Servi1XY-13 1

The Agreement

by Sideburns

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sideburns/servi01.php
Summary: SG-1 is taken prisoner and Jack bargains for their eventual release. Only problem is -- Daniel isn't a soldier and thus, not allowed to remain with Jack and the rest of SG-1. Uh-oh. And uhm, Sam learns a few things about herself later on.

Part 1

P3Y-983 wasn't quite as devoid of life as they'd originally thought, Daniel observed from his current position: on his knees, hands clasped behind his head. Funny how many times since joining the SGC he and his teammates ended up exactly like this.

All their weapons were in a pile several feet away and the four uniformed "men" - for lack of a better word -- who'd captured them were conversing quietly, each with what looked like a machine gun, circa nineteen-thirties Chicago, aimed at a member of SG-1. Daniel felt a nudge and, a moment later, Jack hissed, "Tell me you understand them. Just tell me that."

"I understand them - more or less. Typical variation on an Earth language or two... or three. One of these days I'm going to have to finish that paper on 'Spontaneous Pidgins and Resulting Creolization of Earth Languages in Extraplanetarily Resettled Populations When Absorbed into Existing Alien Cultures'."

In spite of being on his knees with his hands behind his head, Jack managed to give Daniel a look that clearly telegraphed to anyone watching just how weird he thought Daniel was before patiently interrupting with, "And you're not going to finish that paper now, right? Because now you're going to tell me what they're saying, aren't you?"

"It's a weird hybrid of Gallic and-"

"Daniel? What. Are. They. Saying."

Rolling his eyes, Daniel said, "They're discussing whether to kill us or take us to their leaders."

Jack's eyes widened. "Take us to their leaders? They actually said that?"

"Yes."

"Would it surprise anyone that my vote would be to meet their leaders?" Jack said to no one in particular.

"That would be my vote as well, O'Neill."

"In that case," Daniel said as he slowly rose to his feet. "I guess I've got to really say this.. "

He yelled out to the four men, causing them to stop their talking and aim all four machine guns at him. He repeated what he'd yelled and the four began to speak quickly.

"Daniel? What did you just say?"

Sighing, Daniel said, "Take me to your leader. I actually said, 'Take me to your leader.'"

The four men packed up SG-1's weapons and, while one threw the pack over his shoulder, the others hurried over to them and, with muzzles prodding them in the back, urged them to stand and move forward. Jack, assuming that said movement indicated a lack of immediate dying, said, "Obviously it beats, 'We're peaceful explorers from Earth.' I'm thinking you should have been using it all along."

~~~

All four members of SG-1 waited for the moment when they could make a break for it, but with machine guns against the back of their necks, they found it damn near impossible. As they were walked further and further away from the Stargate, they found their attention diverted to the land and buildings around them - or rather - what was left of the buildings.

"Sir, now that we're seeing this up close and personal, I'd say Daniel was right. This looks exactly like a scene straight out of World War Two."

"Yeah, London after the Blitz," Jack agreed.

"So are they," Daniel hooked a thumb backward, indicating the four men, "from the defeated army or the victors?"

"They walk without fear, DanielJackson. I believe they are the victors - at least here."

"Don't you just love it when we're captured by the victors?" Jack asked drolly.

~~~

They'd been walking for over an hour, hands tied in front of them, the walk becoming more painful as the "guards" continued to use their weapons to keep SG-1 from even thinking about escape. They were prodded, nudged, tripped, and on occasion, bludgeoned with the guns. They were almost glad to see what they'd been moving toward, namely a spaceship, which soon appeared on the horizon.

"Okay, machine guns out of our past, and now a spaceship that looks like something from Tomorrowland," Jack said with disgust. "Who are these people?"

"Jack, have you taken a close look at them? And their uniforms, which are nothing we've ever seen? Look at the material and how they move in it. It's like... plastered to them."

Jack shot Daniel another look, this one asking since when had Daniel become such a fashion expert. Daniel simply shrugged as Sam said, "Colonel, he's right. When I brushed up against the goon behind me, I was shocked. It felt like... skin."

Jack was about to answer when her "goon" shoved her hard and she almost fell into his arms. He did his best to keep her from hitting the ground and finally dropped his arms over her. They clung for a moment, a rather awkward moment, as the soldier yelled out another order. Jack immediately said, "Don't bother translating, Daniel. He gave us his version of shut up."

"Actually, he wanted Sam to walk faster," Daniel offered.

Jack lifted his bound arms over Sam's head and asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, sir. Thank you."

For their polite talk, Daniel got the butt of one of the guns between his shoulder blades. Wincing while biting back a groan, he said, "I'm thinking we should walk faster."

They walked faster.

~~~

"Well, at least we're off our feet," Jack observed from his position on his knees. Again. Only this time, his bound hands were above him, hung around a pole that stretched from one wall of their cell to the other. The four of them were in a nice, neat line, one in front of the other. Jack sighed. He really hated it when this happened.

"I believe we are being viewed, O'Neill."

Jack had to look over his shoulder to see Teal'c, who was directly behind him, and once he did, he followed Teal'c's gaze to the small camera mounted high on the side wall. Jack smiled a toothy grin and said rather loudly, "I'd wave, but.."

~~~

In the command center of the ship, Rowan nodded at the captives. "They are not Bou'gan."

"No, that is clear. But whatever they are, they are obviously inferior," Walat said snidely.

"One of them understood us and spoke our language," Rowan pointed out.

"So? Look at them. Their foreheads are... are. I do not have the words."

"Walat, he," Rowan tapped the view screen, his finger landing on Daniel, "spoke our language. That is not normal. And while this one," his finger traveled over to Jack, "and this one," he tapped Tea'c, "are very jarring to the eye, the other two are not."

"I find all of them difficult to view," Port, their pilot, said in disgust.

"Which matters not. Forten will know what they are -- who they are. And that's all that counts," Rowan said.

"We should have heard from him by now. What is taking so long?" Jardo, the final member of the four team recon unit, and co-pilot, said.

"The Bou'gan may be attacking the Verdung outpost again," Rowan posited.

"They will not succeed," Walat said with a great deal of confidence.

Rowan ignored him for the simple reason that the Bou'gan, when they attacked "in person", almost always succeeded. A moment later, the large view screen in front of him seemed to crackle with power as their leader's visage appeared.

"Captain Rowan, I understand four beings were captured not long after supposedly exiting the Porta Anneau?"

"That is correct, Lord Forten. We did not see them exit, but they claim to have come from it."

"Do you have video?"

"Patching through to you now." Rowan hit a button next to the view screen and waited. They watched Forten as he viewed the footage, his normally smooth and flat face showing the first sign of emotion Rowan could ever remember seeing.

Suddenly Forten asked, "You said in your report that one of them spoke to you in our language. Is that correct?"

"It is. Do you wish me to point-"

"No," Forten said, his expression back to unreadable. "Allow me. It is the man that appears to be wearing... round glass over his eyes."

Rowan and Walat looked at each other, surprised, and shrugged before Rowan said, "Yes, Lord Forten, it was that one."

"Use trac-2 speed and get them here. Now."

The view screen went blank. Port's fingers flew across the control panel and a moment later, with a lurch, the ship entered into trac-2.

~~~

"What the hell was that?"

"It felt as though we shifted gears, Colonel," Sam answered even as her body was pulled forward and then back sharply.

"I think we're picking up speed, Jack," Daniel said unnecessarily.

"Ya think?"

"Indeed, we are, O'Neill. Extreme speed."

Jack rolled his eyes.

~~~

The journey to Amen-tor 3 took only an hour at trac-2. Port glided the ship into the docking station until it was locked in place. They'd received one additional missive from Forten, a message instructing Rowan and Walat to use the Argo tube to bring the prisoners to him. No one used that travel tube, other than the high lords. Rowan couldn't imagine what could be so important about their "guests" as to allow them use of the Argo, but he wasn't going to argue.

"Let's go get them, Walat. Lord Forten awaits."

They moved into the outer corridor and walked quickly to the holding cell. The doors slid open upon sensing their presence. Guns at the ready, they stepped inside. Looking at the man with glass orbs covering his eyes, Rowan said, "Tell the others that when their arms drop, they are to stand slowly and face us."

~~~

"What's happening, Daniel?" Jack asked as he tried to look over his shoulder at his friend.

"He said that when our arms drop, we're to stand slowly and face them. I think we've arrived at wherever we're supposed to have... you know, arrived at."

At that moment, the strange manacles around their wrists dropped off. All four stood up slowly, as instructed, and faced their captors.

The taller of the two spoke to Daniel again, who translated.

"We're to hold our left arm straight out in front of us, guys."

"Dare we ask why?" Jack asked as he tried to shake life back into his arms.

Daniel immediately asked their captors Jack's question. The shorter of the two pointed a small black object, the size of a cell phone, at him, and a moment later, Daniel was on the ground writhing in pain.

Jack jumped forward and yelled, "STOP!"

The soldier dropped his hand and waited as the prisoners gathered around the downed man.

~~~

Jack lifted Daniel's head and gently patted his cheek. "Daniel? Come on, open your eyes."

Eyes fluttering open, Daniel groaned. "What hit me?"

"I don't know, but it's the smallest weapon I've ever seen. And damn powerful."

Daniel sat up - with Sam's help - and rubbed his head. "Felt like a zat on stereoids."

The tall soldier barked out something and Jack looked questioningly at Daniel, who said, "He wants us to stand up and hold out our left arms."

"You know, I think we'll do it this time," Jack said as he and Teal'c helped Daniel to his feet. They all held out their left arms.

The same device that had been used on Daniel was now pointed at each of them in turn, but this time, all that happened was that a small, thin band appeared on each of their wrists.

Looking at it, Jack said, "I'm betting this isn't for decoration. Daniel, care to ask?"

"No. I'm betting they'll tell us."

A moment later, Daniel was proven right. When their captor finished speaking, Daniel said, "If we try anything, these," he held up his wrist, "will do worse than what just happened to me."

"Ouch," was all that Jack had time to say as they were immediately herded out into the corridor.

~~~

"Okay, what the hell is this?"

They were standing on a platform in what looked like a very long tube, and on the ground in front of them, something that looked like a single rail. Daniel, looking down the length of the tube, said, "Transportation? Their form of a subway, maybe?"

Daniel's supposition turned out to be accurate. A long, silver "subway" car slid alongside of them and they were motioned inside. There were three sets of seats and one of their guards prodded Sam and Jack to a set while the other guard moved Daniel and Teal'c to the middle set. Once all six were seated, the vehicle moved forward and quickly picked up speed. A lot of speed.

Jack looked at his watch. Right about now, General Hammond would be expecting SG-1 to check in. Which, under the present circumstances, meant squat. They were God knows where and God knew how far away from P3Y-983, let alone Earth. Hammond's hands would be tied once he'd determined that SG-1 was nowhere to be found. Getting out of this mess would be up to them, one hundred percent.

~~~

Forten stood at the window overlooking the city, hands clasped behind his back. If the prisoners were who he believed them to be..

He shook his head. He'd never be able to convince the council - and yet - he had to. The fact was, they were losing the war because the Bou'gan tactics were superior, even though their weaponry was equal to Yenar weaponry. The Yenaran needed help, desperately.

"Lord Forten, Captain Rowan is here with the prisoners."

He didn't turn to face his aide. "I want them in the secured cell."

Movan nodded. "Yes, sir."

After the door shut, he continued to stand in front of the window.

~~~

"Nice," Jack said as he moved around the small room. There were no windows or mirrors, no visible cameras, just five chairs around one square table.

Daniel was already seated, head in hands. Teal'c took the chair next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you not well, DanielJackson?"

"Headache."

It was said simply and without inflection. Sam shared a concerned look with Teal'c and said, "I'm sorry, Daniel. Without our packs.."

"I know. It'll pass. Just leftover from their little phone of pain."

Jack stopped his walking-of-the-room to stare at Daniel. "Phone of pain?"

Without lifting his head, Daniel said, "Didn't you think it looked like a small cell?"

Jack thought about it for a moment, and finally nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Phone of pain."

"Right."

Jack went back to walking the room.

Ten minutes later, Sam said, "What do our hosts look like to you, Daniel?"

Daniel gave her a bleary look. "I guess... well, actually, their faces remind me of... now don't laugh, but... owls."

Jack stopped again, Teal'c's eyebrow arched, and Sam simply stared at him. Daniel looked at each of his teammates and finally shrugged. "What can I say? The face of an owl is very flat with round, widely-spaced eyes. Predatory, you know? Sometimes I expected one of them to swivel their head around. Of course, these guys don't have beaks, but other than that.."

"An owl," Jack mused. "You know, you may have something. Very... bird-like faces. Bodies, though, totally different. Big, bulked up, made Teal'c look anorexic."

Teal'c's eyebrow climbed into his new hairline.

"The other soldiers we saw in the... I guess for lack of a better word, "station" looked the same, more or less. But eye color seemed to vary between dark brown, black and gray," Sam observed.

"Yeah. The one guy who did most of the talking seemed to find the color of yours and Daniel's eyes rather interesting."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Daniel reminded.

Before Jack could say anything, the door to their cell opened and a tall, lean man stepped inside. He looked at each one in turn, and finally said, in English, "You are. Esgeewon?"

~~~

Jack looked skeptically at Daniel, whose face, after a puzzled moment, cleared. "He means SG-1, Jack." Daniel looked at the man and nodded. "We're SG-1. This," he pointed at Jack, "is Colonel Jack O'Neill, our leader, Major Samantha Carter and this is Teal'c. I'm Daniel Jackson."

The man seemed to be listening - and watching - intently. Something flickered in his steady gaze at the mention of Jack and Sam's ranks, but he seemed to stiffen when he looked at Teal'c.

Daniel waited a moment, and when the man said nothing in acknowledgement of his words, he repeated them in what he hoped was a reasonable facsimile of the man's language. The man nodded now, and smiled slightly. He then said, "I am Tauri enabled, but... it will take... time to perfect." He looked at Daniel and asked, "You... do not have... a. rank?"

"Me? No, I'm not a soldier, not in the military. I'm a linguist and archaeologist." At the puzzled and confused look on the man's face, Daniel explained, "I study languages, ancient cultures, the history of-"

"Ah," the man said almost dismissively. He immediately turned to Jack. "You are a colonel? We have such a... rank, it is very highly placed among our Mercs." He moved his attention to Sam. "You represent... the female of your... your...."

"Species?" Daniel offered.

Eyes still on Sam, the man nodded. "Yes. Species. Yet your... rank is?"

"She is my second-in-command," Jack said.

"A soldier as well, then."

It was a statement requiring no answer but Jack found himself nodding.

"That bears out what Captain Rowan reported. Your weapons," he looked between Jack and Sam, "were equal."

Not knowing what his point was, Jack found himself nodding again.

"I am Lord Forten, the regent of this quadrant of Amen-Tor. I rule Amen-Tor3. I am the only one of my people to travel outside of our worlds, although that fact is known only by the High Council. I have heard of the Taur'i who defeated Ra, Apophis, Hathor, Seth-"

Jack held up a hand. "Is this considered a good thing in Amen-Tor or bad?"

Lord Forten smiled. "It is a very good thing. If you will come with me now, I have much to explain."

Jack looked at his team, and at their nod, he said, "Fine, we'd be happy to hear-"

"No, just you, Colonel O'Neeel. Follow me."

"Sir, I don't think-"

"Carter, you think I should say no?" He held up his wrist.

"No, sir, of course not." She glanced over at Daniel, who shrugged.

"Lord Fortune, I'd be happy to accompany you."

As Jack followed the man out, Daniel rolled his eyes and hissed out, "Forten ."

"Yadda-yadda," Jack said as he walked out the door.

~~~

Forten led Jack through the large whitewashed building and finally into what he presumed was an office of some kind. The man walked over to the far wall and stood before what Jack hoped wasn't their version of artwork. He really didn't think a large, square "picture" full of crazily intersecting lines was anyone's idea of art. Not to mention the fact that all the squiggleys were giving Jack a headache. Suddenly, thanks to a wave of Forten's hand, the lines disappeared and a map of a solar system appeared.

"This is our galaxy." Forten waved his hand again and several planets immediately lit up in either green or blue. To Jack's eyes, the number of green seemed equal to the blue.

"Many gen ago, this was Amen-Tor, the worlds of the Yenaran," Forten said as he pointed at the green-lit planets, "and these," he indicated the blue, "the worlds of the Bou'gans." He faced Jack. "Our history tells us that a time existed where the Yenar and Bou'gan lived in peace - separate -- but in peace. But I know only of war."

Jack was sure this speech, flowing much easier now, which was a mystery in and of itself, would be thrilling to Daniel, but it was doing nothing for him. He desperately wanted the man to cut to the chase and get to the punch line. He thought of clearing his throat, but he could see the disgusted look Daniel would have given him, so he sucked it in and listened. Besides, these guys seemed to possess a hell of a lot of nifty gadgets and that was worth his attention.

"We know of no other way of life and for more gen than I know, it has been a... balanced war, as our technology and advancements have kept pace with our enemy's. But a gen ago, there was a disturbing shift that resulted in this," he waved his hand again and the map now showed less than a third of the worlds in green.

Forten faced Jack. "I have taken great risk bringing you here. Normally, you would have been inducted into either the Mercs or the Servis and your level determined, but there is an outside chance that you can aid us in our battle against the Bou'gan. For all of our equality in advanced technology, they have recently moved ahead because of. I'm sorry, my translator is not quick with the correct terminology," Forten apologized.

"Translator?"

Forten nodded and pointed to a small stud in his very flat ear. "This is how I am able to speak your language."

"I... see." He didn't, but he knew Sam would have.

"As I was saying, the Bou'gan began winning because they are now superior in," his face lit up, "strategy and military... combat... skills."

He actually smiled as if Jack should praise him so Jack nodded and tried to look pleased as he was certain both Sam and Daniel would have done exactly that.

"We do not understand... combat. We do not understand what you would call hand-to-hand combat, or... the logistics of... troop deployment, hence, we are losing the war. I have no doubt that this means nothing to you, but the understanding of it could, ultimately, mean your freedom."

Jack perked up. "How?"

"As I stated, normally, you would be absorbed into our society as a Servi, but your reputation tells me that you may provide us with a means by which to successfully fight, and ultimately defeat, the Bou'gan. You are clearly inferior-"

Okay, that got to Jack. "Whoa, whoa, inferior? We've been called young, hell, even primitive, but inferior? Excuse me, but we're the ones who have taken out quite a few system lords, as you mentioned."

Forten's expression changed and Jack immediately flashed on Omac.

"Nevertheless, you are highly inferior to us. Both technologically and in... physicality. You are no match for us - but - as you say, you have succeeded in defeating a formidable enemy. It is this that gives me some hope. I am willing to take my idea to the council. I offer you the chance at freedom, and all that is required is that you teach us these -- combat techniques."

Jack was flabbergasted. There was no doubt that the Yenaran had advanced technology, but come on, machine guns? Space ships out of the fifties? Where the hell did he get off thinking-

Jack's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the entrance of one of the men who'd captured them. He spoke rapidly to Forten, who seemed to lose color. A moment later, the doors opened and several more soldiers rushed in, guns at the ready. They placed themselves around Forten who yelled out an order. One of the soldiers then pulled Jack away.

There was silence and Jack, bundled into a corner, was puzzled. What the fuck was going on? His answer came a moment later as the doors slid open and two more soldiers entered. Naturally Jack assumed them to be more soldiers to protect Forten, but when Forten's guards fired on them, he quickly changed his mind.

Looking at the pile of ash - all that was left of the intruders - Jack had another epiphany: the weapons were not your typical machine guns, circa nineteen-thirty.

Hot damn.

Part 2

"Daniel, stop pacing. It was driving me crazy when the colonel was doing it and it's driving me crazy now."

Daniel stopped. "Sorry, Sam." He rubbed his eyes under his glasses and asked, "Do you suppose he's all right?"

"I don't know," Sam said softly, her gaze straying to the door.

Daniel sat down and gave out with a sigh. Teal'c cocked his head and said, "Someone is coming. Perhaps they are bringing O'Neill back."

Three pairs of eyes stared expectantly at the door - which opened a moment later. Two men entered, looked at all three, singled out Daniel, and motioned for him to follow them. He stood, ran a hand through his hair, gave his teammates a wry grin and said, "Jack must be having trouble communicating."

Teal'c stood quickly, but a gun in his back forced him back down. "Undoubtedly, DanielJackson."

Daniel waggled his eyebrows, grinned, and said, "See you soon." With that, he followed them out.

"Teal'c?" Sam said worriedly as she stared at the now closed door.

"I am sure that it is as DanielJackson stated."

~~~

Once in the hall, Daniel was book-ended by the two and escorted down the hall. They seemed to follow much the same path as they had upon their arrival. Sure enough, it wasn't long before they were back at the tube. This time a vehicle was waiting and when the door slid open, he was almost pushed inside. He stumbled, caught himself, and was again pushed, this time toward a seat. He sat down.

While his guards remained standing and the car moved forward, Daniel asked, "Where are you taking me?"

Neither man so much as blinked.

Daniel tried again. "I know you understand me, that I'm speaking your language well enough to be understood. Are you taking me to where Colonel O'Neill is?"

Again, nothing. They didn't even look at him. Daniel glanced around and realized that this car was different from the one they'd used earlier. The interior was gray instead of the cobalt blue of the previous car and there were only four seats. Daniel was getting a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

~~~

The ash was gone and so were the soldiers. Jack was stunned, which considering his background, was saying something. Forten looked at him, the wide and yes, owlish eyes, unblinking. "You wish to know what you just witnessed, yes?"

"Not necessarily, but hey, whatever."

"Two Bou'gan managed to infiltrate our ranks. Fortunately, security was able to see through their charade. This was a most bold act and I do not think it had the sanction of their leaders. But it is an indication of how strong and secure the Bou'gan feel."

Forten seemed to struggle for a moment before finally adding, "I offer you freedom upon the condition that you and your Mercs assist in our battle. Teach us and I will have you taken back to the Porta Anneau and you will be free to go through to wherever you wish. While here, you will be treated with respect and given the title of Tek-Merc-1. You will have many of the same rewards as the Mercs, have some degree of freedom. I will bind you for a term of... what you would call... six... months. If you say no, you will be taken to Cuertav and spend the rest of your days as a either a Servi or Merc, with no hope of freedom, but with the surety that eventually the Bou'gan will take over and your lives will end. Our enemy does not tolerate any species other than their own. The choice is yours."

~~~

Sam was scared. The colonel was still not back. She glanced at the door for the umpteenth time and for the umpteenth time, it failed to open and reveal Jack.

"Major Carter, watching the door will not open it, nor will it bring O'Neill or DanielJackson back to us."

Sam immediately looked away and then at Teal'c. "Have you noticed how often we end up like this?"

Teal'c cocked his head at her. "You mean when it is not DanielJackson and I? Or when it is not you and O'Neill? Or O'Neill and I?"

"Or me and Daniel?" Sam said, her lips twitching.

"Indeed."

"But you have to admit, it seems to end up with you and me more often than the other combinations, right?"

"I believe only because for one year, we were without DanielJackson."

Sam felt her face heat up as she realized she hadn't given Daniel a thought since the soldiers had taken him from their midst. But then, of course, he was safe and with Jack. Naturally.

Now if only they would both come back..

~~~

Jack was escorted to the cell. He stood quietly while the door was unlocked and opened, and then he stepped inside. As the door shut behind him, he grinned and said, "Hi, guys. Long time, no see."

Sam was up in an instant. "Sir, are you all right?"

Holding his arms out, he said, "What you see is what you get, Carter."

Teal'c, frowning, asked, "Where is DanielJackson?"

At Teal'c's words, Jack realized that his friend was not in the room. "Okay," he said, barely hiding his worry, "I'll bite. Where is Daniel?"

~~~

At the moment Jack was asking about his whereabouts, Daniel was being shoved into a bright but windowless room. There was a table, a chair, and nothing else.

Daniel was officially worried.

~~~

"What do you mean they took him away?"

"We. I assumed... and that he was with you," Sam finished lamely.

"You assumed wrong." Jack turned to the door and began to bang on it. He didn't have to bang long. A guard showed his face at the glass window and Jack yelled, "FORTEN!"

The guard frowned and walked away. Jack had the urge to shove his fist through the glass, but chose instead to turn and sit down heavily. "I don't understand why they would take Daniel. Forten and I have an agreement and this makes no sense."

"Sir? An agreement?"

He looked up at Carter and shrugged. "It's not the best, but considering the alternative." He then explained all that he'd been told, and about the agreement to help the "Mercs" in learning military tactics.

"I think we can work with it," he finished. Then his voice hardened as he added, "Once we get Daniel back."

The door to their cell opened at that moment, and one of their original captors walked in. Noticing that he now wore the same stud in his ear as Forten had worn during their meeting, Jack stood and said, "Where's my other teammate?"

Rowan stopped just inside and said, "He is not... a Merc. We have placed him where he will best... serve... until you have completed the agreement."

"I want him here, and I want him here now," Jack demanded.

"That is not possible. You do not understand what our Lord Forten is undertaking by allowing you to... be... labeled a Tek-Merc-1. The council would not even listen if they could not be assured that the one member of Esgeewon that is not a Merc were included. Daniel Jackson must serve in another capacity and you do not have a choice. His future for the next six months is set... and dependant on your cooperation and success."

His last words were clearly a thinly veiled warning.

Eyes still on Rowan, Jack slowly nodded, and finally said, "So if we succeed and win our freedom, he will be returned to us, yes?"

"Of course. You will have succeeded for your... team. Your entire team."

"I want to see him."

"That is not possible. He has already been transferred to Evedne, our planet prime and homeworld to our Council. There it will be determined how best he can serve. Believe me, he will be in no danger."

Sam put her hand on Jack's arm. "Sir, you know Daniel. They'll probably use him in some library or something. He'll be in heaven and end up more knowledgeable about the Yenar than the Yenar themselves."

He glanced down at her... and finally nodded. He looked back at Rowan and said, his voice steel-hard, "He'd better remain safe, and when this is over.."

He left it at that, his tone and body language serving as his warning. It was a meaningless one as it was clear that the Yenar held all the cards. But damn, it made him feel better. Marginally.

He felt an empty hole in his stomach and it wasn't hunger. He didn't like being separated from any of his team, but this screamed wrong. He just prayed that Daniel understood what was happening - and why. And damn it, this made any kind of escape impossible.

~~~

According to his watch, he'd been alone for over four hours. There'd been no food or water delivered and Daniel prayed this wasn't happening to Jack... or by now, Sam and Teal'c. Not that he was worried. No, sir.

A clicking sound caused him to sit up straight in the chair. His cell door opened and three men stepped inside. Which, considering the size of the room, was quite an accomplishment. Two of the men were the typical soldier types, but the other one was different. He was smaller, more slender, and wore a thin, molded-to-the-skin silver shirt, equally molded silver pants and sandals on his feet. He looked like a young, small, exotic owl. One who, at the moment, was looking at Daniel much the same way Daniel suspected he looked at rare artifacts. It was very... uncomfortable. Finally the man waved a hand and said, "Stand, please."

Not knowing where his other teammates were now, or how they were, Daniel thought it would probably be in everyone's best interest if he did as asked. He stood up.

"Turn around."

He turned around, stomping down on his natural need to ask questions. He'd learned a helluva lot in nine years.

"Face me."

Daniel turned back around. The man walked up to him and removed Daniel's glasses. He looked at them with curiosity, tapping each lens before holding them up to his own eyes. The effect caused him to jump back almost in fright as he literally threw the glasses away. Daniel watched helplessly as they hit the ground. Fortunately, they were tough suckers and didn't break. Well, not until the man walked over and, with an angry expression on his face, stomped down on them. Daniel winced and said goodbye to a clear world until... who knew when.

The man, convinced now that he'd slain the evil glasses, turned back to one of the soldiers and took something that was draped over his arm. He held the outfit out to Daniel, along with a pair of sandals. "Put these on and remove that," he pointed at Daniel's watch. "We will return shortly."

Daniel took the item but his need to question finally won out. "Can you tell me where my friends are? What this is all about?"

"Your friends are still on Amen-Tor3. They are safe and have entered into an agreement with Lord Forten. As far as you are concerned, you are about to be tested in order to determine how best to place you while serving out your time. "

"Serving out... my time? Could you explain that? We've done nothing wrong. We're explorers, that's all."

"Your commander has agreed to six months and six months is what you will serve. We will return shortly."

With that, he and the other two walked out and the door was once again locked. Daniel was left with broken glasses and something... silky... in his hands. He lifted the material, shook it out... and groaned.

It was an outfit similar to his new host's, just as brief, but in brown. Oh, goody.

He sat down heavily. Once again he'd been separated from his team, but least this time... no mines. He hoped.

~~~

Daniel was ready, and just as he folded his tee shirt, the door opened again.

"Follow me."

Daniel nodded and trailed behind him. As they walked down the hall, both flanked by two soldiers, the man said, "Until I say otherwise, you are not to speak unless spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes. But can you tell me exactly what the agreement is ?"

The man held up a hand. "I was quite clear that you should not speak unless spoken to."

"But you did speak to me and requested a response. Can you answer my question?"

Looking only slightly disgusted, the man said, "All I know is that your commander, and his two subordinates, will teach the Yenaran how to... fight. If they succeed, you will be granted your freedom. Until then, they will be stationed on Amen-Tor3 and you will go where Asai Morte sends you."

"Asai Morte?"

"You must learn to curb your tongue or you will not have an easy time of it. And Asai Morte is the Lepricant in the High Council and in charge of the Servi. He has decided to see you personally and he, and he alone, will decide your future for the next six months. Now, do not speak again, I give you fair warning. What that," he lightly touched the band around Daniel's wrist, "can do to you is not something you wish to discover."

Daniel quashed the rest of his questions, hoping to have a chance later to find out more, like what the hell was a "Servi"?

~~~

Daniel was on his knees in front of Asai Morte, a tall, powerfully built Yenar with obsidian eyes that, in words Jack would have chosen, gave Daniel the willies. The room he'd been guided to was large, light and airy, but with very little in the way of creature comforts.

So far, Asai Morte had already walked around Daniel three times touching most parts of Daniel's body, including parts Daniel would have preferred to keep untouched. He'd also spent an inordinate amount of time studying Daniel's eyes. Finally, he stepped back and Daniel took the first easy breath.

Asai clapped his hands, barked out a few words, and several uncomfortable minutes later, seven Yenaran men and women, all dressed like Daniel, entered.

The two soldiers behind Daniel reached down and lifted him rather unceremoniously to his feet before stepping back, and Daniel had the ridiculous feeling that he was about to be tested. Being rather familiar with testing, he really would have preferred to have some understanding of the mechanics of the exam - always important when it came to whether one passed or failed.

As he watched Asai, he had the sudden feeling that win or lose - he would lose.

~~~

"Sir, what - exactly - is expected of us?"

"Think basic training."

"Sir?"

"Boot camp."

Carter's smooth forehead wrinkled rather attractively when she was confused, Jack thought. Too bad it didn't do it for him anymore.

"Sir, I'm not sure-"

"Our job is to teach these yokels to rise above technology and get down and dirty and fight their way to victory. Does that explain it?"

"Ah, I see. And just when do we start?"

"For that... I have no answer, but I suspect we'll be contacted, Carter. It's not like we have anywhere to go."

They'd been moved to a military compound just outside the city and found themselves escorted to a large set of rooms with wide, floor-to-ceiling windows. In exploring their new "digs", it didn't take long to discover that each room was under surveillance. In the main room, a set of glass doors opened to the outside revealing a railed-in patio, and Jack, being Jack, had to walk through the small railed gate to see what would happen if he kept going. Which worked very well... until the alarms went off. Soldiers appeared, motioned him back and then had left as quietly as they'd appeared. And of course, Jack being Jack, had to try the same thing through the front door. The soldiers were just as nice when they motioned him back inside.

Since then, they'd chosen rooms (Jack the one that face north, Carter the one at the opposite end, and Teal'c the room next to Jack's), they'd talked, and they'd paced. Well, Jack and Sam paced. Teal'c just sat on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed.

"Maybe we should... I don't know, plan something?" Carter suggested as she passed Jack in her pacing.

"We can't plan until we see the material, Carter," Jack said as he turned in the opposite direction. "Damn, I wish I knew what was happening to Daniel."

"Sir, you know him. By now, there's probably a female owl-face falling all over him."

Teal'c's eyes shot open even as Jack stared open-mouthed at his 2IC.

"I believe that was uncalled for, Major Carter."

"All I mean is that he's probably in seventh heaven, in some huge library or school, or something like that, with some lovely librarian hot on his heels. That's all."

~~~

Okay, this was the strangest thing Daniel had ever been through in his life. He and the others... whatever they were... had stood for what seemed like forever while a fucking parade of Yenaran soldiers, male and female, walked past them. To add injury to insult - he'd been pinched, prodded, fondled, stroked, examined, and basically studied to the kind of degree that made him very relieved that none of his teammates were here - and equally relieved that Sam wasn't with him. By now, she'd have reacted in ways that would have been, while certainly entertaining, detrimental to her health.

Finally the show seemed to be over. No more soldiers. He let out a sigh of relief just as his two favorite guards pushed him back down to his knees while his fellow "models" were escorted out.

Now what?

He knelt for what seemed an eternity, but finally Asai re-entered and walked up to him. For several seconds he simply stared at him before finally asking in the Yenaran language, "You understand my words, do you not?"

Daniel nodded. "I do."

Asai reached out and touched Daniel's hair. "Soft."

Daniel decided that didn't require a response.

"I am somewhat surprised by the results of the Linuxe, on several levels. I did not trust Forten's placement of you within Servi-1 and yet, he has been proven correct. But to have you score as a Servi-1XY. that is truly amazing. Until now, there have been only twelve."

He walked away a few paces before turning back to face him again. "This poses a problem. We have never had another species as a Servi-1, let alone a Servi-1XY, and yet, here you are."

Yes, thought Daniel, here I am. And what the hell is a Servi-1XY?

Asai walked back to him and ran his hand down Daniel's cheek. "I find myself highly attracted to you myself so how can I not place you accordingly?"

Attracted? ATTRACTED ?

Okay, Daniel was now officially - and doubly -- worried. He'd bet a month's salary, no mere pittance, that a Servi-1XY was not a scientist, teacher, librarian, or anything of that nature.

Asai moved away and dropped his arm. "You will be assigned to the Segev station. I will place you under the guidance of Moram Eli, who will train you. You will know greater comfort and freedom than most other Servi, and until the six months are up, you will play an equal part in winning victory for the Yenaran as your comrades."

Asai turned and started out and Daniel simply couldn't restrain himself. "Why can't I be with my-"

He got no farther as a strange heat emanated from the bracelet and traveled up his left arm. He found his gaze pulled toward it as if he could see the flames that had to be responsible for the heat. Eyes wide, the heat spread, slowly and painfully, until his entire body was engulfed. He fell onto his side, writhing in pain. He could see nothing but waves and waves of heat that seemed to wrap around his body and squeeze and squeeze... and he shut his eyes to block it out and protect them from what had to a huge furnace blast. God, even the hair on his arms were on fire now..

Suddenly... nothing.

The floor was cool to his cheek and his skin felt completely normal. Breathing still harsh, he lifted his head and blinked blearily.

"Do not speak unless spoken to, Servi. Remember that in the future. The bracelet's effects can be controlled. The pain and heat can be nothing more than a reminder, or it can be all consuming."

Daniel opened his mouth to ask what level he'd just experienced, but Asai stopped him. "Do not speak, Servi. I will show you no patience. The level you were just exposed to was sike-five. The highest level is sike-ten. Do not make me use it."

No, no, definitely not, Daniel thought muzzily as he slowly sat up. No more sike of any level. He made a mental "zipping the mouth" maneuver and hoped he could control himself.

"Very good. Remain here, I will send someone for you. You will be prepared for the move to Segev."

Stay put? Oh, yeah, he could do that.

When the door closed behind Asai, Daniel closed his eyes. He prayed that Jack wasn't dealing with this shit. Jack and his smart-aleck remarks could spell big trouble for him, and without him there to help control him..

Damn it, Jack. Behave yourself, okay?

Part 3

Three-fourths of SG-1 stared at the table in front of them.

Jack absently scratched his arm and said, "That's a lot of food."

"Are those ribs, sir?"

Jack reached out and touched one of the caramelized pieces and stuck his finger in his mouth. "Barbecue sauce - ketchup based. Good." He grinned. "I'm thinking... yeah, ribs."

He pulled a chair out and sat down, motioning to his teammates to do the same. When they did, he took a plate, piled it high with the Yenaran version of potato salad, cole slaw, beans, and of course, the ribs. A pitcher full of a brown liquid sat to his left and he picked it up and filled the glass on his right. He sniffed it, tasted it, licked his lips, and said, "Ice tea, guys. Lots of lemon. Not too sweet."

Sam, after a look at her commanding officer, began to help herself as well, albeit to much smaller portions. Teal'c did the same. Jack wasn't surprised however, when neither took a bite, both waiting for him to go first. He went first. After three minutes - evidently the time Carter and Teal'c had determined to be the safe amount of time if the food was poisoned or drugged - they started to eat.

"Okay, this is... good," Sam commented after licking her fingers. "Very good."

"I would concur," Teal'c agreed as he took a forkful of beans.

Jack reached for another rib and hoped Daniel was faring as well. Not that there was any reason for him not to.

~~~

Daniel gazed around his new cell and slowly dropped down onto the cot. Wow, talk about simplicity in design. At least the Yenaran were consistent.

He was surrounded by four brown walls, no windows. He had a cot and he had to assume the large bucket in the corner was his toilet. The door was heavy and metal with some kind of trap-like contraption at the bottom. This was "greater comfort and freedom than most other Servi"? Yeah, right.

Home-sweet-home.

At that moment, the trap door slid open and a tray was pushed in. He watched it slide across the floor as the door was shut again. Gosh, room service. He wasn't overly inclined to move, his body still reacting to the lovely massage he'd received earlier, thanks to his bracelet. On the other hand, his stomach was growling. Move and feed it, or sit and suffer?

He opted for moving and eating.

Daniel got up and picked the tray up from the floor. He walked back to his cot, sat down, and peeked under the dome. "Oh, God," he muttered as the smell assaulted him. And he'd always thought brussel sprouts stunk. He checked out the drink and smiled. Water. Thank you, God.

He drank it down and when his stomach rumbled again, he dipped a finger in the mess on the plate. He licked it, grimaced, and shook his head. He'd have to get way hungrier than he was now. He put the tray back on the floor and, with his foot, shoved it back toward the door.

He could just imagine some of Jack's wisecracks if they were currently being fed anything similar. And Jack would eat it too.

Daniel pulled his legs up and dropped onto his back. The cot was okay, no lumps. His muscles were cramping and he quickly turned onto his side and pulled his knees in. Okay, that helped considerably. He let his breathing move into a relaxing cadence and watched the brown wall opposite.

~~~

Jack moved silently out onto the small patio and braced his hands on the railing. Gazing out over the yard and the lights of the compound, he prayed that Daniel was all right. In spite of Carter's words, he was worried. He vowed that no matter what, in the future, Daniel would be considered as much a soldier as the rest of the team. There was no way they were going to be separated again.

"Danny, be okay. Just... be okay."

~~~

He had no idea how long he'd been in the small room, but he knew he'd drifted off several times. He would really have enjoyed more water. He'd eyed the bucket a couple of times, but decided to play the waiting game. Asai's words regarding comfort, a move to Segev, and someone "preparing" him led him to believe that he wouldn't be staying here all that long.

Daniel's eyes were drifting shut again when the door to his cell opened. He blinked as light poured in and a man, followed by the requisite two soldiers, stepped inside.

"I am Moram Eli, Servi-1XY13. Stand."

Daniel was no fool. You only had to zap him once, thank you very much. He stood.

"Very good. I will be your trainer during the journey to Segev." He held out his arm and Daniel could see something draped over it. "Take these and put them on."

Daniel took the new garments and noticed immediately that instead of brown, these were white... and just as silky but not as thick as the brown. This set of clothing seemed almost... transparent. Joy was his middle name.

"Undress now. We must go."

Daniel frowned and looked at the door and back to his "trainer". He hoped the rather pointed look didn't come across either as a question, or as being too pushy, but damn, he really didn't want to strip in front of these men.

"I do not wish to use the bracelet, Servi-1XY13. Change now ."

Sighing, Daniel pulled the shirt off, tossed it on the cot, and slipped the new one over his head. It seemed to float over his chest and mold itself to him. He had to admit that this shirt was far more comfortable than the brown one. He also figured that it left nothing to the imagination regarding his upper torso - which meant the pants would be the same. Sucking in his courage, and pretending that he was in the SGC locker room, he stepped out of the brown pants and very quickly into the white.

He was right about them. He tied the pants off and noticed that like the top, the pants had immediately molded to every muscle, every curve, and every inch of his lower torso. The only thing he was truly grateful for was the built-in jock strap. Okay, the silk jock strap, the barely there jock strap, but still, it was a hell of a lot better than nothing.

"Very good. Now listen carefully. We are not at a Servi-1 center so as we walk you to the docking station, you must keep your head down at all times. Watch only the floor. Do not make eye contact with anyone, do not speak to anyone. We will guide you with our bodies. If you fail to comply, I will be forced to punish you once we reach the ship. Do not answer this next question verbally, simply nod. Do you understand?"

Daniel had wised up over the years. He nodded.

He was led out and found himself book-ended again. He kept his head down, eyes fixed firmly on the floor. It didn't feel... degrading, only typical of all that he'd seen so far. His mind had been processing since their capture and he'd already come to several conclusions, none of which pointed to an easy six months. So far he'd seen no evidence of art or architecture as an art form, let alone any designs meant to be pleasing to the eye. Everything was extremely utilitarian. Based on the uniforms he'd seen, he'd concluded that Yenar was built on, at the least, a three-caste system. He'd seen no children, which was probably not surprising, but he hadn't seen the normal groupings of people either. No small groups standing around talking or couples walking down corridors, nothing. True, he could hardly say that he'd seen a good representation of these people, but he suspected that he'd find the same thing wherever he went. From everything he'd heard and seen, he was pretty certain he was looking at a war-powered culture.

And if true, then his status as this... Servi-1XY. did not bode well.

A culture based on fighting a war - even a culture as advanced as this one appeared to be -- would revolve around the soldiers who fought the war and the technicians that operated, built and maintained the equipment needed to help the soldiers. Whatever the soldiers needed - they would be given. Including warm bodies to provide... sex.

Relief. Relaxation. Rewards.

His mind was jumping all over the map, he knew that. He was making assumptions and he could almost hear Sam disagreeing.

"Daniel, we don't know that. There's nothing to assume.."

Yadda-yadda.

But his mind was uncontrollable at putting together clues, no matter how small they were. It was as natural as breathing to him.

But he'd really like his mind to stop now, because in a minute, he would be envisioning his role in keeping Yenaran soldiers happy over the next six months.

It would not be a pleasant picture.

~~~

Colonel Willits shook his head. "No, sir, still no sign of SG-1."

Hammond turned toward the 'Gate. He'd know the answer when he'd sent Willits and his team back to the planet. He'd known. The evidence pointed to the fact that SG-1 had been taken from P3Y-983 by ship; the newly singed ground the primary clue. Repeated fly-overs by the UAV had confirmed no signs of life and testing by Willits and his team had confirmed no underground buildings, caves, or anything else that could hold his flagship team in hiding from those searching for them.

SG-1 was gone.

And unless the Goa'uld had a new kind of ship, they were not the culprits. Not if that singed outline was any indication.

Messages were going out to their few remaining allies - including Jacob - in hopes that someone, somewhere, would have information on SG-1 and whoever had taken them. Now all Hammond could do was what he found himself doing all too often: wait

~~~

"Sit, Thirteen. These are you quarters during the two day flight to Segev."

Daniel's expression must have telegraphed his surprise at the "two day" flight because Moram said, "Segev is a small tripta of Orseaus, which is at the far end of our space. This ship is not equipped with trac-2 speed, so the journey will take time." His eyes sparkled with pride as he added, "We are very proud of Segev. It is the most exclusive of our rest planets and was created longer ago than any of us know." Realizing that much of what he had said would mean nothing to Daniel, Moram took a seat at the small table opposite Daniel and added, "A tripta is a Yenaran-created planet. We control its orbit around the parent planet."

Daniel was stunned. The Yenaran could actually... create a planet? Well, holy shit, he thought, once again channeling Jack.

"Now, as long as the two of us are in your quarters, you may speak. When I move you to either the MedC or the training room, you will once again be restricted to speaking only when directly addressed. Your head will remain down, eyes on the ground. You will not make eye contact with anyone - at any time - not even when directed to speak. Do you understand?"

Wary, Daniel chose to simply nod.

"Very good." He cocked his head and regarded Daniel from narrowed eyes. "Do you have any questions?"

"You're joking, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, forget I said that. Yes, I have questions, beginning with: how are my teammates? Why have we been separated? Are they all right? And what the heck is this Servi-1XY13?"

The questions had come in the usual manner for Daniel: fast and furious, and left Moram with his mouth open.

"You... are... unusual," he finally said. "I shall try to answer all that I can. Your friends are well. They have agreed to teach our Mercs how to fight in the manner of the Bou'gan, which we hope will give us the advantage we need."

"The Bou'gan?"

"Our enemy."

In the next few minutes, Daniel received a lecture on the history of the Yenaran-Bou'gan war similar to the one Jack had been exposed to. He was actually surprised to find his conclusions regarding the Yenaran society to be accurate.

"We believe," Moram continued, clearly warming up to his subject, "that your teammates will be able to teach us much. In return, you will all have your freedom-"

"In six months," Daniel finished for him. "All right, I get all of that. Now, why was I separated from them? We're a team, we work together."

"You do not have rank."

It was said so simply that Daniel got the feeling he was supposed to understand it. After a moment, he did. "But Teal'c has no rank either. Has he been taken elsewhere?"

"The... Jaffa? No, he is with your friends. He is not Tauri, he is Jaffa. A warrior."

Couldn't argue with that logic. "You know of the Jaffa?" he asked dubiously. The one thing he'd noticed, when he was allowed to look, was the complete lack of Goa'uld influence.

"We do. And of the Goa'uld."

Daniel leaned forward. "They've been here?"

Moram shook his head. "Not at all. With permission of myself and the rest of the High Council, Lord Forten has traveled far beyond the Norak and has brought back many stories. It is through his travels that he learned of Esgeewon."

Oh, yeah, Daniel was overjoyed about that.

"So I don't have a rank, but I am more than capable of-"

"You do not have a rank," Moram repeated in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Right. No rank." Gee, it sounded like his first months with the "Esgeecee". "So my friends are fine."

"They are. Their comfort will be our top priority. Anything they require, they shall have, and in return, we will learn from them."

Daniel held up his left arm and nodded at the bracelet. "And this?"

"Will not be used on them. In fact, I suspect they have already been removed. Your teammates were transferred to our largest and most prestigious military compound. They cannot escape, so the bracelets are not required."

Daniel's chin rose a fraction of an inch. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, escape is pretty much out of the question for me too."

"You are a Servi-1 and not a Yenaran. The bracelet serves a purpose other than keeping you from attempting to escape."

Not liking the sound of that at all, Daniel finally asked the important question. "Maybe now would be a good time to give me a thorough explanation of what I am? Exactly? What is this Servi-1?"

"I would not ordinarily be involved in training a Servi-1. not even an XY, but as this is a rather unusual situation, I will endeavor to explain." Moram rose easily and walked a few paces away before turning back to face Daniel. "We have been at war with the Bou'gan for as long as any of us can remember. Gens of war. We have our layers of government, of course, but then we have the Mercs, the most important of our people, with the Teks right behind them." At Daniel's quizzical expression, Moram added, "Teks build, man, and maintain the machines that aid our Mercs."

"Ah." He wasn't surprised. Teks... technicians. And considering the hodge-podge of language variations, he could assume the "Mercs" were simply a now bastardized version of "mercendary" or for the Yenaran: soldiers. And Servi... service. Provide... service. Or in his case, if he was putting the clues together correctly, service the soldiers. As in. service .

"The Servi," Moram went on to say, "represent our third level, the lowest level. They are those who serve the rest of us. The cooks, the cleaners, the maintainers of our environment... and Servi-1's, those who meet the sexual needs of the Mercs and Teks."

Daniel could guess this next answer, but he wanted confirmation. And in spite of what he'd just had confirmed about his role for the next six months, his mind demanded more knowledge. "What about... marriage, children? Why do the Mercs need such... attention?"

"Marriage?" Moram looked baffled. "What is this... marriage?"

Huh, oh.

"Uhm, two people in love? They commit themselves to each other, have children, raise their family?"

"We have no such commitment. There is no time for such a thing. Our Mercs are constantly at war, our Teks work just as feverishly, and the government must keep our worlds going. As for children, we no longer bear our own. They are created when needed."

"Created?" Daniel asked, shocked.

"We take the seed of our finest and add it-"

"Never mind, I get it. Test tube babies." He ran a hand through his short hair and asked, "So how often do you need to create?"

"That is not germane to the information I am imparting."

"Right." Daniel knew that trying to explain himself, his need to understand, would fall on deaf ears, so he asked a more pertinent question. "So," he waggled his head, "these Servi-1's?"

"Very simply put: there is no other way for our Mercs to receive sexual gratification. Oh, there was a time when they found it when they could, and often among each other, but their minds were not on winning and we lost both battles and Mercs. Eventually we discovered that if we saw to their needs, if we rewarded them in ways they couldn't do for themselves, they performed much better. Minds clear and with one objective, along with the promise of sexual rewards with the most beautiful of our people as additional motivation, our Mercs went forward to many victories. Those who were elevated to Servi-1 positions understood that they were, in their own way, contributing to the success our military force. They were not equipped to serve in any other capacity, but they represented the most pleasing of our race. Once trained, they went forward eager to serve."

"Right. Eager to serve."

"Now, I will briefly explain the special designation granted you, and then I will begin your training."

"Ah, yes, the 'XY13'. I'm all ears," Daniel said, his sarcasm lost on the Yenaran.

"It is really quite simple. The biological urge to couple is based on chemistry, a reaction one has to the chemistry of another. Our Teks began to realize that a few Servi-1's had a chemical within them that drew Mercs of the same sex, even those Mercs who were not ordinarily drawn to any other of their sex. This chemical did nothing to diminish their appreciation of the opposite sex, it simply allowed them to enjoy more diverse couplings. You are the first non-Yenaran to be able to do the same. You do not look as we do and yet, during the Linuxe, many are drawn to you. Hence, you are now Servi-1XY13."

Gee, did that make him a weird kind of bi-sexual whatever? And to think, on Earth, he was a plain old, everyday bisexual. Amazing. Jack would be so pleased. Not.

"Now you must understand your duties. While, as a Servi-1XY, you will have more comfort than others, and more freedom, your duties do not change. Once we arrive on Segev, you will be assigned a room. You will, as an XY, have a room with a private bath. We will make all effort to provide you with food that is appropriate. Your room will have a light above the door. This is very important. When lit white, you are free to roam Segev at will, to mingle with the other Servi-1's, to talk, gather together in the common area, to play games, and otherwise remain occupied. When the light is yellow, you are confined to your room and may not leave it. The yellow light signifies the arrival of the Mercs who are on leave. When the light goes orange, it means you have been chosen to serve a Merc and you are to prepare yourself as I will teach you. You will go down on your knees and await the Merc who has chosen to couple with you. You will belong to her, or him, for as long as they desire. They may use you once, and move on, or claim you for their entire leave. That is their choice. Once done with you, they will return you to your room and the light will go yellow again and remain so until you are once again chosen, or leave is terminated."

Moram moved back to the table. "The war has escalated and leaves are no longer regularly scheduled so you will never know when the light will go yellow."

Of course not.

"Now, we will begin to practice as required."

~~~

"It will not be as easy as Lord Forten believes, but I am but a lowly officer and my opinion carries little weight with the Council."

"So you're saying, what, exactly?" Jack asked as he stared out over the field that currently held over five hundred "Mercs".

"I am saying that you can teach them, but that does not mean you will succeed in getting them to use that which you teach."

"As I understand it, Major Yettel," Carter said before Jack could respond. "If your... Mercs. don't use the techniques we teach them, you will most surely lose the war."

"That is the opinion of some, but not all, Major Carter. While it is true that the Bou'gan have changed their battle tactics, it does not mean that change is for the good of their war efforts. Some believe that-"

"How many worlds have you lost in the last gen, Yadda?"

Carter cringed at what she knew was the colonel's deliberate mispronunciation of Yettel's name.

Major Yettel's eyes narrowed. "You will be working with the finest leaders we have. You will teach them, they will teach their troops. Whatever you require, we will ensure that you have. We have created several translators so communication will be no barrier to your training sessions. You have seen and heard all the intel we possess regarding the Bou'gan and their tactics. Tomorrow, you begin. Do you have any questions?"

Jack had so many questions that he simply shook his head. Somehow he knew the answers would come as the days crawled by. He had the overwhelming desire to ask about Daniel, but he knew instinctively that he'd get no answer to that one, other than what he'd already been told. He could only pray the Yenaran were honorable.

Because if they weren't - he'd make sure, if it took all that he was - that the Yenaran fell to the Bou'gan.

The Yenaran would learn that you don't mess with SG-1 and you definitely don't mess with SG-1's archaeologist.

~~~

He was finally alone. Daniel sat down on his bed and looked around the room, his eyes not really taking anything in.

So... basically the Yenaran society condoned a kind of dom/sub philosophy when it came to pleasing the Mercs. And he was about to become a sub. Interesting. This was going to require some... mental readjustments on his part. The scientist in him was going to have to take front and center if he was going to be able to do this.

Yeah, the scientist. The "doctor" part of him. This was a cultural thing and he was going to be able to experience it first hand. Not usually recommended, but hey. He glanced down at the bracelet and gave out with a heavy sigh. He suddenly found himself thinking back several years to Shyla's planet; to the mines.

How many days had he known luxury, food, and comfort while his teammates had suffered in the mines?

Seemed what goes around... comes around.

More or less.

Part 4

"Stand here, please."

Daniel looked at the circle on the floor and moved into it.

"Very good. Stand perfectly still and do not blink or move in any manner."

This didn't sound good.

A moment later he was bathed in a white glow. He felt nothing, but neither could he see anything beyond the white light. A few minutes later, the light was gone.

"You may move now."

Daniel stepped out of the circle. He was dying to ask what the hell had just happened, but Moram wasn't with him. Two guards had awakened him and the next thing he knew, he'd been escorted to what looked like a lab. For a few moments, he'd had visions of... well, it was a lab... But so far, he'd only been bathed in that white light. Painless white light. He liked painless. Painless was good.

The two guards took his arms and led him out.

~~~

"Well?"

"You are lucky, as is Lord Forten. Why you chose now, on the journey to Segev, to test him is beyond me. But fortunately, his physiology is compatible."

"Will he please those who choose him?"

"Our women warriors will be... most pleased. Our male warriors, even more so."

Moram cocked his head. "How is that?"

"The human method of carrying the mating code is larger but not so large as to be uncomfortable for our Mercs. And the entryway to receive is very tight. It will bring much pleasure."

"And he can not conceive?"

"No."

"Very good. Very good indeed. Thank you, Mekka."

Sniffing disgustedly, Mekka said, "Like I said, you and Lord Forten are very lucky. What would you have done if he had not been compatible?"

Moram gave a slight shake of his head. "This was simply confirming what Lord Forten already knew, Mekka. Would he have tested an XY if he were not physically compatible? I think not." With that, he walked out the door of the examining room.

~~~

Daniel was once again alone. He sat on the edge of the bed - which was fast becoming his favorite spot - and put his head in his hands. He sure hoped that white light hadn't done anything... odd... to him. Really.

He heard a snick of a sound and lifted his head in time to see Moram enter. The man stood silently, his eyes giving nothing away. Daniel didn't have a clue what was wrong so he simply stared back.

"Do you not see the light?"

Frowning, Daniel looked beyond Moram to the dummy light over his door - a light which was currently on - and orange.

Oh, shit. Okay, he could do this. He went to his knees and bowed his head.

The heat started slowly, but he recognized it immediately. With alarm, he looked at his left wrist... and a moment later, was writhing in pain.

~~~

Daniel opened his eyes. He was on his bed, the lighting dim.

"Do not allow that to happen again, Thirteen."

He turned his head to look blearily at Moram. He tried to form a word - any word - but found his tongue thick and his mind muddled. He nodded instead.

"Rest now. But if the light changes, do your duty, Thirteen. Do your duty."

Moram rose to his feet. "There is a meal here for you. It is no longer warm, but still edible. We will be arriving tomorrow, do not shame Lord Forten."

With that, Moram was gone.

Right. Don't shame Lord Forten. Mustn't do that, no siree.

Daniel looked at the tray on the table and groaned. No, eating wasn't at the top of his to-do list. Not if he wanted to avoid the vomit squad. He let his eyes drift shut.

Right now, he could really use a good sarcastic remark from Jack.

~~~

"How's it coming, Carter?"

"Not bad, sir."

Jack nodded. "Good." He went back to typing.

He and Carter were putting together a kind of "Play book" for their "class", which would be copied by their hosts and distributed to Mercs. Typing wasn't Jack's strong suit, but when necessary, he could get it done. And he was getting it done because he wanted this to work, and he wanted this to work fast... He wanted Daniel back and intended to ask for him if they made any kind of headway in the next few weeks. And he didn't care how happy Daniel was in whatever library or museum or whatever they'd put him in.

"Teal'c," he said without taking his eyes from the strange keyboard, "you'll handle the hand-to-hand combat techniques while Carter will take the stealth/ambush and I'll take the 'Bou'gan body is our friend' class."

Teal'c cocked his head at the last part so Jack added, "I'm the 'How to kill a Bou'gan with a paperclip' instructor."

"Ah. Yes."

Sam looked up from what she was typing to ask, "Do we know how to kill a Bou'gan with a paperclip, sir?"

"We do now," he said with a smug look. He nodded at a small book next to his keyboard. "Everything you ever wanted to know about a Bou'gan is right there."

"Perhaps I should make myself acquainted with it, if I'm to teach hand-to-hand against them," Teal'c suggested.

"Help yourself, T. Help yourself."

~~~

Jack sat back and gave out with a weary sigh. He was done. Carter's work had already been taken and replicated, and now, finally, his was ready. He looked over at his two teammates and wasn't surprised to find both of them sound asleep. Carter had her head pillowed by her arms at her work station and Teal'c was lounging on the couch, open book face down on his chest. Jack would have given anything to be able to look at another chair and find Daniel there, long legs stretched out in front of him, nose buried in a book.

He gave himself a small mental shake and got up. He took his papers and walked to the door. He opened it and the guard turned to face him. Without a word, he simply handed him the pile. The man took it and waited until Jack stepped back and closed the door.

"Carter, wake up, time to go beddy-bye," he whispered as he gave her a small shake.

"Huh?" She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. Looking around, she said, "What?"

"Bed? We're finished, the book is done. Time for bed."

She got up slowly even as she said, through a yawn, "Yes, sir."

While she straightened up her workspace, Jack moved to Teal'c and got him up. When they were all standing in the middle of the room, he said, "So tomorrow - it starts. You ready?"

Sam looked at Teal'c, who nodded. She looked back at Jack. "We're ready, sir."

~~~

His first view of Segev was rather surprising. It was the bluest planet he'd ever seen from space. And it was small. Very small. Like a moon.

An hour later, the ship was docked and he was being led to a shuttle. Another thirty minutes, and he was standing on Segev. Blue sky, incredible blue sky, and yes, trees. Lots and lots of trees. Palm trees.

Jack would have been overjoyed.

From space, he'd been able to tell that the planet was mostly water, dotted with a few islands, and now, he was experiencing a tropical paradise. The sun was warm on his skin, the breeze light, and the scents that surrounded him, very tropical.

"There are no officers on Segev at the moment so you have freedom to look as we escort you to your quarters, Thirteen. Once settled, I will take you to the Common room and the Pleasure rooms. Then you will be on your own. Any further discipline required will be metered out by your claimant, and the punishment will be of their choosing, within specific guidelines. Do you understand?"

Daniel nodded, not understanding at all. Okay, so he understood. He just didn't... understand. Or maybe his mind was shutting down. Yeah, that was probably it. If he were halfway lucky, his body would follow.

Times like this it didn't pay to be human. Wishing he were Reece's counterpart, he followed Moram.

~~~

Two Weeks later -

Jack stormed into their suite and threw his cap across the room. Behind him, Carter and Teal'c kind of slunk in, both choosing to stay safely behind the angry man.

"FUCK THEM ALL!"

"Indeed-"

"Sir-"

"You heard me. I said, 'FUCK THEM ALL'."

"Major Opac listened and did as instructed, as did his team," Teal'c said, trying to placate Jack.

Jack whirled on him and held up one finger. "ONE! ONE TEAM OUT OF TEN!"

He pulled off his vest, dropped it to the floor and sat down on the couch. "God, two fucking weeks we've worked with them and nothing. They simply don't get it. How can they be so stupid? They're getting their collective asses kicked all over the fucking galaxy and still they won't learn."

"I disagree, O'Neill. They are learning all that we teach. They simply are not yet convinced our tactics are required."

"They're very dependant on the technology, sir," Sam added as she removed her hat and ruffled her hair out of its helmet-hair look.

"Yeah, well, that technology is getting them killed. That's why we're here, and the sooner these bozos get on board, the sooner they'll start winning and we'll have Daniel back."

"Yes, sir." She glanced at the door to her room and gave a half-hearted jerk of her hand. "I'm going to take a shower before dinner."

Without looking up, Jack waved a hand in dismissal. As soon as her door was closed, Teal'c said, "You must control your temper, O'Neill. I know you want DanielJackson with us, but getting angry at the high ranking Mercs is not the way. They must trust us and, yes, we must earn their respect if we are to succeed."

Jack pulled off his fingerless gloves and slapped them against his thigh. "I know, I know." He ran his fingers through his short hair, the gesture one of supreme frustration. "He should be here with us. He's as much a member of this team as you or Carter, and as much of a soldier, but don't you dare tell him I told you that."

Teal'c gave his friend a quasi-smile. "I will refrain from sharing such a compliment with DanielJackson. It would simply go to his head and we both know how egotistical he is."

"Ah, you and your Jaffa humor," Jack said with the first hint of a smile he'd shown in the last fourteen days. "Daniel and the word egotistical? Not even nodding acquaintances."

"Indeed."

"So... got any ideas on how to earn their trust, Teal'c?"

"I believe I do. Perhaps we could take a recent loss and reenact it? Only... using our combat techniques?"

"I knew I loved you for a reason, T."

"Indeed."

"You know," Jack mused as he rubbed his chin. "I'm thinking we replace 'indeed' with... 'fer sure'. From now on, instead of indeed, you say, fer sure."

Teal'c's left eyebrow rose, offering Jack his non-verbal "indeed."

~~~

Daniel dropped the tile and grinned. "Buno!"

The young man across from him shook his head in disgust. "You learn a game in a day, a game it takes many of us weeks to learn, and already you win."

Both men began to re-gather the small, white tiles, flipping them over as they did. "It is a game with subtext, Reno. If you worked with Jack O'Neill every day for... well, never mind how many years... you'd be good at subtext too."

"O'Neill? He is the man who leads your team, yes?"

Daniel nodded. "He is most definitely our leader."

"There is much talk that he will be able to turn the tide in the war." Remo turned the timepiece over and each of them flipped over a tile and moved into their respective game circle on the table. "Do you believe that he and Esgeewon can do this?"

"I believe that if the tide can be turned, Jack, Sam and Teal'c are the people who can help the Yenaran do it."

"Then I too have faith," Remo said as he pulled another tile. He didn't like the design and he grimaced. "I have terrible luck when I play with you, my friend."

Daniel grinned and stretched, the thin white tunic riding up and revealing his abdomen. He was used to so much of his body being on display, but he was also used to the fact that the other Servi-1's didn't look and didn't care. They were on Segev to serve their beloved Mercs, not each other. In fact, as he'd learned in the last two weeks, Servi-1's never entered into any kind of sexual relationship with each other. Friendships, yes, sex, no. For the last fourteen days, other than missing Jack and his teammates, Daniel had never felt more free and unshackled. There were no demands put on him, nothing expected of him. He had total freedom on Segev, thanks to an escalated war effort and no leaves granted or earned. There'd been no Mercs on Segev since his arrival.

And he actually felt guilty about it - when he wasn't feeling supremely relieved.

He knew his teammates were working hard, thanks to the news constantly broadcast on the vid in the Common room. One good thing about the Yenarans was that they believed in total truth. Everything the government knew - the public knew, including the lowly servi's.

Daniel glanced up at the vid and noticed that the only station the Yenarans had, their news station, was re-showing a recent squirmish that had taken place over a planet called Tibevet. The interesting thing about the battle was that while technology raged war in the skies over the planet, the Bou'gan were attacking on the ground. And winning. The final result was that the unheard of - but rapidly becoming very heard -- "in person" attack had won the Bou'gan another city on Tibevet. The government "feeder", the agent responsible for giving the people their news, came back on the screen and behind him, a picture of ..

Daniel's eyes widened. He was staring at his teammates.

Okay, SG-1 was old news but this was the first time the government had actually shown his friends. And there they were. Jack, front and center, Sam just off his right shoulder, and Teal'c off his left. Jack's arms were crossed and his cap pushed back on his head: a sure sign that he was angry.

Daniel focused in on the words..

//. and so far, the teams chosen to work with the Tauri's have undergone strenuous training in hand-to-hand combat, covert operations, and specialized training in how to neutralize a Bou'gan through..//

The vid winked out as the lights above the door .went yellow.

Remo jumped to his feet, his expression joyful. "They come," he announced unnecessarily.

Stunned, Daniel watched as all the Servi-1's in the room stopped whatever they were doing and started moving toward the door. Remo motioned to him to follow but Daniel found himself frozen.

"Come, Daniel, hurry. You must be in your quarters when the ship docks. It will not take long before you will know if you have been fortunate enough to be chosen."

When Daniel didn't move immediately, Remo walked back to him and took his arm. "Quickly, Daniel. And remember, no names until the lights go white again."

He led Daniel out and over to their building across the Common Circle. The whole city was designed around the Common Circle, with three dorms bordering it and the others spiraling outward. The higher the ranking of the Servi-1 (based on number of times chosen), the closer their dorm to the Common Circle. Daniel was in the smallest, closest dorm, which also made it the most desired. He'd been housed there because he was a Servi-1XY. As he followed Remo back to their dorm, he wondered what would happen if he were never chosen.

And yes, he figured that was exactly what would happen. One brief "test" with Forten and a few Mercs did not an XY make. Would they let him rejoin his teammates or move him to a dorm so far out it would take him days to get back into the city?

"You remember your training, Thirteen?" Remo asked, already back into the servi mode.

"I remember," Daniel said as they took the stairs up to the second floor. On the landing, Remo nodded, grinned again, and said, "Good luck, then. See you when alert is over."

Remo turned left and hurried to his room while Daniel, at a much slower pace, moved towards his. Once inside, he went to the window and looked out onto the city.

According to his training, it would take less than an hour before the Merc officers and war heroes disembarked, settled in, and went to the Holo-room to choose their service providers, as Daniel had come to call them all.

He still found it odd that a bunch of high-ranking officers would check-out a small holographic device, play it, and watch a parade of Servi-1's in order to make their choices. Of course, they didn't do it all at the same time, no, it was based on ranking and importance. War heroes were the only exception as the officers who came to Segev had long ago agreed that whenever there were war heroes, they'd be allowed first choice. The reasoning behind this generosity, according to Moram, was that the heroes weren't likely to ever make it to Segev again.

Remo had explained that of the officers who were eligible for leave on Segev, only thirty percent were female. Which was why the majority of Servi-1's on Segev were... female. And why he was so valued already, even though he'd yet to be chosen.

He was no stranger to same sex... sex. Okay, that was probably not well said. Hell, he was a stranger to male-female sex. He was a stranger to all but one-handed sex. He should be looking forward to the opportunity to have sex.

If it were his choice.

But it wasn't.

So he wasn't.

But he was ready. His mind was in sync with what was expected, the scientist in him getting ready to study and observe, as he'd been doing for the last two weeks.

Daniel turned around, walked over to the bed and sat down. Damn, he really wished the Yenarans were into books. But they weren't. Typical war-based culture. The lack of reading material - hell, the lack of writing material - had been one of the most difficult parts of the last two weeks.

No libraries, no records, nothing preserved. The only thing of possible interest was something Remo had called the "guardio" which was ten miles outside of the city. It was apparently a ruin that no one today knew anything about. Ordinarily, it would have been one of the first places Daniel would have gone, but it would be some time before he would be trusted enough to roam that freely.

Not that Daniel understood that kind of thinking. After all, where the hell could he go? Where could he escape to ? The planet was mostly water and a few islands, all populated by Servis. The main city, Geonyd, was the resort, while the other islands held Servi-2's and 3's as well as the only defenses for Segev.

Daniel glanced up at the light over his door.

Still yellow.

He expected it would remain so, because one other thing he'd noticed in the last two weeks was that he was the oldest Servi-1 on Segev. He was ten years older than Remo. Five years older than the next eldest in Geonyd.

Of course, he was also the only one with blue eyes and pale skin. But really, blue eyes or not, you'd think the differences in his facial features would be enough to turn off most Yenarans. Really.

Damn, he wished he had his glasses. Nothing like a four-eyes to turn off a prospective... suitor? Customer?

He glanced up at the light.

Still yellow.

This was looking more and more hopeful.

He started tapping his foot.

Really, the light should be red. Red light district.

He glanced up again... just as his light blinked from yellow to... orange.

Oh... shit.

Shitshitshitshitshit..

Part 5

Damn it. What the hell was wrong with him?

He'd accepted. He'd been ready. His scientific mind had thoroughly absorbed what he was being asked - okay - told - to do to serve out his six months while Jack taught the Yenarans how to fight. It was a cultural thing and who knew better when it came to understanding and accepting... cultural things?

Yep, he'd been ready.

So could someone PLEASE tell him why, when the light in his room went orange, he failed to go to his knees in preparation for the man or woman who'd chosen him?

No?

Neither could he.

Even as he'd sat at the table and the door had opened and his mind - the scientific one - had yelled, "GET THE FUCK ON YOUR KNEES!" he'd stayed put, hands folded on the table, eyes on the door.

Hadn't he and all parts of his mind agreed that it was just sex? That, in fact, it could be pretty good? After all, how long had he gone without? Don't answer that. The answer could be too embarrassing.

Yes, he'd been ready.

Until the light went orange.

When the door had opened, and a man, a tall, huge man, had stepped in, he still hadn't moved in spite of his stern lecture to his body.

What the hell had gone wrong?

He knew -- in the other part of his brain - that cultural thing or not, accepting or not, he had NO choice. He knew that and so had tried to make it acceptable. Convinced himself that it was necessary.

Until the light went orange.

Damn. Didn't he know what would happen by not going to his knees? Hadn't Moram told him over and over again? Well. yeah .

And still. still... he'd remained seated, eyes showing nothing, chin lifted fractionally, expression, somber.

He was a fool.

Daniel gripped the sheet under his body and twisted the material as he hissed in pain - again.

He was the biggest fool in this or any galaxy. And now he had the lacerations on his back, legs and ass to prove it. Thirty lashes with a nifty kind of whip that would have made a masochist proud.

Daniel was no masochist.

On the other hand - had anyone died more often than he? No.

Maybe he was a masochist. New wrinkle in his personality.

One among many. And gosh, now he'd have the nice patterns on his back to match the wrinkled personality.

The door to his room opened and the tall major walked in.

"You were foolish, Thirteen, but I believe I can understand your reluctance. You were not born to this. It was wrong of Forten and Moram to believe that you could simply become a Servi-1."

Daniel was on his stomach and wearing nothing but a soft, silky sheet that barely covered him. He would dearly have loved to have pulled it up further, but he was probably not enough of a masochist to enjoy the pain of a sheet over the open wounds on his back. He didn't turn his head or acknowledge the man, hoping against hope that he'd leave and go chose another companion for his leave. The dip of his bed told him that wasn't likely to happen.

"This is a cream developed by our Tek-2's. It will take away the pain and promote swift healing. There will be scars, but they will be minimized."

Daniel felt something cold on his upper back, by his right shoulder, and a moment later, could feel the man's fingers as he spread the cream down each mark left by the whip.

Okay... nice cream.

Very nice cream.

"I would have preferred not having to use the lash, but of the possible prescribed punishments, it was the least harmful. Trust me, the second possible methods of discipline will be even more painful than this, should you not follow procedure in the future."

The cream continued to remove the pain and Daniel found himself almost drifting off as his muscles relaxed under the man's expertise. He supposed he should find it weird that he was so comfortable, considering his naked state and the fact that the man who was working so hard to make him feel better, was also the man who'd delivered the blows. Not to mention that the guy had been expecting some hot sex.

Well, sex, anyway.

"You will sleep now. Unfortunately, my leave is short and by the time you awaken, I will have been returned to duty."

Daniel felt the man's hand rest on the small of his back.

"I wish things could have been different. I would have enjoyed spending several hours with you, Thirteen. You are truly unusual looking. It gives me pleasure to gaze upon you. But perhaps I will have another opportunity."

The bed creaked as the man rose to his feet. Now Daniel could feel the man's hand on his head, fingers stroking his hair.

"So soft. I like the texture, so different from our own. I have a Perigi and I believed that her fur was the softest thing on my world. I will now have to revise that opinion."

Daniel felt a pat on his shoulder.

"Do as you are told, Thirteen. The next officer that chooses you may not be as understanding. I would not like to see you injured further. Take care."

He heard the soft footfalls as the man moved away. A moment later, his door was opened and then closed.

He was alone.

Daniel allowed himself to drift away. A Jack dream wouldn't be bad right about now..

~~~

Six weeks later -

"YES!"

Jack watched from the balcony overlooking the faux-battlefield as Blue Squadron outflanked the Red Squadron. Stealth won out and the Red Squadron was history.

"That was very well done," Teal'c observed. "I believe I owe you a quarter, O'Neill."

"Ah, the joys of heavy betting," Jack said as he gleefully rubbed his hands together.

"They've come a long way, sir," Sam said from her spot behind him.

"Yes, they have. Finally. I think this will work. That scenario was a complete repeat of the Bou'gan victory on Tepeto. Only this time, our side won."

"Your idea to use actual battles where the Bou'gan won through physical combat was a winner, Teal'c," Sam said with a grin.

"Ya think?"

Teal'c remained silent, but his smile said it all.

Jack turned away and faced his teammates. "Maybe now Forten will allow Daniel to rejoin us. I think it's time I meet with him again."

~~~

Daniel stared up at the tower, his expression suffused with awe. It rose at least three stories into the sky and had no apparent doors. The only openings were at the top of the spire, but were nothing more than three small carved-out squares. The outer walls were covered with a delicate design that seemed to match the swirls of the sandy dunes that served as a backdrop to the tower.

"Remo, this is... this is incredible."

"Why? It is not ours."

Looking at his friend, Daniel said, "You don't know that. Your ancestors could have built this gens ago, but since the wars, your people have kept no records other than wins and losses with the Bou'gan. All that you were is now lost to you." Even as he spoke, he was touching the wall in front of him, his fingers tracing the delicate patterns that covered it.

"I do not understand you, Daniel."

"Don't worry, my teammates say the same thing. I'm used to it."

"At least you are finally accepting the honor of being a Servi-1. A few weeks ago, I despaired for you."

Daniel stiffened slightly, but the strange structure in front of him managed to keep him grounded. Not that he couldn't agree with Remo. A few weeks ago, he'd despaired of himself. After recovering from the first beating, he'd given himself a stern lecture and when, three days later, the lights had gone yellow again, he was fully prepared to go to his knees if his light went orange.

Which it had.

And he hadn't. Gone to his knees.

It had taken five beatings -- each one progressively worse -- and a visit from Moram, who told him that if he could not "conform", he would indeed be reunited with his team. But the "lovely major" would take his place on Segev.

At the time, he'd thought it an odd threat. After all, he'd been separated because he wasn't a soldier, so what would be gained by removing Sam and replacing her with him? But Moram had correctly read his thought process and had taken great joy in telling him how much the Merc officers had already learned from "Esgeewon" and that "Colonel O'Neill and the great Jaffa, Teal'c" would be more than enough to continue the teachings. Daniel had understood in that moment that Moram was deadly serious. If he didn't obey, Sam would take his place.

The idea of Sam suffering a single beating with the lash - and she would because she'd refuse to go to her knees as well - was more than enough to convince Daniel.

The next time his light went orange and the door to his room opened, the high-ranking Merc who stepped inside found a pliant, subservient man on his knees, head bowed. Since then, well, he preferred not to dwell on the weeks "since then". It was just his typical luck that there'd been a lull in the war - thanks to some Bou'gan festival - and the Segev "pleasure light", as he'd come to call it, had been perpetually yellow. And his light - perpetually orange.

The only reason he and Remo were free now was that the Bou'gan festival was evidently over and things had heated up again. Badly. In fact, Daniel and the other Servi's had enjoyed almost a week of white lights. Which had, in turn, prompted Daniel to begin to explore.

The idea of sitting in his room - a room he no longer found comfortable - or in the Common room was just too... no. Just no. Too much time to think, to dwell. To dwell on not a few Yenaran officers whose idea of good clean sex bore no resemblance to his. To dwell on men who thought pain was a neat way to enjoy sex.

Not that there hadn't been some normal Yenaran, because there had. And a couple of female Mercs that had shown up on Segev and chosen him as well. And they all should have been more enjoyable than they'd been. After all, sex was sex and a guy should be happy to get it when he could - especially knowing that eventually, it would be back to the one-handed version.

Or not.

"You must know the way in, Remo. Yes?" he asked Remo, who'd been more than willing to guide him after he'd expressed an interest in exploring.

"Yes, we discovered the entrance many months ago. But there is nothing of interest inside, Daniel." Then he smiled. "On the other hand, this is the most emotion I've seen from you in weeks, so I shall not complain. Come with me."

Following behind the younger man, Daniel said, "Sorry, Remo."

"Do not apologize, my friend. I finally understand. My world is not yours, and while I do not understand yours, I find myself accepting of how strange this must be - and how uncomfortable." He paused and faced Daniel. "But you are a true XY, as we've all seen. You have been chosen every time, and by both male and female Mercs. I truly never thought to see an XY. And while I know you do not understand how important you are, or what a gift you have, well, I would give anything to be an XY."

Daniel regarded Remo for a moment, his eyes narrowed in thought. Finally ignoring the tower behind him, he said, "Would you, Remo? Would you? What if you could go anywhere you wanted to go, be anything you wanted to be... what would you do then?"

"I do not understand."

"What if there were no war and you could spend the rest of your days with. Major Caxe? That's my world, Remo. Oh, we have wars, don't misunderstand. But we can be whatever we wish to be, and even if we chose to fight in the war, when it's over, we are what we were before the war. We could be a teacher, a singer, a banker, a cook, a salesperson, a cop, or a housewife. And we could be with the one person we wanted to be with ."

Remo shook his head. "What are these things, Daniel? What is a teacher? A singer? Or a banker? These titles mean nothing to me."

"Remo, don't you sometimes wish you could be a Merc? Fight with Major Caxe? By her side?"

For the first time, Remo was uneasy. His cheeks went red as he looked down at the ground. "I... would give anything to be a Merc - and to fight by her side."

"And yet, because you look as you do, because you are slight, and slender, you have been told what you must be. And you must service all who choose you, and stand by while Major Caxe chooses others to service her because you are unavailable."

The red tinge spread across Remo's features and Daniel was immediately sorry for what he'd said. He reached out and rested a hand on Remo's shoulder. "I shouldn't have said-"

"No, no, you are right," Remo said, his voice expressing his wonder at the truth of it. "I. I begin to see." He rubbed the back of his neck and finally looked up at Daniel again. "I have... feelings... for Marisk. Feelings I should not have."

"That's called love on my world, Remo. We go through our whole lives looking for it and many of us find it and a rare few find it... forever. We get married, which means we commit ourselves to one person. We build lives together, live together, and have children."

"Married." Remo seemed to roll the word around his tongue. "I like the sound of that. Married. Like a Teo-bond?"

"Teo-bond?"

"Many years ago a very few were allowed this bonding. They were allowed to live together. But as the war escalated, even the Teo-bond ended." His gaze became wistful as he added, "But even if it existed today, I would not be eligible. I am a... Servi-1. I could never claim Marisk for my Teo."

"I'm sorry, Remo."

"I think I would like a world such as yours. Thank you for sharing this with me. I have learned much."

"And now you know what a teacher is. On my world, we go to school for many years to learn about our world, our history, the history of other countries and generations. We read many books on so many subjects, it would boggle your mind, Remo. I learned at an early age to love the cultures of the past and how they could tell us so much about ourselves. Our future."

"School? This sounds similar to what a young man or woman must attend to become a Merc or a Tek. They must attend many classes to learn about war or the technology that allows us to fight our enemy."

"We have schools for our military too, Remo. But a school can be so much more than that. You can learn about music-"

"Music. That is what you showed us all several days ago, yes? You created... what did you call it again?"

"A drum," Daniel answered with a grin.

"Yes, the drum. And we... danced. Yes?"

"Yep. We danced to the music, to the song.

"The beat, as you called it, was quite... energizing."

"Exactly," Daniel said, pleased. He waved at the building in front of them. "This is a kind of art, Remo. See how pleasing it is to the eye? How our gaze can be drawn-"

"Upward, to the sky," Remo finished in delight. "I never saw this before. It was just this odd tower-like structure. But now... now I can see how it melds into the landscape-"

"Exactly. It was built to be a part of its surroundings. Not jarring to the eye but floating upward to match the dunes."

"Yes, I see. Our structures simply serve a purpose and there is no care in how or where they are placed. It is strictly function, no beauty or... or-"

"Design," Daniel finished for him. "But this structure represents so much more, Remo. The chances are that, once we are inside, it will tell me about your past and your ancestors."

Looking skeptical, Remo said, "This I must see. Come." He took Daniel's arm and pretended not to notice when Daniel slipped out of his grasp.

They walked around the building to the side. Remo stopped and said, "This is the only way in that we were able to find when we were first transferred to Segev."

Daniel looked at the archway and could see the outline of the entrance. On the left side was a small square and he could guess exactly how the door would open. He walked up to the square and twisted it. There was a scraping sound, and the door slid up.

"There are torches just inside, on the wall, to your right. We left them last time we visited."

Daniel nodded, stepped in, and in the dim light, spotted the small shelf and the torch, and lifted it up. He flicked the bottom and the torch ignited. He had to give the Yenarans credit. With energy sources so valuable, they'd managed to find a way to create an automatically combustible torch.

The tower structure was thin so inside it was fairly confining, space wise. What surprised Daniel as he lifted his torch high, was the fact that the tower had no floors. It was completely open inside, the ceiling being the top of the tower. Light filtered in from the small squares above, but not nearly enough to reveal what was on the walls. It took Daniel's - and then Remo's - torch to do that.

Daniel's eyes widened in surprise and puzzlement.

The walls were covered with writings, but what surprised him was that the writings seemed to be a mixture of everything he'd found on Ernest's planet. He was staring at a language that combined that of the Asgard, the Nox, the Ancients, and the Furlings.

And it made no sense whatsoever.

"Oh, my God," Daniel said as he turned in a circle, his gaze moving rapidly from top to bottom and side to side as he pivoted.

"They are just... markings, Daniel."

"No," Daniel whispered. "This... is... I can't begin to explain it, Remo. But trust me, this is... unbelievable."

~~~

Jack stormed into their suite, his anger preceding him thanks to the string of curses heard by Sam and Teal'c before Jack actually entered.

"I take it Lord Forten turned down your request to have DanielJackson returned to us?"

"How'd you guess?" Jack growled out. He strode over to the balcony and rested his hands on the railing, his fingers curling tightly around the metal.

Sam moved out to join him, as did Teal'c. "Sir, the chances are pretty good that Daniel is happy where he is. In his element, if you know what I mean."

"That's not really the point, is it, Carter?" Jack said quietly, his anger dissipating in the face of his failure to get his team together.

"Isn't it? I think Daniel would say different."

Jack turned his head to stare at his 2IC. "What makes you so certain that Daniel is happy? That he's doing anything he enjoys? Have you seen any evidence of books, other than manuscripts on war and technology? Any signs of anything Daniel would be interested in?"

"Sir, we've only seen this compound. There's no telling what's outside."

Jack shook his head and turned back to gaze out over the grounds. After a few moments, he said, "I have a bad feeling, Carter. And when I have these feelings, I prefer to have my team together. And I don't think Daniel is having the time of his life. When he's separated from us, he worries about us, or didn't you know that?"

"Sir, Daniel can get so absorbed in things that he barely remembers to eat or sleep. I seriously doubt that he's worrying about us."

"I do not believe you understand DanielJackson, Major Carter. O'Neill is correct. As long as we're separated, DanielJackson will worry."

Giving up, Carter shrugged and turned toward the suite. "Dinner will be here soon. I'm going to clean up."

When they were alone, Jack said, "I don't like this, Teal'c. Not one bit."

"I feel much the same way, O'Neill. But I do not understand Major Carter. I have always believed that she and DanielJackson were much like siblings and yet, she shows no concern for his well-being."

"That's not entirely accurate, Teal'c. She just doesn't see a need for it. She's thoroughly convinced that he's fine and wallowing in cultural," he made little quotes in the air, "stuff."

Teal'c looked away from his friend, his gaze drawn to something only he could see. "I fear that she is wrong," he said, his voice low and soft.

"So do I, Teal'c. So do I."

~~~

"Daniel, that is the alert. Can you not hear it?"

The man in question was deep in the process of studying the walls and Remo had to pull at him. "Daniel, we must go. Now."

"What?"

"The alert. The Mercs. We must go ." With that, Remo pulled harder and began to drag Daniel out of the tower. "You can return when they are gone. But you can not be found in disobeyance again."

With great reluctance, Daniel dropped the torch and allowed himself to be taken out of the tower. Once outside, they both realized how far they were from the city. Given the amount of time from the first sounding - or blinking - of the alert, they looked at each other... and began to run.

They made it mere minutes before the ship actually docked.

~~~

"UNAUTHORIZED 'GATE ACTIVATION!"

Hammond, his stomach rolling, rose from behind his desk and made his way down to the control room. Let it be SG-1, he prayed. Just let it be SG-1.

"Sir, it's the Tok'ra," Davis said as Hammond came up behind him.

"Open the iris."

Okay, not SG-1, but maybe almost as good. They'd been trying to reach the Tok'ra since SG-1's disappearance, but with the alliance between Earth, the Tokr'a and the Jaffa dissolved, there'd been no word. Hammond hurried down to the 'Gate room, hoping that it would be Jacob coming through the wormhole.

His prayers were answered - this time.

"Jacob."

"George." Jacob walked down the ramp, eyes searching for his daughter.

Hammond, seeing the look, said, "SG-1 is missing, Jacob. I was hoping you're visit was because you might have heard something."

Jacob schooled his expression into one of his old military "I'm a general" expressions and said, "Briefing room?"

"Of course. Follow me."

Part 6

"So that's all we know. And since you didn't know, I have to assume that your unscheduled visit-"

"I didn't know , you're right, George, but I suspected. And that's why I'm here. You've now confirmed my worst suspicion."

Hammond leaned forward expectantly and waited. Smiling slightly, Jacob said, "The Dorni Galaxy. Several planets occupied by either a race called the Yenar or the Bou'gan. They have been at war for centuries. A war that until a couple hundred years ago was basically useless. They battled, they tied. If one can tie in battle. Their technology was so even that the war never changed. Not for thousands of years."

Knowing that Jacob's words would eventually divulge his "suspicions", Hammond asked, "What happened two hundred years ago?"

"The Bou'gan changed their tactics. It was an extremely slow process and all the information we've been able to gather suggests that they were learning in fits and starts, and from... the Goa'uld. We don't believe the Goa'uld have ever been to the Dorni Galaxy because none of the 'Gate addresses on the Cartouche were in that galaxy. But that doesn't mean the Bou'gan haven't been to worlds inhabited by the Goa'uld. Hence the change in their military tactics."

"You are going somewhere with this, right?"

"As I said, a couple of hundred years ago, the war changed and the Yenaran began to lose. But a few weeks ago, word came that something was changing-"

"Wait. Why would the Tokr'a be so interested-"

"The Yenaran have the ability to terraform."

Hammond blinked at him. "Terraform. As in... create a planet?"

Jacob nodded. "Not even the Bou'gan have that capability. One of our new agendas is to approach the Yenarans and offer our covert expertise in return for the technology to terraform. Unfortunately, every time we've managed to get our hands on a ship that could make the journey, well," he held out his hands, palms up, "we had other more important missions, as you may recall."

"What aren't you saying?"

"Through several of our spies, word has reached us that the Yenaran have already received help in changing their military tactics. This unexpected assistance has come in the form of three Tauri."

Jacob let his words settle as he watched Hammond.

"Three?"

Jacob nodded. "Three."

Hammond stood. "Come with me, Jacob."

Jacob rose and followed him back down to the control room. Hammond walked over to Davis and said, "Bring up the planet address where SG-1 disappeared."

"Yes, sir."

A moment later, the address appeared on the computer screen. Hammond tapped the plasma surface. "This one came from the addresses downloaded by Colonel O'Neill. Sergeant, put it up on the map simulator."

The screen changed and he nodded excitedly. "That's it. That's the Dorni Galaxy, George."

For the first time in weeks, Hammond felt hope blossom - in spite of the fact that there were, apparently, only three Tauri.

~~~

Three weeks later -

Daniel lay on his side as Darvet ran a hand over his hip. "You have been very quiet this time, Thirteen."

"You wish to talk?" Daniel asked.

"Usually you are full of questions. But this time, you have been uncharacteristically silent."

Darvet was Major Darvet and was the same Yenaran who had been Daniel's first... customer. And deliverer of his first punishment. Since then, Darvet, a much decorated hero, had been a constant visitor who enjoyed his conversations - among other things -- with Daniel that he'd chosen him each time. He'd been very pleased to find that Daniel had learned his lesson and had settled into being a Servi-1XY.

Darvet ran a finger along Daniel's jaw as he said, "Would it surprise you to know how hard it is for me to leave you each time?"

Daniel turned over at that and looked at the man who somehow had managed to take his leave on Segev no less than ten times already. Daniel stared at him before finally saying, "Yes, yes it would. I'm a Servi-1XY."

Darvet sighed and moved to sit up. "That is the correct thing to say, but you are also Taur'i. When your comrades finish the task set before them, you will leave here. You are not a true Servi-1, nor do I fool myself into believing that you are."

Sitting up himself, Daniel stared at the man. Hearing Forten, and even Moram, tell him that when Jack and the rest of SG-1 completed the training of the Mercs, he'd be reunited with them was one thing, but hearing it from Darvet..

"How close are they to success?" he asked almost breathlessly.

"Very. Unfortunately, I believe it may be too late for us. The Bou'gan have raised the stakes. They know what we are doing and they are moving fast. We were able to stop them from taking over Nartu, thanks to a campaign designed by your Colonel O'Neill, but the Bou'gan simply doubled their efforts over Piet and thousands died." He shivered slightly at the thought. "I do not know where all of this will end, Thirteen."

Before Daniel could answer, the communication device worn by all Mercs buzzed. Darvet reached for it and turned it on. "Darvet here," he said. "What? Now? How soon? What of... yes, sir, I understand that, but... yes. I see. Yes, sir, immediately."

Darvet faced Daniel, his features contorted by shock and... fear. He stared at Daniel for what seemed an age, and finally said, "Get dressed. Now." With that, Darvet rose and began to put his uniform on. When Daniel didn't move, he repeated his order. "Get dressed, Daniel. Now ."

Surprised by the use of his name, Daniel sat up and swung his legs over the end of the bed. "What's going on?"

"The Bou'gan just took the capitol city of Orseaus. They will be coming here next. We've been ordered off and to Amen-Tor2. We will put up a defense there. If Amen-Tor falls, so falls the Yenaran."

Daniel almost jumped to his feet. "What about... what about my friends?"

"They are safe on Amen-Tor3. But you... you are not. That's why you must dress now. I'm taking you with me."

Amen-Tor2 had to be close to Amen-Tor3, right? Right. Daniel got dressed. Five minutes later they were heading downstairs, but not alone. Other officers were coming out of the rooms and almost running, but Daniel noticed no other Servi-1's. When they hit the Common Circle, Daniel could see the panic on the faces of the Mercs around him. They were hurrying toward the docking station and he could feel himself being pushed along by Darvet. But as he looked around him, again, he could see no Servi's at all. No Remo.

"DARVET, OVER HERE!"

Darvet turned and waved at a man who hurried toward them. When he reached their side, he said breathlessly, "We have very little time."

"I know," Darvet said as they began to walk again.

The man who'd joined them looked strangely at Daniel and finally said, "Darvet, you can't-"

"But I am. He is coming with me."

The man took Darvet's arm and pulled sharply. "Darvet, that is not possible. He is nothing but a Servi."

Darvet whirled on the man and started to say something but Daniel interrupted. "What of the other Servi-1's? Are you saying that they must remain behind to be taken by the Bou'gan?"

"You are only Servis... You have no purpose other than to-"

Daniel turned on Darvet. "These women and men serve you with all that they are. They live to give you what you need so that you can concentrate on fighting. And yet, you would leave them to be slaughtered? What is it, exactly, that you are fighting for ? The right to keep on fighting?" He waved a hand around them, "Look at this place. At it's beauty. How do you feel when you come here? Isn't it like home? Isn't this why you're fighting?"

Both Yenarans looked at Daniel with strange expressions on their faces. Slowly Darvet looked around, his companion doing the same. Daniel could see the uncertainty in their eyes and he pounced on it. "Stay, all of you. Protect this place."

Eyes still taking in the beauty of Segev, the other Merc said, "There are only a hundred of us.."

"And one hundred and fifty Servi, with another hundred on the other two islands. They can fight by your side. The Bou'gan will land, they will not use their technology, you know this. It can work for us," Daniel urged.

Darvet nodded slowly. "There's more than enough weaponry in the Armory... we could-"

"NO! We must do as we have been ordered, Darvet. You know this. We are not needed here, but we are needed on Amen-Tor2. We must go NOW."

The glaze of indecision dissolved and Darvet nodded. "Yes. Now." He grabbed Daniel's arm and started moving him toward the station. Daniel pulled away.

"No. I won't leave them."

"Thirteen, I'm giving you a chance to live. Come with me now," Darvet almost pleaded.

"There is no time for this, Darvet. We have-"

"SHUT UP, Kioat, just... shut up. Daniel, you MUST come with me now."

Daniel shook his head. "I can't. I won't leave them."

Kioat took Darvet's arm and yanked hard. With a look of infinite sadness, Darvet reached out, touched first Daniel's hair, then his lower lip. Finally he took Daniel's hand and pressed something into it. "This will open the armory."

Daniel looked down at the key in his hand as Darvet hurried away.

~~~

"What do you mean 'are they ready'?"

Forten straightened his shoulders. "I mean just that, O'Neill. The Bou'gan have taken Orseaus and they will soon attack Amen-Tor2. If it falls, there is no hope."

Jack looked over at Teal'c and Carter. Teal'c looked worried, even for a Jaffa, and Carter had gone pale.

Turning back to Forten, Jack asked, "How will you fight them?"

"Exactly as you have taught us. We know nothing else will work. This is our only chance. The Bou'gan assault is massive and if we stop them now, we stop them for all time."

"What about Daniel? Is he safe?"

Forten paused for just a moment, debated telling the truth, then opted for a lie. "He is safe and well. Once the troops have been deployed, the four of you will be taken to where we found you. You will be free to go. Now, are they ready?"

"They're as ready as they'll ever be. They know what to do, the only question is - will they do it."

"They have no choice. We try what is new, or we fall. Wait here, be patient, and soon, I will send men to you in order to transport you back to the site of the Porta Anneau. It may be a few days at most."

In a swirl of robes, Forten was gone.

"Well, isn't that just peachy," Jack groused. "We get to sit and wait and hope the Mercs are successful."

"Should we not be prepared-"

"We're prepared, Teal'c," Jack said as he walked to the door. He opened it, smiled at the two guards, and shut it. Facing his people, he said, "When they leave - we leave. If they don't leave, we've won and we leave. See? It's good to have a plan."

"Apparently, Major Carter, we are in good hands," Teal'c said dryly.

Jack cocked his head. "Sarcasm, T? Was that sarcasm?"

"If the glove fits, you should take the pan out of the oven," Teal'c said mildly.

Jack's eyes narrowed. He took two steps toward Teal'c and said, "Daniel taught you that, didn't he?"

Teal'c simply stared at him, innocence personified.

"Oh, yeah, that was a Daniel line. You think I'm not going to recognize Glowly Clap-trap when I hear it? And just how long have you been waiting to use it, T?"

"I take the... Tenth."

Sam nudged him and whispered loudly, "Fifth."

"Where?" Teal'c said, looking around angrily.

"Not Fifth, the replicator, Teal'c," Jack said in disgust. "She meant, 'Take the Fifth '."

"Ah. Then I take the... Fifth. And since we are once again speaking of DanielJackson - do you believe he is indeed, safe?"

"Let me put it this way: if he's not, the Yenarans will think the Bou'gan are dairy farmers compared to me."

~~~

"Daniel?"

Eyes still on the key in his hand, Daniel said in an oddly detached voice, "The Bou'gan are on their way. The Mercs have left us undefended."

Remo shook his head. "That is not possible. They would not do such a thing. This is Segev!"

Slowly Daniel faced his friend. "It is possible, and they are gone. We are on our own, Remo, because to the Mercs and Teks, we are less than nothing, not even worth defending. BUT they left us weapons. We will defend ourselves."

"Daniel, that is not-"

A strange gleam came into Daniel's eyes. "Yes, Remo, it is." He gripped the man's arm and said urgently, "They trust you. Gather them all together, here, in the Circle. Get the Servis from the islands over here too. We can do this." Then he smiled. "You wanted to be a Merc and you now have that opportunity. Trust me, Remo. This will work."

Remo, caught up in the light of hope contained within Daniel's earnest gaze, nodded. "I will go now."

~~~

Daniel had never been so grateful for weapons in his life. And there were hundreds. The machine guns, explosive devices similar to their grenades, and nice round discs that he'd wager were the Yenaran version of land mines. Daniel slung one of the machine guns over his shoulder, lifted two containers of grenades, and headed back to the Common. By the time he got there, at least a hundred Servi were milling about, uncertainty and fear on their faces. He spotted Taltor, Remo's friend, and waved him over.

"Go to the armory, take four or five others and start bringing the guns and containers of weapons here. And hurry."

Taltor hesitated only briefly before yelling out four other names. The five hurried to the armory.

One of the women stepped up to Daniel and said, disbelief coloring her voice, "You expect us to fight?"

She was a tiny thing, and almost pretty in a strange, owl-like way. Daniel figured she wasn't much taller than Janet. "Yes. Because if you do not, you will die."

She paled at that, but bravely went on. "We know nothing of how to use the weapons of the Mercs. Let alone how to fight."

"Using this," he hefted up the machine gun, "is easier than playing Buno. Watch." He turned and faced one of the pillars that bordered the Common. He lifted the gun like a P-90, unlocked it as he'd seen the Mercs do so many weeks ago, moved the small red switch up a notch, and fired.

The pillar became ash.

The surrounding Servis gasped, but went silent when he handed the gun to the woman at his side. "Try it."

Frowning, she took it and did her best to copy his movements. When she held it up, much as he'd done, he showed her the sight and said, "Look through here until you see that planter over there... yes, like that. Finger here... perfect. Now... squeeze."

She did, and the planter was gone.

He took the gun from her and held it up. "Anyone can use these. It doesn't take a Merc. This small switch controls the intensity. You can kill with the switch here... or incapacitate when it's here." Daniel put it up all the way to kill. "So what will it be?"

For a moment - nothing. Then the young woman who'd killed the planter bent over and lifted a gun from the container. That was all it took. The rest quickly helped themselves. When all were armed, and more were doing the same as they arrived, the young woman said, "I am Neo. How do I use this?" She held up a grenade.

Before Daniel could answer her, Remo made his way through the crowd, took it from her hand, held it up for all to see, and said, "You flip this switch and count to ten." At the surprised look from Daniel, he added sheepishly, "Marisk." He then made a tossing motion with his hand and said, "When you reach ten, you throw it as far from you as you can."

"Preferably toward a group of Bou'gan," Daniel added.

Remo grinned. "That would be helpful." He turned and faced the statue of a Merc that stood in front of the Pleasure Rooms. He flipped the switch, counted to ten, and tossed it overhand. It hit the statue and exploded in hail of bright, sharp light. The Servi had to shield their eyes and many held their hands over their ears. When the light dissipated, all were shocked to see nothing but a very wide, shallow hole where the statue had once stood.

Satisfied with his demonstrations, Remo picked up one of the round, flat discs. Holding it up as he'd held the grenade, he said, "This we must bury just beneath the surface, several yards apart. They sense motion and explode, taking anything within a fifty-foot radius."

One of the taller Servis stepped forward and asked, "Where do we put them? How do we ensure that we do not fall victim ourselves?"

In answer, Daniel looked to Remo and said, "You told me that the Bou'gan ships can land on water, correct?"

"Yes," Remo answered, his joy at the mines fading.

"And that they then beam the soldiers to land?"

Perking up, Remo said, "Yes, Daniel, yes."

"All right then. Where are they most likely to attempt to infiltrate this island?"

No one answered immediately and then another young woman stepped forward. "Would they not wish to take out our power first? And our food supplies?"

Daniel whirled to face her, a huge grin on his face. "YES! So which island?"

"Pisteo," a Servi-2 offered.

Recognizing his uniform, Daniel nodded. "Remo, you take twenty with you and... at least... sixty of those mines. You can set them by remote, I assume?"

"Of course, Daniel."

"Then set half up around the perimeter of the structure that maintains the power. Then head over to?"

"Pisteo2," Remo provided.

"Right. Pisteo. 2. Take all the food supplies that you can, then do the same with the mines and get back here and meet us in the Common Room."

Remo grinned. "Yes... sir."

"Dick head."

"I know what that means, Daniel. You told me when I heard you call Major Druer the same thing."

Grinning, Daniel said, "GO!"

Remo went, but not before he chose twenty Servi to go with him.

~~~

"The President actually... said yes?"

Smug smile in place, Hammond nodded. "He did."

"George, since when-"

"Of course, it might have something to do with some new technological defense weapon the Yenarans are supposed to have."

"They... are? They do?"

"Don't they?" Hammond said ingenuously.

"Right. Right. So when do-"

"We leave in one hour."

Jacob's right eyebrow started climbing. "We?"

"I'll be taking command of the Prometheus."

"Ah. This should be... different."

~~~

"The glider secure, Major?"

"Yes, sir. General Carter is checking it out now."

"Very good. We should receive a transmission from the Tok'ra any time now with the proper co-ordinates. Let me know the moment they contact us. I'll be with General Carter."

"Yes, sir."

Hammond made his way to the rear bay, still shocked that the Tok'ra had not only secured another Death Glider, but had made some pretty impressive improvements to it. Moreover, he applauded the thought process that put it on board the Prometheus. Since they had no idea what they would be facing when they reached the Dorni Galaxy, Jacob had suggested the small, fast ship be included "just in case." As he nodded to various crew members he passed, he wondered how the hell he was going to manage the three day journey. Every fiber of his being was telling him to hurry, that something big was going down and SG-1 would be right in the middle of it.

Three days.

Three days too many in his eyes.

~~~

The bay was empty of any crew which Hammond found odd. Until he glanced up at the glider. Jacob was in the pilot seat and, judging by his body language which was screaming "Leave me alone!" he'd scared off Hammond's crew.

George had known Jacob for a long time and he figured they were both going through the same thing, more or less. Only question was - could he get back in that thing? Last time he'd been a few years younger.

Hell, he was Air Force, he could do this.

~~~

//You are worried.//

"You noticed."

//Don't bite my head off, Jacob, simply because you are worried.//

"You know, Selmac, you're learning all the wrong things from me. 'Bite my head off'?"

Jacob could almost "feel" Selmac shrug. He grinned.

"Jacob."

He turned as well as it was possible to turn in a glider and watched George lower himself, grunting and panting, into the co-pilot seat. Without skipping a beat, he said, "One of us is getting older."

Settling in, George grimaced. "Undoubtedly. But I made it and that has to count for something."

"And you decided to put yourself through this... why?"

"Damn, you sound just like Jack."

"Okay, I'm not sure if that's a compliment... or an insult," Jacob said with a grin.

"With Jack... it's both."

Jacob chuckled and then asked, "So?"

"So, you looked as though you could use a friend."

Jacob turned back around. "Ah. I see."

"I take it that you're getting the same bad vibes that I am?"

"Huge dark ball in my stomach."

"I think that would be Selmac."

"Very funny."

George smiled a smile that quickly faded. "We're both worried about the same thing: three. Only three Tauri."

Jacob nodded. "Only three."

Part 7

Jack was pacing again and Sam was pretty certain he was going to drive her crazy. She finally got up and planted herself in the middle of his pace-path. When he reached her, he stopped, cocked his head, and said, "Major?"

"Sir, you need to sit down. You're wearing a hole in the carpet."

"No carpet."

Sam smiled and said, "See?"

His lips twitched upward, and seizing the opening, she gently gripped his forearm. "Sir, Daniel will be fine."

"So you keep saying. But this is Daniel."

"Exactly. And Daniel always lands on his feet." She stepped in close. "You know, sir, he's not the same naïve archaeologist. He can handle himself just fine - better than fine, in fact. I really don't think he's in any trouble. In fact, if I know him, when they go to get him, to bring him here, he'll say, 'Just a few more minutes'."

This time the smile happened and it was a beautiful sight to see. She grinned in return.

"I think that should be on his tombstone, Carter."

She laughed lightly, glad that she'd managed to get her commanding officer to relax a bit and share her laugh. "You know, sir, I doubt that he's even given us a passing thought in all these weeks. He's happily buried in the history of the Yenaran, finding out what makes them tick and learning as much as he can. And talking a blue streak to boot."

Jack's grin faded. "You don't know him at all, do you, Carter?"

Taken aback, Sam blinked up at him. "Sir?"

"Haven't we already had this conversation? He's as worried about us as we've been about him. Trust me on this."

Surprised by the deepness of the emotion in Jack's voice, Sam took an instinctive step back. "Of course, sir. Of course. I only meant-"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Carter. I'm a bit touchy right now."

She nodded and put out her hand again, but Jack did the stepping back this time. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the patio and said, "I'm going outside."

There was nothing she could do but watch him go.

Sam walked over to the couch and sat down. She couldn't remember ever feeling as confused as she felt at that exact moment. And damn it, would she ever understand the relationship between Jack and Daniel?

The phrase "A cold day in Hell" started running through her mind.

She glanced down at her hands and started twisting Pete's ring around her finger.

~~~

"Daniel."

He turned toward Remo's voice only to find himself facing a Merc, Remo next to her.

"Daniel, she stayed. She wasn't certain how we would accept her and only divulged her presence to me a few moments ago. This is Major Marisk Caxe."

Daniel watched her chin lift slightly but noted there was no sense of superiority about her. He put out his hand. "Major."

She smiled gently as she took it. "I can help," she said.

As his hand drifted from hers, he said, "You're going to do much more than help, Major. These people need to know everything you can tell them about the Bou'gan. Their weaknesses, their tactics, all of it."

"I can do that."

~~~

Darkness cloaked the island and Daniel and the other Servis were in position awaiting the Bou'gan. The huge moon was full but the night clouds were providing a hide-and-seek playground for the silver orb. Daniel hoped the moon chose to hide less so they wouldn't have to seek the Bou'gan. Major Caxe had given them all every scrap of information she possessed on their enemy, and one all important fact had been driven home again and again: the Servi's were not a physical match for the Bou'gan, which meant they had to defeat them before they got close enough that it came down to a hand-to-hand confrontation.

Daniel felt the usual tennis balls on speed bouncing off the walls of his stomach; the same disturbance that always preceded a fight. The big difference this time was that there was no Jack, Sam or Teal'c on his six. And the foe was unknown. It was amazing to him that he was about to go into battle against an enemy he'd never seen. An enemy that had once known, if not a real peace, at least a sharing of the same galaxy with the Yenaran.

Not that he felt bad about the upcoming battle. There were enough Servis that had been liberated by the Yenaran and who could tell the kind of stories that made Daniel's skin crawl. That more than helped him deal with the fact that he was going to be killing a species he otherwise knew nothing about.

Or be killed by same said species.

At that moment, the sound of distant thunder followed by a bright red flash of light to the east told him the Bou'gan had not only landed, but had just found the first of the mines. It wouldn't be long now.

More explosions followed, this time from the second island. No, it wouldn't be long now. If Daniel had it figured right, the Bou'gan would be deciding that it had been the Mercs who'd left the mines, not the helpless Servi. If he'd guessed right, then the Bou'gan would put the control of the power station and the supply island on hold and attack the main island. After all, there should be nothing here but lowly Servi.

Surprise.

He seriously doubted that the full moon would worry the - he hoped - overconfident Bou'gan. Still, he wished he had night goggles.

Twenty minutes later, he spotted the first telltale "shadow" and prayed the Servi remembered all that he and Marisk had tried to teach them by about not firing too soon.

More shadows joined the one and Daniel raised his gun. Next to him, another Servi did the same. They both moved the red switch up to the final notch.

The clouds moved silently across the sky and the moon was revealed.

Daniel got his first look at a Bou'gan.

~~~

"Damn, I wish there was some way to find out what the hell is going on," Jack said, his frustration evident.

Sam said nothing, just continued to sit quietly. She felt hemmed in and as impotent as the colonel, but what could she do?

"O'Neill, perhaps you could suggest to one of the guards to bring in a... I believe they called it a 'vid'?"

Jack snapped his fingers. "Good idea, T." He walked over to the door, swung it open, smiled at the guards - who were still there - and said, "Vid?" He made a motion with his hands as if to suggest something being delivered, but he suspected he was gesturing a chicken laying an egg. Fortunately one of their guards understood chicken and nodded. He hurried away and, fifteen minutes later, returned with a vid. It was put on the dining room table, connected, and the remote handed over to Jack.

Once the guard had left, he quickly turned it on.

"One good thing about the Yenaran, they don't pull any punches with their news."

Teal'c moved closer as the screen was filled with footage of a destroyed city.

"Damn," Jack muttered. "As long as the Yenaran are on the defensive, it's going to be rough."

"Does anyone recognize the city?" Sam asked as she moved to stand next to Teal'c.

"From the slides we have seen, I believe it is the city of Priske on Orseaus," Teal'c answered.

"How close to us?"

"Did Captain Rowan not say it was on the other side of Yenaran territory?"

The scene shifted to a docking station where approximately two hundred Mercs were disembarking.

"I wish I knew what they were saying," Jack said.

"We know that many were called from leave. Perhaps that is what we are watching," Teal'c guessed.

More scenes of battle were shown and, at one point, Jack pumped his arm in victory as they all witnessed the Bou'gan being driven back by tactics right out of their "playbook".

"Now that's how to fight a war," Jack said.

"There may be hope for the Yenaran after all, sir."

"Ya think?"

~~~

Thirty-six hours later --

Daniel's eyes were burning, his nostrils filled with the smell of burning flesh and what he supposed was blood - Bou'gan blood. Acidic, strong and green, it was also fluorescent and patches of it now colored the Common and surrounding areas. Smoke filled the night air, the bursts of light from the machine guns showing up as a blurred, fuzzy brightness that signified the battle being waged. The Servi were firing continually and Daniel couldn't believe the Bou'gan were still coming. And falling. At what point would an island of Servi be declared a loss and not worth more Bou'gan lives? And, yes, he'd finally seen the enemy - and he was not him. The Bou'gan were hairless, gray, and very large. Their eyes were mere slits in their faces, their mouths taking up almost half their countenance. An hour ago, Daniel had found out why. Two Bou'gan had broken through the ground fire being laid down by Marisk and Remo and attacked his position. Before Remo and Marisk took them down, one of them had latched onto Daniel's arm - with his very large mouth. And teeth.

And yes, the Bou'gan were extremely strong, much like a Goa'uld. Which probably explained why they were still coming. They had to figure their sheer strength would overwhelm the Servi and eventually they'd get close enough to use that strength and tear the Servi apart - literally.

Damn, he hoped their teeth didn't carry some kind of poison - or something. He took a moment to look at his upper arm - and grimace. Goddamn big teeth.

A flash of something out the corner of his eye brought his attention back to the battle - and not a moment too soon. A Bou'gan was heading straight for him via a body launch. Daniel fell backward, brought the gun up, and fired twice. The Bou'gan dissolved into ash.

He hauled himself forward again in time to hear what sounded like a rebel yell followed by one of the Servi.

"THEY'RE LEAVING!"

Everywhere he looked, there were popping flashes of yellow light and Bou'gans were disappearing right and left. Minutes later, a large dark shape rose up into the night sky, was briefly outlined against the moon, and finally took off in a blazing trail of fiery lights.

The Bou'gan ship. Gone.

The sudden silence was almost too loud.

Dazed, Daniel got to his feet and looked around. Other Servi began to move away from their hiding places, all with the same dazed look.

The silence was broken when a Servi near by said, "Their ship, that's their ship. We've... won!"

"Well, I'll be damned," Daniel muttered before he sat, exhausted, on the ground.

They'd won.

~~~

"Sir, we have the coordinates. We'll be ringing you down to what is a military compound on Amen-Tor3."

Hammond nodded and glanced over at Jacob, who was staring out the windshield. "How do your people do it, Jacob? How do they come up with this information when they're not even in this galaxy?"

"One of the Yenaran has been using the 'Gate."

"Only one?"

"Only one. A Lord... Forten. Didn't I already tell you this?"

"Why, no, Jacob, you didn't. Perhaps because you didn't have Colonel O'Neill to goad you into it," Hammond answered dryly.

"That must be it." He went on speaking. "There is only one 'Gate and they call it the Porta Anneau. The planet on which it is located was nearly destroyed in one of the battles, but somehow, the Yenarans managed to keep control of it although they've not had time to re-populate it. It was a waste station and probably of no real interest to the Bou'gan, who, by the way, do not have a Stargate. The Yenaran used to believe the Stargate was literally a portal to their version of heaven - and may still, to some extent - as they do not use it. Other than Lord Forten, who I suspect does so without the knowledge of the general population. He heard of the Taur'i through his travels to other worlds. Learned of SG-1, to be precise."

"Jack must have been thrilled."

Jacob finally looked away from the view of space and at Hammond. He grinned slightly. "Undoubtedly."

"General Hammond? We're in range. SG-4 and 9 are ready to accompany you down to the planet."

Hammond got up and cocked his head at Jacob. "You ready?"

Jacob got up and moved to stand by his side. As the two men headed for the storage area where they'd ring down to Amen-Tor3, Colonel O'Brian said, "Sir, bring SG-1 back."

~~~

Jack's eyes narrowed. He rose to his feet and walked toward the front door.

"O'Neill?"

"Don't you hear it, Teal'c?"

"I hear nothing, O'Neill."

"Exactly. When has it ever been this quiet?"

Sam looked at Teal'c and then at the colonel. "Sir?"

"Something's up." He stopped at the door, hand on the knob. He waited a moment... and then threw it open.

No guards.

"Damn it, I knew it. Come on, guys, let's go. We have a teammate to find."

~~~

Captain Otek couldn't believe it. They'd been given the orders to evacuate the city and send all available Mercs to Amen-Tor2. Most of the Teks and officials had already been shuttled to the station and he would soon follow. But first, valuable records had to be downloaded into his personal key. He punched in his code and was about to insert the key when a golden spotlight hit the floor in the center of the room. Eyes wide with wonder and not a little fear, he watched what looked like rings - huge rings -- appear out of nowhere.

They settled on the floor, one after another, and were followed by a shaft of light through the tunnel created by the horizontal rings. The rings disappeared - leaving behind ten men. Ten... human men, most in uniforms that matched Esgeewon.

Guns were trained on him immediately as a man clearly in command said, "Where is SG-1?"

Otek shook his head. He understood "Esgeewon" but that was it. Figuring that dying now was not an option, he slowly reached for a translator, lifted it carefully, and put it in his ear lobe. "I... am Otek. Captain Otek."

"And I'm General George Hammond. Now where's SG-1?"

He had to remember what Captain Rowan had told him. The Taur'i were not the enemy. Contrary to how they appeared at the moment. His friend had worked with Esgeewon and he'd been quick to share his admiration of them. Deciding that the quickest way to get off the planet was to tell what he knew, he stepped forward. "Three are here on Amen-Tor3 but at a military compound days from here. One is on Segev."

Jacob moved quickly forward. "Where is this Segev and which member is there?"

"This I do not know. I can provide you with the coordinates." He walked to the map behind his desk and waved his hand over it and two planets began to flash. "This," he said as he pointed to the closest flashing planet, "is where you are now. This one is Segev."

"I can take the glider," Jacob said as he stared at the map. "With hyper launch, I can be there in a few hours."

"Right, and we can be at this compound place in a few minutes." Hammond said, knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. If someone was going to be separated from SG-1 in this society, it was likely to be Major Carter. To the Yenaran, he said, "We'll need the coordinates of both."

"I can give that to you. But you need to understand; we're evacuating. All personnel are being channeled to Amen-Tor2 where we will make our final stand against the Bou'gan. You also need to know that at last word, Segev was under attack."

~~~

They ran through the empty corridors, glancing into empty rooms as they ran past each one. There wasn't a Yenaran in sight. Jack burst through the double doors that led out of their section of the compound and began to run towards the main building. Inside they found only Teks, all rushing to pack up valuable equipment. Jack ignored them and kept going, Teal'c and Sam hot on his heels. He came to another set of double doors - the primary office -- and barely paused long enough to push them open. Inside, nothing.

"DAMN IT!" Jack whirled around, frustration in every line of his body.

Sam took a step toward him. "Sir?"

"How the hell are we going to find out where he is? There's NO ONE to ask, to demand, to THREATEN!"

"All are apparently leaving, O'Neill. Perhaps we should find out-"

Jack held up a finger. "Right." He spun around and headed for the door.

"Sir, we don't speak the language and the Mercs outside aren't likely to have one of the translators."

Jack's forward motion was halted by her words and his shoulders slumped. "What the hell do we do now, huh?"

A whooshing sound followed by a set of transport rings pretty much answered that question.

Jack couldn't believe his eyes. Once the rings had been retracted, he, Teal'c and Carter were shocked to find themselves facing their commander and two SGC teams.

"Uh. General?"

"Colonel. Good to see you."

Looking shell-shocked, Jack said, "Sir, has anyone ever told you that your timing is impeccable?"

~~~

Jacob pushed the glider to its limits, the captain's words replaying in his head. ". Segev was under attack.."

He hadn't come this far to lose his daughter. Although, if the Bou'gan were attacking Segev, they'd get the shock of their lives. Sam was undoubtedly kicking some major Bou'gan ass. He smiled - and pushed the glider beyond its limits.

Two hours into his flight, he could see both the mother planet, Orseaus, and there, small and blue, was Segev. He let the brain of the glider take over.

~~~

Sunrise brought everyone's first real look at their island, the dead, and the injured. Daniel, in spite of his own injuries, immediately got a triage working as well as a burial detail. The damage to the buildings was bad, but not as bad as he'd figured. The additional food and all the medical supplies had been moved into in his dorm building and it stood unscathed. He'd correctly figured the Common Room would be a prime target of the Bou'gan -- and it was little more than rubble now.

"Daniel."

He turned to find Remo and Marisk walking toward him. Both were dusty, dirty, but apparently unharmed.

"Daniel, we did it. We won."

He smiled a tired smile. "Yes, we did. And from the looks of it, with very few casualties."

Marisk nodded. "I am amazed. There are only ten Servi dead and less than twenty injured. And most of the injuries are not life threatening. This is a great day."

Daniel looked at the two before him: a Merc and a Servi, in love and willing to battle side-by-side. Slowly he nodded. "Yes, it is. I believe you have just won your... freedom, Remo. Do you understand?"

The Yenaran looked at the woman he loved - and she smiled in return. "I believe I do, Daniel."

~~~

Smoke was rising from the main island and Jacob could now see the aftermath of the battle. What he didn't see... was any sign of the Bou'gan. His instruments had confirmed the lack of any other ship in the area, but... he went in low to get a closer look. He skimmed over the water, brought the nose up a bit, spotted the second and third islands, and noted the damage to the ground.

Damaged... ground?

If he didn't know better, he'd say he was looking at landmine damage. Severe landmine damage. He flew past and toward the main island, his heart in his throat.

~~~

"You were lucky," Leiyo said as he finished bandaging Daniel's arm. "Any deeper and you would have bled to death."

Daniel gave a little nod and said, "All done?"

"Not really. You need Ataxin."

"Ookay, and what is Ataxin?"

"It will keep the bite clean and free of infection. But we do not have any. You could become seriously ill. Of course, your physiology is different and you may be able to fight any bacteria carried by the saliva of the Bou'gan."

"How many Servi were... bit," Daniel asked.

"Only one, but she is... dead."

Shocked, Daniel asked, "The bite?"

Leivo shook his head. "No."

"Ah. So... if my body doesn't fight off any bacteria - how long might-"

"A few hours, perhaps. But you are showing no signs of a serious infection and much time has passed since you were attacked. That is very hopeful."

"Oh. Good. Then I'll head back out and get back to work."

"You should rest, Daniel. You are actually the most serious of our injuries."

"Then I guess we're all in damn fine shape. Thank you, Leivo. You do good work."

Daniel got off the table that had been serving as an examining table and put his shirt back on. He smiled at Leivo, patted him on the shoulder and headed back outside. His arm hurt like hell, but there was too much to do to worry about it - and in the last weeks he'd been hurt a great deal worse, all in the name of a good time.

Once outside, he blinked in the bright, early morning sun. Other than the fact that they were only hours past a major battle, it was a beautiful day. He walked toward the Common and the Servi working diligently to clean up what was left of the Common room when a large shadow blocked out the sun. Daniel glanced up, worried, only to find himself looking up at a Goa'uld death glider.

"Fuck."

What, they fight off the Bou'gan only to have... wait a minute..

The glider dropped lower and hovered. Daniel could see the pilot.

Jacob.

Daniel did the only thing he could. He grinned and waved.

Next: The Rescue