Mal shook his head. "I appreciate the intel, but are we sure we can trust the information?"

Sam nodded. "I think we can. It came from the people on P7B-732."

"The planet with the writing about the ZPM? Where we had the little issue of turning off the security system?"

"Yes, Colonel, that planet. The people were grateful for your help. I think we can trust the intel."

"She has a point, Colonel," Lee said.

"All right, so why did they believe we'd be interested in P9K-591?" Mal asked.

"We were told it was the Alliance's base of operation. The data collected from the M.A.L.P. tells us it's safe and there doesn't appear to be any structures near the Gate but there might be a large village or smaller city nearby."

He frowned. "How do you know that?"

"By the amount of pollutants in the air," Sam replied.

"So it could very well be the Alliance's base of operations if there's an indication of a larger population," Oliver mused.

"Yes, that was my thought too. I think it at least bears a closer look to determine whether or not it is Alliance controlled. Knowing where they're based could give us an advantage."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You're dismissed, be ready to leave in an hour."

Van stared around. "I'd say the town is that way, under the cloud of smoke."

Lee wrinkled her nose. "Perfect. Smog, just what we needed."

"I don't think it's smog, it's smoke from many fires."

Lee looked at Oliver. "And that doesn't qualify as smog?"

"No, not really. Smog refers to fog and smoke in the air, usually from car exhaust and the burning of coal, as well as chemicals produced by manufacturing plants. I think what we're looking at here is simply smoke from wood burning fires. I don't see any vehicles, do you?"

"I'm really getting tired of science time," she muttered.

"All right, smog or not, let's go check the place out," Mal told them as he headed in the directions of the cloud of smoke.

The smoke hung over a meandering collection of buildings in various states of repair. Beautiful looking stone structures stood side by side with ramshackle dwellings that looked ready to collapse upon themselves if a gust of wind hit them wrong. It was a strange collection of buildings.

"This is so weird," Van said as he stared around them. "Usually in cities you see sections, clear divisions between societal earning brackets. The wealthy stick with the wealthy, while the poor gravitate toward one another. This is ridiculous. There is definitely something wrong here."

"Toto I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Lee grinned at him.

"I'm not kidding, Lee, this isn't right!"

"It looks like there's an open market of some sort up ahead, let's see if we can find any information," Mal said.

They moved into the large, open square where merchants were set up to sell their wares. The shops ranged from farmers selling out of the backs of wagons, to elaborately built booths. Here too they saw the wealthy beside the poor. Mal stopped before one of the mid-sized booths and smiled at the man staffing it.

"Hello, we have a couple of questions."

The man eyed him with a frown. "If you're looking to hire mercenaries you're in the wrong section, my friend. Here we have only the best thieves."

"I'm sorry, what now?" Lee asked him.

"Our questions have to do with the Alliance," Mal told the man.

The man nodded. "If it's bounty hunters you need, then that's the section over there. Bounty hunters all fly the yellow banner on their booths." He pointed to the maroon one that hung from his booth. "Thieves are maroon. Mercenaries, blue. Assassins are black."

"Uh, sure right, got it." Mal eyed the flag.

The man chuckled. "New to this sort of thing are you?" Mal shrugged. "You probably should have started someplace a little lighter than Sankiatov, we have the toughest of the tough here. Watch yourselves, not everyone here is as kind as I am."

"Thank you, we appreciate your candor. This is our first visit here. We're after Nesrin of the Alliance and we heard rumors she was based here."

"Never. The Alliance may come here to hire bounty hunters and the like, but even they aren't stupid enough to try and set up a base here. The COAT would never allow it."

"The coat?" Lee asked with a giggle.

"The Coalition of Assassins and Thieves. Don't make fun, you'll find yourself buried to your neck with fire lizards making a meal out of you if you cross them."

"Fire lizards?" Van asked with a squeak of fear.

"Nasty little beasts. Each bite feels like the fires of the underworld licking across your flesh. It's unpleasant and the little critters like to take their time over a meal."

"Right, we will avoid pissing anyone from COAT off then." Mal thanked the man again and they moved away from the booth.

"This is bad, we should leave."

Oliver nodded in ready agreement with Van. "Yes, we should. This is a little out of our element. I mean, a thieves' den?"

"Come on, we need to blend in that's all," Lee told them.

"I'm not a chameleon, Lee, I don't blend easily!" Van told her with a scowl.

"I think on this I agree with Van and your brother. Let's move and do it quickly. We are garnering unwanted attention." Mal indicated a group across the square that was watching them closely, tracking their every move.

"Right, so blending isn't working for us. We're too awesome to blend. Let's go." Lee spun around and started back the way they'd come.

"Hello, there," a woman said as she stepped in front of Lee. "I know you." She held up a wanted poster and waved it in Lee's face.

"Ugh, that's awful. It barely even looks like me. The hair is all wrong and why are her lips so big? Who drew this I need to have a talk with them."

"SG-1 of Earth, nice of you to come to us and save us the trouble of looking for you." The woman smiled at them in a way that told Mal she wasn't to be trusted and she could probably kick your ass before you realized it had been kicked.

Mal gave Van a shove toward a nearby alley. "Go!"

Van turned and ran, Oliver on his tail. Mal grabbed Lee by her vest and shoved her toward the alley while he pulled his Zat and fired on the woman. She ducked and avoided being hit but it gave him the opportunity to dart into the alley after the others.

"Keep moving!" he shouted

They ran, turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt when they discovered the alley was blocked by two men. "Hello there, you know I didn't believe my sister when she said you'd go this way. It looks as if I owe her some money. You're coming with us."

"Why should we do that?" Mal raised his P90.

"Because if you don't I'll stun you and these guns are a little iffy. My sister built them herself. Sometimes they stun and sometimes ..." he trailed off with a shrug.

The other man stepped forward. "Hand over your weapons. Now." He looked at the other man. "If any of them so much as twitch, shoot them." He stepped forward to collect their weapons while making certain he wasn't in the line of fire. Once he had their weapons he stepped back and gestured toward his companion. "Let's move it, you're coming with us."

They trooped along with the men to a small building that turned out to be a single room dwelling. The men tied their hands behind their back and sat them against the wall. "Stay put," the man who took their weapons ordered. He looked at the other man. "Keep an eye on them while I go and see if she managed to get into contact with the Alliance." He sent them a look. "If they try anything stupid shoot them." The man left.

"Well?" Josian asked when he found Alouria.

Alouria grinned. "The Alliance will be here tomorrow afternoon to pick up their prize and we will be wealthier than we ever imagined."

"And your brother?" he asked.

She shrugged. "He'll get a little something for his assistance."

He chuckled. "Does he know his share will be significantly less than ours?"

"I don't care what he believes. If we hadn't needed an extra hand I never would have brought him in on this. He's useless most of the time but he is my brother." She shrugged. "Come on, we should get back."

He dropped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "I'm sure your idiot brother can handle things for a little bit longer, why don't we go back to our place and ..." He bounced his eyebrows.

"Josi, stop it. This is too important to screw up. That money will set us up for the rest of our lives. No more risk, no more worry. So keep your thoughts off your personal needs until we have our money and are far from this hell hole."

"Fine but only because once we are away from this place I'm not letting you out of bed for at least a week."

She laughed, gave him a shove and hurried back toward the little hovel they'd paid to use while they held SG-1 for the Alliance. "We need to be careful, if anyone else finds out about our prize they'll try and take it from us. There is too much at stake to leave anything to chance.

"Fine, fine, I'll behave."

"Good boy." She yanked the door open and stepped inside.