An Alliance of Friends - A Good Day to Die

Chapter Five Summary: SG-1 leaves for Cimmeria, and things there are a little worse than they
expected. While the Colonel and Teal'c try to slow the Jaffa down from finding where the villagers
are, Sam, a still sleeping Jolinar, and Daniel set off to find “the Hall of Thor’s Might” in hopes of
finding a weapon to use against the Goa'uld that has invaded. They discover something surprising
about the Tok’Ra.

Rating this Chapter – PG-13

Characters – SG-1, which now includes Jolinar, Gairwyn, Olaf, Thor

“Italics” – Symbiote-Host Communication

SG-1 stood in the embarkation room waiting for the technician to dial the Stargate, and O’Neill
turned to Sam, asking, “So, does Jolinar have anything to say about this, Carter? No words of
caution or suggestions of what we need to do?”

Sam grinned and then laughed. Her eyes sparkling, she turned to her commanding officer
saying, “Nope, she’s not saying a word, Colonel. She’s quite content at the moment.”

Jack O’Neill scowled. His second in command was aware of something that he wasn’t, there
was no doubt of that. “Okay, Carter, come clean. What’s up with Jollie? I would think that as
‘experienced’ as she is, she’d be trying to tell us how to run our team by now.”

Sam immediately recognized the Colonel’s emotions and realized that he was worrying that
Jolinar, probably because the General turned the rescue attempt over to her, was going to
either attempt to take over the team or prove to be a pain in the ass. She smiled slightly and
shook her head. “Jolinar has no intention to either try to take over the team or be a pain. She’
ll give her knowledge in any given situation that you want it, but probably won’t offer it, unless
you ask for it, or she sees a definite pitfall to what you want to do. I was laughing because we
tried out the serum Janet came up with, and it put Jolinar to sleep. She won’t be saying much
of anything, and we have no idea how long it will last. She may awaken while we’re on
Cimmeria, or it could be tomorrow, for all we know.”

Jack’s face was blank. “She’s asleep? You can’t wake her up?”

“Nope. Two of the substances in the masking serum are used to disable a symbiote, while a
host is questioned to be sure that the symbiote is really who they say they are.” She shrugged.
“It seems to me to be a good precaution to take. I’m sure they’ll use it on us, as well, since I’m
a new host. Once they know for sure who you are, then you can give your report, and they can
be sure it’s accurate and not deceptive in any way.”

“I wish we’d had that stuff before.”

“Yes, it would have come in handy.” She frowned and looked at Daniel who was on the verge of
questioning her. “I get the impression it doesn’t last very long. That’s probably why she didn’t
suggest it as a way to suppress Amaunet.”

He sighed. Question answered. He could almost always count on Sam to follow his thoughts
and reasoning, unless he made one of his illogical leaps. As usual, she had known what he
was thinking, before he was even able to voice his question. Looking back over at her, he
grinned, “Thanks, Sam. If nothing else had convinced me that you were Sam and not Jolinar,
then that answer, before I even asked, would have sealed it. I doubt that Jolinar could
impersonate you well enough to do that.”

Sam returned his grin, telling him, “Actually, eventually she may be able to. We’ll become more
and more one being as time goes on. It’s really weird actually, because we still retain our own
personalities, likes, dislikes, stuff like that, yet our thinking is beginning to blend in some
ways. I think once we’re fully blended and become closer, we’ll influence each other quite a
bit. I get the impression that many times the host and symbiote share the same emotions,
though not always to the same degree. Well, unless it is something that either feels really
strongly about. I mean, if she hated…oh, cheesecake, it wouldn’t matter how much I love it,
her opinion wouldn’t change much—unless she wanted it to, and took on my emotions about
it. On the other hand, if she just didn’t care one way or the other, then eventually she would
probably come to like it, but not necessarily to the extent that I do, if that makes any sense at
all. Don’t forget that I’m really guessing here, so don’t take any of it for gospel. You’d have to
talk to Jolinar about it to get the absolute truth about it.”

Daniel nodded, as he gave her words some thought. His answer was thoughtful, “Yeah. Yeah,
it does make sense, Sam. I mean, you are in each other’s heads, but you probably still perceive
things from your own point of view. Your minds haven’t become one mind; they are still two,
but they’ve, as the Tok'Ra say, blended—shared what the other knows. It makes sense that
eventually the more intense emotions would be the dominant ones.” He chuckled, saying, “If
one of you falls in love with one person and the other with someone else that could be
interesting. Eventually, you would love as one being, but probably not at the same intensity for
both of you. That’s a fascinating thought actually, Sam. You should ask her how that works.
Incase either of you do come to love someone, so you’ll know what to expect.”

Sam frowned. “Yes, I think you might be right, Daniel. Jolinar said it would take time to come
to know one another fully, so that’s something I don’t really know about that I probably
should. Luckily, I have no boyfriend, significant other, fiancé, or husband. I’m not even
carrying an old unrequited torch or flame, for anyone, so there shouldn’t be a problem, if it
does work that way.”

The gate was being dialed as they talked, and they all turned toward it, as it settled into a
beautiful blue undulating pool. Jack looked up to the control room. The General nodded,
before bending down to the mike and telling them, “You have a go, Colonel O’Neill. God speed
and keep your heads down. I expect to see all of you back here in one piece.”

Giving a jaunty salute, Colonel Jack O’Neill grinned, replying, “Yes, Sir, and we plan to come
back that way. We’ll see you on the flip side. Then he turned and led his team up the ramp
and into the unknown. At least, the final check of the M.A.L.P. showed everything was still
quiet at the gate. He hoped it stayed that way, even if the hope was probably in vain.

Coming out the other side, they all immediately gave a thorough look around. Not seeing
anyone, Sam told him, “No hostiles present at this time, Colonel.”

Jack nodded, indicating he heard her statement. Sam and Daniel walked down the steps.
Daniel went to the ruin of what was once the protection of this world, while Sam walked over to
examine the body by the DHD.

Jack looked around the area and then glanced behind the Stargate. His mouth fell open,
before he collected himself and breathed, “Holy…Ah, kids, I think you need to see this.” His
team gathered around him and looked at what he was seeing. A pyramid rose toward the sky.
He blew out a silent whistle, as he murmured, “Now, that…is no weekend hunting lodge.”

They all raised their weapons and turned as they heard a twig snap, but they relaxed when
they realized who it was.

“Gairwyn!” Daniel immediately let her know that they recognized and remembered her. Both
he and Sam went to her and each of them clasped one of her hands.

She clasped them back, as she exclaimed, “You returned! Kendra said that you would come.
She never doubted it.”

Sam squeezed her hand in understanding, and asked quietly, “What happened, Gairwyn?”

“We thought it was Ragnarök.”

“That's the Norse Armageddon. The end of the world,” Daniel swiftly explained to them.

Gairwyn nodded, as she continued, “There was fire in the heavens. Five or six bursts in the
sky in a straight line. But no sound. Then we heard an evil thunder and a great metal point
came through the clouds.

Teal'c's jaw tightened. “That would be a Goa’uld Ha’tak.” Seeing Jack looking at him with no
understanding on his face, he added, “A Goa’uld Ha’tak is a pyramid ship.”

“Ah, I see,” Jack, said letting him know he now understood.

Gairwyn swallowed before continuing, “Kendra knew it was the Etins, even before the burning
and killing started. Our village is gone and most of our farms, as well. We have lost much.”

Daniel’s brow furrowed, “Gairwyn, you said that Kendra knew we’d come. How did she know
that?”

“She gave me a box and an address. She said to fly it through the portal. She said you would
know what it meant. The cost of sending it was great,” She whispered her final statement.

Sam squeezed her hand again, asking, “The men who died here?”

Gairwyn nodded, sadly, and moved closer to the bodies before replying, “My husband, and his
brothers.”

Sam touched her softly, whispering, “I’m so sorry, Gairwyn.”

Suddenly a staff weapon blast came out of nowhere and hit the DHD. Jack swore and he and
Sam grabbed Gairwyn, pulling her with them. They had allowed their attention to wander, and
there were now two Jaffa not far from them. One was readying his staff weapon and pointing it
at them, while the other blew on a horn of some type, obviously alerting the other Jaffa that
there were intruders.

“All right, c’mon, get under cover. Teal'c!”

Sam continued pulling Gairwyn with her and Daniel joined her in getting her away, as there
was a burst of weapons fire behind them. Not feeling he was getting anywhere, Jack changed
tactics. Squatting down behind the broken Hammer, he pulled out a grenade and then pulled
its pin before lobbing it at the Jaffa. It landed behind them and exploded, sending both of
them flying. He and Teal'c stood with their weapons raised, waiting. As more Jaffa made their
way toward them, Jack decided that, perhaps, they should rethink that strategy as well, and
patting Teal'c on the arm, he told him, “Let’s go.”

They headed into the woods with the Jaffa chasing them and occasionally firing a shot at them,
but not very successfully. The chase continued with the Jaffa continuing to fire at them, as
they led them farther and farther into the woods. As the Jaffa ran into a clearing, they looked
around, realizing they had lost their quarry. They signaled each other before taking off in
another direction. Once they were sure they were gone, Jack and Teal'c made their way
cautiously from behind a very large tree.

Sam, Daniel, and Gairwyn watched from their hiding place as Jack and Teal'c took off into
woods, with the Jaffa following. They were moving away from the place where they were
hiding. Once they were sure there were no more Jaffa coming, they started to follow Gairwyn
as she led them toward the cave where her people were hiding. They walked silently and
slowly, keeping careful watch. Each of them was also busy with their own thoughts. After
quite some time had passed, they heard a rustling from the path in front of them, and all three
of them crouched into the nearest hiding place. Gairwyn pulled her sword from the scabbard
thrown across her back.

The footsteps neared her hiding place and when they were very close, she leapt from her cover
and brought her sword up to attack the intruders.

Jack O’Neill stepped backward, as she sprang in front of him. “Ahh! Jeeze, you guys could
give a guy a heart attack.”

As they all realized that they were safe, they lowered their weapons, sighing in relief at the sight
of the Colonel and Teal'c.

“Well, one thing about it, if you didn’t scare them to death first, you would definitely have taken
a bunch of them out. Nice place for an ambush,” Jack nodded to Gairwyn, letting her know
that he was approving of their actions. Then, just to make sure he hadn’t missed something,
he wanted to know, “Is everybody all right?”

Gairwyn nodded quickly, before turning and looking questioningly at the two people she knew
the best, and Sam also nodded, as she replied, saying, “Yeah, we’re all fine, Colonel.”

“All right, then. Where to from here? Any suggestions?” Jack also looked at his two youngest
team members to see if they had any ideas.

Daniel looked thoughtful for a moment, before pointing out, “Well, as a former Goa’uld host,
Kendra might well be a help.” He turned to Gairwyn, “Can you take us to her?”

Gairwyn paused and then, looking a little unhappy, she nodded, saying quietly, “This way,”
before she turned and led the way into the forest. The team followed her silently.

They finally reached a clearing marked with animal antlers and ceremonial adornments. It was
clearly a gravesite. Gairwyn explained, “Kendra and her family reside here. Hopefully, she is
now with Thor.” She stood next to Kendra’s grave and there was obviously a very deep sorrow
about her. “She was my dearest friend. She was good, kind, and used her knowledge only to
heal, yet this is her reward. They have already killed half of our people.

Teal'c and O’Neill wandered around the gravesite, while Daniel sat quietly nearby. Sam walked
over to Kendra’s grave and looked over her possessions, which were placed near her grave.

Gairwyn looked over at her, as she explained, “It is customary to leave a person’s favorite items
outside their grave to take with them on the journey to Thor. These items are of no use to any
of us. They belong with Kendra.”

Daniel watched Sam, as she sat down and slowly reached for the ribbon device. Feeling
somewhat nervous, since she did not appear to be aware of what she was doing, he continued
to watch her, as she fit the ribbon device onto her fingertips.

He cleared his throat, before attempting to get her attention, “Ah, Sam, should you really be
putting that on? I mean, you don’t know what will happen, now that um, well you know your
abilities have changed.” He felt rather than saw Gairwyn look at him, but he kept his own eyes
glued to Sam watching what she was doing.

While she was examining the device, it suddenly glowed, startling her and alarming, both
Gairwyn and Daniel. She turned her palm away and the light slowly died, however, Daniel was
already standing and walking toward her.

Gairwyn looked at her with awe, as she exclaimed, “You have the power!”

Sam looked up at her, asking, “What?”

“Well, it does make sense, Sam. After all, I am sure that there is a perfectly good reason that
your abilities are coming out more and more.”

“Well, yeah, Daniel, I suppose so, but…I have no control over this. I mean, I didn’t activate it
on purpose, it just started to glow.”

“Kendra said it took her years to master the magic of the power,” Gairwyn told her. “Perhaps it
will just take more time.”

“Yes, I suppose you could be right,” Sam agreed, as she glanced down at her hand once more.
Her private opinion was that once Jolinar was awake and showed her how to use it, she would
be much more capable with it.

Jack walked up to the quietly conversing group, saying, “What do you think? Are we about
ready to move outta here?”

“Uh—we’ve had a little discovery here. It seems that Sam can use Goa’uld technology.

Jack seemed intrigued by the idea and immediately asked, “Really? Let’s see.”

“Colonel, I don’t seem to have any control over this. It seems to have a mind of its own.”

“Concentrate, Captain Carter. It will just take practice, I am sure,” Gairwyn assured her
quietly.

Sam nodded and held her arm out with her palm facing the ground well in front of her. She
began to focus and the more she did, the more comfortable she felt. It wasn’t long, until the
device began to glow and then punched a hole in the ground. The other three watching were
startled, but Sam simply turned it over and examined it.

Alarmed, Jack reached out to pull her hand down, as he scolded, “Hey. Hey. Watch where you’
re pointing that thing, Carter.”

“Oh, sorry, Sir. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“Sam, you’ll be able to use that against the Goa’uld, and you’ll be able to use the healing
device, as well. This is…this is great. I hadn’t even considered that before now.”

Sam nodded and after taking off the ribbon device, she put on the healing device.

“Just…you know, concentrate, like you did with the other thing,” Daniel encouraged her.

However, after struggling to activate it, she finally stopped, shaking her head, “I can’t do this
one. I think it takes an even more focused energy, and I don’t know how to do that, yet. I’d
probably have to work with it more.”

Gairwyn nodded, but told her, “You mustn’t give up. You must strive to master control of the
power, but from what Kendra told me, I believe that it will take time.”

Glancing around, Jack told them, “Yeah, well, that’s going to have to wait. Why don’t you bring
that stuff with you? We should find a place that’s a little less public.”

Gairwyn nodded her agreement, telling them, “Let me show you where my people hide. It is not
a great distance from here.” Turning to Sam, she spoke quietly, “Please, do as your friend tells
you. You can make use of these things. Please, take them. I believe that Kendra would like to
know that you have them.”

Sam looked at her for a long moment and determining that she was being sincere, she nodded,
“Thank you. I appreciate it, and I will take care of them.”

Gairwyn nodded her acceptance, and Sam bent down and picked up the devices. This was
something Jolinar said they should have. Now they did. It would make their next mission that
much easier, and no doubt, Jolinar could use the healing device, as well.

After walking for a time through the forest, they came to a rocky outcropping covered with
moss. There was a doorway, and Gairwyn led them through it. Gathered inside the torch-lit
cave were the other Cimmerian survivors. Kettles were set up for cooking, and it was clear that
they were doing their best to survive. O’Neill’s jaws clenched, as he looked around at the
children. Damned Goa’uld.

The few Cimmerian men remaining drew their swords, as Gairwyn entered the cave with the
members of SG-1. One man eyed them pugnaciously before telling them, “Halt.”

Gairwyn sighed tiredly, as she told him, “Olaf, these are friends. They came to us through the
ring.”

He was very angry, and it was plain that he would be just as happy to slice them up as look at
them. “These are the dogs of Midgard. Thor has abandoned us to the Etins because of them,
because they destroyed Thor’s Hammer. It is these that brought this upon us.”

Gairwyn shook her head at him, and sighed again, as she rebuked him, “And it is these who
can save us. With their help, we can still summon the power of Thor.”

He continued to argue with her, “Don’t you understand, woman? Thor has abandoned us
because of their evil.”

Jack only had one nerve left, and this guy was beginning to get on it. Exasperated, he told
him, “Oh, for crying out loud. Don’t you understand that this woman is right? We can help
you, if you’ll let us, and considering that she lost her husband and brothers, in order to
summon us for you, I would think you would show a little more respect to her. Listen to what
she says. If we weren’t going to help you, why would we come here at all? We could have
simply ignored you.”

“How? How can you help us?” The man demanded, still not convinced that they were really
here to, or even could, help them.

“We’ve fought the Goa’uld and beaten them before,” Sam spoke to him quietly and then
shrugged, as she paused. Looking at him steadily, she continued, “I’m not saying we can
always win, but at least we’re willing to give it a shot and, at the moment, we appear to be your
only choice.”

Teal'c looked at him stoically, “Furthermore, I will remain here to do battle with you, until the
Goa’uld are driven from this land, or I am dead.”

After giving them a short time to talk amongst themselves, Jack told them, “Of course, we have
to know what we’re up against first.” Then giving the younger man a hard look, he questioned
him, “You willing to help us on that one?”

Olaf nodded, informing them, “I know a way around the patrols. I will take you.”

Jack nodded. “Great, let’s get going. We probably don’t have a lot of time.”

As Sam laid out the Goa’uld implements, Gairwyn and Daniel discussed their situation.
Gairwyn sighed, obviously disconsolate, “If Olaf is right, and Thor has rejected us, our last
hope lies with you.”

Speaking to her gently, Daniel tried to reassure her, “Gairwyn, I really doubt that Thor’s angry.
Even if he was angry, he would be angry at us, not at you. You’ve done nothing wrong. I
suspect that he’s just very far away, and that’s why he left the Hammer to protect you, because
he knew he wouldn’t be able to watch over you more closely.”

She nodded her understanding, even as she told him, “If only we could gain access to the Hall
of Thor's Might. I know he would help us.”

Daniel sat down next to her, asking, “Wh-What is the Hall of Thor's Might?”

“It is in the ancient tales. They tell of a hall in which Thor placed all of his powers to help and
defend us.”

“That could very well signify some sort of Asgard weapon…or weapons, and we need all the help
we can get,” Daniel frowned, as he gave the idea some thought.

Sam had been following the conversation, and she looked at Daniel, asking, “Do you think they
might have kept weapons hidden here somewhere?”

Daniel shrugged, indicating he had no idea, before turning back and asking, “Gairwyn, where is
this…Hall of Thor’s Might? Do you know?”

While Daniel and Sam discussed the possibility of finding and using the weapons in Thor’s Hall
of Might, Teal'c, O’Neill, and Olaf, made their way to a vantage point.

Olaf pointed telling them, “There.” O’Neill grimaced. In the distance, three pyramids reached
for the sky, and there were Jaffa everywhere.

Jack turned to Olaf, asking him, “Can you wait here?”

At Olaf’s nod of assent, he and Teal'c moved forward a few more yards and ducked down. Once
he was satisfied with their position, O’Neill took out his binoculars and scouted the area. The
helmets the Jaffa were wearing were very different than those of Apophis’s troops.

Turning to Teal'c, he asked him, “What’s with the heads?” as he handed over his binoculars.
“They look like those guys who used to be with Ra back on Abydos.”

After taking a look, Teal'c, handed the binoculars back. He was looking very unhappy. “They
are Horus. They guard the family of Ra. These probably guard the Goa’uld Heru’Ur.”

“So, he would be Ra’s what? Cousin? Uncle? What?” O’Neill asked, as he took another look
at them.

“He is the son of Ra…and of Hathor,” Teal'c's reply was, if possible, even more stoic than
usual.”

“Wonderful. Great. Nice pedigree. Crap.”

Teal'c nodded, once, before explaining, “He is a very powerful System Lord, and is much feared,
even among the Goa’uld. He is a conqueror. He eliminates all who dare tread in his shadow,
including other Goa’uld. He is also a sworn enemy of Apophis.”

As they lie quietly and watched the activity around the pyramids, some noise from the area
where they left Olaf, alerted them to the fact that some Jaffa had captured him, and that he
was now struggling in the grip of the guards holding him. “Damn,” O’Neill hissed, under his
breath. From within the protection of the armored Jaffa, one in golden armor with his helmet
raised and covering his face approached him.

Recognizing him as Heru’Ur, Teal'c was not surprised when he demanded, “Kneel before your
god!”

Olaf faced him, still struggling against the Jaffa, “My God is Thor. He taught us to stand as
equals.”

“Your god cannot help you now. Only I can. Strangers came through the device you call the
portal. Who are they?”

One of the Jaffa grabbed Olaf around the neck, but Olaf did not tell them anything.

“Answer! Answer! Answer!” Heru’Ur demanded.

O’Neill and Teal'c aimed their weapons, as Olaf, still in the grip of the Jaffa, told him, “Thor
taught us to have…no fear of death.”

Heru’Ur approached even closer, and asked him, “But did he teach you of pain?” As Heru’Ur
used his ribbon device on Olaf, O’Neill and Teal'c, fired into the group of Jaffa, killing one of
the guards holding Olaf. The Jaffa were startled and unsure of what had occurred. Heru’Ur
turned on his personal shield, as some of his Jaffa fell around him. Using the confusion, Teal'c
and O’Neill ran in and grabbed Olaf from them, pulling him away, as Heru’Ur watched them.

As they left the area, Teal'c paused and turned to look back. Heru’Ur was reaching for a staff
weapon, but Teal'c got to it first, shooting it with his own. The Horus god glared at him, his
eyes glowing, as Teal'c stared him down. He then turned and followed O’Neill and Olaf up a
hill. Heru’Ur remained standing, and glowering, after the three escapees, as his remaining
Jaffa gathered around him. Turning to them, he began to issue orders.

Olaf, Jack, and Teal'c, returned to the cave, and Daniel looked up, as they entered. Standing
up, he walked over to them, asking, “What happened? Did you run into Apophis?”

Jack’s answer was laconic, “Not exactly.”

“It was the Goa’uld Heru’Ur, Daniel Jackson,” Teal'c informed him.

“You’re kidding!” Daniel’s exclamation was almost awed.

“Friend of yours, Daniel?” Jack asked, at his sarcastic best.

“Well, he’s pretending to be Horus, the Elder, an ancient Egyptian God and a pretty mean one,
which isn’t exactly good news for us or these people. Of course, considering that his parents
were Ra and Hathor, that was to be expected, I guess.”

“Yeah. I know. Teal'c kind of explained his family tree to me, while we were taking a look at
the building site.”

Sam had joined them and hearing that, she asked him, “Well, Sir, did you find anything we can
use? Any weak areas?”

“Well, Carter, the good news is that with enough explosives, we could turn those pyramids into
so much dust. I don’t think that when General Hammond told us to be sure to take extra
ordinance, he had this type of thing in mind, but at least we have more than we would normally
have with us.”

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, as he read between the lines of that statement.
Removing his hand, he looked up at Jack, asking, “Okay, and the bad news is?”

“The bad news, Daniel Jackson, is that the Stargate is now heavily guarded, and the Goa’uld
are very much aware of our existence here. It also appears that there will be at least three Ha’
taks arriving within the not too distant future.” It was a longer than normal speech for Teal'c,
and Daniel stared at him for a long moment, even more astonished, when he calmly added,
“Heru’Ur…is not happy.”

In response to Teal'c's last comment, Daniel snorted and borrowed one of Jack’s remarks,
saying, “Ya think?” Deciding that probably wasn’t enough of an answer, to the
understatement, he addressed it, “Um, yeah, I can see where, knowing a little about his
ancestry, and therefore, his probable personality, Heru’Ur might just possibly be somewhat
unhappy to find us here killing his Jaffa and trying to rescue these people.”

Sam sighed and deciding this had gone on long enough, she brought them back to what, to
her, was a more important point, “That means we won’t be able to evacuate the Cimmerians.”

Daniel nodded, and blew out an unhappy breath, saying, “Yeah. I guess we’ll just have to hold
up in here awhile, until things calm down.”

Jack, Teal'c, and Sam stared at him. “What?” Daniel asked, staring back at them.

Teal'c took it upon himself to answer, since both Sam and Jack seemed thoroughly
dumbfounded by his remark, “Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson. They will, in fact,
calm up.

Jack moved his stare from Daniel to Teal'c, as did Sam. Turning back to his other two
teammates, he pointed out, “He means things will escalate, of course. I'm afraid we're on our
own, kids.”

“I suppose we could use the C-4 to blow up the camps, Colonel,” Sam was frowning in thought,
even as she made the comment.

Jack rolled his shoulders, before telling her, “That’s true, but there’s a small practical problem
with that, Carter. Even with the extra C-4 that we brought, there isn’t enough to blow up the
camps, and then the ships and the gliders, when they show up. Besides, even if we managed
all of that, we’re still stuck here with Jaffa guarding the Stargate, and unless he was on a ship
when it blew, a pissed off Goa’uld that would be even more pissed off.”

Sam sighed. He was right. They had brought extra, but not enough to do everything, including
taking out the guards at the gate. She nodded, and then added, “Even if the General were to
engage a wormhole, once he sees what’s around the gate, he won’t be able to send back-up
through.” She stopped, and then said, “Well, unless someone thought to maybe send some
grenades and a couple of missiles through, and I doubt that anyone would think to do that.
So, yeah, you’re right. We’re pretty much on our own.”

Daniel cleared his throat, before quietly pointing out, “Well, there’s another option that we
should, um, at least consider. Gairwyn tells us that there’s a legend around here about a Hall
of Thor’s Might.”

It was Jack’s turn to sigh, “Daniel…there's a time and a place for mythology. This is not it,
believe me.”

It was Sam’s turn to clear her throat, before pointing out, “With all due respect, Sir, we thought
Thor's Hammer was a myth, until we proved it was real. What if this is real, too?”

Daniel nodded. “Jack, I think Thor's Might may refer to…uh…an alien weapon or weapons
that have been hidden away for centuries. I can’t be sure, of course, but isn’t it worth a try?
Gairwyn said she would take us to the place where it’s supposed to be.”

“There’s no doubt that we could certainly use the firepower, Sir,” Sam reminded him. “I mean,
even if it’s a long shot, if it is something like that, then it could only help. If, not, well, then we’
ve at least checked it out.”

After giving it a little thought, O’Neill turned to Daniel and Sam, telling them, “Well, much as I
hate to admit it, it sounds like our old buddy Thor might be our best bet. Why don't you two
try to find this…weapon…or whatever it is. Teal'c and I will lay some explosives; see if we can
slow the attack, at least until you come back with…whatever.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Jack turned to Olaf, “You ready to go see if we can cause some damage to the enemy?”

Olaf smiled.

Gairwyn led them to a Norse monument similar to Thor's Hammer. It contained a red, jewel-
like stone in the center of a ring near the top. Gairwyn moved around to the front of it along
with Daniel and Sam, before stating, “This is it.”

Daniel stared at the monument, for a moment, before turning back to Gairwyn, and asking,
“This is it? This is the Hall of Thor’s Might?”

Looking puzzled, Gairwyn asked a question of her own, “You were expecting something
different?”

After a short pause, he told her, “Well…uh…maybe a ‘hall’?”

Sam looked around the area, commenting, “I don't see anything that could be a weapon,
Daniel. I mean, there isn’t even a mound of dirt that it could be buried under or…anything.”

“I am very sure that this is it. We have always been told that this is Thor’s Hall of Might.”

Daniel stared at the obelisk for a while, before taking a deep breath and telling them, “Okay.
Well, maybe this will send us somewhere else, you know, like the obelisk sent Jack and Teal'c
to Thor's Hammer.”

Sam shrugged, before she agreed. “Well, it can’t hurt to try, Daniel, and at the moment, it’s all
we’ve got to go on. Go ahead and try it.”

Gairwyn looked alarmed. “You cannot. It is forbidden to touch the stone.”

He turned and smiled at her a bit, before telling her, “We have to try something, Gairwyn.
Believe me, the worst that will probably happen, is that nothing will happen. It’ll be okay, I’m,
um, I’m sure.” He nodded decisively. Sam and Gairwyn stood close behind him, watching, as
he reached toward the red jewel in the circle. As it had Teal'c, a beam shot out engulfing the
three of them.

They found themselves in total darkness. “Um, Daniel?” Sam was the first to speak.

However, Daniel was second, “Wow! What a ride!”

“Gairwyn, are you here with us…uh, wherever that may prove to be?” Sam murmured the last
half of her question.”

The two teammates heard a gasp, and a trembling response, “Yes. Yes, Captain Carter, I am
here, as well.”

Sam nodded, even though no one could see her. “Good, we’re all here, we’re all in one piece,
and now we’re ready for step two.” She paused, for a moment, before asking, “Daniel, where
are we?”

Daniel flipped on his flashlight, but he had it aimed at his eyes, and all she got for an answer
was, “Ow!” A wince, and what looked like it might become a permanent squint, accompanied
his exclamation.

Carefully pointing it away from her face, as most people would, Sam clicked on her own
flashlight and swung it around, along with Daniel’s, so they could begin to figure out where
they might be.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief, after his first quick look around, declaring, “Well, this is a step
in the right direction. At least it fits the definition of the word ‘hall’.”

Sam shivered. “I have a really bad feeling about this, Daniel. Something is going to happen. I
can tell.”

Continuing to examine the walls, and completely ignoring Sam’s comment, he murmured, “I
don't understand. There are no inscriptions, no alien devices, and no visible way out. There
has to be something here. There would be no reason to bring us here to nothing.”

“Wait, Daniel.” Sam shined her flashlight out across the floor, and a monument against a far
wall showed up. The stone in the center began to glow red, and then a light appeared above it
and shown down on it. The area shimmered for a second and then an image of a Viking in full
dress and helmet appeared before them.

“I am Thor. You are brave to come before me.”

Carter and Daniel both imitated fish, as they gaped at the apparition, but Gairwyn went down
on one knee, telling him, “O mighty Thor, we need your help.”

Once more the shimmering vision spoke to them, “However, only the worthy may witness Thor's
might.”

Gairwyn gasped and looked at him, before exclaiming, “Do you not think me worthy?”

The image disappeared, as quickly as it had come, and Gairwyn cried out, “Why has he
forsaken me?”

Shortly after the first shock wore off, Sam figured out what they were seeing, “It's just a
holographic recording, Gairwyn.” Pointing upward, she told her, “It's being projected through
that hole in the ceiling.”

Not being completely convinced, Daniel, looked over at her, and replied, “Oh, yeah, if you say
so. You sure couldn’t prove it by me.”

Sam shrugged. “Whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter, at this point, Daniel. What
matters is…what does it mean, and what do we do now?”

“I'm not really sure, Sam. Maybe somehow we have to prove that we're worthy, before he'll
trust us with his Might. That would seem logical from his speech.”

“Which you still think is a weapon, right?”

Sounding concerned, he answered, telling her, “I’m sure hoping so, at this point.”

Gairwyn still looked bewildered by everything that was happening to her, “But…how can we
prove our worth? Must we hunt something or bring him an offering showing that we are
worthy? Does he wish us to vanquish this enemy on our own to prove our worth? Would he
not realize that we have no weapons with which to defeat the Etins?”

Sam shook her head and laid her hand on her shoulder, “No, Gairwyn, it wouldn’t be
something like that, I’m positive. He knows you don’t have the ability to take on someone like
Heru’Ur alone.”

Daniel frowned, as he once more looked around the room at the empty walls. Nodding toward
the obelisk, he told them, “Well, as the rest of the room is empty, I’m going to assume that it
has something to do with the stone.”

As the room suddenly began to shake around them, Gairwyn became distraught and alarmed
once more, crying out, “Thor is preparing to strike us down!”

Daniel turned to her and told her, very firmly, “No. No, he's not! He's—he's not a wrathful
god. Why would he strike you down? You haven’t done anything wrong, even if he was that
kind of god…which he isn’t. So, so, just stay calm, and don’t jump to conclusions. Please,
Gairwyn,” he added, in a softer tone, “Please, trust us to take care of you and find out what
this is all about, okay?”

Drawing a deep, if shaky, breath, she nodded, “Y—yes, Daniel, I will try. You have been
nothing but good to us. I do not believe you would lie to me.”

He smiled slightly, “No. No, Gairwyn, we wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Well, then, Daniel, if he isn’t a wrathful god, and I believe you on that, then what in the world
is he doing? Is this a test of some kind maybe?” Sam asked, waving her hand in front of her
face, as dust flew around them, and the shaking continued.

As they stood waiting to see what would happen next, the floor in front of them crumbled away,
leaving one narrow strip leading to the obelisk on the other side of the room. Daniel sighed.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure you got it, Sam. This is…this is definitely a test of some kind.”

Sam and Daniel both turned their lights to shine, first into the pit, and then across it to the
monument on the other side. Sam frowned. “So, uh…you think the test is for us to go across
this to reach the monument, then? I don’t know how that would prove our worth, but, well, if
you think that’s what this is then, I guess we better get started.”

Daniel nodded, before replying, “Yeah…uh, I don't suppose this is the best time to bring up my
problem with heights, is it?”

Sam and Gairwyn turned as one, and stared at him in silence, along with something nearing
disbelief. “No, I kind of thought you wouldn’t think this was a real good time,” he murmured to
them.

Finally, Sam shook her head, “That’s okay, Daniel. I had to cross something way worse in
basic training, so…I’ll, um, I’ll go first.”

“Oh, well then, sure, please, be my…be my guest. After all, it is, um, ladies first and all that
kind of, ah, gentlemanly stuff.”

“Then again,” Sam murmured, as if to herself, “we had a net. Okay, Carter, you can do this.
Come on. Come on,” she chided herself. She took one more deep breath and released it. Then
raising her arms to balance herself, she began walking very carefully along the narrow
pathway. Daniel kept his flashlight along the path for her, and she made it safely to the other
side. She stood facing the monument and breathing, for a few moments, before turning to face
them, as she stood near the obelisk. Daniel started to breathe again.

Returning their gazes, she said, “It really wasn’t too bad, so, just, you know, take your time.
You know, this isn’t a race with a time limit or anything. So, go slow and you’ll do fine.”

Gairwyn swallowed nervously, and then edged out onto the beam. Sam silently mouthed words
of encouragement, just before she stumbled. Righting herself, she once more began to step
slowly forward.

All at once, the beam began shaking, and Gairwyn cried out, as she fell down onto it, her legs
and hands holding onto it tightly.

Sam squatted down and reached for her, saying, “Gairwyn!” but the woman sobbed in fear,
obviously too frightened to be able to hear Sam talking to her. Sam continued to try to calm
her and garner her attention, telling her how to maneuver across the beam, “Gairwyn, listen to
me. Listen. Just…just slide across it. You don’t have to stand, just slide this way. You can
do it; I know you can.”

Gairwyn shook her head, as she cried out, “Thor shook the beam! He wants me dead!”

Daniel, immediately spoke to her, “No, Gairwyn. No, he does not want you dead. This is
probably all part of the test, so just, um, just relax for a minute.”

Sam realized how very frightened the woman must be. She truly feared that her God was
punishing her or wanted her dead. She softened her voice, as she coaxed her to remain calm.
“It's okay, Gairwyn. Just stay there and I'll come get you. I’ll be there in just a bit, so just,
please, stay calm and hold on, until I get there.”

Before Sam could start across, Daniel told her, “No, Sam. I'll do it. You're already across, but
I still need to get there. It makes more sense for me to help her, so, just…just stay there.”

Sam stood, as she nodded her agreement, since it did make more sense than her going back.

Daniel stepped carefully onto the beam, and as he slowly approached her, he reassured her, his
voice as soothing as he could make it, “I'm right behind you now, Gairwyn. I’m almost there.”

As Gairwyn sobbed in fear, Daniel squatted down behind her, “Okay…this is what we're going
to do here. You're going to give me your hand, and I'm going to help you get back on track.
Then we're going to finish this thing together. Okay?”

No longer sobbing, Gairwyn nodded nervously, but firmly, and then moved her arms to raise
herself. Suddenly a piece of the beam crumbled from under her hands, and she lost her
balance. She screamed and tumbled over the side, along with Daniel, as Sam watched in
horror. She quickly turned her light to where they fell, and gasped when she saw a solid floor,
where only a moment ago, there was nothing more than a beam and a pit. Daniel and Gairwyn
were safely raising themselves from where they were sitting.

Taking another deep breath, she asked them, “Are, um, you guys okay? You look okay, so,
well, so…uh…what was that all about?”

Suddenly, a light burst forth and once again, the figure of Thor the Viking stood before the
monument. Daniel and Gairwyn rose to their feet, and came over to stand next to Sam. All
three of them watched the image.

It began speaking to them, “You have shown true selflessness and bravery. Willingness to
sacrifice oneself, to save another, is an honorable trait. I salute you. Now, you must add
wisdom to courage. Solve the riddle of the runes, and I will show you my true might.”

Once more Thor vanished, and the three of them slowly approached the monument. Sam and
Daniel both trained their flashlights on it.

“Sam, how did he know what we did?”

“There must be some sort of advanced sensors in here. So, um…now what?”

Another light came from the monument, and they found themselves in another room. In the
center of the room, a fire burned in a kettle like pit. Each of the walls had various symbols on
them.

Daniel shrugged, and answered the question Sam asked, before their latest ride. “Now, I guess
we try to solve the riddle of the runes.”

Jack and Teal'c planted more claymores, as Olaf kept watch from a tree not far away. He soon
spied some Jaffa approaching, though they were still some way away, and he called to them,
“Sons of Midgard! The Etins approach! It is a large contingent, and they are coming up the
lower path.

As he reached the ground, O'Neill and Teal'c ran past him away from the Jaffa. Olaf looked
after them, disturbed that they were running away. He raised his axe declaring, “We must
fight!”

O'Neill returned and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away, and telling him, “Yeah, yeah,
yeah,” before pushing him to the ground behind the safety of some cover. Once in position,
Jack pulled out the remote detonating devices for the claymores.

Olaf looked at them in disgust, “You said you would help us fight the Etins.”

Teal'c murmured, “Quiet.”

As the Jaffa came up the path, O'Neill triggered a mine, blowing up one of them. Another
explosion dispensed with a few more. After two more explosions, dead and injured Jaffa
littered the path. O'Neill and Teal'c left their cover and repositioned themselves, before taking
aim at more of the advancing Jaffa. When they were close enough, both O’Neill and Teal'c
opened fire and continued shooting, until all of the Jaffa appeared to be taken out. They
cautiously looked at the dead Jaffa, as they assessed the threat, and Olaf came out from
behind the cover of the trees.

He looked at them this time with respect. “Thunder! And fire! You do possess Thor's might.”
Then, suddenly giving a battle cry, he threw his axe toward the two of them, but actually at the
Jaffa who was standing behind them and aiming his staff weapon at them. His axe caught the
Jaffa and he fell. Olaf moved to stand beside the other two, and then he smiled as he patted
O'Neill on the shoulder. Beaming at them, he proudly announced, “Now we are matched.” As
far as Olaf was concerned, he’d paid his debt for their earlier rescue of him from Heru’Ur.

“Thanks,” O’Neill told him. “Nice throw, good aim.”

“Indeed,” Teal'c added, his facial expression stoic.

They could hear a Jaffa alarm in the distance, and Teal'c turned to them saying, “O'Neill,
another patrol approaches. We should leave this area immediately.”

Olaf nodded, as he told them, “Come.” They turned and followed him.

As the three men headed back toward the cave, they could hear the Jaffa horns in the
distance. “What's going on, Teal'c?”

“They are signaling their position, O’Neill. They will close into an interlaced pattern that will
sweep in and corner us. It is an old Jaffa hunting technique.”

Teal'c heard him murmur, “Come on, Daniel,” as they continued to make their way through the
woods.

Daniel blew some dust out of one of the carvings on the wall, as he walked along it trying to
figure it out.

Sam was beginning to become anxious, as she felt that time was running out. “Daniel, we
don't have time for this. The Colonel and Teal'c could be in trouble and needing us.”

“Sam, the faster we solve the riddles, the faster we get whatever Thor's might is.”

She gave in, as she realized that he was right. They’d come this far; they couldn’t afford to
stop now. Looking around them, she murmured, “Riddles. Well, okay.”

Gairwyn turned to Daniel, asking him, “Is Thor testing us?”

Daniel shook his head. “Actually, Gairwyn, I think it may be some sort of safeguard. I believe
that he wants to be sure that whoever finds the weapons is smart enough to understand the
technology, and use it wisely. It's like he wants to be sure his children have grown up enough
before he uh…hands them the keys to the armory, which might not have been a bad idea, if
we'd done the same thing on Earth.” He wandered over to another wall to try to read and
understand its purpose.

Feeling exasperated and anxious, Sam turned to him, saying, “Well, it doesn't make sense that
he would waste time when the planet's under attack.”

“Well, I suppose so, but remember, he thinks this is a protected planet. He believes that his
anti-Goa'uld devices are infallible. I mean, he couldn't know there'd be any hurry to find
whatever Thor's might is.”

Sam sighed, telling him, “Well, Daniel, there is a hurry.” She waved her hand at the wall,
asking, “Can—Can you solve this?”

After giving a rather deep sigh himself, he began the attempt to unlock the riddle. “Uh…okay.
So, um, they aren't letters or words. Originally, runes were ideographic.”

Sam nodded that she understood, saying, “So each rune stands for an idea.”

“Yes. Right. This first one relates to Thor's protective power.”

“That could mean anything, Daniel. It could be the Goa'uld detector they put up at the Gate or
even the hammer device.”

Daniel continued to walk along the wall, talking aloud, as he did so. “Um…this last one
represents a wagon, but it was also called Thor's Chariot. Now, that could be a…spaceship.”

“Great. So, what about the middle two?”

He turned back along the same wall, “Um…One is a dice cup, or Fate. The other is a horse
or…movement.”

Daniel walked up to the wall with the engraved geometric shapes and gazed at it again, before
commenting to Sam, “I've never seen simple geometric shapes in any runes. I have no idea
what these are about.”

“Well, if we don't come up with an answer soon, we'll have to find a way out. They’ll need our
help, Daniel.”

Gairwyn gazed at a wall that was painted with Norse symbols and other pictographs. Turning
toward him, she asked, “Daniel…could the answer be here?”

“No, I don’t think so, Gairwyn. Those aren't runes, they're pictographs.”

Sighing yet again, he once more started to think aloud. “Okay. One wall has runes, one has
pictographs, and one has simple geometric shapes.” He turned and looked at all of the walls.
“I have no idea what he wants us to do.”

Behind them, the holographic Viking appeared once more and began to speak to them. “There
is no shame. Perhaps in more time, you will have come of age.”

Stepping up to it, Daniel held up one of his fingers, and told him, “Uh, excuse me. Could you,
uh…Could you uh…please just…one second? I’m not quite ready to give up just yet.”

They all stared at it in surprise, as the image froze. Daniel took that as his cue that he could
continue to work on the riddles. Therefore, he turned away from Thor and returned to
studying the runes. “Okay. Norse runes were ideas, but in later years, they became letters.
But, they were also numbers. Three…fourteen…fifteen…nine.” He sighed once more, telling
them, “It's no use. It—It doesn't mean anything, at least, not to me.”

Sam blinked at it. “Yes, it does, Daniel.”

Daniel turned to look at her, surprise clearly showing on his face. “It does?”

“Yes. It does. 3.141 59. It's pi!”

“It's pi?”

“Pi!”

Daniel turned to the image of Thor, and said, “It’s Pi. Is that what you wanted us to figure
out?” He turned back to Sam, stating, “Right. Okay, “Pi” is an Earth term. We have to depict
it somehow.” He looked around, and his gaze settled on the other wall. “The geometric
shapes. That has to be the reason they are there.”

He and Sam walked over to the wall together. Feeling around inside the circle, he realized that
it was soft, like sand. “This has to be it, Sam.”

She nodded, telling him, “Pi is used to find the circumference of a circle by measuring the
radius.”

“The radius. I think I can do that,” Daniel told her, as he drew a line with his finger from the
center of the circle to the bottom. In a moment, the sand slid away leaving a red stone with the
gold symbol of a hammer in it. Still not believing that it could be something so simple, he
looked at Sam, and asked, “That's it? That’s all there is to it?”

“Well, maybe, but, I kind of doubt it since nothing is happening. Try pressing on the stone,
Daniel,” Sam suggested.

Daniel pushed on the stone, a light beamed out from behind them, and they turned toward the
monument. The image of Thor wavered and then disappeared. A small, grey alien with large
black eyes stood in its place. All Carter, Daniel, and Gairwyn seemed to be able to do was stare
at it in incredulous surprise.

Finally, Daniel breathed, “Oh, my God.”

That’s when it spoke to them, saying, “I am the actual one…whom you know as Thor.”

The three humans stood in stunned silence and stared at the small gray alien. The silence was
absolute…at least for a moment or so.

Olaf led the way into the cave, and O’Neill spoke to him, calmly, “Olaf, get your people as far
back into the cave as possible. Keep them quiet! Put the fires out.”

As Teal'c entered the cave, Jack turned to him, asking, “How are we doing?”

“Not well. We have been located, O'Neill.”

Jack sighed, as he once more quietly murmured, “Come on, Daniel.”

Forcing herself to stop staring at the alien standing before them, Sam turned to Daniel saying,
“Daniel, this is uncanny. It looks just like the descriptions of the Roswell Greys back home.”

Daniel smiled at her. “I guess there's some truth to those stories, after all.”

She glanced, over at him, asking, “So, you think the Asgard may have visited Earth?”

“Sure, why not? We’ve found out all kinds of other ‘myths’ are true. Why not this one, too?”
He asked in return.

Suddenly, the small alien appeared to speak to them, “I am the Supreme Commander of the
Asgard Fleet.”

Gairwyn still appeared to be in shock, as she asked him, “How can this be?”

“In the ten-span, since I created this world, you are the first to reach this level of contact. You
have finally grown wise enough to see me in my true form.”

With a wave of her hand, Gairwyn indicated Sam and Daniel, telling Thor, “These are the wise
ones. I would never have come this far without their help.”

Sam placed her hand on her shoulder, before telling her, “Gairwyn, it's a hologram. The Asgard
probably recorded it a thousand years ago. It can't hear you,” she assured her.

Sam was stunned to hear him respond, explaining, “On the contrary. My image is a living
transmission. I am communicating to you from my quarters aboard the Asgard ship Biliskner.”

“You mean, uh, that you're the real…Thor?” Daniel found himself almost too overcome to talk;
however, being Daniel, he managed just the same.

Thor blinked at him, and Daniel turned to look at Sam, before returning his attention to Thor,
saying, “This is…this is…this is great. Um…We need your help. The Goa'uld are—are here.”

“That is impossible. Cimmeria is a safe world.”

Daniel looked extremely uncomfortable, but told him, just the same, “Uh, yeah, about that.
Well, you see, we, um, we sort of messed that up.”

“Oh, Daniel…be careful,” Sam cautioned, but she had no idea what else they could tell him.

“Look, if we want them to be our friends, we have to show them they can trust us.” Turning
back to Thor, he told him, “You…you see, we came here about a year ago to meet you and your
people to make an alliance against the Goa'uld. One of our party, a Jaffa, was trapped in your
labyrinth.”

“The Jaffa serve the Goa'uld,” Thor informed them.

Gathering her courage, Gairwyn stepped forward, assuring him, “This one does not. He stands
with them, and now with us, to fight the Etins.”

“You see, so we had no choice but to destroy the hammer to free our friend. We didn’t know
how to contact you, and we couldn’t just…just…leave him there. We left information for you,
with the Cimmerians, and hoped you would return soon, so that we could meet you and
explain what happened. We didn’t know what else to do in the circumstances.”

“And by doing so, you have opened Cimmeria to attack by the Goa'uld,” Thor responded
quietly.

“Uh, yeah, apparently so. That’s why we’re here now.”

Sam decided it was time to cut to the chase, and brought up the more pressing problem of
fighting the Goa’uld, saying, “So, uh…if you have any weapons that might be of help, we would
like to set things straight. We won’t just leave them alone to try to fight the Goa’uld, but there
are only four of us, and we, um, have limited resources. Since the Jaffa are guarding the
Stargate, we can’t return to Earth to gather reinforcements and more weapons of our own.”

Thor blinked at them, before asking, “Weapons?”

“Isn't that what all those tests were here to protect?” Daniel asked him.

“The tests were designed to tell us when the Cimmerians would be advanced enough to see us
as we really are. We did not anticipate outside interference.

“Yeah, well, you see, we didn't mean to interfere. That wasn’t our intention…”

Suddenly the image of Thor sparkled and began to disappear. Alarmed, Daniel stepped
forward, saying, “No, wait!”

A bright light engulfed the three of them and Daniel and Sam found themselves in the forest,
once more standing before the obelisk. Gairwyn was not there.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sam…where's Gairwyn?”

Sam sighed. “Good question, Daniel. I wish I had an answer. At any rate, I don’t think there’s
much point in waiting for her to turn up. If I had to guess, I would be tempted to say that she’
s probably with Thor…or, er, somewhere.”

Daniel opened his eyes and lowered his hand from the bridge of his nose, replying tiredly,
“Yeah…or somewhere.”

Turning, they walked away from the obelisk toward the cave.

Teal'c stood at the cave entrance, and he came to attention, as he spotted something outside.
The Cimmerians were huddled inside the cave. Olaf stood and then bent over to pick up his
axe, before walking over to O'Neill, who was seated, looking over his weapon. O'Neill stood, as
he realized that Teal'c had seen something. A second later, Daniel and Sam entered the cave.

O’Neill walked over to them, “That's timing for you. The party's about to begin. I’d have hated
for you to miss it.”

Sam nodded, telling them, “They're getting pretty close, how many are out there?

Teal'c gave her the news, saying, “We are outnumbered approximately twenty to one.”

Jack turned to Daniel saying, “You look suspiciously empty-handed.”

Daniel winced, but still managed to roll his eyes at the comment. “Yeah.”

"Yeah" what?”

Daniel sighed deeply, “There's nothing there, Jack.”

For a moment, Jack looked surprised, as he said, “Nothing?”

“Well, Sir, we did meet the real Thor. He was, ah, something of a surprise.”

Sarcasm dripping from his voice, he asked them, “Did you, now? Nice fella was he?”

Before the exchange could deteriorate farther, there was a loud squeal followed by an
explosion. The Cimmerians gasped in fright.

Jack turned toward the cave opening, “All right. Here we go.”

SG-1 left the cave and took cover outside of it, ducking as a burst from a cannon blasted apart
a tree behind them. Some of the Cimmerian men followed them from the cave.

No one was surprised to see a Horus Warrior step forward and call to them, “Intruders from the
Chaappa’ai! Throw down your weapons!” As the Cimmerians drew their own weapons, he
continued, “Surrender now, and the slaves of this world will be allowed to live and serve Heru’
Ur! Fight, and they will all die!”

“Colonel, we don't have enough weapons to go around.”

“There is no doubt but that they will all be killed, O'Neill. Women and children included,”
Teal'c's voice was stoic, but anger at their situation simmered under it.

“Jack…we are responsible for this invasion; we can't allow that to happen,” Daniel chimed in
quietly.

O’Neill turned to look behind him, and his gaze fell on a small child holding onto her father’s
leg. Sighing in resignation, he lifted his weapon and tapped the barrel on the stone behind
which they were sheltering. He stood holding his gun in the air, followed by Sam and Daniel.
Teal'c very reluctantly put his weapon down, as well.

It surprised them that the Horus Warrior signaled his men to stand down. They were not
known for standing by their word.

Jack turned to Olaf, telling him, “Take care of your people. I wish we could have done more for
you.” Nodding solemnly, he shook O’Neill’s hand.

“Samantha, am I reading your memories correctly? We have been captured by Heru’Ur, and you
have contacted Thor of the Asgard?” Jolinar awoke, as they began the long walk back to the
Jaffa encampment accompanied by their guards.

“Um, yeah. You’ve missed a few things.”

“Yes, so I see. How long ago did you make contact with Thor?”

Sam shrugged, as she was brooding over their failure. “I don’t know, exactly. A half an hour,
maybe more.”

Jolinar nodded, and her lack of alarm at being captured by a Goa’uld finally registered with
Sam causing her to question her, “Um, is there something I don’t know about Heru’Ur that’s
keeping you from being just a little bit perturbed that we’re his prisoners?”

Jolinar shook her head, as she told her, “There is nothing to be perturbed or worried about,
Samantha. You and Daniel Jackson have taken care of any problems. All we must do now is
wait.”

Sam was puzzled, but before she could question her any more, Daniel caught her attention.
Walking beside Sam, he commented, “Before they rode into battle, the Sioux used to say, "This
is a good day to die."

Jack backhanded him lightly on the arm, as a rumbling of thunder was heard in the distance.
The guards and SG-1 all stopped walking and looked up at the clear blue sky, as the thunder
continued to rumble. Their Jaffa guards were becoming quite nervous, and Jolinar was
laughing softly in Sam’s mind. Catching her thoughts, Sam gasped and then relaxed, as she
now knew why Jolinar was so very unconcerned by their circumstances. “How did you know?”

Jolinar hesitated before saying, “The Tok’Ra are…familiar with the Asgard and their worlds.”

Sam nodded her understanding; although, she continued to watch Daniel, as he stared ahead
of them, his nimble mind making a leap and coming up with the right sum. She wasn’t
surprised to hear him answer his own statement, about it being a good day to die, casually
remarking, “Then again, maybe not.”

Still puzzled about the source of the noise, O'Neill stood looking back along the way from which
they’d walked. Daniel was still staring up at something in the sky, as he blindly reached
behind him, and patted Jack on his back, to get his attention.

Jack turned around to see what Daniel wanted and followed his gaze to the sky. He slowly
pulled off his sunglasses, as he quietly stated, “Oh, my!”

A large roiling, black cloud continued to form, and the Jaffa became ever more nervous. As a
very large ship descended from the heavens, Daniel quipped, “Ladies and gentlemen, I believe
this is…Thor's chariot.”

Teal'c gazed at it in fascination. Awe filled his voice and visage, as he quietly announced, “It is
an Asgard mothership. I have heard them described in Jaffa legends, but never thought to see
one for myself. It is truly a sight to behold.”

Their nerves finally getting the best of them, the Jaffa accompanying SG-1 pointed their
weapons toward the ship, instead of at their prisoners. They heard a continuous screech, and
a bright beam of light flashed down from the ship. It first consumed their Jaffa escorts, leaving
SG-1 safe and untouched, before proceeding to do the same to the remainder of Heru’Ur’s Jaffa
and their encampment. Once that was taken care of, it proceeded to annihilate the pyramids.
Unfortunately, Heru’Ur slipped through the Chaappa’ai, before Thor could identify and take
him, as well.

SG-1 stood alone on the road. The Jaffa were gone, the destruction of the pyramids was
complete, and the encampment was no longer a part of the landscape. A bright light flashed
behind them, and they turned toward it to see Gairwyn standing there smiling at them.

She walked up to them, obviously completely relaxed, as she informed them, “The Etins are
gone. Thor sends you his thanks, and he said to tell you that he does not blame you for
defending and saving your teammate and friend. He admires your kindness and loyalty, not
only to each other, but also to us, a people you barely know. This incident has brought to his
attention that there should be a device left behind by which he can be contacted in a time of
need. It was your help that made all of this possible.”

Daniel shook his head, telling her, “Well, to be honest with you, Gairwyn, I think we got kind of
lucky.”

She smiled at him, although, she did not dispute his remark. However, she had other
messages to deliver, “He also told me to give you a message to satisfy your curiosity. I am to
tell you that he is a member of a species who have visited your world often, and who still check
on you from time to time. They are a friend to all, protector of all, except the Goa'uld, with
whom they are at war.”

Jack looked disgruntled, as he told her, “Well, that's all very nice, but, I'd still like to meet the
old guy.”

She shook her head, before replying, “Well, he said that, like us, your people are still much too
young to interact with them, and that your knowledge of their existence is enough for now.”

The team exchanged knowing smiles, even as Gairwyn turned to Sam. “Captain Carter, Thor
gave me a special message for Jolinar.” She paused, and did not appear alarmed, when the
Tok'Ra came fore, flashing Sam’s eyes, as she did.

Bowing in greeting, she said, “I am Jolinar. What did Thor wish me to know?”

“I am to tell you that your serum does not work, although it will make a very stable Goa’uld
tranquilizer, which he assumed you already knew, though he doubted you knew that the
cloaking did not work.” She offered Jolinar a small tablet, saying, “He suggests that you try
this formula. He said to tell you that it will keep you hidden for a longer span of time, than the
one your people are using now, and it will act more quickly, as well. He is sincerely glad to see
that you have met the people of Earth, and suggests that you add his deep approval of an
alliance with them, when you approach the High Council. He also believes that it is time you
took your seat among them.” She frowned for a moment before adding, “Oh, and he said that
everything I am to tell you is also written on the tablet, along with the formula. He felt that
showing his council’s approval of a Tok'Ra-Tau'ri alliance, in writing, would possibly prove to be
beneficial, when the time came.”

Jolinar smiled, as she took the tablet from her. “I thank you, Gairwyn. Your message is quite
welcome, as is Thor’s gift to us.”

Gairwyn nodded her acceptance, and then turned her attention back to the other members of
SG-1, who were staring at Sam and Jolinar, as if they had sprouted another head. Suddenly
realizing that Gairwyn was once more looking at their entire group, they dragged their attention
away from one face to look at another.

“For us, there is still much to rebuild. Thor has promised to send tools, seeds, food, and
animals, as well as anything else that is needed to replace those things that the Etins
destroyed. He has also promised to leave an Asgard teacher behind to help us. They will be
welcome, even though they will be a shock to my people. However, they shall adjust to the
reality of what Thor and his people are. We will be fine.”

Teal'c nodded his head at her, saying, “Then Cimmeria will be a safe world once again. That is
very good news indeed.”

“Yes, it is. I am also to tell you that the obelisk and Thor's new Hammer will make an
exception for the one called Teal'c. You are most welcome here, and we will be pleased to see
you, at any time.” She turned back once more to Sam/Jolinar, saying, “He will also be sure to
include the recognition for your people again, as well as the scans of the others, including
yourself, of course. You, and your people, too, are always welcome here, whenever you would
choose to come. He has explained who and what you are, and we will be most happy to see
any of your people, at any time.”

Sam’s head dipped in an acknowledgment of Gairwyn’s words, “We sincerely thank you,
Gairwyn. Your words are much appreciated.”

When it appeared that Gairwyn had delivered all of her messages, O’Neill took a deep breath,
and announced, “Well, kids, I guess we should be going. The General will start to wonder
what's going on, if we don’t either return or check in with them soon.”

The other members of the team nodded in agreement, but Daniel turned to Gairwyn, telling her,
“I’m glad things worked out for your people, Gairwyn, but I’m sorry for your losses. We’ll send
another box through, so that you can contact us should the need arise. Will that be all right?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, that would be quite welcome, Daniel, for one never knows, and
although in a dire emergency, such as this was, we will now be able to contact Thor, there is no
guarantee that he could return in time, for often he is, as you suspected and kept assuring me,
a very far way away from us. Shall I send your things through to you or will you get them now,
before you leave?”

“I will retrieve them and meet my team at the Chaappa’ai. It will not take me long,” Teal'c
answered her.

“Thanks, Teal'c. Don’t forget Kendra’s things, please.” Sam nodded her agreement, even as
O'Neill waved his own assent.

“I will remember them, Captain Carter. I will also pick up something identifiable from one of
the dead Jaffa, if any remain. I do not know if Thor would have taken them or not. If he did
not, then I will be sure to acquire us a “calling card” as the Tau'ri would say.”

“Good idea, Teal'c. We’ll see ya at the gate, then,” O’Neill assured him, even as he turned and
began to run back from the way they had just come.

As Teal'c left them, they turned to smile at Gairwyn, and Sam and Daniel both hugged her, as
they said their good-byes. Their walk to the Gate was very quiet; each of them was thinking
their own thoughts, one of which was that the Tok’Ra knew the Asgard…and were obviously
approved of by them. Even O’Neill had to admit that was a pretty darn high recommendation.

TBC



                 Chapter Four               Home               Chapter Six

                                        Table of Contents

An Alliance of Friends

Chapter Five

A Good Day to Die