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Family Feud 

Daniel was stretched out on the bed in the quarters that had been assigned to him and Casey. He tried to hold back his smile as he listened to her chatter.

"...so I’d really like to make sure Gin’ra and Doora and their families are okay I mean I know that the Free Jaffa will take care of them but they were so kind to me when they didn’t have to be and I was really freaking out because everything was feeling way to real for my comfort and then to find out that they were rebels..." Casey paused. "What are you grinning about?"

"I was just wondering when and if you were going to take a breath," he chuckled.

"Oh, ha ha!" She dropped down on the bed beside him. "We did it," she said softly. "We really did."

"Yes, we did. I heard Bra’tac telling Vanshu and Jack that not one of the Goa’uld have even stuck their heads up. The Rebel Jaffa have ships in orbit over their palaces, but that’s it. When two of the rebel ships approached, all that happened was a warning that the planet belonged to whoever was hiding there, that they had no desire to battle, and that they should just move on."

"Did they? Did the rebel ships move on?"

"Nope. They just sat there for a few hours. No other contact, nothing."

"Hmm...either the Jaffa aren’t willing to start anything, or the Goa’uld have left orders not to get into any fights...or the Goa’uld aren’t even in control any longer, and the Jaffa on those ships just want to be left alone...for now," Casey said.

"Well, at least we know that for now, we aren’t going to have any problems with the Goa’uld," Daniel acknowledged. "For the foreseeable future, we’re going to keep a couple of ships above each Goa’uld’s palace. Just in case they decide they’re stronger and smarter than they are."

Casey shook her head. "They’ve been defeated. Not just in having their fleets and armies of Jaffa destroyed. They’ve been left with so little that not even their own servants and slaves will continue to bow down to them. They can’t wrap their minds around their defeat...never believed they could be so broken, or that the Goa’uld Empire could ever fall. They don’t know how to deal with the feelings of despair, and fear, and knowing how weak they really are. There’s no amount of spin they can put on this, none of their lies will work now. They’re facing the cold hard truth for probably the first time in their existence. This could break them in ways that they’ll never recover from."

"Well, forgive me if I don’t give a damn," Daniel muttered.

"Part of me feels a little bit sorry for them...I mean, they’re going to have to figure out the real, cold world...and they’re going to have to do it fast. They won’t have anyone to wait on them hand and foot any longer. They’ll have to learn to do for themselves," Casey said.

"Well, maybe I helped Kali out a little bit," Daniel said, grinning at her. "Before I left, I wasn’t doing much more than carrying a tray of food in to her. She was filling her own plate, pouring her own wine, and running the water for her own bath."

She burst into laughter. "Well, it’s a start anyway."

Daniel pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He smiled against her hair when she snuggled close and put her head on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Excited. Glad it’s over," she said softly.

"I am, too," he admitted. "When you walked into the throne room, wearing that white dress..." He paused, his free hand moving up and down the arm that lay across his stomach. "That was a wedding dress."

"I know," Casey murmured. "Gin’ra said it had been brought to her by the High Priestess."

"I figured as much," he sighed. "For just a few seconds, seeing Apophis...well, Pedram, but he looks so damned close to Apophis they could be twins-"

"I’ll have to take your word for it," she interjected.

"Smart ass," he grinned. "Anyway, for a few seconds, it felt so damned real. Like we’d really been captured...and that damned snake was taking you from me."

"I felt the same way," Casey admitted. "I was thinking about how good you looked in those satin pants and that vest...and then I saw that slave collar, and I almost screamed."

"Jack says we’re going to head to the Tok’ra base, and just ‘gate home from there," Daniel said, shifting slightly, and tightening his arm around his Wife’s shoulders.

"Sounds good to me," she replied, trying to stifle a yawn. "What are we going to do with our Goa’uld ships? Put them in orbit above Earth?"

Daniel yawned as well. "Nope. They’ll be in orbit above the Alpha base. Less chance of anyone seeing them if something should happen to the shields."

"Oh, that’s a good idea," Casey said. "What about crews for those ships?"

"Jack says they’ll look for a few good pilots. Sam wants to have access to study them...guess we might try to implement some of the more useful technology into the next generation of Tau’ri built ships," Daniel replied. "Probably won’t have a large crew on any of them, but enough to be able to fly them."

She was warm. She was comfortable. She was in the arms of her Husband. Casey’s eyelids were beginning to droop. "You know, the reports on this mission are going to take reams of paper."

He snorted softly. "I’m sure they will."

"But they’ll be the best reports we’ve ever written," she continued. "We can report that five Goa’uld remain in the Milky Way galaxy, and not one of them are able to be a danger to anyone."

He sighed softly. "I never thought we’d see this day."

"Me, either," she confessed. "Well, in all honesty, there are still Goa’uld out there. You know they’re going to be a pain in the ass. But we won’t have to worry about the snakes here. I’m not even sure if they’ll survive for long. Abused slaves and servants aren’t the most forgiving."

"True. I suppose if they’re killed, we’ll hear about it."

Casey yawned again.

"Sleep, Angel. It’s going to be awhile before we get there," Daniel said, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her cheek.

She closed her eyes and snuggled closer. And for the first time in days, was able to drop off to sleep without worries about the mission playing through her head.

Daniel listened to his Wife’s steady breathing, hoping that she wouldn’t have to face nightmares over what had happened, and the strange feelings of the entire situation being far too real for comfort.

He’d been dealing with the same sense of surrealism. Pretending to be a captive to the Goa’uld he hated as much as he’d hated Ba’al had been trying at best. Pedram looked so much like Apophis that often he’d feel his heart beginning to batter against his ribs when he looked at the Tok’ra. While neither he nor Casey had been in any real danger, the sense of captivity had felt more real, more threatening, than he could have imagined before the mission began. He’d been so sure that it would be easy to be the lo’taur to a newly returned Apophis. Before leaving the SGC, his biggest concern had been that he wouldn’t appear as ‘subjugated’ as he was supposed to be. He rolled his eyes, just before he took his glasses off and put them on the table beside the bed. Just a simple comment...one made during a planning session, had nearly undone him completely. If not for Casey... The fears he’d battled had been real enough. He had no doubt that he’d played his part well.

He placed a kiss on her forehead. Closed his eyes. It was over. She was safe. If he knew his Wife...and he certainly did...then she would be celebrating the fall of the Goa’uld Empire for at least a week. He smiled. Thanksgiving was approaching. She’d probably celebrate the whole month of November. For now...for now he was going to sleep...with his Wife safely in his arms...

General Hammond entered the room. Every table was occupied. Just as he’d requested, the teams involved in the mission were at tables in the ‘front’ of the room. The metal shutters that separated the dining room from kitchen were closed, and the kitchen would be, for the next two hours, empty. "Thank you, son," he said to the SF who held the door open for him. "Make certain that we’re not disturbed."

"Yes, sir," the guard responded.

He walked toward the table where a chair waited for him. He smiled and winked at his wife as he walked past her, where she sat with other members of the Archaeological Department. He nodded at the teams who sat waiting to give their reports. He put the folder he carried on the table in front of the empty chair; looked around the room at the expectant faces. "I see everyone is here," he said, offering a wide smile.

Every person who worked in the SGC proper...the SFs who guarded all the secured levels of the facility...the scientists...the medical staff...the control room staff...and every SG team that wasn’t out on a mission...were seated in that room.

"You might be asking why we’re holding this meeting in the commissary," the general said. "It’s because this is the only room large enough for all of us to fit into. And I wanted everyone who works at the SGC, everyone who has been working to defeat the Goa’uld, to hear this particular mission report."

Glances were exchanged, there was even a small buzz of conversation for a few minutes.

"Believe it or not, occasionally we can keep certain...details...from the SGC Rumor Mill," the general continued, grinning wider at the laughter that welled around him. He waited until the chuckles and chortles had died down. "Most of you know how a debrief is run, and so will understand the procedure. For anyone who has never attended a briefing or a debrief, I ask that you remain quiet. I’ll answer any questions you might have after the reports have been given."

Heads moved up and down with understanding, although more expressions were reflecting curiosity.

"I have made certain that there are microphones present, so that all of those who are giving reports will be heard clearly." He paused and looked around the room. "We’ve also temporarily installed security devices that will prevent any sound from leaving the room, or being detected from any of the rooms adjacent. And yes, some of that technology is alien."

Again, laughter filled the air.

Hammond settled himself into the chair. "General O’Neill, will you please give me your report for the mission carried out from October twenty-eight until yesterday, October thirty-first?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said, opening the folder in front of him. "On October twenty-eight, SG-1 joined three Tok’ra agents on a ha’tak controlled by Rebel Jaffa. Our mission was to ascertain that the battle that was brewing between the remaining Goa’uld in the Milky Way galaxy left none of those Goa’uld able to strike out at anyone, but most importantly, against Earth and our allies," he began.

Whispers moved over the room like a wave.

"We had been notified by a Tok’ra agent, by the name of Taseem, that Ba’al hadn’t just made a clone of Casey Jackson..." Jack glanced up at the seer and winked. "But also one of himself."

Gasps went up around the room.

"During a mission undertaken by SG-1, date April 10 of this year-" Jack broke off when his throat began to close up with tears. He would never, as long as he lived, forget that that god-awful day. He’d watched his best friend turned into a Goa’uld host that day. If not for the Immortality of the team, Daniel’s position as The One, and the blessings of the Tooth Fairy, that day might have had a very heart-wrenching end. The members of his team would be dead, or in situations worse than death. He took a deep breath. "During a mission undertaken by SG-1, date April 10 of this year," he started again, "we were taken captive by Ba’al. The snake...er...System Lord separated us immediately. Casey Jackson was taken to his chambers, to be Ba’al’s Consort. Lieutenant Colonel Carter...although at the time she was still a Major, Teal’c of Chulak and I were put in a cell. Doctor Daniel Jackson-" Once again Jack’s voice broke.

General Hammond cleared his throat. "Take your time, son," he said softly.

Jack gave a sharp nod of his head. Stared at the report, noting how the letters and words seemed to blur for just a moment. He took a deep breath. "We, meaning Carter, Teal’c, and myself were taken into one of the hangar bays, along with every slave and servant on board. All the Jaffa seemed to be there as well. Ba’al came in, Casey with him. The hangar had been turned into a temporary temple. That’s when..." He took a deep shuddering breath. "That’s when ‘The Taking’ ceremony was performed, and Daniel was turned into a host."

Muted gasps went up around the room. While the SG teams were aware of what had transpired that day, certain...details...about SG-1 – that needed to remain secret, or at least mentioned as little as possible – hadn’t been shared with anyone who didn’t need to know the details. Even the official mission report had been put on a list for only certain personnel to have access to, in order to keep those details from the general population of the SGC.

"During the course of the day Carter, Casey Jackson, Teal’c, and I managed to escape. We returned to the SGC to organize a number of SG teams to help us..." he paused again, although this time he gave the crooked smile he was known for. "To help us rescue Daniel. When we returned to Ba’al’s ship, we learned that Daniel had been taken off the ship by Rebel Jaffa. We and the other teams planted C-4 in certain target areas of the ship."

"General, if I may," General Hammond said, checking his own notes, "wasn’t that the mission during which Ba’al’s ship was under attack?"

"Yes, sir," Jack replied. He grinned cheekily. "I’ve kinda wondered what those snakes thought when we blew that thing into little pieces."

The Hammond ducked his head as snickers and chuckles echoed through the cafeteria.

"We had discovered the clone of Casey during that time, although she...the clone...was killed before she could escape. Ba’al was killed, but he had enough loyal Jaffa to get him to his sarcophagus and onto a shuttle before the ship blew. Also escaping with Ba’al and his Jaffa were three servants...one of which was a Tok’ra operative. What none of us knew at the time was that Ba’al had created a clone of himself." Jack looked up from his report, and scanned the room for a second before returning his attention to the general. "As far as we know, the clone Ba’al barely escaped as well. If I might sir, Colonel Carter will pick of the narrative here."

"Very well. Colonel, please continue the report," Hammond said.

"Yes, sir," Sam said, giving a sharp nod. The folder in front of her was open, she’d been following along as Jack spoke. "On October four of this year, SG-5 escorted three civilian archaeologists assigned to the SGC on a mission to investigate ruins found initially by SG-12. During that mission, SG-5 and the archaeologists were kidnapped by pirates-"

"Morons," Casey said softly, having forgotten about the microphone in front of her. Titters of laughter filled the room. General Hammond coughed to cover his own snicker.

Smiling from ear to ear, Sam glanced at Casey, and then continued. "These pirates took our people, with the intent to turn them over to Ba’al. However, one of those pirates was actually a Tok’ra operative...the same operative who had escaped the doomed ha’tak Ba’al had been on." She glanced General Hammond. "Without a full report from Taseem, the operative, we have no idea how he managed to get himself in place with those pirates."

"Understood, Colonel. Please continue."

"SG-1 was sent to discover why SG-5 was late checking in. Information supplied by Casey Jackson through a ‘download’ offered us the chance to ‘gate to the pirate ship and rescue our people. It was during that rescue that Taseem was able to tell us about the clone of Ba’al. It was Casey Jackson’s idea to tell Ba’al that his clone was alive, and the clone exactly what he was. The assumption was this would cause the two to battle it out, and that would bring the other Goa’uld into the fray." Sam looked up at Hammond expectantly.

"Thank you, Colonel." Willing himself not to smile, Hammond looked at Casey. "Mrs. Jackson, would you please continue the report?"

Casey cleared her throat nervously. "Yes, sir," she replied softly. Just as Sam had done while Jack had been giving the first part of the report, Casey had been following the report as Sam spoke. "President Hayes and General Hammond discussed the report SG-1 gave regarding the rescue of SG-5, and Doctors Mike Loughlin, Bernie Watson, and Leanna Izett. Their discussion took into consideration our...SG-1’s...recommendation that the two Ba’al’s be approached as quickly as possible. Knowing that the clone was already several months old shortened the amount of time we could utilize, as the clones Ba’al created were based on information stolen from the Asgard Loki. So the clone was faulty, and wouldn’t have lived long. General Hammond tasked SG-1 to plan a mission in which we could tell Ba’al about his clone, and the clone about his origins, and what we suspected his purpose was. Because of the need to find both Ba’al and his clone, and deliver the messages we’d composed to both at the same time, President Hayes was influential in getting the two new 304s ready to use. This left two ships to protect Earth."

"If I might, sir," Jack said, holding his hand up to halt Casey for a moment.

"Yes, General?"

"I’d like to request a Medal of Honor for Casey Jackson."

"For what actions?"

"For giving the President all those juicy details about the government contractor that was the reason for the holdup on those ships," Jack replied. He bit back his own grin as soft chuckles filled the air.

"I’ll put that in my report to the President," General Hammond replied, pleased that he’d managed to respond without laughing out loud.

Jack grinned at Casey, who was blushing slightly, and nodded.

Taking a deep breath, glancing at Jack just to make certain he wasn’t going to say anything else, Casey resumed reading from the report in front of her. "SG-7 was selected to give the message of his clone’s survival to the real Ba’al. SG-1 delivered the message to the clone that he was the creation of a Goa’uld System Lord. We knew that neither would believe us...the goal was to cause enough doubt that they would seek to prove us wrong. While SG-1 was on the clone ship, two minor Goa’uld were privy to the information that the Ba’al they were serving was a clone, and not the real Ba’al. They spread the word to the other Goa’uld."

"Mrs. Jackson, thank you," Hammond said. "Doctor Jackson?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel said. He glanced at his Wife, gave her a subtle wink, and then began. "Ba’al and his clone had decided, independently from what we have learned, to head directly to a planet on the very edge of the galaxy. It was, apparently, where Ba’al hid a large portion of his fleet of ships. They arrived at almost the same time. As did the surviving Goa’uld System Lords."

"Doctor, would you please read the names of the System Lords involved in this...civil war?" Hammond asked, pulling a sheet of paper from his folder.

"Yes, sir. Amaterasu. Kali...those two are the Goa’uld who rallied the others to strike out and destroy Ba’al...both the real Ba’al and the clone. Lord Yu. Pelops...who has only just returned to our star system, although we don’t have any information on where he might have been hiding. Two minor Goa’uld who had both served Ba’al...Tuoni and Keku," Daniel said.

Hammond nodded as he jotted notes on his copy of the report. "Thank you, Doctor. Please go on."

"During a mission assigned to SG-1 on August three, this year, we encountered an Ancient device, used to travel between realities. Due to an ‘accident’-" Daniel looked up when Jack coughed loudly. Then ignored the ‘almost grin’ that was on his best friend’s face, he went on... "General O’Neill and Casey Jackson were transported to an alternate reality. While there they met a group of rebels from Earth who were fighting the Goa’uld. One of those rebels was...is...the spitting image of Apophis. Due to circumstances during an intense battle with the Goa’uld, Pedram Hussain, the Apophis ‘twin’, was unable to escape with his comrades. Knowing there would be no chance of any rescue attempt for several months, and that there were not enough supplies to survive that long, Mr. Hussain, agreed to return to our reality with us. He was willing to meet with the Tok’ra, and has since become host to the Tok’ra spy Vanshu."

When Daniel looked up at him, Jack nodded. There were parts of this mission report that were going to be difficult for the young archaeologist to read out loud. "If I may, sir," Jack said.

"Go ahead, General," Hammond replied.

"Four days ago Pedram/Vanshu and two other Tok’ra operatives, Aldwin/Micah and Lorraine/Karinda, joined Jaffa Rebel leader Master Bra’tac on one of the ha’tak the rebels liberated several months ago. SG-1 then was taken aboard, to pretend to be prisoners of a newly ‘returned’ Apophis," Jack said.

General Hammond tucked the sheets of paper inside the folder, and closed it. "Just tell us about it, General. You don’t have to read from the report."

"Yes, sir. It seems that the Goa’uld were totally freaked out when Apophis showed up. Ba’al and his clone were shooting at each other...well, they were on ha’taks shooting at each other. Pedram had managed to scare the other snakes enough that they weren’t willing to do anything without his permission," Jack said.

Sam was nodding. "I think the sudden appearance of ‘Apophis’ threw every one of those Goa’uld so off balance they never recovered enough to actually be able to stand up to him."

"I’ll have to admit that playing the part of a captive was felt a lot more real that I had anticipated," Daniel admitted. He reached over and took Casey’s hand. "For both of us. The thing is, it ‘felt’ real enough that we were actually responding as if it actually was a hostage situation. And that, we think, is what helped to convince the Goa’uld that Apophis was in a ‘take-no-prisoners’ frame of mind."

"The one thing none of us had ever expected was the number of ships that just deserted," Jack said. "Over half of Ba’al’s fleet, which he’d managed to take back full control of, joined up with ‘Apophis’. During the actual battle, at least half of the ships Ba’al still had, that hadn’t been destroyed, just...left."

"Several ships that belonged to the other Goa’uld did the same thing," Casey added. "It’s possible that since their defeat..." She paused and frowned. "Not so much defeat...the Jaffa understood exactly what Ba’al had intended when he created that clone. He knew full well that the clone would lose ships and Jaffa. And he didn’t care...it was all part of his ‘master plan’. When the others found out about the clone, you know word spread among the Jaffa...all of them knew what was going on. Once Ba’al was so soundly defeated, and then ‘Apophis’ turned on Amaterasu and Kali...there weren’t enough ships left, except those answering to ‘Apophis’...it was obvious that the Goa’uld didn’t care how many of the Jaffa...or servants and slaves for that matter...died, as long as their plans were successful."

"Indeed," Teal’c said. "It was bitter knowledge to be faced with. All Jaffa are trained to fight for their ‘god’. To sacrifice themselves, if need be. But they are also told...their families are told...that their ‘god’ will protect them. It’s one thing to die in battle for the honor of your ‘god’. It is another to realize you are nothing more than – canon fodder – for the ‘god’ you been in service to all your life."

"We think it’s possible that the exodus of Jaffa is still continuing," Jack added. "Probably slaves and servants are walking out as well. And if the Jaffa go, there’s nothing to hold back the villages and towns these snakes have controlled from rebelling."

Hammond frowned. "Teal’c, is it possible for the Goa’uld to survive on their own?"

"If they learn quickly enough what they must do in order to survive," Teal’c replied calmly.

"Casey mentioned something that I think we should consider as well," Daniel said. "She said that the Goa’uld have never faced defeat like this before. They didn’t believe they could be beaten down...didn’t think their Empire would ever fall. Both of those things happened...and in less than two hours’ time. The Goa’uld are masters of deception. Their entire life, their Empire...was built on lies and deception. Just...smoke and mirrors."

Jack nodded. "Now the mirrors are broken, the smoke is gone, and all they have left is reality."

"For a species that doesn’t seem to even acknowledge reality, this has to be traumatic for them," Daniel said.

"Do not expect me to care," Casey muttered.

General Hammond chuckled. "Casey, I doubt if anyone in this room cares about the Goa’uld and their current problems."

"Master Bra’tac has assigned two ha’tak to remain in orbit above the palace of each of the surviving Goa’uld," Teal’c said. "So far, there has been only one warning issued by those above each palace to stay away...and each warning included a desire to avoid battle."

"Those boys and girls may not have turned completely against the Goa’uld," Jack said, "but it probably won’t be long until they realize that they’re on their own."

"Bra’tac has also said that any of the Jaffa who come to him will be welcomed," Daniel added.

"This could see the Free Jaffa swell to several hundred thousand," Hammond mused.

"Yes, sir. The good news...they’re friends of ours," Jack grinned.

"What about Chulak?" the general asked.

"Well, there were a lot of people there who just wanted to be free," Jack replied. "Most of them weren’t happy to see Apophis show up, that’s for sure. All the folks who wanted to join the Free Jaffa, whether they were Jaffa or slaves or servants, have done so. We knocked out the DHD...we didn’t want the priests to head out looking for help." Jack frowned for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah...we need a few hundred gallons of that snake killer...the stuff we poured into the river on P3X 888. Seems there’s a lake near Chulak lousy with Goa’uld, and the priests are using them to keep the Jaffa in line."

Hammond jotted another note on his folder. "I’ll see to that right away. We can use one of the new Goa’uld ships we control to deliver the toxin."

Jack nodded.

"Do you believe the people of Chulak will be all right?" the general asked.

"I don’t know just how they’re going to handle several hundred people and damned near all of the Jaffa just...leaving...the way they did," Jack replied honestly. "I do think that they’ll figure things out. The best thing the people could do for themselves is get rid of all those priests and priestesses. They were just as much oppressors as Apophis ever was."

"Indeed," Teal’c agreed. "It’s possible that the people who remain will blame those of the temple for the turmoil they now face."

Hammond nodded. He turned to the table where Major Ferretti, Major Evans, Colonel Dixon and Major Newsome were seated. "You can turn in your mission reports by the end of the week...I don’t believe there’s much you can tell me that we haven’t already discussed."

The four men nodded their understanding.

"But," the general said, "there is one thing we didn’t cover. I’d like to know just exactly how you ‘got the drop’ on nine Jaffa...and why they were so afraid of any very loud noises...such as the klaxons."

Ferretti grinned. Evans snickered. Dixon chuckled. Newsome chortled. "Evans had an idea. Seems it was something Mrs. J taught SG-6," Ferretti said.

"And what was that, Major?"

Ferretti poked Evans. "How did she put that?"

Major Evans cleared his throat. "If you can’t dazzle ‘em with brilliance, baffle ‘em with bullshit."

The room exploded into laughter. Casey’s cheeks went red, and she lowered her head to the table in front of her.

"And just how did you accomplish this?" Hammond asked.

"Well, sir...when Mrs. J was on a training mission with us, not too long after she got here," Evans started, "she said something about getting a weird feeling. Like she hadn’t seen everything she was suppose to get for our mission. I had two of my men on point, and they came running back to tell me that there were Jaffa coming up the road. Mrs. J was pretty upset...we’d discussed the fact that there were possibly Jaffa on the planet during our mission brief, but she couldn’t ‘feel’ them close to where we were going to be."

"I see," Hammond said. He nodded, waiting for the mission to continue.

"Well, there were about twenty Jaffa, so we were outnumbered," Evans said. "We were trying to figure out just how we were going to get back to the ‘gate and not get killed or taken captive. Then, the Jaffa all just started sitting down. Guess they were taking a break or something."

By now, the men on SG-6 were barely able to keep their laughter contained enough that their CO could be heard.

"We were getting pretty antsy...Jaffa have enhanced senses of smell and hearing, and we were hiding literally ten feet from them," Evans began to chuckle. "Mrs. J grabbed her pack, wrote a note to Tony...er...Sergeant Sabotti, and started undressing."

"Undressing?" Hammond croaked.

"Yes, sir. She took off her boots, socks, BDU pants and shirt, "Evans explained. "She kept the tee-shirt on."

"I see," Hammond said again. And...he certainly did. He glanced at Daniel. It was difficult to tell whether the young man was angry or amused.

"Tony hands over his portable CD player. Casey connected the speakers, and held it like it was a boom box or something. She dialed up a song-"

"Yeah, ‘Would I Lie To You’ by the Eurhythmics," Tony managed to gasp between bouts of laughter.

Evans glanced at Tony and grinned, then turned his attention back to the general. "Casey found a place where she could stand up and head for the road as if that’s where she’d been all along. So she’s dancing and singing...which certainly had the attention of the Jaffa. They were on their feet, staff weapons in hand. So...she stops for a minute, looks at them, gives them a big smile and says hello. In Goa’uld. Then she says something about ‘I really like this song’, and she starts singing with the music. And dancing."

"Dancing, Major?"

"Yes, sir. Dancing. She grabs one Jaffa by the hand and starts twirling herself around him, then moves on to the guy next to her, and she bumped hips with a couple of them. Sure had them confused as hell."

"I imagine so," Hammond managed to say...without laughing out loud. He could hear Beth’s throaty laugh, which almost made him lose control.

"Well, the next song comes on, and these Jaffa are convinced they’ve met the party girl of the century. Casey starts singing again, only in English...but she was singing things like ‘shoot ‘em already so we can get out of here’. Well, she faked doing something to her ankle, and she dropped to the ground. The boys and I were up and firing before the Jaffa knew what was going on. We wiped ‘em all out in about three minutes flat."

"Commendable," Hammond chuckled.

"Works like a charm, doesn’t it?" Jack asked, just before lowering his head on his arm to laugh.

"Sure does, General," Ferretti replied, laughing as well.

"Well, when we realized that we were surrounded by Jaffa we couldn’t see, I told Ferretti, Newsome, and Dixon that I had an idea," Evans picked up where he’d left off. "I had Tony pull his player out, and he set it up and put on Queen. ‘We Will Rock You’ to be precise. Now, Colonel Dixon is the one who had the brilliant idea of pretending that little player was a brand new Tau’ri weapon. He had Nyan, who can speak Goa’uld very well, tell those Jaffa that if they didn’t surrender, we’d crank up the volume and turn their brains to mush."

By now the laughter was almost too loud to be able to hear what the major was saying.

"Well, they didn’t respond. So I went over and made a big show of ‘ordering’ Tony to turn it up. He did...those speakers might be small, but they put out some bass. You could feel it," Evans explained. "The Jaffa jumped to their feet and tossed their staff weapons at the men who were lined up along the front perimeter. Couple of them darned near knocked Major Newsome on his ass."

Howls of laughter filled the room...even General Hammond was laughing loudly, wiping his eyes as he envisioned what had happened.

"What happened to those Jaffa, sir?" Evans asked.

Hammond held up a hand, struggled to get himself under control. "I have the coordinates for one of Bra’tac’s training camps. I was able to make contact with the Jaffa in command there. We sent them through to the Free Jaffa."

Evans nodded, satisfied that the Jaffa had been offered their freedom.

Casey had her arms over her head...Daniel was rubbing her back. "Are you quite finished now?" she asked, her voice muffled.

"Yes, ma’am," Evans replied.

The seer raised her head. Her cheeks were still red, but she was smiling. "It was the only thing I could think of...and since the great warriors of SG-6 weren’t doing a very good job of coming up with a plan, I just did what I had to do."

"Casey, that was absolutely hilarious," Hammond laughed.

"Worked for us when we knew we were going to run into Jaffa," Jack snickered. He glanced a Daniel. "Casey had already mentioned her little ruse to me, and given the circumstances, it was the only way to distract the enemy so we could take them out and escape." Another glance at Daniel. "I figure Doctor Jackson probably took out the majority of those Jaffa. I think he was a bit...upset."

Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle. "As I remember, I didn’t know whether I wanted to shoot her for exposing herself-"

"Literally," Jack tossed in.

The archaeologist ignored the interjection. "...or hug her for her courage."

It took nearly five minutes for the laughter to die down enough for General Hammond to be able to take back control of the briefing.

"When the full reports from this mission are filed, they’ll be available to all personnel with an ACE5 clearance," the general said. "This is one report that I think all of you should read. While the briefing makes the events sound...easy...you can rest assured that it wasn’t. Are there any questions?"

Doctor Felger shot to his feet. "General...sir...if Doctor Jackson was infested with a Goa’uld symbiote-"

"The rebel Jaffa on Ba’al’s ship got him to the Tok’ra," Jack interrupted immediately.

"Oh," Felger replied, "of course." He lowered himself back into this chair. While he would accept General O’Neill’s explanation, he would monitor Doctor Jackson for any Goa’uld like behavior...just in case. The Tok’ra couldn’t always be trusted.

One of them men from SG-10 stood up. "Does this mean we’ve knocked out all of the Goa’uld?"

Hammond shook his head. "No, I’m afraid not. Zeus and Nergal control the Andromeda galaxy between them. Should either of them decide to come for us, we’ll be in one hell of a bad spot. We’ve also just recently become aware of several others...although we don’t know exactly where they are. All we do know is that they are not in the Milky Way galaxy."

"Is it possible that Nergal and Zeus will leave us alone?" Colonel Dixon asked. "It won’t take long for word to get out that the Tau’ri might have been behind this whole snake war."

"We can only hope that they’ll choose to do so," the general replied. He looked around the room. "Are there any other questions?’

No one stood up...no one raised a hand.

"Very well. Those involved in this mission, I will expect your full mission reports by the end of the week." He noted the nods of acknowledgement. "Dismissed."

Nyan made his way to where Casey and Daniel were standing. "Casey, I want to thank you for that incredible idea."

Once again the seer blushed. "You’re welcome...I think," she smiled.

"If we hadn’t thought of something, I’m pretty sure those Jaffa would have killed us," the Bedrosian said. "I didn’t want to die out there that day. But I didn’t know how we could get out of the situation alive. Your idea...it was enough to make the Jaffa more scared of us than we were of them."

"I’m just glad it worked," the seer said softly.

Nyan looked at Daniel for a moment, weighing the propriety of what he wanted to say. He thought about the howls of laughter that had filled the room. He turned his attention back to the slender blonde. "I’m just glad we didn’t have to undress."

Daniel barked with laughter. "Doubt it would have been as...distracting...as when Casey does that."

"Probably not," Nyan grinned. "I’m heading up to level eighteen. Will you be there later today?"

He shook his head. "General Hammond as given us all a couple of days off."

"I’m sure you deserve the downtime," Nyan smiled. "It will take a couple of days to deal with everything you had to do."

"That it will," Daniel agreed.

"Well, then I’ll see you when you get back." With that, Nyan gave a small wave and followed the rest of the teams and scientists out the door.

Mike and Bernie had made their way through the crowd, and had waited quietly to one side, until Nyan had finished his conversation. Mike stepped forward, and slapped Daniel playfully on the shoulder. "So...you managed to take out the Goa’uld in this galaxy, eh?"

"Not by myself," Daniel mumbled.

"So modest, our hero," Mike teased, grinning at Bernie.

"Yes, he is," Bernie said, turning her attention back to Daniel. "In all seriousness," she said quietly, "I can’t even imagine what you went through out there. You might have been working with allies. But anything could have gone wrong, and you could have been captured for real."

"A thought that was never far from my mind," Daniel admitted. "Pedram and Vanshu managed to portray Apophis so well that for minutes at a time, I was actually afraid it really was Apophis!"

"There were times I was terrified," Casey admitted. "It just seemed too real. The feeling of being a real captive was so strong...I was almost sick a couple of times."

Bernie reached out and ran her hand up and down Casey’s arm. "It probably didn’t help to have real memories of captivity to deal with."

"Not really, no," Casey confessed. She looked up at her Husband. "If I’d been able to be with Daniel, I wouldn’t have been so scared."

"Well," Mike said, gently patting her shoulder, "you’re both home and safe. And you’ve made a huge difference for everyone in this galaxy."

Casey smiled. "Just think... we can go out on digs on other planets and not have to worry about being snatched by some group of morons working for a snake."

Mike chuckled. "Good point. Okay, we heard Daniel tell Nyan that you have a couple of days off. We’ll see you later."

"Thanks Mike, Bernie," Daniel said.

Casey reached out and hugged Bernie. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I’m here any time...if you need to talk or vent," Bernie whispered in return.

"Thanks."

It took SG-1 almost an hour to make it to the elevator. Then another thirty minutes for their turn. Jack leaned against the wall as Sam slid her ID badge into the card reader. "Any plans for the next couple of days?"

"I just want to do normal stuff for a few days," Casey replied.

"Normal stuff, huh?" The older man smiled. "Sounds like a very good plan to me."

"What about you, Jack?" Daniel asked. "Do you have Sam have any special plans?"

"Well, we don’t have enough time to go to Minnesota. So I figure we’ll just head to my place for a couple of days," Jack informed his friend.

Daniel nodded. ‘Peaceful there."

"Yes, it is," Jack agreed. He turned to the large Jaffa standing beside him. "What about you, Rocko? You and Napoleon have any special plans?"

"None that I am aware of," Teal’c admitted. "I will be content to just be ‘home’."

"I hear ya, Big Guy," Jack nodded. He led the team onto the elevator, pressed the button that would take them one floor up, so that they could leave the mountain. "We did it, campers. Now we get to see what the repercussions of that little war will be."

"Let’s hope any repercussions will be easy to deal with," Daniel said.

"Here’s hoping."

The doors slid shut, leaving just a handful of people waiting for their turn on the elevator, to return to tasks interrupted by the briefing. The first ever that had involved everyone at the SGC. It was a briefing that would never be forgotten...every detail engraved into the hearts and minds of the men and women who had been toiling for eight years against an enemy they feared would never be defeated. There were still threats out there. There were still Goa’uld that would likely cause worry and maybe even a little panic. But the Goa’uld Empire in their home galaxy was gone. And that was a victory worth savoring.

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