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Chapter 10: The Great Escape!
Kawalsky and I emerged on the other side of the stargate at Chulak. We both ended up stumbling out of the gate as both the chill of the transition and the crisp air of Chulak's climate sent us both shivering upon arrival.
"Whatever the hell is causing this shit to happen needs to get fixed, ASAP!" I grunted as I took a deep breath and adjusted to the chill.
"At least it seems to be improving," Kawalsky replied as he flexed his hands and began rubbing them to get the blood flowing. "It was way worse the last time. Must be wearing off."
"Small mercy," I replied. I examined the surrounding area and saw that we were standing on a low, flat plain at the base of a series of hills. It appeared as if the area had been cleared some time ago as all of the trees were some distance away and we were standing on a dirt covered clearing with many large boulders placed in some sort of organized fashion with the stargate at the center. I noted that this was definitely a poor defensive position for us to stick around in as everyone took cover behind the nearest boulder and scanned our surroundings.
At that point Daniel sneezed.
"Well, some things never change," I muttered. Louder, I called out, "Alright; Daniel, go ahead and check the dialing pedestal to make sure we can dial home. Carter, get ready to send the probe back through. SG-Dragon, you're on overwatch. Keep your eyes on those hills."
About fifteen minutes later, we were almost ready to move out. I walked up next to Daniel, listening to him prattle on about the area.
"It must be some sort of ceremonial place. The gate is, has to be, an integral part of their spiritual culture. This place was built as if it were meant for worshippers," Daniel said.
"So, you figure out how to dial home yet?" I asked.
"Oh… Well, in answer to your question, yeah. The device is the same as on Abydos. This symbol represents-"
"You told this to Dragon, yet?"
"Yes, this symbol represents-"
"Daniel, let's wait until we get back for you to give a class, alright?" I said before walking away. I was about as interested as O'Neill was in the TV series about what that symbol was all about.
I walked over to Kawalsky. "We'll need to find a better spot to lay up at than this," I said. "Way too open for my tastes."
"Yeah, that's just what I was thinking," he replied.
"Sirs, I found what looks like a trail down the mountain. Looks like its seen traffic in the last couple of days," an SG-Dragon member reported.
"Good work. With any luck, it'll lead us to a nice spot out of the way to set up base camp," I nodded. I then turned to Carter, who had approached me while Daniel was busy with the dialing device. "Anything up, captain?"
"Sir, I'd advise setting a line of Claymores along the ridge at ten-meter intervals," she reported. "We packed a number of them and I don't think we'll get a better location to use them than here."
I smiled and nodded, pleased with the idea since I knew our exit was likely going to be pretty intense. "Sounds good," I said. "Grab Warren and have him give you a hand. He's got explosives training. Pass me the remote to the probe and I'll send it back. We should be ready to move out once you two are done."
~SG-WOLF~
After half an hour of hiking later, we came across a small clearing that overlooked the path to the stargate. It was hidden enough so that people traveling the path wouldn't be able to see into the clearing so long as we were careful and close enough to ambush any hostiles that came this way. Dragon set up camp and I prepared to take the rest of my team out to scout ahead.
"Alright, we're all set here. If we're not back in twenty hours-" I began.
"We'll come and rescue your sorry asses," Kawalsky grinned.
"I wish, but that's not the mission today. You'll go back through the gate with the address Daniel told you, as you were ordered," I said firmly. "If we make contact with you and need support, you can provide it, but we're not looking to get into a pitched battle of we can help it."
"Yes, sir," he replied, looking unhappy with the order.
"If we don't make it back and you don't hear from us, it's because we got our asses handed to us and you need to run. Then, it'll be your job to make it back and warn everyone that this place is bad news and to keep clear."
Daniel and Carter walked over to me, having unslung most of their own gear here at the camp and ready to head out with me.
"Looks like we're good to go. Stay safe and keep your heads down while we're gone," I said.
"Sure thing. Pick me up a t-shirt," he responded.
"Sure," I laughed. "How about I check the gift shop for refrigerator magnets and shot glasses too? Those always make good gifts. Which do you think General Hammond would prefer?"
"He seems more like a t-shirt guy to me, so try to go for one of those," Kawalsky laughed as he waved farewell to us.
~SG-WOLF~
We had only been walking for about ten minutes alongside the dirt path when Sam decided to start up a conversation with Daniel.
"So, Dr. Jackson, tell me more about Sha're," she asked. "How did you two meet?"
"Sha're? Well, she's-" Daniel began.
"She was a gift," I interrupted, smirking.
"She was, actually, from the elders of Abydos the first night we were there," he confirmed.
"And you accepted?!" she asked incredulously.
"Not at first," I grinned. "The language barrier was still pretty big at that point. He just thought his natural charisma and reputation as 'the Chicken Man' was drawing fans in faster than he thought they would."
"Hey!" Daniel squawked indignantly. "That's not true! Don't tell people that!"
"'The Chicken Man?'" Sam asked confusedly. "You mean that part of your report where Dr. Jackson imitated a chicken over dinner to the Abydonians?"
"The Legend of the Chicken Man is a big deal to the people of Abydos," I replied to her matter-of-factly. Daniel just turned red and facepalmed behind me.
"But anyway, by then it was too late. They thought he was either Ra, or a representative of Ra's, which was the reason Sha're was given to Daniel. By the time everyone was on the same level and he realized the situation, the two had already started falling in love, so they stayed together," I finished up.
A moment later, I spotted movement up the path ahead of us. "Hold up for a minute!" I whispered loudly.
"What?" Daniel asked as I crouched behind a fallen log to use as cover. Sam pulled Daniel down with us a moment later.
We spied the group of heavily robed people making their way along the path. They all wore elaborate hide colored robes that covered their bodies completely and their heads were topped with some sort of pointed leather hood that had a snakeskin pattern to it. Each of them carried wooden staves with snake heads atop them and several had gemstones as well that seemed decorative more than any goa'uld technology.
"Spot any weapons?" I asked Sam.
"No, sir," she replied.
"They're worshipers," Daniel said as they came into clearer view. They certainly looked the part with the way they were dressed. I knew these were the Serpent Priests of Apophis. They mostly corralled the human and jaffa populations of the worlds Apophis ruled and had access to slightly more technology than the average jaffa would. They were mostly civilians, but I knew these guys had to be true fanatics if they were trusted by Apophis to act on his behalf. Fanatics were bad news, as a default.
"Ok, here's the plan-" I began, but broke off as I saw that Daniel had already left.
"God dammit," I sighed. Even though I believed that this was still the most likely way to get Teal'c to our side, I was still slightly pissed that he didn't wait for us.
The priests continued to walk on until Daniel said 'hi' to them. "Uhh… We just came through the stargate… uhh… the chaapa'ai?"
"Chaapa'ai!" the one in the front cried out and the group fell on their knees.
"No, no, please don't…do that," Daniel sighed. I decided to intervene at this point.
"As much as I admire your ability to make friends," I told him. "You seriously need to stop rushing ahead without your team to support you." Sam came up behind me and kept her weapon ready, but not pointed to the kneeling priests.
"Sorry," Daniel replied, abashed. He turned back to the priests and started talking to them. "Please, you don't have to do this," he said as he pulled the priest who had spoken to his feet. The priest stood and pulled back his hood, identifying him and his brothers as belonging to Apophis by the stylized snake tattoo on his forehead.
"Chula asla?" the priest at the front asked us.
After a moment, Daniel recognized the words. "'Choose.' They want to know if we're here to choose," he said, looking at me. I shrugged in response.
"Ahh, sure! Sure, choosing is good," he replied. While it was clear the priest had no idea what he just said, he seemed encouraged a bit by Daniel's agreeing tone.
Daniel turned to me to explain. "Their language seems to be a derivation of Arabic, combined with-"
"You can write a paper about it later, Daniel. What I'm hoping is that there's a town or something nearby that they can take us to," I replied.
"Ahh…would you take us to…uhh, ahh…would you take us to…arrish? Arrish?" Daniel asked as he made a house-like gesture with his hands by steepling them together like a triangle
"Chulak!" the priest replied happily, seeming very patient with our lack of a common language. He then beckoned for us to follow him while repeating the word.
"I guess we're off to Chulak then," I said before leading the way for my team.
~SG-WOLF~
After another half hour of walking we came across a stone-built city on top of a hill. It had tall dark walls running between towers that protected the settlement. I wondered at how useful those defenses would be in the event this planet was invaded. They certainly wouldn't do anything about a fleet in orbit and I couldn't see any sort of weapons installations around here that could protect the city from ships or aircraft. Could those stones even fend off a concentrated bombardment from staff weapons or cannons? It just seemed like a waste of effort considering the types of attack this place might face from other goa'uld. It may have just been vanity on behalf of Apophis or perhaps just demonstrated the backwards warfare jaffa were used to fighting.
"Chulak!" the priest proudly said as he pointed at the town.
"Chulak. Sounds good," Daniel said as we continued on, our sights fixed on the city.
As we walked closer to the high walls of the city, I got a closer look at the architectural style used in its construction and noted how strange it was. The walls were almost Greek in style, but there were Egyptian style decorations everywhere we looked. As we ventured further in, much of it appeared not just peculiar with all of the conflicting styles existing alongside of each other but grew more luxurious as we entered the wing of some sort of palace.
After we entered the palace, we were moved to a room full of people in elaborate clothing gathered around a large table covered in plates of food and clay jugs containing drinks. The people here were mostly women wearing gowns and dresses, but there were also a few men wearing short togas.
The priest spoke grandly before bowing and departing with his fellows. I presume it was also to announce us as the people present all turned to look at us and began chattering away as we sat down.
"Not the worst welcome I've ever received," I remarked as we walked a few steps into the room. Several of the slaves came forward to guide us to cushions at the head of the table to be seated at. As we sat down, more came up to us with cups and plates and set them down in front of us.
"Why are they treating us like this?" Sam asked me.
"They think we're gods," Daniel answered.
"Well that'll make things easier," I replied.
"Make what easier?" Sam asked.
"Getting some answers out of these people as to what's going on," I explained. "Anyone else think it was odd we were guided here so easily and immediately dropped into what looks like someone's harem?"
Sam seemed to think about that for a second. "It does seem odd that nobody tried to talk to us yet," she remarked. "Could they be mistaking us for someone else?"
"This is a feast of some kind. Apparently, someone's expected," Daniel noted.
At that point, a guy with a massive horn blew into it and immediately, all activity around us halted. The slaves all began prostrating themselves in the direction of a set of large, elaborate doors at the far end of the room. Daniel was the first to pick up on it, then Sam. I stayed sitting for a few moments longer, not liking the idea of bowing to the asshole I knew was about to enter.
"When in Rome…" Daniel trailed off. I sighed before moving into a prostrating position myself but I kept my eyes up. I heard the sound of many steel boots impacting against the stone floor in a marching pattern. The sound grew louder as the Serpent Guards wearing them came closer towards us, finally entering the room we were in and taking flanking positions on either side of the door.
That was when I saw Teal'c for the first time. He looked much like his tv show counterpart; an absolutely massive brown skinned man with impressive muscles visible even beneath the armor he was wearing. The prominent golden serpent tattoo on his forehead drew the eyes to his face, which appeared so stern it was as if it were carved into a permanent frown.
He then spoke several words, two of which I recognized; goa'uld and Apophis. He then walked to the side to make way for a man wearing ornate robes along with a tall crown-like hat depicting a snake at its front. He was wearing a great deal of gold jewelry and was accompanied by a woman who wore a white veil and robes.
"Behold," Apophis began grandly as he turned to the woman and lifted her veil. "your Queen."
We were already too late. Amonet had already taken Sha're as her host.
"Sha're?" Daniel murmured before he scrambled to his feel.
"Daniel!" I hissed as I reached out and tried to stop him, but he just shrugged me off.
"Sha're, thank God you're alright…" Daniel began but Apophis cut him off.
"Kneel before your Queen!" he ordered, seeming angrier that Daniel was standing than wondering what he was doing talking to his new queen.
"Sha're, it's me!" Daniel said.
However, Sha're's only response was for her eyes to flash with yellow light.
Apophis seemed to decide that that was enough. He then threw Danial across the room with a kinetic blast from his hand device. Daniel slammed hard into the wall and slid down onto the ground, unconscious. I rose from my spot, MP5 in hand, but Sha're stood in front of my target with her arms out and covered Apophis. I didn't know if Apophis didn't have his shield activated or if maybe Amonet did and that was why she felt so confident putting herself in harm's way like that, but it didn't matter for long.
I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head for a moment before everything went black and I lost consciousness.
~SG-WOLF~
I awoke to the sound of Skaara calling for me to wake up. "Len'nex! Len'nex!"
"Ahh, damnit, my head!" I groaned as I sat up. I immediately regretted doing so as the room seemed to spin and grow fuzzy. I blinked hard and felt the lump on the back of my head where someone must have his me pretty damn hard with something, probably the weighted end of a staff weapon.
"Len'nex!" Skaara gasped in relief as I sat up and he helped me to my feet.
"Hey Skaara," I grinned as I withdrew my other hand from my head and clapped it on the boy's shoulder in a friendly greeting. We were in a dark room made of large stone bricks and a dirt floor. On the far side of the room, there was a short flight of steps leading up to a large barred gate that was currently closed with a pair of jaffa guarding it from the outside. There was perhaps a few dozen men and women clustered into small groups in the room with us, all looking a bit worse for wear with dirty clothing and frightened expressions.
"Where's Sam? And Daniel?" I asked.
"She is there with Daniel," Skaara replied, pointing through the crowd. I nodded and walked over to the spot Skaara pointed at. There I saw Sam kneeling next to a prone Daniel.
"Carter," I said as I reached her. She turned around and quickly stood up. "Sir," she greeted.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"A few hours," she reported. "I wasn't knocked out so I've been awake the whole time. When we got here, I let the boy watch over you while I did the same for Daniel. He introduced himself as Skaara, so I figured he was trustworthy."
"Right. Well, see if you can wake him up. I'm gonna have a look around," I said.
"Yes, sir," she replied before attempting to get Daniel awake.
I spent about twenty minutes looking around, but already knew that there was no conventional way out. I also had to explain to Skaara what had happened to Sha're without confusing him. He was a smart kid, but he didn't really have any context for me to accurately explain what was happening. Soon after, I heard Daniel coughing.
'Those hand devices are no joke. Daniel should consider himself lucky he didn't get put into the wall,' I thought to myself before walking over to where they were with Skaara following me.
"Any luck, sir?" Sam asked as we approached.
"No dice," I informed her. "Wall looks like it opens to the forest outside, but it's too thick to try digging through or under and those windows are too high and barred to make them a feasible option."
"Daniel! You are finally awake!" Skaara walked forward to kneel down and embrace the archaeologist.
"I think so," he replied shakily and coughed once before letting go of Skaara. We then helped him back to his feet slowly as he got his bearings back.
"Take it easy for a bit, Danny. You're lucky that kinetic blast didn't kill you went flying across the room," I said.
"Len'nex told me about Sha're," Skaara said.
"Lennex, we have to try again…" Daniel started.
"Daniel… I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but she's got one of those things inside of her now. You and I both saw her eyes glow and how she was acting. They got the drop on us today, Daniel. There's not much for us to do today except get out of here and regroup," I tried to convince him.
"But…"
"Daniel!" I said forcefully, cutting him off from making another protest. "Our mission is a bust today, but right now, we need to focus on a plan to get out of here, regroup and figure out how we'll get her back another day. We're not done trying, but we're not going to get it done today."
Daniel sat morosely, taking in what I had just told him as I turned to Sam. "Any word on what might have happened to our missing airman?"
Sam shook her head. "No, sir. I tried asking a few others, but even the ones that seemed to understand me didn't know who I was talking about."
I sighed. "If she's not with us or if we don't know anything more by the time we work out an escape, we may have to head back without her," I said. "Given what we've seen thus far, I'm not too hopeful myself. This doesn't seem like the kind of place to take good care of its prisoners." I gestured at the bare cell with its dirt floor and crowded accommodations. Sam nodded, not happy, but acknowledging that without some kind of lead, we couldn't wait around to look for confirmation of whether she was alive or dead. I of course, knew she was almost certainly dead, so I didn't intend to wait around to find her body even if we weren't on the clock right now. As appealing as it was to always retrieve the bodies of our fallen, there was no way I was risking everyone's lives for the sake of tradition.
"Carter, you still got that transmitter?" I asked Sam.
"Here, sir," she held it up, having retrieved it from inside her jacket.
"Make sure you keep that close," I told her. "When we get out of here, we'll probably be in a big rush. As far as we know, that'll be our only shot back if Dragon already booked it back home by then."
Sam nodded before tucking the transmitter back inside her jacket and out of sight.
"Now, let's see if we can manage our escape in a reasonable amount of time," I muttered, checking my watch for how much longer we had before we got locked out and our codes erased. Suddenly, I was pulled back as my arm was wrenched up by an armored gauntlet with an iron grip beneath it.
"Ow, dammit, hey!" I cried out and looked at the face of the Serpent Guard who had walked up behind us.
"What is this?" he asked. I recognized Teal'c's voice coming from inside the helmet.
I looked down to see that he was referring to the digital watch around my wrist.
"It's called a watch. Tells me the time," I replied.
Teal'c then partially deactivated his helmet to get a better look at it. He spent several seconds looking at it before looking back at me. "Where are you from?"
"Earth," I replied.
"Your words means nothing. Where are you from?" he repeated.
"Ahh, excuse me," Daniel interrupted before drawing the Earth point-of-origin symbol in the sand. "This is where we're from," he said.
Teal'c took a long look at it before he erased the symbol with the end of his staff. He then stepped back and walked out of the room, flanked by two other Serpent Guards.
"That was certainly an interesting encounter," I said.
"What do you think that was about?" Daniel asked me. I just shrugged non-committedly.
~SG-WOLF~
Daylight streamed through the very small window holes that lined the top of the cell we were all stuck in. The night had been very cold, but I pitied Kawalsky and the others who were roughing it out in those woods. The torches in here seemed to provide a bit of heat, but people were still clustered together and sharing body heat last night.
I was still looking around the place and had hoisted myself up to one of the little windows by getting a boost from Skaara and grasping the bars as he lifted me. I still couldn't see much outside; just some grass, stone, gravel, dirt and trees. But, I made a note that there were no patrols or busy roads within sight of this wall. It was just a clear shot to the woods from here. A horrible security oversight on the part of the guys who built this place, but I suppose that's just goa'uld arrogance for you.
I lowered myself down, landing next to Skaara who was still worried and asking me questions about what we were going to do to get out of here.
"Sha're is lost to us?" he asked.
"No, not exactly," I sighed. "She's just…out of reach for now. It's a difficult thing to explain, but she's still alive," I replied.
"We will save her," he stated.
"We will, somehow. But we need a way out of here first."
"But you are great warrior! Together we defeated Ra!" he protested.
"We also had a lot of luck when we did that," I told him. "Skaara, I promise you, Sha're is still alive and we will save her, but it may take time and we'll have to be smart about it. It's how we beat Ra, remember?" I asked. He nodded, remembering.
I felt my heart grow heavy as I knew what was coming soon. I reached over to Skaara and placed my hands on his shoulders as he looked at me. "Skaara," I began. "What's important is that we hold on and don't give up. Sha're is gone, but only for now. I need you to believe me when I say this, do you understand me?" he nodded.
"I'm going to fix this," I told him. "I don't know how long it'll take, but I'm going to set all of this right. Until then, remember that these assholes aren't gods and we've beaten them before. We will do it again."
A loud scraping sound alerted us to the gates of the cell opening. I pulled Skaara over to where Daniel and Sam were standing as we watched Serpent Guards stream in and take up flanking positions along the sides of the chamber. They were followed by Teal'c, who stood in the center with his helmet deactivated.
"Shalaha, kre homel, Goa'uld!" he called out, holding his arms wide.
"Did you understand any of that?" I asked Skaara.
"They're going to choose," he replied, fear and anger creeping into his tone.
"Choose what?" Sam asked.
"Who will be the children of the gods," he told her.
Behind the line of Serpent Guards, a procession of finely dressed people entered which was then followed with a large platform carried by four strongly built men who I recognized as slaves. The palanquin as I remembered it was called, was lowered and the Head Asshole himself stepped out. He took a moment to survey us all before he turned and held out his hand back to the palanquin. A moment later his queen, Amonet, emerged in the body of Sha're.
"Sha're-," Daniel was about to move forward, but Sam and I held him back.
"Not now, Daniel," I hissed back at him and he got the message, stopping his struggling, but we still kept a hold of him.
Teal'c spoke at length in goa'uld as the slaves quickly stepped out into the crowd and began pushing us all to the ground. Apophis and his retainers all held gloating looks on their faces as the prisoners were all driven to their knees before them.
"Kneel before your masters!" Teal'c called out to us.
Sam and Daniel were forced into kneeling on the ground. I glanced at Teal'c and saw him looking at me. I held his gaze for a few moments before voluntarily kneeling myself before one of the slaves came by to force me. Beside me, Skaara was still standing tall and defiant at what was happening.
"Skaara," I said to the kid. He looked at me before complying, albeit slowly and with a lot of obvious reluctance.
We watched as several of the goa'uld began to walk down into the cell itself, observing select prisoners. The servants occasionally brought forward a person to be inspected more closely. Some of them were rejected and tossed back onto the ground while a few others were accepted and dragged off out of the cell. I kept my eyes on Teal'c to see his reaction at what was happening. His face was stern as he watched, but I could see the disgust in his eyes as more new hosts were dragged past him.
'That is not the look of a man who is happy with himself,' I thought.
One of the goa'uld walked past and Daniel reached out and grabbed his sleeve. I rose to pull him off but was met with two primed staff weapons pointed at us both.
"This one is passionate," the goa'uld said amusedly in that deep tone that all goa'uld liked to use.
"How much would I remember if you chose me?" Daniel asked desperately. "Something of the host must survive."
The guy slowly shook his head and smirked down at us. Daniel just sat there, despair finally hitting him as he began to cry quietly.
The goa'uld stood gloatingly over Daniel as he wept before looking over the rest of us. He then pointed at Skaara. "We choose him."
We all froze as the implication of what he had just said sunk in. Then, the servants moved forward and hauled him away, with Skaara crying out in Abydonian the whole time.
"Skaara!" I called to him, but got a swipe over the face from a staff for my trouble.
"Len'nex! Len'nex!" Skaara called out to me as he was moved past Apophis and Amonet. It seemed he was the last one to be chosen as the Serpent Guards walked up the stairs and stood ready.
"Kill the rest," Apophis smiled and everyone began to scream and cry out in fear. They all scrambled to the back of the cell while Sam, Daniel and I rose but did not panic. We watched the goa'uld leave, along with most of the guards, leaving only six behind along with Teal'c to finish them off.
'I hope this works,' I thought before I walked forward.
"I can save these people!" I called to Teal'c, who spun around as he primed his staff and pointed it at me. "I know you can't agree with this. You don't have to do this," I said as I looked him dead in the eye, determined. "Help me."
"Many have said that!" Teal'c replied as I continued to stare him down. He did the same before he swiftly turned himself around and blasted the nearest Serpent Guard in the chest, sending him flying back from the force of the impact.
"But you are the first I believed could do it!" he called out as he tossed his weapon to me. I immediately stepped forward, grasping the staff and bringing it down into a firing position. I targeted the first Serpent Guard and triggered the firing switch, sending out a blast that impacted right into his snake helmet and dropping him like a stone.
Having finally snapped out of their stupor, the rest of the jaffa quickly open fired on us. I then fired a second time and a third time, downing two more guards while walking sideways quickly to create a moving target. The Serpent Guards fired off a few shots, but seemed to have a hard time targeting me and sent many of their shots wide. At least three of the prisoners behind me went down from direct hits and I didn't see them get up again.
During this, Teal'c had rolled forward, not encumbered by a bulky helmet like the rest, and managed to pick up a staff from a dead guard and quickly finished off the remaining two while firing from a kneeling position.
Jaffa warriors swarmed at the cell gate and attempted to open it to help their fellows, but a few staff blasts from Teal'c and I forced them to retreat. I then turned around and pointed at the wall.
"Out of the way, now!" I ordered, waving one hand to try and get my intention across to the others.
The people in the way scattered, leaving a clear path open to the back wall of the cell. I fired several precision shots in a tight pattern to open a large enough hole for everyone to get through. Sam and I ran forward to make sure the outside was clear before we ducked back inside.
"Come on, let's move!" I called out as Sam took point, leading the liberated prisoners out of the cell. They quickly began to filter out through the hole and run for the forest where Sam was waving them all down to gather near her. Soon, they had all gotten out and Daniel was the last one to come through. Daniel moved over to me.
"You still with us, Daniel?" I asked. He hesitated but nodded, not trusting his voice. I wanted to tell him the bastard was lying. I wanted to tell him that I had a plan to get Sha're back and a backup for that if needed. But I had a cover to maintain and even I couldn't trust my future knowledge past a certain point. But I couldn't stand seeing my friend in such clear pain without saying something.
I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, keeping him beside me for a moment longer. "Don't trust what that prick told you," I said. "He'd have no reason to be honest with you and took too much pleasure in telling you that for it to be trustworthy. We're gonna get her back and we're gonna get that thing out of her."
Daniel was quiet for a few seconds, but soon nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.
I then let him go and pushed him in the direction of the treeline before turning back to see Teal'c, who was discarding pieces of his armor as he walked through the cell. The bodies of dead Serpent Guard drew his eyes as he watched the red eyes of the last helmets go dim, supposedly signifying the death of the occupant.
Seeing the lost look on his face, it's easy for me to understand why O'Neill wouldn't leave him behind. More than just being the right thing to do, Teal'c had such a lost look about him that it was clear that while I knew he did not regret betraying his 'gods' and would later be vindicated for his heroism today, it still stung him to turn his back on everything he knew. He may have done it for the right reasons, but it clearly weighed heavily on him. Even if I didn't know how important he would be in the future, I would feel compelled to save this man.
"You coming or what?" I called to him.
He hesitated for a moment before replying. "I have nowhere to go."
"For this, you can stay at my place, now let's go!" I replied with a wave for him to hurry up and join me. He then began to slowly walk over to me, picking up speed.
"So, what's your name?" I asked as he moved through the hole.
"Teal'c," the ex-First Prime replied.
"I'm Colonel Lennex MacDuff," I replied as I stuck out my hand. He responded by grasping half my arm strongly in a kind of warrior handshake. I had forgotten that jaffa did that. "Alright then. Now, where will they take the boy I was with, Skaara?"
"To the stargate," he replied as we began to move swiftly with the others. "After they've selected hosts for their children, they will return home."
After we reached a short outcrop of flat land, we were about fifteen minutes from the base camp. "We've got about an hour before we get locked out. How about the rest of these people? Does anyone need help moving?" I asked.
"Everyone's good to travel, sir. We lost a few of them when we reached the forest," Sam replied. "They just took off on their own."
"Damnit, I was afraid we'd have that happen. I doubt they'll survive long on their own in these woods," I said.
"They will be hunted down and killed," Teal'c agreed. "Anyone who does not exist to serve the gods is their enemy."
"Yeah, so what does that make you?" I asked.
"I am a jaffa. Bred to serve, that they may live," he replied.
"I don't understand," Daniel said, confused.
Teal'c stopped and I braced myself for what was coming next as he undid the clasps for his chainmail shirt to reveal the 'X' shaped pouch he had there. And a moment later, the larval goa'uld symbiote poked its head out of the opening.
Everyone nearby gave a short scream and I winced at the disgusting sight. I was never really a fan of body horror and this was absolutely disgusting to see in real life instead of a TV show.
"What the hell is that?" Daniel asked.
"It is an infant goa'uld, the larval form of the gods," Teal'c explained. "I have carried one since I was a child, as all jaffa carry one."
"Alright, we got it, just put that thing away!" I said, getting seriously grossed out by the sight of the thing waving its head around out of the pouch. Teal'c complied by allowing the snake to retreat back inside before pulling the chainmail back over the hole and clasping it shut.
"This is the twelfth I have carried," he said.
"Well, can't you ditch it or something?" I asked.
He looked at me for a long moment. "In exchange for carrying the infant goa'uld until maturity, a jaffa receives perfect health and long life. If I were to remove it, I would eventually die."
"Well, that sucks," I replied. "Nothing we can do about it now then. Just...keep it in your pouch, alright?" Teal'c nodded, not reacting to my attempt at humor.
"Why are you helping us?" Sam asked.
"The goa'uld are conquerors, nothing more. Unworthy of the worship or sacrifices made in their name. You are the first I have seen with powers that approach theirs," Teal'c said.
"We've held our own thus far," I said. "But honestly, we're a long way off from fighting them head on."
"And yet, you are strong," Teal'c assured me. "You have shown more strength than any I have seen in person. I choose to place my faith in you now."
At that moment, an oversized Death Glider flew over our heads and headed in the direction of the stargate. I knew it was most likely carrying Apophis and his entourage inside.
"Alright, time to step it up, people. Let's go! Move!" I urged loudly. Everyone began to scramble up the next hill, following one of the dirt paths that headed in the direction of the stargate.
Teal'c walked over to me. "The boy you seek is no longer who he was," he said. I didn't say anything in return, already knowing that while he wasn't technically correct, I was likely already too late to save Skaara from becoming a host. I just looked at him before continuing on.
We were coming up to the last ridge before the gate when the oversized Death Glider came back and deployed its staff cannons to fire.
"Get down! Everyone get to cover!" I called out as the large fighter began bombarding the area with energy blasts, sending up dirt and rock every time the shots hit the ground. A few people were slow to get the message and went down on the first pass, their bodies flying as the force of the blasts sent them through the air.
By the time the fighter was coming around for its second pass, most of the prisoners had taken cover in the trees lining the path we were using. Teal'c and I knelt on the ground and began firing up at the ship. I cursed the lack of sights or aiming ability on the staff as Teal'c and I eyeballed our shots, making a few hits, but appearing to not really do any damage to the enemy craft.
"Colonel, we're sitting ducks here!" Sam called over.
"I am aware of that, captain!" I yelled back. Teal'c and I readied our weapons and began firing as the glider lined up for another pass. I was waiting for our reinforcements to arrive, but if they didn't we might manage to get a lucky shot in.
However, a new sound reached my ears and I saw a rocket shoot over our heads and explode into the second fighter, knocking off part of one of the wings. That must have been enough, because it then spun out of control and hit the ground in a ball of fire.
Everyone began cheering and I looked up behind me to see Kawalsky and his team cheering on the ridge. "Now that's good timing!" I yelled as I pumped my fist into the air. I then turned to the prisoners. "Let's go, people! Up the hill!" I called before we jogged over to SG-Dragon.
"Good shooting, fellas. Thanks for the rescue" I grinned as we met up with Kawalsky.
"Consider yourself lucky I like you so much," Kawalsky grinned back before sobering slightly. "Saw that ship drop off a bunch of fancily dressed people off at the gate before we headed back here to give you support."
"How many are there?"
"A little over a dozen," he reported. "They're going back through the gate."
"They took Skaara and Sha're. Did you spot them in the group?" I asked.
"We did," he confirmed. "Almost didn't recognize them at first. We considered trying to free them, but that fighter made the decision for us when we saw it come back and open fire on the forest."
I nodded, understanding. "We picked up some other prisoners on our way out," I told him. "We're getting close to the lockout. We gotta hurry or we'll be stuck here."
We then scrambled up the last hill with Kawalsky shouting orders to his team as they herded the prisoners along. We reached the top of the ridge, only to see the last three Goa'uld about to pass through the gate.
"Skaara!" I called out and he turned around to look at me. I knew it was definitely too late as he only smirked at me and flash his eyes before he and the others stepped through the gate.
"Goddammit," I sighed before we made our way down the ridge as the stargate powered off. We were too far away and at the wrong angle to get a good look at exactly which symbols were being used.
"Sir, we got hostiles coming out of the trees! Lots of them!" a member of Dragon reported over the radio before we heard them firing from behind our group. I could hear the sound of energy blasts as well, making it clear that our pursuers had caught up with us.
"Okay people, we're going on a little field trip," Kawalsky advised the refugees.
"Daniel, start dialing home," I said before turning to Sam. "Get those claymores ready and pass the detonator to Kawalsky." She immediately retrieved the fuse box and passed it to the major.
"Me and the rest of Dragon will be the last men out," Kawalsky said as he took the charges from Sam.
"Not without help you're not," I overruled him before looking back at Sam. "Once Daniel gets that gate open I want you to send the signal and go through with him. Let the general know we're coming in hot and we're bringing in refugees with us. We'll wait thirty seconds and start sending people through."
"Let's go, move, move, move!" Kawalsky urged the crowd to follow us. They all started huddling around the large stones arrayed around the stargate Kawalsky started advising them to keep their heads down as he moved behind cover and prepared to fire at any jaffa coming in over the hill.
"We can't hold them, sir!" Casey said on the radio.
"Pull them back and get them down here!" I ordered Kawalsky.
"Fall back! Fall back now!" he ordered as he and his last teammate readied their weapons to provide cover from any pursuing jaffa.
"Daniel, we need that exit!" I said as I watched him slowly press the correct buttons on the DHD. The last two members of SG-Dragon came sprinting down the ridge as they ran like hell to get to us and some cover. A few seconds later, the reason was obvious as the first jaffa emerged from the other side of the ridge. Kawalsky and his teammate opened fire and downed him with a few well placed shots, but soon a dozen more emerged and started returning fire as some of them tried to descend the hill while firing. All the while, more jaffa showed up along the ridge.
"Let's give 'em the business, Kawalsky!" I called over to Kawalsky. He reached for the detonator and pressed the activation switch.
Immediately, the entire ridge erupted into explosions, blasting several of the jaffa attempting a charge down the ridge, cutting them down. He then hit the activator switch a second time, setting the second line of claymores off, blowing away most of the jaffa who were using the top of the ridge as cover to fire down at us.
The timing was just right as behind me, Daniel dialed the correct sequence for Earth and the stargate activated.
"Captain, let's get these people out of here now! Move!" Kawalsky ordered Sam. She acknowledged the order and sprang to her feet, heading over to Daniel and the now active gate. She pulled out the signal device we had been given and entered the code as she spoke to Daniel.
"And...send!" she said as she hit the last button and lowered the device. She turned to Daniel. "Thirty seconds and they'll send the first group through. Let's go!" she told Daniel before she bolted through the gate with Daniel right behind her.
After a few seconds went past before the first pair of refugees got up at some prompting from us and quickly headed through the active stargate. More of the refugees got up in small groups and headed to the gate behind them, keeping their heads down, but thankfully not rushing as to trample each other on their way through.
Throughout this process, Kawalsky, Teal'c and I along with the rest of Dragon continued to hold the line. Casey had redeployed his light machine gun and was laying down controlled bursts into any groups of jaffa that tried to charge over the ridge or were just more exposed than the guy lying next to him. Teal'c and I kept up a steady barrage with our captured staff weapons as Kawalsky and his other two teammates worked to keep any other jaffa from reaching the bottom of the ridge. Unfortunately, a few brave and lucky souls had managed to make it and were now taking cover behind some of the rocks in the clearing as they fired upon us.
This was going to be tight.
I caught something out of the corner of my eye and turned to see one of the refugees hurling rocks at them. He was a burly fellow wearing an outfit that seemed to consist of mostly animal hides. I looked in the direction he was throwing and saw one brain a jaffa crouching behind cover, downing him. He threw his hands in the air in triumph.
"Appreciate the help big guy, but now it's your turn to go," I replied, gesturing for the large man to head to the gate while I reloaded. Thankfully, the refugees had avoided being hit by the attacking jaffa and the last cluster was heading through now. The large man grunted before jogging up behind the last group and following them through.
"That's it!" I called. "Everyone fall back, we're good to go!"
"Warren, Holden, you're first!" Kawalsky called out. I then turned to the front and kept firing.
The two of them stood up and finished emptying their weapons as they sprinted through the gate. By this point, the jaffa had figured out that flanking was a good idea and a small group was coming up from our left and trying to surprise us. An energy blast struck beside Casey at the ground near him, sending him to the ground and cutting off our LMG support.
"Casey!" Kawalsky called out and he ran over to his teammate. I went over and helped Kawalsky haul Casey to his feet as Teal'c covered us from behind me.
"Take him and go!" I yelled as energy blasts started impacting all around us, the jaffa now pressing us hard without the LMG to keep them at bay. Nearby, a pair of jaffa charged right at us and I didn't even hesitate as I fired my captured staff weapon and cut down the first idiot to run towards us. That's what you get for ignoring cover.
Teal'c followed up my shot by landing some of his own and keeping some of the nearby jaffa at bay. It wasn't much, but we avoided another attempted charge for the moment. We then moved past the DHD, covering Kawalsky and Casey as they moved towards the event horizon. Both men made it through without being hit again by enemy fire.
A moment after they were through, I slapped Teal'c on his armored shoulder, "Let's go!" I yelled as we both turned on our heels and charged through the gate. We emerged through on the other side and Sam immediately yelled for the techs to close the Iris. I turned to see the Iris slide into place over the wormhole. After a few seconds of silence, there were suddenly two loud clangs against the shield before the wormhole disengaged.
I gave a long sigh of relief as the iris slid away back into the stargate. I turned to see two medics move to Casey's side and Kawalsky fussing over his teammate, who looked to just be injured at the legs and a little shaken. I was more than a little pleased with myself that Kawalsky was definitely goa'uld free this time around. None of the jaffa got close enough to infect him with their symbiote. I had made sure of that this time.
I moved away from them, and was immediately swamped by all the refugees hugging me and the rest of the SG team members while thanking us each in their own ways. I smiled and nodded as we pushed our way through the crowd towards the bottom of the ramp.
"Colonel MacDuff, you care to explain this?" Hammond asked as I pushed through the last few people.
"Uh, we can use the stargate to send all of these people home, sir," Sam assured the general.
"What's he doing here?" he asked angrily as he pointed to Teal'c.
I walked over and placed my hand on the jaffa's shoulder. "General Hammond, this is Teal'c," I introduced formally. "He's here to help us."
"Do you know what he is?" he practically yelled at me.
"He's the man who saved all of our lives, sir. And if you accept my recommendation, he'll join SG-Wolf," I replied.
Hammond looked a lot more placated after I mentioned that he was the one to have saved us, but was still looking less than pleased at the situation. "That decision may not be up to you," he cautioned before Samuels ordered everyone to stand away as the medics got Casey onto a stretcher and off the ramp. The refugees also began to walk off the ramp, making some space.
"Colonel MacDuff, Major Kawalsky," the General gained our attention. "The sure-to-be-very-interesting debriefing of SG units Wolf and Dragon will be held at 0730 hours."
"Yes, sir," both Kawalsky and I said at the same time.
"Alright, let's get these people situated. This way," Samuels ordered as he led the way for the refugees down the corridor outside the gate room.
There was silence between us all as we stood at the edge of the ramp leading to the stargate. I turned to see Daniel gazing back at the gate with a forlorn look in his eyes.
"She's out there somewhere, Lennex. Skaara too," Daniel said.
"I know," I replied. "We'll get them back."
"You're still certain of that?" he asked.
"Absolutely," I replied. "I'm going to set it all right, Daniel. I promise you."
Daniel smiled slightly as he remembered the same words I had said before. "Right," he nodded.
I clapped him on the shoulder before walking off the ramp with Teal'c, Sam and Daniel following behind me. The newly formed SG-Wolf, together at last, even if I was the only one to realize that.
Not an outright victory, but a victory nonetheless. We had a long road ahead of us and I had a promise to live up to.
AN: Finally done with that arc! Next time, we'll be digging into more of Lennex's plan for making changes and from there, knocking out the first few episodes of the series. Definitely won't be spending whole chapters on the dumber episodes, so expect things to move fairly quickly between arcs and major changes.