The cell door shut and the man stepped back. "You will remain here until the Lidder can speak with you and make a decision on how to proceed."

They watched as the man left. Two guards remained near the door.

Lee took a seat on the floor and leaned back against the wall. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

Mal shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Can I point out something obvious about our new friends?" Oliver asked.

"What is it, Ollie?" Lee asked.

"This city, the shield protecting it ... none of it seems at all familiar to any of you?"

Mal scowled. "I don't have time for riddles, Oliver, explain."

"The Ancients."

Van frowned. "You're certain? The architecture isn't the same."

He shrugged. "As sure as I can be without studying anything. The designs are similar in some aspects. The dome is a lot like the one on Atlantis and though the appearance of their structures are different a lot of the interior designs do reflect the Lanteans' designs."

"So, what ... the Ancients popped in, built them a nice underwater city to protect them from the Goa'uld, told them to have a nice life, and vanished?" Lee asked.

"I'm not going to speculate on that but it seems plausible that they were on this planet at one point. Maybe it wasn't a large group." Oliver shrugged. "If could have been only a couple of them. We've seen some of the Ancients break off from the group so they could protect humans that were important to them. Maybe this was their home world or something."

"I'm not buying it," Mal said. "There is something fishy going on here and I don't like it."

Lee grinned. "Is the fish reference because we're underwater, sir?"

"No, it's simply how I feel right now. None of this tracks. These people hate the Goa'uld so much they don't trust anyone who comes through the Gate."

"And you don't think the Ancients hated the Goa'uld?" Lee asked.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure what to think. The Ancients may not have liked the Goa'uld, but would they go so far as to isolate these people so thoroughly? I can't see that happening."

"The Ancients were superior to the Goa'uld, I don't think they feared them much," Oliver told them. "Mal is right though, there's something I don't like about these people."

"They locked us in a cell, what's not to trust?" Van scowled at them. "I think all these people are guilty of is being super suspicious of outsiders. How can you blame them after having to deal with the Goa'uld?"

Mal leaned his back against the wall and slid down to sit beside Lee. "It doesn't matter how they managed to build this place, what matters is us getting the hell out of here."

Sam shook her head. "Send a UAV and survey the area. I want them found before the IOA discovers they've gone missing."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Let me know if you find anything. I'll be in my office." She turned and left the control room. If they didn't find SG-1 soon she was going to have to let the IOA know they'd gone missing, yet again. Elias would love that and she was certain he'd immediately order her to lock them out of the system. She rubbed a hand over her face and took a seat behind her desk. With a sigh, she grabbed a pile of paperwork and attempted to focus on it.

"Ma'am?"

She looked up. "Yes?"

"We have the footage from the UAV flyover."

"And?"

"No sign of SG-1, ma'am." The Sergeant hesitated.

"Spit it out, Sergeant, what are you holding back?"

"There is no sign of any cities, but we did see several large fields of crops."

"No people?" she asked.

"There were several in the fields when the UAV flew over."

"Show me the images."

"Yes, ma'm."

She jumped up from her seat and followed him from the room. She stood back and watched as the Sergeant rolled the UAV video. "That bridge doesn't look as if it was built by the same people who planted those fields. It's too advanced." The UAV turned and flew out over the fields before it headed back toward the Gate. The video cut out. "What happened?"

"We lost the feed. I can only assume it was shot down, ma'am."

"We need to find SG-1."

"Yes, ma'am. Should we prepare another UAV?"

She shook her head. "No, let's get SG-2, SG-5, and SG- 14 together. I want them ready to go at a moment's notice."

"Yes, ma'am, I'll get them together."

She left with a nod.

Lee stood and went to the bars on the cell. "Hey, I suggest you do not pull that pin or you'll end up in a thousand tiny pieces," she shouted to the two guards as one inspected a grenade he'd pulled from the pile of their equipment. "On second thought, go ahead and pull it. I'd love to see you blow yourself up." The man dropped the grenade back into the pile. She went back to sit against the wall beside Mal. "Thought I had him with that."

Mal chuckled. "You do know if he pulled the pin on that grenade we'd likely get blown up too."

She shrugged. "At least we'd get out of this place."

"You are supposed to be guarding them, not pilfering their belongings," a woman snapped as she passed the guards. The men snapped to attention and moved back to stand near the door. She stopped before the cell. "Who of you is in charge?"

Mal rose and moved over to stand near the bars. "I'm Colonel Malachy Hughes."

"Well, Colonel, I am Ina Victor, Lidder of Bruag. Why have you come here?"

"We're explorers. We came here simply to meet your people and perhaps forge a friendship."

"It is forbidden to travel through the Zvenetai. Those who oppressed our people used the ring on the island therefore it is forbidden to use it. It is an evil device and we do not trust it."

"We aren't here to do evil. We are simply travelers."

"Travelers who carry what appear to be formidable weapons."

Mal sighed. "We carry those for self-defense only. Look, if you want us to leave we will. This doesn't need to turn into a war. You can't hold us here for breaking a law we were unaware of."

"There is a sign," Ina insisted.

"A sign we obviously didn't see," he replied.

"Look, lady, we came here looking for friendship which your people aren't interested in. Our people will come looking for us and if you think they'll go away because you insist we've broken some law then you will be quite sorry," Lee told her.

"I am sorry, but you broke the law. I cannot change that fact. If your people come, we will deal with it. We are not defenseless."

The man who had brought them here hurried into the room. "Lidder, a strange craft flew over the fields. It circled and then headed back toward the Zvenetai."

She spun to face Mal. "You lied to me! Your people are preparing to invade just as the Oppressors did! You will be sentenced to die." She turned and stalked from the room.

"Well, that went swimmingly," Oliver muttered. "We are so screwed."

"Maybe not. I'm going to assume the craft they saw was a UAV, if it was that means the General is looking for us." Mal stepped away from the bars and sat back against the wall. "We can't lose hope. They won't leave us behind."

"I don't think we have time to wait for the SGC to orchestrate a jailbreak, sir. If they're afraid our people are planning an invasion they'll want to rid themselves of us as quickly as possible. If there's no proof we were here then they can claim they never saw us."

Mal snorted. "The SGC knows we were here, Captain, that won't fly with General Carter."

"Yeah, but they don't know that."

"As annoying as it is to admit, my sister is correct." Oliver leaned his head back against the wall. "We need to get the hell out of here."

Lee grinned. "Let me handle this, gentlemen." She rose and moved over to the bars. "Excuse me, could one of you give me a little assistance?" she called out to the guards.

"Shut up!" the guard who had been handling the grenade called back.

"Right, let's kick this up a notch then," she muttered and stepped back from the bars. She spun and went to where her pack rested against the wall. After they'd searched it and made certain there were no weapons they'd allowed them to keep their packs because they contained their supplies.

"Captain, what are you doing?" Mal hissed.

"Trying to get us the hell out of here," she told him quietly. She shoved her hand deep into her pack and pulled something out. "Close your eyes or I swear I'll kill all of you."

"Captain, please explain."

"Trust me," she told Mal. The second they all closed their eyes, she pulled her shirt off and replaced it with the item she'd pulled from her pack. "You can open your eyes." She turned and went back to the bars. "All right, willing to give me a little hand now?"

"Where did you get that?" Grenade handler said as he moved over to the bars.

She batted her eyelashes. "A lady always has to have a change of clothes just in case. Now, how about you guys put me in my own cell. I need a little privacy. It simply isn't fair that I've been locked in here with the guys."

The man hesitated.

His buddy snorted. "What do we get in return for this kindness?"

"My undying appreciation," she told him with a large smile.

Grenade handler chuckled. "I'll take a little of that." He pulled out a key and unlocked the door.

"Why thank you, you're such a gentleman," Lee said as she stepped out of the cell. When he placed a hand on her rear, she spun, slammed an elbow up into his throat, then dropped him with a second blow to his jaw.

"Hey!" the other guard shouted as he rushed forward.

Lee dropped, her right hand pressed to the floor, she struck out at him with her left leg catching him in the groin. There was a collective groan from her companions. She stood and turned to them. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Right, good idea." Mal jumped up and rushed from the cell. He darted past Lee and punched the second guard when he dragged himself up from the floor and lunged at her.

"Thank you, sir."

"Yeah, right, let's move." He turned to the cell. "Come on you two, let's go."

Van ran from the cell, followed by Oliver. "Nice job, Lee."

"Never underestimate a determined woman." She took her pack from Oliver when he held it out.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I should know that already. You are very determined."

"Come on, you two, have your heartwarming family moment later," Mal called as he checked the hallway. "Grab the gear," he told them.

"Right, let's move. How many votes for blowing up the bridge on our way to the Gate?" Van shouted as they left the building.

Mal ducked into one of the ships. "Anyone know how to drive a sub?"

Oliver shoved him out of the way. "The controls are similar to the Puddle Jumpers, it shouldn't be an issue. Everyone take a seat!" The door sealed and he started up the sub. "Here we go!" The sub pulled away from the docking port and Oliver guided it toward the surface. When they reached the small beach where the subs were docked, he parked it and they hurried away from the beach back in the direction of the bridge.

Alarms began blaring. "Dammit, move faster!" Mal yelled as they sprinted toward the bridge.

Van released a panicked squeal. "They're chasing us! Would now be the time to mention we could move a hell of a lot faster if we had ATVs?"

"Just keep moving. Once we get to the Gate, dial it as quickly as you can, and let's get the hell out of here. Captain, how much C4 do we have?"

"Enough to make this bridge pretty useless, sir!"

"Perfect. Van, Oliver, get your asses through the Gate as soon as you get there. The Captain and I will blow the bridge."

"We aren't leaving you behind!"

"Oliver, follow the damn order! We don't have time for an argument!" Mal yelled.

They darted across the bridge while attempting to keep well ahead of their pursuers. Van tripped, stumbled forward with his arms wind milling, and caught himself before he fell. Mal grabbed him by the back of his vest and gave him a shove toward the end of the bridge.

"Dial the damn Gate! Captain, C4, now!"

"Way ahead of you, sir!"

Mal spun to find her kneeling on the bridge with several bricks of C4 spread around her. He cursed, ran past her, and fired on the men pursuing them. "Hurry up, Captain!"

"Hey, I found the sign! It was hidden behind these vines!" Van called out to them.

"Dial the Gate, Van, stop looking for signs, now is not the time!" Mal screamed.

"Right, sorry!" Van darted away from the sign and began dialing the Gate while Oliver took up a position to help Mal fire on their pursuers. The Gate connected with a fawoosh. "We have a go!"

"Oliver, I've got this, go with Van! Captain, we need to move!" Mal picked off a couple of the men in the lead of the pack charging across the bridge toward them.

"We're good. Let's go, sir."

"Perfect." The second she darted toward the Gate, he sprayed the crowd of men with gunfire and then ran after her. "Now, Captain," he shouted as he ran past her and dove through the event horizon.

Lee grinned and hit the detonator. The moment the bridge blew she turned and stepped through the Gate.

"Welcome home, SG-1," Sam said as soon as they were all through the Gate. "We were about to send teams after you."

"I suggest we lock the address for P8Q-382 out of the computer, it is not a friendly planet," Mal told her.

"Go ahead and get changed, Colonel, then get up to the briefing room." She looked up at the control room. "Lock P8Q-382 out of the dialing computer!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sam took her seat at the table. "All right, Colonel, tell me what happened."

"The people on the planet have a law against using the Stargate. They arrested us and they were going to put us to death. The Captain managed to lure the guards into opening the cell and we took them out."

"We?" Lee asked.

"I did help."

She sighed. "All right, fine, you helped."

"All right, the planet has been locked out of the computer. Do we think they might attempt to use the Gate to attack Earth?" Sam asked.

Mal shook his head. "No, they forbid any use of the Gate, they wouldn't follow us. They'd be breaking their law."

"We also blew up the bridge that leads to the Gate," Lee told her cheerfully.

Sam chuckled. "Well, then I suppose that handles that. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She left with a nod.

Mal sighed. "I suppose we should be thankful that Elias didn't discover we were missing."

"I'll second that." Lee punched him lightly in the shoulder. "All right, how many votes for hamburgers at the Colonel's place?"

"Are you volunteering my house for a BBQ?" Mal asked her.

"Indeed I am. I'll stop on the way and go shopping. Meet you all there!" She jumped up from her seat.

Oliver grinned. "I'll go with you."

"Hey, that's not fair I rode in with you today!" Van said.

Mal laughed. "You can come with me, Van."

"Okay, cool, that's fine."

Mal slapped him on the back when they stood. "Let's go warm up the grill."

Van grinned. "Do we think Lee makes burgers as good as her tacos?"

"I'm sure she does. Shall we find out?"

"Hell, yes."

They left with Van chattering about how it was unfortunate they couldn't make friends with the people on P8Q-382 because it would have been nice to find out where they got all their tech from to build the underwater city.