That which we try to forget Part 4
by Annejackdanny and Cancer

Entering the briefing room, Jack announced, “Ferretti is playing in the sand and will let us know if his digging produces any results in about an hour.”

“And what if it doesn't?” Daniel asked.

“Then I guess we send Chen-zero off to lead a team to Ba'al's other planets to collect his toys and hopefully we'll stumble over the address at one point.” Jack slipped back into his chair. “Anything else we need to address? I have an apple pie with my name on it waiting for me in the commissary.”

“I will accompany you, O'Neill. Nourishment is long overdue,” Teal'c said.

Daniel stood and stretched his taut back muscles. “I've got some research to do.” 

“Carter?”

“Nothing to add, sir. I'd like to take some of Ba'al's technology to my lab.”

“Don't blow anything up, Colonel,” Jack smirked as he waved the science twins off.

“I'll try not to.” She grinned and followed Daniel out.

Jack watched as they left. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see who would produce the results first, Carter and her data, or Ferretti in his sandbox. 

~*~*~*~*~

Jack had just finished staring in amazement at Teal'c's choice of snacks consisting of every dessert and fruit choice the commissary had to offer and was about to dig into his lonely piece of apple pie when Daniel burst through the open doors of the commissary, pushing up his glasses and looking generally bewildered.

“There goes my pie,” Jack sighed, while Teal'c started eating his red grapes.

“Jack! They found it!” Daniel came to an abrupt halt at their table. “SG-2 just came through with several boxes of very old tablets...“ He craned his neck to have a better look at Teal'c's tray. “Is that an English muffin, Teal'c?”  

“When was the last time you ate?” Jack asked with suspicion.

“I don't know.” Daniel took the muffin Teal'c handed him. “Thank you. Anyway...” He took a bite, swallowed, and rolled his eyes in bliss, then continued, “...Sam was going through the tablets and there are definitely gate addresses, written down a long time ago. She asked me to give her a hand and we found a match.” Gobbling down the rest of the muffin, Daniel brushed some crumbs from his blue BDU shirt. “It was on the first tablet we went through.”

“Bingo,” Jack muttered. He had at least managed half his pie by now, which was a good thing.

“So. When are we going?” Daniel asked, crossing his arms and giving Jack an expectant look.

~*~*~*~*~

“We are scheduled to leave at ‘o eight hundred tomorrow morning,”  Jack informed his team an hour later.

“Will Chenzira be accompanying us. O'Neill?”

“No, he won't.”

“Excuse me? If you don't mind me interrupting...” the voice coming from the door was quiet, almost soft. Chenzira walked in leaving his guards at the entrance. “I think you would benefit from my company to that planet.”

“Ya think?” Jack didn't think so at all.

“Yes, I do indeed. I know the location of the palace. It is quite a distance away from the gate. I'm also familiar with the location of the rooms you seek.”

“So much for sketchy memories, eh?” Jack's eyes narrowed.

“I used the time in my quarters to meditate and was able to reach more memories of those early years. Seeing that this planet seems to be very important to you, especially Doctor Jackson, I would like  to be your guide. And there is something else

I remember now.” He crossed the room and stopped in front of the table, taking them all in with one sweeping look. “Before Ba'al left that planet he made sure the knowledge hidden there wouldn't fall in someone else's hands.” 

“He booby trapped the place?” Jack shook his head.

“I am not familiar with the term.” Chenzira frowned. “But Ba'al had a very... hot temper. If he wasn't able to discover the secrets of the planet, nobody else should either.” 

“Why did he not destroy the planet,” Teal'c asked coldly. “It would be more like Ba'al to take such action instead of leaving the planet intact.”

“You are absolutely right, Teal'c,” Chenzira said much to their surprise. “I do not know why he did what he did. As I said, my memory is full of holes and vague images. I can only tell you what I remember. The planet and its treasure, or whatever you are seeking there, has no meaning to me. Maybe Ba'al had planned to return later, but whatever was on his mind, he never acted on it.”

“And you happen to know how to disarm Ba'al's trap, weapon, or whatever it is he left there?” Sam  asked.

“I do.”

“So tell us how. Then give us directions and we'll manage just fine,” Jack said.

“Ah, but it is not that easy. The device Ba'al left is sensitive to voice pattern. I would rather stay here and rest or think about what to do with my future. But I am willing to accompany you and turn off the trap.” 

Now if that wasn't a generous offer... Jack bit back the remark Chenzira might earn a medal for his selfless sacrificial action when he caught Daniel's warning look. No snake baiting, right. Why did he give up his retirement plans again? Nobody in his right mind would put dealing with Chen-zero over a sailing cruise in the Caribbean.

“You better prove yourself useful,” Jack muttered.

“He will not be any trouble,” Teal'c said with no doubt, the shadow of a predatory smile on his face.

~*~*~*~*~

“Daniel, wait!”  Daniel slowed to allow Sam to catch up. “So, do you think it will be the same as PB2-908 where we found Ernest?”

“I hope so. I wish you would have had time to study it with me. You would have loved it. It was amazing.”

“I remember the footage you took on Ernest's planet. I wish I could have taken a closer look at it, too.” Sam smiled in understanding as she hugged his arm.  “I hope there's a chance to study this new Heliopolis properly.”

“You think there's a chance this one might crumble around us, too?” Daniel pursed his lips, then shrugged. “It better not. Though given the luck we sometimes have there might be a black hole just waiting for us to gate through and suck us up or something.”

“Daniel, don't wake sleeping dogs.” Sam shuddered.

“Just kidding.”

They walked towards the locker room in companionable silence each thinking of what they might see and find.

~*~*~*~*~

The seventh symbol locked and Jack adjusted his hat as the event horizon settled.  He glanced at Chenzira who stood flanked by two marines from SG-6. He received a smile in return. Adjusting his hat again, Jack waved his team and guests through the gate.

“Well, at least it's not sand,” Daniel said as they exited.

“Yeah, but why do there have to be so many trees,” Jack muttered beside him.

“To give you something to whine about so you'll be happy,” Daniel countered smoothly, grinning when Jack rolled his eyes at him.

Moss covered stone steps led down from the pedestal the gate sat on. A small path wound itself through a dense forest with thick green leaves. It was the only way leading to and from the Stargate. The small clearing was surrounded by the woods on all sides.

Jack turned to Chenzira who was following SG-1 down the steps. “Does that swiss cheese brain of yours remember which direction to take?”

Chenzira's hands absently fiddled with his coat as he joined the general. He had requested a change of clothing be sent through by SG-2, as the robes he had been wearing were not really suitable for this planet. The thick leather coat and pants were much warmer in the crisp chill air. “We arrived by Ha'tak and not through the Chappa'ai, so I am not sure of the direction from here.”

“Great. Carter?”

“I'm getting a strong signal from that direction, sir.” She pointed south, into the forest.

“South it is. Carter, take point. Teal'c and I'll take six.”

The group moved out with Daniel chatting amiably with Chenzira, the two marines never leaving their sides. Jack and Teal'c kept an eye on the ex-Goa'uld while scanning the immediate area for any signs of danger. 

A huge dark structure towered over them as they cleared the trees thirty minutes later.

“Looks like we've hit pay dirt,”  Jack murmured as the group came to a halt.  “Carter, is that where your doohickey's signal is coming from?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jack pulled out his binoculars.  “Well, campers, I guess we have to take the climbing tour. And there's no obvious way into that thing either.”

“There is an entrance that is well hidden.  We only discovered it when a Jaffa accidentally leaned on it and fell through,” Chenzira said helpfully, imperturbably ignoring Teal'c's glare.  “We ringed down just to the east of the structure and found the entrance on the left side.”

Gazing up the fissured mountainside they were going to climb, Jack thought the building on top looked like a castle found in a Wagnerian opera. Which was most likely why he had the Ride of the Valkyries playing in his head on the frigging climb up to the palace. His knees weren't happy about the steep jagged path, nor the rough walk over lose rocks  across the plateau until they reached the entrance.

Diplomatic missions, yeah, right. In his memories those were always held in pleasant rooms with comfy chairs and boring people.  

Daniel followed Cheesy to where he insisted the door was. Pressing both palms flat against the stone portal, Daniel realized quickly that leaning against it wouldn't do the trick this time. He began to gently tap the stones, looking for an opening mechanism.

“See these marked stones?” Chenzira pointed at several stones with old runes carved into them. “When we arrived here, the door wasn't completely closed, which is why the Jaffa fell through it. When we left, we sealed it.”

“Those are Asgard runes. Do you know the combination?” Daniel asked.

“Indeed.”

Daniel and Chenzira proceeded to press various stones in what looked like random order as Jack joined them. Apparently Chen-zero was talking Daniel through it. Jack thought of suggesting Teal'c could lean against the wall, but he didn't think that would prove popular with the big guy.  'Open Sesame' came to mind, but a rumbling sound put a halt to that suggestion. They all stepped back as a portion of the wall swung inside the building leaving an opening large enough to walk through.  

Daniel whipped out his flashlight when they all peered into the darkness. Stale air wafted from inside, reminding him of an ancient sealed burial chamber.

“Do not move,” Chenzira said quietly next to him.

“Didn't plan to,” Daniel murmured back, shining his light into what looked like a square chamber. The beam scurried over roughly hewn stone walls and brushed past something that looked like a giant spider's web. Daniel flicked his wrist to catch it again in the light. There it hung covering the whole entrance to the next chamber. “Is that a force field?” he asked amazed. “Looks too symmetric to be natural.” 

“It is an old technology, not used by the Goa'uld in many centuries. But when Ba'al was here, it served his purpose.”

“Why isn't it being used anymore?” Sam asked, trying to figure out what it was made of. Her own light showed her what looked like delicate silver ropes.

“It is expensive to produce, the material only exists on very few planets. It is poisoned, the ropes will paralyze and kill you within minutes once you touch it. And it resists staff and zat fire,” Chenzira said good-naturally as he reached above his head into a cleft between two stones, pulling out a remote device. “I will deactivate it now.” He switched on the remote and put it to his lips, whispering, “Mekta satak Ba'al.”

“My identity is Ba'al. I am Ba'al,” Daniel translated automatically to the others.

And for a moment, he believed it. This was Ba'al. Despite losing his symbiote, despite being freed of the hold Ba'al had over him, Chenzira was still... Ba'al. Then the moment passed and Daniel pulled himself together as the spider web began to vibrate, then fell to the floor in dust-like ripples 

“It is safe to approach now,” Chenzira announced as he started to stride forward into the dark hall. Teal'c's arm blocked him. Stifling his annoyance as Carter and O'Neill led the way into the building, he followed, once again flanked by the shol'va and the two marines.   

But his irritation vanished as he realized the palace turned out to be exactly as he remembered. With a passing glance at an archway built of stone he followed SG-1 as they moved into the large chamber. 

Perfect.

Not long now. Chenzira smiled in the semi darkness as he walked among the Tau'ri. Soon he would be truly free.

Daniel hurried forward, followed by Sam. “It's very similar to the palace on PB2-908. Look at the architecture. Only this building is in much better condition.” He touched one of the walls. “Jack, maybe there is a network of these places all over the galaxy. The fact we never found another one after Ernest's planet doesn't mean anything. There might still be other places like this.” Daniel spun around, almost giving Jack a black eye if he hadn't taken a step back.  “Chenzira? Can you lead the way to the room with the plinth?”

Chenzira smiled and walked over to an alcove next to the arch. There were ancient writings on the wall. He placed one hand on a row of symbols.  With a quiet rumble the section lifted up. Chenzira turned his head, indicating a bow. “The Cartouche room and the room with the plinth.”  He stepped aside to allow Daniel and Sam to enter.

Daniel paused at the entrance.  “How did you know the symbols to open the door?” In fact he had already wondered about that at the main entrance earlier.

Chenzira shrugged. “The memory came to me.”

Daniel frowned. “It's interesting how selective your memory is.”

“Isn't it?” Chenzira said mildly.

Daniel turned and met Teal'c's dark glare and Jack's stony one. Daniel wasn't a man of prejudice. Neither did he want to blame the host for whatever horrible things Ba'al had done. But maybe Daniel, too, had seen and felt too much of the evil, too much of the harm Ba'al had done.

Daniel never talked about it. Jack never did either. But Daniel had witnessed what Ba'al had done to Jack in that fortress. Unable to help, having to abide by the rules of the Ancients. Until he found that one loophole to reach Teal'c in his meditation...  He had watched Jack crumble and fall apart, nearly loosing himself in the never ending carousel of torture, killing and reviving.     

It was hard to look at the tall dark-haired man in Ba'al's clothes and not hate him. Not to distrust his every word. And Daniel felt his goodwill slipping, felt the old grudge overtaking him just like it did Jack and Teal'c. And probably Sam, even though she held herself together pretty good.  

And then there was the issue of those flashbacks of the other reality. He hadn't experienced another one since Mitchell had revealed parts of the story to them. But he, too, felt Chenzira was lying regarding his memories about tinkering with the timeline. And Daniel was certain he was lying about his memory loss regarding this planet as well.

The question was why?

“Daniel?” Jack interrupted his gloomy thoughts as he and Teal'c brushed past them to take point.

“Yeah. Coming.”

They entered a room that brought back many memories for Daniel. But a lot of his enthusiasm had faded and he suddenly felt old and tired. He had tried hard to push all his doubts regarding Chenzira aside and concentrate on the opportunity to explore another Heliopolis. But apparently he wasn't that young anymore, nor that easy to impress.

“Whoa!  Anyone else getting the ghost walking over their grave feeling?” Jack gazed at the walls covered in cartouches. So much like Abydos, but not. For one, the walls weren't stone, but a metal of sort.

“It's different,” Daniel muttered as their lights wandered over carved walls.

They moved through the cartouche room and entered another chamber. The walls were dark, but as their flashlights brushed over them, they could spot the writings on four sections of the walls which seemed to consist of the same material as the cartouche.
Dust covered the floor and plinth in the middle of the room.

“Alright. That's it,” Jack announced, pointing at a corner. “Let's put our stuff over there and see what we can figure out.”  

Like everyone else, Daniel lowered his pack to the floor. He retrieved two video cameras, his archaeological tools and magnifier glass while Sam unpacked several instruments to take readings from the walls. Teal'c and Jack set up two of the extra lamps they had brought with them so the room was illuminated enough to work without having to hold a flashlight. They put another lamp into the cartouche room and returned to help with more equipment.

“Teal'c, can you do the recordings over in the Cartouche room?” Daniel held out one of the cameras to him. “Begin from the lower section and work your way up. Thanks.” With a small smile in reply Teal'c took the camcorder and left.

“Isn't it futile to record the cartouches? All the addresses are on the record I gave you on Anhur,” Chenzira inquired, apparently bored.

“The cartouche room is interesting from an archaeological view. And who knows? You... Ba'al... might have missed some of the addresses,” Daniel said. 

“I doubt it,” the ex-Goa'uld stated. “We made sure not to miss anything.”

“What's the rush?” Sam asked him with a look over her shoulder as she stood next to Jack, who had stepped close to one of the walls with the writings and gently knocked the barrel of his P90 against the metallic surface. Sounded solid. He pressed a hand to the wall. Cold. “Any idea, Carter?”

“It's not naquadah,” Carter explained. “It looks like copper.” She looked at the screen of her instrument. “Yes, it's a metal similar to copper. I suppose they used whatever mineral was available on the planets they built these places.”

Chenzira began pacing the room, hands behind his stiff back. He still had the walk and demeanor of a sovereign, Daniel observed with unease. He was pretty sure the man had, with the exception of a couple of awkward moments, been much less Ba'al-like on Anhur. Was he imagining things? Maybe it was the clothes, or the leftover of Ba'al's marker in the human. But there had been signs of Ba'al's personality in Chenzira's behavior before. Even on Anhur. At the SGC. Still it seemed to be more apparent now. Something was going on with Ba'al's former host. The foreshadowing of something bad going to happen was overwhelming and Daniel had to tear his eyes away from the pacing man.

He had to get a grip on this. His feelings were probably still affected by the weird reality shifts from the other timeline. Daniel focused on the dark plinth in the middle of the room. He touched the crystal on top and almost jumped as the bright beam of light shot out of the plinth and towards the ceiling immediately.

Around them the walls with the writings lit up one after another as if the room woke from a deep sleep. Everyone stared at the walls in amazement and Daniel slowly turned around to take it all in.

Ancient, Asgard, Nox, Furlings.

“You did it,” Sam grinned. “It works.”

“And the best thing?” Daniel crossed the room and brushed his fingertips over the lit up Ancient text. “I can read it now. All of it but the Furling text.” He began studying the writings. “It tells of the alliance they formed,” he murmured. “Of how they made their goal in life to protect less advanced races from being harmed by evil.”  After reading more of the text he turned to the others who had gathered behind him, except the two marines who were guarding the exit to the cartouche room where Teal'c was still taking footage of the walls. “I think this place is different from the Heliopolis we found ten years ago. It's not a repository of basic knowledge. It has a different purpose.” He moved on to the Asgard section of the wall. “This is the gathering place to make decisions in times of war and need of protection. They met here to...”  Daniel trailed off, mumbling to himself for a moment as he continued to read the writings. “... um, they were working on a worst case scenario rescue plan. Like a failsafe. In case the Goa'uld would become too powerful to be reined in. It speaks about a three-dimensional bridge to...” Shaking his head Daniel bit his lip. “The text moves on to the Furling section from here. It's written in paragraphs that begin in Ancient and then Asgard runes take over to be continued by Furling writings. Then the next section starts over in Ancient. This will take a while.”  He turned to Sam. “Could you start recording the walls for me, please? I want to read a little more of these right now. My camera is over at the pedestal of the plinth.”    

“Sure, no problem.” She patted his arm and went to retrieve the camera.

“Thank you,” Daniel murmured absently.

Jack eyed the plinth, his hand twitching to touch the crystal again. “You think there'll be those cool proton and electron thingies flying around our heads again if we turn the page?”

“Hmm?” Daniel blinked and with a quick glance over his shoulder said, “I'd like to read more of this before we use the plinth to activate the holographic section at the ceiling. Provided there is one.”

“What is he talking about?” Chenzira asked, cocking his head expectantly at Jack.

“Light show. Very impressive. You know, I wonder why the crystal didn't work when Ba'al touched it,” Jack said thoughtfully.

“I have no idea. Ba'al was not a god as you never grow tired to point out.” Chenzira shrugged and picked up his pace again.

“Perhaps the device is Goa'uld protected,” Teal'c suggested. He handed the video camera back to Daniel. “I have finished the recordings of the wall in the cartouche room DanielJackson.”

Mumbling a thanks, Daniel took it and started filming a section of Furling text, then stopped and took a step away from the wall. “These writings. They look familiar,” he said.

“Probably from the other Heliopolis,” Sam suggested.

“No. They are related to the writings on the box that activated the cage on Anhur. They are not similar, but close. The reason they were familiar was probably because I saw Furling writings on Ernest's planet before.” Lowering the camera, Daniel asked Chenzira, “Did you  acquire the box from this planet?”

“No, we did not. We took it from one of the planets on the list I gave you,” he replied.

“Then some of those planets must be inhabited by the Furlings. Or descendants of them,” Teal'c concluded. “We might be able to locate them and forge a new alliance.”

Jack caught himself wishing they could leave this place and get rid of Chen-zero ASAP. He didn't like the way his eyes seemed to be everywhere and how he stalked around the room.

Biding his time.

For what?

He's too much like Ba'al. Always has been from the start, Jack thought grimly. And suddenly it hit him. What was irritating him so much of the way Chenzira talked.

“Chenzira,” he called him quietly.

Ex-Ba'al spun on his heel and taxed him. “What?”

“Just wondering. Were you harvested with a bunch of other people for Ba'al so he could chose his host?”

Chenzira raised an eyebrow. “I was not. I was chosen before, by Ra.”

Jack blinked. “Ra chose you as Ba'al's host?” He turned to Teal'c. “I thought the snakes chose for themselves?”

“That is so. Unless a Goa'uld harvests hosts for their mates or children to chose from,” Teal'c replied. “As it happened to Sha're and Skaara..”

“That's interesting,” Jack said thoughtfully.

“I was chosen. I had no say in the matter. I was a victim.” Chenzira's eyes were alert, assessing, but he didn't look away. “I had no idea what would become of me. What to expect.”

Daniel left his spot at the wall and joined them next to the plinth. “You were a scribe. That means you were highly educated and a personal servant of Ra. You must have at least heard about the ceremonies of choosing before.”

”I was brought into the temple and the priestess carrying the matured symbiote awaited me. They gave me red wine and then ordered me to lie down on a pallet with silk sheets. Ba'al left the priestess and entered my body,” Chenzira recalled gloomily, his face half hidden in the shadows of the chamber.

“I know the people the Goa'uld harvest from other planets to make them hosts are not prepared for this... experience. But a direct servant of Ra? I wonder if you hadn't been chosen long before the actual ceremony took place,” Daniel said.      

“Ba'al chose me for my intelligence and knowledge. So I was told.” 

“It does happen,” Teal'c said. “Sometimes children with promising or outstanding qualities or beauty are handpicked by their god to be raised and prepared to be a host of the god's offspring once they mature. Or of their mate. Ba'al was not related to Ra, but there might be other reasons Ra chose a host for another Goa'uld.” 

“Ba'al and Ra were … what? Cousins?” Jack wrinkled his nose.

“Err, no. As far as I know there is no relation between Ba'al and Ra,” Daniel said slowly.

“It is possible that the Jaffa priestess carrying Ba'al had been one of Ra's many women. It wasn't common, but it did happen that a Goa'uld chose female Jaffa to share their bed.”

“And choosing a host for her symbiote was Ra's gift to her?” Daniel's eyes grew wide. “That's just... sick.”

“If that was so, Chenzira was aware of what he would become.” Teal'c said. “It is a great honor to be chosen by a god to grow into a host. Only personal slaves sometimes reach this goal.”

Chenzira felt everyone's eyes on him, curious and a little awkward. His lips twitched in slight amusement as he casually stepped towards the plinth. “Yes,” he finally said. “I was chosen after a period of preparation. And it was a great honor indeed. However, nothing could really prepare me for what it really felt like being Ba'al.” He gently brushed a hand over his coat, still smirking. “I was oh so naïve. Young and curious.  I had no idea about the knowledge Ba'al would fill me with. I have always prided myself on being intelligent and a fast student. But Ba'al's presence overwhelmed me, conquered me.” 

“You almost sound like you enjoyed it,” Sam said with raised eyebrows. She abandoned the section of the wall she was recording and joined the rest of SG-1 who had gathered around Chenzira. 

“Oh, I did.” Chenzira's voice was soft with admiration, yet cold as ice. This time his attitude didn't snap back to that of a simple man who had been the victim of being possessed. “I did enjoy it. Humans are so limited in their capabilities. Their brains are so big and you  use so little of it. Ba'al opened the universe for me. And eventually he realized we were of the same mind. We both wanted the power, we both believed in our abilities to build the largest empire. To become the most powerful system lord.” He faced them, his back to the plinth now. “We had to wait to come forth a very long time. Had to serve Ra, and then other system lords, always plotting and planning. SG-1 was a big help in accomplishing our goal by killing so many of our rivals, taking the work out of our hands.”

“Why, thank you,” Jack snorted with disgust.

“Over the years we grew as an entity. When we first heard of the Tok'ra, how they share the body with the host, I grew excited. However, Ba'al never allowed me control, but he listened to my suggestions here and there. Because he knew I enjoyed what he did, approved of it.”

“I knew there was something wrong when the host refers to himself and the snake as 'we' so often,” Jack snarled. 

“Oh, don't get me wrong. I am truly grateful you freed me of Ba'al,“ Chenzira said with a bright grin. “Ba'al was a true Lord, a real patriarch, a resourceful teacher even. But he was also vain and greedy. He wanted too much, he didn't know when to stop. And his hate of SG-1 combined with his thirst for the ultimate power made him reckless.”  

“What do you know about the time machine?” Sam asked tight lipped.

“Ahh, the time machine, yes. A brilliant plan. It could have worked. Of course I had to deny remembering anything about it when you asked me. You would have grown even more suspicious of me had I told you what I knew. It is interesting that you experience memories from that timeline.” He turned to Teal'c. “And you, my Jaffa friend, would have had nothing but advantages from it. Privileges, honor and control over a vast army. Sadly, my clone was the one building it. I assume he died in the past, so the time machine is gone. It was supposed to be Ba'al's last victory. Too bad.”  Chenzira clasped his hands behind his back.

“And what... what are you up to now?” Daniel asked what everyone was thinking.

“Now? Now I will retire and enjoy my life. And put to good use what Ba'al taught me. Had I known the only reason we could not make the plinth work was because it was Goa'uld protected, I could have spared you the troubles of accompanying me.”

“So, not that smart after all, eh?” Jack allowed himself a moment of scoffing.

“Well, since I am Goa'uld no more, I believe I can use this...” His left hand touched the crystal of the plinth behind him and another beam of light shot up into the darkness, blinding them all. Chenzira whirled to the left and ripped the combat knife out of Samantha Carter's belt, then closed his arm around her throat, tipping her head back, ready to either break her neck or slice her throat.

The camcorder she was still holding dropped to the floor and her hands shot backwards, grabbing for the lapels of his coat. He tightened his hold on her neck. “Keep your hands to yourself, Samantha.”

One quick move and he had switched on the body shield that had been sewn into the lining of his coat.

Nevertheless Teal'c's staff weapon and O'Neill's P90 were pointed at his head. “Let her go,” the general snarled.

“I won't harm her if you give me free passage to my destination,” Chenzira said. “And don't throw your knife at me, Doctor Jackson. You might accidentally hit Colonel Carter.”

Jackson's hand stopped creeping to his own knife as he grimaced. “Busted, I guess.”

Chenzira felt Carter twitch in his grip and in order to make her behave, poked the tip of his knife into the soft flesh underneath her right ear. “Relax,” he whispered. “Arms at you sides.”

“Son of a...” she ground out through gritted teeth as he slowly dragged her backwards.

“Call the guards off, O'Neill.”

The two marines waiting at the door backed off on O'Neill's order, letting Chenzira pass into the cartouche room.

Carter tried to squirm out of his grip, but his other arm was now wound tight around her middle, pressing her arms painfully against her body.

She twisted her neck and he yanked his wrist against her throat to keep her still. “Such attitude,” he chuckled.

“Bite me.” He could feel her body tense as she was getting ready to move. The tip of the blade scratched a little further and she hissed in pain as droplets of blood trickled down her neck and into the collar of her jacket.

Sam could think of a dozen ways to free herself of the bastard, except the knife would slice open her throat if she so much as twisted in his grip. Plus his arm around her neck was slowly putting pressure on her windpipe and she had to blink to keep her gaze focused on General O’Neill, Teal'c and Daniel slowly following them. She couldn't see the two marines, they must have moved out of the way.

“Chenzira, let her go,” General O'Neill snapped. “Where do you think you are going? You can't keep this up. You'll never make it to the gate.”

“I do not intend to go through the Chaapa'ai, O'Neill,” Chenzira mocked.

Sam licked her lips. Where was he going?

“What are you going to do?” Daniel asked. “You turned the page with the crystal, but there are no holographs. What did you activate?”   

“That's for me to know and you to find out,” Chenzira replied lightly.

If his attention would slip only for a second so Sam could move and disarm him... But the knife didn't waver; neither did his muscular arm around her neck. Then they suddenly stopped and Sam saw a variety of emotions playing over Daniel's and General O'Neill's faces. She could see it so clearly, as if having her air cut off made her vision more crisp. Daniel's mouth was hanging open in amazement or shock. She could see something reflecting in his glasses. Something shimmering and bright. General O'Neill blinked, opened his eyes wide and then narrowed them, his mouth forming the words, “What the hell...”

“This, lady and gentlemen, is my cue to leave,” Chenzira said pleasantly. The hand that wasn't holding the knife to Carter's throat crept to her tac vest. He quickly opened one of the pockets and relieved her of ammo, then snatched her hand gun from her leg holster.   

“Let. Her. Go.” Every word out of O'Neill's mouth was like a razor sharp blade.

Out of the corner of his eyes Chenzira saw Teal'c and the two marines circling him from both sides.

“Oh, I will let her go. Though...,” He bent down to  Carter's ear. “It is a shame we have to part here, Samantha. I would enjoy your company.” His eyes flicked to one of the marines. “Bring over one of the packs.” 

The man looked at O'Neill for confirmation and when the general nodded curtly, left and returned with Carter's gear.

“Over here, please,” Chenzira said. “Slowly.”

“Where are you going?” Daniel asked, staring at the shimmering surface of something that looked similar to the wormhole the Stargate created. It filled the arch like a pool of water, rippling and moving constantly. But while the wormhole of the gate appeared to be blue, this wormhole was yellow with white spirals of energy whirling in its center. “Is this the three-dimensional bridge that's mentioned on the writings?” 

“This? Ah, yes, it is a doorway. A portal to another dimension. I am sure Colonel Carter here can explain it to you later.”

The marine had lowered Sam's pack next to Ba'al and backed off when Chenzira pointed her gun at him.

“You led us here,” Jackson said. “You wanted us here from the beginning. To open the portal for you.”

“When we came here we did not know the purpose of the plinth, nor the full meaning of the writings. But we found references to the portal on another planet, written in Asgard only. You are right, Doctor Jackson. There are more such planets of the four races. We learned about the portal on another of these worlds and remembered we were here before. However, Ba'al did not see reason to return. Why go into another dimension if he had this whole galaxy to conquer first?”

“So... you didn't really lose the address?”

“Ba'al knew I wanted to return to explore this portal. But since we did not know why the plinth did not function, he lost patience with my curiosity and never returned. I knew the address was hidden on Anhur, but I could not let you know how much interest this place was to me, could I now? It was hard enough to convince you to bring me here as it was.”

Teal'c would throw his knife into his back any second now. He was close, Chenzira could almost smell him, sense him. “It was nice doing business with you, SG-1. Sorry I have to take your gear. But I need food and water. And I'm sure whatever else is in there will prove useful,” he said as he spun Carter around and pushed her towards O'Neill who grabbed her and shoved her out of the line of fire. She vanished behind them, hands around her sore throat, but a moment later she stumbled into line next to Jackson, weapon aimed at Chenzira.

A brave woman she was. She would have been a formidable mate. Razor sharp mind, strong, a warrior at heart. Too bad he could not take her with him.

He picked up her pack and turned to Teal'c. “I really wish you would have been my first prime, Teal'c.”

“I will kill you,” the Jaffa growled.

“Not today.” He stepped backwards into the white light of the portal. “Do not attempt to follow me as I will seal the portal from the other side.”

The knife missed him by a few inches as it cut through the air. He could feel the drift of air as it passed his left ear and vanished into the portal's vortex.

Jack threw his own knife only seconds after Teal'c's missed the bastard's head, but it was too late. Chenzira melted into the energy beam in the center of the arch. First he seemed to dissolve into shadows, only a silhouette of black floating on a background of white light.

Then he was gone.

The portal closed with a low hiss and when their eyes had adjusted to the darkness again, all that was there was a stone arch and Jack's knife lying at the bottom of the wall. 

“Open it,” Jack barked.

“I'm on it!” Daniel's voice was already coming from the next room.

They left the marines at the portal and Jack followed Teal'c back to where Daniel and Carter were standing around the plinth. “Daniel? Carter?”

“It's not working,” Daniel said breathlessly, hitting the plinth again.

“Sorry, sir,” Carter murmured, her voice raspy. She coughed and he could see drops of blood underneath her ear, slowly trickling down and pooling in the hollow of her throat. 

“You all right, Carter?” He briefly put a hand on her shoulder.

“Fine, sir. But the plinth is dead.”

“No, it's not dead. It switches pages to show new writings. It just doesn't re-open the portal,“ Daniel said frustrated.

“He has deceived us. Again.” Teal'c ground out, his face stony, but his eyes burning with anger.

Jack snatched off his cap and rubbed a hand through his silver hair. “Ya think he'll be back?”

“I doubt it,” Daniel said. “I'm not sure yet, but I think this wasn't supposed to be a two way trip.”

Jack nodded slowly as something in the universe shifted back into place, like a tiny cog wheel in a huge machine clicked and anchored everything together again.

Ba'al was gone. All of him.

Jack's gaze caught Daniel's. “Good enough for me.”

They looked at each other for a moment until Daniel nodded slightly before he turned away to stare at the illuminated writings on the wall.

Jack slapped his cap on his head and stretched his back. “How long, Daniel?”

“Um, I want to record these writings. There are still a couple of pages left, so...”

“So?”

“Ah, a couple of hours, maybe a day.”

“Teal'c...”

“I will stay with DanielJackson, O'Neill.”

“Good. I'll...”

“You will accompany ColonelCarter to the SGC and brief GeneralLandry on the situation.”

“That's right. Carter?”

She grimaced and twisted her neck carefully as she followed the general through the palace, leaving Daniel and Teal'c to work on the recordings.

The fresh chilly air cleared her head and as she felt better, she tried to channel her anger into the climb down the mountain. But when they had reached solid ground and were striding towards the gate through the dense forest she was still silently fuming.

They stood in front of the DHD, a bright ray of sunlight finding its way through the trees made the red crystal glitter. She reached out a hand to punch in the chevrons when she caught General O'Neill's gaze resting on her.

“Let it go, Carter. There was nothing you could have done about it.”

“I should have kicked him in the...”

“And let him slice your throat open? I don't think so.”

“Sir, I let him take me by surprise.” She began dialing out. “He took my knife, my gun and my pack.” God, she was so outraged, she wanted to hit something. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

“He was fast. And he had the advantage of surprise.”  He cocked his head to get a better look at her pale, pinched face. “We're all taking this too personally. Because of who he was. Stop it. Right now. He's not worth it.”

He was gone.

Gone for good.

Jack could feel it in his gut.

Another demon expelled, another door closed.

“He might go out there and build himself a new empire,” she said, as the wormhole shot out of the gate. “We shouldn't let him get away.”

“No,” he agreed. “But right now there's nothing we can do about it. And he'll have to start from scratch so it might take another thousand years until he's there again.”

A thousand years he didn't have now that he wasn't a Goa'uld anymore. Too bad.

“Sir, what if...”

“Carter,” he said in the same tone he sometimes said Daniel.

“Yes, sir,” she quietly acknowledged his unwillingness to discuss it.

He knew they would get back to this in the debriefing. He would listen to her then. But right now all he needed to know was that this portal to the other dimension was closed and sealed.

For good.

~*~*~*~*~

Daniel paused, hand raised to knock at Jack's door, then with a shrug he walked in. “Hey.”

Jack looked up from his pile of paperwork. “Hey.”

“What's up?” Daniel slouched into one of the comfortable chairs in front of Jack's desk. His eyes wandered to the shelf with the ruby slippers and he suppressed a smile at the little plaque next to them with the words “There's No Place Like Home”.

It felt true and right.

“Nothing. When will you return from the new Heliopolis?” Jack threw his pen on the top of  his files and leaned back, grimacing at the cracking of his taut neck muscles.

“Oh, I'm gone at sixteen hundred and will return in three days.” It had turned out Daniel needed a team and a lot more time to record all the pages of writing.

“Good. That means you'll be here on Saturday. Barbecue at nineteen hundred, bring beer. And don't be late or the good stuff will be gone by the time you get there.”    

Raising his eyebrows, Daniel cocked his head. “Did I miss something?”

“Housewarming,” Jack said. “Teal'c'll bring donuts and Carter is contributing her CD collection.” 

“Ah.”

“You'll like the new house. It has a nice guest room. Just in case you...” Jack made an upwards floating motion with his hand. “And we have to get rid of your house again.”

“That's... comforting,” Daniel replied lightly.

“Though if you do, do that, I will have to shoot you afterwards, so just don't.” Jack smirked, then sobered quickly and leaned forward. “Can I ask you something?”

Blinking, Daniel stared at his old friend. “Is this going to be a coherent conversation?”

“Daniel, give me a break. I'm serious. And I'm bad at the talking stuff, so...”

“Sure. Ask away.” Curious, he leaned a little forward too, placing his elbows on Jack's desk.

“They offered you Atlantis. Why didn't you grab the opportunity and hightail it out of here?” 

“Actually, I've been thinking about that,” Daniel replied slowly, leaning back in his chair again.

“Aaand? I know you wanted to go there for years.”

“Yes. And you never let me.”

Their eyes locked and it was Jack who looked away and sighed. “You're too valuable to get lost in Pegasus, Daniel. We needed you here. You're not replaceable.”

“Thank you. I guess.” Daniel said. He wasn't used to Jack spouting praise and compliments. It felt a little awkward. But good.

“Now that the Goa'uld are defeated and the Ori are gone. There wasn't a reason for you to stay when the President offered.” 

“You really want to know?”

“Just remember, my attention span is short, so...”

“It felt like the right thing to do, Jack. We were all suffering from these... reality shifting, flashes, whatever. Coming back together again as SG-1 seemed to be the only way to make this stop. That's what I thought. It was like putting something right that had gone wrong at some point. Of course I didn't know about Ba'al and his time machine then. It just felt like it would put an end to whatever was wrong.”

Jack considered this, then nodded.

Daniel glanced at his watch and stood. “I'm hungry. I could grab lunch before I have to get ready to leave.”

“What's on the menu?”

“Teal'c said something about steaks. I think he and Sam are already there.”

“Let's go.”

They sauntered out of Jack's office and down the hall, side by side as they had done countless of times before.

Carter and T were already eating when Jack and Daniel joined them with trays of food. Steaks, potatoes, salad, apple pie, blue jello, coffee. Some things never changed. Carter was... entertaining them with some of Ba'al's high tech toys they had brought home from Anhur and Jack tried to look stern and annoyed when she confessed her tinkering with it was the reason for the power failure and short circuit earlier today.       

Finally Carter addressed Daniel. “I want to look at everything you record on New Heliopolis. Maybe there is a way to re-open the portal after all.”

“I don't think so. The Furlings were the initiators of the portal. And it was made for one way traffic only. It would be sealed from the other side so nobody could follow. Who knows, maybe that's where they vanished, too. Maybe they just left when they felt the fight against the Goa'uld was fruitless.” Daniel had studied a lot of what he recorded from the writings already.

“The thought of Chenzira being in another dimension trying to become as powerful as Ba'al is making me sick,” she muttered.

“First he has to find the means and resources to gain power. He went there with only his clothes and the body shield,” Daniel said, but cringed at Carter's grimace.

“Don't forget my gear and ammo . At least my laptop wasn't in the pack. But my food rations, med kit, diagnostic tool, a geiger tube, a seism detector and several other instruments.” She sighed.

“Not a great start for building an empire,” Jack said. They had been through this in the briefing two days ago already. He knew he should probably feel bad for not caring. The only other satisfying solution for him would have been to kill Chenzira. He'd never been comfortable with having to live in the same universe as ex-Ba'al.

“Why do you think he did it? I mean...” Daniel paused, frowning. “I've been thinking about it. Starting from scratch at some place you know nothing about... well, not much anyway? I think he either knew more about what awaits him there than he let on, or he was as desperate to leave as we were to see him leave, in a way.”

“We need to find the other Heliopolis planets. If what Chenzira said is true, there are more,” Sam said. “Maybe we'll find answers there.”

“Perhaps he just wishes to live in a place where there is no SG-1,” Teal'c bottom lined it and started eating his dessert.

“There's a thought,” Jack said with a nasty little grin as he devoured his apple pie. “Maybe there is an SG-1 where he went. Wouldn't that be kinda cool?”

“You mean like an alternate universe SG-1?” The possibility made her feel better. It was a small comfort, but she could get used to that thought.

“We do know it is possible,” Teal'c rumbled.

“And maybe I have a boat called Homer there,” Jack insisted and shrugged when Daniel and Carter rolled their eyes in unison. Some things never changed.

Life was good.

The End     

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