Serpent's Vow

16: First-ish Contact

That PA hadn't been for him, but Daniel couldn't help but sense that this was important. Maybe he could help. On the other hand, maybe he would just be in the way. Either way, he knew Dr. Fraiser would tell him to get out if she really wanted him gone. Which really should bother him since the medical doctor was much more intimidating than General Hammond ever seemed to the archaeologist. It was probably because Janet had needles.

Clutching his latest notes tightly, Daniel rushed down the hall and around the corner, nearly smacking into Chief Sergeant Walter Harrimon in the process.

"Geez, sorry Walter," Daniel gasped, stumbling back in surprise.

"No problem, Dr. Jackson," Walter said, holding his hands out in case Daniel needed any assistance. "Just take it easy. The world's not ending yet."

Daniel nodded because that was true. "Not this time," he said wryly.

Then he noticed the person standing behind Walter and maybe he was a bit presumptuous to assume it wasn't the end of the world. Brown hair, tan skin, blue eyes like ice.

"Nephthys," he breathed.

The stranger sneered and Daniel gulped. How...? What was Nephthys doing in the SGC? How the hell had he gotten in here?

He was right behind Walter.

"Dr. Jackson?" Walter asked.

Daniel fumbled with his words. "Y-yeah, um, hey Walter, don't freak out, but I'm gonna need you to step away from him," he said finally.

The airman hesitated and turned around to where Nephthys stood with a frown. When he turned back he looked confused. "I'm sorry, I can't do that," he said. "I'm under orders to escort him to the surface."

Oh really? "Whose orders?" Daniel asked, hoping his suspicions were off base.

Bad pun. Now's not the time.

"Set's," Walter replied. Huh? "Now, if you'll excus-"

"Wait. Hold on a second," Daniel said quickly, holding up his hand, one palm open and the other full of messily scribbled notes. "Set's? Set's dead, Walter."

"Setesh is dead," Nephthys said, a sly smirk appearing on his deceptively young face. "I am not."

But... No, Setesh and Set and Seth were all the same person. The Goa'uld just had many iterations of the same name, nothing too unusual there. Daniel was sure about that. Besides, Jacob and Selmak had been certain the Goa'uld in front of him -who should not be in front of him- was called Nephthys, not Set.

Then again, it would explain why neither Daniel nor Sam had been able to find any patterns of cults or anything of the sort focused on Nephthys. If the Goa'uld's name really was Set then...

"So you're Dr. Jackson," Neph- Set stated inquisitively. Blue eyes glanced down the corridor Daniel had just come from before locking back on the archaeologist. "You would be a nerd."

Excuse... Actually no, that was accurate. Still, "Not sure if I should take that as an insult or not," Daniel muttered.

"Take it however you'd like," Set said, shrugging his shoulders.

For a moment, neither of them moved or spoke. Then Set snickered.

"Aren't you going to scream?" he asked casually, seeming more amused than annoyed by the situation.

Daniel blinked because he really should be screaming and raising the alarm because hello there was a Goa'uld in the SGC.

Set huffed. "I've already spoken to your general," he said. "You must be on this SG-1 team, then." Um. "Congratulations on killing Ra and Apophis. Destroying those two power houses shouldn't be taken lightly." Um? "Hathor was a bitch and while I won't remotely miss her, you should be wary of Heru'ur. It's unlikely he'll be pleased with his mother's death." Um?