Serpent's Vow

26: Preparation

Daniel took the offered mug of steaming hot coffee and sipped it carefully. Paused. Then sipped it again. Then set it down on the table and stared at the mug in pleasant surprise and suspicious disbelief.

"Is it just me," he said slowly, "or is the coffee actually..."

"Good?" Sam finished.

Daniel blinked and looked up at his friend in confusion. "Yes."

"I was just about to ask the same thing," she said, a similar expression of surprise on her face.

"It is indeed much better than before," Teal'c declared, taking another appreciative sip of his coffee.

"Don't look at me," Jack said, dropping into his seat with his own coffee and leaning over it protectively. "I didn't do anything to it and no, I'm not sharing either."

This was unreal. Just to make sure his coffee didn't suddenly go back to being barely palatable when he wasn't looking, Daniel took another drink and swallowed. Nope, still good. He glanced at the head of the conference table where General Hammond was sitting and noticed the dry humor on the older man's face.

"Sir?" Daniel asked hesitantly. "Did you change brands or something?"

Hammond looked at Daniel, sighed, and shook his head. "Not by choice, no," he said wearily. "But yes."

"Please tell me this won't come out of our paychecks, general," Jack said. "Because while I do love my vices, I love my paycheck more." He shrugged. "Usually."

The general chuckled. "On the contrary," he said easily. "It was a donation of sorts. Don't count on it to last. The base has been going through it faster than I would've thought possible."

"Uh, yeah," Jack drawled. "It's good. How often do we get coffee this good down here?"

"Not often," Teal'c said simply.

Jack waved at the Jaffa in agreement. "My point."

"Who donated it, sir?" Sam asked, taking another sip.

Hammond sighed and Daniel wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore.

"Kaiba sent it."

Huh. Okay, that wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to take it as well as Daniel did. Sam abruptly swallowed, set her mug down, and stared at the general dumbstruck. Teal'c hesitated but took another sip anyway. Jack... Jack thumped his mug on the table and stared at General Hammond with his mouth slightly open in astonishment.

"He also passed this along," Hammond continued.

He lifted his hands to reveal a small metallic device shaped like a chicken egg with one side curved outwards and the other smooth and flat. The metal was a dull silvery color and what looked like a violet resin filled the empty spaces between the metal design on the curved surface. The general pushed the small device across the table for SG-1 to have a better look at it.

"What is it?" Jack asked, eyeing the device in distrust before giving in and drinking more of his coffee.

"Apparently, it's a communication device," Hammond said.

"It is indeed," Teal'c said, sounding almost impressed. He reached out and pulled the device towards him for a closer examination. "It is an ancient Goa'uld design that is no longer in common use."

"I was hoping you would recognize the symbol on it," Hammond said, studying the Jaffa with interest. "It's not a Goa'uld symbol I'm familiar with."

"That is because the System Lord this symbol belongs to was banished many thousands of years ago," Teal'c said, running a thumb over the design before handing it to Daniel. "It is the winged hawk of Isis."