“Unauthorized off-world activation! Unauthorized off-world activation!” The voice cried over the loud speakers and the alarms were sounding off.

“Who is it?” General O’Neill demanded.

“Looks like…..” the young Lieutenant stuttered, “the Tok’ra.”

“What? No one told me they were coming.”

“Probably because no one knew, sir.”

“All right open the iris, let’s see what they want.”

In a few moments three representatives from the Tok’ra stepped through the worm hole. The Stargate no more closed than it began to activate again. “Who is it now?”

“It’s the Asguard.” The Lieutenant said from the control room.

“Open her up.”

Three representatives from the Asguard stepped through onto the ramp. “Thor?” Jack asked. “That you, buddy?”

“It is I, O’Neill.” The little aliens’ voice said in its usual quiet tone.

“Well, what are all of you doin’ here? The Goa’uld up to something?” General O’Neill asked.

“No,” Thor replied, “We have been summoned by……”

“Where the hell is Jackson?” Ares snarled.

“Whoa! Would you quit doin’ that, Ares? Christ, it’s annoying!” Jack grumbled as he turned around to see the God of War standing there. “Geez, doesn’t anybody knock anymore?”

“Do I have to repeat myself?”

“No,” Jack scratched his head and looked around at the gate room and all his new guests. “He’s in his office.” He looked up at the control panel. “Have Doctor Jackson brought to the briefing room.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Samantha and the Jaffa.” Ares ordered. “Bring them all to me.”

“Now don’t go around barkin’ orders on my base.” General O’Neill told Ares. “Not until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

“In due time.” Ares intoned.

A few moments later the Tok’ra, Asguard, SG-1 and Ares were assembled in the briefing room. Sitting around the long table with most of the eyes in the room focused on Daniel Jackson the mood was uncomfortable to say the least. “Now are you ready to tell us what’s goin’ on?” General O’Neill asked.

“No, not until Hades arrives.”

“Lord Ares,” Thor began, “It has been many centuries since we received any word at all from the Olympians still here on Earth. Will you not give us some idea of why you have summoned us here?”

“I agree.” Anise said. “The least you could do is…..”

A flash of black light came and went from the briefing room and there stood Ares’ uncle, Hades. “Sorry I’m late.” He intoned seriously. “I guess today’s the day you find out if you live or die, hey, Jackson?” He asked.

“Tell them.” Ares demanded.

The two of them looked so much alike as they stood side by side. Hades was the smaller of the two each was well defined with locks of long wavy black hair. Each had dark eyes and wore black leather head to toe. Unlike his warrior nephew Hades—along with his much treasured Crown & Scepter—wore a flowing black cape which was affixed to his shoulders by two metal skulls. “I cannot find hide nor hair of Callestah anywhere. I have searched the universe over and all its underworlds in the endeavor to locate her and she is not to be found in any of them.”

“She’s not dead.” Daniel’s voice like the rest of him suddenly went numb. Daniel spent so many months alone in a cold bed in that big empty house but now he could see an end to those days and lonely nights. If he had to go charging after her again so be it, he was ready.

“That’s what the Tok’ra have been summoned here to reveal.” Hades told him. “Ares and I want you to use your Zatar technology on them.”

“For what purpose?” Anise asked.

“To determine if what they saw was true or not.” Ares snarled.

“And if it was not?” Thor inquired. “What would you have us do then, Lord Ares?”

“In that event, you, my little gray friend, are going to help me find my daughter.” Ares didn’t give Thor time to reply. “The rest of you, are you willing to do this?”

SG-1 looked first at Daniel and then at each other. Jack and Sam weren’t fond of the Zatar contraption or having their heads messed with but for Calla and Daniel they were willing to try. “Yes.” Sam said. “I’ll do it.”

“And you O’Neill? We must have all of you.”

“Fine, but I’m not havin’ them poke around in my head for you, Ares.” Jack said smartly. “I’ll do it for Calla.” Almost as an after thought added; “And you, Daniel.”

“Jaffa?”

“If it will help I too will undergo the test.” Teal’c agreed. “Lord Ares, if we find our memories are not real how will we go about finding Callestah?”

“I don’t know.” Ares replied and then wheeled around to stare at Daniel. “But you’d better think of something!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack said in a condescending voice, “skinned alive, I remember. You don’t really think I’m gonna let you do that, do ya Ares?”

“Let me?” He huffed through tight lips. “As though the likes of you could stop me.”

“Lord Ares,” Thor began, “you are most powerful but I must tell you that we will not sit idly by and allow you to harm Doctor Jackson or anyone else on this base.” His oversized black eyes blinked as he looked up at Ares. “And I can stop you.” He warned.

“We will see about that.” Ares smoldered. “Go and get your device, bring it here and then we will know the truth.”

Within a short while after she left, Anise returned to the SGC with the requested device. One by one the members of SG-1 sat in the infirmary attached to it reliving the night Calla died. Their memories were sent to the device and analyzed by the computer while a holographic projection of the events played out before participants and viewers.

Each in turn recalled the same events and the same images projected into the room;

Visibly shaken and not knowing if he could do it, Daniel was the last to sit in the chair and be hooked up to the device. Every night since she’d gone away he’d seen nothing but those images in his head. Wondered why he didn’t see it, why he didn’t react sooner? What could he have done differently? Most of all he just wondered why she was gone.

Before them an image that was there but really wasn’t showed the fire and rescue crews arriving. They were donning what amounted to hazmat suits while police came and ushered people away.

“Well, that’s it, then.” Sam said in a low sullen voice.

Fire and rescue faded away. The image began calm and peaceful. Nothing much to see, Calla laying next to him in the fifth room of the fifth floor of the finest hotel in Uray. “It would break my heart if you should ever forget me.” She said in a low mournful voice and brushed her lips over his cheek. “I love you, Daniel.” The image became lighter, as though someone opened a door, and then it darkened again and went out completely.

“When was that?” Jack asked.

“After we signed the agreement.” Daniel said in a dreamy tone. “After we all got back to the hotel.”

Anise came forward and removed the small device from the side of Daniel’s head. “We didn’t all get back to the hotel.” Jack reminded him.

“Yes, we did.” Daniel stood up. “Yes we did.”

“Anise?” Jack turned to her for help. “You saw what we did; we all saw the same thing. It was real.” He turned and looked at Daniel. “I know you don’t want to admit it, man, I wouldn’t either if I was you but she’s gone.”

“I have to disagree, General O’Neill.” Anise went back to looking at her computer screen and Ares came forward with Hades.

“What have you got?” Ares asked.

“Well, as General O’Neill said they all saw the exact same thing at the exact same time, right down to the smallest detail.” She said in a light voice. “However, this is not normal with humans. There is always some discrepancy, no matter how small, in the stories of witnesses. The angles change, or perhaps they thought someone was wearing a different color shirt.” Looking up at Ares and delivering the news she knew he wanted to hear she smiled. “These memories have been implanted. Callestah did not die the way they saw it…if at all.”

Daniel was too astonished to say anything but that didn’t stop the feeling of complete vindication that was running through him. He stared around the room at the others members of SG-1 who stared back at him. Although he really wanted to Daniel knew there was no need to say ‘I told you so’.

“Now, Lord Ares, that you know your daughter is probably alive, what would you have us do?” Thor asked as he craned his skinny neck to look up at the face of the God of War.

“I want you and your little friends to go back to the planet with these idiots and see if you can find her.”

Daniel laughed and found his voice, he knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help it. “’Cause you can’t go, right? Isn’t that just killing you, Ares?”

“Shut up, Jackson.” Ares warned. “You may not make the journey either.”

“Are you certain she is still there?” Anise asked.

Hades and Ares passed each other a look of uncertainty.

“Well, where would she be?” Daniel asked. “If someone’s got her why would they take her off of that planet if it stops her from using her abilities?”

No one answered him.

“She’s gotta be there. Right?” Daniel asked. “Right?”

“I don’t know.” Ares answered finally. “I would think you are correct but if not then you will find out where she has gone and who has her.”

“Then what?” Jack asked and rose from his spot on the stool. “Let me guess, you want us to report back to you so you can mount an offensive.”

“You’re damn right I do.”

“You want me to let you use my base to start a war?”

“If it comes to that.”

“We’ll go,” Jack agreed. “If she’s there we’ll bring her back home….again. If she’s not then we’ll just take it from there.” He looked around at Sam, Daniel and Teal’c. “Mount up kids, road trip.”

For all their fuss and all their troubles. All their hopes. No one on the planet knew what happened to Calla. They didn’t know where she was or who, if anyone, had taken her. The idea that her death was staged seemed a complete shock to them and SG-1 had a time proving otherwise. When General O’Neill said he wanted to talk with Ambassador Omar he was told Omar was away on an extended trip. He was starting negotiations with a new people on a planet far away and they didn’t know when he’d be back. He was bringing them a great gift, or so Council Chair Xara informed them. It was not possible to reach Ambassador Omar until his mission was complete.

“We do sympathize with all of you,” the Council Chair said, “your loss is great. However we know nothing of this.”

“We know she’s not dead.” Daniel told her. “We know what we saw wasn’t real so you couldn’t have seen it either and neither could have your witnesses.”

“You seem to think that this is some type of ruse, Doctor Jackson and that we have endeavored to steal your wife from you.” Xara’s voice was light and sympathetic as she rose from her seat. “In the interest of our new friendship and understanding your grief I am willing to ignore your insinuation. However, Doctor Jackson, we all saw the same thing. I have no reason to believe anything other than that. I know you have spoken to witnesses who also saw reported they saw the same event. I am sorry for the loss of your wife, Doctor Jackson and your unwillingness to accept it but she is dead.” The council woman turned her eyes from Daniel to Jack. “We expect this will have no barring on our treaty.” It was not a question, it was very much a statement and the Council Chair took her leave.

SG-1 returned to base no better off than when they left. Ares was furious. In SG-1’s absence the Tok’ra returned to their world telling Lord Ares that the matter would be discussed and they would get back to him with any help or information that they could provide. Thor stuck around. Thor, Ares and Hades had been a lot together over the centuries and he wasn’t as inclined as the Tok’ra to just take off.

“If she’s not there then who’s got my daughter?” Ares thundered as he grabbed Daniel by the scruff of the shirt tossing back into his desk. “What have you done with her, Jackson?”

“What…what have I…..what have I done with her???” Daniel yelled back.

“You’re keeping her from me!” Like his nostrils Ares’ flared at him and the tips of his fingers began to glow red with fire.

Take aback by what he was hearing Daniel just couldn’t believe it when the fireball went whizzing past his head and blew a hole through the shelf of alien artifacts behind him sending the alarms to activation. He was too stunned to duck for cover. “I don’t keep her and you know it. In fact you hate me for it.” Daniel reminded his father in-law. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how much Enya looks like Calla.” All that he’d kept buried for the last four years began to bubble and churn as Daniel took a heated step forward. “You think that I don’t see the way you look at Calla? That I don’t hear the want in your voice when you speak to her?” An angry finger pointed at Ares. “I never kept her from you, Ares. She just wouldn’t come to you, that’s all.” Daniel swallowed hard and shook that pointed index finger. “That’s another thing you hate me for. You blame me for. How do I know you didn’t do this just so you could have her?”

General O’Neill accompanied by heavily armed security came rushing through the door of Daniel’s office. “Holy!” He remarked as he took in the smashed shelf. “What are you doin’ now?” Jack asked of Ares.

“If anyone’s got her and it’s not you then you know who it is.” Daniel accused.

“I don’t have her.” Ares’ tone was flat and even with conviction. “I don’t know where she is.”

“You know something, don’t you big guy?” Jack asked.

Ares thought it over for a moment. “I know that if she is not on that planet then whoever has her must be very strong. They must have a way to hold her or she would be scratching and clawing her way back to you.” He shot Daniel a cold stare. “That is why you were all made to believe her dead.”

“How’s that?” Jack again.

“If you didn’t believe her dead, Daniel, whoever has her knows that you would never stop searching for her. Would you?”

“No.”

“Of course not.” Ares agreed amiably. “None of them ever would. Not your brother, not Eros and not…..” he stopped for a moment almost as though he were waiting for Daniel to fill in the blank but he didn’t. “They would all move the stars to get to her, wouldn’t they, Jackson? Once you’ve had her, I understand that it’s hard to let her go.”

“No, he’s dead.” Daniel said through tight teeth.

“Is he?” Ares asked and disappeared.

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

For the remainder of the day Daniel Jackson sat his office too stunned and disoriented to move. Most of all he wondered what, if anything, he should tell his children. Colleen and Nicholas missed their mother terribly and sometimes Colleen would creep into the bed with him at night. Leary of getting their hopes up he decided not to tell them anything for the time being. If he could bring their mother home then that would be all the better and if not then they wouldn’t be any the wiser or more hurt because of it.

With an aching head and heavy heart, Daniel called it an early day and went home. He fixed dinner for the twins and they watched Nickelodeon for an hour or so, after that they bathed and he read them a story to send them off to sleep. With them safely tucked away for the night Daniel walked out onto the wrap around porch and looked up at the stars. “I know you’re out there somewhere.” He whispered to the twinkling lights above. “I don’t know if you want me to find you this time. Ya gotta send me a sign, Kitty. Something. Anything. I don’t care.”

It wasn’t that he minded going after her again, not at all, he’d chase through Hell and back again if he had to and not think twice about it. That didn’t bother him. The idea that Calla’s dreams had not been dreams but premonitions wouldn’t let go of him. The last time they made love it was under the hot summer sun in a field of wild flowers, they had both been soaking wet head to toe just as she had dreamed on so many nights over the years. Just before this whole nightmare kicked into gear she’d told him that she had nightmares about Kanan. Daniel tried to play that off as the kids getting to her and the lack of space the family had. Now he was wondering how many times she’d had that dream and for how long. Nicky would know, earlier he said that rowan had been the woman in Calla’s nightmares.

The real cold kicker of it was; Calla knew too.

That was the one thought that really kept the death grip choke-hold on him when he was alone in his bed at night. Calla knew. She had said good-bye to him, asked him not to forget her and told him that she loved him and then walked away. Why? Why did she choose to leave him? What had he done? Or perhaps, what had the person holding her done? What had they threatened her with? Sometimes at night as he lay curled up on his side hugging nothing more than his pillow he swore he could still hear her voice whispering I love you, Danny and feel her tears on his cheek.

Whoever had her…..

Kanan…..

…Had gone to considerable trouble to get their hands on her. There had to be dozens of people involved in this conspiracy from pedestrians on the street to ambulance, fire and rescue that arrived on the non-existent scene. They had talked with all of them and they all told the same story of Calla being hit by the big rig. How far up the food chain that conspiracy went remained to be seen. Whoever had her wanted her for more than what David and Eros had wanted her for. They were taking her somewhere for some purpose other than sex. Daniel didn’t know if that was good or bad. Using Calla Logic if –(Kanan, a thought Daniel was not yet ready to admit to completely)-- or whoever just wanted her as a sex slave then she could get through that because she knew it, she was used to it and so therefore, as much as she might not want to, she could handle it. If they wanted her for something else, well then that was unknown territory and Calla never did very well with the Unknown.

Where were they taking her and what for?

“You knew so why didn’t you tell me?” He asked the stars.

End of Chapter Four
Daughter of the Gods: Captured
Continue to
Chapter Five