Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1.

"Dr. Weir," Daniel called.

"What is it?" The Goa'uld system lords Camulus, Amaterasu, and Yu were planning a visit, and she was nervous, to say the least.

"We just received word that another Goa'uld is coming."

"What?" Neither of them was happy about this.

"It was interesting, actually. Camulus didn't seem all that… enthusiastic about it either."

"Oh, really?"

"He actually went so far as to warn me of her 'ways'."

"Wow. Which one is it?" This information was not soothing her nerves.

"Well, I've never heard of her, which is odd, but her name is Tersis."

"Alright. Find anything you can about her," Dr. Weir said with a nod.

"I have a feeling I won't find much, but I'll look," Daniel replied.

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"I found it!" Daniel exclaimed, throwing the door to Dr. Weir's office open and hurrying to her desk.

Startled, Dr. Weir looked up at him. "Something on Tersis, I hope."

"Yes, of course. Actually, it's a little funny. Now I know why I've never heard of her. You see, she was a one of a kind Goa'uld. She had no desire to find free worlds and enslave the people. In fact, she spent years in solitude, training an army, making her Jaffa the most skillful in the universe since no other Goa'ulds bothered. Anyway, the reason she spent so much time was to launch an attack on one specific Goa'uld's territory… Camulus."

Dr. Weir leaned toward him, surprised and intrigued. "Which would explain why Camulus wasn't happy about her joining their little party."

"Yes, well, as it turns out, she became a major annoyance. At one point, she took control of half of his acquired planets without ever bothering any other Goa'uld, so it was definitely personal. I just wonder why she chose to only go after him. He was never the biggest threat in the universe, and as far as I can tell, he never did anything to provoke her…" Daniel trailed off, thinking through many possibilities.

"It's not really our problem though, unless it effects the meeting."

"Yeah, I suppose… But what really gets me is that she never attacked Camulus directly, just irritated him."

"Who knows, Daniel? These are Goa'ulds. Maybe she has a crush on him," she joked with a small smirk.

Daniel froze and seemed to consider it. "Well, I doubt…" He stopped himself when he noticed her expression. "Oh." He let out a fake laugh. "Good one."

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"I thought you were gonna stand me up," Dr. Weir said when she saw Daniel enter the Gate room.

Daniel finished strapping on his watch and took his place next to her. "Yeah, sorry."

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The first one through the gate was a dark haired, serious woman, whom Daniel knew was Amaterasu. Second came an agitated Camulus, followed by Lord Yu and one of his underlings. The last Goa'uld through the gate was a tall, beautiful woman with long, light brown (almost blonde) hair, baby blue eyes, and gentle, angelic features. She couldn't possibly be a Goa'uld, let alone the terror Camulus had made her out to be, Daniel thought. But then the team that was sent to meet them came through and the gate closed. The lovely woman in the flowing white and deep purple outfit was Tersis.

"Welcome to Earth. Allow me to introduce…" Dr. Weir started.

"We are not interested in your name," Camulus stated, interrupting.

Dr. Weir responded with, "Really? I find it helps…"

"We prefer to present our offer so we can spend as brief a time as possible on this planet." This time it was Amaterasu who spoke.

That was when Tersis confirmed the fact that she was a Goa'uld, if only because of the voice. "That was very rude, Camulus."

Camulus stiffened visibly.

Dr. Weir looked between them. "Right this way."

Camulus moved to lead the group, but Tersis brushed past him, smirking slightly.

It's like a car crash… so deadly and yet you can't look away, thought Weir as she followed their 'guests' into a meeting room.

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"Your unexpected defeat of Anubis…"

Tersis saying, "You speak of them as if they are beneath you", cut him off.

Dr. Weir knew that it was not a compliment to them, but an insult to him. Camulus brilliantly ignored her and continued in a tense fashion, "has created an unstable situation among the system lords. In order to avoid open war, we came to an agreement to divide his territories and his armies evenly."

"How civilized of you," Daniel commented dryly.

Camulus turned to face him, doing a great job of concealing his immense frustration. "Yes… Unfortunately, one among us has broken that agreement."

"Oh, no, no. Don't tell me. Let me guess. It's…" Daniel started, but the name was eluding him.

"Ba'al," Amaterasu finished for him.

"Ba'al," Daniel repeated.

"He was able to learn the location of the planet where Anubis was creating his Kull warriors," Camulus told them, clearly not amused.

"Ba'al got there before you and found a way to program the soldiers to serve him."

"With those Orac at his command, Ba'al has tipped the balance of power in his favor," Amaterasu added.

"Orac?" Dr. Weir questioned.

"Unspeakable," Daniel clarified.

"In battle, the Kull are far superior to the Jaffa," Camulus started.

"Meaning Camulus had no chance," Tersis interjected.

"Silence!" Camulus demanded, banging his fist on the table in anger. Daniel and Dr. Weir tensed.

"Oh, you have more to say? Alright, continue, since you enjoy the sound of your own voice so much."

Camulus closed his eyes momentarily. Goa'ulds weren't known for keeping their temper under control or holding back from murder. They really must be desperate. "Already, many among us have begun to speak of capitulation, much as they did with Anubis. If that happens, Ba'al will indeed be unstoppable."

"Especially by you, though you wouldn't last a minute either way."

Dr. Weir interrupted before Camulus could respond. "This is all very interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with us."

Yu conversed quietly with his underling, Oshu.

"My master wishes to say it is well known the Tauri possess a powerful new weapon… something far beyond their current level of technology.

Daniel said, "Yes. We used it to kill Anubis and destroy his fleet.

"By means of this weapon, Ba'al can be prevented from conquering the galaxy," Oshu continued.

Daniel glanced at Dr. Weir, conveying silently that they were finally getting somewhere.

"If Ba'al defeats us, how long do you think it'll be before he turns his attention to you?" Camulus asked.

Dr. Weir debated rolling her eyes, and in the end decided against it. "If he does, he'll suffer the same fate as Anubis.

Amaterasu cut in once again. "Perhaps. But there are other worlds in this galaxy without the luxury of such advanced defences.

"What are you talking about?" Daniel inquired.

"I could not help but notice that the Asgard did not come to your aid when Anubis threatened your planet. In fact, we've heard nothing from the Asgard for quite some time now," she replied.

"Really? That's odd, 'cause we talk to them all the time," Daniel lied.

"The Asgard didn't come because they knew it wasn't necessary," Weir added.

"Ba'al believes otherwise. He is convinced that the Asgard can no longer exercise power in this galaxy. He intends to take the planets protected under the Goa'uld/Asgard treaty for himself," Amaterasu said, trying to sound concerned.

"If you do not help us stop him, millions of humans will die. And millions more will be enslaved," Camulus said, not really caring, but knowing it would make them more inclined to help.

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Camulus, Amaterasu, Tersis, Yu, and Oshu were left in the meeting room with a snack and beverages while Daniel and Dr. Weir went off to talk about what they had learned so far. Yu was eating a small sandwich and spit it out. Oshu actually swallowed his. Amaterasu was sitting at the table, sipping on a glass of water, and Camulus was looking out the window at the Stargate.

Tersis walked up behind him. "This is going well, don't you think, Camulus?"

Though the other occupants of the room heard them, they ignored what was sure to be a fight.

"What makes you think I am going to speak to you after you tried to make a fool out of me?" he questioned.

"I did not try to make a fool out of you. I did make a fool out of you." Tersis leaned against the wall beside him. "Nice skirt, by the way."

Camulus turned and glared at her in silence.

"Are you trying to frighten me? You should know better than that."

"As soon as we are off of this miserable planet, you had better beg for mercy. Not that it will sway me."

Tersis stood and took a few steps closer to him, suddenly serious. "You will never kill me, Camulus. Just as I will never kill you."

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"We appreciate you bringing us this information but it doesn't change the fact that we can't get involved in any internal Goa'uld dispute. And if Ba'al tries to attack any of the protected planets, he'll suffer the consequences," Dr. Weir said. She and Daniel had rejoined the system lords in the meeting room.

"Unfortunately, we do not share your faith in the Asgard. We must stop Ba'al before it comes to that," Camulus said. The war between Tersis and himself seemed to be on hold for the moment.

"You'll forgive my bluntness, but that's not our problem."

"Enough!" Yu suddenly exclaimed. "With each passing moment, Anubis grows more powerful."

Everyone in the room went silent for a moment before Daniel said, "You mean Ba'al."

Oshu jumped into action. "My master is fatigued. We request a short a short adjournment…"

"Silence!" Yu ordered. "I need no adjournment."

Camulus broke the awkwardness by jumping back into the discussion of what they wanted. "We know you have a formidable new defensive weapon, but with it, you must wait for your enemies to come to you. And that can be dangerous. What if an enemy were to devise a means of defeating this weapon?"

"What exactly are you offering?" Weir questioned.

"Hyperdrive engines."

"We know you have battleships that are not capable of interstellar travel," Amaterasu said.

"We are offering you a means of producing a fleet of ships as advanced as the Goa'uld Ha'tak vessels. You could take the fight to the enemy," Camulus stated, leaning forward.

"And what you know of bringing fight, you coward?" Tersis asked disdainfully.

"Push me no further, Tersis!"

Once again, Weir distracted them before it could come to violence. "Your offer is very generous, but I'm afraid we're gonna have to decline."

This startled Camulus into disregarding Tersis' comments for the moment. "You would be able to uphold the protected planets' treaty with or without the aid of the Asgard."

"How many hyperdrives are you willing to give us?" questioned Daniel.

Amaterasu responded with a different question. "How many ships can you build?"

"I think the real question is how many ships do you have?" Daniel replied. "I mean, if we're gonna enforce this treaty ourselves, we need to build enough ships to match any fleet that would oppose us."

"That one is clever," Tersis said with a small smirk.

Camulus ignored her and told Daniel, "We are not at liberty to discuss such information."

"Well then, this discussion is over," Dr. Weir said in a tone of finality.

"How can you blithely reject such an offer?" Amaterasu asked heatedly.

Weir turned to her. "Because we're not about to fight your battles for you in exchange for a couple of hyperdrive engines that may or may not do us any good. And especially since we already have that technology at our disposal."

"You have viable hyperdrive technology?" Camulus inquired.

"Are you growing deaf, Camulus, or are you just enjoying your voice again?" Tersis snapped.

Dr. Weir seemed to be making a habit of this. "Yes, we do. And with the help of the Asgard, we're in the process of implementing it right now. So thank you very much."

Amaterasu had a small secretive smile on her lips. "This Ancient weapon: such an advanced piece of technology. The power requirements must be enormous. Even simple maintenance must be extremely difficult given your… limited capabilities."

"Limited capabilities? And here I thought we were talking about the Tauri, not Camulus," Tersis said with a small laugh.

"Silence, Tersis! I have had enough," Amaterasu demanded.

When Tersis settled down, Weir replied to Amaterasu's statement with, "We manage."

Tersis said, "Of course. We believe you."

"But I wonder what Ba'al would think if he were to receive intelligence that the weapon was…" Amaterasu started.

"Temporarily out of commission," Tersis finished.

For once having a common goal, Camulus played along. "He would come to this world to claim it for himself. The Tauri would be forced to destroy him."

Amaterasu continued. "And we would have to give them…"

"Nothing," finished Tersis.

"Oh, come on," said Daniel. "Ba'al would never fall for that. He knows how desperate you are. I think he might find this information convenient."

"Perhaps, but you leave us few options," Camulus replied.

"Okay. We'll do it," stated Dr. Weir.

Daniel coughed slightly. "We will?"

"In exchange, we want Ba'al's territory," Weir explained.

"What do you mean?" Camulus asked.

Weir glanced at him. "That's the way it works, right? When one system lord kills another, he takes over his armies, his fleet, his planets. That's what we want- everything in Ba'al's possession."

Amaterasu had lost the triumphant look. "You cannot be serious."

"If we're gonna be the ones who destroy Ba'al for you, why should we settle for anything less?"

"Preposterous," Yu commented.

"Odd," murmured Tersis, deep in thought.

"We cannot accept those terms," Camulus said, adding to the band of refusals.

"Take it or leave it," Weir stated.

Camulus thought for a moment. "We must send a message to the other system lords to advise them of the current situation."

Tersis looked over at Weir for the woman's answer.

"Go ahead."

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Negotiations hadn't gone well, but they could certainly have gone worse, and Daniel wasn't only thinking of the constant insults Tersis would throw at Camulus. She took immense pleasure in making him angry. This could be both a good and bad thing for them.

For a reason unknown to him, Daniel was driving himself mad over their odd relationship. He finally became so distracted and curious that he decided he needed to talk to Tersis alone. Tersis, that is (he doubted Camulus would be too happy to be pestered about it). And that is why he found himself in the small room they had set aside to accommodate her during her stay. Tersis was lying on the tiny bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling.

"Hello," Daniel greeted uncertainly. He had been expecting pacing and complains about being on their 'pathetic planet' too long.

Her eyes shifted to him. "Daniel Jackson, correct?"

"Uh… right," he replied.

"Did you need something? Some question about today's meeting?"

"No. I'm just a little confused about something. You don't seem to be a very big part of this, if you don't mind me saying."

"I am here for one reason alone, and it is not Ba'al or the weapon, or Earth, for that matter," she responded, sitting up and drawing her knees to her chest.

"Right… Camulus." He could see the surprise on her face. Then she grinned.

"Of course. He is very amusing, isn't he?"

"So the reason you go after him is because you think his anger is funny?" Daniel asked, clearly not understanding.

"Of course not. I merely wish to make him miserable throughout his pathetic existence."

Daniel took that in. He still wondered why she hated him so much, but asked a different question. "If you hate him so much, why don't you ever attack him, you know, directly?"

Tersis frowned now. "That is none of your business…" She closed her eyes and when she spoke next, the voice was soft and human.

"Because I love him."

All Daniel could think was, Wow. It's like a bad soap opera.

Author's Note: PLEASE REVIEW! They put a little sunshine in my cloudy days. ; )