***

Sam’s pulse raged wildly as her thoughts pulled her mind in different directions. Dad. She’d never see him again… never have a chance to hug him again and tell him she loved him one last time. Or Cassie. Or Mark and his family. And then there was the Colonel. God, he’d be so disappointed in her for not getting the team out of this hellhole. And Daniel. And Teal’c. Why hadn’t she paid more heed to his warnings? Was he okay? Did he make it home, or was he stuck in another part of this nightmarish prison?

Sam closed her eyes and shuddered as she realized that she was still falling. God help me… will this ever end?

Then, suddenly, she stopped descending.

The loud shudders that seemed to be emanating from the walls ceased until all Sam heard was the throbbing of her own overactive heart, her deep, shuddered breaths, and the sound of the alarm from her monitor wailing sharply in her ear. The device continued to alert her to the acute and ever-increasing spike in the muon radiation levels that by this point should have been lethal; and yet she felt no ill effects.

Sam opened her eyes again to gauge what was happening to her. Clearly she was still alive, or at least to the best of her ability to calculate such things, she seemed to be alive. But how? With a fall from that height, there was just no way she could have ended up as anything other than a puddle… a lifeless heap of crushed bones and flesh.

And yet here she was, her body stretched out as though she were skydiving, ostensibly floating motionless in mid-air. Loud crackling noises overwhelmed the alarm on her monitor and then quickly consumed her radio, too. She realized in horror that all of her electrical equipment was failing simultaneously. Moments later, the faint beam shining from her flashlight flickered out as it, too, succumbed and gave out.

The panicked tremors coursing through her body flared once again as she lay in a prone position in mid-air, the pitch blackness of oblivion engulfing her. The nerve-wracking claustrophobia that taunted her in the tunnel reared its ugly head again, causing every muscle in her body to tense. The air around her seemed to respond, squeezing her even tighter, like a boa constrictor. The telltale signals of a full-blown panic attack pulled her back from the brink. Panicking wasn’t going to solve anything.

Several minutes passed as Sam worked to bring her wayward nerves under control. She closed her eyes and began to take slow calming breaths. With nothing else to do, but think, she redirected her mind away from her fear and began considering her options, limited as though they appeared to be. She couldn’t go up. Even if she could see where she was going, there simply was no way to maneuver over to the wall to even attempt to climb. So with the idea of ascending off her list, what about descending? Was that even possible? Right now, it seemed that movement of any kind was off the table; although that would mean she was hopelessly ensnared in this mid-air trap with no hope of escape, and she simply was unwilling to accept that as a possibility. Yet.

As Sam continued to pull herself together emotionally, her body slowly calmed, so much so that her left hand went limp; and to her great surprise and elation, it actually sunk a few inches. She tried to turn her head to get a look at her limb, but her movement was restricted once again, and her head was caught in a vice grip of sorts. Sam grunted and struggled to move her hand, but encountered only resistance - some force freezing her limb in place and frustrating her efforts to propel herself downward.

Sam took deep breaths to calm her nerves and moments later sensed her right foot sinking downward. She attempted to push it down of her own record and was once more rewarded with the air around her tightening, the focal point of that pressure being the leg she was trying to force down. Well, this is exasperating, she huffed internally.

Sam stopped and analyzed her situation. Whenever she fought this… energy net, for lack of a different description, it fought back. Almost like the Chinese handcuffs her brother used to torment her with as a kid. But whenever she relaxed any part of her body, the net loosened a little, and she started to descend.

Sam closed her eyes and began some deep-breathing exercises Teal’c had taught her, hoping to achieve a deep state of absolute calmness so she could continue her descent and hopefully land softly on solid ground. Slowly but surely, she became aware of slight downward progress.

Then of their own accord, thoughts of what she might encounter when she landed and questions about if she’d land anywhere at all began to pelt her mind like hail on a windshield, startling her back into the reality of her situation. Her progress halted as the air around her punished her for her tension.

No. She couldn’t think about the “what if’s” now. She had to believe that she would make it out of this trap. She would land safely on solid ground, and she would find her team. She had to empty her mind of everything except the calming, relaxing images Teal’c had trained her to focus upon when she was overcome with stress. She had to ignore the questions and fears echoing in the back of her mind. She could deal with them later… if there was going to be a later, of course.

After several pain-staking minutes, she again felt herself floating downward as she drew up one of her favorite memories - a picnic she went on with her mom and brother when she was ten when her dad was unable to make it due to an emergency mission, thanks to Uncle Sam. Fully immersing herself in the memory, she imagined the sound of the birds chirping in the trees smattered around the edges of the large park… the smell of the honeysuckle that wafted in the light breeze… the taste of the fried chicken her mom had prepared, and the tactile memories of the newly-mowed grass tickling her hands and bare feet. She smiled softly at the recollection of the warmth the May sun had provided on that perfect day and the charming laugh her mother sounded when she or her brother said or did something that amused her.

Sam was yanked from these calming memories as once more she felt herself falling in real time, no longer cocooned in the safety of the energy net. But the sensation lasted only a second when – with an un-ladylike “Ooomph!” – she crashed into solid ground. Her useless flashlight wrenched free from the spot on her shoulder, rolling completely out of sight before she even had a chance to reach for it. Sam grimaced. God, that hurt. It wasn’t a soft landing by any means - there’d definitely be bruising from this one, but at least she was alive; stuck down on a ledge deep inside an almost bottomless, pitch-dark chasm with no flashlight, no monitoring equipment, and no way to contact her team… but alive nonetheless.

Suddenly her nearly forgotten pack – finally free from the energy net’s grasp – sped toward her and almost continued downward past where she lay. Sam caught it in time before it was lost to her forever along with her worthless flashlight, which apparently had continued on down into the blackness. Thankfully, this served to highlight the fact that there was no ground on her right side before she accidentally might have stepped off a ledge into whatever was down below. Sam reached her arm out to steady herself on her knees, her fingers feeling what clearly was an edge mere inches from her kneecap. Still too dark to see anything, she stretched her arm out tentatively on the left, feeling nothing.

Oh, God… what if she had missed this ledge? She might have continued falling, plunging even further into the endless sea of darkness surrounding her. Fear started to grip at her once again, but she forced it down. She was alive, and she was safe, at least for the moment, and while she couldn’t shift to the left nor the right, apparently moving forward was still an option. She crawled at a snail’s pace across this narrow landing of sorts which seemed slightly wider than the beam she had to cross to get to the crystal skull; and while not a fan of extreme heights, she had no problem crossing that bridge. Of course, back then she at least had the luxury of actually being able to see where she was going.

Sam relived the fall in her mind, analyzing every moment, every nuance; how it seemed as though she had been pulled away from the relative safety of the tunnel and forced to fall almost endlessly into this near bottomless cavern. But what if it wasn’t as bottomless as she had originally thought? For all she knew, her depth perception had been altered and she had only fallen a couple hundred feet as opposed the thousands she had sensed. But altered by whom? Or what? One of those things she had seen floating around above? Which, now that she gave it some thought, reminded her of the shadowy beings they had encountered topside. Then there was that energy net that had cushioned her fall like a piece of fruit on top of molded JELL-O, guiding her safely to solid ground. And what about the lethal radiation levels she was currently being exposed to? Or at least had been exposed to while she was falling? She should be dead by that alone… unless these creatures only made her believe there was a spike in the radiation levels.

Sam chuckled humorlessly to herself as she reviewed what she was just speculating: apparitions willing her away from the wall and down into this pit, playing with her mind, making her think she was further down than she was and otherwise altering her perceptions of reality. Paranoid much, Carter? She shook her head ruefully and focused on her efforts to slowly inch her way forward in the absolute darkness. Let’s take this one crisis at a time and stop creating new nightmarish scenarios that exist only in my mind. Hopefully.

Minutes slowly passed as she made her way toward wherever this slender path led until finally she saw something… a soft, light blue glow coming from about seventy-five feet straight ahead of her current position. At first, Sam wondered as to whether or not it was real or an illusion. Desperate for any kind of comfort or reprieve from this pitch black hell, perhaps she’d cling to any kind of hope like a thirsty man lost in a desert to a mirage. No. It was real. Faint, yes, but real all the same. A glow of some sort coming from a stone wall dead ahead. The closer she came to it, the brighter the glow became, helping illuminate her way.

Finally, she was only a few feet away from it, and, now being able to see a little better and know she wouldn’t plummet into a void of nothingness, Sam felt comfortable enough to stand up and get a closer look at the source of the glowing. She dumped her pack off to the side, leaning it against the wall and began untying her “safety rope” as her eyes continued exploring the expanse of the roughly chiseled stone wall. After stowing away the rope in her pack, she instinctively reached for her diagnostic equipment, eyes roaming freely over the whatever-it-was before her. Looking down at her monitor, she noticed an angry crack splitting the screen in half, reminding her of its uselessness. Mindlessly returning the gear to its proper place in her vest, her attention zeroed in on what looked to be some sort of panel to the far right side, although the symbols on the alien screen meant nothing to her.

Her sight locked back on to the source of the illumination that drew her to where she stood. The glow that guided her to relative safety came from eight large alien symbols embedded in the surface of the wall over what clearly looked to be some sort of a sealed-off doorway. But a doorway leading to what? Salvation or ruin? These symbols above the closed off entrance might shed light onto her questions, but she was as completely clueless to their meaning as she was to those on the panel.

She sighed, feeling completely helpless and wishing she knew something… anything… that could help her translate the characters into something meaningful.

What she wouldn’t give for Daniel to be here right about now…

Chapter 8: by Scifithinker
The Tok'ra, Besett, rested by the force field which surrounded the Stargate. As her Goa'uld son's army grew in size, her ability to counter the soldiers' murderous excursions lessened. If she were finally to defeat Ammit, she would have to do it before he returned to Duat from his latest off-planet recruitment campaign, and she would need help.

An engineer by training, Besett had hidden on this remote planet for centuries. She had traced an unknown technology to this place and found a treasure trove in one infinitely complex device. Not only did it shift objects, both living and inanimate, to alternate dimensions, it also generated a force field around the Stargate which kept people in rather than out. Although the careful study of three hosts' lifetimes had only uncovered some of the device's secrets, the personal consequences for her were clear. Her constant proximity to the machine after having been shifted into an alternate dimension had resulted in the development of telepathic and telekinetic skills, skills she could barely control. The dimensional converter still hid the DHD from visitors, and with Besett's intervention, the plasma barrier had kept Major Carter from plummeting to her death.

Ammit had followed her to the planet, Duat, and, believing it the key to making him invincible, had impetuously activated the dimensional converter. Besett had been caught in the field as well, but her prior knowledge of the apparatus had allowed her to trigger the force field before he could escape. Ammit had since learned, as had she, how to circumvent the force field around the Stargate, but he had apparently decided to use the planet as his refuge until he had built the small army that had originally accompanied him, into a massive force. His gains seemed slow, but steady to Besett, and he now appeared to stand at the brink of both commanding a formidable force and deciphering the means by which his soldiers, some of whom had also shifted dimensions, could escape the force field. While most of the machine's mechanisms were underground, some were on the surface, and Ammit's manipulations of them were proving costly to Besett's cause.

The first of Egeria's children, Besett had devoted her life to defeating Ammit. Only her rage eclipsed her shame, for she was the sole Tok'ra queen whose progeny had become Goa'uld, and she blamed herself for his desertion. By the blood of Egeria, no spawn of hers would ever enslave humans.

Besett’s casting of the plasma barrier to save the woman had exhausted her, yet she could not stop her thoughts from racing. Despite her isolation on the planet, she knew of the Tau’ri teams and of the blonde woman who had once blown up a sun in order to destroy Apophis's fleet. Years of clandestine transmissions to and from the Tok'ra while Ammit was off-world meant her intelligence was rather extensive, and SG-1 had been news since their brazen first contact with the Tok'ra. Their appearance on Duat gave Besett the hope that she had finally found a partner in Samantha Carter, a colleague to help her decipher the mysteries of the apparatus that had dominated her existence for the last five hundred years.

She knew she could no longer remain on the defensive as each encounter with Ammit’s Jaffa exhausted her, and her advanced age weakened her further still. Unlike her son, she was rapidly reaching the end of her natural lifespan. She had been unable to transfer the Tau’ri’s Jaffa underground with his teammates, and Ammit's warriors had finally developed a way to breach the underground defenses which protected the villagers. It was only a matter of time until they, like Ammit, were able to breach the protective barrier around the Stargate. When that happened, her son would wreak havoc on countless other planets.

Her weapons came at a stiff personal price. The force field and the dimensional converter both required her presence to maintain; the plasma barrier sapped her physical strength. As a consequence, though Ammit came and went as he pleased, she stayed behind to protect the technology by which she protected the villagers and hampered Ammit's Jaffa.

She turned her attentions to the lone Jaffa lying near the gate. She would need all members of the Tau’ri team in one place in order to enlist their aid, and the Jaffa would have to counter his symbiote's fear response before she could transport him to the pit like she had his companions.

"Jaffa, hear me. Your symbiote reacts to a resonance pattern caused by the use of dimensional shift technology. You must go underground where the naquadah deposits can counteract these frequencies. Only in this way can you survive. Your friends await you there. Rise, and follow me."

Teal'c saw no person, heard no voice, yet knew instinctively he must do as this entity had demanded. Struggling to his feet, symbiote still in hand, he stumbled away from the path to the village, across the field into the trees where, some indeterminate distance away, Besett had hidden the entrance to her underground complex.

Chapter 9: by Chopin Gal
The falling dirt kept getting behind his glasses. It was too tight in the tunnel to reach up and place them in his pocket, so Daniel shimmied along doing the best he could behind his leader. The fine coating of grime on both lenses made it almost impossible to see the faint light emanating from O’Neill’s flashlight farther ahead. At O’Neill’s advice, Daniel had stored his own flashlight to conserve what little battery power they had left.

If the situation were not so dire, Daniel would have been chuckling at the incongruity of it all. It was amazing that he chose archaeology as a profession considering his own claustrophobia. Nevertheless, the lure of ancient cultures and civilizations was a powerful motivator; the thrill of discovery usually compensated for the occasional distress of going below the surface at on-site excavations.

This tomblike environment, however, was fast becoming Daniel’s worst nightmare. He was choking on the bits of debris churned up by O’Neill’s digging and scraping and the malodorous fumes in the ground itself. A fine line of sweat glistened on his forehead as he worked hard to calm his churning fear. His thoughts kept returning to his lost companions, wondering if they had survived their own ordeals, their own personal hells.

He still could not believe that Sam was gone. The speed with which the rope uncoiled itself and disappeared into the other tunnel left both him and O’Neill stunned. She did not or could not answer radio communication. Silence. And there they knelt, looking into the empty hole, feeling frustrated and incompetent as hell. Maybe O’Neill was right when he gave the order to keep moving. Scrabbling along and crawling through this godforsaken passage was at least causing them to do something, anything, to justify their inability to pull Sam back from whatever had yanked her from their grasp.

And Teal’c. Strong and true friend. Comrade in arms. Reduced to a look of terror and running away from them towards what? What could have caused such a change in the Jaffa? What force, what demon was driving him?

The legends surrounding this planet grew more ominous and more believable. Yet, the muon radiation spinning out of control from that mysterious orb in the village had not killed them. In fact, it seemed to snatch them from the ghostly warriors and transport them into this subterranean space. Who or what was behind all this?

Deep in thought, the young scientist pushed ahead and blindly ran into the rear end of Colonel O’Neill.

“For cryin’ out loud, Daniel! Stop butting into my butt!”

“Sorry, Jack, I can barely see a thing. How much farther do we have to go?”

***

The stricken Jaffa staggered through the trees, compelled by a strange force that he could not name but, somehow, intuited as a friendly spirit. This innate knowledge offered him hope as he lay dying at the Gate. It felt almost like a maternal wisdom. It was a soft, yet pressing, command which cleared his mind. It seemed to urge him to return to the village.

Teal’c worked his way through the forest with his last bit of strength. He continued to clutch his struggling symbiote in hand, knowing that he could not replace it within himself without risking a return to madness.

As he moved through the maze of trees, he felt drawn more and more by the certainty that something, someone was waiting for him ahead - waiting with a solution, a sign. His salvation.

***

Besett smiled as she watched Teal’c come closer to the underground complex. He was a noble and proud Jaffa. He found the courage to reject the power of Apophis and, like her, sought to free all humans and Jaffa from the enslavement of the System Lords, the false gods, the scourge of the galaxies. It saddened her to watch this brave Jaffa suffer.

***

Teal’c stumbled into the sunlight and followed the rutted path towards the village. As the road turned, he saw a flash of light coming from a mound of rocks nearby. The light seemed to beckon him, and he found himself wading through tall grass to examine it more closely. Strangely, he felt stronger the nearer he got. The light was pulsating upwards from behind one of the larger rocks. He carefully bent forward to see the source, and suddenly the light disappeared, revealing an ornate metal plate at the base of the rock. He cautiously slid his fingers down and tried to identify the markings by touch. Instead, he found a metal ring which responded by glowing and emitting a low humming sound. He fell back from the rocks as the earth shook slightly and pulled away from the stone formations disclosing a roughly hewn staircase.

“You will be safe here. Do not fear.”

Once again the presence of a benevolent force washed over him. He looked around, searching for indications of a trap or ambush, but saw nothing threatening. For the first time, his symbiote relaxed in his grip, adding to the sense that he should follow his instincts and descend the steps.

Staff weapon at his side, Teal’c staggered down the staircase. It led only to a pod-like container which opened to allow him access as the earth shifted once again and covered the hidden staircase. The technology was familiar; he had been transported in similar pods. The device could be Goa’uld or Tok’ra. He knew he had just made a fateful decision and trusted solely in a nameless, invisible entity which seemed to be guiding him. Rin tel nok.

While he prayed for protection, the pod closed itself and plummeted downward into the bowels of the earth, deep into the underground complex, passing rich veins of naquadah on its descent. As the pod sped toward its unknown destination, Teal’c made a final leap of faith and restored his symbiote to its pouch. He breathed deeply and anxiously awaited the consequence. The phantom voices did not return. His belief was well-founded.

***

Sam was exhausted, her aching body wanting to rest but her mind not letting her. She remained hyper-vigilant, intent on figuring a way out of her dilemma. Somehow she had survived the harrowing free fall from the ledge. Relief co-mingled with fatigue and frustration. She had survived only to face a dead-end, a massive wall taunting her with a sealed doorway and eight alien symbols which she could not decipher.

As she continued to chisel away at the many niches and crevices in the rough stone wall with the small knife which had now become her lifeline, another rumbling filled the cavern. This time it was not so powerful as before; the ground did not shift at her feet. Her ears strained to hear what she could not see in the darkness beyond the illumination from the wall.

Something had landed nearby. Soon the sound of unsteady footsteps approached. She flattened herself against the wall and waited, arm upraised and holding the small knife. She heard labored breathing and knew that in the next minute she would be face-to-face with her intruder. Heart pounding, she never felt more alone.

Until he stepped from the shadows.

“Teal’c!”

Chapter 10: by Gate Gal
Shame once again swept over the Jaffa as he came face to face with Major Carter. She was covered in mud, and while he could see no sign of physical injury, it was obvious she had been through an incredible ordeal. He couldn’t look her in the eyes. He feared that by running away he had proven himself a shol’vah to his team and the Tau’ri.

When Sam realized he was there, her face broke into a smile. “Teal’c!” she exclaimed. “It is you, isn’t it?”

“It is I, Major Carter.”

“Are you all right?” she asked, stepping forward to give him a hug. “What happened?”

Teal’c bowed his head. “Major Carter, I have failed SG-1 and the Tau’ri. When the ghostly army appeared, my symbiote reacted violently.”

“Teal’c,” Sam began, “you didn’t fail us. You tried to warn us. I’m not really sure what happened on the surface, but there was an increase in muon radiation as soon as the army appeared. Our bullets had no effect on them, and suddenly the Colonel, Daniel, and I were transported into some kind of hole. We weren’t even sure that we were in the same dimension. It all happened so quickly.”

“The Colonel and Daniel are still trapped in that hole, but it is several hundred, maybe thousands, of feet above us.” Sam let out a sigh at the memory of her free fall. “We need to find a way to retrieve the guys and get out of here. I’ve been trying to get this door open, but I’ve never seen anything like this technology.” Sam paused. “By the way, how did you get here?”

“I was led to a descent pod by some unseen entity. I do not believe the pod is capable of a return trip,” Teal’c answered, putting his guilt aside in effort to be of assistance to his friends. He scanned the glowing panel and the door. “This technology is familiar to me, but I do not recognize any of these symbols.” Teal’c paused before continuing. “Major Carter, I do not know how my symbiote will react if we encounter the ghost army again. I may be useless or even dangerous. You must take my staff weapon and do what is necessary.”

“Teal’c….”

“I insist, Major Carter.” With a nod, Sam took the staff weapon and began showing Teal’c the symbols and doorway. They worked in companionable silence, neither realizing that they were being watched.

***

O’Neill’s patience was wearing thinner with each passing moment. It seemed like these tunnels were going in circles. He was sweating from exertion, and he was completely exhausted. Daniel was talking way too much. O’Neill knew it was just Daniel being Daniel. The archaeologist always talked more when he was nervous, but Sam or Teal’c were usually there to deal with him. Where were Sam and Teal’c? He needed to get out of this hole in the ground, find the rest of his team, get off this rock, and take a nice cold shower. Oh, yes, he was definitely taking first dibs on the shower.

“And what I really think is - Jack, are you listening to me?”

O’Neill turned around, pointing the flashlight into Daniel’s eyes.

Daniel squinted. “There is something behind this wall, Jack. I think it’s a doorway.”

O’Neill turned the flashlight on to the wall and was surprised to see what appeared to be a stone archway. There were several bricks blocking the lower half and dirt and the far-reaching roots of the village trees had nearly hidden it from view, but it was definitely a passageway. “Dig, Daniel, dig!” exclaimed O’Neill, and within minutes the men had cleared enough dirt to enter. Surprisingly, they found themselves beside a winding staircase. Now, all they had to do was decide which way to go. Up meant a chance to find the Gate and possibly Teal’c, but they were still missing Sam. Could she have made it to the surface or was she further below?

***

“Major Carter, that is most impressive. I believe you are making much progress.”

“Thanks, Teal’c, but I haven’t got the doorway open yet. This keyboard, for lack of a better word, seems to be on some type of binary system. If I can just figure out which symbols represent which...” Sam didn’t get to finish her thought. Suddenly, the symbols above the doorway changed to a bright amber, and the whole area took on a new aura. Sam could see the symbols and panels much more clearly. “Wow, Teal’c, this is unbelievable.”

“Teal’c?”

“Major Carter? Major Carter, where are you? Are you still here, Major Carter?”

“Teal’c, I’m right here,” Sam said, and then she realized that she was now out of phase.

Chapter 11: by Regan X
Though at first glance the symbols over the doorway were like nothing she had seen before, Sam couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something vaguely familiar about them. They were not Goa’uld, of that she was certain, and they didn’t look like Asgard runes either. After the Asgard had removed the information from the repository of the Ancients from Colonel O’Neill’s mind, Daniel had spent days at a time engrossed in the study of the writings the colonel had made, trying to decipher what he could of the Ancient language before being able to set out an alphabet of sorts, but none of the symbols on the panel matched the Ancient letters.

Numbers, maybe? Or maybe a language based on Ancient. I wish Daniel was here.

She touched the panel gingerly, choosing a few of the keys at random to see if she could activate the doorway, but her efforts availed her nothing. A couple of feet and a dimension away, Teal’c seemed to have had the same idea and was meeting with the same luck, or lack thereof, as she was.

Her hand passed directly through his when she tried to touch him.

It seemed that, unlike the Stargate, there was only one combination of symbols that would have any effect on the doorway.

Sam did a quick count of the number of symbols on both the doorway and the panel, mentally calculating the odds of being able to hit on the right combination by trying each different permutation. She estimated that it would take at least a few million years to try each possible combination… and that was without factoring in time to eat or sleep.

‘Come on, Sam,’ she scolded herself inwardly. There has to be a pattern. Look again.

***

He couldn’t see or hear her, and he had no idea whether or not she would be able to see or hear him. He knew that if his friend had been transported to a different dimension, he would be unable to offer her any help if she ran into difficulties, would not even be aware of it if she did, but Teal’c couldn’t bring himself to leave.

The effect the radiation had on his symbiote meant that he could not leave the cave for the surface nor could he go in search of O’Neill or Daniel Jackson.

He had not felt so powerless since, as First Prime to Apophis, he had watched his self-styled god enslave and murder countless innocent people, both human and Jaffa.

It was not a feeling he enjoyed.

He touched the keys on the control panel, trying to remember and repeat Major Carter’s actions but nothing happened.
He felt something cool brush against his hand for the briefest of instants.

“Major Carter?”

There was no response, of course, but still he knew that she was there.

***

The doorway was opaque and impenetrable. When she had attempted to walk through it, she had not been thrown across the room as she had half expected she would be – something she was very thankful for – but she had been repelled with a gentle, unyielding force.

As a child, her mother had frequently challenged her with logical, spatial, and numerical puzzles to keep her active mind occupied, a game that had lost its attraction when her mother had died, and now Sam tried to apply the same methods and principles to the puzzle with which she was faced.

The binary code on the control panel had been relatively easy to work out and she was fairly confident that she knew what each key represented, but the set of symbols over the door were another story.

Aware that she would need to find her way back to the dimension or dimensions her team were in, Sam did her best to tune out both Teal’c and the concerns her own inner voice was expressing about the whereabouts and safety of her friends, in order to keep focused on the symbols above the doorway.

‘They’re not letters; and since there are twelve of them, and they’re all different, they aren’t numbers… unless the people who built it used Base 12 math.’

In her mind’s ear, she could hear her mother speak, her tone encouraging. “You know this one, sweetheart. Start with the first two shapes; don’t worry about the rest of them, not yet. What do you see?”

At four, the puzzle she had been faced with had seemed daunting at first. However, when she had narrowed her focus to the first two shapes in a sequence of five, a triangle and a square, she had quickly spotted the pattern and been able to pick out a hexagon as the next in the order.

Studying the first two symbols above the doorway, she focused on the characteristics they shared as well as on the differences between them before glancing down at the control panel.

‘It can’t be that simple!’

Counting the number of lines that made up each symbol in the sequence, she tapped each corresponding key in turn. Her efforts were rewarded when the control panel glowed, and the opaque doorway began to gleam, its silvery surface rippling. When she touched it, her hand glided through it as if through air. She was ready to step through, but she hesitated.

She could see from Teal’c’s unchanged expression that nothing had happened to the doorway in his dimension. If she stepped through, she didn’t know whether she would be able to find him again.

Chapter 12: by Ann and JanSam
Sam yanked her hand back through the door, gently rubbing it. She began shaking her head. ‘People were not meant to pass through doors,’ she thought to herself.

Sam was running her options through her mind. “Well, one thing is for sure; standing here isn’t going to help any of us.”

She started to walk through the door when the presence of a symbiote brought her out of her musing. She was used to the weird feeling from Teal’c’s symbiote so she knew that could mean only one thing.

She wasn’t alone in this dimension.

She tightened her grip on Teal’c’s staff weapon and slowly turned around.

“No, it’s not,” a woman replied, appearing near the edge, behind Teal’c.

Sam cautiously raised the staff weapon.

“Using that weapon on me will not help, Major Carter,” Besett said as she stepped through Teal’c.

“Holy Hannah!” Sam exclaimed.

“My name is Besett and I am Tok’ra.”

***

Let’s go, Daniel,” O’Neill said, making his decision as he started descending the stairs.

“Jack?”

Seeing that look from Daniel, O’Neill knew there would be no moving until Daniel understood his reasoning. “Oh, come on Daniel, you saw how fast that rope was moving. Carter was either falling or being pulled away, very quickly I might add.” O’Neill paused for a moment. “Look, Daniel, we need Carter if we are going to get off this wretched planet. We can look for Teal’c on our way back to the gate.”

O’Neill turned and started down the stairs. Although he didn’t look back he could hear Daniel following closely behind as he descended the stairs at a rapid pace. The look on O’Neill’s face told Daniel there would be no discussing it.

“Jack!” Daniel called as he stopped; he was out of breath after they had descended several never-ending flights of stairs.

O’Neill turned exasperated with the archeologist. “Perhaps you should spend more time in the gym and less time with your nose in the books. You’ve got three minutes.” O’Neill surveyed the stairs below as Daniel sat, catching his breath.

“Jack, you do realize that if Sam was falling then she is probably… injured.”

O’Neill turned on his flashlight to illuminate what appeared to be an end to the descending stairs below. “Which is why your three minutes is up; I can see we are almost to the end of the stairs.” O’Neill put his flash light away and resumed to his descent.

***

Sam lowered the weapon, deciding that if the symbiote was Goa’uld, it would have killed her rather than talk to her. “How do you know my name?” Sam asked.

“I know many things about you and your friends. Please follow me and I will explain, but time may be running short.” Besett took a step toward the door, assuming Sam would let her pass.

Sam refused to move, eyeing the woman curiously. Someone was responsible for them being trapped down here and activating the force field around the gate. If this woman had answers, she wanted them now.

“Please, Major Carter,” Besett said impatiently, looking worriedly over her shoulder.

“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I was the one that activated the force field when you fell over the cliff. Had it not been for me you would have surely died. I mean you no harm, Major Carter. Please. You and your team are the only ones that can help us. We must enter the room before it is too late.” Besett pleaded with her.

Sam started to step through the door when she sensed the presence of another.

“Too late for what, Mother?”

***

O’Neill looked ahead as he came down the last steps. He was grateful to be nearing the end of the stairs as his knees were really starting to ache… not that he would tell Daniel that. A large opening lay ahead with some faint illumination in the distance. O’Neill took another step down and stumbled on the loose dirt and rocks.

Teal’c, unaware of the danger transpiring around him in another dimension, heard muffled curses coming from across the large abyss to the ledge on the other side.

Daniel, seeing O’Neill stumble, grabbed his pack to keep him from falling down the last few steps. “Jack?”

O’Neill leaned against the wall, catching his breath and wishing the aches in his knees would go away. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m fine, Daniel.”

“Are you sure, Jack?”

“Yeah, my knees are protesting our little trip. Loudly, I might add,” O’Neill said, annoyed at the old injury. “I will get over it shortly.”

“Uhhhh, Jack?” Daniel asked, peering over O’Neill’s shoulder seeing the faint glow for the first time.

“WHAT?”

“What is that?” Daniel pointed in front of them. “Or rather, who is that?” Daniel could just make out a person in the far shadows.

***

“Have you become so weak that you feel you must ally yourself with humans?” Ammit’s disgust was evident in his words. “They cannot help you.”

Sam quickly turned to find another person. “I’m guessing Goa’uld this time,” she mumbled as she raised the staff weapon.

Ammit saw the movement and quickly grabbed for the weapon, both of them struggling to keep a hold of it. Ammit’s Goa’uld strength giving him the advantage, he was able to hold it in one hand while using the other to backhand Sam across the face.

The force of the blow caused Sam to stumble back, releasing the staff weapon, and the next blow came quickly as the end of the weapon connected with her abdomen, forcing her backwards through the door.

**
O’Neill pulled out his flashlight, disregarding the annoying pain from his knees. He moved the light over the area. Noticing the cliff in front of him and moving it over to where Daniel was pointing.

“Teal’c!”

Chapter 13: by Tracy Jane

***

Sam slowly and cautiously explored her surroundings, safe in the knowledge that the argument was still raging behind her, the Goa'uld now having taken on a mocking tone to hide his frustration at not being able to enter the chamber. Her guess was that the Tok'ra was somehow manipulating the force shield that had been used to break her fall.

"You expect a Tau'ri woman to understand advanced technology even YOU can't decipher?" Sam heard as the Goa'uld slipped into English, obviously trying to goad Besett, trying to distract her in ways other than physical pain. "Granted, your mind is not what it was, Besett, but sinking so low as to beg-"

The Tok'ra muttered a curse in reply, one that Sam recognized from that distant past, and she cheered inwardly.

She shook her head, trying to push the dispute out of her mind once more so that she could focus on the chamber and its contents, particularly worried that Besett's strength could be failing with the exertion due to the force shield.

The room, or rather cave, was roughly-hewn from reddish-brown rock, large bulbous mounds of metal seeming to grow from the jagged rock, creating the effect of organic symbiosis between the two.

Careful not to touch the rounded metal, Sam inspected the smooth surfaces, looking for markings or buttons, trying to discover its use. She stopped at the center "growth," a formation that rose to her waist, reminiscent of the unusual, bulbous flora of PJ2-445 or perhaps some strange, modern art sculpture with its smooth curves and ballooning head.

She walked around it, inspecting it for some sort of latch, some sort of panel access that would allow her to see the power source of the machine. Yes, she was sure it was a machine, though beyond anything that humans had ever so much as seen. The fusion of rock and metal was somehow familiar, though she was struggling to place it, but the power source…?

Drawn to the silky-smooth surface, Sam stretched her hand to touch it, the head of the object glowing a mystical, deep orange somewhere below the glassy surface. Entranced by the glow, she kept her hand moving towards it, slow and cautious, nerves welling up inside of her, unsure of what this mysterious artifact would do.

As she made contact with the "growth," a jolt of pain shot through her hand, and she whipped it away, pulling it to her chest as she hissed angrily, trying not to swear at the pain. The surface had been hot, searing-painful hot, and Sam looked to see her hand now starting to swell.

Grabbing her water bottle, she poured a little of the liquid over her hand. Ten minutes under running water wasn't going to fly, especially as her glance towards the archway showed a severely-weakened Besett and a gloating Goa'uld towering above her.

Refocused on the job, determination renewed by the sight of the weakening woman, Sam stepped forward once more to look at the glowing pillar, a soft orange glow now illuminating the room as all the metal objects glowed with this fluid light, markings now apparent just below the various surfaces in deep blood red.

The heat indicated some sort of thermal power, perhaps geothermal, which would be understandable given this close link between the earth and technology. Sam ran her hands through her hair, watching the devices, wondering how to operate them when touch wasn't an option.

A crash pulled her back from her introspective explorations, calculations, and searching of her mind for answers for examples she had seen on other planets, the only vaguely similar style being the alternate reality mirrors in terms of organic fusion between rock and metal. A crash caused by Besett hitting the floor, a crash caused by the Goa'uld, pushing her to the floor as he took long, powerful strides into the chamber and straight towards Sam.

Chapter 14: by ShimmeringStar
Teal'c patiently waited while Daniel Jackson and O'Neill slowly groped their way over the earthen bridge to the ledge Teal'c occupied. After his team mates stood, slinging the thickest of the mud accumulations from their uniforms, Teal'c inclined his head in deferential greeting. The timely arrival of his teammates to the cavern bode well for trying to untangle this latest feat of human science that the Goa'uld had once dangled in front of him and his brethren as godly forms of magic.

His primary concern right now was the speed with which they could untangle the mystery of this doorway. While he did not give priority to feelings and intuition, his time amongst the Tau'ri had taught him to be more open to his subconscious, and, at the moment, he was not having good feelings about the situation he imagined Major Carter to be facing on the other side of the door.

"It would appear so, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, agreeing with Daniel's out-of-phase assessment. "Upon locating Major Carter, I attempted to assist her in gaining access to that which is behind these doors." He arched a brow. "I was not successful."

But Sam had been, Daniel mused as he swept his flashlight around the glowing doorway. He stared at the markings, an absent expression on his face as he allowed his mind to flow and congeal around the images and words surging through it. He couldn't shake the anthropomorphic feel he had from the gently throbbing light; it was almost like they were being denied entrance from a warm, inviting womb.

"More like bowels," O’Neill chided him.

“What?" Daniel asked, blinking hard and turning towards O’Neill.

“This,” O’Neill said, flicking at a chunk of dark mud staining his jacket, “is not womb-like.”

Daniel winced, realizing he'd been musing out loud. He lowered his flashlight to spotlight the control panel behind Teal'c.

“So that's how she got in there?” Teal'c nodded.

“Why didn't you just blast the door down?” O’Neill asked.

“My staff weapon appears to have disappeared along with Major Carter,” Teal'c explained.

O’Neill sighed. Carter was now out-of-phase and with her had gone the only truly effective weapon they had! He patted his pocket for reassurance, making sure his knife was still there. Which gods had they pissed off this time, he wondered. He frowned at the throbbing glow of the arch. "Care to translate, Daniel?"

Daniel cleared his throat and stepped forward.

***

Besett lingered in her prone position a bit longer to ensure that her son had thoroughly dismissed her as an immediate threat. Through half-closed eyes she observed his angry exchange with the young human warrior who stood before him, her proudly defiant stance daring him to make a move against her.

Besett allowed herself a small internal smile. She had chosen well to entrust this woman with so difficult a task; this SG-1 was living up to the intelligence she had culled from the Tok'ra resistance.

Opening her eyes wider and allowing them to rove her immediate surroundings, she assessed her situation.

Her son, cunning though he could be, was still acting on impulse, lately more recklessly than he ever had before. She caught sight of the Jaffa's staff weapon where Ammit had carelessly discarded it. Carelessness would be his downfall, she thought as she made the most subtle of movements to reach out for the weapon. She didn't trust her depleted energy stores enough to use her telekinetic abilities to take hold of it right now, and she needed to hold in reserve what little she did have left.

She glanced again at Major Carter who continued to stand her ground against her ranting son. Keeping up with this human and her team would be the death of her. Besett frowned as her hand finally found the smooth metal grip, well-worn from decades of handling by the former First Prime. As she pulled the weapon toward her, her eyes never leaving the back of her agitated son, she accepted her death. She only hoped to the Ancients and Ascendeds that they would delay it until she had completed her mission.

Sam's hand wavered over the central growth as she saw Ammit raise his metal-tipped hand toward her. Her burned hand throbbed its refusal as she moved it closer to the growth, her eyes never wavering from Ammit's own. If only she had more time… More time….

Chapter 15: by Scarimor
A lesser man would have spoken up in irritation by now, but Teal'c stood still and silent while Colonel O'Neill paced behind Daniel and tapped the empty holster where his sidearm should be.

"They're numerical representations," said Daniel, sweeping his flashlight from side-to-side across the arch. "I recognize that much." He rubbed a dirty finger over his mud-caked glasses, then took them off and began scraping a lens with his thumbnail. He squinted up at the symbols.

"Good, Daniel, good," said O'Neill impatiently, tapping louder. "But can you unlock that control thing?"

Daniel redirected the beam down to the panel of keys and frowned. "There's probably a relationship…."

"Major Carter suggested a binary code," said Teal'c.

Daniel glanced at him. "She did?"

Teal'c nodded.

Daniel's thumbnail scraped faster. "Binary combination lock. That is so not my field."

"Ones and zeros," said O'Neill quickly. "Easy."

Daniel's eyebrows rose. "You understand binary, Jack?"

"Don't look so surprised, Daniel. Seventh grade." O'Neill snatched Daniel's glasses from him, spat on them twice, wiped both lenses with his fist and held them out again. "Gimme something to write on."

Daniel took his glasses back with distaste and slid them onto his nose. He delved into his vest pocket and produced a grubby notepad and a stub of pencil. O'Neill took them quickly and stood poised to write.

"Okay. Go."

"Go?"

"The numbers, Daniel!"

"Right!" Daniel tore his disbelieving gaze away and turned his attention back to the symbols above the door. "Okay, we need a three, a four, a six...."

***

Sam braced herself for the inevitable pain. It didn't come. Instead she heard Ammit's snarl of surprise and anger as his ribbon device failed to activate.

Interference, Sam realized quickly. The technology in the chamber affected Goa'uld equipment, too. At least it seemed to when in such close proximity.

She didn't have time to capitalize on it. Ammit's tall, heavy frame belied a swiftness which caught up with her as she turned towards the glowing pillar. She felt the cold, sharp-edged metal of the ribbon-device crash into her jaw and spun away from his fist's impact. A familiar sound from the doorway registered as she landed hard on the ground: a staff-weapon powering up….

***

Teal'c watched in silence while his companions in arms argued in front of him.

"Are you sure?" asked Daniel.

"Yes, Daniel, I’M sure. What about you?"

Daniel flicked the beam of his flashlight from O'Neill's scrap of paper to the panel of keys, then back again. "I think I'm sure." He looked up at the arch again and winced. "Are you sure you're sure?"

O'Neill snatched back his paper with its lines of zeros and ones. "I have the binary right." He pointed up energetically. "Do you have the symbols right?"

Teal'c allowed himself a few moments to grind his teeth together. Then he spoke. "We have little time."

"I know I have the right numbers," said Daniel, "it's the order I'm not sure about. Right to left or left to right?"

"You write from left to right," said O'Neill.

"WE write from left to right. Not everyone does. Arabic is right to left…."

"Perhaps none," Teal'c added, louder.

"If I remember correctly this should be right to left...."

"Pick one, Daniel!"

Daniel took back the paper, slapped his flashlight into O'Neill's open palm, and began punching the keys.

Teal'c stepped back a pace, readying himself for what, if anything, might happen. He was more than a little surprised when Daniel finished and straightened and the solid door in front of them suddenly shimmered.

"Is that it?" asked Daniel.

Teal'c stepped forward again quickly and thrust out his hand. The doorway rippled silently as his fist, and then his arm, disappeared through its glimmering surface. He heard O'Neill grunt.

"It's something."

A second later the Colonel strode through past him. "Come on."

***

The staff weapon wheezed like a broken animal as its energy dissipated without effect. Sam heard Besett's moan of despair, and she looked up from the ground in time to see the Tok'ra's aim at Ammit falter. The useless weapon clunked to the ground.

Sam shook her head, trying to clear the daze of Ammit's blow even as her jaw protested the sudden movement. She heard the Goa'uld's gloating sneer.

"Foolish women. You think you can oppose Ammit, Devourer of Souls?"

The Tok'ra was no help to her, Sam realized. Besett lay like a discarded doll by the door, barely breathing. She was on her own.

Ammit turned his attention back to Sam as she regained her feet. A pair of dark eyes set deep in a swarthy face narrowed on her.

"That is a Jaffa weapon," said Ammit suspiciously. "How did you come by it?"

Sam circled away from him. "Santa Claus."

"You did not come alone."

The Goa'uld advanced suddenly, and Sam sprang to the side, ducking his arm as he tried to grab her. She planted a well-aimed kick in his midriff and heard him grunt as she twisted away, but her hopes of escape plummeted at the solid resistance she felt. The Goa'uld was as resilient as he was fast. A vice-like grip on her ankle pulled her down and back again.

"How many of you are there?" Ammit demanded as he grappled her. He spun her back against the base of the pillar in the center of the chamber.

Sam gasped as she landed. The lower part of the pillar was not searing like the top, but it was still hot. Sam could feel the heat building through her clothing. She struggled to get some leverage against Ammit's heavier body.

Ammit seized her wrist and lifted her arm, pushing the back of her injured hand towards the top of the glowing device. He hissed in her face. "Tell me!"

**
It was empty. Teal’c turned swiftly on his heel, staring around him at bare rock. The room beyond the door was lifeless.

“There’s no one here!” Daniel exclaimed.

O’Neill’s face was a mask of frustration. He too turned around in the grey, echoing chamber, glaring at empty air.

Suddenly Teal’c was seized by a fierce cold so overwhelming that he gasped and shuddered. His chest tightened in inexplicable anguish.

O’Neill froze and stared at him. “Teal’c? What is it?”

Teal’c forced his throat to work. “Major Carter… she….”

“Screamed,” said Daniel. “She’s here.”

Teal’c saw his own horror mirrored in Daniel’s pale face. The back of his right hand itched unpleasantly.

“You heard her scream?” asked O’Neill.

“Felt,” said Teal’c, and without warning his legs were propelling him to the center of the chamber. “Major Carter!”

It was all the distraction she needed. Moisture hissed from the back of her hand and her yell of pain echoed off the chamber’s walls, but Ammit started as Teal’c ran right through them. The Jaffa’s un-phased bulk swept through theirs, and his desperate roar assaulted their ears. “*Major Carter!*”

As the Goa’uld’s grip faltered, Sam twisted again, this time squirming to reach her knife with her uninjured hand. Her fingers found the grip, and she pulled and thrust the blade up as hard as she could into Ammit’s torso. The Goa’uld gasped and staggered backwards.

Released from his crushing weight, Sam leapt aside and spun ready for a second strike, but Ammit turned and fled, leaping over Besett and disappearing through the door beyond.

Sam ran past the figures of O’Neill and Daniel. Her relief at seeing them alive was tempered by the knowledge that they could not see her. She dropped to her knees beside the Tok’ra, clutching her damaged hand to her chest.

“Besett!” She tried to rouse the still woman. “Besett! How do I bring my friends out of phase? How do I join them?”

Besett swallowed and shook her head. Her voice was a feeble whisper. “No… work on the device. It’s more important.”

“I need my friends!”

“Hurry. Ammit will assemble his army… cut off your escape.”

“Help me!” Sam insisted, leaning down to try to hear what she feared were the Tok’ra’s dying breaths.

Chapter 16: by NZBG and Ann
Sam rubbed the wrist of her injured hand, and glanced in the direction of the device Besett was so adamant she fix. But how? How did she fix a device that would sear her hand when she tried to touch it and was devoid of a control panel? This was next to impossible.

“You once thought the possibility of blowing up… a sun was impossible too, did you not?” The older woman’s words grew fainter, but her grip on Sam’s arm was surprisingly strong.

“What?!” Sam didn’t know what astounded her more, the fact that she seemed to read her thoughts or that she knew she had blown up the sun.

“The Tok’ra’s intel …,” Besett said, trying to answer how she knew about the sun incident. “I was fortunate when you appeared through the Stargate.” She stopped to catch her breath as the dark cave around them dimmed slightly, “I’m sorry that I took your weapons. I knew you would not know nor trust me so I needed to ensure my own safety.” Besett paused again to regain some strength and persisted. “Sel’mak…”

“Sel’mak?”

“We were friends many centuries ago… before his current host. He is one of the few Tok’ra who still provides intel.” With a knowing smile, Besett closed her eyes for a moment. Opening them, she shook her head slightly.

Realizing she may not have much time, Sam decided to get back to the crucial matter at hand. “The device. What is it capable of?”

“You need to reactivate the force field.”

Sam was almost certain the device also controlled the force field around the gate, but what about the phase shifting - was it responsible for that as well?

“Yes.” A weak smile appeared on the older woman’s face. “You are wise, Major Carter.”

“But it’s more than just the phase shifting and the force fields around this room and the Stargate isn’t it? You were controlling the force field when you tried to fight off Ammit, and the weaker you are getting the more the device is slowly losing its strength. Not only can you read my thoughts, you can also control this with your mind?”

“Constant proximity to the device has provided me with this ability.”

Sam suddenly thought of something. “So, does that mean that I will gain this ability?”

“I gained my mental abilities over time. I was alone when studying the device and did not have other minds to interact with. Because I did not notice them at first, I am unsure of when they first developed.”

Sam rested her hand on the older woman’s hand which was still gripping her own arm. “So is the force field around the gate activated right now?” she asked.

Besett shook her head. “I do not have the strength.”

“So how do we even know that Ammit will return here? Why not escape through the Stargate?”

“If he gains control of the device… he will become unstoppable.”

“And power is what they all seek. Great.”

Sam sat back, keeping her arm where Besett could reach it. She was disconcerted by the fact Daniel was walking through them again. “What about them? If I can’t get this machine to work will we continue to be out of phase with them?”

“Without the power source, you will not be able to return to your dimension.”

“So, that’s another reason to get this device working.”

Noticing Besett’s grip on her arm weakening, Sam ignored her own dizziness and attempted to make Besett more comfortable. As Besett explained all that she had learnt about the device over the years, Sam propped her flattened pack against the wall and helped her sit up slightly.

“I’m sorry… after centuries of study, there is so much I have yet to discover about the device.”

Worried about Besett’s increasingly frail state, Sam laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright, really. I will work on it.”

“I know you will.” With a small smile, Besett looked up at Sam one more time before slipping into unconsciousness. Unnoticed by Sam, the head of the device ceased its gentle orange glow, and a control panel shimmered until becoming visible on the far side of the room.

Sam carefully released her arm from Besett’s now non-existent hold and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, ignoring the familiar warm and wet feeling of blood still dripping from her nose and mouth. As much as she wanted to rest, Sam knew Ammit was assembling reinforcements. She sighed and pushed her aching body away from the wall.

***

“Daniel, this is an empty room.”

Running his hands along the wall, Daniel admitted to himself that it seemed very solid, and featureless. “Jack, I know she’s here. Teal’c sensed it too.”

“Indeed. If Major Carter is out of phase, I believe she is in this room.”

Plunging his hands into the pockets of his BDUs, O’Neill looked at the other two men with a furrowed brow. “And why am I the only one without this… spidey-sense?”

Daniel shifted uncomfortably. “I really don’t know.”

“If she is out of phase, we are in the wrong room.” Removing one hand from his pocket, only to run it through his hair in an equally anxious gesture, O’Neill persisted. “We need to get Carter back.” He fixed a glare at Daniel, “we need to get back to the door.”

Daniel swung away from the wall he was examining again after completely circling the room and sighed in exasperation. “And what do you suggest we do there, Jack?”

“We are still out of phase with Carter, so obviously we try a different code.”

As they headed out of the door and into the corridor, he couldn’t help adding sarcastically, “maybe it was left to right after all, Daniel.”

***

Watching the others leave, Sam considered the end of their conversation. Daniel and Teal’c could sense her? How was that possible? Sam pushed the pain and nausea to the back of her mind and tried to focus.

Sam was sure that Ammit was gathering backup and would return any minute. She needed to be in phase with her friends by then. If she understood what Besett had said about the device, they wouldn’t be able to change phases now that Besett was unconscious and unable to control it. She had to get it working again.

Sure enough, as Sam turned towards the device she found that it was no longer glowing. Approaching the glassy surface of the growth which had burned her, Sam inhaled sharply. Looking up at the wall behind the device, the extensive control panel that now stretched before her had definitely not been there the last time she examined it. This had to be how Besett controlled it before she developed the ability to control it with her mind.

Sam carefully extended her uninjured hand, and found the surface of the panel cool to the touch.

Chapter 17: by Megyn and Mandysg1
Her contact with the device, and Besett’s recent departure from consciousness, had left Sam both dizzy and without a plan. The floor had seemed the safest option. Sam was unsure how long she’d been sitting down. Long enough for the blood to dry, she observed, but not long enough for the Colonel to start getting antsy. By her calculations she didn’t have much longer on that front either. She got to her feet, slowly, and used her good hand to massage away the dull ache in her head. She frowned. She didn’t remember hitting it earlier. She gently rolled her neck to one side, winced and straightened again. Worrying about her injuries wasn’t going to get her, or her team, out of here. She focused her attention once more on the device. Cautiously, she let her hand hover just above its surface. Was it her imagination, or was it warmer than it had been a moment ago?

“Impossible,” she said aloud. If Besett was the one in control, how could it possibly still be active? She headed for her abandoned pack, and rummaged for her monitor. She didn’t hold out any hope that it would be working again, but it was worth a try. “Huh,” she mused, when not only did she find it working, but that the readings in the room registered normal. With the monitor in one hand, she placed the other, still slightly swollen hand on the device. Readings were steady, all radiation levels within acceptable parameters, nothing out of the ordinary at all, except… “Damn it.” It was warmer! Sam looked up, her jaw dropping fractionally, as her eyes took in what seemed to be a living, moving machine.

“Oh my…,” she whispered. Her monitor tick-ticked in alarm, and she was vaguely aware of the fact that the radiation must be spiking again. The device shimmered in front of her, and Sam felt… heard... something stir within her.

The sound of someone saying her name caught her attention. “Colonel?” she mumbled. It occurred to her that now would be a good time to remove her hand…

Except she couldn’t. Something thin and tough had begun to snake around her wrist and loop through her fingers. She dared not move and stared in horror as it wove its way around her hand. The device pulsed and she found herself staggering free. The swelling burn had disappeared, but in its place… she turned her hand and gazed at her palm. There was a faint glow and, did she hear humming? In her palm, the vines… she wasn’t sure what else to call them, had formed a rough oval shape. They were joined, she realized.

Hello, Samantha Carter.

“Oh, God.” Without moving her head, she flicked her eyes upwards. It was talking to her. In her mind!

***
“Jack, I really don’t think the door is the answer, the answer is back in the room.” Daniel was adamant as he went back into the room.

O’Neill and Teal’c followed Daniel, O’Neill’s irritation clearly showing. “So what now, Daniel - do we sit around here and sing Kumbaya?”

“No, but if we just keep looking around….”

“Daniel, you’ve been over this room already, if the answers aren’t in here, then maybe they are outside with all those funny-looking symbols around the door. Teal’c?”

“I believe you are incorrect, O’Neill. The answer must lie somewhere within this room.” Teal’c nodded his head.

O’Neill stood in the middle of the room with his arms stretched out. “So you’re telling me the answer to all our problems is in this empty room? Well, while you’re at it, why don’t you find out where all those tunnels came from… who knows, maybe some giant moles made them and are hot on our trail.”

“Yeah, right, Jack, and these giant moles just happen to put a sophisticated lock on a door,” Daniel couldn’t help himself, but arguing with O’Neill and his asinine theories was just too much of a temptation to pass up.

“Daniel, we are not getting any closer to finding Carter in here!”

“Oh, come on, Jack.…”

“No, Daniel, you look....”

Teal’c watched the exchange between the two; too often he had witnessed these types of exchanges and it was becoming tiresome. He needed to be doing something to aid in finding his missing teammate. A flicker of light caught his attention; he turned his head towards the wall of the cave and saw something shimmer into view.

“O’Neill, Daniel Jackson!”

“What?!” both men answered, O’Neill angrily and Daniel exasperated.

O’Neill’s eyes widened as he saw the previously empty space now filled. “What the hell is that?”

“I have no idea,” Daniel stared at the device, a million questions going through his head.

Teal’c moved slowly toward the object. “It is giving off some heat.…”

“Don’t touch anything, Teal’c,” O’Neill ordered as he approached the object. “Well, that’s one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.”

Daniel also approached the object. “This looks like a control panel over here. I wonder if Sam somehow managed to activate the… uh.…”

O’Neill looked the item over again. “Yep, definitely the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, kind of reminds me of Kinsey.” O’Neill thought for a minute, and was unable to keep the smug grin off his face. “So how about we call it Bob?”

***

“I don’t understand,” Sam said. She had retreated slightly from the device, more to stop Teal’c from walking through her yet again than in actual fear. The initial shock had faded, and had been replaced by an overwhelming sense of curiosity.

“Are you telling me that Besett didn’t bring us here?”

I sensed her need. The orb was designed to transport beings like yourself.

“You mean humans?”

Correct. My creators were much like you. Besett is not.

“Because of her symbiote.” Sam mulled the information over in her head. “So, wait a minute. Is that why Besett doesn’t have complete control? Is that why her strength failed her?”

I was designed to interact with you.

Sam hoped that it meant with humans, and not just literally her.

Sam glanced at the white vines on her hand. “And, this is how you communicate?”

It can feel you. It can feel me. I can hear you. You can hear me.

“Sonar frequency,” the corners of her mouth twitched in a half smile. “We’ve seen it before, I just… this is incredible!”

She glanced at her teammates. “Can they activate you in their dimension?”

They cannot. I live in both. I cannot interact in both simultaneously.

“So if Besett knew she could never fully communicate with you, never fully control this technology… I don’t understand. Why didn’t she just give up?”

She did not know that more was needed. That you were needed, Besett had to stay, it was the only way she knew of to fight the evil.

“Ammit.” Sam realized that technically she didn’t need to be talking out loud, but it helped to steady her nerves. She was struck by a sudden thought. “Besett put Ammit out of phase intentionally. It’s how she keeps his army from attacking. So long as he and his warriors are in this dimension, he can’t take on the System Lords or anybody else for that matter. We can’t let him leave this dimension. Can you… teach… me how to bring my friends through?”

I can.

Sam stood before it, her eyes absorbing details that her mind had yet to comprehend. Instinctively she reached out and the oval on her palm came into contact with the raised surface. The device shimmered beneath her touch, and her mouth gaped in awe at this wonderful organic machine. She wondered how many lifetimes it would take to learn.…

“Sam!” Sam spun round at the sound of Daniel’s cry. She grinned at the three men. “It worked!”

“What worked?” her CO growled. “Carter, what the hell is that thing? More to the point, what the hell is on your hand?”

Chapter 18: by The Dancer of Spaz
Sam opened her mouth to reply, so happy to see them all in one piece, when –

You must hurry now, the voice gently urged. We haven’t much time before Ammit and his men return.

“I know,” Sam whispered, sending them a belatedly apologetic look before she quickly turned towards the control panel.

Daniel shared a glance with O’Neill and Teal’c before he cautiously stepped forward. “Sam?”

Locating the power source should be your primary objective.

“Hmmm?” Sam asked Daniel absently.

“What do you mean, ‘You know’?”

Sam didn’t respond. The entity in her mind tried to sound patient, but Sam could sense its tension. Ideas were flying through her head, yet she couldn’t process them fast enough. Her head was pounding, and though she hated ignoring the guys, it was taking way more energy than usual to concentrate.

Slowly, without being prompted, Sam moved her hand over the panel once more, and each of the large keys lit up with a bright, blue glow. Daniel took a step backwards and shrugged at O’Neill and Teal’c’s curious gazes.

“Is that good?” Sam asked aloud.

“I dunno, Carter,” O’Neill replied, “you tell us.” Ignoring Daniel’s warning look, he stepped forward.

It is a start. However, you must prevent the impatient one you call O’Neill from distracting you.

On cue, at the corner of her eye, Sam saw O’Neill move into her line of sight in an effort to get her attention.

“Sir!” she snapped unintentionally, as she held up one finger to keep him at bay. Then, inwardly, I don’t see a power interface. Obviously the device is drawing power, but from where? This far underground… Must be volcanic....

O’Neill raised an eyebrow at her tone and somewhat tense, glassy-eyed expression, but forged on. “Uh, Carter… As much as I’d just love to let you play with this monstrosity all day, some of us actually want to know what you’re doing.”

The voice seemed to grunt slightly in irritation, mirroring Sam’s.

I do not understand the meaning of ‘volcanic’, however if you are referring to energy that is drawn from the planet’s core, you are correct. When you eventually reach the surface, you must reroute power to the force field remotely. The power crystal is in a small compartment near your feet. It is unlike ones you have seen before.

“Just give me one second, Sir,” Sam answered, not looking him or the others in the eye. She only had to overcome this hurdle, and they’d be one step closer to getting the hell out of there.

Without preamble, Sam crouched down to examine the area near the floor. She could hear O’Neill scuffling around. He and Daniel were whispering to each other, but she tuned them out. The sudden movement had caused her head to swim a little, so things were slightly blurred. For a brief moment, nothing focused.

“I don’t see a compartment here,” Sam mumbled. “Is it hidden?”

No.

“Damn it,” she muttered as she twisted awkwardly and felt a sharp pang in her chest. Where was the compartment?

Sam could hear the voice once more, warning her not to injure herself further. It was beginning to grate.

I am sorry.

“Major Carter - ”

“Uh… Sam?”

“Carter! What the hell are you doing?”

Sam stopped and glared at them menacingly. The silent question was clear: What do you all want?!

Daniel stepped forward again, once he realized that Sam was mostly glaring at O’Neill. It was fairly obvious she was in pain; she was squinting up at them much like he did whenever he didn’t have his glasses on. “Sam… Who are ya talking to?”

Stiffly, she inhaled and then motioned loosely to the device. “That.”

“Bob?” O’Neill demanded. Teal’c huffed in frustration, and Daniel rolled his eyes.

Sam’s face crinkled in confusion, as she frowned and slowly stood up. “Who’s Bob?”

“That… thing!” O’Neill shouted, pointing at the device.

“Wait, wait!” Daniel cried. “How are you talking to the machine?”

She held up her gloved hand. “This. It connected to my hand when I held it over the device.”

Teal’c tilted his head and frowned in thought. “Is the device then sentient, Major Carter?”

She nodded. “And it uses sonar frequency. Besett was able to manipulate it after many years of studying it, but it was initially designed for human use. This is how I can communicate with it, and it’s how we’re going to keep Ammit and his Jaffa in this dimension, while restoring the force field around the Gate. But, first… I have to figure out how it all works.”

“How long’s that gonna take?” O’Neill asked.

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted. “But we don’t have much time before he comes back, so.…”

“We should let you get back to it,” Daniel finished, nodding understandingly. Sam smiled gratefully, but didn’t reply. Another theory was developing in her mind - she wasn’t completely sure that it was hers.

“Okay, then,” O’Neill announced with a clap. “You do your thing, and we’ll stay out of your way.” With that the guys turned to move away, noticing for the first time Besett’s prone form.

He should not make promises he cannot keep.

Sam chuckled at the joke no one else could hear, but abruptly stopped when they turned around questioningly.

“Bob?” Daniel inquired, a teasing grin emerging.

Sam merely nodded, suppressing the urge to sigh. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m still getting used to it.”

Turning to face the device once more, Sam tried to once again focus on the control panel in front of her. The blue glow had faded. Where was I?

The power crystal below... The voice then paused. And when the opportunity arises, please tell your friends that my name is not Bob.

Chapter 19: by Myrth
The pain in her body and the pounding in her head were becoming hard to ignore as she squinted at the panel, looking for the correct crystal.

Trying to process her own thoughts and the subtle whispers of the machine was a difficult sensation to assimilate. She had the overwhelming urge to scratch the inside of her brain like an itch.

Samantha, you must focus. There’s not much time.

“I’m trying!” she exclaimed, taking a deep breath as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

“Carter? Is Bob giving you trouble?” The concern in the Colonel’s voice was buried in the sarcasm, but she heard it anyway.

“Sir, please…” She risked the movement to catch his eyes for a moment. He held up his hands in submission to her half-pleading, half-exasperated look, and returned his gaze, if not his attention, to the prone Tok’ra on the floor.

Sam felt the shuffling sensation of annoyance ripple through her mind as she turned once more to the control panel. She wasn’t sure if it was hers or the machine’s, but it didn’t matter.

Daniel listened to the shallow breathing of the Tok’ra, a nasal wheeze accompanying every third breath.

“I think she’s dying,” he said in a regretful tone.

“Great,” O’Neill mumbled as he toed at the ground with his boot, biting back the urge to rip Sam’s hand from the damned machine. How many times had he warned his team about alien devices?! His own inability to heed the warning not withstanding, he expected more from Sam. And now she was banged up, and possibly talking to herself, and she was their only hope of getting out of this claustrophobic nightmare.

Sam concentrated on her breathing, picturing waterfalls to fight off the nausea as she finally pulled the crystal from the control panel.

You have it, the voice chimed in her head.

“Okay, what now?”

Now you must leave this place and return to the surface. The other one and his many are near.

“How do we keep him in this dimension?” Sam no longer had the energy to mull the problem over herself. The most efficient means of action was to ask.

You cannot, the voice supplied, and Sam sensed it was holding back which only aggravated her more.

“Oh, come on!” Her frustration brought stinging tears to her eyes making her more aware of the grime on her face.

Samantha, you cannot perform this task, it is a duty I must perform.

Sam felt contrite at her impatience and refused to look around at her teammates. She could feel their gazes on her back.

“Oh,” she said, and she allowed her eyes the luxury of sliding closed against the soft blue glare for a moment.

Suddenly she felt the tendrils about her hand sliding away, a slimy sensation she didn’t enjoy, and Bob’s voice faded from her consciousness.

Go to the surface now. You must hurry. And my name is not Bob.

The last whisper of a word in her mind made her throw a quirky grin at the Colonel, her amusement visible only for a second before she drew in her breath.

“We need to go now.”

“Carter? What? Wait, where…?” O’Neill’s questions made the pounding in her head thump wildly.

“Sir - no time to explain, we just have to go, I know the way. We can’t leave Besett here - she’ll die.”

“Sam.” Daniel’s tone was gentle in the frenzy of her thoughts, thoughts not hers, but left behind in a maelstrom of information. She did know the way, she knew what to do, and she knew what it would cost the entity sustaining this place.

“Sam, she may die anyway,” Daniel said.

“She’s the child of Egeria, Daniel. We can’t leave her here.”

Teal’c had watched in silence but trusting his friend’s conviction he stooped and gathered the prone Tok’ra in his arms.

“Lead the way, Colonel Carter,” he intoned, leaving Daniel and O’Neill no choice but to follow.

Chapter 20: by RepliCartertje and Chelle_db

Sam knew there was no time to lose; within moments Ammit would be there with his forces. She had to find that control panel that was hidden next to the door. Although the entity - or Bob, as the Colonel called him - had told her where it was, she didn’t know the exact place. She ran out of the room, every muscle in her body aching. She looked forward to getting back at the SGC, because she was so going to be the first to get into that shower, and then she would head home for a long deserved rest with plenty of sleep. But right now she had other more pressing things to do.

She stopped very suddenly at the left side of the door, next to the control panel. She looked underneath it and noticed something that wasn’t there when she first tried unlocking the door.

“Carter?” She could hear O’Neill’s growing impatience in his voice. “What are you doing?”

“Not now, Sir, I need to focus…” She didn't have the chance to finish her sentence before a door suddenly appeared next to her. She had no idea if she or the entity had caused it to appear, but she somehow just knew that SG-1 had to go through it.

Sam stepped towards it, but stumbled when she came across a force field. The remnants of the entity pulled at her thoughts, telling her to enter a binary code, but it was getting more and more difficult for her to focus. Pain wracked her body, and she was growing more tired by the minute. Time was of the essence.

“Sam, are you okay?” Daniel asked, concerned. He could see how much pain his friend was in, but he knew she would do anything and everything to get them out of there.

“I'm fine, Daniel. Don't worry. We'll get out of here soon.” She replied quickly before going back to the control panel. Her mind clouded and her attention slipping, she had forgotten to enter the binary code the entity had given her. Forcing herself to focus, she entered the code. For the first time she felt the pain in her body dissipating making her task more bearable and her mind clearer. Finally they were starting to get somewhere. With hope and spirits lifted, she smiled.

“We can go through,” she called out to her teammates.

“No time to lose, campers. Let's get moving,” O'Neill responded.

Sam ran through the door first, followed by Teal’c, who was still carrying Besett. They could see that the Tok'ra was losing her battle. Any second now she would exhale her last breath, but Sam knew they still needed her, just as she knew Besett would fight until her dying breath. She wouldn’t give up on them now, not if she could help it.

Behind the door there was a staircase. Though they weren't sure how deep they were underground, they knew it would take them a long time to reach the surface. They started climbing.

“You know, Carter, this is going to take us forever,” O’Neill said, his annoyance very apparent. He wanted to get out of this place as fast as humanly possible.

“I know, Sir, but this is the only way out of here.”

***

"Sam," Besett called softly, her voice scratchy. Teal'c stopped when he heard her faint cry.

"Major Carter," Teal'c said, “Besett is awake and asking for you.”

Sam stopped climbing and turned toward Teal'c. Seeing that Besett was reaching for her, Sam took one of her hands to comfort her.

“There isn’t much time left for me,” Besett exhaled. “We have to-” Besett’s eyes rolled back as she passed out again.

“Besett!” Sam checked her pulse and was relieved to find it, weak, but there nonetheless. They had to pick up the pace. Besett was fading fast. “We will make it in time, Besett. Just hang in there.”

“Okay, we’d better get moving,” O’Neill said, knowing that now every second would count.

***

After climbing the staircase for almost thirty minutes, they could finally see a hint of daylight, the surface almost within reach. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they slowly inched their way upward. Their ascent was coming to an end and not a moment too soon for any of them. Although none of them understood how they could have done it that fast, they knew their perception of how deep underground they’d been was probably way off.

Sam groaned inwardly, knowing that once at the top there would be another difficult task ahead, one that she would rather not have to face. Ammit and his army would surely be there waiting for them, and that was something that none of them wanted to face right now. They were tired, thirsty and aching from their long climb up to the surface. How could they battle an army when they were so badly fatigued?

At the top of the stairs, the members of SG-1 found themselves in a bedroom of sorts. On the left side of the room there was a small wooden bed with a patchwork quilt and two flat pillows. Over to the right side of the room, there was a tall hardwood wardrobe. When Sam looked up, she saw that the roof of the house was gone. It looked as if the house were in the middle of the forest and had been abandoned years ago.

Teal'c immediately placed Besett on the bed. As Sam approached the bed, she propped the pillows under her head and wiped the sweat from her brow.

While Daniel sat down on a green wooden chair next to the wardrobe, O’Neill looked out of the window on the far side of the room. His mind was in overdrive, trying to think of a plan which would get his team back to the safety. A plan that would include defeating Ammit and his ghost army, who he knew for sure were somewhere on the surface waiting for them.

Chapter 21: by LAD & Samcarterrules
As they waited in the little house with no roof, Sam tried to make Besett as comfortable as she could. However, there was little they could do for her. Besett was old and more than likely her symbiote was dying. At any rate, she wasn’t healing as a Tok’ra should. The least they could do was give her some painkillers when she awakened.

From his position on the small chair, Daniel spoke, his voice still a little out of breath from their walk. “So, what now, Jack?”

O’Neill turned from the window and walked to the middle of the room. “I’m not really sure, Daniel, but I was thinking about getting off this nightmare of a planet.”

Daniel gave O’Neill a long-suffering look, then just shook his head and began to study the things around him.

While O’Neill and Daniel had been discussing what they should do next, Teal’c, who was regaining his strength much faster than his Tau’ri friends, had taken O’Neill’s position at the window to stand guard and watch for Ammit and his forces to arrive. Teal’c was sure he could feel the first signs of unease run through his symbiote as it once again became slightly agitated. Besett had told him the dimensional shift technology was what caused his symbiote great pain. She had sent him beneath the surface to save him. Now the anxiety his symbiote felt was not as severe. Perhaps it had to do with being out of phase, or perhaps it would happen again in the near future. He could not be sure.

Sam was sitting next to Besett on the large bed; it took up most of the space in the room. She was lost in thought or maybe it was the pain. Sam wasn’t sure anymore, she was so tired and still feeling nauseous. Sam had been feeling better, but the long trek up the stairs had nearly worn her out, along with the rest of the team. They needed a moment, just to catch their breaths. It had not been an easy day, physically or mentally.

Sam was feeling a strange sense of loss. Although the entity was no longer connected, she could still hear some of its thoughts faintly in her mind. She shuddered involuntarily. It was a peculiar feeling, and, in a way, it reminded her of being host to Jolinar. Although this had been a more pleasant experience - she’d had more control.

Sam felt very tired and her body ached all over. She rubbed her pounding head with her uninjured hand. Sensing someone, she lifted her gaze, finding her commanding officer watching her.

“We need to take a look at that hand,” he said, shoving his own into his pockets.

“It’s nothing, Sir,” she said absently. Too much was running through her mind for her to be focused on her injured appendage. At the same time, she knew it needed to be looked at. She just wished her mind didn’t feel somewhat scrambled.

O’Neill rocked back on his heels. “I think it’s something, Carter.” He grasped his pack and rummaged through it. They were all tired and sore, but they needed to be at their best, however pathetic their best may be. Pulling out what he could use to bandage her injury, he looked intently at Sam. Sighing, she reluctantly gave him her hand and he set to work.

O’Neill carefully dressed the wound the best he could with what he had. “So, Bob did this to you?” he wondered.

“Its name is not Bob,” she muttered, a tad exasperated.

O’Neill nodded and continued his work. He could practically feel the tension radiating off of his 2IC. When he was finished, Sam thanked him and began to tend to the Tok’ra once again.

She got further onto the bed beside the elderly woman and wiped her brow with a handkerchief. Daniel had given it to her from his own pack. It seemed he always had a bandana handy. Besett was still unconscious, and it seemed to Sam that Besett’s body was going into shock. Sam spoke softly to her, willing her to hang in there just a little while longer. Sam knew there was something very important Besett had to explain before any of them could leave this planet; the planet that had become the team’s personal hell.

O’Neill watched his team, letting his gaze linger on each of them for a moment. Daniel looked tired as he sat slumped in his seat, no doubt trying to devise a way out of this. Teal’c was stoic as always, but O’Neill knew that he wanted to leave here as much, if not more, than the rest of them. Then his eyes fell on Sam. She was sitting on the bed with her eyes closed. She appeared to be taking deep breaths, which was a signal to O’Neill that something was not right. A frown crossed his face. Who knew what that “Bob” thing had done to her? As he studied Sam, O’Neill noticed she was shaking just a bit. He made his way to the side of the bed, the cracking in his knees still ringing in his ears as he knelt down beside her.

“Carter.”

Sam didn’t stir, and O’Neill’s concern for her rose even higher. He tried again, this time using a different tactic. “Sam.”

Her eyes flew open. “Sir?”

O’Neill placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “Take it easy, Major. You okay?”

“Yes, Sir. Just a little tired,” Sam whispered. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and the grueling day was beginning to take its toll on her. She fought against what her body wanted… they had to get out of here… she couldn’t give in now.

“I know. Just hang in there. We’ll be home before you can say….”

"O Neill!” Teal’c boomed from across the room.

O’Neill glanced up, following the Jaffa’s gaze out the window. “Oh, for cryin’ out loud.”

Chapter 22: by Minigeek & SG1Poz
A billowing cloud of dust and earth preceded the whine of several staff weapons as the forest trees in the distance began to shudder and give way. Ammit and his army were near. Far too close for comfort.

"All right, kids, this is it. We’re getting outta here right now." O’Neill slapped his hand down definitively on the surface of the windowsill before turning toward Sam. "Carter, I need to know what Bob told you our next move is supposed to be, or I'm getting us the hell off this rock, whatever damn phase we're in."

"Sir, we can't leave yet." Sam stood, leaving Besett's side and facing O’Neill directly.

"So you keep telling me, Major, but right about now what I need is not a bedtime story. What I need is a plan."

"There is a plan," she argued, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut to clear the fog her memories with the entity were fast becoming. "I just need a few seconds to get it all straight."

Another blast of super-heated energy sliced through the forest and several more trees fell forward. "Carter," O’Neill growled. "We don't have a few seconds!"

O’Neill turned toward Teal'c and gestured at Besett. "Get her up, we're moving out."

Daniel slowly approached the window. "Uh, Jack?"

"What is it?" asked O’Neill, his gaze following Daniel's. "Ah, crap."

Several of Ammit's Jaffa had entered the clearing outside of their make-shift enclosure; weapons raised and trained on the only door to the outside world.

With no immediate means of escape, the Colonel glanced sideways at Sam. "Carter," he growled, "now would be a really great time for that plan you were talking about."

"I can't." She spoke so quietly he almost hadn't heard her.

"Excuse me?" said O’Neill.

Several of the Jaffa in the distance began shouting and heading towards the small house.

"I said I can't," Sam shook her head, meeting his incredulous expression with a solemn look of her own. "We're not capable of stopping them."

"Oh great, that is just... fantastic!" Throwing up his arms, O’Neill rounded on her. "And you just decided you'd keep that little tidbit of information to yourself until NOW?"

"I wasn’t keeping it to myself," Sam shot back, curbing the tone of her voice almost before she realized she'd raised it. "There wasn’t any time to explain. Bob said -"

"BOB?"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sam curled the fingers of her good hand at her side. "Sir, it told me we couldn't stop them. It has to be the one to do it."

"Okay, then." O’Neill's harsh tone softened. "So just exactly how does BOB say we stay the hell out of the way? Or are we just supposed to end up a steaming pile of… collateral damage?"

"I don't know," Sam said, "we didn't get that far before it had to sever the connection."

"O'Neill." Teal'c's baritone voice intruded. Outside the clearing, several ranks of Ammit's Jaffa army had already begun to form. "I do not believe they know we are inside the enclosure at this time. An advantage may still be ours to wield.”

"Sam," Daniel approached her slowly, laying a hand against the side of her arm. "If we can't stop that army out there, what does... Bob... want us to do in the interim?"

"The force shield," Sam murmured, staring at the window and into the distance.

"Oh, for cryin’ out loud! Does anyone in here have English-to-Possessed-Carter dictionary, please?" He turned sharply towards Daniel.

"Jack, I think I know what she's talking about." The archaeologist nodded. "In order for us to get out of here, the entity -"

"Bob."

"Bob," Daniel said, grimacing, "Bob needs to keep the force shield down. But in order to keep Ammit and his army from leaving via the Stargate, the shield would have to be up, right?"

O’Neill nodded. "And your point would be?"

"Well, we can't have it both ways, right?" said Daniel. "Either the shield is up and Ammit doesn't get out, or the shield is down long enough for us to get out, and Ammit and his army have a chance to escape as well."

"And this is where Carter comes in," O’Neill surmised.

"Yes." Sam's eyes lifted from the distance and locked on O’Neill's. "That's exactly where I come in."

A low, lingering moan from the bed alerted them that Besett had regained consciousness. Sam glanced at O’Neill and hurried over to her.

Besett slowly blinked her weary eyes open, focusing on Sam. “You have the power,” she whispered. “It’s within you, and you must use it now to delay Ammit and his Jaffa.”

“Use what?” Sam asked. “Please, tell me what to do.”

“Major Carter, I believe what Besett implying is that the ‘force is with you,’” Teal’c explained.

O’Neill and Daniel turned their attention from Teal’c and back to Sam for her reaction, but she was engrossed with what Besett was telling her.

“Telekinesis, you gained this power from your connection to the machine.” Besett took a careful breath before continuing. “Concentrate… visualize...” She sighed and fell limp as her eyes closed yet again.

Sam knelt down and felt for a pulse on her neck, meeting O’Neill’s worried eyes. “She’s alive, but barely,” she said, as she got to her feet again. She turned to O’Neill with a thoughtful look on her face. “Sir, I’m going to try something, but I need you,” she said, her eyes shifting to Teal’c and Daniel, “all of you, to be quiet.” Her questioning gaze returned to O’Neill.

O’Neill noted the hope in Sam’s eyes and waved his hand dismissively. “Okaaay... but if you’re going to start levitating stuff outta swamp water, Carter, it’s gotta be now.” He sent a purposeful glance at the window.

Taking a deep breath, Sam closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few silent moments, droplets of perspiration began to form along her brow, and Daniel and Teal’c exchanged a nervous look.

A low rumbling groan rattled the walls of the small room, and both Daniel and Teal’c turned to O’Neill when the boards beneath their feet began to shake.

Losing his footing, Daniel pitched into a nearby bookshelf, causing a cascade of pottery to shatter into tiny shards. O’Neill grabbed the archaeologist by his jacket and hauled him up, thrusting him sideways toward the window and out of harm’s way.

“O’Neill!” Teal exclaimed. “The forest appears to be attacking Ammit’s army. They are retreating!” Screams could be heard as many Jaffa were crushed by an avalanche of falling trees.

“Sweet,” O’Neill murmured, sparing an appreciative glance at Sam.

Branches of all shapes and sizes continued to fall as the remainder of the Ammit’s army ran blindly from the destruction.

“Sam. Sam!” a slightly panicked Daniel yelled as he grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently to pull her from the meditative state her mind was in.

Sam opened her eyes and took in a fast breath, taking in her surroundings with new purpose. “Did it work?” she asked. Daniel eased her down to sit on the edge of the bed.

“You could say that.” O’Neill smirked as he carefully picked a pathway over the broken debris on the floor to stand beside her. “We should move out before Ammit gets his goons reassembled. You okay to walk?” He regarded her intently.

“Fine, Sir,” Sam replied as she rose from the bed, still a little shaky. She reached into her pocket to withdraw the crystal, checking for damage and sighing with relief when she found none. Now if only she knew what to do with it once they reached the Stargate.

“T, can you carry Besett?” O’Neill asked.

“Indeed.” Teal’c inclined his head, lifting the Tok’ra gently into his arms.

Daniel gathered his belongings off the floor and did a visual sweep of the house before joining Teal’c just outside the door.

“Carter, take point. Daniel, you’ve got our six,” O’Neill barked. “Okay, campers, let’s move out.”

The group set off at a fast pace through the forest, dodging several off-balance trees within their path. Falling into step with Sam, O’Neill spared her a sidelong glance.

Clearing his throat, he was about to speak when she smiled wryly at the forest floor and shook her head.

“I’ll explain later, Sir.”

“Good, yeah.” O’Neill slowed his pace as he focused on her. “You do that.” Then he froze in his tracks, stunned by her too-quick response to his unspoken thoughts.

“Wait a second!” he called out after her. “How’d you know what I was thinking?”

Chapter 23: by Julia Hague
The Stargate’s welcome silhouette sent a shudder of comfort through Sam’s body as it rose in sight ahead of them, the comfort turning swiftly to twinges of apprehension, then full-on fear as she realized the team’s whole escape plan relied on her working out how the crystal in her pocket would work.

Teal’c laid Besett down next to the naquadah generator and turned to scan the horizon for sight of any incursions by Ammit’s army or indeed the Goa’uld himself. All remained quiet. In fact, eerily quiet.

“Dial us up, Major.” O’Neill’s impatience rang in Sam’s ears as she worked her way around the clearing, eyes scanning the ground for signs of anything that would resemble a piece of machinery or help her in any way. She ignored him. It went against her military ethos to ignore her commanding officer, but she’d risk it. He didn’t understand that she couldn’t dial them up. Not yet. Not without risking unleashing on other worlds a madman intent on destruction and devastation. She had to get the force field ready to re-power once they’d left and then hope that the sentient being kept its promise and kept him trapped in the other dimension, helpless forever.

“Sam! Besett’s conscious!” Daniel’s voice, urgent and pressing, pulled her from her concentration, and she reluctantly turned her eyes towards the Tok’ra. The woman raised an arm, feebly, and beckoned to her.

A strange and conflicting sense of irritation at the interruption, and of hope, ran through her system as she moved to the old woman’s side. She allowed a small intake of breath. Besett was gray, deeply wrinkled, and the flesh translucent almost. Her pallor reeked of death. She didn’t have long. Sam knew that Besett needed to impart something to her. She knew that because the being had impressed that upon her.

She leaned forward, feeling the slight gentle breath on her cheek. The whispering was steady, calm and measured. Sam marveled at the strength which had temporarily restored the woman’s coherence.

“Child, the crystal belongs in a section of the Stargate. It is hidden behind the framework. Place it within and you will see that a Dialing Device will appear. Once the Gate is activated and your home planet is dialed, you will have a single minute in time to travel through. Once that minute has passed, the creature which inhabits this planet will reactivate the force field from the Stargate itself one last time and will trap the dialing device outside and the Gate within it forever. Once this is done, no one will ever leave this planet nor return home should they have the misfortune to arrive here.”

Sam squeezed the old woman’s hand tightly, feeling tears prick her eyes. She could sense the beginning of death gently descend upon the woman’s frame as she lay, eyes searching Sam’s.

“Why hasn’t this been done before? Why weren’t we trapped when we arrived?” she asked softly in a whisper.

Besett’s eyes moistened. She gulped air into her struggling lungs and continued, forcing herself to stay, to finish what she had to, to tell the young woman in front of her the truth. “We needed you here. My child, I am a child of Egeria, but Ammit is my son, Samantha Carter. I sought to hold him here. It was never my intention to destroy him, but he has become a monster. The creature needs a human to work with, to control the pathway in and out of the world, the changing, shifting dimensions; a symbiotic arrangement. The human DNA required is specific. I am sure Ammit attempted control of the creature at one time - his DNA matches mine and the creature needs similar material to work with. I do not fully understand how.”

“However, I was not the one to help fully complete the work,” she continued. “I am Tok’ra, not fully human, although some of my DNA was right for helping the creature. The creature needed a human to work with, a specific physiological combination, to fully take control of what happens here, so that it could then complete its work and die. Its cycle is at an end. My physiology allowed only some of this to take place. The Tok’ra fed me information on Tau’ri activities, on your activities. I knew that if I brought you here, you would communicate with the creature.”

“You tricked us into coming here,” Sam said. “The images of technologically-advanced cities – they were all you and the creature’s doing.” Sam leaned back on her heels and stared. To her surprise a tear dropped down the old woman’s cheek.

“It was necessary. I knew that you alone had the ability.”

“How? Why me? My physiology may not have worked.”

“You have been host to Jolinar.”

“And Teal’c has been host to a symbiote. Why not him?”

“Jolinar’s DNA was specific.”

“Besett, you’re holding something back.” Sam felt a sense of dread, of impending doom. Of knowledge which would haunt her forever.

“My child, I knew that your physiology would work because you are more human than I and because…,” the old woman hesitated, searching Sam’s eyes.

“Jolinar was my child also.”

Sam felt a sharp stab in her gut. Memories. Feelings. Sensations. All flooded her system at once. It was as if the words had activated a deep memory core within her, and Jolinar had surfaced once more.

Sam reached forward and kissed the old woman gently on the forehead. She felt a sense of resolve.

“I will get us home, and the creature can then die. You can rest now.”

“Thank you.” The whisper was hardly audible.

The old woman’s eyes faded. The opaqueness clouded her eyes, and they closed gently on their own. A deep breath and shudder of her frame and Besett was gone. Forever.

Sam felt a wave of sorrow unlike anything she had felt before as Jolinar’s DNA and her own melded together one last time and reacted in anguish. She wiped fiercely at her eyes with the back of her hand and rose to her feet.

“Teal’c, place Besett’s body in front of the Gate. It will be cremated when we activate the Gate.” Sam’s voice was strong, her eyes reflecting resolve. Yet Daniel saw the haunted look mirrored behind the strength.

“Taking charge, Major?”

O’Neill’s voice was mocking, but gentle, and Sam could hear the offer thrown to her in it.

“With your permission, Sir,” she said, nodding briefly.

“Take it away, Carter,” he replied firmly.

“Get ready to jump through the gate the minute it activates. We have sixty seconds to clear it. Teal’c, Daniel, grab the generator - we won’t be needing it, and we don’t want to leave it behind.”

As Sam turned purposefully towards the gate, crystal clasped carefully in her hand, Daniel leaned forward to whisper in her ear. She swallowed.

“Sam, I heard some of what Besett said. You realize Ammit is Jolinar’s brother?”

Sam stopped and turned, nodding mutely. Daniel winced at the mixture of pain, horror, and resolve reflected in her eyes.

“Yes, and I’m about to sentence him to Hell,” she replied firmly.

As she started towards the Gate, the sound of stirring in the trees behind them quickened her pace.

She knew the creature was struggling to hold its captives. It was now up to her.

Chapter 24: by Kamil
Her soul seemed to split in two, the pain of which drove Sam forward with a surge of resolve. She lost no time proceeding with what needed to be done.

“Teal'c, be ready to send the IDC.”

The ominous sound of Jaffa horns preceded Ammit's army regrouping on the very edge of the forest behind them before they made their assault. Sam staggered up the steps of the gate, pain accompanying her every step. Pain which she decided to disregard, determined to locate the section of the Stargate where the crystal would fit, her resolve pushing all physical sensation aside.

“Daniel, Teal'c, take up position!” O'Neill barked, motioning his team to where he wanted them ready.

Besett's body was now resting at the top steps of the stairs, her hands crossed by Teal'c on her chest. Her eyes, even though now closed, seemed to be looking at the sky as if finally she had found her well-deserved refuge.

Sam's hands groped at the stone surrounding the gate and felt a surge of relief as she felt the place where the crystal belonged – just inches above where the gate adjoined the stone.
As she looked to the side, behind the gate she saw the glint of metal. The metal of their weapons lying hidden. She lunged forward and grabbed them, throwing them triumphantly and with urgency to both Daniel and O’Neill.

The first staff weapon firebolt sliced the air as the crystal locked into place and she ducked.

“This is turning out to be another bad day!” O'Neill eyeballed the first of Ammit's Jaffa emerging from the forest and the deafening sound of automatic weapons returning staff weapons blasts penetrated the grim silence of the area.

For a moment, Sam's heart stopped as no DHD came into view for a couple of seconds. Then she let out a deep sigh as its image first appeared in front of her eyes, blurry at first, taking on its definite shape within seconds. Ducking once more, she ran towards the device, explosions filling the air all around.

“Keep them at bay!” O'Neill yelled, “we'll have only a minute to get back to Earth!”

“Sir! We need to wait until the last possible moment! We can't let any of them get even close before the creature activates the field!” Sam hissed as she slammed her hand into the DHD and started to enter the Taur'i coordinates.

“I so knew you were gonna say that!” O'Neill screamed. Ammit's warriors were now approaching in mass numbers and were no more than yards away. The entire treeline filled with Ammit’s men. Sam pushed her body weight right down onto the DHD crystal and the Stargate came to life, the blue wave taking Besett's lifeless body away, its flickering glow lighting up the firefight.

“Teal'c, the IDC!” Sam cried, running to join her teammates at the Gate's defence line.

“How much longer?!” Daniel demanded, his voice barely audible over the vibrations of the explosions.

“The code has been transmitted,” came from Teal'c and before Sam had the opportunity to say anything or even take aim at the line of Ammit's warriors, a massive bolt passed them. An enormous detonation behind sent them flying as the DHD was hit and shattered into small pieces.

Smoke billowed and hid the Stargate from Ammit's troups’ view as O'Neill struggled to his feet, finding Daniel and Teal'c rising at the same time.

“You guys okay? Where's Carter?”

A sharp and piercing cry. Sam had been the closest to the DHD when the bolt impacted it. They reached her lying on the steps with a shard of a DHD crystal in her leg.

“Carter!” O'Neill grabbed her to see her eyes welling up in pain. “Grab my arm! Teal'c, Daniel, you go!”

Daniel hesitated seeing Sam curled up in excruciating pain. “Jack, she--”

“I know she.. Go!” O'Neill pushed him roughly up the stairs.

“Ready for this, Sam?”

She gasped. “Sir, we don't have time, you have to….” She bit on her lower lip.

Ducking and trying to avoid the staff weapon bolts, O'Neill dragged Sam up the steps to the event horizon. She could take no more and let out a sharp cry of agony just before the soothing sensation of demolecularization.

* * *

“Close the iris!” Teal'c and Daniel's shouts were an indication that they had made it safely to the SGC.

“Get a medical team in here now...” Sam felt as if she was in a dream. The reality, the SGC, the people around her fading away... Her legs gave way, she collapsed next to the gate. Someone propped her up against the Stargate, she didn't know who. Images appeared. Jolinar, Martouf. Besset. Ammit.

Sorrow. Permeating every inch of her soul, all her bones, every single thread of her.

And something more than sorrow, too. A connection she felt to Besset. So real, so tangible. Deep inside her soul, in her subconscious.

I just banished my brother to life imprisonment. I just lost my mother.

How could she separate the two? How could she know whose feelings she was really feeling? Can she ever know?... Can she ever live with the sacrifice that she feels...?

The darkness fell.

* * *

Daniel stood silently at the foot of her hospital bed.

She opened her eyes and looked up.

“Hey, Sam.”

O'Neill was leaning against the wall next to her. “Hey, Carter. How you doin'? Been out for a while.”

Her eyes were slowly adjusting to the light.

“Major Carter, it is good to see you well.”

Teal'c. She didn't realize she whispered his name.

“Yeah, his usual chatty self,” O'Neill smiled. “You okay? You put up quite a fight in the infirmary, but it still took you a while.”

Her voice felt rough, but at least it wasn't difficult to speak anymore.

“Yes. I’m fine.” She hesitated. “Ammit? The planet?”

“Trapped like we wanted,” Daniel's hand brushed over her shoulder. “We did good.”

“You did good.” O'Neill winked. “You did a good thing. A right thing.”

She gave a weak, yet content, smile. “Yes, I guess I did.” And she closed her eyes once more as sleep took over.