Serpent's Vow

18: Generating Questions

O'Neill didn't trust the Goa'uld as far as he could throw them. He swore he never would. After everything he'd seen them do, after everything he'd lost to them, hell after everything his team had lost to them, he didn't think he could ever trust the Goa'uld. Not even the Tok'ra. However much those slimy bastards claimed they weren't Goa'uld, they certainly still acted slippery and their arrogance... Whoa, don't get him started on that. They weren't as bad as the System Lords, true, but they were damn close.

Nephthys or Set or whatever the hell this newest snake preferred to be called claimed to be a Tok'ra. Bullshit. Okay, maybe half bullshit. From what Jack had seen so far, the guy did act more like a Tok'ra than a System Lord. But that didn't mean much. So Set was less of a powerful, manipulative bitch than Hathor and Apophis, but he was still just as arrogant as every snake Jack had ever met. Bar none.

It worried Jack how interested Daniel was in Set. It bothered him more how interested the Goa'uld was in Daniel. Danny's loss to the Goa'uld was much more personal than Jack's had been. Honestly, there were times Jack wondered how the archaeologist managed to keep fighting. Then he remembered his own son and the pain returned and he knew.

Spite fueled by vindictive vengeance was a strong force to be reckoned with. Dr. Daniel Jackson may be a paper pusher but he wasn't a pushover. Daniel was an academic who favored talking and learning over violence. Jack may be a colonel in the U.S. Air Force but he understood the value of those traits. Even if it gave him a headache more often than not.

When the elevator doors slid open, Jack slapped a careless grin on his face. The Goa'uld in a boy's body -he did not want to think about how old the kid was when the Goa'uld took him- was as calm and unflappable as ever. Sharp blue eyes gave him a cursory glance before dismissing him. Typical.

"Hello to you too," Jack drawled. "Hope the ride wasn't too boring."

The Goa'uld rolled its eyes and ignored him.

"I need Tylenol," Daniel groaned, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.

"You okay, Danny?" Jack asked, keeping his voice light despite the genuine worry.

To his relief, Daniel replaced his glasses and nodded. He didn't look hurt or brainwashed or stressed. Actually, he looked fascinated, like he'd seen a shiny new wall of hieroglyphics to translate. Wonder what that was all about?

"Did you meet your friend?" Jack asked the Goa'uld.

"We did," was the curt reply. "She'll stay out of things for now."

Not that Jack was overly concerned about that or anything but he supposed one less possible Goa'uld to deal with was a good thing. Although, he thought back to the security camera footage from the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, he hadn't seen anyone meet them. Besides that hawk.

He had questions, but he wasn't going to press until after the Goa'uld was gone and he could get the general and his team, Danny included, alone.

Speaking of Danny. "Daniel, why don't you go join Kawalsky," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "He's waiting for you by the Quantum Mirror."

"Oh! Sure." Daniel turned, then hesitated and said, "Thanks, Kaiba."

Kaiba?

The Goa'uld stared at Daniel in slight surprise before huffing. "Run along, nerd."

Nerd?

Jack watched the archaeologist smother a smile and hustle down the hall to the room where the Quantum Mirror was stored. That was unexpected. Maybe he shouldn't have dismissed possible brainwashing as quickly as he had.