I think they've found trouble."

Mayalli handed off the ladle and ran.

"Goodie," Jack said as he trudged along to the control.

"You're still upset," Gadvin said as he caught up to Jack.

Jack looked at him, a bit suspicious as he asked, "Are you going to going to throw a nut at me?"

Gadvin was about to reply when they walked in and heard Carter half-shout, "I can't raise Teal'c, sir! I think they were attacked!"

Mayalli was taking her place as she said, "Angel 2, Angel 2, report."

The noise in the background didn't sound right. Ello screamed.

"Angel 2, Angel 2, this is Mother Hen, report!"

Ello was coughing, or was it crying? It was hard to tell with all the interference.

"Angel 2! Report! I said report!"

"Angel..." Interference swallowed what she said, "is Angel 2! It hit us!"

More interference.

Jack stepped back and paused; a moment later he was running out.

He found Cistus sipping soup on deck.

"Angel 2's been bounced," he said to Cistus quickly.

Jack was met with a blank look. Jack calmed himself down and then said, "They've suffered an attack. Ello is alive, we don't know about Teal'c. Radar shows that she's coming back, but we don't know if she can land."

Cistus looked unsure.

"General!" Jack said to the first one that he saw, "Get a few strong men together. Have a boat lowered; we need to get the Royal family to one of the other ships. I want the other two ships ordered as far from here as they can get."

"Delina just gave birth," Cistus protested.

"And we have a Tail Hook coming back in the next twenty minutes with unknown damage. If Ello can't land it on the platforms she could kill herself and maybe all of us." Jack stepped in and looked Cistus in the eyes as he said, "If one of those Tail Hooks slams into something hard, like say this ship, it's enough to roast all of us alive before we can hit the water."

Cistus paled a little. He turned to the General and said, "Obey his order."

Cistus marked towards Delina's room. Peditus abandoned the egg and lemon soup to follow Cistus.

Jack turned and found the flag bearer listening in. "Signal the DC leaders. I want all platforms situated on the starboard side. Emergency plan one is in effect. All platforms need to be evacuated and all DC crews in the water."

As the flag bearer began to wildly ring the bell calling for all attention on him, Jack marched back to control only to find Theropius and his camcorder waiting for him.

Ello was coughing now. Jack could discern that it was coughing.

"A fire," Gadvin whispered. "The Tail Hook isn't venting the air; she can't breathe very well."

"Mayalli," Jack called. "Tell her to crack the canopy open."

Mayalli related the message and they waited. The moments dragged by slowly, very slowly. More coughing and then the sound of wind. Heavy wind struck the communication patch. Ello's coughing could barely be heard above the din created by the wind.

"Master Teal'c is dead!" Ello screamed against the wind. "Blood!"

"Order her in," Jack said quickly.

"Angel 2!" Mayalli shouted clearly into her own communication patch. "Can you make it?"

"The equipment is damaged!" Ello shouted. "I think I'm going the right way! I can't be sure! There's smoke!"

"Angel 2! You're on course!" Mayalli shouted back. "I'll be your eyes! Do as I say!"

Jack checked the screen on the table and then quietly said, "Raise her altitude to at least a hundred and fifty decas. She needs to clear the buildings of Shur and any other land formations. Hopefully, that'll be enough."

"Put her higher," Gadvin hissed.

Jack looked back at him and said, "Can't. The canopy is open. The higher and faster you travel the colder and thinner the air gets. If we take her too high she could freeze or pass out from lack of oxygen."

Jack thought hard as he visualized the ship's controls in front of him as he turned to Sam and said, "She thinks Teal'c is dead. Environmental is out. The ship's smoking bad."

Sam bit her lip as she thought, "His controls must be out. The first chair has primary control. She's running on back-up. That means massive damage. God willing she'll be able to land, but without knowing what happened, I can't know for sure."

"Do you think she'll make it?" Jack asked solemnly.

Carter leaned down over the screen and scrutinized it. "Fifty, fifty," Carter finally said. She looked up and quietly said, "I think the ship can make it, sir. But I don't know about her. If I'm right about what's happening under those panels then there's noxious gas filling that cockpit."

Jack quickly added, "Even with the canopy cracked?"

Sam looked away as she said, "It'll buy her about ten minutes before she passes out. Maybe twelve."

Jack looked up at Mayalli and motioned her to take off the communication patch.

Once she'd obeyed him, he said, "Carter says that the smoke filling the Tail Hook is going to kill her. She's about fifteen minutes away from us, and ten or twelve away from loosing consciousness."

"No," Mayalli said stubbornly. "Think of something, General! My sister isn't going to die like this!"

Gadvin became extremely silent, but Jack could feel the misery stemming from him.

Carter looked away as she bit her fingernail. "Water. They have drinking water in the cockpit," she said slowly. She nodded, looked up, and said, "Water molecules are huge compared to gas. Tell her to make a mask out of whatever cloth she can find. Wet it and stuff it tight around her nose. It'll act as a basic filter."

Jack began translating.

The moment it was done, Jack walked out checked on the progress. The crews from platforms two and three were beginning the process of lashing their two structures together. The crew from platform one was still rowing towards two and three; they were moving slowly and Jack wasn't surprised. DC 1 was carrying heavy; the Tail Hook on their platform was slowing them down.

"She'll crash into it," Nadal said as he turned to Jack. "Let me take it up."

"You've never flown alone," Jack reasoned to himself.

"I can go straight up and wait. You can talk me down later." Nadal walked away from the railing and came to stand right next to Jack so he could look up into his eyes. "I don't want my sister to die. Please, General. Let me fly so you can do your job."

Jack stared back into his dark eyes as he said, "You could wind up killing yourself later."

"I can do it," the boy said resolutely.

Jack swallowed hard. It was one of those decisions that he didn't want to make.

"Sir," Nadal said trying again. "There's no one else. You're needed here."

Despite common sense, Jack nodded.

Nadal scampered down off the ship and into the water to join platform one before Jack could say otherwise.

Jack heard the baby behind him. He turned and found Peditus holding the royal infant.

"Is it really that bad?" Peditus asked mournfully.

"You're leaving for your own good, Highness."

"That's not what I asked," Peditus stated quietly.

"We're going to do our best," Jack said carefully. "Just protect the prince."

"All is ready," the faceless General that Jack had left in charge declared.

Jack turned and casually asked, "How are you going to get the Queen Mother down to the boat?" The man looked caught. "She just gave birth, you fool. She isn't going to climb down." The General turned away as Jack added, "And have pillows waiting for her. Those boats are hard and she is very sore right now!"

Jack turned back to Peditus as he quietly said, "Don't let Cistus talk his way into staying. Make sure he leaves with you."

Peditus looked mournful, but he nodded.

Jack returned to control and found Gadvin staring at the small blinking light of his daughter's ship as it slowly inched its way back.

Jack walked up to Gadvin and privately said, "Go out and get as many of the men as possible on the life boats. I want them waiting a minimum of fifty decas from us."

Gadvin looked torn but eventually he moved away.

"And Gadvin," Jack said quickly. "Make sure that fool that I left in charge gets the Royal Family away."

"Carter," Jack said on an exhale. "We have a medical bag aboard. Go find it."

Carter removed the communication patch and placed it gently on the table. Soundlessly, she turned and left.

Jack walked up to the table and picked up the communication patch that Carter had abandoned. He put it on and glanced down at the table. He checked his watch. They were four minutes down and Ello was still too far away. Given her current speed, it would take her at least another ten minutes to get anywhere near their ability to even try to help.

"Mayalli," Ello whined at the other end tearfully, frightened.

Jack felt the tears gather in his eyes.

"Listen, listen to me," Mayalli shouted so that her sister would hear clearly as tears ran down her face. She paused. The words seemed to stick in her throat. "You can't! I repeat! You can't let the Kassantian's have that Tail Hook!"

Jack lowered his head as the first tears rolled out of his eyes.

"The moment that you think you can't make it!" Mayalli shut her eyes as she forced her self to spit out the words, "You have to crash it! Confirm, Angel 2!"

Ello coughed harshly.

"Confirm, Angel 2!" Mayalli repeated.

With a cough, Ello managed to say, "Confirm."

"Good! Now leave the mask in place! Listen and do what I tell you!" Mayalli breathed in so she could release all of her power into the words, "We will get you home!"

The next few minutes passed far too slowly. Nadal was given permission to take off. Soon after, all they could do was hang, suspended in animation, as they listened to Ello's coughing, high pitched whines, and muffled sounds coming through the communication patch. Jack's tears had dried in place on his face. Mayalli was a bundle of pent up energy, shouting instructions over and over again. Ello was either getting weaker or her mind was getting slower from the gas and smoke; her reactions were slowing down considerably.

As Ello's ship began its flight over Shur, Jack quietly said, "The moment she clears Shur bring her down to the level of the water and get her to slow down as much as possible."

Mayalli nodded.

Jack walked out of control and went directly to the stern where Gadvin and Cistus were already standing. Theropius was on deck, off to one side, recording everything. Jack wanted to scream at Cistus for not having left as he'd been ordered. The annoyance in him built up, but he had bigger things to worry about.

"All orders carried out, sir," Gadvin said mournfully. "Is that her?" He asked as he pointed to a small dot in the distance.

"Yes," Jack responded. He turned his head and saw the platform waiting where it was supposed to be.

"Point the nose down!" Mayalli screamed through the communication patch. "I need you to come down a hundred decas! Down!"

Jack saw the ship begin a sharp decline down. A long, black trail of smoke etched a path in the sky of where she'd traveled.

"Pull up, Ello!" Jack yelled. "Up!"

The ship hit the water just beyond the wreckage of the city walls and bounced harshly along the immortal surface of the ocean.

"Throttle back!" Jack shouted. "Throttle back! Throttle back!" A few seconds later, Jack could already hear the whine of the ship as it approached hot and fast. "Slow it down!" He screamed into the communication patch on his face. "Slow it down!"

The whining in the air slowed, but not enough.

"Slow!" Jack shouted.

Jack looked at the incoming ship and then at the platform, he knew that there was no way.

"Ello! If you can hear me, turn the ship off on my mark!" Jack had no way to know when to actually call it. He shot from the hip and said, "Now! Turn it off! Turn it off!"

"Ello!" Jack shouted when he saw that his command wasn't obeyed. "Turn it off!"

He saw the power on the ship turn off a moment later, but it was still coming in hot. Too hot. The ship skipped smoothly along the surface of the water until it finally reached the three platforms that had been lashed together. A painful crunching sound was heard as the wooden boards gave way to the fast-traveling metal.

Whatever had happened didn't harm the ship's structure. Jack clearly saw Ello, lying to one side in the back seat. Teal'c's window was blood-smeared it was impossible to see him. For a second it looked as if the ship was slowing its path, but it only ripped up the rest of the platform before traveling away from it and then finally stopping roughly sixty yards from the platform.

Mayalli screamed as she ran for a break in the ship's railing.

Jack ran to her and grabbed her. She struggled hard and fought him as he took her down to the deck in a tight embrace as he struggled to control her limbs.

"My sister!" she screamed.

"Let them do their job," Jack growled. "This is their job." He held her tightly as he said, "Look! They're already in the water. They'll pull them both out and swim them to safety."

Mayalli's struggles calmed a little, but only enough to let the grief through as she began crying.

"They'll get there before it sinks. They will," Jack said willing it to happen.

They watched as the first DC reached the Tail Hook. It took a few precious seconds, but the canopy finally blew, up and back away from the Tail Hook. The ship was already at the halfway point to sinking. Lind climbed up and pulled out his knife as his head went down into the cockpit. The second swimmer arrived. One of the girls, Jack recognized her as Shio. She mounted the craft right behind Ello and reached down for the knife strapped to her leg before reaching down, diving into the cockpit to free her pilot from her safety harness.

The other DCs swarmed around the ship itself diving with ropes. One-by-one, the small, sun-darkened bodies disappeared beneath the waves.

As the Tail Hook disappeared beneath the waves, in bubbling of white foam, Mayalli screamed again in anguish as the DCs continued to work.

Enough of the others had arrived to crowd the water. It was just enough that it became dangerous when the weight of the Tail Hook descending down into the ocean pulled down on the ropes that had been attached to it. The weight pulled, dragging the platforms towards it. All three platforms rushed forward like a train surging through the water. Luckily, the DCs all dove removing themselves from the path of the rushing platforms. Two long boats were still in the area and where close enough to have crashed into the approaching tattered platforms.

It took ten seconds after first disappearing from the surface, but finally Shio surfaced with Ello. She was handed off from DC to DC until she was finally pulled up onto a long boat. Her body was limp, still wearing her helmet, and the improvised face mask that stuck out like a dark lump on her face.

Jack watched a DC climb into the boat with her, then another. Even from as far away as he was, he knew that they were performing CPR.

It took longer, but finally Teal'c's body was brought up. Jack could tell by the stained water around him, it wasn't good.

As Jack saw Gadvin climbing up into the long boat that held his daughter, he realized that he hadn't given him orders to stay. A part of Jack was glad as he saw Gadvin pull his limp but live child into his arms.

Cistus was in the water too. Shouting orders, he tried to insure the safety of the Tail Hook hanging on the edge of oblivion several feet beneath the living sea.

~ ~ ~

Order wasn't restored quickly, or easily.

The first order of the day was to have Ello and Teal'c brought aboard for treatment. Ello was suffering from smoke inhalation. She was disoriented and she was suffering from shock. The shock was apparent from the shivering.

Mayalli obeyed. Carter put an oxygen mask on Ello as Jack found a strange bruising on Ello's neck. He grabbed her uniform and ripped it only to find that the girl's shoulder was swollen and discolored.

Gadvin began to cry.

"Her pupils are dilated," Carter said. "We need to get her temperature up."

Jack pushed Mayalli down next to Ello as he said, "Lie near, and keep her warm."

Jack took off the cape from his uniform and threw it over Ello. As he did, Gadvin's landed near. He pulled it over the shivering girl and let Carter work.

"Sir!" Someone else called. Teal'c had been tied down to a plank of wood, probably from one of the destroyed platforms. He was being pulled up by the DCs.

Jack walked over quickly and helped bring him up the rest of the way. It took four DCs and him to lift Teal'c.

"There," Jack instructed, "the table."

The lemon and egg soup was still sitting on the table. A DC cleared it so that they could lie Teal'c on the table.

Jack carefully untied his friend from the plank of wood. The damage had been directly to the helmet. Jack found streaks of white rock on it and several small shards of imbedded stone. He slowly unstrapped Teal'c's helmet but he didn't remove it. He could see that there was some kind of a gash on Teal'c's head, but the risk of spinal cord injury was too big to risk for a gash.

"One of you, go to the Queen's room and fetch blankets."

A set of little feet ran away and then almost as quickly hurried back. Jack looked next to him and found the boy with the blankets. He took the first two and threw them over Teal'c. Jack took the rest of the blankets and threw them over Ello's shivering little body.

He stared at her for a long time. He wasn't sure how long. But when he did look up it was to find all three DC leaders standing on deck, dripping water, and waiting for him.

"Sir," Lind said with a salute, "Tail Hook 2 is secured."

Jack stood up with a last look at Ello and walked over to his three DCs. "Can it be salvaged?"

"We think so," Lind replied. "But we can't do it. It'll take a lot more strength to pull it up."

Jack nodded and looked back at Ello. "Good job." Jack wiped his face as he said, "You all did very well. My compliments to your crews."

"But your friend, sir," Lind said as he looked back at Teal'c.

"He's not dead yet," Jack said sadly. He swallowed and repeated himself saying, "I'm very proud of all of you. Good work."

~ ~ ~

A tent was set up over Teal'c's body. He wasn't dead and a part of Jack didn't believe that he would die. He just wasn't awake. Jack had to hope that Junior would do his job and do it right. The little wriggler had to be good for something!

Ello somehow managed to walk away with minimal damage. Her Tail Hook was inoperable, and her left arm was banged up pretty bad, but she was alive. The bruises would heal. Ello had her arm bandaged across her chest. Until further notice, she was officially grounded. She hated it right off the bat insisting that, contrary to the bandages, she was just fine. She insisted that she could fly. She couldn't hold herself perfectly straight, but she insisted that she could fly.

Jack ignored her. At the same time he was rather pleased; about as pleased as Gadvin was. He could just look into the man's eyes and know that he knew. She was a fighter. She was a warrior. She was doing what she was meant to do and she'd be damned if anyone was going to stop her.

Carter was reasonably sure that the Tail Hook could be made operational again, once it was on solid ground. But until they got back to solid ground, the Tail Hook was strapped down to deck platform one. Half of that DC 1 was ordered to stay with it and secure it. The other half of DC1 was reassigned to the other two remaining decks on a rotating schedule.

He watched DCs 2 and 3 make the final repairs on platform 2 by cannibalizing all the usable wood from three. A few pieces of wood even had to be taken from the ships themselves to reinforce the structure.

Of the two remaining Tail Hooks, one would always have to be in the air. There was no choice. Jack turned his eyes up, as Nadal completed another pass. Jack regretted seeing the boy up alone. Nadal had never landed alone before. In particular, he'd never landed on an insecure surface before. Once the platform was ready, it would be abandoned, and then they would talk him down.

Jack swallowed the tension.

Mad'rin's next arrival would be soon, he wondered just how long he could keep it going. He was ready to go out in another fifteen minutes. Mad'rin had only just left a few minutes before. The sting of Ello and Teal'c's unfortunate encounter was still being licked, and now Jack had to face the reality that the next half of the search had to be done two men short.

"Sir," Carter said walking up to stand next to him. "I was just in the control room. Mad'rin seems to be heading out to his last coordinates."

Jack nodded absently. "He and Ello reported strange ship traffic." Jack turned to face her as he said, "I've been told that the closer to the breadbasket you get the less the reason there is for traveling during this time of year." Jack wiped his face. "It's harvest right now. Everyone should be at their fields hard at work."

"Sir," Carter said carefully. "You look exhausted."

Jack didn't argue. Instead, he said, "How bad is your shoulder?"

Carter moved her arms slowly as she twisted her back. After a few moments of consideration, she said, "I don't think I'd get past Janet, but I can take the stick."

"You're sure?" Jack asked, turning to her extremely serious.

"Absolutely," she said just as serious.

Unlike Ello, Jack knew that Carter knew what was at stake.

"I want someone in the air at all times."

"Understood." After a moment she added, "If I may, sir. I'll take first shift. You look like hell."

Jack looked out at the water as he managed a smile.

Carter nudged him with her shoulder as she gently said, "We're getting close. He'll be home soon."

CHAPTER 12 - THE DOGS OF WAR SLIP

Bohonte showed up at the tent.

It was an odd event for the King to arrive unannounced, without his guard, and unarmed. Daniel didn't get up. No one bowed. No one scurried. Everyone stared at him.

For several long and confused moments nothing was said or done.

Finally, Bohonte turned to face his son. "I've come for you."

Damat didn't respond quickly. The first words that were going to be voiced stuck in his throat. Instead, he closed his mouth and breathed in a few times.

When Damat finally did speak it was to say, "I am where I am needed most."

Bohonte looked very angry. In the next moment he growled, "Am I to understand that you choose a whore over your own kin?"

Instead of taking the bait that was tossed out to him, Damat said, "I choose to defend the Hiro of Hiros against any who would harm him or his child; as is my duty."

Bohonte reached back and produced a dagger which he threw down onto the ground between them. Then the man left silently.

Damat stared at the dagger for a few long seconds before saying, "They'll come and kill us soon."

"To war then?" Daniel said. "Well," he added as he sat up. "Looks like we have a challenge ahead of us."

Daniel hauled himself to a standing position and straightened his aching back out. He huffed and grumbled at the aches and knots that he found there long before Juno ever reached out to rub his lower back.

Daniel saw his guard come into the tent. Daniel smiled, despite the feeling in his stomach. "Did you make a choice yet?"

The guard bowed his head to the Hiro of Hiros. "We stand by you, my lady."

"I'm not a woman," Daniel breathed out. "But I am glad that you'll stand."

Daniel looked around. His army wasn't large. A dozen warriors and handful of kids wasn't going to do much.

"First and primary rule that everyone here will obey," Daniel said. "We don't set the fire ring off until we absolutely have too. We have to delay this as much as possible and hope to hell that Aliba will join us or that help will arrive."

"Your man? Will he come in time," Helleck asked.

For a moment Daniel wasn't sure, but then he felt himself smile. "Jack has never let me down. He likes to fuss and make a nuisance of himself. But that man has never failed me in anything." Daniel walked over to his bed as he said, "He'll be here. Someone wake me up when the war starts. I need a nap."

~ ~ ~

Someone woke him up far too soon.

Daniel woke up groggy, with his mouth tasting like rug. He sat up and then went through the entire procedure of stretching his back out.

Juno greeted him with a warm robe saying, "The night is very cool."

Daniel slipped into it easily. He still hurt. Where Bohonte had cut him on his stomach was still painful, as if someone was burning him. Once the robe was wrapped around him and sashed into place, Daniel smoothed his hand over his swollen middle. It was a little sore, but he reminded himself that the little one who he was keeping warm was still safe.

Daniel held his belly and wadded towards the open tent flap.

"Tell me what's happening," Daniel said the moment his foot was outside into the cool night air.

Whatever-his-name-is was in full armor, as were the other guards that stood surrounding the tent.

"The King prepares to march," Whatever-his-name-is informed Daniel. "The army is dressed for battle. They've surrounded the hill. They'll be ordered to march soon."

Damat turned to Daniel next and said, "I've never seen them have this much trouble issuing the kill order. It looks like they're having trouble with the Generals or the soldiers or both."

"All it will take is one contingent to agree to march," Whatever-his-name-is countered. "You're father always has someone willing to do what's needed."

Daniel turned towards Whatever-his-name-is and paused. "I've been meaning to ask, what's your name?"

Whatever-his-name-is looked upset. The looked melted away in the next moment and was replaced with a slight smile.

"Your servant's name," the man said, "is Kenu."

"Well Kenu, order the men with weapons ready. The first wave will probably be small and in the least we have the advantage of height. We'll only set off the spiro if they send much more than we can handle."

"It's been done, Hiro," Kenu said with a bow.

"And the girls have been given weapons as well?" Daniel checked.

Kenu faltered.

Daniel breathed in. "Their lives are in danger too. Pair the girls up with any soldier possible. Let them learn and fight, battle is where you either develop the fighting instinct...or you die."

Kenu pounded on his chest and walked away.

"Nothing else?" Daniel asked Damat.

Damat made a face. "Cerpet's in love," he said as he threw his head back towards the couple in question.

Daniel turned to find Cerpet speaking quietly with Juno. Though he was armored heavily, his dagger was already on her belt. He was brushing her hair back. Whatever he was saying looked heartfelt and very extremely important.

"Good for him," Daniel said to Damat. He turned back to stare down at the multitude of lights that illuminated the army camp below. "Good for him," Daniel repeated as he wondered if they live long enough to see the next morning.

The army always looked bigger by night. The campfires and torches bounced their meager lights off of any and all metal, mostly armor. Thousands of bodies down hill from their position stood ready to kill them and those were huge odds that were massed and armed.

Daniel did his best to keep an even and confident look on his face.

"Damat," Daniel asked. "Just how good are you with a bow and arrow?"

"Fair," the boy said with a shrug.

"Do you think you can hit the wooden platform from here, in the dark?"

Damat smiled and said, "Yes. That's easy."

"Good," Daniel said. "Have several arrows ready to light. I'll tell you when."

"Yes, Hiro," Damat said with a bow.

~ ~ ~

Ello and Teal'c's last coordinates were Jack's first heading. Once secure and in the air, he and Nadal lit out at their top speed. Ello was still pretty out of it. She was in great pain and high on the happy drugs that the Queen Mother had available to her. She managed to report strange movement on the water in the area. Movement, a ship. She gave no further description before passing out.

The other Tail Hook currently in the air was far to the north of him. Carter was picking up where Mad'rin's last search had left off. Ello was down. Teal'c was down. Nadal was in Jack's back seat. And Mad'rin was sleeping off a twelve hour shift. So flying out for three hours to see what had taken out Angel 2 fell to him.

It wasn't long before he found something.

"Mother Hen, this is SG 1, SG 1. We're seeing big movement at our current coordinates. Put the other ship on alert," Jack said as he slowly began to take the ship down.

A moment later he got a response, "Understood, SG 1."

He kept his eyes open. His hands were ready to move the ship. The weapons ports were open and ready to fire, just in case. There had to be some two hundred people on the water below. He wanted to get closer, but his more paranoid side told him to go slow. Proximity was the thing that had gotten Angel 2 into trouble. A trap in such an isolated place could be fatal.

The lower they went the stranger the situation became. The rafts weren't just full of people, they were full of families. Women and children made up the majority of the bodies and faces that overburdened most of the rafts to the point of danger. Unlike the usual response of fear and confusion that abounded when a Tail Hook made an appearance, these people waved and shouted at them.

"That's weird," Nadal didn't hesitate to say.

Jack smirked, "You've been with me too long, boy. But, it is."

The rafts stopped dead in the water as the people busied themselves with watching them, all except for one. One raft rowed for shore. A single man jumped off the raft and into the water. The man ran through the shallow water up to dry land waving his hands in the air and shouting at them.

Jack maneuvered closer to the man. It took him only a few moments to make a decision. With a flip of a switch he warned the man on the ground, "We're going to land. If this is a trick, I'm hereby ordering my acolyte to kill you, me, and everyone on the water. Am I understood?"

The man nodded and waited on the rocks.

Jack landed the ship quickly. Once down he slipped off his safety belts and opened the canopy.

As he quickly jumped out, Nadal hissed, "Sir, perhaps you should take a weapon?"

"No," Jack said as his feet hit the ground. "Up. Obey my orders."

The canopy closed as Nadal nodded.

Jack quickly walked away over the treacherous river rocks under his feet. The Tail Hook took off and hovered above their heads before Jack turned his attention back to the man who was waiting for him.

He approached the man remarkably blankly. He didn't feel any fear. That probably should have worried him, but he found it difficult to care.

The first words out of the man's mouth were, "Are you the Consort?"

Jack nodded.

The man smiled happily and knelt on the rocks. When his hands had touched the ground he said, "My name is unimportant. I belong to the Hiro of Hiros, her devoted soldier. I was chosen to lead the people to safety."

The man looked up and said, "The Hiro has already seen the war that you're bringing. She tries to save as many of us as possible."

"You saw the Hiro?" Jack asked coldly.

"Two days ago, by the river." The man pointed up river. "That way. Healthy. Alive. And large with your child."

Jack swallowed hard. He turned to look up river. Hazy and vague the water twisted and snaked around trees and rock formations until it disappeared into the horizon.

"Why should I believe you?" Jack heard himself say.

The man didn't hesitate to say, "An army is gathered by the river. His Highness has gathered troops from every part of the country. He's even called on the nomadic tribes from the north. On the ground you'd be out numbered but fighting from the air, you'll be victorious. The Hiro's tent is at the center of it all, high on a hill surrounded by guards. Her guards aren't the King's. The Hiro has people that are loyal only to her."

Jack looked into the man's eyes and searched in them before he said, "Stand up."

The man stood up slowly, it was obvious that his knees hurt from kneeling on the rocks.

"That's a lot of information for a farmer or a sailor to have gathered," Jack said suspiciously.

"I was one of the King's Guard on the Western shore. I was born there. I lived and served there my entire life. I was removed from my position for refusing to carry out an illegal order." Almost pleased the man touched the sash on his chest as he added, "The Hiro must have seen it in my eyes. I've been charged with a new duty now."

Jack looked beyond the man to all the people floating on the water not more than thirty feet away.

Jack nodded and said, "We all have. The Hiro is right. Take them far away. More Tail Hooks will soon be here. The army that stands between me and my mate will soon be dead."

"They have trebuchet," the man said quickly. "The cavalry, foot soldiers, and archers probably won't be a great danger to you, but the launchers can hurt you."

Jack gave a nod. He remembered to say, "Thank you" a moment before he walked away.

He didn't have enough presence of mind to tap his communication patch. Nadal landed loudly and a little awkwardly. Jack was sure that the bottom of the Tail Hook would be scratched and a bit banged up by the rocks, but he managed to land without major damage.

Jack was in and they were flying a few minutes later.

~ ~ ~

It was still night when they arrived. From the air everything is different and oftentimes distorted. The signs of an army, however, were easy to see. A thousand campfires flickered in the night against the waters like starlight.

Jack was still well above the land when he saw a volley of lit arrows shot into the night sky. They fell back towards the ground just as harmless. Seconds later, he realized that it hadn't been a threat as much as a plea.

Where the arrows fell something else flared up. Something flat and rectangular was on fire. Jack had to turn his ship around so he could read S G 1 written in fire on a flat wooden stage.

"That's my baby," Jack said before hitting his comm. patch. "This is SG1," Jack howled. "I've found him! I've found him! Lock in on my position and get me backup!"

Jack tried hard to calm himself down and to put his game face on.

Nadal stirred somewhere behind him. His nap had been disturbed and the boy now whooped happily.

Jack tapped his comm. again, "SG1 will remain in a holding pattern for as long as we can. Get Carter here now, Mayalli. There's no telling how long we can hold them off."

"Yes, sir," Mayalli responded before seeing to others.

Carter was squawking in the background over the comm. about pushing her ship as hard as possible. She was hours away still. Jack knew that they couldn't do anything until reinforcements arrived. There were just too many men on the ground to risk landing. He had to stay in the air until he had proper cover.

On the first pass over the encampment, Jack could see that he hadn't been lied to. His first order of business was to take out the trebuchets. The moonlight illuminated eight, enormous, wooden trebuchets that had been erected on the flats near the river.

Two seconds after arriving Jack saw the trebuchet's being repositioned. Strong men reached for large rocks and loaded them into the slings at the long end. The short ends closest to the base were forced down to the weights that would sling shot the rocks, with all the pressure that gravity could drop, up in the air and towards them.

Before a single rock could fly, Jack opened fire. One-by-one, the eight wooden structures and most of the men around them fell. Wood tore apart and splintered violently as the war machines met cannon blasts. Jack didn't stop until there was nothing left but smoldering wood, dust, and burning bodies lying by the side of the quiet river.

The encampment was huge. Based on the men's movements Jack knew that there were a great many scared soldiers below.

"Nadal," Jack said. "Turn on the Temple music."

A moment later, they heard it. Even insulated behind the reinforced metal and protected glass, the thundering sound of the troubadours singing the Temple songs still reached them. Jack turned on all running lights and illuminated the ground. The men below went nuts. Draft animals, horses, and dogs bucked and went wild. The army was in chaos.

Jack took the ship down as close as he dared as he flew the ship up towards the dark hill that rose towards a large and illuminated tent. As they got closer Jack realized that there were two. The first that they came to was guarded by what looked to be Palace Guards. They stood with spears and swords ready.

"The King's tent," Nadal said quickly. "On top of the tent, that's his crest."

Jack realized that the boy was right. He was able to peak inside and saw frightened women huddled together.

"Good eyes," Jack said. He lifted the ship up a little higher. Jack opened fire on the top of the tent, just enough to bring it down and mark it permanently so that it wouldn't be confused with the next one.

"Turn off the music," Jack said as he turned and headed towards the next one slowly.

He approached gently. There seemed to be almost a hundred men surrounding the tent in a tight ring of weapons and guile. But as he approached, they parted. By the time he was close enough to make out the dirty faces of the soldiers standing in front of the tent, his Tail Hook was only two feet off the ground. A girl came out of the tent. A moment later, the flap was pushed aside. Jack recognized Prince Damat instantly. He and several other boys walked out of the tent holding Daniel up.

Jack's breath caught the moment he saw Daniel smile. His face was bruised and looked swollen. His belly was much larger than he'd expected, but he was still the best sight that he'd ever seen in his life.

"General," Nadal shouted. "Three o'clock."

Jack turned his head and the ship at the same time. He saw the men running out of the darkness and into the torch light that surrounded Daniel's tent. Jack didn't hesitate to raise the ship higher and open fire on them.

"Radar up, Nadal," Jack said as he turned his instruments on. He maneuvered out of the torchlight and into the darkness. With another flick of a switch he said, "Running lights on."

Jack checked the radar and found more men hiding in the brush around the tent. He fired on each and every target until the heat signatures were too small to be a full sized man.

And for whatever reason, the soldiers on the ground seemed...flammable. Blasts killed. He knew this, but when he was forced to shoot even if it was just on the ground near the men on the ground, they'd flame up easily.

There were a lot of flaming bodies on the ground. It was eerie and awful the way the heat signatures lit up the on-board screens.

Jack stalked the area for several long minutes making sure that he didn't miss anyone. When he was satisfied he maneuvered the ship to hover just above Daniel's tent. He decided that it was the best place to remain until the others arrived.

~ ~ ~

They were tired, beaten and in many cases terrified. They had already taken on two units. The King had been able to find one full contingency to march up the hill. Aliba and his men had come on a full, hard charge up the hill. They stopped just short of the tent and turned to face the other direction.

It was a good thing too. A contingency held a hundred men. Aliba's men were as fearless as the legends of Hath had implied. Through the long night they had fended off wave after wave of men.

Bohonte had so far only been able to persuade small units of ten to fifty men to attack, no one full contingency had yet to march on their own.

Two of his maids had been shaken, grabbed, and scared out of their minds. One guard was dead. Four were wounded. Several times already, lit arrows had flown towards them threatening to burn them out. No one had slept. No one had rested. But so far, they'd managed to hold their own. And even more surprisingly, the tent was still standing. Burnt, singed, and torn, but still standing.

"Kenu," Daniel said weakly. Sweat ran into his eyes again. He reached up to wipe at the sting.

"You need to rest, Hiro," Kenu stressed.

"Yes," Juno added. "The fever is on you. You'll weaken even more if you aren't careful."

"I will rest," Daniel said easily. The sounds of Jack's ship flying above was lulling. "He's protecting us. When light comes the others will too. In the mean time," Daniel turned to Damat, "make sure that everyone rests, little Prince. I'm going to sleep. We're safe for now."

Damat bowed his head but didn't speak.

Daniel slowly made his way towards his bed. His stomach hurt and he felt weak. Cerpet and Juno didn't let go of him until he was sitting on his bed. After, Juno shooed Cerpet away so she and two other maids could setting him into bed. Daniel let them fuss, he didn't care. He reached down and touched his stomach.

The place where Bohonte's blade had cut him was infected. He knew it. All it took was a touch for him to feel the pain. The wound was swollen and red. It hurt and he was sure that it was probably draining pus by now.

The only reason that he didn't say anything was because he knew that to let his guards know that the Hiro of Hiros was ill and probably dying would be enough reason for them to lose heart.

He lay down and allowed his maids to tuck him in. Through the tent's thick fabric he could see Jack's running lights. With every movement of his ship, Daniel saw his tent illuminate and then slip again into darkness.

He smiled.

He fell asleep.

He wasn't sure how much time later, but it was Jack who woke him. Daniel opened his eyes to see the brown deep-set eyes that he loved staring back at him.

Jack reached out to him gently. What should have been a loving touch quickly turned to tears as Jack gently fingered the outline of what Daniel knew was his swollen black eye.

"Kiss me," Daniel whispered in a gasp. He felt drained and far too tired to move.

He didn't want to deal with pain. What he did want was to feel his husband again. He needed it. He needed the safety. He needed the assurance that everything was alright and would be again.

He felt the kiss. He tasted it. Tasted Jack. A moment later everything went black.

~ ~ ~

Jack landed the Tail Hook as carefully as he could. He'd flown half-crazy, half-hysterical as he continuously tried to calm himself down. His eyes kept watering. He kept blinking them away. Tears slipped down his face.

Daniel was unconscious, wounded, and looked like he was fighting some kind of a nasty infection. Jack didn't know what to do for him, and could do much. He'd been afraid to give him the antibiotics that he had with him because of the baby. So he flew fast and hard all the way to the barn.

The three ships floating lazily on the water next to the platforms had been a welcome sight. He ordered men standing by with a stretcher long before he'd seen the spires of Shur come over the horizon. By the time he was on the platform they were ready. Their platform was rowed closer, a second had been secured to the King's ship. The men were able to walk up with the stretcher the moment the canopy popped open.

Jack stood up. He climbed up over his equipment and bent over until he reached Daniel. He slipped his hands under Daniel's arm pits and made ready. Another man reached in.

"Grab his legs. Try not to move him too much, his stomach's been hurt. Ready? Now."

They lifted Daniel out of his seat and over the side of the Tail Hook, to the stretcher. Another soldier secured Daniel to the stretcher before he was taken away.

Jack kept his place in the Tail Hook for a while longer as he stared off after the stretcher. It was tied off to ropes and lifted on pulleys at the end of a mast. The men who pulled him up did so carefully and under His Highness's command. The stretcher was guided up carefully by men standing on the rope ladder hanging down the side of the ship. It was all very well planned and executed.

"Sir?" someone called.

Jack turned and found Lind.

"Are you hurt, sir? Do you need help?"

Dumbly, Jack shook his head. He slowly climbed out of Tail Hook and followed the stretcher up to the ship.

Instead of obsessing over Daniel and his condition, Jack found something else that temporarily distracted him. Teal'c was awake and moving.

Jack couldn't help the feeling of relief as he approached his friend. He wasn't satisfied until he was able to touch Teal'c and saw him move his head on his own.

"For a snaky, scaly, slimy, little booger, Junior does good work." Jack leaned in and hugged Teal'c still lying on the table. He smelled several day's worth of sweat and pain on the man.

"I am well," Teal'c croaked. He stopped and swallowed with some difficulty.

"What you are is ripe. You also sound awful."

Teal'c made a face. He swallowed again before he asked, "My throat?"

"As far as I can tell," Jack replied, "you and Ello must have been on the ground. A trebuchet got lucky. It hit you dead on with, who knows how many rocks. Your control panel was crushed. You took it in the head. I'm surprised you lived."

Jack noticed Cistus nearby. He looked like he wanted to talk.

Jack turned his attention back to Teal'c. "Do you think you can get up?"

Teal'c nodded a little.

Jack caught the two nearest men and instructed to help Teal'c up and to get him cleaned up before he walked over to Cistus.

"The Queen Mother," Cistus said quickly, "has performed a miracle. I saw it with my own eyes. Master Teal'c was still somewhere between the land of the dead and the living. She knelt down to pray for him and he awoke."

Jack didn't respond.

Cistus lowered his voice as he went on to say, "I'm encouraging these thoughts in the men."

"Why?" Jack asked quickly.

"Because she's the only hope that they now have to save the Hiro." Cistus fell silent for a moment before saying, "And if the Hiro should die..."

Jack nodded in understanding, "Someone has to take Daniel's place."

"Spiritually speaking," Cistus said added. Then Cistus quickly changed the topic to, "Where is Nadal? He left with you."

"He's riding second with Carter," Jack said numbly as he tried to block out thoughts of Daniel, of Daniel dieing, of Daniel ever being replaced by anyone. "I left the other Tail Hook destroying the army. I don't think that I've ever seen an army that big before. Bohonte prepared very well."

Jack turned to walk away but Cistus grabbed his shoulder.

"It's okay," Jack said patting Cistus' hand. "His great army's very dead by now."

Theropius moved in closer with the camcorder in hand. Jack kept expecting him to ask, "Jack, you just fulfilled your mission. What are you going to do now? Disneyland?"

As he stood watching the one-eyed lens, his eyes began to water. Jack turned away and tried to will it away. It didn't do any good. He felt as if something had been uncorked inside. He couldn't keep it inside any longer.

The sobs rose up out of him. Before he knew what was happening around him, his legs went weak. Someone helped him down to the floor amid his unending sobs. There he cried against someone's strong shoulder.

He wasn't sure how long, but he cried until it was all out of him. He pulled away after a while. He was exhausted, drained of all strength, and feeling a bit fevered.

Jack slumped back against the ship's railing to find that he'd been crying on Cistus. The other man gave him a small smile and sat back too. On his other side Jack found Peditus. It seemed as if everyone else had found other places to be. They couldn't go far, but at least he'd been given some privacy in which to cry like a little girl.

Jack let his head fall back limply against the wood.

It was a while before Jack finally said, "I'm tired."

"Perhaps now you'll sleep," Peditus said.

"Or rest for more than two or three hours," Cistus countered.

"Or perhaps," Peditus offered, "you'll start to eat as you should?"

"Alright," Jack said annoyed, "I get it." A moment later he added, "Besides, Daniel doesn't let me do as I please." He actually felt much better once he'd said, "He takes very good care of me...even when I don't."

Cistus didn't waste any time in saying, "The Queen Mother and Mayalli are down there taking care of the Hiro. He will be fine soon. She's a great healer; all Vestals are trained as such."

Jack wanted to believe it. He tried his best to believe it. But that belief soon faded until only the pain of fear was left.

He leaned forward as a wave of nausea swept over him. He bit down and swallowed. When he was able he said, "There was some kind of an argument. Daniel's maid told me that Bohonte tried to cut the baby out." Jack fell back against the ship's railing again. He stared straight ahead at the mast as he said, "I really don't want to think right now."

"In my chest," Cistus said quietly a moment before Peditus walked away. Then Cistus' voice rose, "Give orders to secure the Tail Hooks. We're setting sail for home as soon as the other Tail Hook docks."

The men around moved quickly to relay orders and carry them out.

Jack said nothing. It was better not to. Putting distance between him and that country was for the best. He knew that if he thought about it too much, he might be tempted to do something very stupid. Distance was good.

Peditus returned soon enough. And God love him, he was carrying a bottle. He uncorked it before he ever arrived and handed it off to Jack.

Jack didn't ask what it was; he simply threw it back and started the process of self-medication. Whatever the stuff was, it burnt going down. And better yet, it went straight to his head.

By the time he handed off the bottle, he was a little dizzy and a lot calmer.

"Tell me something," Jack said as Cistus took a good drink from the bottle. Jack had to think about it for a moment, but eventually he regained his train of thought. "What the hell was it with that island? The addictive flowers? Why send us to someplace like that?"

The bottle was passed back to Jack. He took another drink before passing the bottle back to Cistus.

Jack had to pause and take in a deep breath before he was able to speak again. Whatever it was that he was drinking had fumes, and they were wafting up his throat and affecting his ability to speak...or take in enough air.

He had to swallow and concentrate. Eventually, Jack was able to say, "You venerate Daniel so much. Why put him in a situation where he could fall so far from your expectations?"

The contents of the bottled sloshed next to him.

Jack turned to find the very impressive sight of Cistus putting it away like a pro. It was Peditus who snatched the bottle away disapprovingly and shoved it back at Jack. Several moments later, Cistus wiped at his wet chin still trying to take in enough oxygen to form words.

Dumbfounded, Jack said, "I didn't know you could drink."

Cistus turned his face to Jack. Something about the look in his eyes made Jack wonder if Cistus was even able to focus. With a smile on his slightly sweaty face, Cistus said, "Peditus and the Vestals don't like it."

"No, we don't," Peditus said with a slight pout.

"Calm down," Jack said, very mellow. Then very profoundly he announced, "My friends are helping me to both celebrate and to forget." Jack saluted with the bottle and then tipped it back again.

Cistus breathed out heavily. A moment later he said, "I suppose it's safe to tell you now. The trial was over a while ago, but the Hiro wasn't here." Cistus faced Jack. "No official announcement was made because the priests wouldn't without the Hiro present."

Jack passed the bottle on the Peditus as he felt the affects from the stuff begin to hit him.

Cistus fell back a little deeper into the ship, settling into it as if his bones had all but melted away. "If you had access to all the food, sex, love, and pleasure in the world, would you go back to your ordinary life of work, drudgery, and strife?"

No one said a word.

Cistus swallowed hard. "The island is temptation. The Temple gives everyone who goes there a potion that takes away their memory. You are like a newborn babe amid endless pleasure. Only a Hiro can go there and overcome the earthly pleasures and rise above the baser needs." Cistus paused. "Only someone who is truly wise, only someone born with that inner knowledge can overcome the veil of...want in order to seek truth, real truth, no matter how ugly it is."

Jack felt himself smirk a moment before he heard himself say, "Truth isn't good or bad, beautiful or kind, it merely is." Jack perked up at that moment as the confusion spread. "Where did that come from?"

Cistus laughed drunkenly. "Not from you!"

"No," Jack said agreeing. He took the bottle and held it. He almost brought the bottle up to his lips but failed to execute the draught. Instead he stared at it and asked, "If you're right, why did I wake up before him?"

Cistus patted Jack on the thigh as he said, "For the same reason that Peditus takes food off my plate, keeps taking bottles out of my hand, and always does what he can for me." Cistus smiled as he said, "We're incomplete beings. Sometimes we need our other half in order to function properly, even the Hiro of Hiros."

CHAPTER 13 - THIS IS HOW IT ENDS

Peditis followed Jack to Daniel's room and went in with him. He kept the others out. Jack heard him making excuses to Delina.

It didn't matter to Jack one way or another. He just wanted to get into bed next to Daniel and sleep. One decent night's sleep with the only person that he could clearly remember loving more than anything else in creation, that's all he wanted. He got as far as three feet from the threshold before Peditis grabbed him.

Jack's first thought was that he was about to have his head effectively removed from his shoulders. A moment later he realized that Peditis wasn't copping a feel, getting too friendly, or trying to grab something inappropriate. Instead, Jack felt himself pulled in and drawn closer for a whisper.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he was sure that he wasn't about to loose his head, and he could relax.

"Stories of the Great King Melius weren't the only knowledge passed down by my forebears," Peditis whispered softly in his ear. "I couldn't get close enough to the Hiro because he was being watched far too closely by the Temple once the island trial was announced."

Peditis pulled away long enough to look into Jack's face before leaning in and adding, "There's an herb. Ground into a powder, it's almost tasteless, I put it in your breakfast that day. You weren't being watched and I knew what was about to happen."

Peditis pulled away quickly and backed up all the way to the door, his eyes down, and his face completely ashamed. He looked as if he were waiting for punishment or rebuke.

Jack didn't hesitate to walk up and quietly say, "Thank you." He reached just enough to plant a quick gentle kiss on the boy-man's lower lip.

Peditis looked up with those wide green eyes and smiled at Jack before letting himself out.

Jacked walked over to the bed and did something he hadn't done in far too long. He was going to bed without a bottle in hand to help him get there. He sat down and removed his watch. He set it on the little table next to the bed. Several bottles of dark liquids, jars of ointments, and powders only served to prove that Delina had already made her way through the room. Jack unlaced his boots and kicked them off. He rolled into bed, carefully slipping in next to Daniel.

Daniel murmured loudly and for a moment, Jack wondered if he had disturbed him. He held still and waited as he watched Daniel carefully. Daniel curled into Jack's body and buried his face against him.

Jack had to smile. He settled in as best he could and found a nice place to catch some sleep. Daniel's scent filled his nostrils. He felt at ease, content, and finally where he belonged. Everything was finally as it belonged.

~ ~ ~

"Adevers," Cistus said almost mournfully, "because of your position and who I know you are, I'm asking you to leave. What's about to be discussed is..." Cistus looked away and finally settled on the word, "complicated."

The King's body language and words drew instant attention from everyone in the room.

Adever's, nevertheless, bowed and left obediently.

When the doors were closed, Cistus looked around at the royal family and said, "We have an ugly matter yet to deal with. Ladies," Cistus said to his wives, "if you wish to leave at any point in time, I will excuse you as you seem fit to do so." With those words, Cistus leaned back into his chair and said, "With the Temple satisfied with the Island Trial the attention of the priests has gone elsewhere. I think that enough time has passed to deal with the punishment of Quendo."

On the mention of the man's name, several Vestals rose to their feet and left the room. A moment or two later, Delina rose from her seat and spoke to the girls who hadn't left to remain at her side. As the rest left, she walked to the throne, bringing a chair with her.

She sat down and sat firmly in place saying, "Don't think for one moment that I'll leave."

Cistus only nodded.

"Family huddle," Jack said pulling two chairs closer to Cistus' throne.

By the time Jack had set the chairs down and turned, Gadvin had spoken with his wives and was shooing them and his children out of the room, before he picked up his own chair to drag over. On the way there, Gadvin slipped and arm around Daniel and helped him to his husband.

Jack didn't hesitate to take Daniel from Gadvin. It had become his pleasure, his obsession to make sure that Daniel was well. He was getting bigger by the day as their son, growing by leaps and bounds, quickly began to outgrow his current lodging. And to that, Jack could barely contain his fear, joy, and insanity. He was sure that something would happen...was afraid of it.

He couldn't let Daniel out of his sight. It was still too raw a wound.

"Have you decided on anything, My Lord?" Gadvin asked as he sat back.

Cistus took hold of Peditis' hand and said, "I don't think that I can have him executed. He's far too well connected, too supported by the priests. The Temple is behind him. My marriage to the Vestals didn't go over well with many."

Delina gave a vile look, but chose to remain quiet at that moment.

"What we need," Daniel said flatly, "is to effectively destroy any support in the Temple that he has and put him someplace where he'll never again be able to speak to anyone."

"That's quite a lot to ask, Hiro," Delina said thoughtfully. "A high priest holds quite a bit of power, sway, and authority. He can't be held in confinement forever. Eventually, he'd be called on by the Temple."

Daniel looked to Delina. Staunchly, her face drawn tight, she nodded once.

Cistus sighed. "And unfortunately, under certain situations, the Temple has the ability to overrule me."

Daniel smiled as the thought came over him. "They wouldn't if they hate him." Jack's hand rubbed Daniel's swollen belly in a circle as Daniel continued to think.

"I think it would work," Daniel said as he looked at Gadvin, "after all we have the head of the Temple Guard here. His men would do as they are told." Looking at Gadvin, Daniel said, "And if the hero who brought down the walls of the City of Shur were to testify against Quendo, no one would contest it."

Quickly and without hesitation, Gadvin said, "I am your man, Hiro. Command me."

~ ~ ~

Daniel adjusted himself in the seat yet again. No matter how many times he moved, tilted, or fixed himself or the pillows around him, he just couldn't find a comfortable place. And he just knew that he was going to have to go pee again...soon.

He tried hard to concentrate as the play continued. But the truth was that he didn't care. Adevers and Theropius had collaborated for a solid week on the play. If nothing else, Daniel knew that the work would be accurate to what happened at Quendo's trial and that it would be portrayed properly.

He lost interest in what the actors on the stage were saying and doing. His mind was far too busy and not in the mood for anything too serious or emotionally heavy. He looked around and saw rapt attention being given from the rest of the Royal Family. Daniel looked back over his shoulder and saw Gadvin and Jack playing watchdogs. He had to smirk at the two men. They absolutely had a good friend in each other. After all, they had the same kind of interests.

Daniel looked over his other shoulder and noticed Adevers and Theropius in the midst of discussions of some sort. Daniel's first instinct was to smile at his two friends standing quietly off to one side. He was sure that they were discussing the play, posterity, history, or a combination thereof.

Just as he was about to turn his head away, Daniel noticed something that caught him a little off guard. He actually had to look twice. And on the second look he stared hard until he was sure that he really was seeing what he was seeing.

"Hiro," Delina asked quietly, "is all well?"

Daniel realized that he had been staring and had to turn himself away. He looked at her and managed a small smile as he patted her hand.

After a moment or two had passed, he leaned into Delina and asked, "Am I losing my mind or is Adevers holding his stomach in?"

Delina wasn't sure about the question, though she did lean back and check before saying to Daniel, "He looks as if he's flirting quite effectively."

Daniel screwed his face up as he considered the matter. "Adevers and Theropius." After a moment he finally decided, "I never would have thought of the two of them together."

Delina reached out and fondly held his hand as she gently said, "They won't be."

Daniel looked right at her.

She looked sorry as she said, "Adevers is a nobleman, Hiro. Theropius is a peasant. Useful, he might be, but it doesn't change how he was born. The Historian could lose a great deal if he took up with the man. I doubt that it would be worth it."

Daniel looked away from her and stared at nothing for a moment. Then he turned to look at the two men. Theropius must have said something funny because for the first time since he'd known Adevers, the man was laughing heartily. Daniel smiled because of it. That little pot belly that Adevers sported had disappeared during his incarceration but was now jiggling slightly as he laughed.

As he turned back to Delina, Daniel asked, "Do I have your support?"

She smiled motherly and said, "In all things, Hiro."

Cistus then leaned over and intruded as he asked, "What are you two chickens cackling about?"

"Plotting," Daniel responded quickly. Pedius and many of the Vestals caught the word and turned their attention to him. Daniel thought quickly as he said, "I have just realized something, your Highness. Theropius is a peasant."

"Yes," Cistus said unimpressed.

Daniel turned to face Cistus as he said, "Cistus would you please use your head a little, it's that big lump sitting on your shoulders." Before Cistus could reply, Daniel explained, "In a very short period of time Theropius has become much more than just an actor. The moment that he's able to show you and you approve the war play, his name will be more famous than even yours."

Daniel shook his head as he said, "My God, why wouldn't he? He went to war and recorded you and your soldiers at your best. The play has real live action film footage. I've seen a dress rehearsal. They've recreated scenes of what happened and then play the film footages along side the actors. There are amazing special affects throughout it; you actually feel as if you're sitting on those ships watching a war unfold around you."

Daniel let his words sink in before he added, "His words will be very carefully watched and listened to not just by the nation, but by history itself."

Cistus was quiet. Without looking Daniel could tell that it wasn't a good type of quiet.

Carefully, Daniel added, "A peasant with the power to alter the fortune of the monarchy? What an interesting turn of fate? I wonder if there is anyone whom I'd have enough trust and confidence in to...temper such a power?"

"What are you thinking?" Cistus asked unamused.

Without looking Daniel nudged his head toward the two men.

A moment later Cistus turned back snickering. He sat back in his chair and wiped his face. Very amused, he said, "Adevers is going to end up with a belly ache if he sucks in his gut in any deeper."

"Do I have your blessing in this matter?" Daniel asked.

Quite seriously, Cistus turned to Daniel and said, "What does it matter to you, Hiro? You've already thought it up and recruited that one," he said motioning to Delina, "I've already been marginalized."

"I'm glad that we're in agreement," Daniel said as he began the struggle up out of his chair.

Before even he was aware of it, Jack was at his side. Gadvin grabbed his other arm, and suddenly Daniel was standing upright and about as balanced as his body would allow him to be.

He held his belly and waddled away from the Royal Family so that he could discuss matters with the two men.

Before he even arrived in their presence, the two ceased their conversation, and turned towards him, waiting.

"Before I speak," Daniel said scratching his belly. He wasn't sure why, but the advancing stretch marks were as itchy as they were awful. "I'd like to say that you both did a very good job of it, the play is excellent. I approve greatly."

Both men smiled widely. Adevers even managed to blush a little at the compliment.

Daniel didn't hesitate to add, "You both make a good team. A very good team. It hasn't gone unnoticed." The smile on Adevers' face faded a little. It was quickly replaced with a slightly worried look.

Daniel ignored him.

"Theropius," Daniel asked, "if you had one wish, what would it be?"

Theropius opened his mouth to speak. He looked away quickly and wound up looking down at his own sandals.

As Daniel watched the man, he quickly realized what it was that was running across the man's face.

"You aren't 'just' anything, do you realize that?" Daniel asked. "You've already gone beyond actor. You've just become a playwright. And in a very short period, you'll be one of the most famous men in your generation."

Theropius looked up at Daniel as the disbelief spread across his face. Instead of speaking he looked away again.

"I've discussed this matter with his Highness and with the Queen. Neither of them thinks it wise to leave you to your own endeavors. Therefore, it is the decision of the Crown that you be placed under the eye of someone who can watch you and while holding your hand. In this way we can be sure that you will always mind the needs and wishes of the Crown and kingdom before your own."

Daniel reached out for Adevers' hand and took Theropius', he placed one with the other. Gently holding both men's hands in his, he said a quiet prayer.

He looked to find both men staring at him in a slack-jawed fashion. Daniel smiled and said, "You are both my friends and I can only hope that you are as happy in your marriage as I am in mine."

After a moment Adevers eyes filled with tears. The only words that he was able to say were, "How did you know?" He said it several times, until his voice became so weak that he wasn't able to speak again.

Theropius put his arm around Adevers and looked up at the Hiro saying, "Thank you."

Daniel nodded and said, "If you want to thank me, take good care of friend."

~ ~ ~

It was more than a month later before Daniel saw either Adevers or Theropius again. By then, Daniel's excursions outside of his bed were few and far between. The Vestals followed around behind him like little chicks after their mama. Jack headed the troupe in constant worry and in annoying Daniel about every little thing that he did. Gadvin wasn't any better. And not a one of them was willing to allow him to hurt himself, or - God forbid - fall.

The climb to the top of the God's Hand tower was far too much of a nightmare for Daniel to even consider. The Royal Apshilla, though a nice condo-like unit, was where the Vestals lived; and he'd had enough of them. He wasn't willing to consider living with Cistus and Peditus, so Daniel took his old quarters in the Great Hall.

He had a bed placed in the Great Hall, at the same place where it had been placed when he'd fallen ill from an unknown cotangent. A curtain and two end tables later and he had a semi-private apartment that neither Jack, Cistus, Peditus, Gadvin, nor the Vestals could complain about. It was easy to defend, near the 'gate, and in the holy house of the gods. Really, what were any of them going to say?

But he got tired of looking at the four walls quickly. And that day he needed to walk. With Jack on one side and Gadvin on the other he waddled down the great hallways of the palace trying to stretch out and exercise his abused body.

He couldn't move quickly. He had to stop a great deal because of the pain. He had to pee a great deal. And worst of all, he still itched.

But he managed to smile when he saw the two men round a corner as they walked towards him.

"Oh, good," Daniel said happily as he threw off Jack and Gadvin's hands. "Go away," he commanded.

Gadvin backed off quickly, but Jack didn't.

"Daniel," Jack said on an exhale.

Daniel turned towards Jack and said, "Please stop." He reached out and touched Jack's chest in a soft caress as he said, "It's okay."

Then he held his hands out to the new arrivals as he said, "I've decided that I can't stand the pair of them anymore."

Daniel grabbed on to his two friends and continued the waddling-walk forward that he was able to put out.

"Now tell me," Daniel said with a smile, "how is the life of two old married men?"

Adevers smiled broadly as he almost shyly said, "Well, Hiro. Very well indeed." Before Daniel could say anything, Adevers quickly asked, "And you, Hiro. Are you well? The child? Did your time in captivity have an adverse effect on either of you?"

Daniel had to chuckle. It was either chuckle or scream until his head exploded. "Oh, and now you sound like Jack and Gadvin!" Daniel turned and looked at him. Gently, he managed to say, "I am fine. The baby is fine. We are fine-"

The screaming and yelling of many people broke the usual calm of the majestic halls. Up ahead Daniel saw the double doors to one of the audience chambers swing closed. The noise died down as the doors blocked the sounds coming from within. A worried Vestal stood in the hall looking around. As she spotted Daniel, she picked up her skirts and began running towards him.

Daniel recognized her immediately as one of the younger ones, Drilla, who had eagerly taken to the administration of the Temple's newest endeavors for child protection and advocacy.

The girl came to kneel at Daniel's feet saying, "Thank the Omnipotent! Hiro, you are sorely needed! I know that you aren't well, but you are greatly needed! We didn't think it, but they are threatening to war over the child!"

"Go ahead of me," Daniel said, "calm them. I am coming."

The girl sped off.

Daniel only had one speed. As he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, Jack and Gadvin raced ahead of him. Daniel looked around and saw the rest of his Temple Guard contingent tighten around him.

"Paranoid," Daniel mumbled.

"Hiro?" Theropius asked.

"Oh," Daniel said with a smile, "just thinking, hoping...that those two lunatics don't shoot at anyone before I can get there and calm the situation."

Instead of saying something insincere or untrue, Theropius merely said, "You are greatly loved, Hiro."

Once at the large double doors, Daniel straightened out and tried to smooth his clothes out. He breathed in and out before nodding to the guards. The doors were opened and he went inside.

He noticed that he left his escort behind, all but two other guards entered with him. And those two guards weren't there to hold him up, they spaced out and covered his back, but they did not interfere with his duty.

There was a crowd of people inside the room. The three Vestals who stood to one side looked sheepish and embarrassed. The thirty some odd people inside the room looked rich and haughty. Several looked like they'd been in fist fights, hair pulling tussles, and maybe a few bitch-slapping events. None of them looked happy as they stood by quietly. Jack and Gadvin both had their weapons drawn as if daring the crowd.

"I am the Hiro of Hiros," Daniel said clearly. "Who is in charge here?"

"Hiro," a woman said stepping forward. She was richly dressed. Her headdress marked her as important, her jewels dripping from every finger, ear, and hanging low around her neck marked as very wealthy. "I am-"

"Are you a Vestal?" Daniel asked quickly.

The woman looked unsure. She recovered herself quickly and bowed a little as she said, "Great Hiro, I am the matron of-"

"Are you a Vestal?" Daniel repeated himself. "Answer my question woman?"

The woman looked unsure again. This time she answered, "No."

"Then step back," Daniel said firmly. "I'll have cause to speak with you and the others here as soon as I've spoken with the Vestal who is in charge of this situation."

Slowly, and awkwardly, the woman did step back. A tall Vestal came forward and knelt down in front of Daniel saying, "I am to blame, Hiro. I thought this would be a simple matter to find a home for the boy, but these people became enraged. Now they threaten to create civil war within the city." She looked down at her hands and grasped them tightly as she said, "I did not know what to do. I panicked and it became chaos."

"Stand," Daniel said easily. He took a good look at the girl and realized that he didn't know her. "You are one of the new Vestals from the Temple Braxis."

"Yes," the Vestal answered, "My name is Ef'u. I serve with Queen Janlina. I came to learn so that these proceedings could begin there as well." Then more awkwardly she said, "I am sorry."

"No, to learn is to first err." Daniel smiled at her and asked, "Tell me what the matter is that you are trying to solve."

"They threaten war-"

"No," Daniel said quickly. "You said that you were trying to find a home for a boy."

She had to think for a moment and managed to look ashamed of herself. He held her hand out to him before turning away. She took a few steps back before turning and retreating behind a statue. From there she pulled out a thin looking little boy. For a moment Daniel thought that he'd been covered in dirt, but soon realized that it wasn't dirt...they were bruises.

Daniel's first instinct was to reach down and pick him up.

"No," Jack said as he rushed forward. "You can't," Jack said as he pulled a shawl off a nearby woman. He threw it over the boy and picked him up before Daniel could say another word.

Daniel walked over and looked at the little boy cuddle into Jack. He looked attention starved, not just starved.

"Who did this?" Daniel asked already feeling anger.

"The boys' parents are dead. These people claim to be relatives. He had been in the care of the woman who you already spoke with. One of her servants stole the child and brought him here."

"A traitorous liar!" the rich woman growled. "I shall have her whipped!" The woman, having grown bold again, came closer saying, "I am of the house of-"

"Shut up," Daniel said calmly. The woman's eyes bulged open. "You will speak when you are spoken to, and not before.

When the woman opened her mouth to speak again, Gadvin pulled his zat out and leveled it at her gaze. She didn't make a sound.

"Now, an important question Ef'u. Why are these people scrambling like dogs for this boy?"

"Wealth," Ef'u replied. "The parents left everything to the boy in their will and nothing to the relatives. They were very wealthy."

"And whoever gets the boy, gets the money," Daniel finished saying. He folded his hands over his huge stomach. He turned to the crowd of people saying, "Because the question of money is making it difficult to find decent, loving parents for the boy, the question of the money will be removed. As Hiro of Hiros I hereby render the decision that the boys' wealth is forfeit. He's too young to oversee it, and you are all too stupid. Therefore the money, lands, and goods will go directly to the Temple."

Daniel allowed a moment for the information to sink in. Then he said, "Now, I ask all of you to search your hearts and speak up you who wish to be a good parent to this child."

For a long moment no one breathed, let alone moved.

Daniel was about to open his mouth when the large doors behind him opened. Theropius and Adevers walked in before they realized that all eyes were on them. They stopped at the doors and waited quietly.

When none of the family members spoke, Daniel again asked, "I will ask again. Who wishes to take this child as their own, I will not ask again?"

Theropius sneezed loud enough to catch Daniel's attention.

As the moments passed, Daniel nodded. "As a representative of the Temple, I render the decision that none of you is fit. Leave this place with my thanks for proving this to me in no uncertain terms. And madam," Daniel said to the woman who had stepped forward, "I also feel it's my duty to remove your servant who was courageous enough to bring this child here where the boy can get the help that he so greatly needs."

Daniel walked towards the two men at the doors.

"Forgive us," Adevers said quickly. "We're needed back at the library, Hiro. We didn't want you to think that we'd run off."

Daniel smiled at them. He turned to Jack who was still at his side. The smile on Jack's face clearly showed that they were both, as usual, thinking the same thing.

"Ef'u," Daniel called.

The girl appeared at his side. Her eyes were on Theropius and Adevers as she said, "Yes, Hiro."

"Good," Daniel said to her, "you saw. I'm glad that you were paying attention." Daniel turned to the two men and said, "I have an extremely important question for you two. I know that it's unfair to ask. You've barely had enough time to get to know one another, but it's clear that I must ask."

Jack put the boy on his feet and pulled the shawl down enough to show the boy to the two men.

"This boy needs a family," Daniel said quietly, "it's clear to me that the two of you must be given first consideration."

Theropius didn't hesitate to fall down to meet the boy eye-to-eye. Looking a little perplexed, Theropius soon asked, "What's this?" Theropius didn't hesitate to pull scarf out to the boy's ear. He distracted the boy by waving the little scarf to one side before reaching back into a pocket. The little boy smiled and reached for the scarf completely delighted.

"And this?" Theropius said pulling a large coin seemingly out of the boy's nostril. "By the gods!" Theropius proclaimed to everyone. "This boy's head is full of odds and ends! Perhaps there is more treasure there?"

Adevers was near tears as he watched the two.

When he met Daniel eyes, Adevers said, "The only other thing of importance that was missing, great Hiro." Tightly he added, "You've now answered my every prayer."

Daniel reached up, pressing his bulk against Adevers, so he could kiss his cheek. "I'm glad."

~ ~ ~

It was one of those days when Daniel refused to get out of bed. His feet were swollen, his back hurt, and his belly was extremely itchy. He sat up in bed and scratched. Delina complained a lot about his scratching and rubbed oil on him several times, it killed a good part of the day.

Sometime that afternoon one of the Vestals came in and announced, "Janlina is returned from the Temple Braxsis and is petitioning to see the Hiro of Hiros. She has with her the little Hiro who was born to the Temple Braxis almost a year ago. The little Hiro's mother and sisters are with her; they would like to enter as well."

Daniel smiled. "Let them in. I'd like the distraction."

"You mustn't over do it," Delina said from her chair where she sat knitting.

"Please let me know exactly how I'm going to over do anything when I don't get out of bed anymore?"

Before Delina could respond, the curtains creating the sense of privacy in the alcove were parted and a tall round-faced Vestal entered. Delina didn't hesitate to set her knitting down so she could get up and hug the woman.

"Janlina," Delina said happily. She kissed and hugged the woman as she said, "I've read every letter eagerly, and I've looked forward to every report. How are you?"

"Well," Janlina replied to her teacher. "All is well, my Lady. The Temple and the hospital prosper and grow because of your teachings.

Delina smiled and took Janlina to Daniel's bedside saying, "Janlina 'd Hermes, I present to you Atch Eblianen 'd Hermes, the Hiro of Hiros."

Janlina didn't hesitate to fall at his bedside and kiss his hand. Daniel in turn didn't hesitate to pull on her hand as he said, "I'd rather an embrace. Delina has spoken so much of you that I feel that I know you as well."

Janlina looked as if she were about to cry. She stood and hugged Daniel so gently that he almost didn't feel the young woman's arms around him.

"Hiro," the girl said as she released him. "I'm so honored that you would receive me. So happy." She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I am your consummate servant, Hiro. You have only to let your wishes be known."

"Well," Daniel said carefully, "at the moment my wish is to sit." He turned and made his way back to bed. "This child is sitting on my organs and my lower back is killing me."

Both vestals helped him down back to bed

The moment he was down, Daniel noticed the look on the woman's face.

"Delina," Daniel said as normally as possible. "I think I'm hungry again."

The Queen smiled brightly and said, "I'll ring the kitchens!"

Daniel squirmed a little as he replied, "The servants just throw food on a plate. I'd rather have your lemon eggs."

Delina's smile grew even wider. "Of course." She rose and tucked Daniel in carefully as she instructed Janlina, "You will stay of course?"

"Yes, madam."

"And see to it that he doesn't move far."

"Yes, madam."

"The Hiro is stubborn and you must try to do for him."

"Yes, madam."

"The stretch marks are itchy," she turned and found the right bottle. "This one I mixed just for the massage of the abdomen."

"Yes, madam."

"I'll only be gone a few minutes-"

"But you're still here," Daniel said cutting her off.

"Hiro," Delina began to explain.

Daniel shook his head as he said, "No excuses. Leave me. Janlina is one of your best students. From your own lips I've heard what an amazing nurse she is. I will be fine." When Delina didn't immediately turn and leave, Daniel said, "Woman, go find me some lemon eggs before I starve."

That time, Delina left but still silently motioning to Janlina to sit by Daniel.

When the Queen had left Daniel turned to Janlina and said, "Do sit." When the woman was sitting, Daniel then said, "You looked like you needed to speak."

"The Hiro is wise," Janlina replied with a nod.

He waited a few seconds. When she didn't speak he said, "You may say anything to me. I promise to you my patience and as much understanding as I can give you."

Janlina suddenly looked unsure, but she did say, "I was taught obedience to the Temple in all things, Hiro. And I do obey. I do not enjoy questioning the opinions of my superiors."

"But?" Daniel prompted.

"But," She said far easier than what came next. She swallowed and then slowly said, "I think that the Temple Priests have made a great mistake."

Daniel smiled a little as he said, "I don't think that would be the first." Then more seriously he said, "Tell me what's happened."

"When the little Hiro was born to Eshera, I examined her very carefully. Eshera did not look as she should to me. I have since found out that she was examined by the Temple when she was born. She was thought to have been a possible Hiro."

"Is she?" Daniel asked gently.

Janlina hesitated but then shook her head. "She was found to not be." Janlina suddenly looked upset as she said, "Her eldest daughter is normal. She also suffered greatly at her father's hands. I don't think that the little girl-child will survive much longer. I couldn't bring her on the journey because of her health."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Daniel mourned.

"The second daughter," Janlina continued, "is in good health. But I did not think that she looked as she should when I first saw her. The priests examined the girl and said that she was not a true Hiro." Janlina paused and looked down at the ground. After a moment or two, she found her courage and said, "As time has passed, I've come to the conclusion that they might be wrong...are wrong."

"I'll speak with Eshera, then," Daniel said quickly. "I'll speak with her now."

"Her mind is gone, Hiro."

"Gone?"

Janlina wringed her hands as she explained, "The blows that she received from her husband damaged her mind. She no longer speaks. I believe that she doesn't hear, or see."

"I will see her just the same."

~ ~ ~

He waited impatiently for what seemed like hours, wringing the handkerchief in his hands until the cloth bit into him and the fleshy parts felt raw. He would have preferred to pace, but nine months of pregnancy wasn't conducive to the task. And, but the baby in the bassinet was a light sleeper. She bothered quickly if he moved around too much, then she got fussy and started crying for all she was worth.

It wasn't that he didn't like the baby; it was just that she bothered him for some reason. He hated that he felt that way about any child, but there it was.

What he really wanted was to have the baby sent back to Janlina. The babe didn't seem to mind her. However, everyone around was acting as if it was expected that he take to the child and care for it. But at that moment, all he could do was stare at the bassinet and wonder when it would be taken out of his room.

The door opened.

Daniel wanted to get up and go the moment that he saw that it was Jack. But, the weight of the baby inside of him prevented him from going farther than wanting it. But he did sit up. He was about to ask how it went when he realized that Jack wasn't alone.

Jack turned back preventing his escort from entering the area. The chlamys, and long chiton that he wore created layers of cloth that created a barrier. "Gadvin, thank you for your help. Now leave. Nothing happened. I wasn't out of the palace. You weren't here. Please go."

Gadvin looked beyond Jack at Daniel.

Daniel didn't hesitate to nod to the man.

Gadvin dutifully pounded on his chest and walked away.

As Jack pulled a long curtain into place securing their privacy, the metal gates that secured the area on the one entrance sounded loudly as it was secured by the Palace Guard.

The moment Jack was close enough, Daniel asked, "Why was he with you?"

Jack turned as he carefully removed the large chlamys that he was wearing. Beneath he revealed a two year old child sleeping peacefully against his body.

"I had some trouble getting back into the palace," Jack announced quietly. "But I did find the maid," Jack said as he looked into the baby's face. "She was still living in the little house on the edge of town. She wouldn't even admit that she had a baby in the house until I told her who I was."

Jack took the new arrival directly to Daniel but didn't add the child's weight onto Daniel. Instead, he knelt holding the baby for him so Daniel could see the little dark haired creature. As he studied the little, sleeping face, Jack asked, "I still can't tell if he's a he, or a she."

As he reached for the baby he said, "I think he's a he."

Daniel felt a sharp pain that took his breath.

"Danny?"

Daniel breathed in carefully. Breathing in deeply he sent it to where it hurt. He knew what was happening.

When he opened his eyes it was to see Jack's worried face starring intently at him.

"There are hours yet," Daniel said calmly. "Or, it could be a false alarm. Leave him with me," Daniel said with a nod. "Go get Janlina. She and I need to have a good long talk before I get caught up in the birthing process."

"Get into bed," Jack replied simply and without room for question. "I want you on your back and resting up until it happens. The moment that talk is over I go get the gaggle of Vestals and they take care of you."

"Sir, yes sir," Daniel responded with as happy a smile as he could gather given the fact that he was terrified out of his mind.

Jack stood straight up despite the twinge that his left knee gave him. He carefully put the baby on his shoulder and held him there while reaching down with his free hand, helped Daniel up to his feet, and then escorted his mate straight to bed.

It wasn't until Daniel was lying on the bed that Jack laid the little baby next to him saying, "Okay, I will be back in a few minutes. No moving. No funny stuff."

"Yes, sir. I'll be right here." Daniel said stroking the baby's soft hair.

Daniel managed to keep the tension off his face until Jack disappeared behind the curtain. His footsteps echoing across the chamber followed just before the sound of the heavy metal doors being unlocked and opened for him before they slammed shut. Daniel let his head fall back. He breathed out and reached to hold his swollen belly.

"Oh, kid," Daniel moaned, "I just know that you're going to be painful." Then he turned to the little one lying next to him and said, "And you, I've made promises to your mother. You have a very important future ahead of you." He breathed in and let it out slowly. "She was sacrificed." It wasn't hard for him to say, "You won't be. I give you my word of honor."

By the time Jack returned with Janlina, Daniel felt the sweat on his face. The iron gate that protected the hall and his current chambers was slammed shut.

"I said no!" Daniel heard Jack command. "These are the Hiro's orders!"

Daniel wasn't shocked when he heard Delina immediately complain, "This is preposterous! I am the Queen and a Vestal! I have seen to the Hiro's health-"

The sounds of the heavy inner doors closing thudded heavy. The thick wooden doors were hardly ever closed, but they did. And they drowned out all noise with Jack and the Vestals on the other side.

Daniel opened his eye and turned to find Janlina rushing towards him.

"You summoned," she said as she knelt at his bed.

"Sit," Daniel managed before taking a deep breath. When he was able, he said, "I have a great thing to ask of you."

"Yes, Hiro," she replied quickly.

Daniel smiled. "You don't know what it is."

"That does not matter, Hiro. If you need it done, then it shall be done."

"Because I'm about to ask you to defy and possibly challenge everyone that you respect, love, and honor."

~ ~ ~

Daniel woke up in a strange position, but smelling Jack's around him. He smiled instantly and settled in as he realized that he was sleeping against Jack's chest. He opened his eyes and was met by the sight of a small baby lying on a soft white cloth. Daniel lifted his head and pulled away a little so he could see the pink, thin-skinned bundle better. He was fast asleep against his father. His right hand flexed a little as he snuggled into his father.

"He hasn't moved a bit the entire time I've been staring," Jack murmured. He shook his head, looking a little lost he marveled, "We did this."

Jack turned his neck slowly so that he could meet Daniel's blue eyes. Daniel looked outright exhausted, swollen, puffy, and blotchy; Jack could only smile as he saw the love of his life.

Amazed, he couldn't help but announce, "We made a baby, Danny."

Daniel looked down at the little boy. He reached for a little foot and stroked the velvet skin only to feel the little foot flex; a reminder that it was real. It was all real. Then a moment later, the outright joy passed. "I don't want to leave him here, Jack."

Before his husband could open his mouth, Daniel said, "And I don't want to be away from you, Colonel. I like my job. I like you. I like our life. But I love this baby. You and he are not negotiable."

"What would we say?" Jack asked gently.

"We can say that we found him," Daniel muttered as he let his head fall back onto Jack. "We can say whatever you want. We just shouldn't leave him here."

Jack became very quiet...very quiet.

Instead of speaking, Jack reached out and touched the baby's soft skin for himself. He traced the soft-formed back, held a little hand that embraced his enormous fist-sized finger, and a moment later was dazzled by the most awe inspiring yawn ever seen by man.

Both men were sure that it wasn't the soldier who spoke when he said, "Okay, Danny. Maybe we can come up with a good story...something."

EPILOGUE

Daniel was lying in bed still trying to control the tears that kept coming despite the time that had passed since the assassination attempt. His leg still hurt from where he'd strained his muscles during the fight with the man who had been so intent on killing his child.

The baby was still lying on the bed next to him. And beside his child was the two year old baby and his younger sibling. All were sound asleep, two were tired, and hurt. A large bandage covered half of his son's head. The assassin's knife had managed to nick the flesh in a long slice. There would be a scar. The older baby had merely gotten in the way of the advancing assassin. He'd been pushed aside. A sharp edge had cut her arm. He had bruising on her head, but he was alive.

He heard the door open. This time Janlina was brought in under heavy guard. Daniel had to dismiss the Temple Guards who were so intent on keeping the Hiro safe after the palace itself had been breached.

"You summoned," Janlina said approaching his bed.

"Sit," Daniel managed as he stared at his offspring. When he was able, he said, "I have a great and terrible thing to ask of you."

"Yes, Hiro," she replied quickly.

Daniel shook his head solemnly. "You don't know what it is."

"That does not matter, Hiro. If you need it done, then it shall be done."

Daniel released several heavy tears and swallowed hard before he was able to say, "What I have to ask of you is hard. It will go against most of your beliefs, but I must ask it. You will no doubt come at odds with the Temple's priests, and maybe even your fellow Vestals."

Daniel wiped his face with the handkerchief in his hands and then blew his nose. He sniffed and looked from one sleeping baby to the other. "I have to ask this just the same. I must. I don't have a choice anymore."

Much slower, Janlina replied, but she replied, "As you will it, Hiro. So shall it be done."

Daniel reached out and held Janlina's hand. Janlina responded by grasping tightly to Daniel's strong hands as if she were holding on to a life preserver.

"I don't know what's happening in the temple. I don't know why these children have been overlooked as they have been. And right now I don't care. All I know is that they must be protected at all costs." Daniel met Janlina's eyes as he said, "When I look at the baby Hiro I feel absolutely nothing, less than nothing. You will raise that child no different than anyone expects and keep these two hidden in the sides. They are brother and sister; and will be raised as such."

The tears streaked down Janlina's face. She nodded. She sniffed once.

When she was able to, she swallowed. "You're leaving," she managed to state.

"If they don't want us there anymore...fine. But we won't put our child in danger. We won't loose him-"

"Hiro," she managed to say remarkably calm, "he would be watched carefully."

"And watch my child raised like a god. That never works out well." Daniel became quiet and said, "But I make you one promise. No matter happens, no matter what is happening, no matter anything, he'll come back."

"When?" Janilina managed to ask without breathing as she stared intently at the sheets.

Daniel thought about it. He seriously thought about the future; his future, his family's future, and all the myriad of possibilities that could occur between the present and all of those possible futures.

When he finally spoke it was to say, "The little prince should be strong enough and capable enough to seriously compete on the games that will be held in the year of the Ma'koth."

"No," Janlina cried. She began crying as she squeezed his hands. Amid tears, managed to choke out the words, "He'll be a man. He'll grow without us."

"I'm sorry," Daniel managed. As he listened to her suffering through tears, he gently tried to explain, "If we do take him home and have to tell the truth of his birth. We may not be wanted back to work. We may not be able to call in many favors, but I think I might be able to ensure one travel back here...maybe even for good."

The anguish that he heard from her convinced him quickly that his promise would be little consolation. It also convinced him that he and Jack would have to sneak out in the middle of the night and 'gate home while everyone was asleep. No one could know, they could be stopped. Or worse, they could be begged and pleaded with until they changed their minds. And neither scenario could be allowed for the sake of their child.

They had to leave in secret, return home to Earth, and raise their child as normal as possible.

The End...of the Beginning

Next: Not Man, Woman Be