DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All StarGate SG-1 stuff is the legal property of MGM. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. This story is the sequel to True Lies.

Exodus
By Kristjan Brezovnik

SG-1 had just returned from a mission when someone from the outside dialed in. The alarm was sounded and SG-1 joined the soldiers which came to be the first line of defense in case the iris was destroyed.

The Lieutenant notified General Hammond that all teams were home and Hammond ordered the iris closed after the gate opened. A few moments passed and then they started to hear thumps as something started hitting the iris.

"These are the coordinates for Chulak, right?" O'Neill asked when he looked at the chevrons.

Jackson took a look.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"I don't believe it. They know they can't get through. What are they trying to do?"

Teal'c recognized the pattern of thumps and listened.

"It is Bra'tac," he then reported.

"What?" O'Neill asked.

Teal'c listened on.

"Chulak needs help... He wants to talk."

The thumps stopped and a few moments later the gate closed.

"Are you sure?" Carter then asked.

"Yes," Teal'c said. "Bra'tac taught this language to all his students."

"Then we better let General Hammond know," O'Neill said.

"What? Are you sure?" General Hammond asked when O'Neill reported what Teal'c had said.

"Yes," Teal'c said.

"We should send a probe there," Carter suggested. "One equipped for visual communication."

"There's nothing we can lose," O'Neill shrugged.

"Very well," Hammond said after a few moments of consideration. "I will take care of the probe. Dismissed."

About ten minutes later, the probe was ready and Hammond called SG-1 to the control room. The Lieutenant dialed Chulak and then sent the probe through.

"Close the iris," Hammond then ordered and the Lieutenant did so.

A few moments passed and then the probe came out on the other side.

"The signal is clear," the Lieutenant reported.

"Okay," Carter said and looked at the camera. "Master Bra'tac," she then said, "can you see and hear me?"

"Yes," Bra'tac said.

"Good. You can come a few steps closer." Bra'tac did. "Okay." She turned around. "Colonel?"

O'Neill came closer.

"Master Bra'tac."

"O'Neill."

"Teal'c said that your message said that Chulak needs help."

"Yes," Bra'tac confirmed. "Sokar has come to enslave us."

"Sokar?"

"Yes. His ships came five days ago and his Jaffa killed many people and took some with them."

"So what exactly is the problem?" O'Neill asked. "They way I see it Apophis did the same thing."

Bra'tac smiled bitterly.

"Apophis was our god and he wasn't so cruel to us as Sokar is."

"I believe Sokar wants to punish them for serving Apophis," Jackson said.

O'Neill glanced at him and then looked back at Bra'tac.

"Okay. So you don't want to serve Sokar?"

"We don't want to serve the Goa'uld anymore. We only served Apophis because he was our god. Not many people liked him, but they feared him."

"I see. So you want our help to fight Sokar?"

Bra'tac shook his head.

"We know you cannot help us that way, at least not in a direct confrontation. The Elders have decided that we must leave Chulak."

O'Neill whistled.

"And what can we do?" he asked.

"Only the Jaffa and the Goa'uld used the chaapa'ai. Those of us who have survived Sokar's purge only know of a few destinations and Sokar probably knows about them as well."

"I see. So you want to know if we know of any planet that Sokar doesn't?"

"Yes."

"Hold on a moment. Turn off the sound."

"Mute," Carter said after pressing the button.

"General, can we give them one of the uninhabited planets that is not on the Abydos cartouche?"

Hammond considered.

"I don't see why not."

"Good. Sound."

"Sound on."

"No problem, Bra'tac. Tell your people to start packing."

Bra'tac's face brightened.

"That is good news."

"Yes. Oh, is there a possibility Sokar might have left spies behind?"

Bra'tac shook his head.

"No."

"Good. We wouldn't want Sokar to know that it was us who helped you."

"Yes," Bra'tac agreed.

"Okay. How soon will your people be ready?"

"By dawn."

"Excellent. Have someone at the gate. We'll come through somewhere around morning and make sure that there are no Goa'uld ships out there. Oh, and put some cover over the probe. Just in case. If there's anything wrong, just dial and we'll talk."

Bra'tac nodded.

"I will."

"Good. See..."

"One moment, Colonel," Hammond said and stepped into the camera's view. "Master Bra'tac."

"Hammond of Texas."

"Will your people require tents?"

Bra'tac thought.

"We have some tents, but I doubt they will be enough for all people."

"I see. How many people are there on Chulak?"

Bra'tac thought.

"I believe that less than eleven thousand."

Hammond did a quick calculation and then nodded.

"We can provide you with tents and some other equipment until you build a new town."

Bra'tac nodded, satisfaction visible on his face.

"Thank you."

"Good. We will start bringing the equipment over as soon as your people arrive safely to the new planet."

"Thank you, Hammond."

"You're welcome," Hammond said and Bra'tac nodded. "Okay, close the gate."

"Now lets find a suitable planet," O'Neill said.

"Yes. Doctor Jackson..."

"Ah, Sir," Jackson stopped him. "If Sokar came to Chulak then he will probably go to Abydos as well. After all, Ra had also helped to overthrow him."

"Good point," O'Neill said.

"Yes," Teal'c agreed.

"We should send a team there," Carter said.

Hammond agreed.

"Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, you will go to Abydos with SG-3. Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, you find a suitable planet for the people of Chulak."

"And those of Abydos?" O'Neill asked.

"Yes," Hammond agreed and looked at Jackson. "You will return immediately after you find out what is going on there."

"Yes, Sir," Jackson said.

"Good. You leave in half an hour. Dismissed."

Half an hour later, the probe reported that there was no one in the pyramid. Jackson, Teal'c and SG-3 went through and immediately examined the pyramid.

"All clear!" Colonel Makepeace said.

"Good," Jackson said and they moved out.

"Daniel!" Kasuf greeted his son-in-law.

"Kasuf!"

The two men hugged.

"You have been attacked?" Jackson asked and looked around.

Kasuf nodded, his face serious.

"Yes."

"Was it Sokar?"

Kasuf was surprised.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"We suspected he might. We just discovered that he had attacked Chulak five days ago and we suspected he might come here as well."

"He did, yesterday."

"Well, we believe that Sokar wants to punish you for serving Ra."

"But why?"

"Because Ra helped to overthrow Sokar. And now Sokar is back."

"I see."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"Well, the people of Chulak have decided to leave their planet," Jackson informed his father-in-law.

"Really?"

"Yes. You can leave it too."

"But where would we go?" Kasuf asked, confused.

"Well, we know of a few planets of which we believe the Goa'uld know nothing about. We can take you there."

Kasuf thought.

"I will have to consult with my people."

"Of course," Jackson agreed.

"Well?" O'Neill asked when Jackson, Teal'c and SG-3 returned from Abydos.

"I was right, Sokar was there."

"When?"

"Yesterday. I told Kasuf that we can provide them with a planet and he said yes. I told him to pack and then wait until we return."

O'Neill nodded.

"Good."

"Have you found any suitable destinations?"

"Yes," Carter said. "We picked a few so we can show them to Bra'tac and Kasuf and they can pick one."

"Good."

"And now we wait," O'Neill said. "I suggest you people go to bed early."

Carter nodded.

"Teal'c," Jackson suddenly remembered. "Do you know the coordinates of Heru-ur's planet?"

Everybody looked at him, confused.

"No," Teal'c said.

"Why do you want to know?" Carter asked.

"Well, Apophis lost two ships and Sokar came after him. Heru-ur lost at least three ships at Cimmeria and those twenty-four we stole from him."

"Daniel Jackson is right," Teal'c said. "That is a big fleet and he must have spend most of his resources building it. Now that he has lost it, he doesn't have so many resources anymore and other Goa'uld would come after him."

"Well, one Goa'uld less," O'Neill said.

"Well, I was thinking of what would happen to his people," Jackson said.

"His people?" O'Neill asked.

"Well, do you have a better term?"

O'Neill thought for a moment.

"No."

"General Hammond," Teal'c spoke.

"Yes, Teal'c?"

"The people of Chulak are now on our side. Most of the Jaffa are dead. Perhaps Master Bra'tac would agree to train your men?"

"That's a good idea, Sir," O'Neill agreed. "Bra'tac can teach us a lot. About fighting and about flying those ships. Hell, we could use him and his Jaffa when we scare off Colonel Maybourne."

"And perhaps we can teach him and his Jaffa something in return?" Carter agreed.

"A good idea," Hammond agreed. "Ask him if he would do it, but don't tell him how many ships we have or that we stole them from Heru-ur."

"Yes, Sir."

"Ah, Sir," Jackson spoke, "have you managed to get the tents?"

Hammond nodded.

"It took some persuasion, but they have agreed. As a matter of fact I told them that we could learn a lot from the people of Chulak now that they are on our side. The tents will go through the gate at Nulles. I have already sent SG-8 there to supervise."

"And Maybourne didn't object?" O'Neill asked.

"He did."

O'Neill grinned.

"And the tents for the people of Abydos?" Jackson asked.

"How many people are there?"

Jackson thought.

"About a thousand. Definitely not more than two thousand."

"I see." He did a quick calculation. "I will order some additional tents. Dismissed."

The time finally came and SG teams 1, 3 and 7 were ready.

"Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, you two will go with SG-7. Doctor Jackson, Teal'c, you two will go with SG-3."

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. SG-3 leaves first."

"Yes, Sir."

"Go to the gate room and wait."

"Yes, Sir."

The teams left and Hammond went to the control room.

"Dial Abydos," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir," the Lieutenant said and entered the coordinates.

On Abydos, a young boy came out of hiding when he recognized Jackson.

"Is everything okay?" Jackson asked him.

"Yes," the boy said.

"Good. Let's go to Kasuf."

Jackson and Teal'c followed the boy while SG-3 started to observe the sky.

"Dial Chulak," Hammond ordered when the gate closed after the departure of SG-3.

"Yes, Sir."

The Lieutenant entered the coordinates and Hammond stepped in front of the camera. A few moments later, Bra'tac appeared.

"Master Bra'tac, "he said.

"Hammond of Texas."

"Our people are ready to come through."

"We are ready."

"Good." Hammond went to the microphone. "SG-7 proceed," he ordered and SG-7 moved.

A few moment later O'Neill appeared in front of camera.

"We're here, Sir."

"Good luck. Close the gate."

"Yes, Sir."

On Chulak, SG-7 immediately started to observe the sky for any signs of Goa'uld ships.

"Bra'tac," O'Neill said when the gate closed.

"O'Neill." Bra'tac looked around. "Where is Teal'c?"

"He and Doctor Jackson are on Abydos. It seems they have the same problem as you do."

"Abydos?"

"Yeah, Ra's place."

"I have heard of it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Anyway, we picked a few destinations. Take a look." O'Neill opened a notebook computer and waited until the program loaded. "Okay, here we go."

Bra'tac watched as the planetary scenery changed rapidly as one of SG teams explored the planet.

On Abydos, Jackson showed Kasuf the same program but with different destinations. Kasuf watched, amazed, and finally picked one.

"Then let's go," Jackson said.

Kasuf yelled something and the people cheered.

On Chulak, Bra'tac had reviewed all possible destinations and picked one.

"Okay then. Call your people."

Bra'tac nodded to one of the Jaffa and the man blew a horn. Another horn was heard in the distance a few moments later.

"They are on their way."

"Good. Come, let's take a short walk, I need to talk to you."

Bra'tac nodded and he and O'Neill slowly walked away from the stargate.

"Bra'tac, I was wondering if you could do us a favor."

Bra'tac stopped.

"After what you and your people just did for the people of Chulak, I cannot refuse."

"Well, it's not over yet," O'Neill reminded him.

"True," Bra'tac agreed.

"Well, we were wondering if you would be willing to instruct our soldiers. I mean you're the best Jaffa there is and your knowledge about the Goa'uld and Jaffa fighting techniques and weapons is far greater than ours."

Bra'tac smiled at the complement and nodded.

"True. I would be honored."

"Excellent." O'Neill paused for a moment. "There's another request and it's, well, ultra top secret. You know what I mean?"

Bra'tac nodded.

"Yes."

"Good." O'Neill paused. "Well, we're building a new base, a very secret one, on a planet that we believe the Goa'uld don't know about. Well, we need to make certain high military officials and some politicians believe that it had been destroyed by the Goa'uld and that they also destroyed the stargate there." He paused again. "Well, do you know that we know the Tok'Ra?"

"Yes," Bra'tac said, nodding.

"Well, we could use them, but they don't look like the Jaffa."

Bra'tac nodded.

"I understand."

"Well, we also have at our disposal a Goa'uld ship."

Bra'tac looked at him, surprised.

"You do?"

"Yes. And this ship and its death gliders will make a fake attack at the base right when me and my team will be escorting those high officials back home. Well, to make it more real, we were thinking that you and some of your most loyal Jaffa could go to that ship and then come down with those transporter rings and start firing at us. Of course not straight at us but so that you would miss us. We will fire back with blank bullets and I want you to tell your men to randomly fall down and pretend to be dead. You understand?"

Bra'tac nodded.

"I understand the plan, but not the reasons."

"Well, there have been a few incidents involving high military officials and powerful politicians and we want to prevent them from doing something stupid that would end in the destruction of Earth or some other planet. Last time they stole an alien device and messed with the weather. They caused floods on Earth and the planet from which they stole the device was nearly destroyed. We barely retrieved it in time."

"I see," Bra'tac said and nodded. "I will do it."

"I hope you understand that you will have to be taken to that planet blindfolded and that you should tell absolutely no one where you have been and what you have done?"

Bra'tac nodded.

"I understand."

O'Neill relaxed.

"Good. We'll let you know when."

Bra'tac nodded and thought.

"You mentioned blank bullets?" he then asked.

"Yes," O'Neill confirmed. "I'll show you."

On Abydos, the people quickly picked up their belongings and started to walk to the pyramid. When they reached it, Teal'c went ahead and dialed the chosen destination. He entered the gate and the people followed him.

It was a long serpent of people on Chulak that approached the stargate. O'Neill scratched his head as he watched the people approach.

"This is gonna take a long time," he said and turned to Bra'tac. "Tell them to follow Captain Carter through the gate and then on until she stops."

Bra'tac nodded and waited for the first people to come closer. In the meantime, Carter dialed the chosen destination. Bra'tac then gave instructions and pointed at Carter.

"They are ready," he told her.

Carter nodded and went to the gate. The people followed.

It was still night on New Abydos. Teal'c walked until Jackson called him. Then he stopped and returned to him.

"I believe that was everybody," Kasuf said.

"Good. Teal'c and I will now return to Earth. It might take a while before tents are delivered because they might deliver them to the people of Chulak first. We'll see."

"Thank you, Daniel."

Jackson smiled.

"I promise I will come to visit more often."

"That would be good."

"Yes." Jackson turned to Colonel Makepeace. Colonel, coordinate with Kasuf."

Makepeace nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"Okay, Teal'c, let's go."

It was late afternoon on New Chulak. Carter kept walking until O'Neill called her. She stopped and turned around. The people started to stop and Carter went to the gate.

"Everyone through?" she asked O'Neill when she reached him.

"Yes."

"Good."

"Major," O'Neill said and turned to the commander of SG-7.

"Sir?"

"Captain Carter and I will return to Earth. Coordinate with Bra'tac and the Elders. I think the tents should be arriving soon. Supervise those soldiers and make sure they don't do something stupid. You never know what the NID will think of next."

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Bra'tac."

"O'Neill. Thank you."

O'Neill smiled.

"That's what friends are for. See you later. Sam."

Carter dialed home.

Jackson and Teal'c came back before O'Neill and Carter.

"Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked when they came to the conference room.

"Abydos has been evacuated."

"Good. I will contact Nulles."

"Oh, Sir, there is still night on New Abydos."

Hammond nodded.

"I will let them know. Dismissed."

About half an hour later, O'Neill and Carter returned.

"Colonel?" Hammond asked when they came to the conference room.

"Chulak's deserted."

"Good. I will inform Nulles."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

Two days passed and the camps on New Chulak and New Abydos had been set up. The SG teams were back to normal and SG-4 had just returned from a mission when someone from the outside dialed in.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Hammond asked the Lieutenant.

"Only SG-11 is out at the moment, but we're not expecting them back yet."

"Close the iris when the gate opens."

"Yes, Sir."

They waited until all the chevrons were encoded and the gate opened. The Lieutenant then closed the iris.

"Sir," he reported a few moments later, "we're receiving a code. It's the Tok'Ra!"

"Open the iris!"

"Yes, Sir."

"Sir?" O'Neill asked when he came to the control room, followed by Teal'c.

"We have visitors. The Tok'Ra."

"Really?" O'Neill looked through the window. "General Carter and Martouf."

"Let's go greet them," Hammond said and went to the gate room.

"Jacob!" Hammond greeted his friend.

"George!"

The two generals hugged.

"What brings you here?"

"Well, we heard that the people of Chulak have disappeared and we were wondering if you know anything about it."

"I see. Let's go to the conference room.

"General," O'Neill nodded when Jacob looked at him.

"Colonel. Teal'c."

"So, the news goes around fast," O'Neill said when they came to the conference room."

"You know about it?" Martouf asked.

O'Neill looked at Hammond questioningly.

"General?"

"Tell them."

"Yes, Sir," O'Neill said and turned to Jacob and Martouf. "A couple of days ago, we were contacted by a friend from Chulak and he told us that the Elders had decided to leave the planet because they don't want to serve the Goa'uld anymore, now that Apophis is dead."

"That is not yet certain," Martouf said.

"Well, they don't need to know that. Anyway, they wondered if we happened to know any safe planets. We did. They packed and we took them to their new home. We did the same on Abydos."

"Abydos?"

"Ra's place. Sokar was there too."

"I see," Jacob said. "And where did you take them?"

"To a safe place. I think it's best if it remained that way, unless you need to go there."

"No, no."

"Just make sure Sokar doesn't find out, he'd be very angry."

"I can imagine," Jacob said with a smile and turned to Hammond. "Where's Samantha, George?"

"I think she's home. Colonel?"

"Yup," O'Neill confirmed.

"I see."

Hammond thought about something.

"Jacob, can SG-1 come to you tomorrow and talk to your leaders?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I'd rather not discuss it here and now. But it's very important that they speak to your leaders in person."

Jacob nodded.

"We'll come back in twenty-four hours."

"Good, they'll be ready. Colonel, call Captain Carter and Doctor Jackson."

"Yes, Sir."

When Carter and Jackson arrived, Hammond briefed them all.

"I can't wait to see Dad," Carter said.

"You sure about this, General?" O'Neill asked.

Hammond nodded.

"Yes, Colonel. We need to know more about those ships and we need people who can operate them."

"Perhaps the people of Chulak would help us," Teal'c said.

"Yes," Jackson agreed. "They served Apophis for so long, perhaps they would want to fight the Goa'uld now."

Hammond considered.

"Perhaps. Colonel, remember to ask Bra'tac about it when you see him next."

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

When Jacob Carter and Martouf came the next day, SG-1 was ready. Carter hugged her father.

"Hi, Dad."

"Sam. It's good to see you again."

"You too, Dad."

"So, shall we go?"

"General!" O'Neill called and Hammond gave the order to open the gate.

Jacob and Martouf took them through several gates before they finally came to their destination.

"Looks like the last place you stayed," O'Neill commented.

"Doesn't it?" Jacob agreed.

After several hundred meters, they stopped and the transporter rings took them beneath the surface. After that followed a walk through the maze of underground corridors and then they finally arrived to a chamber where the Tok'Ra Council awaited them.

"Welcome, Tau'ri."

"Hi, Garshaw," O'Neill said.

"Selmak said you wanted to talk to us about something important."

"Yes," O'Neill confirmed.

"Speak."

O'Neill hesitated.

"Well, first I need to find out a couple of things before I can get to the point."

"We will answer if possible."

"Good." He paused. "Em, do Tok'Ra use ships?"

Garshaw was surprised.

"We have them, but we only use them in extreme emergencies."

"So what do you do with them the rest of the time?" O'Neill asked, confused.

"We upgrade them and wait for the time when we will need them."

"Oh." O'Neill thought. "How many to you have? Approximately."

"A lot," Garshaw said and O'Neill grinned.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. How much are, say, twenty, twenty-five ships in comparison to your fleet?"

Garshaw hesitated and glanced at other Tok'Ra.

"Between zero and ten percent," Selmak said and grinned.

O'Neil grinned back.

"And the combined Goa'uld fleet?"

Salmek thought for a moment.

"It's much bigger, but we are not yet certain how much bigger."

"I see. So you know a lot about ships?"

"Yes."

"Are they like the Goa'uld ships?"

"Yes."

"You have enough crews for them?"

"Yes."

O'Neill thought what to ask next.

"Would you be willing to share that knowledge with us?"

Salmek looked at the other Tok'Ra and then let Jacob speak.

"I believe, Colonel, that the Tok'Ra believe you are too, how shall I put it, well, primitive to handle such knowledge. Don't forget, they know a lot about you from me."

O'Neill grinned.

"I thought you might say something like that and quite frankly, I agree." He considered what to say and decided to get to the point. "Oh, hell, why not? The point is, we have twenty-four Goa'uld ships in our possession and we need help with them."

O'Neill couldn't help but grin when he saw the faces of the Tok'Ra.

"That is impossible," Garshaw said.

"Afraid not, Garshaw."

"How did you get them?"

"Lots of luck, genius and even more sweat," O'Neill said proudly.

Jacob grinned at that.

"Please explain," Garshaw said.

"Well, have you heard from Heru-ur lately? Did he have any problems?"

Garshaw was confused.

"He lost four ships at Cimmeria."

"Yeah, I know, we were there."

"You were?"

"Yes. But I mean after that."

Garshaw thought.

"There have been rumors that one of his secret bases has been destroyed and that he had barely escaped with a small group of Jaffa."

"Yup, that's the one," O'Neill said.

"What do you know about it?"

"Well, it was a construction yard. We discovered it purely by accident when someone entered a wrong coordinate. We saw it was a ship and we decided to blow it up. But then Teal'c overheard that the ship was almost complete and he told us that security measures really suck. So we decided to try and hijack it. We recorded the bridge so Teal'c could show us how to fly it and also the self-destruct device. When I looked out the bridge window, I saw that it wasn't just one ship but a whole fleet." He paused, grinning. "Our scientists managed to find a way to remove the self-destruct devices and we decided to hijack all of them. We slipped aboard and removed the devices. Then we waited for the test flight to end. When we came back, we took over the ships, blew up the station and went home."

There was a silence as the story sunk in.

"I am impressed, Colonel," Garshaw said.

"Thank you," O'Neill said. "And to show you that we are not all that primitive and that we understand just what we have, let me tell you that of all the people on Earth only forty-nine know that those ships still exist, all others believe they were destroyed."

"Then I assume that you didn't send the ships to Earth," Jacob said.

"Nope. We first sent them to a secret installation, but we decided that it would be too risky. So, we decided to build another one. The people who currently operate the ships are believed dead and only the commanding officer from that installation knows about the ships. When the new base is completed, we will fake a Goa'uld attack and dismantle the gate so that no high military officials or powerful politicians could abuse that power. We already got some of Apophis' Jaffa to help us."

"Jaffa!" Garshaw said, outraged.

"Don't worry," O'Neill appeased her, "they're friends now, especially Bra'tac, the oldest of them. He and his men have helped us blow up those two Apophis' ships when they attacked Earth. Anyway, the ships will stay at the new base, except when they are needed to defend Earth or if we sent them on exploratory missions. Oh, and you don't need to worry about the sarcophagi, we destroyed them."

There was another silence.

"Jacob has explained to me the importance of this," Selmak said, "and I believe that we need to talk about this."

"Sure," O'Neill said. "Oh, General Hammond said that six ships could be put at your disposal, if you need them. Hell, in case of an emergency, I believe all ships could be put at your disposal."

"Thank you," Selmak said and motioned to two guards. "They will take you to another chamber while we discuss this."

"Sure," O'Neill said.

About an hour later, they were called back.

"Congratulations, Colonel," Garshaw said, "we have agreed to your proposal. We will put our people at your disposal and they will teach you about the technology. Further more, Jacob has explained to us how you build buildings and we have decided to put at your disposal our technology for building crystal tunnels."

"Really?" O'Neill asked, surprised and excited.

"Yes. However, this technology is not something we wish to share with you, at least not yet."

"Don't worry," O'Neill said, "the scientists will have their hands full with the data they will get from the ships."

Garshaw smiled.

"Yes. As for your proposal about giving your ships at our disposal. We are very grateful about but we believe that those ships should be there to protect your planet as you cannot move around like we do."

"Good point," O'Neill said. "Though if you decide to finally kick some major Goa'uld butt, you can count on us."

"We will, Colonel," Garshaw said with a smile.

"Good. Now that this is settled, how about some news exchange? You fill us in, we fill you in?"

"Yes," Garshaw agreed.

"General, good news," O'Neill said when they returned several hours later.

"They have agreed?"

"Yes. They have also put at our disposal the use of their technology for building crystal tunnels."

"Really?"

"Yes. But, they don't wish to share it with us yet."

"I see."

"So when is the base going to be complete?"

"In two weeks or so."

"Can't wait."

"Did you find out anything else?"

"Oh, yes."

"Good. I expect your reports first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

The End