Strange Bedfellows

Complete
Action/Adventure, Drama
Set in Season 6
Violence, sexual situations

Disclaimers:

Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, The SciFi Channel, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is written purely for my own entertainment, and that of anyone else who may happen to read it. No infringement of copyright is intended. It is not intended and should never be used for commercial purposes.

The original characters, situations and ideas contained within this work are the property of the author.

Author's Notes:

The XQ-9 'Falcon' assault UAV will be making more and fuller appearances in future fictions.

Conspicuous production is a term used in archaeology, referring to the building of excessively large things to prove that you can organise the labour and the capital – in whatever form – to do so.

The various elements lifted from Chinese mythology and scandalously abused in the name of the Stargate Mythos are all genuine; I have made nothing up.

What use of Chinese language I have in here is almost certainly horrendously inaccurate, and may well also mix Cantonese, Mandarin and the various other Chinese tongues with what I like to think of as gay abandon, rather than scurrilous disrespect.

Ming-hu's Buddhist/Ancient philosophy owes as much to Monkey! as to anything else.

The least well-known of Amy's actors, Chen Chang played the broody outlaw Dark Cloud in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

This story is continued in Who's on First.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks as always to my heavily overworked beta reader, Sho.

The Prophet, 28th April 2003

Strange Bedfellows

P8H-112

Shayara

In the pale dawn light of the planet Shayara, the still silence of the low, basalt mountains was broken by the whoosh of staff blasts and the angry stutter of P90s. Around a tight bend in the pass, a small group of humans stumbled. One was wounded, supported by two others, while a fourth brought up the rear, turning from time to time to give covering fire. Ahead of them, they saw the Stargate and the DHD, tantalisingly close.

"Double time!" Captain Amy Kawalsky barked, stooping at the bend to plant a flat, box-like device, and run a slender wire across the pass. Her companions ran on, Dr Lauren Collister and Lieutenant William Caldicott – Duck to his friends – half-carrying the badly injured Major Darren Patterson.

"Go, go, go!" Amy called, haring down the pass after them. A staff blast struck near her, and she staggered, but recovered quickly, turned and crouched, in time to see her assailant trigger the Claymore mine, unleashing a deadly hail of buckshot. The rest of the Jaffa barely paused, but there was just enough time for Amy to reload, abandoning the last few rounds in the old magazine, before they appeared. She shuffled backwards, firing carefully placed three-round bursts at the pursuing warriors as she moved towards the Gate.

Behind Amy, Lauren was dialling the Stargate while Duck supported Major Patterson and supplied what covering fire he could with only one hand free. As the seventh chevron engaged and locked, Amy's weapon ran dry. She released the P90 to hang from its strap, drew her zat'nik'tel and continued firing as the Jaffa picked their way through their dead comrades.

Even as the event horizon settled, Lauren was entering her GDO code and initiating the transmission of a Code Red alert.

"Okay; we're clear!" She yelled.

"Go!" Amy ordered, and the other members of SG-11 made a dash for the Gate. Amy stood and worked backwards until the GDO was between her and the Jaffa, offering some little cover. She turned and began to run, but then a bright pain flashed through her body and she collapsed on her face in the dust.

*

SGC, Cheyenne Mountain

Earth

Colonel Jack O'Neill strode into the infirmary while Dr Fraiser was sedating Major Patterson. The other two members of SG-11 were being checked out by Janet's staff.

"What the hell happened, Lieutenant?" Jack demanded.

Duck shrugged, helplessly, then gathered his wits and straightened his posture. "We were ambushed, Sir," he said. "There were no guards at the Gate, but about a mile in we were attacked by a large force of Jaffa. We were forced to make a fighting retreat to the Stargate."

"There shouldn't have been a Goa'uld presence," Lauren said. "Shayara was a forbidden world; that was why we were investigating it." More even than her comrade, Lauren looked very tired and dejected. Jack knew from past experience with the SGC's civilian personnel just what she was feeling. She was hating herself for being a liability in a fire fight; they all did when their friends got hurt. Of course, it only made it worse that it was Lauren and Amy's work that had identified P8H-112 as the 'Shayara' listed on various Goa'uld warning stelae in the first place.

"What about Captain Kawalsky? Why didn't she come through with you?"

"Colonel," Janet cautioned. "This can wait until the debriefing."

"It's alright," Duck assured her. "She was behind us, giving covering fire. When Major Patterson was hit she insisted on covering our six. They must have got her just before she made it to the event horizon," he added. "Sir, with your permission..."

Jack waved away his question. "If there's a rescue, you'll be on it," he promised. "But the MALP we sent back got wasted straight away. They're prepping a UAV as we speak. Any idea whose Jaffa they were?" He asked. "And then I'll leave you alone," he added, as Janet glowered.

"They were Svarog's," Lauren said. "I recognised their tattoos."

"Isn't Svarog supposed to be dead?" Janet asked.

Jack shrugged. "Or 'very far away'. We assumed that was a euphemism, but maybe we were wrong. Either way, there are worse Goa'uld to go up against. I'll keep you guys informed," he said, then left the infirmary.

"He looks..." Duck sought for a word but came up blank.

"He's very fond of Amy," Lauren said.

"Plus, he just hates losing people," Janet told them.

*

Shayara

Amy was bound and thrown onto a cart, then driven down from the Gate, past the concealed guard post where she and her comrades had been attacked, and into the foothills of the mountain range. As the cart emerged from the high pass, she managed to turn herself to look ahead, and saw a grim fortress of basalt, that looked more carved than constructed. Levering herself up, she saw that the fortress stood in the centre of a lake. At the shore, Amy was transferred from the cart to a boat, and ferried across to the fortress. The boat had neither sails nor oars, but seemed to move under its own power.

By this point she had recovered fully from the zat blast, and as her guards seemed willing to let her move around a little she took a good look at her surroundings. The lake had been created by widening the bed of a fast-flowing mountain river and damming it at one end. The fortress itself had probably once been a volcanic plug, exposed by the action of the river before the stronghold was hewn out with great machines. Even Amy, bearing the fragmented memories of an ancient Goa'uld and no stranger to monumental works herself, was impressed by the scale of the work that had gone into this place.

Conspicuous production, she thought to herself. Isn't that just like a Goa'uld. Except it's not, she realised. The design of the fortress was unlike anything that Amy had ever seen in a Goa'uld structure before. The lines of the carving were all sweeping curves, whereas most Goa'uld structures were precise and geometric.

The ferry passed into the shadow of the tower, approaching a gaping archway, and Amy shivered. As the great opening swallowed the little boat, she could only think of the black fortress of Orthanc; or maybe the tower of Toth-Amon.

"Great," she muttered. "Not only am I a prisoner; now they've made me remember Conan the Destroyer."

"Kegalo!" One of the Jaffa in the prow snapped at her. Apparently she could move, but not speak.

The ferry drew up to a dock and Amy was dragged out. Three Jaffa manhandled her along a dark passageway, and cast her into a cell. One of them drew a knife and slashed her bonds, but she made no attempt to escape because she was bruised and aching, and he had two friends.

*

Earth

"No joy?" Jack asked, taking in the disconsolate air of the control room. Major Sam Carter sat beside Sergeant Davis at the console, with General Hammond at her shoulder and Jonas Quinn lurking towards the back of the room.

"No, Sir," Sam replied. "The UAV was shot down soon after leaving the Gate. We didn't have time to identify any targets, let alone paint them, but the Gate is clearly heavily guarded. We could lay down a heavy suppressing fire, but if Captain Kawalsky were still near to the Gate..."

"What about the XQ-9?" Hammond asked.

"The Falcon is more robust than our reconnaissance UAVs," Sam admitted. "But I don't know if it would be enough to withstand the fire at the P8H-112 Gate; not to mention the fact that the entire assault drone project has yet to undergo a single trial using an actual Gate launch."

"I'd call that an acceptable risk to recover one of my officers," Hammond said. "I'll call Area 51 and tell them to have any and all working Falcon prototypes here as soon as possible."

"It could also take anything up to a week for them to have one of the prototypes fitted out for combat," Sam added. "They strip them to the bone and rebuild periodically to try and iron out some of the more dramatic kinks."

Hammond nodded. "Understood. In the meantime, we will continue to open the Gate from time to time to see if the guard has slackened enough for us to send a rescue unit. Major; you will contact the Tok'ra and ask about the possibility of a clandestine rescue by teltac."

"Yes, Sir," Sam acknowledged.

"Why not see what they know about P8H-112 while you're at it?" Jack suggested. "Doc Collister says the man in charge may have been Svarog."

"Isn't he dead?" Sam asked.

"We can but hope," Jack replied. "But even if he is, a bunch of his Jaffa are under new management."

Jonas nodded. "If someone managed to snap up all or most of Svarog's Jaffa, they'd be in a position to take a place among the premier System Lords," he mused.

"Which is something worth knowing," Jack suggested.

"In the meantime, we'll just have to pray that Captain Kawalsky is alright," Hammond said.

*

Shayara

Several days later

Amy lay in the cell that had been her home for the past few days – she thought perhaps three, but they had taken her watch along with her other gear – waiting for someone to come and gloat over her, but no one did. Periodically, food and water was passed through a slot in the door, but no-one said a word; not even to tell her she would die for her temerity. She took advantage of the respite to look for any means of escape, but there was none that she could see. The door was iron and locked fast; the walls were basalt, the window tiny. There was an iron bed and an iron chair, both solidly fixed to the floor, and a wooden bucket she hoped it would not come down to using.

Finally, she heard approaching footsteps.

"About time, too," she called, as the door opened. "If I was SG-1 you'd have threatened me with a fate worse than death five times by now."

"Kegalo!" The Jaffa guard replied, and threw a second prisoner into the cell. The prisoner was a man, dressed in a black robe, tall and powerfully built, with Oriental features and the Chinese hanzi symbol for sword tattooed on his forehead. The cell door was slammed behind him.

The newcomer drew himself to his feet and bowed to Amy. She stood and returned the gesture with equal gravity.

"Greetings to you," Amy said. "I am Captain Amy Kawalsky, of the SGC."

"Greetings," the Jaffa replied. "I am Xu, of the Free Jaffa." He was handsome, and carried himself with dignity and strength. He was probably a leader among his people, Amy thought; perhaps even a battalion prime before his defection.

"I did not know that any of Lord Yu's Jaffa had rebelled," Amy admitted.

"There are not many."

Amy sat back down on the chair. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was scouting this world," Xu replied, remaining on his feet. "It was forbidden for us to come here when we served the Goa'uld, and so we believed it might hold something that they would fear."

"So this is Shayara?" Amy asked.

Xu flinched, almost imperceptibly; probably a reflex retained from his former life. "Yes," he replied. "This was once the home to the hunters of Gods, before the cataclysm destroyed their world."

"You clearly know more of it than I do," Amy admitted.

"It is unimportant," Xu demurred. "I did not expect to find the Goa'uld here, and so Dazsbog's forces took me by surprise, killing my comrades and capturing me."

"Dazsbog?"

"Son of Svarog the Mighty," Xu explained. "Or rather one of them. When Svarog disappeared his five sons waited, uncertain whether he would return. When they saw he would not, they planned to divide Svarog's domains among themselves, but when the other System Lords began seizing those territories they fought for what was left. Those who moved first gained an advantage: Dazsbog eliminated Khors and Stribog in battle, while Svarozic murdered Pyerun, the strongest of the five, and absorbed his forces.

"With two brothers under his belt and the mightiest dead, Dazsbog thought that he would have the advantage over the last. Even with the Pyerun's forces added to his own, the army now commanded by Svarozic was lesser in size than Dazsbog's. However, Svarozic was able to lure Dazsbog into a trap, and he destroyed or took command of most of his brother's forces in a matter of minutes. Thus Svarozic became their father's sole successor, although as yet he lacks the strength to join the highest ranks of the System Lords. Dazsbog retreated and vanished. Clearly he chose to set up his base on this forbidden world to gather his strength."

"That's why there are no guards at the Gate," Amy realised. "So that he does not give away his position."

"That is correct."

"You said this was the home of the Goa'uld hunters," Amy said. "What do you mean?"

"The Shay," Xu replied, in a hushed tone. "They killed the Goa'uld who tried to conquer them, but the assault on their world was said to be so ferocious that they decided to exterminate the entire race."

"A popular sport in all parts of the galaxy," Amy noted.

Xu almost looked pained. "They came nearer to success than most," he told her. "But a catastrophe on their homeworld – possibly instigated by one of the Lords of the First Dynasty – wiped out enough of them that a Goa'uld fleet could destroy the rest. This was one of their fortresses," he added. "As well as concealment, Dazsbog may hope to find weapons here to aid him in his struggle."

Amy nodded, surprised by the depths of Xu's knowledge. "Won't you sit down," she asked, politely.

"Thank you," he replied, with a small bow, and he limped over to the small, iron bed, favouring his right leg.

"You're hurt!" Amy realised, with a start.

"It is nothing."

"Let me see," she said, going over to him. "This cell is damp and I suspect it doesn't comply with many hygiene regulations. If you're wounded it should be properly bound."

"Truly," Xu insisted. "It is of no consequence."

"Don't be ridiculous. I've only a little medical training, but you should let me see." She placed a hand on his shoulder and reached down with the other to lift the hem of his robe.

"No!" He snapped, grabbing at her.

Amy froze, one hand on Xu's shoulder, the other held firmly but gently by the wrist and almost touching his thigh. It seemed, suddenly, to be very hard to breathe, and Amy could have sworn that she had felt an electric shock pass between them at that moment of contact. Her skin flushed, and she knew that she was gawping stupidly, so she pulled away, fast. He heel hit the bucket and she tripped, toppling backwards. In a moment of bizarrely acute spatial awareness she was completely certain that at this angle her head would crack against the chair, hard enough to kill her.

What a bloody stupid way to die, she thought.

As suddenly as it had begun, the fall stopped. Amy, startled to be alive, slowly realised that Xu had somehow moved fast enough to catch her before the fatal impact, and was now holding her cradled in his arms. His body felt very warm.

Oh yeah; this is much better. Amy's heart pounded like Animal's drums. She was worried that she was about to faint, and began composing an excuse, blaming the shock of the fall; everything she came up with sounded lame, even to her. Gently, Xu drew her upright, and she was held against his chest; that definitely was not helping her concentration. It must surely only have been a few seconds – if that – before he released her, but it felt like a lifetime.

"I'm sorry," Amy mumbled.

"It is...I apologise for my reaction," Xu said, awkwardly. "It was uncalled for. However, this is an old injury; one I received as a child that has never healed. It is a source of some shame for a Jaffa to be crippled in this way, and so..."

"I understand," Amy assured him. "I am sorry for my intrusion."

"No offence was taken," he assured her. "You seem exhausted," he went on. "You should rest; and I must kelno'reem."

"Sure," Amy agreed. "The maybe we can try to figure a way out of this place. I've been looking, but..." She tailed off, feeling a little dejected.

"Two may succeed where one would fail," Xu assured her. "And there is hope that our comrades will come for us."

"There is indeed," she agreed, lying down on the cold, hard iron bed. It was not comfortable, but no worse than an Air Force bunk. With the right friend to warm it up a little... Amy shook her head, trying to clear her mind. If there was a right time to be fantasising about Jaffa she had only just met, this was not it. She laid her head down, and tried to rest, but the memory of Xu's violent but tender grasp around her wrist would not leave her, and it was a long time before she managed to get to sleep.

*

Amy was roused from her slumber by a hand shaking her shoulder. "Awake, Captain Kawalsky," Xu said, urgently. There was a rumbling around them, as of distant thunder.

"What is that?" Amy asked.

"This citadel is attacked," Xu replied.

"A rescue?" She suggested, not believing it for a second.

"Those are the impacts of Goa'uld plasma torpedoes," the Jaffa said. "Probably launched from an al'kesh."

"And your people don't have any more al'kesh than mine," Amy hazarded. "Great. Out of the frying pan, into the fire."

Xu looked confused.

"It's a turn of phrase," she explained. "Like...'from the che'hal to the river bank'," she suggested, plucking an equivalent phrase from Thoth's memory. "Whatever a che'hal is."

"A large fish," Xu replied, with a shiver of discomfort. "It fed on Goa'uld symbiotes in their native waters."

"The Goa'uld have a natural predator?" Amy asked. "Sweet." Thoth's memory of a che'hal suddenly arose in her mind, and it was her turn to shudder. "Or not," she admitted.

"This is probably Svarozic," Xu said, as a closer blast shook the tower. "He...Someone is coming!"

Amy heard the footsteps a little after Xu, marvelling at the acuteness of his hearing. The steps approached, and the door opened.

"Out!" A Jaffa ordered. "Now!"

Amy and Xu obeyed, and four of Dazsbog's guards flanked them. One of them, Amy noticed, was carrying her weapons.

"We must be deemed valuable," Xu noted. "It seems that Dazsbog is unwilling to leave us for his conqueror."

"How touching," Amy replied, her voice dripping sarcasm. "I'm flattered; really."

"Kegalo!" The leading Jaffa swung the butt of his staff at Amy, but she ducked the blow. The Jaffa was off-balance; only for a moment, but that was all Xu needed to grab the weapon at the halfway point and squeeze the trigger. The tip snapped open, and the Jaffa captain dropped to the stone floor.

Amy was almost as surprised as the Jaffa by Xu's unexpected move, but she recovered faster, and was not about to waste the opportunity. Staying low, she shoulder-checked another guard, coming up so that he tumbled over her shoulder, shielding her from a staff blast that would otherwise have killed her for certain. Even with a Jaffa in the way, she felt the searing heat of the blast across her shoulder, and stumbled to her knees.

Twisting her protesting body around, Amy grabbed at the wrist of the now-dead Jaffa on top of her and seized his zat. With an effort, she pushed his armoured carcass aside and fired twice into the Jaffa who had shot her, even as Xu finished off the last with a fierce strike of his staff. As he turned back to face Amy, he gave the staff a flamboyant twirl.

"Very nice," Amy commented, dryly, although in spite of herself she was impressed. "Your kung fu is strong, Grasshopper."

"Can you walk?" Xu asked, his face suddenly concerned.

"Of course I can..." Amy began, but as she tried to rise to a standing position, pain flared in her shoulder. She looked, and realised that the staff blast had passed through the Jaffa and struck her, scorching her skin and muscle, even if most of the kinetic force of the strike had been dispersed. "Ahh!" She cried. She stumbled, but caught herself. Suddenly Xu was right in front of her, offering support, but she waved him away. She had never allowed herself to look weak or needy, and besides, did not want the distraction of touching the Jaffa while they made their escape.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "We just need to get out of here before they start blasting the fortress from space."

"Agreed," Xu replied, handing her the staff weapon. "Lean on this if you need to."

"I'll be fine," she repeated, although she did use the weapon for support as she searched the Jaffa with her kit. The P90 was still empty, and her last clip was not here, but she strapped on her belt, and the familiar weight of her pistol, zat and combat knife were a small comfort in this dark place. There was no sign of her GDO however, nor of her personal effects.

"I did not say otherwise," he assured her. "And do not fear to look weak in my eyes," he added, claiming another staff and leaning on it himself to take the weight from his crippled leg.

Amy laughed. "And off we hobble," she said.

Dazsbog's forces were in full retreat, and paid little attention to Amy and Xu as they made their way to the docks. They took a wrong turning at one stage, and saw a group of Jaffa climbing onto a high scaffold. As they watched, a set of transport rings leaped from the platform and whisked them away.

"Portable rings," Xu said, as they got back on track. "For when you don't have time to install the real thing. They must be retreating to a mothership in orbit."

"Sounds risky," Amy said. "I would have thought Dazsbog's motherships would be well on their way by now."

"If this is just an advance strike by al'kesh the motherships may stay to take as many as they can before Svarozic's own ha'taks arrive." Xu hazarded. "Dazsbog can not afford to be reckless with his soldiers so long as his brother commands the greater strength."

The docks were all but deserted, and the single guard on duty was quickly dispatched. They hurriedly cast off one of the boats, and at that point Amy noticed a small problem.

"Do you know how these things work?" She asked.

"I saw what the guards did," he assured her, touching a crystal set near the prow. At once the boat moved off. "This is not a Goa'uld technology," he added. "I believe it may have belonged to the Shay. The boat follows a pre-set course to the bank."

Amy frowned. "Let's hope no-one shoots at us then," she said.

Xu nodded his agreement, scanning the sky for enemy vessels. "There is a baggage space, covered by a hatch," he said. "If we hide in there, they may think that the boat was released by accident."

"Good thinking," Amy said, although it worried her a little that the baggage space would be rather cosy for two. Was the world conspiring to put her in close physical proximity to this man, she wondered; or was it just that she noticed it more than she normally would. Regardless, a good plan was a good plan, and so they secreted themselves in the confined space, pressed close against each other. Amy was acutely aware that she was blushing furiously, but could not deny a certain thrill when she realised that Xu seemed almost as discomfited as she felt.

"This should only be for a few minutes," Xu told Amy.

"Shame," she replied, immediately wishing she could bite back the word.

"Perhaps we should do this again some other time?" Xu suggested, and Amy was certain her skin was about to ignite, so furiously was her face burning.

"You doing anything next week?" She asked.

Xu looked up at the sound of a glider dropping from the sky above them. "Maybe not," he replied, ominously.

The scream of the glider's inertial drives drew closer. Amy could picture it, swooping down on them, cannons snapping open for the kill. Impulsively, she turned and kissed Xu, hard, on the mouth. After a moment of shocked surprise, he responded, and they were locked in a passionate – if somewhat cramped – embrace when the cannons fired, blasting their target to shrapnel.

"We're not dead," Amy observed, with some surprise and not a little embarrassment. It was one thing to randomly smooch a total stranger if you were about to die, and quite another if you had to explain it afterwards. There was a loud splash not far away, followed by a sizzling noise.

"Another glider," Xu realised. "The glider attacking us must have been shot down."

"Right," Amy agreed. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"The kiss."

Xu smiled. "You have nothing to apologise for in that regard," he assured her. Amy was pretty sure that fear had paled her skin, but now it must be bright red again. Xu looked fairly flushed himself, and his skin was practically burning.

The boat stopped with a bump, but for a moment, neither one of them seemed able to remember that they were meant to get out.

The route up the pass to the Gate was clear, but they moved slowly, leaning on each other as much as their staff weapons, and Amy kept glancing behind them in concern. The guardhouse was a worry, but it appeared that the attackers had dealt with that problem for them.

"They may be bringing people through the Gate," Amy suggested. "That could be a problem."

"We must take that chance," Xu said. "Someone is coming up behind us. I hear them."

"You have good ears."

"Can we retreat to the SGC?" Xu asked, looking embarrassed at her complement.

"Not without a GDO," she replied. "We'd be smashed against the iris before we could even rematerialise." We could go to the Alpha Site, she thought to herself, but did not mention it. She did not want to tell Xu that she could not take him there because it was a secret; she did not want him to think that she did not trust him.

"We can try my camp then," he suggested. "Hopefully my comrades will not have moved their base of operations yet. We can contact Bra'tac to get you home."

By now, Amy could hear the pursuing Jaffa. "It's like Déjà vu all over again," she muttered, crouching at the ready. "Better get dialling." She grimaced at her own terseness. "And thank you," she said.

"Think nothing of it," he said, beginning to dial.

"Hurry," she warned. "I see gliders coming in."

"Someone is dialling in!" Xu realised, speeding up. The Gate opened.

"You or them?" Amy asked.

"We shall have to risk it," Xu said, looking back at the approaching fighters. Energy blasts rose from the pass, and the gliders answered. They would be on top of the Gate soon.

"Let's go," Amy agreed.

They moved cautiously towards the event horizon and, heartened by the fact that no-one had emerged from it yet, stepped through.

*

Yu-qing

Amy backed from the Gate, and was almost overwhelmed by the tell-tale twinges that revealed the presence of naquadah. She turned, expecting a rag-tag band of Jaffa sentries, and was faced by an ordered group of warriors, wearing snarling, leonine helmets. She had seen images of such warriors before: The Celestial Guard of the Jade Emperor, Yu.

"Ah crap," Amy muttered, holding her staff weapon level. She risked a quick glance towards her ally, and saw Xu standing quite calmly. "Xu?" She asked.

The leader of the Celestials stepped forward. "Welcome back, Lord Li," he said.

"Lord..." Amy could scarcely believe her ears.

A Jaffa stepped from the ranks and approached Xu. He knelt, and offered the man a heavy iron crutch.

Xu inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Thank you." He tucked the crutch under his arm, lifting his crippled leg from the ground with obvious relief, and then turned to face Amy. "I am sorry, Amy," he said, sincerely. "I must confess that I deceived you." His eyes flared, and his voice gained that all-too-familiar resonance. "About many things."

Amy felt as though she had swallowed a Claymore and it had just gone off in her gut. Her head was spinning, she could not breathe; she was all but paralysed with shock and horror to realise that she had kissed one of those things. She swung around, muscles moving without volition as she aimed the staff at the throat of the Goa'uld they called Lord Li. The Celestials would kill her; at some level she knew this. They would probably raise him in a sarcophagus as well, making this gesture utterly futile, but for a few moments the only thing that mattered to her was that she kill the monster that she had been foolish enough to kiss.

Li stepped forward, and swept his crutch around, knocking the staff aside and pinning it to the ground. "Captain Kawalsky," he said, softly. "Do not be a fool."

Slowly and grudgingly, Amy dropped the staff, and unbuckled her weapons belt. Jaffa moved up to hold her, but Li waved them away. "There is no need for force," he said. "Captain Kawalsky will accompany us of her own accord, will you not?"

Amy looked for a snide remark, but nothing came to her. She nodded, mutely, pushing her anger down to seethe inside her, and followed.

*

Shayara

The last remnants of the Jaffa patrol sent in pursuit of the escaping prisoners fired up at the attacking death gliders, with little effect. They braced themselves, ready to accept their deaths as the fighters banked around, but then as suddenly as they had come, the gliders were gone, vanishing into the distance. Dazsbog's Jaffa stared after them in surprise, wondering what act of their god might have saved them. The mountains seemed strangely silent without the noise of the gliders, but after a moment a new sound replaced it, a deeper, whining sound, approaching from the direction of the Stargate.

Cautiously, the Jaffa made their way up to the Chappa'ai, and saw a strange sight. A group of Tau'ri were emerging from the circle. Nothing odd about that in itself, but one of the Tau'ri sat astride a wheeled vehicle, her eyes almost completely covered by goggles, and above her hovered the source of the mysterious sound. It was a machine of some kind, but one that floated gently in the air. It turned slowly in its place, and after a moment must have spotted them, for it darted towards the Jaffa, and the smooth curve of its prow cracked open like a staff weapon.

"Aray kree!" The machine ordered, and the other Tau'ri turned to face the patrol.

"Lok'ta!" The Jaffa leader commanded, knowing that only in death could he atone for his failure to recover the prisoners. He raised his weapon, and the machine spat fire.

"Are any of them alive?" Jack asked, as Teal'c examined the four Jaffa. Behind him, SG-2 were setting up to hold the Stargate. The Falcon assault UAV was scouting the area under Lieutenant Frost's direction, and it was strange to see the young officer sitting atop her adapted FRED, waving her gloved hands like a conductor, directing a drone that was nowhere nearby to approach things that she could not have seen without her VR goggles. For all that, the machine had functioned efficiently enough, although it had still to be tested in an assault on a protected Gate.

"They are not," Teal'c replied. "They fought so as to force us to kill them, as though they sought their own deaths."

"There are seven more about a hundred yards further down," Duck reported, returning from a quick reconnaissance of the lower pass. As the only member of SG-11 still on his feet, he had been given temporary assignment to SG-1 for the duration of the rescue mission. "And the guard house has been destroyed. Looks like they were hit from the air," he added.

"Okay," Jack said, a bad feeling creeping up his spine. "SG-2, stay here and mind the shop. Lieutenant Frost, how long can that thing stay airborne without refuelling?"

"Ninety-three years," Frost replied. "Assuming any of the parts would last that long, and less if I fire at anything."

"Well; that should be long enough. Shadow us and keep a weather eye out."

"Yes, Sir," Frost said.

"SG-1; move out. Let's go find our girl."

*

"No sails; no paddles; no engine...How does this boat go?" Jack wondered aloud.

Sam shrugged. "I have no idea, Sir. Normally I'd take the workings apart and have a look at them, but there're no workings that I can find. If this is Goa'uld technology, it's nothing Jolinar ever came across."

"Teal'c?" Jack asked.

"I believe that this may be the technology of the Shay," the Jaffa replied. "A race of whom I know nothing."

"Colonel O'Neill."

Jack held up his radio. "Yes, Lieutenant Frost?"

"I have movement in the bushes on your seven o'clock; about twenty yards away."

"Good work," he replied. "Keep us covered." He gestured sharply, and his team began to spread out, moving nonchalantly so as not to arouse the suspicions of their watcher and trigger any snap reactions. Once they were far enough apart, Jonas and Duck began to circle towards the bushes from behind, while Jack and Teal'c held their weapons ready, holding attention on themselves. When the watcher's nerve broke and he made a dash for it, it was Sam who brought him down with a blast from the zat she had carefully palmed.

The watcher was a Jaffa; a young, skinny kid in a servant's robe.

Duck leaped over and grabbed the boy, pinning him against a rock and thrusting a pistol in his face. "Where is she!" He demanded. "Where's the Captain!"

"Caldicott," Jack cautioned.

"You answer me!" Duck yelled at the shivering youth.

"Lieutenant!" Jack snapped, curtly.

Duck reacted to the authority in the Colonel's voice and took a step back. "Sorry, Sir," he said. "Bad day."

"Take five, Lieutenant," Jack said. "Don't wander off, just get some air."

"Yes, Sir," Duck replied, more calmly.

Jack waited for Duck to get a short distance away, then turned to the boy. "Where's Captain Kawalsky," he said, softly.

"I...I d-don't know who that is," the boy stammered.

"About my height," Sam told him. "Hair like mine but darker."

"The fortress," the Jaffa gasped. "They took her to the fortress. Please, don't kill me."

"We will not kill you," Teal'c said. "If you tell us how to reach the fortress."

"The boats."

"Carter," Jack said. "Go get Caldicott back."

"No!" The youth pleaded. "Do not let him kill me. I am speaking the truth. The boats will take you to the fortress."

"How?" Jack demanded. "How do they work?"

"The stone! Touch the stone, and they will carry you there!"

"There; ya see?" Jack said. "That wasn't so hard. Now, you stick with us, and we'll keep the Lieutenant off you."

As the Jaffa had promised, the boat carried the team all the way to the fortress. The tower of indomitable basalt rose high above them, the uppermost levels pitted by cannon blasts, but otherwise unmarked. Nearer to the water, where the torpedoes had struck, there was greater damage, but the structure appeared sound.

"That's odd," Sam said.

"What's odd?" Jack asked.

"Well, I couldn't swear to it without studying the structure more closely, but it looks as though most of the blasts were aimed away from the load-bearing members. The attackers probably could have brought the tower down, if they wanted to."

"This stinks worse the whole time.

Inside, the tower was a shambles, and there was no sign of life. The only Jaffa left were the dead, abandoned where they lay. Jack and Duck went with the boy to find the dungeons, while Sam, Teal'c and Jonas searched the upper levels for evidence of what the Goa'uld were doing here.

"Caldicott," Jack said, calling him back a little.

"Sir?"

"Is there anything you might want to tell me, Lieutenant?" Jack asked. "Anything that might have a bearing on whether you should be assigned to the same field unit as Captain Kawalsky?"

"No, Sir," Duck replied, sounding a little offended. "The Captain is my superior officer, and my friend; that's all, Sir."

Jack nodded. "In that case, try to keep a lid on your temper; otherwise I'm going to have to recommend you undergo evaluation. You understand?"

"Absolutely, Sir," Duck assured him. "I just...Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Go ahead."

"She's younger than I am," Duck explained. "I don't begrudge her the rank – hell, she handles it better than I could – but sometimes I feel I should be the one taking the risks, because..."

Jack nodded, slowly. "You get used to that eventually," he promised. "Not that there's anyone but the General I can't pull rank on," he mused. "They just don't usually listen. Just watch yourself," he added. "You won't do anyone any favours getting mad and getting yourself killed."

"This place looks like my lab," Sam mused, looking around the highest chamber with a mixture of wary caution and the excitement of a kid in a candy store. The room was filled with long benches, on which lay an assortment of devices; some Goa'uld analytical instruments, others of a kind unknown to her.

"Actually, this half of it looks more like mine," Jonas added, examining an area strewn mostly with books and tablets.

"It would appear that the Goa'uld who ruled here was collecting artefacts from the planet's past," Teal'c said.

Sam picked up one of the devices, quickly locating a handgrip and a number of switches. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen before, but clearly designed for human hands. Just as clearly, it was a weapon of some sort; even without studying the device, she could tell that. It almost breathed menace – not just a weapon, but one designed to intimidate as well as harm. A suit of armour – or Sam assumed it was armour, although perhaps the past occupants dressed in a reinforced carapace for dinner – stood nearby; like the weapon, its surface was black, and shone like polished jet.

"I'm guessing this wasn't just intellectual curiosity," she mused.

"No," Jonas agreed, picking up a Goa'uld tablet device. "Here; these are his notes. Dazsbog, son of Svarog. Looks like a catalogue of these devices and texts." Reluctantly, he set the device aside for now, running his fingers over some of the books but not opening them. For now, this was not why they were here.

"I recognise some of these," Sam said. "Put that down!" She snapped, as Teal'c lifted a small device.

The Jaffa set the device back on the desk, and gave Sam an enquiring glance.

"Devices like these were referred to in Machello's notes. I still haven't cracked the code he used, but the diagrams were..." She gasped in revelation. "If we could study these, I can begin to relate components to labels. It would be a huge step towards deciphering the code and recreating some of Machello's inventions."

"Captain Kawalsky is still missing," Teal'c reminded her, his tone neutral although his words were gently chiding.

"Yes," Sam agreed. "Of course." She set the weapon down.

"Carter!" Jonas called, urgently. "Teal'c!"

They hurried to where Jonas was, around the back of a large, basalt monolith.

"She was definitely here," Jonas said, handing Sam a GDO.

"You're sure it was her?" Sam asked.

Jonas stepped aside. "Pretty sure," he replied.

Teal'c moved to the desk that Jonas had revealed, and picked up a pair of slender chains, linked through one another. Threaded on the first chain were a set of dog tags, but Sam did not need to read them to know that they were Amy Kawalsky's. The crucifix that hung on the second chain could have belonged to any of a dozen SG team members, but the naquadah medallion bearing the sign of the caduceus was – to the best of Sam's knowledge – unique in all the galaxy. If further proof were needed, a pair of glasses lay on the desk; glasses with no lenses.

"Carter."

Sam picked up her radio. "Yes, Colonel?"

"There're cells down here but they look empty. It's a big place though; we'll need more people for a complete search."

"Yes, Sir," Sam agreed. "If the planet remains secure, we should also get study teams in here – archaeological, scientific and engineering. This place is an Aladdin's Cave, Sir."

"Let's concentrate on Finding Kawalsky, Carter," Jack said, repeating Teal'c's scold.

Sam's face reddened slightly, but this time she did not feel she was in the wrong. "We've got some of Captain Kawalsky's gear up here," she reported. "And of course we need to find her. But remember, Sir; this planet was her call. She and Doctor Collister did the research, and it was Kawalsky who pushed for SG-11 to get the recon. This is the biggest find of her life, and we owe it to her to follow through on it. Besides," she added, thinking of Daniel. "We can't put everything on hold for one person."

There was a long pause, and Sam worried that she had gone too far. "Okay, Carter," Jack said at last. "Work out what you think we need for a preliminary assessment. We'll get them and another search team out here ASAP."

"Thank you, Sir," Sam replied. "And Sir; we will take this place apart stone by stone if we have to, until we find Captain Kawalsky or a sign of where she was taken."

'"Yes we will," Jack confirmed.

Sam let her radio hang and turned back to her colleagues. "What?" She asked, catching the look in Jonas' eye.

"Nothing," he said. "Just...You know this place is just one – really big – stone, don't you?"

Sam smiled. "Then going stone by stone should be pretty quick," she replied. "Let's keep looking," she said. "We've got an officer to find.

*

Yu-qing

The planet on which Amy found herself was one of rare beauty, and as they walked through the misty forests, she could almost have let herself forget her captors and just enjoyed the scenery.

"So where are you taking me?" She asked Li.

"To the Jade Pagoda," he replied. "Where you shall be the honoured guest of my Sovereign Lord."

"Does that mean I'm supposed to be honoured?" She asked. "Or that I will be treated with honour?"

"The latter, of course," Li assured her.

"And how far..." Amy stopped short in amazement, gazing up in amazement at the building before her. She had seen many fabulous structures, but this one was quite incredible. The Goa'uld were given to hyperbole and empty boasting, but the Jade Pagoda quite simply did exactly what it said on the tin. It was a Chinese pagoda, at least a hundred feet tall, made out of jade. Green jade, yellow jade, rose jade and white jade; the walls had them all, but they were not merely clad in jade but actually carved from it. As a result, the light of the sun behind almost shone through the magnificent palace.

"Come," Li said, simply, extending a hand to indicate that she should precede him.

Escorted by the Celestials, Amy made her way through the courtyards to the foot of the pagoda. She pulled off her boots at the door, and went in barefoot; only Li went with her. Within, the palace was even more incredible, the very air seeming to be tinted in a hundred hues by the light that pierced the jade walls. At last, they passed through a pair of wooden doors into a throne room, its walls hung with fine tapestries so that the light came purely from the ceiling, which was of pure green jade.

On a raised dais, on a white jade throne sat a man in a red jacket, with the bearing of a monarch. At his feet sat a young woman in a white silk robe, whose attitude was one of filial devotion. Two more women sat, one at his left the other at his right, dressed in more revealing costumes, with a demeanour that was far less chaste, although the enthroned lord seemed quite indifferent to their charms. A Celestial stood guard at either side of the royal dais, and to the right was a third warrior, armed only with a sword.

It was the young woman at the foot of the throne who spoke first. "Welcome home, Li Tie-guai of the Ba Xian," she said. Li stepped forward and bowed low. "And Captain Amy Kawalsky. I, Xi Wang-mu, Royal Mother of the West, welcome you to Yu-qing, Heaven of Jade Purity. You stand in the presence of the Jade Emperor, the Exalted Lord Yu Huang Shang-ti; my father." Both the girl and her father inclined their heads, and Amy bowed, as low as Li had done, and no lower. As she stepped forward to do so, she caught a slight stiffening in Yu's throne bunnies. With a start she realised that they were not there for decoration, but for protection. Aesthetically pleasing they might be, but Amy would have bet any money that they were also quite deadly.

"I thank you for your welcome, Xi Wang-mu," Amy said. It could not hurt at this stage to be polite, and she was both aware and grateful of the fact that she had not been beaten, bound of assaulted in any way. "I am honoured to stand in the presence of the just and honourable Lord Yu. May I ask," she added, boldly. "If it is you that I have to thank for my freedom?"

"I arranged for you to be brought here," Yu replied. "Once I learned that you were held by that oaf, Dazsbog," he added. "A most fortuitous piece of timing for me, although of course most inconvenient for you."

"And may I ask what it is that you intend for me?" She asked, not without trepidation.

"Be at ease, Captain," Yu said. "I would not risk the capture of my daughter's apprentice, nor any of my Ba Xian, just to acquire a Tau'ri to question. You are here as my guest, and my servants have been instructed to treat you as such and to afford you every comfort that the Jade Pagoda can offer. Alas that I could not have entertained you in my main palace, but my more public domains are less secure than once they were."

"I must thank providence that it is so," Amy assured him. "For it is by this chance that I have seen the Jade Pagoda, and I have never beheld a palace of such magnificence and beauty." In truth it was a little over-the-top for Amy's tastes, but she felt that was unlikely to go down well, and it was certainly imposing.

Yu smiled. "You have a clever and courteous tongue, Captain," he said.

Amy inclined her head in acknowledgement of the compliment. "Word of your graciousness is not exaggerated," she told him, aware that it was a potentially double-edged statement. "Is it permitted for your humble guest to ask if she may leave at her will?" She asked, quickly.

"Naturally," Yu replied. "You are free to go when you wish; once you have heard my proposal."

"I am honoured that you would confide the smallest thing in me," Amy said, feeling her flattery muscles starting to ache. "But if you wish that I should hear you, my ears are deaf to all else."

"In good time," Yu said. "You shall spend the night in our palace, Captain, and in the morning we shall speak in more pleasant surroundings." He clapped his hands, twice, and a slender young girl in a grey smock entered from behind one of the wall hangings. "Show our guest to her lodgings," Yu instructed, never troubling to look directly at the girl. "And assist her in preparing for dinner."

*

To Amy's great surprise, the first thing that the girl did was return her weapons belt.

"As the honoured guest of the Exalted Yu Huang Shang-ti, you are of course permitted to keep your weapons," the girl informed her. "However, it would be deemed most discourteous for you to carry any of them within the palace."

"Of course," Amy drawled. She wondered what the penalty for bad manners would be, and then remembered that Yu kept a pool of Goa'uld-eating fish. "Do the Goa'uld also go unarmed?"

"They bear only ceremonial weapons."

"Like hand devices?"

The girl nodded.

"What's your name?" Amy asked.

"Long Ming-hu," the girl replied, sounding apprehensive.

"I won't hurt you," Amy promised. "I just wanted to know what to call you. Would Ming-hu be alright?"

"Yes, Madame," Ming-hu assured her.

"How about 'Poodle'?" She asked, watching the girl, shrewdly.

"Yes, Madame."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "You sound less certain of that," she noted. "Let's stick with Ming-hu; it's a pretty name."

Ming-hu blushed. "Thank you, M..."

"And stop calling me Madame," Amy said. "Amy, or Captain if you need to be formal."

"Yes, Captain."

"Good," Amy said. "Now; you're supposed to be attending to my every need, yes?"

"That is correct."

"Well, the first thing I need is a bath."

Well, Amy mused. Whatever it is that Yu wants from me, he's really pushing the boat out. She had bathed in perfumed water until spending three days in a stone dungeon with no toilet facilities was but a distant memory. To her intense embarrassment, Xi Wang-mu had visited her while she was still soaking and used a healing device on her scorched shoulder. When she was dry there was a silk robe for her to wear, and then Ming-hu had helped her to change into an elaborate costume, incorporating a long robe over a jacket and pants, all in blue and black silk, decorated with gold, jade and pearls. Amy had a sneaking suspicion that on Earth the costume would have cost slightly more than her apartment block, and it fit so well that she did not doubt it had been made for her. That meant that it had been created to order in just over an hour, or that Yu had a file with her exact measurements in it.

Once she was dressed, Ming-hu dressed Amy's hair as best she was able, although she clearly had no idea what to do with short hair, then she had adorned her with jewellery. In only two regards had Amy opposed Ming-hu's expert guidance. First, she had refused to allow the handmaiden to apply the elaborate make-up she offered. While observing the highest level of decorum still seemed the best way to come out of this situation alive, Amy – to whom lipstick was an extravagance – could not stand the idea of having her skin coated in so much powder and paste. Secondly, as part of her ensemble, she had insisted that Ming-hu find for her a Goa'uld hand device.

Ming-hu fastened a jade clasp-brooch at the neck of Amy's gown. The clasp was a lozenge some four inches long, carved with the image of a dragon. The jade was pale green, but it shimmered in the light, and red veins seemed to appear and disappear as the handmaiden adjusted it, fastidiously. A stone of similar kind, and only slightly lesser beauty, adorned the back of the delicate, bejewelled ribbon device that Ming-hu had brought her.

"I've never seen jade quite like this," Amy said.

"It is fire jade," Ming-hu replied. "Rarest of all imperial stones, found only on Yu-qing. This clasp is one of the finest pieces in existence, and once belonged to the Jade Emperor's favourite daughter; as did the hand device that you are wearing."

"What happened to the daughter?" Amy asked.

"Qi Gu-niang was given in marriage to the Exalted Yu Huang Shang-ti's enemy, at the request of his Supreme Solar Excellence Ra, to mark the coming of peace," Ming-hu replied, in hushed tones. "She was most foully murdered in her bridal bed. It was a most dire betrayal, and one that the Jade Emperor has never forgiven."

"I'm sorry," Amy said, although she knew that words were meaningless in such cases.

"I was not born when this happened," Ming-hu told her. "Although I am told that all of Yu-qing mourned for the gracious Qi Gu-niang."

Amy looked down at her hands. "So tell me; who will I be dining with?"

"Only with the very highest, Captain," Ming-hu assured her. "The Jade Emperor himself; the Royal Mother of the West; the Transcendental Official; and Li Tie-guai and He Xian-gu of the Ba Xian."

"And who, or what, are the Ba Xian?"

"The Eight Immortals," Ming-hu replied. "The foremost servants of the Jade Emperor, surpassing all others in strength, courage and wisdom."

"Uh huh," Amy said, unconvinced. "And this Transcendental Official?"

"Ling-guan," Ming-hu explained. "The Guardian of Yu-qing and Master of the Celestial Bureaucracy. He was in the throne room when you arrived."

"Ah," Amy said, remembering the serious-looking fellow with the sword. "Can you give me any pointers on etiquette?" She asked.

"You will enter and stand," Ming-hu told her. "Do not move to a seat until the Emperor tells you to, as you have no assigned place at the table. Do not sit until the Emperor does. Do not eat until the Emperor does. Do not speak until the Emperor begins the conversation, and then do not speak out of turn. As an honoured guest you supersede the Ba Xian and the Transcendental Official, but you must defer to the Jade Emperor and the Royal Mother of the West."

"And do I call them that, or can I call them by name?"

"You should address the Jade Emperor as Your Celestial Majesty. The others you may address by their full names."

"Right," Amy breathed, standing and straightening herself out. She looked in the mirror, and hardly recognised herself. After almost five years in the military, she felt oddly self-conscious to be parading herself in such an overtly feminine guise. Not that I don't look good, she told herself. A girl could almost get used to this; if not for having to take tea with the Goa'uld. "How do I look?" She asked Ming-hu.

"As a goddess, Captain," the handmaiden assured her.

"Well, let's hope no-one else thinks so," Amy said. "Because I'm damned if I'll share my head with anyone else ever again. Not for all the tea in Yu-qing."

*

As an Air Force officer, and as an expeditionary member of the SGC, Amy had attended more formal receptions than most people, but dining with the cream of Lord Yu's court had to rate as one of the more difficult experiences of her life. She had grown up sitting through a lengthy grace before eating, but the pre-dining rituals at the Jade Emperor's table seemed excessive. In fact, Amy got the feeling that Lord Yu was deliberately overdoing things to test her patience and her manners. She hated the feeling of being under scrutiny, but there was little she could do but play along.

Between courses, it seemed that she was expected to make polite conversation with her hosts. She learned quite a bit through listening to the Goa'uld talk, but nothing that would be of any use if she managed to return home. While it was fascinating to know that Lan Cai-he of the Ba Xian was a spy in Dazsbog's court, and that Yu had agents among the ranks of many other System Lords, it had limited practical value. Likewise, Xi Wang-mu's rather involved tale of finding Li Tie-guai's host dying from a hideously abscessed leg wound was well told, but no more than a curiosity.

When He Xian-gu asked Amy to regale the company with a tale of her own before dessert, she had responded in kind with a vague account of her ultimately tragic love for Daniel Jackson. It was a rather personal subject, but had the advantage of not touching on anything of military significance. It seemed to please the listeners greatly, and Amy wondered if this was because it was a good story, or because it was about someone suffering.

What was interesting, from an anthropological standpoint, was observing how the Goa'uld behaved in such a situation. They affected an atmosphere of cordiality but, behind the mask of formality, they studiously avoided giving anything of themselves away. Xi Wang-mu was clearly proud of her protégé's achievements – and Amy was annoyed to find herself growing jealous of their evident closeness – but otherwise she learned little of their relationships that night. He Xian-gu, it turned out, was one of the bodyguards who had been masquerading as Lord Yu's throne bunnies, and at the table she sat beside Lord Yu – directly opposite Amy, who was honoured with Xi Wang-mu's usual place at Yu's right hand. The Ba Xian flirted with her master throughout, but even that was clearly part of an elaborate façade; whether to imply an affair or to conceal one Amy could not tell. With humans there would have been some sign either way, but Amy would have bet real money that Jonas Quinn would not have been able to tell if Yu and He Xian-gu were intimates.

Somewhere around the third course, she had decided that if she did not learn what Yu wanted tomorrow, she was going to make a break for it, consequences be damned, rather than sit through another meal like that. Of course, she would need to find her own clothes first, as the gown was rather heavy to run in.

After she was excused from the table, with Lord Yu's promise that he would speak to her in the Celestial Peach Garden the following morning, Amy just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep, but Li Tie-guai – now bereft of his false-tattoo – insisted on escorting her to her room. Her efforts to preserve decorum were beginning to feel strained, but Amy permitted him to do so; she resolved not to engage him in conversation, although she knew that she would break down.

"Captain Kawalsky," Li began. "I wish to apologise once more for my deception."

"Your apology is not accepted," Amy replied, levelly. "I give you fair warning, as a guest in this house, that if you so much as touch me again, I will kill you, and suffer the consequences."

Li flinched, and Amy felt a thrill of pride to have intimidated a Goa'uld. He remained silent until they had reached Amy's room, and she was half-way through the door.

"I wish you to know that my intention was solely to masquerade as a rebel Jaffa, and lure you here under the guise of escape. The attack was staged for the sake of urgency, and to ensure your cooperation. Lord Yu wished you brought to him unharmed, and it was feared that any attempt to capture you would risk injury to you."

"And your plan didn't?" Amy retorted, incredulously.

"My soldiers were aware of my location at all times," Li assured her. "You were quite safe while you were with me."

"I rather doubt that," she replied, even more harshly than she had intended.

Li took a step towards her, and Amy raised the ribbon device in threat. "I mean it," she assured him.

The Goa'uld held up his hands in a gesture of retreat. "What I wished to say," he went on. "Is that I never intended to seduce you, nor did I make any attempt to do so. Whatever passed between us...Whatever you felt, I felt also."

Amy lowered her hand, not certain what to make of this confession. Parts of her felt it so painfully lame that it deserved nothing less than a slap, while other parts felt it was so sincere that it deserved nothing less than the most passionate kiss she could muster. She thought that she was probably gaping again.

"If you need or want anything while you are a guest in my master's house," Li said. "Please, do not hesitate to ask me."

"There is..." Amy swallowed hard. "There is something," she admitted. "Something you could do for me."

"Anything," he promised.

"Go to hell," she said, almost in a whisper. She stepped back and slammed the door in his face. In fact, as he had begun to lean forwards to hear her words, the door quite literally struck him in the face as it closed. Amy grimaced, not having intended to actually hurt him, but she felt certain that if she opened the door to apologise, her resolve would crumble and she might end up doing something she would regret. Instead, she beat her head three times against the wall.

"Captain? Is everything alright?"

"A world of no, Ming-hu," Amy replied.

The handmaiden nodded, and waited patiently to see if Amy would elaborate. When she did not, she got on with her job, removed and stored all of the jewellery, and helped Amy out of the heavy robe. Only at Amy's firm insistence would Ming-hu allow her to change into the embroidered black silk pyjamas provided for her, on her own.

"Just wake me up in time to attend Lord Yu at the turn of the third hour," she said. "What's left of the night is yours."

At last, exhausted, Amy sank into the soft bed and mulled over events in her head. If Yu did not tell her what he wanted tomorrow she would have to start looking for a means of escape. It was all very well to sit tight, play dress-up and be polite, but it would wear thin before very long, and she had a duty to return to the SGC if she possibly could. If he did tell her, then she would have to take things from there. She tried to think of as many possibilities as she could, less so that she could plan ahead than in the hope that when she fell asleep she would have anxiety nightmares of her forthcoming audience with Lord Yu, and not dream of Li Tie-guai of the Ba Xian.

*

Amy was woken by a knock at her door, and found herself surrounded by pale, green light. It took a few moments for her to gather her thoughts and remember where she was, and then her body protested at being made to leave somewhere so warm and comfortable. With the discipline of a career soldier, she overruled her body's vote and got up to answer the door.

"Good morning, Captain," Ming-hu greeted her. "The first hour has begun."

"The first?" Amy asked. "My audience isn't until the third." That was two hours of the morning, in Goa'uld terms; by Amy's lights, nearer seven.

"There is much preparation required for an Imperial audience," Ming-hu chided. "And I thought that you would wish for a bath and massage before you dress and take breakfast."

"Massage?" Amy asked, rhetorically. I have to get out of here, she thought. If Yu doesn't tell me what he wants, I'll have to escape tomorrow or I'll never leave.

Following Ming-hu's advice, Amy bathed, then allowed the handmaiden to rub the tension from her back and shoulders. The massage felt good, but Amy began to worry that she was relaxing too much; she was forgetting how dangerous her surroundings were, which was probably Lord Yu's intention. She made a mental note to be more wary of Ming-hu, who was after all Yu's servant, but the girl asked no questions, and made no attempt to engage Amy in conversation.

After the massage, Amy did a few tai chi exercises; not only to limber her up after a big meal and a restful night, but also to help her regain some mental focus. She was after all about to face a Goa'uld System Lord – the last survivor of the Second Goa'uld Dynasty – one on one, and however little she might think of the Goa'uld, one did not become a System Lord by being a complete moron, and a System Lord did not survive the fall of his peers and the wrath of Anubis by being slack. She needed all her wits about her if she was to survive the audience with Lord Yu and come out even, let alone to gain any kind of advantage.

Amy exercised in the underwear Ming-hu had provided, which was substantial enough that she would have considered wearing it in the street at home. Only when she felt prepared did she allow Ming-hu to bring the rest of her clothes for the day. Today's outfit was less elaborate than last night's, but the ivory silk trousers and high-collared jacket with its understated embroidery would still have cost more than Amy's entire wardrobe. With the addition of Qi Gu-niang's clasp-brooch, the value was probably closer to that of her car. After quizzing Ming-hu as to the etiquette of the matter, Amy decided to wear the matching hand device as well.

"You will not need a weapon," Ming-hu assured Amy. "Lord Yu's word is his bond of honour."

"I'm a very insecure person," Amy replied. "I require a lot of emotional props." She looked herself over in the mirror. "Very Michelle Yeo," she decided, causing Ming-hu to frown in bewilderment, although of course she passed no comment on her mistress of the moment.

By the time all this was done, it was indeed getting close to the beginning of the third hour, and as Ming-hu assured her it would not do to be late, Amy set out at once. Ming-hu went with her, to guide her through the unfamiliar passages of the Jade Pagoda.

"Be careful, Captain," Ming-hu said, apropos of nothing.

"Why?" Amy asked. "Aside from the obvious."

"Lord Yu takes a great risk in bringing you here," the Girl explained. "His position is precarious, and he is..." She paused, as though fearing to continue.

"Afraid?" Amy ventured.

Ming-hu nodded, but would not even confirm it with words. "He will be even more sensitive to offence than usual," she continued. "Be cautious, and above all courteous, in your speech."

"Oh, I plan to," Amy assured her. "My death-wish period is behind me, but thank you anyway."

"Death-wish?"

Amy sighed. "It was brought to my attention, not so long ago, that I used to surround myself with death. With things like this," she explained, gesturing to the clasp. "Things that belonged to the dead; particularly to people I had known who died. There was someone in particular that I lost; someone I very much wanted to join in death."

"The Goa'uld do not do this," Ming-hu replied. "They do not think of the dead."

"So I've been told," Amy said. "Don't like to think about their own mortality. I think that's their loss, but it has been explained to me – by some people who were rather better friends than I might have deserved – that the opposite is not healthy either. So I thank you for your concern, and for your words of caution."

"I was ordered to see to your needs, Captain," Ming-hu reminded her.

"Thank you, anyway."

"You are most gracious, Captain."

"How did you come to serve Lord Yu?" Amy asked. "You're not the usual be-seen-and-not-heard breed of handmaiden, so I'm guessing you weren't born to it."

"No, Captain," Ming-hu admitted. "I was given into Lord Yu's service by my father, as an act of devotion."

"Your father?"

"King Long Hui-sun, of the Kingdom of Orchids."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "A princess," she said, sounding impressed. "Where is the Kingdom of Orchids?"

"It is a remote place," Ming-hu demurred. "A small, backwater system, with only three habitable planets and two mining colonies."

"Your father rules an entire star system?" Amy asked, incredulous.

"With Lord Yu's license," Ming-hu amended.

"And you...ran my bath?"

Ming-hu smiled. "You disapprove."

"I just think there must be better things for a woman like you to be doing with your life."

"What higher cause could there be than to serve one's god, and one's father?" Ming-hu asked.

'"Of course," Amy agreed, diplomatically.

Ming-hu sighed. "You must not feel bad for me, Captain," she said. "Mine is a good and righteous life, and I shall be rewarded in my next life with a more worthy incarnation."

"More worthy than a princess?"

"Yes," she replied. "Perhaps I shall be a beggar; or a priest."

"So what are you?" Amy asked. "A Buddhist?"

"I am," Ming-hu agreed.

"Then why do you serve Lord Yu? He isn't Buddha?"

Ming-hu smiled, patiently. "What would it be worth, for me not to serve?" She asked. "Without a hostage, Lord Yu would station a garrison in the Kingdom of Orchids, and hurt my father's people. Lord Yu leaves us in peace to govern our own affairs in exchange for one hostage; who could not be proud to make such a sacrifice."

"You could fight," Amy suggested.

"My people are peaceful, as the Buddha instructs. We have no weapons with which to fight an invading army, nor any wish to do so."

"But you are slaves!" Amy protested.

"The only slave is the one whose soul is not free," Ming-hu replied. "And not even the Goa'uld can ensnare your innermost spirit; only ignorance can do that."

"Ugh," Amy grunted, good-naturedly. "If you know the fire is hot, the meal's probably gone cold by now."

"Captain?"

"Never mind," Amy assured her. "It isn't important."

*

Lord Yu was waiting for Amy in the shade of a great peach tree, seated at a small, low table and attended only by He Xian-gu. She approached slowly – with Long Ming-hu walking several steps behind – bowed to the Jade Emperor, and awaited his signal before taking a seat. At a further gesture from her master, He Xian-gu withdrew a short distance; far enough that she would not be able to hear what was said in low voices.

"Long Ming-hu," Yu said.

"Yes, Lord Yu," the girl responded, bowing low and moving away, shuffling backwards so as not to turn her back on the Emperor.

Yu turned his attention to Amy. "I trust that you are enjoying the hospitality of my humble palace, Captain Kawalsky."

"You have been a most courteous host," she assured him.

"Do you like my peach garden?" Yu asked.

"It's beautiful," Amy replied, truthfully. "I like it very much. Your domain is the fairest I have seen in all my travels."

"Only in your travels?"

"However far one travels, home always has a special place in the heart," Amy said. "A beauty that is not like that of other places."

Yu inclined his head, apparently satisfied with her answer. Ming-hu returned, and set a complex tea service on the table before withdrawing again. Drawing back his sleeves, Lord Yu lit a small gas burner, brewed green tea in a small clay pot and served his guest. Unlike everything else in the palace, the tea service was quite plain and modest, although it consisted of a great many pieces, including several pots and four cups in two sizes; small and very small.

As she drank, Amy felt his eyes boring into her like needles. As she accepted her first cup of green tea, offered with a graceful motion of Yu's slender hands, Amy offered up a silent prayer of thanks that her captor was Chinese, not Japanese. She had once attended a Japanese tea ceremony, as part of her anthropology course, and the thought of trying to participate in one without offending a Goa'uld host made her sick with dread.  Even with the relatively simple Chinese ceremony, she was certain that she made mistakes, and besides, there was no guaranteeing that Yu had ever practised the particular ceremony she knew, but once more the ancient being sitting opposite her seemed pleased by what he saw.

"Do not think that you are here by accident," he said, as he brewed a second pot of tea, this one red. "You were chosen, quite specifically, Captain Kawalsky. I was – I trust you will forgive my saying – most pleased to learn of your capture."

"I am flattered that such an august personage knows of a humble soldier by name," Amy told him.

"By name, and by reputation," Yu assured her. "Your defeat of Cronus' former Queen was much discussed among the System Lords, and your defiance of Anubis caused quite a stir. The Black One makes many threats, but to order his Ashrak after you personally..."

Amy choked on her tea, her voice coming out as a strangled gurgle of fear when she tried to reply.

"Be calm," Yu advised. "The Ashrak disappeared shortly after guiding Anubis to a Tok'ra stronghold. Anubis' fury suggests that he was slain, rather than simply going to ground."

Amy took a series of deep, calming breaths, and felt her nerves settling.

Yu poured her another cup of the green tea. "I see that you study the martial arts," he observed.

Amy was startled; the breathing exercises had been taught to her by her tai chi instructor, but could Yu have recognised that training just by watching her inhale? "Mostly for exercise," she admitted. "Although it has been useful to know on occasions." Although not so much in the field, she thought to herself.

It was rare that Amy ended up having to go toe-to-toe with an enemy, and the one time she had done so it had been with a sword. She had not trained in earnest with a tai chi sword up until then, but afterwards she had started as soon as she could persuade her teacher. The only real use she had found for her training – aside from keeping her in shape – had been when a group of cocky Academy cadets had felt that the officer candidates who had taken their degrees at other universities were in need of a little hazing. She had lost the fight and gained her first real official warning, but the surprise on their faces had been well worth it.

"No knowledge is wasted if it finds employment," Yu told her, sagely.

"But the greatest wealth is a burden if unspent," Amy replied. She nearly bit her tongue in irritation, having psyched herself not to try any cod philosophising. Fortunately, despite the opulence surrounding them, Yu did not seem to take offence. Perhaps he simply felt that she was speaking metaphorically; or maybe he was humouring her as one might a precocious child.

"You are a rare individual," Yu went on. "Which is why you were one of those on my list."

"You've got a list?" Amy asked, less flattered.

"It is quite short," Yu assured her.

"You've got a little list?" Amy closed her eyes and winced inwardly. And that's Japanese, she told herself, sternly.

"All of SG-1 are included, naturally; save for Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Amy was puzzled. "Why no Colonel O'Neill?" She asked.

Yu looked melancholy. "I hold my worthy adversaries in great respect," he told her. "A man in my position makes few friends; sometimes his foes seem to be all that he has. Alas, Colonel O'Neill does not reciprocate my respect, and it would sadden me to attempt to deal with him."

"Actually," Amy said. "He respects you a lot. Well, a lot more than any other Goa'uld; and some Tok'ra."

Yu inclined his head in gratitude. "That is quite an honour," he assured her. "Colonel O'Neill does not seem to be a man who is easily impressed, or whose respect is won lightly."

"I'm sure he would be pleased to know that you respect him," Amy replied.

Yu assayed a look of humility. "As well as SG-1 and yourself, a small number of Tau'ri are included on the list," he went on. "A list of those who are to be brought to me directly on capture, if possible in the custody of the Ba Xian. When I heard from Lan Cai-he that one of those I had marked out was in the keeping of a Goa'uld of little consequence, I knew that providence had smiled upon me, for I have need of you."

"You...have need of me?"

"That is so," Yu affirmed. "There is a task of great importance that I wish you to perform."

Amy fought the urge to laugh in disbelief. "With all due respect, Lord Yu," she said. "My oath of allegiance to the United States Air Force would prevent me undertaking any assignment for you; even in exchange for my freedom. Or my life."

Yu smiled, kindly. "Hear me out," he said. "Then you shall decide. If my proposal does not find favour with you, then we shall part ways tomorrow morning. I should explain, firstly, that there are many reasons why I wished you brought to me. Not only do I believe you to be a most capable and resourceful Tau'ri, I also believe you to possess a strong sense of honour. If you give me your word on something, I can believe that you would keep it."

"I would," she confirmed. "If I gave it."

Again, Yu inclined his head in acknowledgement, his dark eyes watching her closely as his hands went through the practised motions of brewing yet another pot of tea; this a green tea of a different blend form the first. "As you say," he agreed.

"You know I wouldn't do anything for you," Amy realised. She paused, thoughtfully. "So you wouldn't have bothered to bring me here if this wasn't an extraordinary circumstance. Alright," she said. "Make your pitch. I'm listening."

"Earth is in grave danger," Yu said. "More so now than ever before. Anubis is an enemy unlike any of the System Lords that you have faced and destroyed; more vicious and terrible than you can imagine. Currently the only things holding him back from the destruction of your world are fear, greed and paranoia. He fears the Asgard still, although less so now than ever before; he desires your world and its resources sufficiently that, while willing to settle for its destruction, he would rather seize it for himself; and he does not dare launch any all-out assault that would leave the System Lords at his back. "

"I thought the other System Lords supported Anubis?"

Yu gave a short, soft laugh. "They were afraid of him, and still are," he replied. "They are young and uncertain in their own power, and his technological edge frightens them, but the very fear that controls them makes them dangerous to him. If they ever saw a weakness, they would not hesitate to strike, in the hopes of making their own places more secure and of seizing a share of his power for themselves.

"However, their fear is very great, and they are very much at odds with one another. Anubis might be able risk an attack on your Earth, if only he were able to eliminate me."

"You could bring the System Lords together," Amy realised. "If he was vulnerable, you have enough respect to do that."

"In this, I am indispensable to Earth," Yu affirmed. "I am more valuable to the Tau'ri as a thorn in Anubis' side than as another Dead System Lord; however neat it might seem for you to finish off the last survivor of the regime that you brought down."

"This may be true," Amy accepted, warily.

"Currently, Anubis' technological edge is unassailable, but I have been able to hold out against him. Soon however, I will fall, and so will your people, the System Lords, and the Asgard. Anubis has acquired a device of the Ancients, and my sources indicate that once he unlocks its secrets, it will increase his advantage to such a level that he becomes unassailable. Then, Captain Kawalsky, I and your people will both suffer."

"So...what do you want me to do?" Amy asked.

"I want you to steal the device for me," Yu explained, immediately holding up a hand to still her protests. "However, I understand that this is an unlikely scenario. Allow me to continue."

Amy nodded her assent.

"I can not send my own agents to capture this device. Anubis has left the fight against me to his underlings, and still all of my forces are all engaged. I can not risk Anubis renewing our battle personally; not yet. This mission must therefore be accomplished by warriors who can not be traced to me. To this end, my Ba Xian have obtained the services of a number of likely candidates."

"Obtained?"

"As Li Tie-guai obtained you," the Jade Emperor replied. "These candidates were all held within the prisons of my enemies before I liberated them to serve me."

"And they all got this 'take the job or walk away' offer?" Amy asked, sceptically.

Yu smiled, a mild expression which made Amy shiver. "No," he confirmed. "However, from you I require something a little more than mere muscle."

"Again, I am honoured."

"While by including you in the strike force, the mission remains deniable, but I have someone among them whom I can trust not to attempt to betray me to Anubis for gain."

"Conveniently, it also looks as though the Tau'ri mounted the assault," Amy added. "Which might spur Anubis to attack Earth, giving you the chance to strike at him. A win-win situation...Unless you're Earth and get bombarded back to the Stone Age during the conflict."

Yu smiled, serenely. "Then you must do your best not to be captured," he advised. "Or killed." He sipped his tea. "One more thing," he added. "I would ask for your word that if you do not return the device to me, you will destroy it. I do not believe that my interests would best be served by allowing the device to fall into the hands of the Tau'ri.

"Of course," Amy said. "You would be a fool to do otherwise."

Yu's eyes met her gaze and held it. "Then tell me, Captain Kawalsky; will you accept this commission?"

"I have little choice," she replied.

"And you will give me your word to destroy the device, or return it to me?"

"I will," she sighed. "Again, I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Yu just smiled.

At a gesture from Lord Yu, Ming-hu returned, bearing two more cups, and Li Tie-guai emerged from the pagoda to join them. Amy felt her gut squirm in an unpleasantly pleasant way just watching him move, graceful despite his limp, and hated herself for the feeling. It was ridiculous to be getting all gooey and girly over a Goa'uld; even if he was a sexy, mysterious, secret-agent Goa'uld who looked like John Lone, fought like Bruce Lee, smouldered like Chow Yun-Fat and kissed like Chen Chang in Crouching Tiger.

Amy sat up straight as Li lowered himself to his seat with surprising ease, although in her mind she was bashing her head repeatedly against the table. Ming-hu took over from Lord Yu, and poured three cups of black tea.

"Li Tie-guai has been coordinating the preparations for this raid," Lord Yu explained.

"I thought that you didn't want the Ba Xian involved?"

"So far as they know, I am Xu; a Jaffa formerly in the service of Lord Yu," Li explained. "Only you will know my true identity."

"I'm flattered," Amy replied, acidly, earning a frown from Lord Yu. "Aren't you worried that I'll betray you if Anubis captures me?"

"If he troubles to question you, Anubis will not ask you who sent you," Yu assured her. "He will simply assume that the Tau'ri have acted against him. In that unfortunate event, it would be better for you to go along with that. If he attacks your world first, I may be able to limit the damage he does. If he attacks me first, your Earth is doomed."

Amy sighed. "So what do I do?" She asked.

"You will assist Li Tie-guai in planning and organising the raid, and deal with any members of the strike force who attempt to change sides. I doubt they would find Anubis so kindly and generous a master as I, but they may be tempted."

"Who are the members of the strike force?" Amy asked.

Li Tie-guai placed a vocume on the table and passed his hand over it. A small hologram appeared.

"I know her," Amy said, pushing any Star Wars gags to the back of her mind.

"Claire Tobias," Li said. "Renegade Tau'ri."

"She's supposed to be on death row, the little creep!" Amy declared. "Security at our military prisons seems to be pretty damn lax these days."

"She operated as part of a Tau'ri unit for a time," Li told her. "But was stranded on a neutral world and chose to lose herself. She acted as a mercenary saboteur for the army of the Goa'uld Turak, a petty tyrant, before he was thrown down by Bastet. We rescued her and one of Turak's Jaffa, Sar'yan" – he passed his hand over the vocume and a new figure appear; a fair-skinned, dour-looking man in Jaffa armour – "from Bastet's dungeons when we seized one of her border worlds. Sar'yan is also on the team.

"Meyn'auc" – the image shifted again. "Was..."

"I know her as well," Amy said. "I've seen pictures, anyway. She abducted Colonel O'Neill."

"She was captured by the Goa'uld Queen, Tawaret, but escaped on her own initiative. One of my brothers, Han Xian-zi, was in the palace of Tawaret to acquire a certain artefact, and seized the opportunity to bring her to me. There is also a third Jaffa, named Seln'auc."

"I don't think I know her," Amy admitted, scrutinising her image.

"An engineer of sorts, she was caught while trying to buy ship parts, illegally, from one of Lord Yu's dockyards. She says that she has a vessel, and we hope that she can be persuaded to provide transportation for the group.

"Rayker" – a heavy-set man replaced the lithe Seln'auc – "is an explosives expert from Klos. The people of Klos fell under the control of Cronus twenty years ago and Rayker served in his armies until he was captured attempting to destroy one of Lord Yu's vessels. I 'rescued' him from my own custody."

"Sometimes it's easier to just do things the simple way," Amy commented.

"Indeed," Lord Yu agreed. "But this is not one of those times. The balance of power is too precarious."

"How many more are there?"

"Two," Li replied. "The first is Karloth."

Amy sat bolt upright, eyeing the posture and costume of the man in the next image. "A Tollan?" She asked, incredulous.

"He was one of a handful held by Anubis in an attempt to learn some of the secrets of Tollan technology. They escaped and scattered when their jailor, Tanith, was killed. Karloth was recaptured when he became inebriated, but my Jaffa were able to take him from his captors. The last is Lohesh."

"Sweet merciful crap!" Amy exclaimed. "What is that!"

Li smiled at Amy's reaction. "That is his only his armour," he assured her. "All warriors of the Guyen-tor appear so."

Amy studied the weird, chitinous figure in the hologram and shivered slightly. She could just about make out a man-like figure at the heart of the insectile armour, but it did not appear to be human. "Where did you capture him?" Amy asked. "Did he fall in your soup?"

"He was captured during an assault on a Goa'uld base," Li said. "It took seven Jaffa to bring him down, and three of them were killed. It is foolish to try and take a Guyen-tor alive, and he is the most dangerous of the group. Fortunately, when we freed him we had no need to take him into our own custody. He is here to fight; it is what he lives for."

"Lucky Lohesh."

Li passed his hand over the vocume once more and the image vanished. "We will set out for the planet where the strike force is preparing as soon as you are ready," he told Amy. "We travel through the Chappa'ai."

Amy nodded. "Then with your leave, Lord Yu, I shall go and change."

Yu motioned his assent, and rose politely when she did. "It has been a pleasure, Captain Kawalsky," he assured her. "I hope that you shall enjoy our hospitality again some day."

Not while I have my strength, Amy thought to herself, but what she said was: "It would be my privilege to be your guest in better circumstances." She began to back away. "Lord Yu," she said. "May I ask you a question?"

"You may ask," Yu replied.

"Why do you hate Anubis so much? Surely you would profit more by joining with him."

Yu looked almost haunted, and Amy was startled by the depth of emotion he allowed himself to show. "Those who have aligned themselves with Anubis will soon learn the extent of their folly. He is not an honourable foe, nor is he an honourable ally. He will turn on them in the end; he always does. As to your question; you wear a part of the answer at your throat." So saying, the Goa'uld turned and swept away.

Amy stood in silence for a moment, her fingers resting lightly on the surface of the fire jade clasp.

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