A/N: I'm very sorry for the unexpected hiatus from last year. I explained in detail in the latest update for Serpent's Vow, so I won't reiterate here. But I will say I'm finally back. Unfortunately. this is courtesy of COVID-19. My company has ordered all employees in our region to telecommute until further notice just in case. Thus I have some time to write now. Yay.

Also, yes. The title is a very blatant pun on Shadi's name. (Shady.) No, I have no regrets.

4: Shadi Allies

She was fuming! This was unacceptable! So what, because she wasn't military she couldn't handle herself? Fuck them! She survived the invasion of Earth when Apophis decided to make the SGA his base of operations. She survived.

Who found a way to escape the base under fire? She did. Who suffered quantum cascade failure and still managed to rebuild an Asgard designed generator? She did. Who went through the Gate to get the Asgard to help? She did.

Who wasn't allowed to leave the base and help wipe Apophis off the face of the universe? She was.

She was practically vibrating with anger and frustration. She didn't know what to do, she was so upset. Hot tears pooled in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. Her husband was dead -murdered- and her one chance to have revenge had been taken from her. She adored Jack. Jack had been her life.

She wanted Apophis neck between her hands so she could squeeze the life out of it and watch that damnable glow fade from the snake's eyes. But she would never get that chance now.

So here she was, sulking, and attempting to score the available notes she had and what little she could access through the Internet. It wasn't much. The Internet system was still clunky but, if nothing else, it was incredibly well insulated. The Internet was practically the only utility still operating at a decent rate.

Telecommunication companies were still working at all hours to reestablish phone lines and power lines, but the Internet was relatively secure. It was nowhere near perfect though. If you didn't have power, no Internet. Thank goodness the SGA was considered a High Priority customer.

Taking a deep breath, she looked again at the photograph the other reality's Set had given her. She was having trouble locating these people. She knew it wouldn't be easy, especially with the state the world was in right now, but she didn't think it would be this hard.

Leaning forward, she ran her hands over her face in exhaustion. Because of the near constant activity in the base and the eternal fluorescent glow of the lights, it was difficult to tell what time it was at any given moment. She had taken off her watch and tucked it away in her pocket hours ago. Time wasn't really important right now. She would work until her body shut down. Then she'd sleep until she woke, only to repeat. Day and night meant nothing to her.

With a groan, she sat back up and stared at the picture. She'd tried everything. Without names, she'd started with the government's facial recognition system. No hits. She hadn't been expecting any since she highly suspected these people were foreign. But still, it had been something to try. Then she'd tried figuring out where the group was. Near water, obviously. Judging from the building in the background, the place was fairly well off. No luck there, either.

The only thing she had found so far was Kaiba Corporations, a well-known weapons manufacturing company that sold weapons to the highest bidder. The company was currently without a CEO after Gozaburo Kaiba had been killed in the invasion. From what she had been able to gather, Gozaburo's son Noa was in the process of establishing himself as the new CEO.

It was hardly something she could respect and, she glanced at the other reality's Set in the photograph, it didn't seem to fit what she knew. But then, she had to remind herself that realities were different. Sometimes drastically.

Damn it. She really wanted to talk to Set again. He'd been a veritable wellspring of information, despite how careful he'd been with how he said everything. Details were important to him. Ask the right questions, get the right answers. Ask the right question correctly, get the correct answer.

Was she asking the right questions? Was she using all the detail available to her? Was there anything else in the photograph that should use to search?

A shudder spiked up her spine and her thoughts suddenly jumbled as if she'd zoned out for a minute or two. She blinked in confusion as she tried to reorganize her thoughts when-

"Hmm, a card game. Clever."

Startled, Samantha spun around to see a very odd man standing behind her. He had dark brown skin and odd, pale brown, almost orange eyes. The cream colored linen robe he wore fell to his ankles. Twisted cloth wrapped around his neck and shoulder before draping down his back in what could be either a cape of a sleeveless coat. He wore a turban and fabric shoes.

All of this alone wouldn't have surprised Samantha that much. Many people from around the world, from different countries, cultures, and religions had come to the SGA to act as aids, advisors, and experts on all sorts of subject matter. Just because Samantha didn't recognize him, didn't mean he didn't have a legitimate reason to be at the SGA. The question of whether he had a legitimate reason to be in her quarters was another question.

Unfortunately, that question was thrust aside in favor of the very odd, very gold ankh shaped ring dangling from a leather strap around his neck. It had no adornments or details on it. It was just smooth gold. Strangely, the odd golden, bladed rod Set almost used to attack when he'd been surprised on the Asgard ship jumped to mind.

Cataloguing that thought for later, Samantha frowned and look at the stranger. "I'm sorry, I don't remember giving anyone permission to enter my room," she said.

"I do not remember asking for it," the man replied, his oddly accented voice was calm. Straightening, he turned his eerie gaze to her face and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "Dr. Samantha Carter," he said, nodding to her in respect, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"I'd say the same, but I'm not sure who you are," she said, smoothing her ruffled feathers.

She stood and held out a hand, which the man took. However, instead of grasping her hand and shaking it like she'd expected, he took hold of her wrist and tightened briefly before releasing and tucking into his sleeves.

He tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I suppose that would be so," he admitted. "You may call me Shadi. We have a mutual acquaintance."

Well, judging by the clothes and the ankh around the man's neck, Samantha assumed the man was likely from Egypt. The only person she knew who was heavily involved with Egyptian research and had many friend in Egypt was, "Dr. Langford?"

But the man surprisingly shook his head. "Dr. Langford and I have never met," he said, "although I am aware of her studies. She is an interesting woman and I would like to meet her one day."

A weak smile worked its way onto Samantha's lips. "Well, you're in the right place. She rarely leaves the SGA these days."

Shadi nodded. "I know."

He said nothing else; choosing to simply look at her as if she was the subject of an experiment that presented a result he did not expect. It was a bit off-putting.

She cleared her throat. "So our mutual friend?" she pressed as politely as she could.

"You have met two versions of him," Shadi answered readily. "I knew him as Set although I am aware of the name change of late."

No way.

"I must admit, I did not expect to see a version of him from another reality," Shadi said, his gaze slipping away from her and back down to the photograph still sitting on her desk.

"Wait, wait. You know Set?" Samantha gasped.

"Not the one was your Mirror, no. But I have known Queen Set for many years," Shadi replied, stepping forward and reaching out to pick up the photo and studying it. "We speak when we can, although it has been more difficult for him to find privacy as of late."

Impossible. It wasn't possible. As far as Samantha knew, Set- er, Nephthys hadn't been to Earth in millennia. How could this stranger be in contact with the Goa'uld? Unless he was one.

"I am not Goa'uld," Shadi said.

He didn't sound offended or even disturbed or disgusted by the declaration like most Earthlings would be these days. He spoke in the same tone she would use when conversing about the weather.

"I have never been Goa'uld," he continued. "I suspected an invasion would occur some day in the future, but I did not know when. For this reason," he turned his gaze back to her and handed her the photograph, "I remained behind in case my help was needed."

She couldn't stop an eyebrow from lifting. "Help how?" she said dryly.

The flash of uneasy guilt that flickered across Shadi's face was the first true sign of emotion she'd seen from him. "I admit, I was not as effective as I wanted to be," he said reluctantly. "I did not anticipate such an… enthusiastic resistance. I should have," his eerie eyes narrowed in what looked suspiciously like damped anger, "but I assumed I would be left to my own devices. I know better now and I will be ready should I face such resistance again."

Samantha tried to process what was being said. Honestly, she was struggling. Resistance? Who would resist helping Earth in an invasion of this magnitude?

"I have already starting drawing allies to you," he continued before she could speak. "They should be in the vicinity in a few days."

Stunned, Samantha stared at Shadi. "Wha… Who are you?" she demanded.

A thin, black eyebrow arched. "I did say to call me Shadi."

"No, no, tha- No," Samantha said firmly, shaking her head. "That's not what I meant." Her eyes narrowed. "And you know it."

After a moment, Shadi nodded. "I do."

Samantha crossed her arms and started directly at Shadi's eyes expectantly. It took a full minute for her to realize Shadi was fully capable of out-waiting her. Huffing in mounting frustration, she pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed.

"Alright fine," she said finally. "What do you want from me?"

Shadi tilted his head and considered her words, then the slightest hint of a smile touched his lips. "You are learning to ask the right questions," he said.

…that sounded a lot like Set…

"I want you to help me protect this planet from the Goa'uld," he said. "Despite my position, I can only do so much. I must conserve the power I have for encounters you are not yet ready to handle. Set…" He hesitated, the light fading slightly from his eyes. "He needs help. I can only help him so much. What he has done is a punishment he believes he deserves for actions he did not choose to commit."

He reached out and touched the photo in her hand. "These people are your key to pulling him to your side," he said. "Once his loyalty is earned, it is nearly impossible to break. I have only known him to break loyalty with someone if he was betrayed. Betrayal is the ultimate sin in Set's eyes. As long as you stand by him, he will never truly betray you. He may trick you," Shadi said, lifting a finger, "but if he does, he has a reason. Trust him and you will not regret it."

Samantha mulled over Shadi's words. They didn't come across as threatening. Instead, it almost felt like she was the unfortunate new girlfriend and was being given the lowdown by her new partner's brother or best friend.

"Alright," she said slowly. "I'll keep that in mind." She hummed. "Card games?"

"Ah, yes." Shadi pointed to the photograph once more. "There is a card game that is fairly popular here on Earth. It also seems to be fairly popular in that reality as well."

Card game? Samantha turned the photo around so she could get a closer look at it. She couldn't see any cards or implications of a card game. Where did Shadi get that idea?

Wait. What was that? She squinted and pulled the photo closer. There was something card shaped dangling from Set's neck in the photo. Come to think of it, she remembered Set wearing that exact necklace the entire time she had been with Set in both the other reality and when he came through the Mirror to this reality.

It was a rectangular shape with a swirling design resembling brown clouds or mist spiraling into an oval black hole in the center. It definitely looked like the back of a card. But it wasn't any card she recognized.

"So this card game, whatever it is, is a common link," she murmured. "That narrows it down a little bit."

"It is very old," Shadi explained. "The card game is merely the latest incarnation of this particular form of battle."

Battle? Startled, Samantha lifted her gaze back to Shadi in in rapt interest.

"It originated in the area that would soon become ancient Egypt," he continued. "At the time, it was merely referred to as Tau'ri."

Oh. No way.

"By disguising it as a game, Humans were able to slip under the attention of the Goa'uld," he said. "All except for one."

"Set." This was starting to make sense in a weird sort of way.

Shadi nodded. "He was attracted to feat and puzzles that challenged his mind. This game," he nodded to the picture, "was one of those. It is more complicated than that, naturally. But that is not my place to say. All you need to know is that this… 'game' will help you gain the upper hand in your war against the Goa'uld. Of this, I am certain."

Alright. Samantha had seen weirder things. She was willing to try anything at this point. But running that past General Hammond would be a bit iffy. The general trusted her and she, him. But that didn't mean he would be easy to convince. Hammond had already stuck his neck out for her on multiple occasions. She was loath to take advantage of his kindness unless she had a very good reason.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said.

Shadi nodded deep enough to almost be considered a bow. "That is all I ask."

Then he turned as if to leave.

"Wait!" she called. She was pleased if mildly surprised when he stopped and glanced back at her. "If you really were friends with Set for so long, then… How old are you?"

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "Old enough. You should go to the control room," he added before she could press him. "You will be needed there. I doubt children will be welcome in the SGA without some convincing."

She looked back down at the photo and could help but agree. Because, yeah, getting the higher ups to agree to letting children in the base that essentially served as the front line of Earth's defense would not be easy. Still, there were a couple things she wanted to-

Where did he go? Frowning in confusion, she looked around her small room. Other than her bunk, her desk and chair, and a bedside table with a lamp on it, she was alone. There was no one else in the room with her.

She hadn't heard the door open or close. Actually, she never heard it open or close when Shadi arrived either. Come to think of it… She approached the door and checked the deadbolt and lock on the doorknob. Both were still securely in place, exactly as she'd left them when she stormed in here to sulk after being informed she would be left behind during the attack on Apophis' planet. There was no way to unlock the door from the outside. Maybe someone could pick the doorknob handle, but the deadbolt was out of the question.

How the hell did Shadi get in here and where the hell did he go?

The first prickle of fear crawled up her arms as she quickly unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall. Aside from the soldier standing guard by her door, there was no one there. Other than herself and her guard, the place seemed deserted. It was even unusually quiet.

"Ma'am?" the female officer by her door asked curiously. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Was she? "I don't know," she admitted. "Did someone come by here?"

The officer frowned. "When?"

"Just a second ago." Samantha couldn't help scanning the empty hallway again. "Someone came to my room to talk to me and then left. You didn't see anyone?"

The officer's eyes sparkled with concern and suspicious. "Ma'am," she said slowly, "I've been standing here the whole time since you went inside. No one's come or gone. You're the only one to go in and the only one to come out."

"But how… Where the hell did he go?" she cried.

"Who?" the officer pressed. "Who are you looking for?"

Think Samantha. Stop, breathe, and think. Shadi told her to go to the control room because she'd be needed. Huh. Alright. She'd play this game and see where it took her. Shutting the door behind her, Samantha stalked down the hall leaving the confused officer behind.

The moment she stepped into the control room, the SGA's alarms blared and red lights cycled through the halls.

"Unauthorized off-world activation!" Major Walter Harriman announced over the intercom. "Dr. Carter to the- Oh!" he gasped when he noticed her standing there. "I'm sorry," he said, putting down the intercom microphone. "I didn't see you standing there."

Shadi knew. How did he know?

"It's fine," she said, dismissing it. "Who's dialing in?"

Immediately, Walter turned back to his computers and studied the glyphs. "I'm still waiting for the team's Identification Code. It should be coming in in- There. It's SG12 and SG3."

"They're early," a new voice, deeper and older said.

"General," Samantha said by way of a welcome.

He gave her a faint smile before speaking. "What's their status?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure, sir," Walter said. "Their scheduled contact wasn't until-"

"This in Major Kawalsky! Let us in!" a voice cried over the radio.

Hammond nodded briskly. "Do it and have medical teams on standby," he ordered.

"Yes sir," Harrimon responded promptly.

The airman flicked his hands over the keyboard and the brand new iris unfolded and stowed away revealing the rippling blue, watery energy that served as the wormhole's event horizon. It was almost instantly disturbed by groups of soldiers, men and women, all in various states of cleanliness, some spattered in blood, and some obviously wounded came through the Gate.

Then the medics in their white coats and scrubs raced into the Embarkation Room with stretchers and IVs and began triaging their patients.

"Incoming transmission, sir," Harrimon announced. He frowned. "It's not ours."

Both he and Samantha shared a look before turning to their leader. General Hammond grimaced but nodded. "Patch it through," he said. When it was done, he said loudly, "This is General Hammond of the SGA."

"Good," a familiar voice said a moment before a visual of Se- Nephthys appeared on the small monitor.

His blue eyes gleamed starkly from under his golden headpiece. A woman with thick, black hair that surrounded her face like a cloud stood by his side. The spear in her hand was well crafted and her clothes suggested she was a warrior of high rank. But there was no Jaffa symbol tattooed on her forehead. Lo'tar perhaps?

"I would rather only speak to competent people," Set continued. "Is Dr. Carter there?"

Deep breath. "I am," she said aloud. "Can he see us?" she whispered to Water?

The airman shook his head and mouthed, "Audio only."

She nodded. Good.

Set, however, didn't seem to mind. He smirked. "Dr. Carter," he said, "I was surprised to find out you weren't among the Tau'ri soldiers here."

She was too. Still miffed about it, actually. "Imagine how I feel," she grumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

His smirk vanished. "What prevented you?"

Well, "I'm apparently 'too valuable' to allow onto the field," she said, not bothering to hide her contempt for the command from the White House.

The look Set gave the camera was distinctly disdainful. "Most Goa'uld would say the same of me." The woman by his side snorted, her stern expression cracking briefly. "Unlike you, I don't allow my actions to be dictated by others."

"I get the feeling you're high enough in rank to get away with that," she said dryly.

"I wasn't always," he said. "If you want something bad enough, you should be willing to claw your way there and let nothing and no one stand in your way."

Huh. If that implied what Samantha thought it did, then perhaps Nephthys' past wasn't as different from the other reality's Set. That just added to her suspicions.

"What do you want, Nephthys?" the general asked, drawing the Goa'uld's attention.

"Apophis has been defeated," Nephthys declared, looking at something on the floor to his right.

The camera adjusted its angle and Samantha was met by the bloodied face of the System Lord Apophis. The former System Lord was forced into a kneeling position on the floor, his arms chained behind his back by a pole propped between his elbows and his back. There was also a woman and a young man by Apophis' side. The woman and the young man looked like they could be related.

Then the boy's eyes glowed gold and Samantha swallowed thickly.

"I will just skin him as the snake he is," Nephthys said, earning a snarl from the bound Apophis. "So I am offering a trade."

Oh boy.

"What sort of trade?" Hammond asked, wary.

The camera returned to Nephthys. "I will hand over Apophis to you to be dealt with as you and the Tau'ri see fit," he said, startling them. "Your teams were effective in the attack." He grinned. "Not surprising."

Samantha considered the compliment carefully.

"Thank you," the general said. "What do you want in return?"

"An alliance," came the unexpected reply. "Tau'ri is still officially under my control. Every System Lord knows this and accepts it without question. Apophis," he sneered, his gaze slipping briefly to where Apophis still knelt, "will be further evidence against interfering with what is mine. No System Lord will attack Tau'ri as long as I am in control."

The three people in the control room exchanged shocked looks. It was Samantha who spoke up.

"What about the Asgard?"

All amusement vanished from Naphthys' expression. "What about them?" he hissed.

"We already have an alliance with the Asgard," she explained. "What wo-"

"I don't care what or who you choose to ally yourselves with," Nephthys said in a curt tone. "If you choose to ally with the Asgard, on your own head be it. I won't stop you from making your own choices. I control Earth. I don't rule it."

Okay. There was a lot to unpack there. Alright. Payback's fair play.

"Shadi warned me you'd be tricky," she said boldly.

Both Walter and Hammond turned to her in surprise. She quickly held up a hand and mouthed, "I'll explain later." But because she never took her eyes away from the screen, she saw the dumbstruck expression on Nephthys' face. And the woman warrior's face too, surprisingly.

The surprise lasted long enough that Samantha noted the frown form on the general's face when he returned his gaze to the screen. The surprise faded slowly from Nephthys' face, becoming a vicious smirk.

"If he's decided to pay you a visit, then I suggest you keep an eye on your memories," Nephthys said, grinning. "He means well, but he does like to toy with people."

Samantha nodded in wry agreement. "You can say that again."

"Don't rely on him too much," Nephthys warned. "He is limited in what he can and cannot do. There are some… people," wow, that was some serious contempt, "you enjoy pushing their own beliefs and rules on others. He has to be careful to avoid their attention and interference."

"He mentioned that," Samantha said.

Something caught the woman warrior's attention on the screen and she tapped Nephthys' attention. Nephthys rolled his eyes and sighed in obvious annoyance.

"I'll send Apophis through the Gate to you as a sign of good faith," he declared.

"You will not!" Apophis shouted, followed closely by the hum of electricity and a pained screech.

"I most certainly will," Nephthys purred. "You knew Tau'ri was mine and yet you deliberately tried to take it from me. Be grateful I don't just skin you alive myself."

He smiled and it sent shivers up Samantha's spine. She was so focused on the screen that she actually jumped when footsteps pounded up the stairs next to her.

"Sir, we-" Kawalsky did a double-take at the screen, and his mood quickly plummeted from victorious to hateful. "Bastard."

On the screen, Nephthys' blinked and tilted his head but didn't comment on the new voice. "I will have Neith ring Apophis to the planet's surface by the Gate. She will not go through, but Apophis will. Do with him as you see fit."

The connection cut.

"Fucking bastard," Kawalsky snarled. "Apophis was right there. Right there and we couldn't kill him because that," he pointed at the screen, "bastard got to him before we could."

"What do you mean?" Hammond asked.

"I mean," Kawalsky said, obviously fuming, "that Nephthys shot Apophis with some lighting ray thing and ringed him away before we could kill him. We deserved that kill and he took it from us."

From the Embarkation Room, the glow of the event horizon rippled, drawing Samantha's attention. She nodded towards it. "I don't think you need to complain."

Sure enough, Apophis stumbled through the Stargate and was promptly met by startled shouts and numerous guns. Judging from the bloodied and broken state of the former System Lord, Samantha doubted there would be much resistance.

The rings activated once more and Neith materialized before him. "It is done," she said.

Set sighed and turned to Klorel and Amaunet still bound and kneeling on the floor.

"What do you plan to do with them?" Heru'ur demanded, fingering the gold staff weapon in his hand.

The snakes slithered in their bindings.

"The queen will be disposed of," he said. "But this one…" he approached Klorel and gripped the Goa'uld's chin, jerking it up so he could look the host in the eyes. Set had been alive long enough to recognize the signs of a Goa'uld struggling to hold onto its host. He'd seen it often enough with his own children. If Klorel's hold on his host was as weak as Set believed it to be, then perhaps…

"This one I want to play with," he said. "Neith, contact Arawn. I might have a new subject for us to study."

"As you wish."