The 'ships in this story are: Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill ~ Olivia Benson/Daniel Jackson ~ Elizabeth Weir/John Sheppard.

All Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters are owned by Universal. All Stargate characters are owned by MGM. I am not making any money off of this story, which is just written for fun.

This is the third story in my Stargate/SVU crossover. Consider this to be an alternate story where Olivia Benson is a member of SG-1, along with Lt. Jennifer Hailey and Lt. Grace Satterfield. They are fighting Lord Ba'al, who has gained great power through taking over the Netian Empire.

Stargate: SVU 3

Chapter One

When Samantha Carter finally found Jack O'Neill, she burst into a smile.

The Colonel had made himself at home on the tropical beach of the planet designated as PLN-567, choosing a site directly under one of the biggest palm trees on the coast. He had removed his boots, as well as most of his gear, and sat sipping from a coconut through a straw as he calmly watched the azure waves roll in from behind his sunglasses.

'Where'd he get the straw from?' Sam wondered, still smiling. Then she realized that he must have had it snuck in one of the MALP supply shipments that the SGC had sent through the gate. 'One thing you've gotta give Jack, he always knows how to kick back and relax--although, this place certainly makes it really easy to do so.'

As Sam strode up to Jack, she caught sight of Teal'c, who stood further down the beach. The burly Jaffa held his staff weapon in his hands as he stared with a contented expression at the ocean before him. Although Teal'c still wore most of his gear, he was stripped down to his tank top, which displayed his muscular physique. Ever the warrior, Teal'c was still on guard for any sign of trouble--even in this peaceful paradise.

Yet Sam noticed that Teal'c chatted with Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, who stood barefoot a few feet ahead of him in the surf. Judging from the broad smiles that the young woman gave Teal'c, it seemed as if they were having a pleasant conversation. So it appeared that perhaps this serene place was finally beginning to work its gentle magic even on the stoic Jaffa.

"Morning Carter," Jack called lazily. "Or is it afternoon already?"

Sam chuckled as she shook her head slightly. After she checked her watch, she said, "It's still morning, sir. Eleven hundred hours exactly."

Sam sat down in the sand next to Jack and let out a heavy sigh. Sam had decided to stay fully dressed in her BDU and all of her gear, because she figured that somebody on this team should maintain the high standards of the United States Air Force.

'But it's darn hot!' Sam thought, as she removed her cap and ran her hand through her sweat-soaked hair.

"Oh, to heck with it," Sam muttered, as she started removing her boots.

"Atta girl," Jack muttered with approval. "I was wondering when you would give in and join the rest of us. I was almost getting ready to order you to strip."

"Excuse me, sir?" Sam asked, as she gave him a shocked expression. "You were about to order me to remove my clothes?"

"Of course I was, Carter," Jack solemnly replied. "Maintaining Air Force protocol is well and good, but I didn't want to see you drop dead from heat exhaustion."

Sam--who initially thought that Jack had broken their private code of only exhibiting professional behavior while they were on the job--abruptly nodded, conceding his point. "Yes, sir. Um, sorry, sir."

"Carter, just relax, all right?" he gently told her. "Jeez, that Area 51 gig really got you all high-strung, huh?"

"Not much time to kick back at Area 51, sir," Sam admitted. After she removed her socks, she tucked them into her boots and placed them by her side. "The Prometheus Project sure kept us busy."

"Yeah--I didn't get a chance to ask you, Carter; how's that going?"

"Not good, sir. It's been a struggle integrating the hyperspace engines of an Alkesh with our technology--not to mention the addition of the Seeker Wave technology. Work's been suspended for the time being, thanks to a reevaluation of the project."

"It's being canceled?"

"More like being rethought. The Prometheus design team desperately wants to make this work; but they now want to see if they can reverse-engineer a hyperspace engine from scratch, rather than depend entirely on Goa'uld tech. They figure it should work better, as well as avoiding any pitfalls, like what happened to you and Teal'c in the X301."

"Oh, yeah," Jack said with a frown. "That was fun…."

Sam nodded in agreement. "The last thing we need is for the Prometheus to be sent hurling into deep space by a Goa'uld recall device."

"Well, we still have the fleet of Alkesh and Teltac ships that Io'tan gave us," Jack said. "And regardless of how the project is going, it's damn nice to have you back with us, Carter. You've been missed."

"It's great to be back, sir. I've missed you too." Sam stripped down to her tank top, then put her vest back on over it, so her radio and other assorted gear would still be close at hand. While she already felt much better, much more cooler, Sam still felt very uncomfortable mentally, and she suddenly realized why: she couldn't help but feel like a fifth wheel. Since SG-1 arrived on PLN-567, and discovered that its people were barely out of the stone age, living as they did in grass huts and as close to nature as humanly possible, there hadn't been much call for the scientific skills of either Sam or Hailey.

Even after Daniel and Lieutenant Satterfield had discovered the buried temple in the jungles just beyond this beach, there was still very little for Sam and Hailey to do. The indigenous people, who referred to themselves as the Mumani, were extremely friendly, welcoming them with open arms--which led the team to eventually relax its guard and treat this mission as more of a vacation in an exotic hotspot. The only two members of SG-1 who were still working full time were Daniel and Satterfield; they were busy trying to interpret the multitude of writings on the interior walls of the temple. Olivia was presently with them, acting as their guard.

Although the chances of them finding any advanced alien tech on this planet were virtually nil, Jack had decided to give Daniel and Satterfield these couple of days to explore the deserted temple, in the hopes that they might still find something. And Sam was pretty sure that Jack had an ulterior motive in granting this request: which was the longer Daniel and Satterfield took in doing their research, the longer SG-1 could stay and enjoy the Mumani's hospitality in this lush tropical paradise. And while Sam certainly did enjoy herself here the last few days here, she still began to feel an urgent need to move on in their quest to find alien tech for Earth.

'Ba'al is on the move across the galaxy, striking out at the other Goa'ulds. And he's winning!' Sam thought grimly. She knew that it wouldn't be long before Ba'al, fortified with weapons and troops from the vanquished Netian Empire, would soon turn his attention on Earth. With such a threat looming within their galaxy, the search for alien technology to defend themselves with became even more urgent then ever.

"The perimeter is still secure, sir," Sam reported, trying to at least maintain an air of Air Force professionalism, even though she was no longer dressed for it. She wiggled her toes in the sand. "Just as it has been since we first got here."

"You mean the Muumuus haven't gotten tired of us yet, Carter?"

Sam let out an exasperated sigh. Even after several days, Jack was still mangling the name of the indigenous people. "You mean the Mumani, sir?"

He nodded. "Yeah, right, those guys…."

"No, sir, they haven't gotten tired of us," Sam replied. When she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, Sam glanced over at a group of Mumani children, who were huddled together behind a palm tree, all staring with intense curiosity at them. "In fact, it looks like the Mumani sent their own little scouting party to check us out."

"Hey guys!" O'Neill said with a cheery wave at the children.

In response, the group of children scattered into the jungle foliage with wild screams.

"You have such a way with kids, sir," Sam said, deadpan.

Hailey eagerly ran up to them. "I'd like to go swimming, Colonel."

Jack gave Sam a puzzled look, then he glanced back at Hailey and said, "Are you asking our permission to go swimming, Lieutenant? Have you eaten within the last hour?"

"You put on enough sun block, young lady?" Sam added with a smile.

Although Hailey abruptly glanced down at the ground, she still couldn't suppress her laughter. "Um, excuse me, sirs. What I mean to say is that Teal'c keeps telling me there are sea monsters out there."

"Well, we don't really know what's in the water," Sam said.

"Yeah." Jack nodded in Sam's direction. "What she said."

"The Mumani never said there was anything dangerous out there," Hailey countered.

"That's because we've never asked them if there was anything dangerous in the water," Sam told her. "The Mumani are a very literal people, Lt. Hailey. There could be dragons just behind the mountains, but they won't say a word about them unless you actually ask if there's anything there."

"Here there be dragons!" Jack said dramatically.

"Indeed?" Teal'c asked, as he casually strode over to them.

"Lt. Hailey wants to take a swim, Teal'c," Sam said. "And she informed us that you told her there were sea monsters?"

"Indeed there are, Major Carter," Teal'c calmly told her.

Hailey, grinning, shook her head at him. "Nice try, Teal'c, but I'm not buying it…."

"Lieutenant, does it look like this man is joking?" O'Neill soberly asked, as he gestured at Teal'c--who glowered at her silently.

"You're not joking?" Hailey asked, with a nervous look.

"There are indeed large predators in the water, Lieutenant," Teal'c insisted. "I have spent the last few minutes observing their wake on the surface of the water."

"Oh, well, that figures," Sam said with a chuckle. "And here I thought you were just relaxing, Teal'c. But you were actually scanning the waters for any sign of trouble."

Their conversation was interrupted by a low, bellowing moan that almost sounded as if it echoed all around them. Sam glanced out at the ocean just in time to see what looked like a whale as it broke the surface. It desperately writhed in the maw of an even larger, more malicious-looking creature.

"WHOA!" Jack exclaimed, as he stood up and pulled off his sunglasses. He, along with Sam and Hailey, all stared in shock at the great monstrosity--which looked like a bizarre cross between an octopus and a shark--as it dragged the flailing whale-like creature below the surface of the water for the last time. Thankfully, it was more than several miles out in the ocean--but Sam anxiously wondered if it could come ashore.

They stood quietly for a moment, during which time the churning waters beyond quickly settled back into gentle waves.

"As I have said," Teal'c intoned. "There are large predators in the water."

Sam nodded at him. Anyone else would have been gloating, but leave it to Teal'c to merely state the facts without bragging.

"Well, Lieutenant," Jack said, as he gave Hailey a gentle nudge in the back. "Still want to go swimming?"

"Um, no, sir," Hailey quickly replied, with a sheepish grin, as she anxiously took a few steps backwards from the edge of the water. "I no longer feel the urge."

"Perhaps if we tossed you in?" Teal'c said solemnly to Hailey.

"Great idea, T!" Jack said with a nod. "Maybe we could get a better look at Moby Dick out there while he chows down Hailey."

The petite Hailey backed away nervously as the lumbering Teal'c took a mock-threatening step towards her. "Um, Major," the young woman anxiously said. "Help, please, sir?"

With a roll of her eyes, Sam decided to end this silliness here and now. "Sir, I strongly suggest that feeding Lieutenant Hailey to the sea monster would be a bad idea, on account of the copious amount of paperwork it would generate."

"Oh, yeah!" Jack said with a shake of his head. "She's right, Teal'c. We'd better leave Hailey alone."

"Indeed," Teal'c said in agreement. "So we shall."

Hailey shot Sam an annoyed look. "Wait a minute, I wasn't killed not because of how valuable I am to the team, but because my death would cause too much paperwork? That's really nice to know!"

"Welcome to SG-1, Lieutenant!" Jack cheerily said, as he patted Hailey's shoulder.

SG1: SVU

'Good God, it's hot!' Olivia Benson thought, as she tried to fan herself with her hat--but to no avail. The temple chamber they were in had no ventilation whatsoever. It was like working in a steam bath.

Well, Daniel and Grace were really the only ones working, while Olivia sat on a stone balustrade behind them. As she watched them carefully go over the stone carvings in the wall, Olivia realized that Daniel and Grace were so immersed in their work that they barely noticed the heat.

There was one section of the ancient writing on the wall, which Daniel identified as being ancient Celtic, that presently drove the both of them crazy. It referred to a secret chamber within the temple that contained what was known only as 'the sacred knowledge.' Olivia had previously helped them to search the musty old temple over and over again--yet they could not find any indication of where this secret chamber might be.

That was when Grace realized that, perhaps she and Daniel were reading the writings wrong; that they had misinterpreted what was written. And so they went back to the wall and poured over the writings once more, while Olivia took up her station on the balustrade and watched them. She found herself wishing she could do more to help than just stand guard. But with the way these two focused so sharply on something, it was probably just as well that she watched their backs.

"Why, hello there!" Olivia said cheerily to a little Mumani boy who peered in at them from the entrance. Clad only in a loincloth, he shyly smiled at Olivia before disappearing form view. Olivia was tempted to follow the little guy and see if she could offer him some food from her backpack. Yet she did not want to leave Daniel and Grace unguarded. Despite the fact that there wasn't any real threat here, Olivia's past experience with SG-1 had taught her to never let her guard down for a moment.

After a reading over the stone carvings for the umpteenth time, Daniel shook his head and wearily said, "This is going nowhere…."

"No," Grace disagreed. "We just need to keep at it."

"We've been at this for hours, Grace," Daniel told her. "We could use a break."

"You go," Grace told him, as she kept staring at the stone carvings. "I'll stay and work on this some more."

Daniel glanced over at Olivia and said, "You look very hot."

"Tell me about it," Olivia muttered in annoyance, as she fanned herself with her hat once more. "This place is like a…" She stopped when she saw the slight smirk on his face. "What?"

"Um, actually, that wasn't what I meant," Daniel said with a smile. "The 'stripped down to a tank top' look that you've got going here really works for me."

Olivia flashed him a grin as she waved a finger at him. "Careful, Doctor Jackson. The Air Force doesn't like its personnel fraternizing while on the job, remember?"

Daniel nodded. "But, technically, neither you or I are Air Force personnel, Liv."

Olivia's grin faded when she saw Grace take an unstable step backwards as she wearily rubbed her eyes. "Oh, God, Daniel! That poor kid's dead on her feet!"

As he and Olivia walked over to Satterfield, Daniel said, "C'mon, Grace, we're all taking a break right now."

"We still haven't found this damn secret chamber, Daniel," Grace muttered, irritated. "You yourself said that this temple may have been left behind from a more technologically advanced time in the Mumani's past. The 'sacred knowledge' that these writings refer to may be whatever's in that chamber. Finding it may well be worth making the trip here!"

"And I couldn't agree with you more," Daniel said. "But whatever's in that chamber, wherever it is, will still be there, hiding from us, after we get back from our break."

"C'mon, Grace," Olivia added. "Let's just break for lunch. We'll go to the beach. It should be cooler there."

"You know, I overheard you telling Olivia that you both weren't Air Force personnel," Grace said, trying another tactic. "And you're right, Daniel. Technically, you can't make me leave here. You can't order me to do anything."

"No, we can't," Olivia said with a sly smile. "But we outnumber you, Grace. And we can pick you up and carry you out of here, if need be."

Grace stared at her in shock for a moment. Then her eyes narrowed as she said, "You really would do something like that, wouldn't you?"

Olivia grinned broadly at her. "Wanna try me?"

"Ok, ok," Grace relented, smiling. "I'll take a break with you guys…."

"There we go," Daniel said, nodding in approval. "Sometimes it's best to walk away from a problem--just get some time away from it--before you attack it again."

"Better that we all attack the problem," Grace said, as she slipped her backpack on, "then having you and Olivia attack me…."

SG-1: SVU

Dr. Rodney McKay strode merrily toward the gun range that was located within the vast Cheyenne Mountain complex that housed Stargate Command. It was time for another one of his Zat lessons, and while McKay was pleased to finally be learning how to handle the weapon--any weapon, really--there was another reason why he was so eager to attend these daily lessons.

Marine Sergeant Gail Emmaus, his Zat instructor, was a major hottie!

A recent transfer to SG-3, the Marine Unit within the SGC, Sgt. Emmaus was a tall, lean young woman in her late twenties with reddish brown hair that she usually wore braided behind her head. She also had a splash of freckles across her cheeks that Rodney thought was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Although Rodney had often insisted that she call him by his first name, Sgt. Emmaus always formally referred to him as Doctor McKay--which also drove McKay crazy in a good way. He just loved the way that she said his name. He had been slowly working up the nerve to ask her out--only he always kept backing off at the last minute.

But today, Rodney decided that he would finally ask the good Sergeant Emmaus out on a date…or coffee, just for coffee. Yes, that would be better. Start with something simple; something she couldn't turn down. And there was nothing better than a nice, simple cup of coffee.

'And who knows,' Rodney thought hopefully, 'if the cup of coffee should lead to an afternoon of wild sex…then, hey, who am I to say no?'

He entered the shooting range and found that the woman of his dreams already stood waiting for him. Sgt. Emmaus wore camouflage pants, combat boots, and a sweatshirt with the Marine Corps insignia on the front. In short, Rodney thought she looked gorgeous.

"Afternoon, Gail," he said with a nod, as he picked up his Zat. As she had instructed him, McKay checked to make sure it was fully charged up.

"Good afternoon, Doctor McKay," Sgt Emmaus replied. "Shall we begin?"

Rodney easily went through the training session with her; he had done this so many times before that it had now become second hand to him.

Once he was done, Rodney was pleasantly surprised to see Sgt. Emmaus gave him a broad smile. "Congratulations, Doctor."

"Really? For what?"

"You've completed your Zat training," Sgt Emmaus told him, as she scribbled something down on a clipboard. "You're now fully rated in the use of a Zat."

"I-I'm done?!" Rodney said, shocked. "Wow, that's great. Thank you."

"You're more than welcome," Sgt Emmaus replied. "You've been a great student."

Rodney's elation at finally acing his Zat training was tempered by a depressing thought: this would be his last lesson with Gail Emmaus. There would no longer be any reason for him to hang out with her. If Rodney was going to ask her out, it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath, Rodney steeled himself and said, "Say, um, I was just wondering if--you know--you'd might like to join me in a-a cup of coffee?"

Sgt Emmaus shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Doctor. But I don't drink coffee."

"Oh, well--uh--you know, it doesn't have to be coffee!" Rodney quickly said. "Um, it could be any kind of drink you'd wish--or, it doesn't even have to be a drink at all! I mean, we could just sit and eat…although eating without drinking can get a little--"

"Doctor McKay," Sgt Emmaus said firmly but gently. "I'm afraid I already have a lunch date. And here she is, now. Take care, sir."

'She?' Rodney thought, as he watched Sgt Emmaus greet a gorgeous young woman by the door. His eyes then grew wide when Rodney witnessed Emmaus and the woman--one of the civilian workers--walk out together.

Rodney left the gun range, and all kinky thoughts of himself having sex with Emmaus were replaced by kinky thoughts of Emmaus having hot sex with another woman--which Rodney found to be equally alluring, even if he wasn't in the fantasy himself.

As he strode past the main gate room, the side door was open, and Rodney saw Bill Lee standing there, speaking with a pair of men who stared at the powered down stargate as if it would attack them. One of the men was shorter than the other, with glasses and was sort of gnomish-looking, with his thinning hair parted to one side.

"Hey, Bill, what's going on?" Rodney asked, as he walked up to them.

"Rodney, I'd like for you to meet Dr. Radek Zelenka and Dr. Carson Beckett," Bill said, making the introductions. "They just joined the SGC. Gentlemen, this is Dr. Rodney McKay."

Rodney nodded in understanding. Thanks to the recent formation of the IOA, more people from other countries had joined the SGC, and now even the civilian personnel wore these new uniforms with the flag from their country of origin on their shoulder. McKay had avoided wearing his uniform--complete with the Canadian maple leaf on its shoulder--until Dr. Weir, the new civilian co-commander of the SGC, warned McKay that if he didn't wear his uniform, she would tell General Hammond on him.

As much as Rodney was annoyed by these good cop/bad cop antics that Weir always pulled, he reluctantly started wearing his uniform. General Hammond could be a very scary man.

Judging from their gawking expressions at the place, Zelanka and Carson were obviously both newbies. "First time seeing the stargate in action, huh?" Rodney asked.

"Aye," Beckett said, still looking shocked. He spoke with a Scottish accent. "It's an amazing piece of machinery."

The little gnomish-looking guy, Zelenka, muttered something in another language--which sounded like Czech to Rodney. Switching to English, Zelenka added, "I-It's just simply incredible!"

"Yes, well, I've already gone through it on the Mount Tanis mission," Rodney said smugly. "So, it gets to be pretty routine for an old pro like me."

"Hey, old pro," Bill said with a snide smile. "You ask Sgt Emmaus out for a date, yet?"

"Oh, glad you asked! You know what I just found out?" Rodney said in a hushed whisper. "Emmaus is a lesbian!"

Bill just slowly shook his head. "Just because a woman turns you down for a date doesn't automatically make her a lesbian, Rodney."

"No, no, she really is a lesbian," Rodney insisted. "She went to have lunch with another woman--real hottie--I saw her!"

"Two women having lunch together?" Beckett said sarcastically. "Oh, aye, that definitely makes them lesbians!"

Rodney shot him an annoyed look, but before he could respond, Bill said, "At least you've still got one over on all of us, Rodney: you knew a real live space princess."

"Space princess?" Zelenka excitedly spoke up. "You mean like Princess Leia in Star Wars?"

"Even better my little friend," Rodney told him. "She looked just like Deja Thoris. You know, the Martian Princess from the John Carter: Warlord of Mars books?"

Zelenka smiled as he nodded thoughtfully. "Really? You mean she was dressed the same? Same type of scanty outfit?"

"As scanty as they come," Rodney said, smiling at the memory. "I didn't even know how it managed to stay on!"

"What about shoes?" Zelenka said thoughtfully, as if he were building a mental picture of this space princess within his mind. "What kind of shoes? Boots?"

"None," Rodney replied. "No shoes."

"Hmm, interesting," Zelenka said, with approval. "Yes, very interesting."

"Well, technically, Casey Novak wasn't really a space princess," Bill chimed in. "She was a captured slave of the Netian Empire when she wore that outfit--which sort of makes sense; because why waste money elaborately dressing up your slaves, right? Speaking of which: Rodney, you free tonight? Because I'm starting a new Warcraft game in my quarters."

"Yeah," Rodney replied, "I can make it."

"A space slave," Zelenka said, still lost in his mental image of this exotic woman. "You mean like the Orion slave woman on Star Trek? Was Casey Novak's skin also green, too?"

Rodney was about to reply to this strange little man--until he did double take when he saw that Beckett was writing something on a sheet of paper. "What are you doing?"

"Writing the name of a new psychiatrist here at the SGC," Beckett replied, as he handed him the sheet of paper. "Her name's Dr. Kate Heightmeyer. She's very good, and just from listening to this conversation you're all having about women, I can tell that you lads really need to have a nice little chat with her!"

"Oh, come on!" Rodney said with disgust. "Look, if you're gonna be working with us on the science team, you've really got to learn to lighten up!"

"I'm a medical doctor," Beckett told him, as he walked away. "I'll be working with Doctor Fraiser's team."

"Fine by me," Rodney muttered, as Beckett left the gate room. He glanced at Bill and added, "What a wet blanket! I hope I never have to deal with that guy again!"

When he felt a tap on his arm, Rodney glanced down at Zelenka.

"Is there any chance that I could meet Casey Novak?" the Czech hopefully asked. "Would you happen to know where she is right now?"

SG-1: SVU

"All right, wait a minute!" Casey said with a smile. "This isn't a real game, is it?"

"Yes, it is!" the group of children loudly insisted in unison.

"You have to keep playing, Casey," Meekra told her. The little girl grimly waved her hands. "Or else you lose!"

Casey glanced over at her lover Char'el. The hulking Jaffa sat on a bench trying to hide his laughter--but it was a futile gesture. He was enjoying himself too much watching Casey trying to play this intangible game on the checkered marble floor in this unused corner of the Hak'tyl, the Ha'tak class vessel that they "borrowed" from the shipyards on Mount Tanis.

Although Casey had made the decision to join Char'el and the others on a permanent basis with her eyes wide open and knowing fully what to expect, a part of her was still intimidated at how hard it might be to get used to this new life. However, Casey was soon pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had become used to living aboard the space ship. For one thing, it was pretty much Casual Friday everyday on board this floating behemoth. Casey still recalled the first time she had showed up at a council meeting with Io'tan and the others while dressed in her business suit, the same sort of clothes that she'd worn when she was an ADA in New York City. Although nobody said anything, everybody at the meeting, including Io'tan, stared at her in puzzlement to the point where Casey knew something was wrong.

Later, when they were alone, Char'el asked, "Is the climate control not warm enough to suit you?"

"No, it's fine," Casey had replied, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"It is that you are so…overdressed," the Jaffa bluntly told her.

If any other man had said that, it would have been a crude remark. But coming from Char'el, who was still far more innocent in many ways than Casey, she found it to be adorable. She realized what he had meant: that all of the people at the meeting had been dressed in loose, toga-style clothing; a fashion statement that was a holdover from their former life on Mount Tanis--which in part was reminiscent of the scant clothing worn in ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt.

From that point on, Casey changed her wardrobe to better suit her new surroundings. And at the next council meeting, Casey showed up clad in a toga ensemble that she had recently acquired that was similar to what the others wore. As for everyday casual wear, she wore pretty much what she had on now: just shorts with a t-shirt. The feeling was very liberating; Casey felt like she was on board a luxury cruiser sailing the South Seas--at least until she glanced out a window and saw either the blackness of space, or the multi-colored, paisley pattern of hyperspace.

"If you think you know how to play this game better than me," Casey told a still-laughing Char'el, "then why don't you get out here and play it, too? I could use a partner."

Yet before the Jaffa could even get up, a little boy burst out from the crowd of children and ran over to Casey.

"NOLI!" the children all angrily cried.

"It would appear that you have your partner in this game," Char'el said good-naturedly.

Casey smiled broadly down at Noli, who hugged her bare leg tightly. "What would Grace think if she knew you were playing this game with another girl, huh, Noli?"

"Dunno," the boy said, with a broad smile.

"You remember Grace, right?"

"Yeah," Noli replied, as his smile grew even broader.

"What are you waiting for?" Mekra shouted impatiently. "You have to move two spaces!"

"Ok," Casey said. Hand in hand, she and Noli stepped diagonally across two of the checker patterns on the floor.

But just as Casey glanced over at Mekra for new orders, her eyes went wide when she heard a whooping klaxon sound that echoed throughout the ship. Everyone froze in place, except Char'el, who stood up and--now all business--gestured sternly at the children.

"Go with Casey," he told them. Char'el then glanced at Casey and added, "Once you get them to safety, meet me on the peltac."

After Casey had shepherded the children to their families, who had gathered in one of the ship's safe zones, she made her way to the peltac. She realized there was something drastically wrong just from the Jaffa who guarded the entrance to the peltac--they looked anxious and wary as they permitted Casey to enter the nerve center of the ship.

Casey found Io'tan standing with Char'el and Lennox, the peltac commander who served as the ship's captain under Io'tan. The trio regarded a tactical display screen as if it were a poisonous creature that had snuck onto the peltac.

"What is it?" Casey asked. "What's wrong?"

"Show her," Io'tan said to Lennox. While the peltac commander called up the information on his console, she added, "Do you recall how we were headed for the planet Delis?"

Casey nodded. Delis was a far flung outpost of the Netian Empire which had announced its independence shortly after the fall of Mut. "Yes. To see if we could talk about having free trade with them. What happened?"

Io'tan pointed at the main view screen. "This happened."

There were two Ha'tak class ships parked in orbit above Delis. The symbol on their sides was that of two arrows crossed over a shield--the symbol of the Netian Empire. Casey was surprised to see that it was still in use, considering Lord Ba'al had conquered the empire when he seized its capitol, Mount Tanis.

"We are safely hidden behind the system's only gas giant," Char'el assured Casey. "They have not noticed us."

"I see. Looks like we won't be trading with Delis, huh? Not with those two monsters in orbit." Casey's eyes went wide as a frightening thought occurred to her. "Hey, were they waiting to ambush us?"

"That does not appear to be the case," Char'el replied. "If they wanted to ambush us, they would have hidden their ships much better than this. Besides, there is a third Ha'tak vessel that landed on the surface. It would be too exposed should a battle erupt in space."

"Three Ha'tak ships!" Casey exclaimed, sounding impressed. "Ba'al really wanted to make sure Delis remained under his leash, huh?"

"There is something wrong here, beyond the fact that the troops of Ba'al have reclaimed the planet," Io'tan said, with a thoughtful shake of her head. "One such vessel could do the job sufficiently, and yet Ba'al sends three? It is--as you often say, Casey--overkill."

"Perhaps, by an overbearing use of force, Ba'al wishes to send a message?" Lennox suggested.

But not even Char'el bought it. "Lord Yu has been putting up an epic fight against Ba'al. It would not be wise of Ba'al to divert so many ships from the war effort like this, just to send a message to an obscure outpost such as Delis."

"What if Delis isn't so obscure after all?" Casey said. "I mean, what if the reason Ba'al sent three Ha'tak ships here was because there was something worth getting from Delis?"

"Something valuable," Char'el agreed with a nod. "Yes. That makes sense."

"We know Delis has a large and profitable marketplace," Io'tan spoke up. "But I doubt you mean Ba'al has sent his troops just to go shopping there."

"No," Char'el said. "Whatever Ba'al is after on Delis, perhaps it could be on the planet itself. But I am at a loss to even guess what exactly could be so valuable on Delis that Ba'al would send three of his ships."

"Then I guess we're just going to have to go in and find out, huh?" Casey said with a smile.

SG-1: SVU

'This is more like it,' Olivia thought with relief.

She and Grace both stood barefoot on the beach, enjoying the cool breeze, as they watched the impromptu baseball game that Jack had set up between SG-1 and the Mumani children who had originally gathered to watch them. Sam told Olivia earlier over lunch that the children had been extremely bashful, hiding within the tree line, until they had abruptly come out.

"It was strange," Sam had said. "One moment, they were scared to death of us, and the next, they're running around, as playful as can be."

Olivia smiled as she saw the native children were struggling with the rules of baseball just as much as she was. Daniel looked lost, as well--yet, being the good-natured sport that he was, he still played the game with a grim determination on second base. Sam guarded first base, while Jennifer was on third. Teal'c served as the referee--which surprised Olivia, who didn't realize the Jaffa knew that much about baseball. 'The more I get to know Teal'c, the more he amazes me,' she thought, smiling.

Olivia and Grace had been deployed to what Jack called the outfield. The ball was a solid rubber number that Jack had in his pack, and the bat was the straightest wooden stick that they could find on the beach. Jack pitched the ball to several boys and a few girls, who kept missing--which prompted Jack to call time out so he could give them some quick batting lessons.

"Hey, isn't that helping the opposing team?!" Daniel jokingly called. "Whose side are you on, Jack?"

Olivia did a double take when she thought she saw the dense jungle foliage behind her move suddenly.

"Something wrong, Liv?" Grace asked. She now looked much better and more relaxed after having eaten.

"Just the wind, which feels lovely," Olivia replied, as she watched the foliage grow still once more. Then, with a slight frown, she added, "Um, Grace, what's our job here again?"

"Catch the ball if it lands out here," Grace patiently reminded her. "Then throw it back."

"Right," Olivia said with a quick nod. "Got it."

"You sure, Liv?" Grace asked, smiling.

"No, but I'll manage," Olivia replied with a grin. "It's too bad Casey's not here. She's the SVU's softball champion."

Once he was finished with his batting lessons, Jack returned to the center mound and called, "Ready?"

When the boy at the plate nodded confidently, Teal'c called for time in and the game was back on. Jack pitched the ball, and the boy swung the bat with all his might.

Olivia wasn't sure if it was a result of Jack's tips, or just beginner's luck, but the kid 'knocked it out of the ballpark,' so to speak. She smiled as the ball flew right over her head at a wide arc and landed several yards behind her.

"Hey! All right!" Olivia cheered.

Her smile faded when she saw Sam waving her hands at her as the young batter ran right past her at first base. "Get the ball, Liv! Get the ball!"

"Liv!" Grace cried, pointing at the ball. "Get it!"

"Oh, damn," Olivia muttered, as she frantically ran back and retrieved the ball. She had never played in the softball games that the SVU held against other squads in the department--but was always cheered on her team as an energetic spectator. Now Olivia wished she had played, because she had no frigging idea what she was doing.

She picked up the ball and held it up for all to see. "I got it!"

"Throw it back!" Grace shouted at her. "Liv, throw the ball back!"

"Uh, ok," Olivia muttered, as she tossed the ball back where she found it--it wound up landing deep within the dense jungle foliage. "Don't know why I bothered to get it in the first place, if you wanted me to--"

"No, I meant throw it back to the team!" Grace said, laughing hysterically, as she ran past Olivia to get the ball. "Jeez, Liv!"

"Oh, crud," Olivia said sheepishly, as she watched the young boy ran safely past the remaining two bases, with Daniel and Jennifer standing helplessly by. When the boy made it back to home plate, Teal'c declared him to be safe, then listed the score as Mumani--one, SG-1--zero.

Jack turned and grimaced at her. "Excuse me, Liv, but whose side are you on again?"

"Hey, I'm learning this game as I'm playing it," she shot back. "So gimme a break, huh?"

After a beat, Sam looked concerned. "What's taking Lt. Satterfield so long?"

"Yeah, let's go, Grace!" Jennifer called, grinning. "SG-1 has got a game to lose!"

"That's the only ball we have," Jack told Olivia. "So if we lose it, then that's the end of the game right here."

"I'll go and help her, all right?" Olivia offered, as she ducked into the foliage with an annoyed sigh. Olivia frowned as she parted palm leaves large enough to use as the main sail on a boat.

When she came to a small clearing, Olivia stopped short when she found Grace desperately writhing around in the sand. For a brief moment, Olivia thought the young woman was having some kind of a fit--until she saw the ropes that entwined Grace's body, binding her wrists and ankles together. She was further gagged and blindfolded for good measure.

"Oh, my G--" Before Olivia could even take another step, she was grabbed from behind by several hands. She tried to instinctively fight back, but her attackers were too swift, and too overpowering. Olivia's mouth was being stuffed with a gag while her hands were being tied together behind her back. Then she was then blindfolded at the same time her feet were bound together. Whoever these guys were, they were fast and proficient--Olivia had been made helpless within less than a minute, and all while she was still standing.

'But who were they? The Mumani?' Olivia wondered, as she stood awkwardly on her bound feet while a pair of hands held her steady. 'I thought they were friendly!'

Olivia heard Grace let out a muffled grunt, then realized that somebody had picked her up from the ground. 'It'll probably be my turn now to be--'

Her thought was cut off as the rough hands that held her now lifted Olivia off the ground and effortlessly slung her trussed up body over a muscular bare shoulder. Olivia's mid-section rested on his shoulder while her head and upper torso dangled in mid-air. Whoever her abductor was, he was well-built, and smart. The gag prevented her from calling out to her SG-1 comrades, and she couldn't even see where they were taking her, thanks to the blindfold.

'Not good,' Olivia thought grimly, as she felt herself being helplessly carried off to God knew where. 'This is so not good at all….'

To be continued.....