"No Daniel!" Jack O'Neill said in the tone that everyone from a four star general down to a lowly cadet had learned to mean was final. Daniel however, seemed to have missed that particular lesson.

"Look at what these people have to offer!" the younger man argued. "Medicines, technology, weapons… and they're willing to trade with us. I thought that was what you wanted?"

Jack hesitated, second-guessing himself. Something about this place didn't feel right, but he was wondering if his instincts were running true. Three months away from action could do that to a man.

"Wasn't that what that whole black ops thing was about?" Daniel pushed.

They still hadn't forgiven him for that. Jack had tried to explain, tried to apologise but the rest of his team hadn't wanted to understand. He thought Carter would have realized that he'd only been doing his duty, but she had never had to cross the line and experience the darker side of their chosen career.

"Don't you think it's a little odd that they're willing to trade when no one else is?" Jack replied.

"No, I don't."

"How about you Carter?"

"I… uh… I…," she stammered.

"Do you agree with Daniel?"

"Yes, yes I do sir. I don't think there's any harm in finding out what they have to offer."

"Teal'c?"

Jack turned to the final member of SG-1. He had to find out if they were all against him.

"I concur," the big man replied.

So that was it.

He wanted to yell, tell them that this was his command not a democracy… But he didn't.

"Okay do what you have to do," Jack muttered as he walked away from them.

"Sir?" Carter called after him.

"I'm going to check in with Hammond, I'll be back in an hour."

"What about the hospital tour?" Daniel demanded.

"I'll send flowers."

Jack knew he was being childish. Storming off wasn't the best way to deal with this but he really wasn't in the mood for a team building exercise. As he strode away he could hear them talking about him, wondering if he was okay to go off on his own. Jack was past caring. If they got a trade deal, out of this, then great. If not… well someone would have to pick up the pieces.

It would have helped if he'd been able to articulate his concerns. Just saying that something didn't feel right wasn't enough… not anymore.

SG-1 had gated to this world two days ago. Jack had been hoping for a nice easy mission, a beach, some artefacts for Daniel, a dohicky for Carter… something nice a gentle to get them back into the swing of things. Unfortunately, General Hammond was a great believer in throwing you in at the deep end and watching to see if you'd swim. So here they were, in a first contact situation with a previously unknown race.

Even so, the past couple of days had been nice. SG-1 had been treated well; wined and dine, introduce to anyone who was anyone… no one had shot at them. Perhaps that was what made Jack so nervous. They were being treated with a little too much respect and not enough caution for his liking. No one seemed to be suspicious of their motives. No one seemed angry that these strangers were in their midst. It just wasn't normal.

Even in his darkest of moods, Jack couldn't deny that the place was beautiful. The graceful buildings sparkled in the sunlight, hurting the eyes if you looked at them for too long. The exterior of every structure was made of glass. How they had managed to form such mind-numbing curves, Jack wasn't sure… although Carter would probably have told him if he'd bothered to ask. Some of them seemed to defy gravity.

The Stargate itself was housed in the local equivalent of a museum. It had been kept as an item of curiosity, nothing more. Making it difficult to understand why no one had been surprised to see four people and a Naquadah reactor walk through. Maybe that was what was wrong with the humans here. They never seemed to register extreme emotions. Fear and hatred seemed alien to them. The more he thought about it, the more disturbed Jack became. Although there were plenty of smiles, he had never heard anyone shout or cry or laugh aloud. And some of his jokes had been very funny.

There was the usual scattering of people being escorted around the museum. They watched Jack activate the Stargate with expressions of mild interest. He wished they'd just go away. What he wanted to say to Hammond couldn't really be done in front of an audience.

"SGC, this is SG-1 niner," Jack spoke into his radio once the connection had been established.

"Go ahead," Walter Harriman's voice came back.

"Is General Hammond around?"

"No sir. He's in a meeting with the Tok'ra."

Damn. He had hoped that the General would be tipped off by the fact that Jack was checking in hours before schedule, realise that something was wrong and order them to get the hell out of there.

"Any idea how long he's going to be?"

"Likely to be all day."

"Okay… I'll check back later. O'Neill out."

So much for Plan A. Since Plan B involved rejoining SG-1 and going on what was likely to be a very boring tour, Jack wasn't exactly overflowing with enthusiasm. But if he dawdled enough on the way back then they'd start without him. An excellent strategy as far as he was concerned. If anyone questioned him, he could always claim he'd gotten lost.

With this in mind, Jack didn't take the direct route. He figured his sense of direction was good enough to allow him to stray from the beaten track, and it wasn't as if there was much of a crime problem here. He took the first left off the main street, wandering down the narrow side road at a pace that could only be described as a meander. Jack certainly wasn't in any hurry to rejoin his team.

If Jack had expected to see the wilder side of life on this world, he was sorely disappointed. The backstreets were as sterile as the main thoroughfares. Attractive, clean, the smattering of people he met all smiled at him as they went about their daily business. Jack was starting to conclude that there was no hidden secret on this world and his feelings were nothing more than those of a paranoid old soldier who should have been put out to pasture years ago.

As they had done some many times over the past few weeks, Jack's thoughts turned to Edora and the woman he had left behind. He was starting to wonder if coming home ad been a terrible mistake. Edora had given him some measure of happiness, of peace. Laira was nice enough, even if she wasn't exactly a soul mate. Jack was starting to convince himself that he could have made it work between them. Besides, he'd promised to go back someday, and he didn't want to be a liar. Idly, he wondered how long she would wait for him. 100 days and no longer? And time was slipping away. What with that whole mess with Maybourne, Jack realised he had been away from Edora for a whole month already.

Turning down another street he started to head in the general direction of the hospital. There were even fewer people here, but no one seemed to think he was out of place. Everyone in this city walked, short distances at any rate. They had some kind of matter transportation device to take them further afield. It was one of the gizmos Carter was particularly eager to get her hands on. She'd been muttering about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and quantum entanglements since they arrived. Jack had tuned her voice out as soon as it took on that special technobabble tone she always used when describing the incomprehensible. She'd probably be glad to get a new CO who was a bit less…dense.

Crap.

Jack realised he'd reached a dead end and would have to retrace his steps. Maybe this whole 'off the beaten path thing' wasn't such a great idea after all … except there was a narrow alleyway running between buildings. It wasn't that wide, but Jack was pretty certain he could squeeze through.

As soon as he started walking, Jack regretted his decision, but he was too stubborn to turn back. No longer beautiful, the buildings rose above him, blocking out the sun. He found himself shivering in the sudden chill as he tried to fight an unexpected feeling of intense claustrophobia.

Surprisingly, he heard footsteps approaching. Jack came to a halt, peering into the gloom. There was no way two people would be able to pass each other. The person coming towards him was nothing more than a dark shape. He couldn't even tell if it was male or female.

"Hello?" he called out, alerting the newcomer to his presence.

He distinctly heard a cry of fear as the footsteps started to retreat. Jack picked up his own pace, curious to see who this person was. Bursting back out into the sunlight, he caught a glimpse of a figure fleeing down the wider street. Jack started to run. He skidded around a corner, only to find the road empty apart from a man walking sedately towards him, a benign smile on his face.

"You okay?" Jack asked. Convinced that this had been the person he'd been chasing.

The man just smiled, his features reminded Jack of someone who'd had excessive botox.

Jack glanced around, and up… in time to see something dart out of view. A dark oval shape was ascending rapidly to a higher level. He found himself scanning the sky. There were hundreds of them up there and Jack wondered why he hadn't noticed them before.

With renewed vigour, Jack started back to the hospital.

He had a few questions after all.

&&&

"Do you think he's okay?" Daniel asked as he watch Jack walk away.

He could tell Sam was torn between wanting to continue with the mission and her desire to go after her commanding officer.

"He'll be fine," she said after a moment's hesitation.

Daniel admitted to being a little surprised. Then again he wasn't about to run after Jack either. Before Jack had been marooned on Edora none of them would have hesitated, but now… They weren't quite sure how he would react to any offer of help. He didn't seemed like himself anymore. Daniel couldn't forget that Jack hadn't really wanted to come home … or how well he had settled down with Laira. Not that Daniel begrudged his friend a relationship with a beautiful woman, but this one seemed wrong somehow.

Jack had hardly spoken to anyone on his return. No sooner than he'd gotten back and Hammond had sent him on that 'secret mission'. Although Daniel now knew that Jack's bad mood had been an act, it had been a damn good one. He couldn't help feeling hurt by some of the things Jack had said. Their relationship had been soured further by the whole drawing straws thing. The man had been in a bad mood ever since but his behaviour on this mission had been the worst Daniel could remembered ... certainly on a par with the first mission to Abydos. At least their hosts hadn't taken offence. Politeness and even temper were the norm here so Daniel found himself wondering what they made of a man like Jack O'Neill.

The walk to the hospital was a pleasant one. On a world devoid of motor vehicles the air was always fresh and the atmosphere quiet and restful. The hospital itself stood in the centre of an area of parkland. From the outside, it reminded Daniel of an upmarket hotel. A comparison that remained true as they stepped into the mirrored lobby. The man who was serving as their guide hurried to greet them, his gently smiling face open and friendly. No… Daniel really couldn't work out what was bothering Jack. There was nothing wrong with these people.

"Felicitations Leader Zaruk," Daniel said, raising his hands in the traditional greeting.

"Felicitations Learner Daniel," Zaruk replied.

Zaruk was a short man, typical of his race in that his long sandy blonde hair was kept long and tied back from his face. Unusually, at least for Earth humans, the man's eyes were black.

"Where is Leader O'Neill?" Zaruk continued.

"He's uh… indisposed," Sam said.

She'd glossed over the fact he'd gone to speak to Hammond, Daniel noted and he wondered why. Was she starting to think Jack had a point? For a moment Zaruk almost seemed flustered.

"But we'd be happy to make the tour," Daniel added.

"The tour was designed for all four of you," Zaruk said, "Perhaps one of you could bring him here?"

"I will go," Teal'c said.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

Teal'c seemed perfectly willing to leave but Daniel couldn't see why it made a difference as to whether Jack was here or not.

"Come… Come," Zaruk said once Teal'c had gone.

They followed the man through a set of double doors and into a long white corridor… more reminiscent of medical institutions the galaxy over.

"From what you were saying you've managed to eradicated many forms of disease," Sam said.

"That is true enough," Zaruk agreed. "Diseases of the body are easy to treat but those of the mind…"

"So this is a psychiatric institution?" Daniel guessed.

"I believe you would call it that."

"What about treating injuries?" Sam asked.

"These are rare."

"What no broken bones? Cuts? Skinned knees?"

"We are careful not to injure ourselves or others."

"But accidents must happen."

Zaruk shook his head.

The absence of vehicles would certainly cut down the rate of accidents, Daniel figured, but to eliminate them completely… Was that even possible?

"Does everyone here die of old age?" he asked.

"Not everyone… please follow me," Zaruk said.

He moved in front of them, picking up the pace slightly, making further questions impossible.

The featureless corridor ended in an elevator. Daniel assumed it would lead them to the area where the actual patients were. Hence he expected it to go up and was momentarily disorientated when it sank downwards.

"The bulk of the facility is underground," Zaruk explained. "I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to inspect our laboratory facilities."

"Sure," Sam replied.

Daniel risked a glance at Sam, wondering if she shared his misgivings. Damn but Jack was getting to him, Daniel realised. There was nothing untoward about this.

A second man met them as they stepped off the elevator. Pale, unassuming he was the type you forgot ten minutes after being introduced.

"Scientist Talos," Zaruk made the introduction.

"Should there not be two others?" Talos questioned.

"Warrior Teal'c has left to bring Leader O'Neill to this place. They will join us shortly."

Daniel wasn't so sure about that, but he nodded and smiled. Anything to keep the peace.

He trailed behind them as they walked into the nearest lab. Rather than show off the facilities, he remained quiet, letting Zaruk do the talking.

Daniel hadn't actually ventured into many laboratories since he'd completed Chemistry 101 but he recognised many of the basic components. There were, after all, only a limited number of ways to design a fume cupboard or a centrifuge. What surprised him was the range of equipment. It looked as if all the disciplines were thrown together. They passed several technicians who barely looked up from their work. Zaruk didn't really describe exactly what they were studying, although he threw the terms microorganisms and recombinant DNA around. Daniel didn't really know what to make of it, and he wandered away from the main group as something lying on a nearby bench caught his eye. It was roughly the size of a hubcap; black and shiny.

"What's this?" he asked.

Zaruk hurried over. Talos, Daniel noted, was conferring in hushed tones with one of his colleagues.

"I will show you," Zaruk said. "Scientist Carter… this will also be of interest to you."

The black object started to hum as Sam joined him. It rose into the air to hover above their heads.

"It is a diagnosis and drug delivery system," Zaruk continued.

"You use it instead of a doctor or nurse?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly."

&&&

Someone or something was following him. As soon as Jack stepped back onto the main street, the hairs on the back of his neck started to bristle, as if he was under some kind of scrutiny. Glancing around, he could see nothing more sinister than people going about their daily business. Remembering the devices he had seen earlier, Jack looked upwards but the sky was clear. He kept walking but the feeling didn't dissipate. Jack was too experienced to dismiss it as normal paranoia. In his line of work, it paid to be paranoid.

A low hum seemed to permeate the air, just the right frequency to make his teeth ache.

He found himself gripping his MP5 a little tighter. No one else seemed to notice anything. He looked upwards again. A dark cloud was forming overhead… over his head.

God, how many of those things were there? Hundreds? Thousands? Did they stretch over the entire planet? Come to think of it, where were the city limits? Jack hadn't thought to ask and he certainly hadn't seen anything that suggested a non-urban area. As he looked on several of the machines detached themselves from the main cloud and floated downwards. They hovered over one person, then another, always moving closer. No one seemed to think this was anything out of the ordinary. Jack noticed the hum of the objects deepened in tone as they paused above a particular target. He wondered if they were some kind of scanning device. He also questioned what would happen if he stayed still long enough to find out.

The man Jack had encountered had been running from these things. He knew that now… but no one else seemed to want to escape. Trusting his instincts, Jack started to walk that little bit faster. There were several of the things surrounding him, but somehow Jack knew that standing still would be a very bad idea. He broke into a run and pulling his 9mm free from its holster he took a shot at the nearest one. Whatever they were, the devices certainly weren't impervious to gunfire. Damaged, it crashed to the ground close to his feet. Jack bent down to take a closer look, only to find that a second had swooped in to take its place. He dealt with it in the same fashion only for another to come… then another. Discarding the Beretta, Jack swung his MP5 into play, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. However many of these he took down more turned up to take their place. The dark cloud was keeping up with him easily and Jack found himself wondering if they weren't playing some sick game.

He kept running.

They were machines. They wouldn't give up. They wouldn't surrender. As soon as Jack reached the end of his physical strength then they would win. Jack wasn't so sure that moment was far off. When had he gotten so unfit? Three months on Edora and he'd never thought of going out for a run! Jack was starting to realise he'd given up on more than going home.

As he ran, Jack realised that he didn't even know where he was going. Getting back to the Stargate didn't seem possible. None of the buildings he passed seemed to open onto the street and the roads around him were blocked with people. Jack found himself wondering if they were doing it on purpose.

Jack had given up in his attempts to fight back. He needed all his energy to keep on running. Besides, there were so many people around that he was scared of accidentally shooting someone. The crowds were gathering to watch him being hunted down like a fox. They came closer and closer, impeding his progress and Jack tripped, fell and realised there was no where left to run.

He lay on the ground struggling to draw breath. Watching as the device floated down to claim its prize. From this angle, it looked as if it were laughing at him. Jack closed his eyes.

"O'Neill!"

Was that Teal'c?

The discharge of a staff weapon screeched through the air. Close enough that Jack could smell his own singed clothing. The device crashed to the ground with a satisfying clang as Teal'c fired a second shot. Jack opened his eyes to see the cloud of machines dissipate under the assault of electrical energy.

A large hand appeared in his field of vision and Jack found himself hauled to his feet.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"You are very welcome O'Neill," Teal'c replied.

Jack pulled his radio close.

"Carter? Daniel?"

There was no immediate reply.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"They remained at the hospital," Teal'c said.

"Come on."

They were leaving. No questions, no arguments … Jack was not prepared to stay here a moment longer than he had to. He couldn't believe what had happened to him was a mere accident. As he glanced over his shoulder, he thought he could see the cloud of machines reforming. Teal'c's staff weapon had slowed them down, but nothing more.

Jack's emotions had quickly switched from antipathy towards his teammates to a deep concern for their well-being. If they were inside then they were probably okay…

Probably…

Which was never good enough.

&&&

Sam couldn't escape the feeling of pure menace as the machine hung in the air before them. Neither of their hosts appeared to be concerned, but even so…

"Would you allow us to run a diagnosis on yourself and Learner Jackson?" Zaruk offered.

She glanced across at Daniel who shrugged. If this was one of the medical advances these people were offering then they should probably find out how it worked. Just looking at it gave no clues. It didn't appear to have any appendages, it wasn't clutching a syringe. However, in the absence of Colonel O'Neill, Sam felt she should be the one to exercise a note of caution.

"Perhaps you could show us on one of your patients first?" Sam asked.

"Healer Talos will demonstrate," Zaruk said.

The device obediently floated over to Talos. Sam noticed the hum deepen as it took up station above the man. It remained in place for a minute before the sound rose in pitch again and it moved away.

"It has ascertained that Healer Talos is perfectly healthy," Zaruk told them.

He certainly didn't appear to have been harmed by the experience.

"I'll try," Daniel volunteered.

"Daniel," Sam cautioned, but she had to admit to being curious.

"What's the worst that can happen?" he returned.

Nodding, Sam stood back, letting the machine have access to Daniel. Its resonate hum seemed to take on a note of menace now it was scanning one of her friends. Sam glanced at her watch… 30 seconds … a minute…

"Zaruk?" she questioned.

"A different race of humans may take longer," he explained.

Two minutes… three….

"Daniel move!" Sam yelled.

But he didn't … or he couldn't. Sam wasn't sure which. Whatever, she'd had enough of this and reached for her zat, only to find her arms suddenly pinned behind her back. Talos was surprisingly strong and however much she twisted and strained, Sam couldn't get free. She heard the Colonel's voice from her radio but although she shouted, he didn't seem to be taking any notice. Was the machine blocking the communication?

"Do not worry Learner Carter," Zaruk said. "You will be much happier once the procedure is complete."

Daniel started to smile.

"Leader Zaruk is right," he said. "Just hold still Sam."

"No!" she screamed in useless protest.

The machine was moving away from Daniel…

Coming closer and closer…

Talos released her arms but Sam found she could no longer move. In a last futile gesture, she closed her eyes. She heard a zat gun discharge twice…

And the machine exploded in her face.

Suddenly free, Sam flung her arms up trying to brush away the fragments of burning metal. It was several seconds before she realised that Colonel O'Neill was standing in front of her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… not so sure about Daniel though."

Looking around she could see the prone forms of both Talos and Zaruk, victims of the zat. Teal'c had herded the technicians into one corner, but they didn't appear afraid. Every single one of them was smiling.

"Daniel! Daniel! Snap out of it!" the Colonel was saying.

But their friend showed no signs of having heard.

"What the hell have you done to him?" O'Neill demanded.

"He's happy," one of the technicians said.

"Zaruk said it was a treatment machine," Sam said.

"Is it reversible?"

"I don't know."

She could tell that the Colonel was torn between wanting to get the hell out of there and concern for Daniel. With the machine currently in pieces around their feet Sam wasn't certain what he expected her to be able to do, but she bent down to pick up samples.

"Carter leave it. We're getting out of here," he ordered.

"Sir?"

"There's hundreds of those things out there. My guess is the conditioning wears off eventually and the people need to be zapped again. We're not waiting around long enough to get turned into zombies. Now zat those guys so we can get out of here."

Subdued, Sam did as she was ordered. Daniel seemed happy enough to go with them, the rictus like smile still fixed to his face.

The Colonel had been right all along, she realised as they paused in the lobby. He'd raised the flag and they'd all questioned his judgement. Sam really wasn't looking forward to the debriefing for this particular mission… that was assuming they managed to get out of here. Colonel O'Neill opened the main door a crack, just enough to see that the outside of the building was covered in the machines. He signalled to Teal'c.

"Clear us a path through," he ordered.

Teal'c fired once, twice, three times… before the Colonel would let them out of the door.

"Run for the 'gate!" he ordered.

Sam didn't need telling twice and she plunged through the door. Even as she ran, she noticed the machines starting to move in. Some of them had been damaged beyond repair and were littering the path. Teal'c and the Colonel must have waged a destructive route in order to get here.

"Down!" O'Neill ordered.

She immediately threw herself to the ground as Teal'c fired over her head, clearing the next section of their route.

They didn't encounter any human interference on their way back to the Stargate. Something Sam knew she should have been grateful for, but her body was telling her different. She was battered and bruised from having to fall over to order. Her shoulders ached from where Talos had forced her arms behind her back. Her hair was singed from the one time she hadn't ducked fast enough. Sam doubted she'd get much in the way of sympathy. Daniel had been injured and it was pretty much her fault.

"Carter, dial it up!" the Colonel told her.

As she punched the symbols into the DHD, Sam wondered how much of a dressing down she was going to get from Colonel O'Neill… or if she really cared.

&&&