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 There's A New God In Town

Chapter 6

Jack led the way, trying to determine just exactly how he was going to get the doors to open. He'd been looking for anything that might resemble an emergency switch of some sort, but didn't see anything that fit the criteria his mind had set out.

When the ha'tak lurched again, all three lost their footing, clinging to the rungs as best they could.

"302 just blew," Jack said quietly.

"No doubt Zeus made it out," Daniel replied.

"Probably."

"Which means he'll have every Jaffa not working on repairs looking for us."

"Thank you, Suzy Sunshine."

"We'll have to be very careful."

"Again with the obvious," Jack huffed.

Daniel continued to climb behind his Wife. Something that Jack had said earlier poked the back of his mind. "Jack, you said that you set the distress beacon. The Prometheus was on the other side of the planet. They'd have picked it up, right?"

"Right," Jack grunted. He had reached the first set of doors. Held one hand down and behind him. "Casey, give me that knife."

Casey climbed another step, put the knife she'd taken from Zeus into her commanding officer's hand.

Jack forced the blade between the doors, and began to exert as much pressure as possible.

"If you were commander of the Prometheus, and you picked up that distress beacon, what would you do?"

Jack paused in his efforts for a moment. He'd sent a warning, telling Ronson to keep the Prometheus cloaked, and to keep the F-302's in the hangar unless they were attacked by gliders. "I'd sure has hell be watching this ship, since this is where the signal originated from."

"So you'd be nearby," Daniel said.

"Yep."

"So, if we sent a signal to them, do you think they could reply?"

"I dunno. I doubt it. They don't have the frequency that this ha'tak uses."

Daniel frowned. "How sure are you that the Prometheus is close by?"

"Daniel," Jack drawled, "We don't have time for this meaningless, yet otherwise engaging conversation."

"Jack, if the Prometheus is nearby, we could just ring to it," Daniel replied patiently.

"If they replied in Morse Code on all frequencies, which we could instruct them to do," Jack said slowly, his mind catching up with what Daniel had been thinking, "we'd know for sure."

"All we need is a computer console," Daniel said.

"Radar, what's around that pel'tak?"

She closed her eyes, trying to recall just what had surrounded the one place she had avoided during her days of pacing Ba'al's ship. "The throne room, a banquet hall...um...I think there were a couple of...well, like training rooms."

"Computer consoles in them?"

"I think so," she replied. "The level below was where the labs were located."

"Daniel, what level are we on?"

"I have no idea."

"There aren't markings anywhere that would tell you?"

"Don't see any."

"Okay, if I can get this door open, we'll figure out where we're at." Focusing his concentration on the task at hand, Jack applied more pressure to the knife handle, praying that the blade didn't snap off. Couldn't help but grin when the doors opened enough to get his hand between them. He gave a push, and they parted with an automatic 'whoosh'.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Zeus picked himself up. Two Jaffa continued to work at sealing the doors behind them. Where once a hanger full of gliders had been. He'd barely made it to the elevator when the explosion had rocked the ship, throwing him and the Jaffa with him to the floor. His jaw still ached where the Tau'ri named Daniel had struck him so ruthlessly. That he'd remained unconscious only a matter of seconds was due only to the fact that he was a god, and not a mere mortal. He had been, in fact, out cold for nearly three minutes, although none of his Jaffa would ever tell him that.

Blast doors, hidden within the walls, there if an emergency dictated a need for them, were sealed against the breach on the other side. With the corridor secure for the moment, Zeus once again strode for the elevator. Only to find that it wasn't working.

He was livid. His ship was falling apart, or blowing apart, around him, and there were three escaped prisoners running free, no doubt causing more damage. He whirled around, and hurried down a side corridor, to one of the alternate elevators. He would lead the search for the troublesome Tau'ri himself. And he would not be denied the pleasure of torturing each of them to death...several times!

Diokles was waiting beside the elevator when the doors opened, and Zeus stepped out. He dropped to his knees. "I fear I have news that you will not be pleased to hear, My Lord," he said quietly.

"The prisoners have escaped."

The dark head snapped upward. Why had he thought that he'd be able to hide such a thing from his god? Just when he'd convinced himself that Zeus was not all that he seemed, something would happen, proving again that Zeus was a mighty god. "Yes, My Lord," Diokles barely whispered.

Zeus raised his hand, prepared to use the ribbon device. Sighed and dropped it to his side. If the three had managed to capture him, although that event had been very short lived, then how could he expect his Jaffa to be able to deal any better with them? Even his First Prime; a man who'd served him faithfully for seventy years. Not once had Diokles ever failed him.

"It is possible that the woman is a witch," the First Prime said cautiously, wondering briefly what had spared him the punishment he had nearly suffered.

"Of this I have no doubt," Zeus replied. "I want them found. Then I want them chained in those cages. And place two...no, three Jaffa per cage. They are not to take their eyes off the prisoners."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Find out if we have the means to return to Thracia," Zeus continued.

"Yes, My Lord."

"And bring that seer...Charis...to me. I would know just how much she can 'see'."

"Yes, My Lord." Diokles rose to his feet, saluted, and hurried to do as his master had bid.

A  A  A  A  A  A

It took a few minutes for the three of them to be standing in the corridor. Daniel looked around. "Hámtaw," he said quietly.

"Come again?" Jack asked.

"That's the level we're on. Three," Daniel explained, pointing to markings beside the open elevator doors.

Level three...the level where the largest of the laboratories were located. With luck, due to the fact that the ship was continuing to rock and roll around them, those labs would be empty. Casey smiled. "This way, gentlemen. I think I can find a nice, quiet room for us to work in."

Apparently neither Zeus nor the Jaffa who served him believed that the Tau'ri would attempt to reach the upper levels. No doubt the lower levels were crawling with Jaffa. For the moment, they were able to run down the corridor without hindrance. Casey led them into one of the labs. Pointed to the corner. "Do your thing," she told Daniel, smiling cheekily at him.

"Watch the door, Radar," Jack said, handing her the staff weapon.

With a nod, Casey took the staff, hurried toward the door. She locked it, at least she was fairly certain that's what she had done. It would give them a few needed seconds to either find a place to hide, or to disappear into the ventilation shaft before the lock could be disengaged from the outside.

Daniel hurried to the console. "As soon as this message goes out, they'll be able to pinpoint where it came from."

"Got it. We send the message, then get the hell out."

"If we're going to head for the transport rings, I think I know how to get there through the shafts."

Jack shook his head. "Too dangerous. There are fires all over, filling those things with smoke. Getting trapped in one is a sure way of getting killed. We'll just have to take one of the other elevators."

"If they're not all inoperable," Daniel replied dryly.

"They won't be," Jack said firmly.

"Just because you say they'll work, doesn't mean they will," Daniel pointed out.

"Daniel, just send the damned message," Jack groused.

"I'm not that good with Morse Code," Daniel admitted.

"Show me how to send it."

"Will we be able to hear, or see, the response in here?" Casey asked.

"I hope so," Daniel replied. "If you keep it short, no more than say, a five or ten second burst, it might prevent the Jaffa on the pel'tak from noticing, and when the reply comes, it will flood every frequency, so they won't know exactly where it's coming from."

"Good thinking," Jack murmured. He concentrated. Hoped like hell it wouldn't take Ronson long to decipher the message. He began to tap out the dashes and dots that would sound only like noise to any Jaffa who might be listening. Given the condition of the ship at the moment, it might be put down to nothing more than a problem with the communication system. Hopefully, he thought worriedly, there weren't actual problems with the communications systems that would prevent the message from getting out, and a reply from getting back in. They would never know that sheer luck was with them; the communications system had, for the moment, only low bandwidth frequencies available, which were used for short-range communications. "That's it."

"How long do we wait?" Daniel asked.

"Not more than five minutes. If we haven't heard anything in that amount of time, we find those escape pods. Watch the time, Radar."

Casey glanced at her watch, then nodded at Jack. Her heart hammered with a combination of fear and hope as the wait began.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"Sir, I think I just picked up a message," Major Gant announced. She transferred the burst of data to the overhead speakers.

Ronson frowned. "That sounds like Morse Code. R-U-T-H-R-S-A-A-L."

Gant had been writing down the letters as the colonel called them out. "It's like a text message," she said.

"Asking if we're nearby," Ronson nodded.

"But the 'say all' part, what does that mean?"

"I'm not sure. Ideas?" the commander asked, looking from helm to navigation.

"Could it mean to use every frequency to reply?" Major Delouise asked. "There wasn't a numerical equivalent for a reply frequency given."

"Makes sense," Ronson nodded slowly. "If they've managed to find somewhere to send that message from, there's a chance they can receive a reply. Do it, Gant. I want a short response on all frequencies. Repeat every ten seconds for thirty seconds."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Morse Code, Major. Just a simple 'yes' will suffice."

She gave a nod of acknowledgement, and carried out the order.

A  A  A  A  A  A

The sound of beeps filled the air. Jack nearly jumped out of his skin; Daniel and Casey started as well. Ten seconds later, the same beeping sound echoed in the room. Jack grinned. "They're out there."

Casey grinned. "Rings?"

"Yep." He'd taken the staff weapon from the slender seer before it occurred to him. And made his grin all the wider. "Doubt they'll be watching the transport rings too closely. They think they're the only ship around."

"Do you know how to program those things?" Casey asked nervously. Sam always took care of the details like that when the team needed to make an escape. She loved her Husband, and she loved Jack like a brother. But she had no wish to wind up in the middle of space.

"Believe it or not, yes," Daniel said, giving her a reassuring smile. "There's a 'standard' setting, that connects to the closest available transport. Sam taught it to us years ago."

"Good."

"Let's do this as quickly and quietly as possible," Jack said. "What level?"

"Two," Casey replied.

"Only one level, that's good," the older man nodded.

Casey unlocked the door, and three heads poked out, carefully looking around. The corridor was still empty. Their luck was continuing to hold. She didn't know whether to be relieved...or worried.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"No response, sir," Gant said.

The commander frowned. There could be several very good reasons. "Keep scanning that ship. I want to know everything that's happening over there."

"Yes, sir."

"Colonel, the birds are in the air," Sam's voice informed him.

"That's good, major. Hang tight. We just received a message. Asking if we were here."

There were a few seconds of silence. "Sir, it's possible that they're going to attempt to ring to the Prometheus. Were you able to respond?"

"Yes, Major Carter, we were." Ronson paused, his frown deepening. "As long as our shields are up, a ring transport won't get through. I don't dare drop them, in the hope that we're right."

"Sir, if I can monitor the Goa'uld ship, I can tell when the rings are activated, drop the shields long enough for them to make it through, then bring shields back up. With luck, the ha'tak is as blind as it is defenseless right now," Sam said.

"Get back here, on the double," he ordered.

"On my way, sir."

"The rest of you stay alert, keep an eye on those gliders. Let's hope they won't see us, either," the colonel ordered. Listened as each of the pilots acknowledged that order.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Zeus narrowed his eyes when Charis appeared before him; brought in by Diokles, who held the woman's arm roughly. "I want to know where the Tau'ri are hiding. How they've been able to cause so much damage to my ship."

The woman trembled. "I do not know where they are," she whispered.

"You are a seer! Look! Tell me what you see!" Zeus exploded. His anger...his frustration...his humiliation...all were working against him, making him desperate. He wasn't thinking clearly. Revenge was the foremost thought on his mind.

Shaking visibly, the slave closed her eyes. Tossed about frantically for an answer. Where would escaping prisoners try to hide...where would they want to go? If she only knew how they had arrived...She took a deep breath. The ship of her god had left Thracia. There had been no stops...ships! The prisoners had to have been taken from other ships...which meant..."Gliders," she said softly. "They are attempting to escape the ship in gliders."

He frowned. It was possible, after all, they had been flying those small craft...He turned to Diokles. "I want two full squadrons of Jaffa to surround the glider bay. Do not let them escape!"

"Yes, My Lord." The First Prime shoved the charlatan/seer toward one of the other guards, and raced from the room. He would lead those Jaffa himself!

"If you are wrong, your life is forfeit," Zeus hissed.

Charis wrapped her arms around her waist. No doubt she would die before the hour had passed. She cursed herself for stepping forward, for daring to declare the one fact of which she was certain: the blonde woman was a witch. More powerful than she'd ever felt before in her life. If only she'd remained silent! Her eyes fluttered closed. She would not look. Cowardly as it might be, she had no wish to see her death approach.

A  A  A  A  A  A

"There's an elevator toward the back...well, I always considered it the back of the ship," Casey said softly. "It was used mostly by the servants."

"Sounds good," Jack replied. "Where?"

She sprinted ahead of the men, a zat in each hand, pointing one down each intersecting corridor she passed.

"She's been watching too many movies," Daniel grumbled.

Jack only grinned. Casey had been the most attentive cadet he had ever trained. And she listened. Well, most of the time.

The elevator was plain, when compared to the others on the ship. No doubt the Goa'uld could find no reason to decorate for mere servants and slaves. With the ship being in a state of emergency, both groups would be sent to their quarters and locked in, to prevent them from getting in the way, or trying to break free themselves. If fires broke out in those areas of the ship, if there weren't automatic sprinklers...the occupants would be killed. These were facts that the three Tau'ri were ignorant of, and would have no time nor ability to change if they did know.

The emergency lights were beginning to dim, a warning sign that the situation was critical. Just when it seemed that they would be plunged into darkness, the lights flickered, blinked on and off three times, and were replaced by the regular ship lights.

Casey blinked in the sudden brightness. "They couldn't have waited just a few more minutes, could they?" she sighed.

"Hey, I was starting to worry," Jack replied. "Something had to go tits up for us."

"I suppose we'll be able to hide behind the support beams," Casey said. "You know, you'd think the Goa'uld would figure out that having those beams exposed, and in the corridors, isn't such a great idea."

Daniel smiled. "I doubt they've had many problems with escaping prisoners."

"That was before they started dealing with us," she smirked.

"Damned straight," Jack grinned. He glanced up as the elevator slowed. "Down on the floor. The eye won't move down first, it will move up. We'll have two, maybe three seconds to take out any Jaffa who might be there. I don't want to make any noise if we don't have to."

They flattened themselves onto the floor of the lift, weapons at the ready. When the doors opened, they were surprised, and relieved, to see the passageway completely empty. Better yet, they could see the transport rings from where they were.

Just a few more minutes, Casey thought, scrambling to her feet and following Daniel. Just a few more minutes.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Sam slid into the seat vacated by Major Gant, tossing a smile at the woman as she did so. Her fingers moved over the console with precision, looking for the very distinct signature of a transport ring. She'd have just hundredths of a second to drop the shields once she located that signal. Her finger hovered over the icon that would do just that.

Teal'c dared to move closer to the ha'tak. The fires caused by the explosion in the glider bay were out, extinguished by the vacuum of space. The damage wasn't as severe as it had first appeared. He could see that lights were beginning to shine in the windows on several levels now. Repairs were well underway. They were quickly running out of time. "Major Carter, has there been any sign of the transport?"

"Not yet," Sam's voice replied. Just as she replied, the signal she was looking for appeared. She jabbed the icon, listened to the warning that the shields had been lowered.

Suddenly a burst of light moved from the Goa'uld ship to the now visible Prometheus, effectively slicing a hapless glider in half. As soon as the light faded away, the ship disappeared as well.

A med team had been standing by in the Prometheus' ring transport room. "Colonel Ronson, we have them," one of the medics reported.

"All fighters return," Ronson ordered immediately. "As soon as they're on board, we're out of here, best speed for home. Send a message to SG-12, tell them to bug the hell out."

"Yes, sir," Major Gant replied, resuming her position. She smiled at the fact that Major Carter had been running off the bridge as soon as the report came through that Colonel O'Neill and the Jacksons were safe on board.

A  A  A  A  A  A

General Hammond read the message. Sat back and rubbed his hands over his face. It had been a very long day. When word had first come through about the abductions, the worst had been feared. He'd be eternally grateful for whatever miracle had seen the colonel, the archaeologist, and the seer safely returned to the Prometheus. Which would be arriving and settling into Earth orbit in not more than an hour. The briefing was sure to be interesting!

A  A  A  A  A  A

Sam took one look at Jack, bit her lip to keep from crying out. No doubt the wounds she could see had been much worse, the three had been on the Goa'uld ship for a little less than five hours. "I should kick your ass," she said softly. "Sir."

"Don't worry, Carter," Jack said, his eyes locked with hers, giving her the boyish grin that had charmed her at their first meeting. "It was far worse than it looks."

"That's what I was afraid of," Sam replied.

"No worries, Sam." His voice was soft, reassuring.

"Doctor Wilder wants to take a look at you," one of the medics reported.

"Coffee. I want coffee. And food," Casey declared. "I'm starving!"

The medics led the way to the infirmary. Teal'c joined the team just outside of the ring transport room. "It is good to see you, O'Neill."

"I'm damned glad to see you, too, Teal'c," Jack replied.

The Jaffa fell into step beside Casey. "I am most interested to know how you caused so much damage to the ha'tak."

Casey glanced up at her friend. "Why do you assume it was me?"

The corners of Teal'c's mouth curved upward. "Experience."

While her teammates laughed around her, Casey rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that difficult. I left the harem-"

"Harem?" Sam asked.

"Yep. I guess I said something that Zeus didn't like-"

"Zeus?"

"Yep. Let me tell you, girlfriend, there's a reason those simple peasant girls were falling at his feet and giving it up to him," Casey said, winking conspiratorially. "Anyway, I said something he didn't like, so of course I get smacked around. I kicked the First Prime, and that's when the lights went out. Woke up locked in a harem room. Thankfully I was alone."

"Probably didn't want the other women slitting your throat in jealous fits," Daniel tossed in, his cheek twitching.

She glanced at her Husband, smiled, but didn't respond. "Found a nice vent right there by the floor. Very convenient. A bit small, but I managed. Well, I knew I needed a mondo distraction so that I could find the guys and we could get the hell off that thing. So I snuck to the engine room-"

"Through the access shafts?"

"Yep. Where I proceeded to break crystals to my hearts content. All of the red ones from one column, all of the blue ones from another column, all of the yellow ones from another column-"

"And green ones," Jack tossed in. "Don't forget that you broke green ones."

"Not that many of them," she protested. "Anyway, before I could get out of there, I heard Jaffa coming. So I had to take the back way out."

"Engine access," Sam said.

"I so hate that place," Casey shuddered. "So I went up one level, no looking down that way, and found a control room of some sort. Lots of control consoles. Which my trusty boot and I made a nice mess of. Did you know that you have to hit those things in exactly the same spot at least three times before they break?"

Sam's cheek twitched. "Can't say that I did."

"Well, you do. After that, I was too busy trying to stay out of sight and find the guys to do anything else."

"You did short out those wires in that access shaft," Daniel reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, I did. Used that freaking pain stick to do it. Which I had to leave behind when we had to move into the ventilation shafts," Casey groused.

"Don't worry, Radar, I put it to good use," Jack grinned.

"Really?"

"Yep. Wedged it against the wall."

Daniel looked at his best friend. "Activated?"

"It was doing a bit of arcing and sparking," Jack replied.

"Which would have caused another fire."

Jack thought for a moment, nodded slowly. "Probably."

"Another fire?" Sam asked.

"When I shorted out that panel, it caught fire," Casey explained.

"The explosion-" Sam broke off, turned her head. Damned the tears that filled her eyes. And the haunting fears that her lover and best friends had been killed in that instant.

"We had almost made it to the 302," Jack said, picking up the narrative. "Had Zeus as our ticket. Didn't work out the way we planned."

Sam snorted, then giggled. "Sounds typical."

"There was a little bit of a fire fight, and a stray staff weapon blast hit the access panel beside the canopy, which I'd rigged to blow if the right code wasn't entered," Jack continued. "So we got the hell out of there. Managed to find a place to send a message, got an answer in return, and we headed for the rings. And here we are, safe and sound."

"No doubt Zeus will long remember this day," Teal'c said. "His first encounter with Tau'ri since being banned from the First World will no doubt leave a lasting impression."

Sam's giggles turned to a full throated laugh. "Might send him scurrying right back where he came from!"

"That's just too much to hope for," Jack retorted.

A  A  A  A  A  A

Dr. Wilder was a tall, thin black man with a ready smile and a gentle touch. He was carefully cleaning the cuts still visible on Daniel's chest. It was obvious to him that the cuts were healing. Rather quickly, as a matter of fact. He glanced up at the man's face, but said nothing. "Looks as if you were lucky."

Daniel offered a weak smile. "Yeah, something like that. The First Prime mostly beat on us, using his fists. Carefully wrapped fists."

The doctor frowned. "Why worry about bruising if you were being tortured?"

"They weren't worried about us. Keeping the fists of the Jaffa from showing bruises keeps the slaves frightened of all of them. There's no way to know which Jaffa was involved in any...discipline. Any slave who's 'disciplined' is tied, blindfolded, and then left alone in a small room. Usually for an hour or so. Then one or two Jaffa come in, and the beating begins," Daniel explained.

"Ah. Very...twisted," Wilder replied.

"That's the Goa'uld for ya, Doc," Jack said, watching as the medic took his blood pressure.

Casey was sitting on the first of the three beds, swinging her legs back and forth. The doctor had given her a cursory look, after learning she hadn't suffered anything other than being slapped a time or two. Cocked her head sideways.

"Incoming," Jack announced softly.

"Something very...weird...is going on," she said, frowning slightly.

"Weird?" Daniel asked.

"Weird."

"Define 'weird'," Jack said.

"Weird, as in strange, as in not normal. Weird," Casey replied. "I can't see any...details. Not yet. But something very...weird...is about to happen. I don't know how soon, there isn't an urgent feeling...just-"

"Weird," Jack sighed. "Let's hope you get those details soon." The medics had done all that needed to be done, recorded all blood pressure and temperature and visual evaluation reports, and sent the team to the nearby locker rooms. Twenty minutes later, freshly showered and in clean BDUs, they were ready to eat.

A  A  A  A  A  A

The crew of the Prometheus was becoming accustomed to the idea that the heroes of the SGC would be among them sporadically. There were wide smiles of greeting, but none of the obvious, overwhelming admiration that had been present the first time the team had visited the mess hall.

The dining hall was filled with the aroma of the meal that was being prepared. The team filled coffee mugs, sat down a table to wait for the dinner bell to sound. Stomachs rumbled loudly, protesting the fact that the sensory organs were providing tantalizing input, but nothing had been forthcoming to fill the empty bellies.

"If Zeus is here, the others really can't be far behind," Daniel said, staring into his coffee.

"You can't tell me that the snakes already here are going to take kindly to that," Jack countered.

Daniel shook his head. "It depends on how powerful the Olympian pantheon is. If they continued to cooperate, leaving Zeus as the leader of the 'house', then they might be more powerful together than all of the Goa'uld we know about. A unified attack would wipe out every one of the remaining Egyptian and Babylonian 'gods', as well as those of the other pantheons, Celtic and Chinese for example. Although so far, Yu is the only one we know about from the latter group. And Amaterasu is the only Japanese god we know about."

"There are other 'miscellaneous' gods," Casey pointed out. "Olokun was an African god. Moloc was Sumerian, nastiest piece of work I've read about. Kali is a Hindu god."

"The thing of it is, each and every one of them are 'counterparts' to the Egyptian gods," Daniel said. "Who took their pantheon from the Sumerians, added to it, rearranged it. Every pantheon of gods who came after the Egyptians simply renamed the gods in their own language. The Greeks, the Romans, the Celts. African and Far Eastern gods...the same thing."

Jack frowned. "So what the hell does this have to do with anything?"

"Ra, as far as we know, was the most powerful Goa'uld who ever existed. None of the others have come close," Daniel replied. "He was the first to take a human, or at least a Tau'ri, host. We don't know when the Goa'uld changed, when the naquadah entered their bloodstream, became a part of their genetic makeup. I personally think that that event is what led them from being predators in rivers and oceans, to becoming symbiotic creatures. How long it took for them to develop the skills to control the host is anyone's guess."

"If Ra was the first to take a human host, he might have built up his...empire...before ever bringing any other Goa'uld into the fold, so to speak," Sam mused.

"Exactly," Daniel nodded. "I think he was very careful about whom he chose to be a part of his...family. Perhaps he directly sired the Egyptian 'gods'. The others were like...cousins. But the Greek pantheon, from what we're learning, they're an entirely different family. It's possible that Zeus and Ra were brothers, or from the same brood."

"Which would explain why he banished them, but didn't kill them," Casey added.

"It does?" Jack asked.

"Sure it does," Daniel replied. "Zeus was his brother, or as close as you can get among the Goa'uld. No doubt Ra could have killed all of the others, but that would have started a war between him and Zeus that would have destroyed both of them."

"Shame that didn't happen," the colonel snorted.

"What I'm saying," Daniel sighed, "is that Ra was the first. As such, he established the first pantheon. Started the first settlements on Earth."

"But the Sumerians were the first civilization that we have record of," Casey objected.

"Exactly."

"Wait...Ra was En-lil?" she asked. She frowned. Something she had read was poking at her. "Oh my god," she whispered.

"What?" Daniel asked.

"The first 'gods' were known as the Anunnaki. And were often depicted as reptilian in appearance!"

"The Unas," Daniel said. "The 'First Ones'."

"I'd still like to know what all of this has to do with anything," Jack grumbled.

"Ra was the first to take a human host. Ra and Zeus might have been the first to take hosts, period."

"The first Goa'uld?" Jack's eyes went wide. "I thought Yu was supposed to be the oldest of the Goa'uld."

"He is, so we believe," Daniel nodded.

"But if he's the oldest, shouldn't he have been the first? Wouldn't he be the daddy of all?" Jack asked.

"Not if he didn't take a host as soon as Ra and Zeus did," Daniel replied.

"Oy, this stuff always gives me a headache," the older man complained. "And I'm still not seeing any connection with what's going on now."

"Ra was presumably the oldest, after Yu. He was the Supreme Goa'uld leader, he created the Goa'uld Empire. If Zeus is...was...his brother, the other Goa'uld are well aware of the connection. Their genetic history is part of their makeup. They can't help but defer to him as the now Supreme Leader, even if it's subconscious," Daniel explained.

The implications finally clicked in Jack's mind. "Shit! They'll capitulate, or believe they can't beat him, even if technically, they could! Their subconscious will sabotage them."

Daniel nodded eagerly. "Zeus is now the most powerful, in theory, and according to Goa'uld history, if not in fact. Which puts the Greek pantheon of gods at the head of the line in the Goa'uld Empire."

Sam was shaking her head. "I disagree, Daniel. I don't think the Goa'uld in this galaxy are going to sit back and serve Zeus. It's been too long; many of them have been powerful System Lords for centuries. They're not about to give that up."

"I'm with Sam, Stud Muffin," Casey said.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "Among families, time can weaken ties, and erode respect that would automatically be given to an elder. The Goa'uld of this galaxy will not suffer to serve under those who have for too long been considered 'outsiders'."

"The worst thing that could happen is if the Goa'uld all start working together," Daniel pointed out. "If that cooperation sparks genetic memory of what they accomplished on Earth, and how easily they spread their influence among the stars, we're in big trouble."

"I don't think that Zeus and his kin are as close as you think," Casey said softly.

"Case?" Daniel asked immediately, watching her eyes...which seemed slightly unfocused.

"Ares was the reason they were thrown off of the First World. That Zeus allowed him to live infuriated the others. Just like the Goa'uld here, they formed and dissolved alliances as it fit their whim. Against Zeus."

"Are you sure?"

Casey blinked. "Am I sure about what?"

Four faces grinned at her.

"Damn it to hell! I am so lodging a complaint about that! What'd I say?"

Daniel chuckled. "You said that the Greek pantheon is just as...fractured...as the Sumerian/Egyptian pantheon here."

"Oh. That's good, right?"

"That's good," Daniel confirmed, reaching out and squeezing her hand gently.

"SG-1 to the bridge."

"I haven't been able to eat yet!" Casey protested.

"Come on, Angel. Let's see what's going on," Daniel grinned. 

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