Had the security cameras in the Captain's private chamber been projecting accurate footage, they would have revealed a human kneeling over a small floor-panel in the glaring light of the humid room. The Captain of the space vessel - a seven-foot tall reptilian member of the highly aggressive Anarth race - was currently attending to business at the helm and unaware of the intruder aboard his ship.

Daniel sighed lightly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead once more, glad for the light-weight material he wore and the bandana that kept his moist hair from out of his eyes, as he studied the four alien symbols that were carved into the panel beneath him. Those symbols were all that stopped him from reaching the crystal that the Captain had stolen from Gian, the home of the Gianthians that SG-1 had visited peacefully not a day before. He was not on this mission with SG-1, though. In fact, Thor specifically requested that no one, not even General Hammond, was to know about his extracurricular activities.

The four symbols were a mixture of lines and curves, each representing different elements that needed to be pressed in the correct order for the panel to open. //Anarthic power represents fire as most important, symbolising strength and will// Daniel thought to himself as he hovered his hand above the symbol depicting vertical lines possibly signifying flames. He reached closer, ready to press it, but pulled away just as suddenly. //Coals. They don't burn fire freely, they use *coals*// He shifted his hand position and instead pressed the top right corner of the panel containing the symbol that depicted horizontal curves like the outline of coals on a hearth.

He froze as the panel clicked into place correctly. Yet it was not that noise that bothered him. It was another, small and possibly imagined, that nudged his hearing at the exact same moment. He lowered his head quietly, pretending to still be studying the panel, but instead he listened to the space behind him, waiting for another sign. There was none. Complete silence. A little too silent, like the kind only made from someone standing frozen in place.

He reached slowly into the folds of his tunic and his hand wrapped around the shaft of a hollow wooden pipe. His finger probed the end and pushed gently the dart blocking its entrance further inside, preparing it for use. The room had become colder and Daniel was sure now who it was behind him. The Anarthians were enemies with the violent thieves and mercenaries of the race of Icety. The Icety were an extremely cold-blooded race from an ice planet, to the point that the room temperature would dip noticeably whenever one entered the room. Or two, as was the case now. The cold was too close to have been made by the same creature that revealed its position by noise.

//That would explain why they are keeping quiet// thought Daniel idly. //If they were the Anarthian guards then they would just have burst into the room and arrested me on sight. They must be after the crystal as well.//

He flicked his wrist quickly in a manner that brought the dagger in his sleeve into the grip of his hand. They were moving closer; the cold was too strong now for the nearer of the creatures to be anything but directly behind him. Reaching the hand with the dart pipe subtly up to his mouth, Daniel leaned his head down, spread his knees wider to gain a view between his legs, and in one swift movement, faked a loud sneeze that covered the motion of his mouth closing over the pipe and blowing the poisoned dart into the exposed leg of the Iceti furthest from him.

The nearer creature, not noticing the move, took its chance and reached forward to tap one heavily clawed hand onto Daniel's shoulder. "We cannot allow you to take what bounty is soon to be ours," it growled confidently. Daniel pretended to be startled and flinched at the touch. He turned his head and looked up at the creature with wide eyes that slowly, as the seconds ticked by, added a tinge of mischief behind their stare. "'We'?"

The creature turned slightly and caught the sight of its fallen accomplice against the far wall of the room. As it spun its head back, it was already too late. It saw the empty space on the floor where Daniel had been, and then saw nothing but blackness as something sharp hit hard on the side of its neck, impacting deeply and accurately into the vulnerable flesh.

Daniel sighed and bent down to roll the body off the area of the floor-panel, his own weapons already disguised once again in the recesses of his clothing. He disliked killing, but Iceny mercenaries would have tracked him for revenge had he not.

//Water// he thought mildly, brushing the thought from his mind as he knelt down once more to stare at the panel. //Second most important. Water sustains the life of those in power//. He pressed the lower right corner of the panel that showed vertical curved lines like water running down a textured rock-face, and saw it click into place correctly. //Earth for the land that they rule upon, and then air that holds the creatures they prey upon//. He pressed the corresponding shapes in order: first the straight horizontal lines of earth, then the vertical lines of the stillness of the planet's air. The panel hissed lightly as it raised itself from the floor, revealing a white opaque crystal beneath.

He reached forward towards it, preparing to take it from its holding-place. Yet, as Daniel touched its jagged surface, the crystal began squealing deafeningly and unrelentingly. He spun around, eyes darting back and forth between the two doors leading into the Captain's private chamber, as he quickly pushed the crystal into a pocket in his tunic. "Don't touch anything, Daaaniel," he murmured to himself, amusedly mimicking Jack's voice in his head and he rose to stand. A moment later twenty heavily armed guards burst into the room. And found only two dead bodies.

**************

"Welcome back," greeted Thor as Daniel felt himself materialise aboard the Asgard's ship. Daniel looked down and pulled the now-silent crystal from his pocket and then glanced at Thor, looking for an explanation. "It now senses you will return it to its rightful owner," said Thor, with what could be seen as a smile. "It was unsure of you at first after having been stolen once previously in so short a time."

"Right," commented Daniel with an eyebrow raise, as he walked over to the Asgard and handed him the crystal. "Wish it could've made the decision a little more quietly, considering." He grinned and walked over towards the neat pile of his SGC uniform that sat waiting on a clear table to the side of him in the spacious yet spartan room that was considered usual for Asgard design.

"You must change quickly," continued Thor, as he carefully placed the crystal inside a protective case next to his chair. "Your absence will be noted soon."

Daniel nodded, understanding, and he began detaching himself of his weapons and undressing from his current clothing, placing them both inside a special trunk Thor had given him for storage of his belongings. Padding unashamedly over to his SGC clothing, Daniel quickly dressed and turned back towards Thor. "Enjoyed our time together as usual," he grinned. "Beam me home."

A flash of white before his eyes and he was standing in the gloom of his office at the SGC. He heard footsteps not a moment later and the sound of Jack's soft whistling in the outside corridor. As Jack entered the room a few seconds later, all that greeted him was the sight of Daniel, chewing on the end of a pencil as he sat at his desk, squinted with his usual look of long-suffering frustration mixed with interest at the glaring light of the computer screen before him.

"Still here, Danny?" commented Jack with a tutting noise designed specifically to bait his friend. "Ever heard of downtime?" He walked over to a side chair and grabbed Daniel's jacket that had clearly been carelessly thrown there at the start of the day. "Come on, time for all good archaeologists to be in bed."

Daniel humoured him with a grin and the barest of vaguely annoyed sideways glances as he taped furiously at the keys of his computer for a few seconds longer. "Be...with you...in a moment..." he replied absently, beginning to stand from his chair as he continued trying to type and leave simultaneously.

Jack just rolled his eyes, used to such behaviour. "Come *on*, now, Daniel."

Daniel sighed, flustered, and shut down his computer, knocking half the papers in his in-tray over in his rush. "Right, right, *coming*," he replied, mimicking Jack's motherly tone. He grabbed his bag and stuffed a handful of the papers from his desk inside, before having his coat thrust into his hands and gently pushed out the door.

Jack shook his head as he walked behind his teammate, watching Daniel try to juggle his bag closed while pulling his jacket on as he lurched the first few steps towards the elevators. Some things never changed, Jack thought. Good old Daniel: sweet, yet hopelessly unable to function without some careful parenting from his SG-1 companions. That boy really needed to get out more.

*******

The next morning brought with it a new mission for SG-1. A meeting had been called for 0700 hours and Daniel came half-walking, half-running through the doorway of the briefing-room with a cup of coffee in one hand and a thick folder of papers in the other. "Sorry, sorry I'm late," he blurted to the assembled group, falling into the nearest seat and dropping his papers loudly onto the table.

"You're not late, Dr Jackson," replied General Hammond with an indulgent smile as he waited for Daniel to compose himself. With a nod to Sam and Teal'c who were sitting patiently, and Jack who was at least sitting if nothing else, General Hammond began their discussions. "P3X-910, which SG-1 made first contact with one week ago, contacted us for assistance at 0500 this morning. Apparently a number of Jaffa came through the Tooralkian gate briefly yesterday as a warning of what's to come. It seems that the Tooralkians believe it might have been a planned mission brought about by collaboration with an insider traitor among the Tooralks. They are hoping to deal with their own politics but as they have never had to respond to any kind of attack force such as the Goa'uld before, they are looking for any assistance we can offer them. I have informed them I would send SG-1 through to discuss strategies and offer information of what they're dealing with." General Hammond nodded towards Jack who was looking slightly annoyed that the Goa'uld would insist on bothering races he had made the effort to make nice with. "You have a go for 0800, folks."

As Daniel left the briefing room, heading towards his office to return the papers to his desk, he let his thoughts gently analyse the Tooralkian situation from the point of view of his alter ego. He often thought back to where his other life had taken form. It had started far before Thor had first approached to recruit him for specialist missions that the Asgard himself could not been seen to be interfering in for diplomatic reasons.

It started far younger, when Daniel was a child in Egypt, and he would often join other boys who were fighting for play. He would analyse their techniques, curious from early on as to the origins of warfare within Egyptian history. Rashidi, the elderly shopkeeper that lived in the street the boys played in, had been keeping an eye on Daniel from a young age. He saw there was something different about the boy, and it was not just his insatiable curiosity or fascination for knowledge. It was his interest in practicing the practicality of its use.

Rashidi began training Daniel at this time, teaching him styles of fighting, as well as stabilising him in a steady grounding of meditation and morals to balance his mind and spirit. Daniel enjoyed his lessons, easily a quick study. While Rashidi often sent him on practice 'missions' of theft from known thieves or harmlessly breaking into buildings to test their defenses, Daniel more often than not preferred to use his skills to help others that were being bullied in the streets.

Some years later, after Rashidi had passed away and Daniel had began his travels of the world to further his studies in academia, he found himself in Japan at the footsteps of Kisho's house. Kisho was a man that Rashidi had spoken of many times during their years together. Rashidi had never told Daniel much of what this man could teach him, other than to say that were he interested in furthering his practical studies, then this man would apprentice him upon finding out that he had been Rashidi's student. And, in the years that followed, Kisho did just that.

It was the ancient art of the Ninja in which Daniel began his lessons. He developed greater levels of flexibility and strength though physical training, while learning technical lessons in weaponry and tools and their many applications. His lessons in martial arts covered varying different disciplines, while his mind was trained in survival skills, adaptation and improvisation. He learned stealth for his movements, and poisons and their antidotes for when a situation would call for nothing else. His learned to use his clothing to camouflage or deceive his true nature, and methods of escape for when all else had failed.

He left his training under Kisho when the man told him his path was not to stay. Daniel had been unsure at first of what he was to do with his acquired knowledge, needing time to clear his mind, and so he returned to academia and his first true passion: Egyptology.

//And now I know where my path has led me// Daniel thought, as he stepped through the doorway to his office and dropped his papers on a spare area of desk. Abydos was where he first found use for his talents. A month after Jack and the team had returned back through the gate, leaving Daniel to live with Shar'e on the planet that reminded him so much of his childhood home, the Abydosian stargate was still left unearthed. He had never told Jack fully of his life there with the people of Abydos. When he had helped settle the Abydosians into their new-found freedom, he found his skill with tools and weaponry useful for the development of their defenses and new civilisation. He soon began an informal leader of a different kind to the people of Abydos. Kasuf, his father-in-law, would have preferred that he took a more administrative role in the politics of ensuring the smooth running of the new social structures, but Daniel was adamant that they could cope well on their own. He would only step in where his skills were needed in special circumstances. Such as when they traveled through the stargate.

The people of Abydos were not as interested in leaving their planet, now it was there own again. Yet, occasionally they would receive visitors; some friendly, some less so, that would cause Daniel to keep a protective eye over his new people. As the year passed, it amused Daniel to hear stories among the children of his often exaggerated exploits in protecting them from danger. He had traveled through the gate after many of the more hostile visitors, often in disguise, using words, weapons, or implanting doubt in their minds as to the wisdom of attacking a planet so obviously protected by a spirit of such power. Daniel often laughed with the children about his newfound identity as 'Sa'akhu' - loosely translated as 'guardian spirit' - which had developed from the stealth and skill which must often have been seen as supernatural to their visitors.

And so his reputation had been born and it brought with it attention. The first time a travelling party from a small planet called Fiur had called upon Abydos, requesting the help of their spirit, Sa'akhu, Daniel had been unsure whether to laugh or worry. He chose from that point not to identify his other self to anyone but the Abydosians, deciding that the image of the supernatural did well to further his success in missions. He listened carefully to the politics of the Fiury's situation - one of an aggressive leader wishing to enforce dictatorship over their peaceful communities - and finished by telling them that he would pass on their message to the Abydosian spirit, and that Fiur would be helped with its needs.

Daniel spoke with Kasuf long of his worries about interfering with the natural course of history of other planets, as it seemed such a larger change in his path than ever before. Kasuf told him that the difference between helping friends compared to strangers was non-existent and that the change he was worried about was hardly a change at all. Daniel had nodded and accepted the words. And it was not until Jack had returned through the Stargate once more and Daniel had joined SG-1, was he really to understand where his place was in the universe.

Daniel sighed, pulling out of his thoughts a moment as he made his way towards the locker-rooms for SG-1. He often thought of how he disliked keeping knowledge of who he was secret from his closet friends at the SGC. He had never originally considered telling them of his other life as he was unsure to what extent he would be using his skills when their missions began and his time was filled with diplomacy and languages to study. Jack, Sam and Teal'c were more than capable of being the warriors for their needs.

It was only upon meeting Thor, that he finally began seeing a clear means to use his skills. It was nearly a year ago that Thor had first beamed Daniel to his ship alone, and told him that he knew that Daniel was the spirit that the people of many planets still spoke of. Daniel had been surprised at first, not only that his reputation had spread so far, but also that Thor had known his other identity. Thor had just smiled upon Daniel's questioning and obscurely explained that the Asgard saw much and that he had an offer were Daniel to wish to join him.

There were too many planets, too maybe rules that it was impossible for the Asgard to interfere with, and that was where Daniel was hopefully to be involved. Thor offered his help with transportation and information, were Daniel to undertake what Jack would have probably referred to as 'Robin Hood' missions. Steal from thieves, help the oppressed, undermine the Goa'uld strongholds upon the universe. Daniel had agreed, thinking also that is was time that the SGC were told of what he could do now that he had decided to once again reinstate his alter ego. But that was when Thor had requested complete secrecy. There were new darker forces within the Goa'uld ranks, and not just there but within other hostile races that had the use of mind-infiltration as part of their weapons. Daniel's mind was strong, having been trained efficiently as a child, and Thor could help shield him further if necessary. Yet, Thor could only sustain protection of one person at a time, and were their enemy ever to infiltrate the SGC physically or mentally, then the risk was too high that Daniel would be revealed as the 'spirit', and earth would be under even greater threat from powers Thor himself was not sure he could alone protect them from.

And so Daniel agreed that his alter ego would remain secret: only the Abydosians and Thor himself knowing who he really was.

********

"Snake-heads," muttered Jack loudly as SG-1 stood at the ramp to the Stargate two hours later, changed and ready for their mission to the Tooralkian homeworld. "Damn gatecrashers."

"That's hardly news, Jack," commented Daniel, as he hefted his backpack onto his shoulders and locked in the clasps.

"Indeed it is not, O'Neill," added Teal'c, to which Sam grinned at Jack's rolled eyes and they made their way up the ramp towards the open wormhole.

A few moments later they stepped out onto the grassy plains of the Tooralk homeworld. The townsleader, Iliur, was standing at the steps in front of them, with a relieved smile on his face. "Welcome, welcome again!" he cried, as he stepped forward to greet the team. He was a tall man, elderly in years but fit for his age. His short blond hair angled in spikes from his head, as was the like with the rest of his people. He had kind blue-purple eyes and wore the formal flowing materials of the Deciding Order.

"Hi there, Iliur," greeted Jack with a smile that often seemed to come across as a grimace. He was never the most comfortable with diplomacy.

"Iliur," interjected Daniel with a true smile, before Jack had a chance to attempt more conversation. "It's good to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances."

"I wish that too, Daniel," replied Iliur as his eyes showed deep worry. "We have never encountered the species you had inquired about upon your first visit, and yet it was so soon after that they arrived upon our planet. I have a bad omen about this and I fear one of our own people have been seduced by the lure of their power."

"How could that happen?" asked Sam, curiously. "If you have had no contact or knowledge of the Goa'uld before...?"

Iliur sighed and raised his hands in an expression of frustration. "Our gate is open to any who wish to use it. There have been many voyages from our planet to others by many of our citizens. I suppose I should be surprised that we have not encountered these Goa'uld before."

"We would be pleased to offer assistance with your defense against the Goa'uld," spoke Teal'c, with a bow of his head.

Iliur returned the bow. "I thank you," he replied, and looked towards the other members, "I thank you all."

As the group walked towards the town, Daniel kept silent, carefully watching their surroundings and analysing the curiosity of which Tooralkian was responsible for the traitorous behaviour. He had met each of the head townspeople upon their first meeting and none seemed obviously in league with the Goa'uld. The issue of the traitor was something the Tooralkians wished to deal with on their own, but he kept the thought in his mind. He knew Thor would be watching SG-1's missions for opportunities to undermine Goa'uld footholds upon the universe. He always was. And Daniel would be waiting, ready.

******

The morning and afternoon passed smoothly and efficiently. The centre town of the Tooralkians was similar to a country community: many barns scattered around the edges of the brick and wood buildings. Daniel went to the council building to discuss with the Council members the history of Goa'uld behaviour and the place of the Jaffa. Teal'c and Jack went to the fields to demonstrate defense strategies to Oriad - the Defense Order's highest chief. Sam, meanwhile, returned to the stargate and hypothesized with the scientists of the planet, the possibilities of shielding their gate using the planet's own energy signature to maintain a selective force-field.

The evening was nearing as Daniel found himself sitting with Jack on the steps of their day-lodging, overlooking a forest in the distance.

"I hope it wasn't us that made the Goa'uld start noticing the Tooralkians," said Daniel quietly after a moment's comfortable silence passed between them both.

Jack looked over with surprised concern. "Is that what you think?" he asked, idly brushing dirt from his pants to pass the time.

Daniel shrugged, readjusting his glasses as he stared into the distance. "I don't know. It's just a strange coincidence." He sighed deeply and glanced over at Jack with a slight resigned smile. "We arrive here and suddenly Jaffa turn up a week later...? I suppose we should be lucky the Tooralkians don't believe we brought them here."

"We couldn't have led them here, Daniel," Jack said with assurance after a moment's contemplation. "We might not be their favourite pinup of the month, but they don't have the ability to track us from our home gate." He reached over and gave Daniel a quick pat on the knee as a means of comfort. "I know it bothers you that we can't do more for some of the planets we visit, but you've gotta believe we're helping them, not hurting them."

Daniel nodded and brushed swirls into the dirt at his feet with the butt of his P90. "Yeah," he said, looking over at Jack with a careful smile, acknowledging the words. "I suppose you're right."

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments longer before their thoughts were pierced by the sound of people screaming, closely interspersed with staff-weapon fire. Jack and Daniel were on their feet in a second, both running towards the sound of the commotion which seemed to be coming from the far side of the town. It was clear to them what had happened. Jack was already on his radio, yelling at Sam and Teal'c to give him details of how many Jaffa had just come through the Stargate.

It took Jack and Daniel a matter of minutes to arrive at the entranceway leading into the centre of town, and quickly spotted Sam and Teal'c already awaiting the assault, weapons poised. Then, as the blasts grew louder, twelve Jaffa rounded a corner and strode into the clearing, their staff-weapons held in attack position as they began firing blasts at the shocked townspeople. SG-1 quickly turned and ran behind the nearest cover: Sam and Teal'c dove behind a cart that had just been overturned by staff fire, and Jack ran behind the column support of the nearest building.

"Go to the townhall!" Jack yelled as he caught sight of Iliur nearby. "Get your people in there! We'll cover you!"

Iliur, eyes wide with fright, began herding his terrified people towards the centre building, running crouched as he heard the sounds of blasts exploding all around him. Reaching the huge double-doors, he flung them open, shouting at his people to rush inside, pushing some through the doors in his panic.

Daniel glanced over at Iliur's progress as he knelt furthest back in position of SG-1's defense, behind the corner of a building. He saw five of the Jaffa turn to stride quickly towards the townhall as the great doors were pulled shut from the inside. With a quick glance to gauge his teammates positions, Daniel fired his weapon, hitting two Jaffa instantly as the other three moved out of sight. He then ducked down the side of the building and made a dash behind and around, working his way closer towards the rear of the enemy fire, and nearest the townhall. He could hear more blasts as he ran, sure by the amount of noises and flashes of light that his teammates were holding their own more than enough. They wouldn't notice his absence. He only needed a minute.

He slowed down to a halt as he saw the backs of three Jaffa avoiding the action as they neared the townhall in search of townspeople to take back through the gate as slaves. They were standing close to his position, their helmets down and their backs from him. He crept up behind, making no noise, as he neared the closest of the three. Without any warning Daniel leapt forward, reaching his arms around and neatly snapping the Jaffa's neck, spinning instantly afterwards to kick the legs out from under the tallest of the two remaining soldiers as both Jaffa looked around in surprise. Daniel leapt behind them, out of view as the tallest fell to the ground, and was swiftly pierced with the dagger that Daniel had hidden up his sleeve. The last remaining Jaffa spun around again, trying to find the source of the attack. As his head turned, he caught one fleeting glimpse of Daniel standing in front of him, poised for attack, a pair of foot-long wooden poles in his hands that he spun through the air, impacting with deadly efficiency on the Jaffa's neck. As the body began its heavy fall to the ground, Daniel was gone.

*******

Jack spun his head around as the last Jaffa fell dead in his line of fire. "Daniel?" he yelled, hoping that his friend was close by and out of the way of danger. It wasn't that Daniel couldn't hold his own adequately in a fight - Jack had personally taught him to use his gun - but the boy did have a nasty habit of getting himself into trouble.

There was no answer. Jack looked over his shoulder at Teal'c and Sam who were still positioned behind the overturned cart. "Teal'c, Carter - where's Daniel?" he yelled, starting to feel a cold dread flow through his body.

"I haven't seen him, Sir," yelled back Sam, concern in her eyes and she quickly began shifting her vie to check the area around her.

"Nor have I," replied Teal'c, though added a moment later: "Yet I do now," with what was the faintest of hints in his expression that he was suddenly relieved as he locating Daniel walking obliviously from behind a building towards the group.

"Daniel!" shouted Jack, relief showing in his features. His shoulders slumped slightly from their tense position.

"Yeah, Jack?" Daniel replied, looking mildly surprised at the bodies lying on the ground. "We won?"

Jack let out a laugh of relief at the absurdity of his archaeologist's expression. "Hiding behind the building, Danny?" he asked, his tone teasing but his voice clearing stating that he hoped that was the case. Best for the boy to stay out of the line of fire. Trained in basic weapon firing or not, Daniel was still just a civilian.

"Something like that," grinned Daniel, refusing to take the bait.

"Right, folks," said Jack suddenly, snapping out of the moment. "Let's find Iliur and tell him the good news and get our butts back home. I for one am *starving*."

The three remaining team members grinned at the comment and followed after Jack's lead towards the centre townhall where the majority of people had safely taken refuge inside.

*******

"Thank you again for your words and your actions!" exclaimed Iliur gratefully as he walked SG-1 back through the fields towards the Stargate. "You have saved our people and given us the ability to defend ourselves once we instate the measures you have taught us."

"Ah, all in a day's work," replied Jack, preening slightly as he tried to make a show of waving the compliment away with his hand.

"What if we could help you reveal the traitor?" Daniel queried suddenly as they reached the gate and Sam began dialing the coordinates. "Find out who brought the Jaffa here in the first place?"

"I apologize, Daniel, but it is our custom to deal with our concerns internally. I mean you no disrespect but matters of personal reputation are considered private." Iliur seemed almost unsure that the decision of his traditions was the best, yet he offered no more words.

Daniel smiled, noting the hesitation, and nodded his head. "I understand. I wish you luck in your search." He turned as Iliur left, and climbed the steps to the gate, seeing Teal'c and Sam step through the wormhole ahead of him as he did so.

Jack stood hovering at the gate as he often did to make sure all his team were safe through before him. "You managed to stay out of trouble for one whole day," Jack teased as he turned a baiting grin on Daniel. "Always nice to see you not dying on a mission."

Daniel offered a mock-glare in retaliation as he reached out to flick his hand into the shimmer of the open wormhole. "Yeah, well, I'm lucky I've got you to protect me," he replied, stepping into the gate and leaving Jack standing alone.

"Damn right you are," muttered Jack, completely missing the teasing undertone that had passed with Daniel's words as he followed his companion back to earth.

*******

General Hammond was satisfied with the mission debriefing that occurred an hour after SG-1 returned to base. Daniel was careful to listen to the reports of his team members to check for any signs that they might have noticed anything amiss about his actions. There was none. In the heat of the moment, no one had tallied the amount of Jaffa to walk through the gate with the amount each killed, and no one commented that Daniel's temporary absence was unusual.

Daniel returned to his office after the meeting, saying goodnight to Sam, Jack and Teal'c as he left them at his door. He entered his room, closing the door behind him, and walked over to a side shelf on which rested a small piece of metal, triangular-shaped with a circular indent in the middle. He placed his thumb inside the circle and in an instant was beamed to Thor's ship.

Daniel looked down across the room as he materialised. "We have a mission," he said, raising an eyebrow at Thor as he waited for a response.

Thor nodded from where he was seated, hardly surprised by the sudden declaration and appearance of Daniel. "Is there anything you need?" he asked calmly.

"No," said Daniel, with a shake of his head. "I'll be going to the Tooralkian homeworld to find out who betrayed their people to the Goa'uld. They keep their business private but I get the feeling from their councilman Iliur that they might need a little discreet help." He shrugged his shoulders as he walked over to his chest and selected dark-brown coloured clothing from inside, knowing it would camouflage best against the building he wanted to materialize against. "I'm guessing the traitor will want to update the Goa'uld on the day's events and I want to be there when he or she does."

Thor nodded. "I will watch your progress."

Daniel quickly added additional tools and weapons in strategic places around his body, before turning to give Thor a raise of his hand by way of a goodbye. "Beam me outside of the council building."

And Thor did just that.

*******

Daniel materialised in the darkness near the side wall of the council building, quickly flattening himself against the brickwork to keep to the shadows as he did so. Creeping silently towards the front corner, he listened carefully for a few moments, only leaning his head slightly around the corner to view the front entranceway when he was sure there was no one close by. His view took in the two guards standing to attention at the double doors. Obviously security had been tightened since the attack during the day. He had no wish to incapacitate the Tooralkians so he decided to look for a different point of entry.

Daniel turned around again, and surveyed the side of the building. It was a three-storey brick structure: the lower floor for public discussion, the second floor for private council matters, and the top floor was the sleeping chambers of the members of the different Orders. His eyes flickered down towards the middle floor. Luckily for him, Tooralkian windows did not contain glass and subsequently were merely more than open gaps in the walls. His window of choice was approximately ten feet above him.

He could hear the guards at the front entrance begin a slow march towards him and he snapped into action, knowing he would have to choose the most silent of approaches as they were too close to not hear any other tactic. He quickly reached both his hands down to thick compartments sewed onto the outside thighs of his trousers and reached inside to pull out four spiked leather bands. He slid the larger two over the toes of his shoes, spikes to the ground, and the smaller two slid over his hands, forming fingerless gloves with metal on the palm-side. The guards were nearer now, and Daniel quickly reached to the wall, letting the spikes on his hands act as grip against the joins in the bricks, bringing his feet up next to do the same. Slowly but silently he climbed, careful not to loosen mortar as he scaled the side of the building, perfectly balanced against the wall, flattening himself further against the cold bricks as he neared the window above him.

The guards rounded the corner at that moment, and Daniel froze. He glanced down carefully and saw them walking directly beneath him, both silent after the sombre day. The seconds passed, and for a moment Daniel thought they would choose that position to stop for a break and he rolled his eyes in mild frustration, but he wasn't to wait long. A few moments later the guards continued walking again, and soon had turned the corner out of sight. Daniel sighed silently, and raised his hand to grip the lower ledge of the window sill, pulling the rest of his body up enough to make sure the corridor inside was clear before silently sliding over the ledge and into the building.

Landing softly on the wooden floor, Daniel quickly removed the spikes from his hands and feet and pushed them back inside his thigh pockets. As he began creeping down the length of the corridor, he saw a dim crack of light reveal itself from underneath a closed door not twenty feet in front of him.

//Gotacha//. Daniel didn't continue to the room, but instead, having located his target, crept towards the staircase halfway down the corridor and climbed carefully up towards the third floor to the sleeping chambers. The doors were named with the title of the occupant and Daniel quickly found Iliur's room and turned the handle to let himself quietly inside.

Iliur was sound asleep in his bed, in the sparse sleeping chamber. Daniel let himself relax slightly, glad to find that the man was clearly not the traitor downstairs. He eyed the room as he walked towards Iliur's bed, noting the lack of any creature comforts: just a plain bed against the wall and a glass of water on a nightstand. It was the Tooralkian way of life, yet clearly there was one member of the council who wished for something more.

"Don't be afraid," Daniel whispered in a low, unrecognisable voice, as he knelt beside the shape of Iliur who lay facing the wall as he slept. Daniel saw the man stir slightly, hearing the words but unsure whether he dreamed them. "Wake up," Daniel continued. "The traitor is downstairs."

Iliur snapped his eyes open in surprise and began to roll over to face his mysterious guest, but Daniel stopped him with his next words.

"Don't turn around," he whispered, knowing the man would do as he said, either through acceptance or fear. "I am Sa'akhu. You must trust me."

He heard the sharp gasp of shock as Iliur's eyes widened at the sound of Daniel's other name.

"Sa'akhu!" he exclaimed in a loud whisper of reverence. When Daniel did not respond immediately, Iliur took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. He had never thought that the famous spirit of the Abydosians would ever visit his people. How Sa'akhu could possibly have known of their troubles, he couldn't imagine, but here the spirit clearly was, offering help. "I...I am at your service, great spirit," Iliur stuttered, not seeing the kind yet amused smile on Daniel's face at the man's show of nervous reverence.

"Thank you," replied Daniel, "but it is I that am here to be at your service. Your traitor is downstairs now in the lighted room of the second floor. Go to the room to the right of it and listen through the window until you hear the evidence you need. Then go wake your fellow council members and bring them down to the lighted room and confront the traitor." Daniel heard a small whimper of reluctance from the old man and knew it was because he was afraid. "Have no fear, I'll be near, protecting you."

Iliur nodded, fully trusting in the powers of the spirit to protect him. "I will do as you ask," he replied in a shaky yet determined voice.

Daniel smiled and began silently creeping back towards the door. "Go now," he whispered as he left, quickly melting into the shadows of the corridor outside.

He didn't wait to listen for the sound of Iliur rising from his bed, but instead ran quickly down to the second floor and into the room to the left of the lighted one. He made his way to the window and pulled himself slightly outside to be able to hear clearly the sound of voices in the next room.

"-serve me!" hissed the deep tones of a Goa'uld voice.

"I will serve you, my lord!" squeaked another voice, male, though Daniel could not immediately recognize it.

"Your people will not be able to defend yourselves from the power of the Goa'uld. We are far superior. You will fall and you will become our slaves," continued the Goa'uld indignantly. Daniel guessed that the traitor was having doubts about betraying his people now that SG-1 had shown them ways to defend themselves.

"*They* will be your slaves," the man corrected meekly. "I will be...rewarded for offering the use of this planet and people...?"

There was a pause and Daniel realised who the voice belonged to: Oriad, the high chief of the Defense Order whom had spent the day learning fighting tactics from Jack and Teal'c. Daniel let out a disapproving murmur. The sound of lightly scuffling footsteps infiltrated Daniel's senses, and he ducked his body back inside the window, knowing it must be Iliur arriving to listen for the evidence of betrayal.

Daniel walked back to the doorway and pressed an ear against the wood, waiting for the sound of Iliur returning to the third floor to gather his fellow council-members. He didn't have to wait long; Iliur had decided quickly that he had heard all he needed to, and soon was rushing on tiptoes back out of the far room and up the stairwell. Daniel took his moment, knowing exactly what he was going to do. He strode quickly to the joining wall to the lighted room and kneeled down low in the corner, reaching into a breast pocket to extract a small pen-shaped laser device he knew would cut a hole silently into the wooden wall. He flicked the small button that activated the tool and soon a small hole, giving a clear view up to the incriminating scene, wore its way through the wood. Quickly pocketing the tool once more, Daniel pressed his eye to the hole and received his first clear view of the Goa'uld inside.

//Him!// Daniel thought with surprise, as he recognised the Goa'uld by appearance if not name. It was one of the lesser cast, and he had seen it once before on a planet that his missions had brought him to with SG-1. The Goa'uld had been shepherding newly-acquired slaves into a transport vessel, and while Jack and Teal'c had managed to free the captives, Sam had been protecting Daniel from danger, leaving him unable to do anything but verbally abuse the Goa'uld before it fled through a ring device to its ship. //You won't escape me this time// Daniel thought with calm decision.

He kept his eye to the hole for a few minutes longer, and then suddenly he saw the council members and the two guards who had been guarding the front of the building burst into the lighted room, and accusing shouts of betrayal, anger and fear filled the air. The Goa'uld's eyes flashed in shock at the sudden entrance, knowing it was far out-numbered. It raised its hand to send an energy burst towards the closest of the group, throwing at least five men back through the doorway to land heavily against the corridor wall. Daniel quickly grabbed for his dart-pipe and stuck the end through the hole, aiming at the Goa'uld's neck. Yet his opportunity was missed as a frightened council-member fell against the wall, blocking his line of fire.

//Damn!// He quickly jumped up, knowing by the sounds outside the door that the Goa'uld was already escaping out of the room and was heading towards the stairwell to run down out of danger. The sound of weapons being fired pierced the air, but in their panic, the guards inside must have been pushed around as a loud crash heralded the sound of an overhead beam falling down through the wall near the window Daniel was but metres from. It completely blocking the entire opening which was to be his exit point, as it settled in place. Daniel jumped to his feet and rushed to the door, pausing inside. The stairwell leading down was on the far side of the throng of panicking people and he knew he didn't have a chance of running past them without being noticed. The only other stairwell was directly outside his room, leading up to the third floor. He had no choice. There would be no one left upstairs. He grabbed a small smokebomb from out of his array of pockets, and threw it out the door towards the council members, knowing it would only block their view for a few seconds without hurting them. He rushed out into the corridor in an instant and leapt up the stairwell, his presence completely unnoticed by the panic below. He made it to the third landing, and spun full-speed towards the direction of the end window.

He reached his hand around to his back as he ran and let his fingers quickly unzip the small pouch he wore flattened against his lower spine. He reached inside for the grappling hook and whipped it out as he sped towards the window and the night outside. His footsteps were silent as he reached the sill, and he leapt with a smooth dive out of the third storey into mid-air, letting the large hook in his hand fall inside the narrow ledge of the window as he jumped, his other hand grabbing hold of the long length of rope that pulled tight almost instantly as the hook braced in place against the sill to hold his fall. He rebounded lightly against the wall, a storey up, and he let himself slide lightly down the remainder of the rope until he fell lightly on his feet on the soft dirt of the ground. A flick of the wrist later and the hook above loosened its hold and it fell down, neatly caught in his hand.

Daniel quickly returned his grappling hook into his back pouch, barely thinking about the move he had performed hundreds of times before, as he took off at a sprint towards the Goa'uld he saw that moment flee past the end of the side-street. He ran, silently but swiftly, rounding corner after corner as he slowly closed the gap between himself and the Goa'uld that suddenly ducked inside the doorway of what seemed to be a large barn. Daniel followed, reaching the door soon after in time to see the Goa'uld climb hastily through the entrance of a small scouting ship made of smooth metal and half the height of the barn.

A few seconds sped by and Daniel was at the highly-placed entrance to the craft, the hatch left flung wide open in the Goa'uld's panicked haste to escape from immediate harm. There was a ladder leading down to floor-level, and Daniel dived inside head-first through the small entrance gap, hands smoothly gliding down either side of the ladder rungs as he executed a neat backflip that landed him on his feet and ready to run as soon as he hit the ground. He heard a sound around the nearest corner as he fell. He recognised it instantly: it was the sound of the initial energy activation of a ring transporter. Pushing himself faster, he rounded the corner and had a split second to analyse the scene of the Goa'uld standing out of breath in the centre of the room, the rings already falling fast from the ceiling. Daniel didn't stop moving. He flung himself full-pelt in a roll along the floor to the Goa'uld's shocked horror, and slid, belly to the ground inside the circle an instant before the first of the rings locked into place around him.

"I know you!" exclaimed the Goa'uld and Daniel leapt to his feet, its voice unnatural as its eyes flashed and widened in recognition and anger. Daniel saw a memory flash before his own eyes, of the lesser Goa'uld standing with superiority over its newly acquired slaves on a planet from his past.

"No one will ever know," Daniel hissed back as he reached over his shoulder to pull out a fifteen-inch blade, slicing it through the air into the Goa'uld's neck and severing the parasite inside as the final ring locked in place and they were transported from the Tooralkian homeworld.

********

"Another successful mission," were the first words Daniel heard as he materialised, and he recognised the voice: Thor. He looked around quickly in confusion, glancing down in time to see the dead body of the Goa'uld dematerialise in a flash. "I intercepted your energy signatures as you were being transported to the Goa'uld ship," Thor replied to the unasked question. "Now I have you safely, I have returned the Goa'uld back into the ring transport. It will materialise alone upon its vessel...now."

Daniel took a deep breath in and let a grin of relief and approval spread across his features. "Couldn't've done it better myself," he replied, as he pulled his mind into motion and walked calmly over to his trunk in the room he now recognised as his usual base of operations upon Thor's ship. Daniel secretly believed Thor enjoyed participating in the missions more than the Asgard's usually dignified nature revealed.

"The Tooralkians will be pleased with your work," Thor said as Daniel changed back into his SGC uniform.

"Yeah..." replied Daniel, smiling as he walked to the centre of the room. "I'm glad I could help them. One less Goa'uld in the universe can't be a bad thing."

Thor bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Indeed." Thor made his way over to a desk panel and placed his hand over the screen. "Until next time, Doctor Jackson," he said by way of a farewell.

"Till then, Thor," grinned Daniel, and he disappeared in a flash of light.

*******

Daniel materialised in his office and walked over to gather some half-finished research notes into a folder to take home. It had been a long day, as most were when he was living two different lives, but he never regretted a minute of it. Janet and his teammates, on the other hand, would probably tell him off as they often did for apparently spending too long with his head buried in books.

"Daniel!"

Daniel turned around to find Jack standing in the doorway to his office, looking slightly confused.

"Y-eeess, Jack?" Daniel replied, eyebrows raised in mild bafflement. "Problem?"

Jack blinked a few times before answering. "Where were you? I went to your office before and you weren't here."

"Oh, I just took a break down in the gym," Daniel replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Thought I'd take your advice and get out of this room more."

There was a slight pause before Jack replied. "Sooo...you were in the gym?"

"Yes. Gym, Jack," Daniel grinned, looking embarrassed. "Where people go to get fit...?"

Jack gave a flick of his eyebrows up at the response, but seemed otherwise accepting. "Right," he said, and leaned in to give Daniel a pat on the back. "Good on ya. You should take my advice more often..." He turned and walked towards the door. "Keeps you fit, the gym. Yeah...good boy," he commented over his shoulder as he left, causing Daniel to roll his eyes as Jack's occasional eccentricity.

*******

//The gym...// Jack thought, as he walked away from Daniel's office. //He's lying.//

Daniel wasn't to know it, but Jack had changed his mind after saying goodbye to Daniel earlier that night, and had instead decided to work out in the gym rather than leave base, to relieve some of the stress of the day. He had only left the workout rooms once and that was for five minutes to check if Daniel wanted to come down and join him for a break. Daniel had not been in either of those rooms at any time.

"Strange..." he muttered to himself as he made his way down the corridor. "Very strange..."

He pushed the thought from the forefront of his mind, yet decided not to let it disappear completely.

"There's something going on with you, Daniel. I just can't think *what*."

*******

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER TWO...