Young Writers Society

James nodded, and joined Maahes in the trek slightly upward, finally reaching it to the cave. He was relieved to have finally made it to a stopping point, and quickly laid aside the brussels as he started to dig a pit for a fire, so he could cook them. As he leaned down to dig, he froze for a moment, seeing stars.

His sight began to get blurry and white.

"Uh... I think I need to sit down," he said quietly.

"Okay," Maahes said, noticing that James was in the middle of making a fire before he decided he needed to get off of his feet. He quickly decided that it would be for the best for him to finish what he had started, and easily did everything that remained - finishing the pit, gathering the wood and starting the fire with a bit of his magic. James already knew about that; he didn't feel half as hesitant about using it.

By the time that the fire was steadily going, Maahes had found a comfortable place to sit up against one of the rocks lining the walls of the cave. He was in the middle of debating if he should start looking for more food to get James for the future when he heard a noise from the darkness outside.

He silently got to his feet and peered out into it, his hand going for the zat'nik'tel currently hidden inside his pocket. He swiftly drew it out and approached the mouth of the cave.

Only to find the barrel of a gun pointed in his face a moment later.

James, with his eyesight still partially impaired, having been moments from fainting, heard the sudden stop in Maahes's footsteps. He recognized the startled kind of halt, and began to try and blink away the spots in his vision with more urgency.

"Maahes?" he asked quietly as he stood up - again, too fast - and his dehydrated head began to spin. He cursed under his breath and leaned forward with his hands on his knees. He could barely make out a figure outside the cave - a gun, in front of Maahes's face.

"Look, whoever's there, if it's me you want, can you just... wait a minute? Godsdamnit, we literally have nothing worth stealing. There doesn't have to be any shooting involved. Let's just... talk about this rationally and peacefully. Nobody gets hurt."

Maahes peered out into the darkness, but it was too hard to make out whoever was holding the gun. The little that was illuminated by the fire was just the gun itself - and, to a lesser extent, the gun owner's hand. He stared at the barrel of the gun as it was lowered ever so slightly; whoever was there understood reason.

Wait.

He recognized the design of that gun. For one thing, it was an Earth gun. For another, it was a standard issued weapon at the SGC. Though the military in general used it, and anyone could likely purchase that specific model, they were on another world. It just made sense that someone from the SGC would end up here, too, though he couldn't begin to guess who it was.

He took a cautious step back.

Then another.

And then another.

Just like he had guessed, the person entered the cave once they realized there was enough room for them to. Eyes darted from James to Maahes. The gun's barrel remained pointed at some spot in between the two friends; it appeared that the person was prepared to shoot either one of them.

And then he looked at the person's face.

Relief immediately flooded him. This would be easy to take care of - the owner of the gun was Cameron! All he had to do was convince him not to shoot, and they'd be all set. After all, he had spent a good deal of his free time with Cameron since he had joined SG-1; the guy had a habit of adopting the random aliens he met, though he doubted he knew just how alien Maahes truly was.

"Cameron, don't shoot!" he said.

The gun barrel jerked back up and pointed at him. "How do you know my name?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

He furrowed his brow. "What are you-"

As the words left his mouth, the reasoning suddenly clicked. Any bit of relief he had felt immediately faded away. He stared down at himself - stared down at his clothing, his hair, his skin, every single little bit of this current guise of his. And his voice. Oh no, his voice! It didn't sound like Leo's in the slightest. It wasn't supposed to; it was supposed to be so different that no one would ever suspect Maahes and Leonardo Cartwright were the same person.

And he and Vala had told the SGC that he was a completely normal human when he joined SG-1.

This was really, really bad.

The starts finally began to fade from James's vision as Maahes an the stranger backed into the cave. He didn't recognize the man, but it seemed like Maahes did. Though he immediately knew Maahes's mistake when he named the man in question.

Maahes had been switching forms. And from what he knew, not a lot of people knew that he could do that. It had taken him enough convincing just to get Maahes comfortable enough doing it around him, and now Cameron had to come and... ruin it, and treat Maahes like a threat.

James sped towards them, standing directly in front of Maahes, between him and the gun.

"Look. Cameron, right? I'm James. This is my good friend Maahes. I know you have no reason to trust us - but I have no reason to trust you either. So how about you put your weapon away, and we'll talk. Okay? Because if anyone's getting shot, it'll be me. Because I don't give a sh*t. But I really don't like getting shot, and Maahes isn't getting shot if I can godsd*mned help it, so please. Just. Put it down. And I'll give you the run down. A crash course on the 'I've found myself in a strange place and I don't know where I am' situation - if I'm reading it right, and that's what happened to you. Okay?" He lifted up his hands in the typical sign of surrender, nodding towards the gun with insistence.

Cameron was a member of Stargate Command. The offer that James made didn't matter because he already knew what he was supposed to do in situations like these: he was supposed to find answers, and then he was supposed to find a way home. James was still approaching this like it was one of their weird run-ins, when it was more like the things Maahes was used to experiencing while traveling the galaxy.

And, to make matters worse, James had just used his name. The first time must have slipped Cameron's attention, but he could see the gears turning this time around. Cameron had heard him. The grip on the gun tightened, but he didn't shoot. James had made sure that something like that wouldn't happen. If given the option, Cameron wouldn't shoot an innocent person.

"Maahes?" Cameron repeated. Maahes wanted to possibly crawl into a corner and die because this was far worse than when he accidentally revealed the truth to Vala. "That's the name of the Scarlet Lord, isn't it?"

James wouldn't know the answer to that. He had never told him - there hadn't ever been a need. So Maahes bit his lip and gave a small little nod, desperately wishing he was anywhere but here.

Maahes took a step in front of James. This was his mistake, and a bullet wouldn't be as bad for him as it would be for James. He doubted Cameron would shoot, but he had never seen him in the same room as a Goa'uld before. He had no idea how he reacted to them. "I'm the Scarlet Lord," he said. His voice was hesitant. He looked over his shoulder at James, then back at Cameron.

"Is he your first prime, then?" Cameron asked, gesturing at James with the barrel of his gun.

"No," Maahes was quick to say. "He's just a friend."

"You're a Goa'uld," Cameron argued.

"He's my friend," he repeated, trying to stall for time as he frantically rushed to come up with what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. The last time around, he had been the one in control of what was going on - Vala had been unarmed, and he was the one who had called together their meeting. This time, however, Cameron had a gun, and he was sure the man was going to use it in the very near future if he didn't come up with something fast.

"Yes, he's my friend," James emphasized in obvious annoyance, though he knew it probably wouldn't be helpful. He was far too tired and hungry to care about having a cordial tone, especially since Cameron hadn't put the gun down - which meant he had intentions on using it soon.

He looked out at Cameron from behind Maahes, miffed that Maahes had stepped in front of him, therefore negating him as a human shield.

"The only d*mn friend I've got," he added, holding his tongue as his mind scrambled to try and figure out the nuances of the few words exchanged between Cameron and Maahes, or... the Scarlet Lord. A past identity. He stepped out from behind Maahes.

"Look. No matter how unlikely it may seem, we are not your enemies. He's not actually a Gou'lad, even if he looks like one," he insisted, before letting out a long sigh. "Look I... I just want to eat, okay? I haven't eaten in five days, and I'm pretty sure if anyone gets shot, my appetite will be gone forever. That, and you're on the world of Nye, and you don't know your way around here. Have you been to Nye? Do you know where the f*** you are? Hm? No. No you don't. You need me. I need Maahes," he smiled with wide eyes for half a second. "So just..." James took in a sharp inhale. "Put the gun down, Cameron."

Cameron lowered the gun ever so slightly. He was a military man, and Maahes was currently a threat - he wasn't going to put it away entirely. But he wasn't apathetic, and the words that James had said had undoubtedly had their intended effect. They were making him question his decision.

Of course, there was that one bit where James had said he wasn't a Goa'uld. He could try to reword it - try to say that he was a member of the Tok'ra, or pretend that he had never told James a truth that simply wasn't true - but the possibility of that going through without a hitch was incredibly low. It was so low that he even doubted he should try.

So, despite every part of him desperately begging to keep it a secret, he decided to tell him the real truth.

He took a deep breath.

"He's not lying," he said, then hesitated a moment later. "Well, kind of? I'm not technically a Goa'uld but I'm technically a system lord because of the treaties I made. And everyone was convinced that I was a Goa'uld, so I guess you wouldn't be wrong if you thought I was one. And, um, also I'm Leo?"

Cameron nearly dropped the gun in his surprise; apparently, he was doing something right with this explanation, but he had absolutely no idea what that something was.

"Uh, this is the part where I share things I'd only know, right?" Cameron didn't say anything, so he was going to take it as a yes. "There was that time a few weeks ago where you had me, Vala and Teal'c over to binge Star Wars as a team bonding thing, and you kept getting surprised because I'd figure out what would happen next. Only I felt really guilty afterwards because I had seen it before and just hadn't told you, because how I was supposed to explain that when I've only supposedly been living on Earth for like a month? And then you tried it with Star Trek, too, and got me to guess what each episode was about based on the name. And I felt guilty about getting those right too because I'm a diehard Trekkie and I just hadn't told you."

Cameron finally lowered the gun. A smile began to spread across his face, and any fears that Maahes had about this moment were immediately dashed. "I knew something was fishy about that."

Maahes sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

James looked back and forth between the two before letting out one big long sigh of relief, shaking his head. He put a hand on Maahes's back, leaning on him a little bit.

"Gods, I'm so done with being held at gunpoint," he muttered under his breath, then leaving Maahes's side to return to the fire, where he started pulling brussells off their stem and sticking them on a flatter rock that would work as a plate.

Cameron and Maahes watched as James returned to the fire, then promptly began to awkwardly stand around near the front of the cave. Cameron was probably waiting for him to say something that would explain, well, everything, but Maahes had absolutely no idea where to begin. All he could do was just stand there and be grateful that his explanation had miraculously worked.

"So," Cameron finally started. He still kept his hand on his gun; it wasn't like there was any place he could easily put it down. "Something tells me you're probably not human."

Maahes hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He wanted to lie and say that advanced technology was at fault for his ability to change his appearance, but he knew how betrayed Cameron would feel later on if the truth came out.

"I'm not a human," he confirmed, his voice quiet.

"But you said you were when Vala brought you to the SGC," Cameron slowly continued.

Another nervous, hesitant nod.

"Why lie?"

He awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "...Because I'm not one."

"Teal'c isn't human-" Cameron started to say, but Maahes cut him off before he could finish.

"Jaffa are just humans with a Goa'uld in their stomach and an extended lifespan. And they don't even have that first part anymore." He knew Cameron would see his point, but the man was intent on proving him wrong about the necessity of having to hide not being human.

"The Asgard aren't human, and we're alright with them," Cameron said.

"The Asgard look like stereotypical aliens," Maahes argued back, his initial nervousness failing. "You've grown up with images of them everywhere, and you probably expected to run into aliens like them at some point."

Cameron sighed. "The point is that we're okay with aliens, Leo. We work with them everyday, so you don't have to feel like you have to hide a part of yourself."

James listened quietly as the two carried on, and he began to slowly push the stone with the brussels on them into the fire. It wouldn't take long for them to cook and get a little golden brown. It would be bland... but edible.

"Maahes has his reasons," James interjected. "I suggest you hear him out, instead of trying to tell him why he's wrong. Especially since what's done is done, and in the past..." he inched away from the fire slightly, leaning back on his arms. He looked over to Cameron. "Sometimes people who hide their true identity do it to protect themselves, and/or protect others. Or other justifiable reasons. It's not just keeping secrets to keep secrets."

Maahes added nothing to what James had said. James had already covered everything he would have added, and, miraculously enough, the response seemed to have made Cameron stop arguing. He gave Maahes one last look before going to sit down near James. Maahes took it as a sign that his teammate was planning on bringing this up again when James was out of the picture.

He glanced down at the two.

Though James had convinced him that changing his guise as frequently as he had been was alright, Cameron's presence completely changed that. He would have to change his form only when it was absolutely necessary. And, for the meantime, it looked like Leonardo Cartwright would be making a reappearance. As he sat down in between James and Cameron, his guise switched to Leo. He opted to use the same uniform Cameron was wearing instead of the dark clothes James had seen him wear in the past.

After all, Cameron was his leader. And if he was here, it was no longer just him going on an adventure in Nye. It became a matter for the SGC to handle, especially if there was going to be any return trips to Nye in the future.

“Whoa,” Cameron said.

Maahes gave him a small smile.

James watched the little vegetables as they cooked in the fire. He looked over to Maahes, seeing that he'd changed his guise again. A part of him for a moment, was relieved, that he still felt he could do so. But then he say the matching uniforms between Maahes and Cameron, and realized that no... he would probably keep the same appearance until the two of them got home, which meant that he would be in more pain. Which was normal, for him... but still just as saddening.

He looked back into the fire.

"I suppose... if you have any questions regarding this world, feel free to ask me," James offered quietly, though he still couldn't help that he sounded a little miffed about Cameron barging in with a gun moments earlier. He knew he shouldn't blame him. In his shoes, he probably would've done the same. He was just tired of being on the receiving end of threats and the less familiar feeling of being worried for the fate of a friend.

So even though he would've wanted to follow up his offer with 'otherwise, don't talk to me,' he held his tongue, knowing it would not be helpful for the future.

"Thank you," Cameron said, giving a little nod over at James.

Maahes could tell that James was still wary of Cameron; the gun incident probably hadn't helped. Maahes stared into the fire. He had to explain things to James. His friend was still completely unaware of what he was a part of now, and how Cameron wasn't just someone he knew - he was the leader of the famed SG-1, and his commander. Which, now that he was thinking about, would mean absolutely nothing to James, but it was still an important detail that he had to address.

"I guess I should do some explaining," Maahes said. He looked up from the fire and gestured at Cameron. "This is Colonel Cameron Mitchell. He's the leader of SG-1, one of the teams that explores the universe through something called stargates. He's also, uh, my commanding officer and my friend, though we haven't known each other all that long."

Cameron gave James a warm smile and placed his gun - and the small pack he had been carrying - down beside him.

"And Cameron, this is my friend...uh...." He looked nervously over at James, suddenly realizing that he didn't know what name he was supposed to use for him. The bounty hunters had called him Tiberius, so he knew that wasn't an option. Neither was James, right? James hated when he accidentally used his real name. "We met back when I was a little kid, and we keep running into each other every now and then."

"It's nice to meet you," Cameron said, tipping the rim of his hat ever so slightly and giving a nod in James' direction.

James nodded. He couldn't recall how much he'd told Maahes about his military past, and how he served under Blackfield, but he understood what Maahes was getting at. Cameron was his superior and his friend - and under both titles Cameron required respect and a level of subservience that he wasn't obligated to reciprocate as Maahes was.

He didn't serve under SG-1, and he had his own mission in life that didn't involve exploring the universe.

He pulled the quickly cooked vegetables from the fire, poking at their slightly browned leaves. When he looked up to Maahes and Cameron, Cameron was smiling. His eyes flickered to Maahes, then back to Cameron. He tried to manage a
genuine grin, only to conjure one that looked more like a mix of disgust and annoyance, so he quickly wiped it from his face. He was - at least around Maahes - trying to be sincere unless it was for his and their own protection.

"You can call me James," he said quietly. It would be simpler that way. Maahes already knew him as James, and anyone out there who wanted to hunt him knew him as Tiberius. James would just sound like another alias, and as long as he didn't say his last name, it didn't really matter. "Nice to meet you as well."