The morning sun had turned the thriving forest into a sauna. SG-1 was still in their heavier field jackets, which were soaked through with sweat. Their canteens were empty and their camels had not been returned to them. The trudge through the forest was utterly miserable.
The only one besides the Jaffa that seemed to be having an easy go of it was Shaboni. She walked barefoot just behind Asclepius; clearly impatient with the pace he was setting. Jack eyed her suspiciously. There was no way this was mere grit. Whatever had been in that brown bundle Asclepius had given her had clearly been extremely powerful. He was reminded of a man he'd encountered one night that had been high on methamphetamine: feeling no pain, larger than life, and headed for a serious crash. He figured that whatever drug was in her system would eventually wear off. All he could do was hope they were somewhere relatively safe when it did.
After what seemed like hours of hiking they broke through the trees and found themselves approaching Dashou once again. This time there were no raucous children's voices, no greeting. In fact, there was no one in the streets at all.
Jack stopped them and turned to their three Jaffa allies, "Give Teal'c your weapons. They," he pointed at the houses, "don't know you've switched sides."
There was a long moment where the three of them gave this request some serious thought. It lasted just long enough for Jack's heart to speed up in anticipation. If they resisted this could get ugly quickly. Then, finally, they relented.
The group marched into the center of Dashou with the three weaponless Jaffa in the middle. Jack could see curious faces staring out windows. There was movement across the square and Cassic was suddenly standing outside her bar. She hesitated when she saw the Jaffa with them, but smiled warmly and came forward to greet them.
"You have escaped!"
"For now, but we need to hide. I doubt it'll be long before some of the palace guard shows up looking for us," the colonel replied. When she frowned at the two new Jaffa standing in their midst he explained, "These two are with us, too."
Knowing that Asclepius had helped them she nodded, "Of course, but first I must show you…" she turned and waved to the dark walkways between the buildings, beckoning someone forward.
A group of women marched confidently into the sunlight. Jack recognized some of them from their dancing, but there were many more he'd never seen. The square quickly began to fill up with women then a few of the children and old men followed them. Before long there were dozens of people standing there, looking nervously from one to another and back to the disheveled group in the middle.
"What's going on?" Jack asked nonchalantly.
"They have all agreed to fight."
SG-1 exchanged raised eyebrows. Teal'c stood a few inches taller as he filled with pride for Cassic. She had heeded his words, and then taken them to far greater lengths than anticipated.
"Well," Jack started, "this is…unexpected." He took off his hat and surveyed the large group. "Okay, folks," he spoke to the lot of them, "We don't have much time. If you have weapons, go get them. Then find a place to hide. Stay out of sight, and don't start fighting until you get the signal."
From somewhere in the throng a voice asked, "What is the signal?"
"You'll know it when you see it."
The group quickly dispersed. Jack searched their surroundings for a strategic position to set up. The perimeter of the town square was flanked on all sides by buildings, but there were multiple entrance points.
"Okay, Carter: Claymores and C4 at every access point. Make sure those civilians know to stay back. Daniel, you're with me. The rest of you fan out and cover each quadrant. Your best cover will be these buildings," he pointed at the buildings with darkened walkways. "On my go."
They started to disperse and he grabbed Shaboni's arm, "I want you inside."
"What?" she argued.
"Look, Asclepius gave you something…some kind of drug. It's the only way you could have made it this long…this far. I don't know when it will wear off. You need to seek shelter."
She shook her head furiously, "No. You need every person you have fighting. I will not be cowering inside while these women are to be fighting for their freedom!"
He knew he'd lost. He glowered at her then nodded.
They readied themselves for battle.
They didn't have to wait for long. Teal'c informed them over their radios that a large contingent of Jaffa had broken from the tree line and was heading straight for their positions. Jack knew that their success was ultimately in the hands of a bunch of civilians with crude guns and knives, but he'd seen bigger miracles worked time and again. The determination of oppressed people to gain their freedom had proven the true nature of the human spirit no matter what world they lived on.
Jack's senses heightened. The laser-sharp clarity of combat reigned. His mouth went dry as the Jaffa fanned out to enter the town center from all sides. They were definitely on.
They waited…watching…listening…hearts thrumming mightily, fingers on triggers, silent prayers for victory sent up.
And Colonel O'Neill fingered the talk button on his radio, "Carter, go."
The first explosion of C4 sent half a dozen Jaffa flying through the air. The corridors between buildings had forced them to group tightly to enter. This made the concussive devices doubly powerful as the blasts destroyed bodies and stone walls alike.
The same scenario was repeated four more times, as Carter triggered the Claymores and remaining C4. Then the firefight started. The Jaffa didn't merely march into the courtyard and stand in the center to be slaughtered; they sought cover, repeatedly discovering that the combatants had beaten them to it. Automatic weapons fire sang out in short, ringing bursts. Staff weapons lased all around.
There was a distant sound of many voices raised as the women of Dashou rushed into the town center carrying all manner of weapons and collectively screaming their heads off. There were some guns, but most of the women carried long knives that resembled machetes. They rushed the Jaffa and simply started hacking. When the Jaffa's armor proved to be impossible to penetrate with their knives they started aiming for necks and heads. The battle devolved into a gruesome scene. Many of the women fell as staff blasts tore through them.
Shaboni saw a Jaffa crouched and heading for her position. She fired her 'Zat twice, striking home and killing him. Her mind soared with the powerful feeling of finally being able to exact some kind of revenge for the cruelty she'd endured. She continued firing, disabling several Jaffa; the pounding of her heart driving her to a furious red rage. She raced forward when one of the women fell and grabbed her knife. A 'Zat in one hand, a hacking blade in the other, she pounced on the next Jaffa she could find. All the abuse she'd suffered came pouring out of her as she brought down one blow after another.
The Jaffa kept coming.
The sputter of automatic gunfire began to die out as they ran out of ammunition. They were down to handguns and whatever they could retrieve from the fallen. Aleo and Carus found themselves being approached on three sides by their former comrades. They stood back-to-back and waited for the end. Suddenly, the advancing party threw their weapons down and crouched in a fighting stance. They looked over their shoulders at the other, grinning: this they would win.
The Jaffa kept coming.
Jack and Daniel had moved from the dark walkway to take cover behind the columns of a large stone colonnade. The pillars seemed to throw less debris at them as it took fire than the walls of the buildings all around. Jack could see Teal'c off to his far right handling the situation easily. Carter was firing her handgun and ducking back behind cover. Asclepius had positioned himself directly across from Jack at a slight angle so as not to endanger them with crossfire. He was engaged in close quarters combat, and devastating his opponents. After all, he'd trained many of them.
Daniel saw Shaboni break from cover and start chopping her way through Jaffa like they were produce. She had been screaming her fury at first, but the single-mindedness of training won out over blood lust. She fired her 'Zat twice more and found her way back to good cover.
"Daniel!" Jack shouted.
He realized he'd stopped firing. He'd allowed her to distract him. He mentally smacked himself and jumped right back into the fray.
Daniel reloaded and yelled, "Last magazine!" He fired a few more times, then ran out of ammunition altogether. Jack pulled the trigger and felt the click of the firing pin striking air.
The Jaffa kept coming.
They had exhausted their supplies and would have to break cover to try and find weapons. Jack and Daniel exchanged looks. Jack held up a finger: one.
Two.
Three.
And they bolted from behind the pillars supporting the portico. Jack instinctively moved towards Shaboni's position, knowing she would cover him. Daniel raced into the open hunting a weapon.
Daniel spotted a fallen Jaffa lying on top of his staff weapon. He shoved the man off the weapon, but never got his fist around it. He felt a painful smack and was slammed forward on top of the dead Jaffa. His head sang and his vision dimmed, but he didn't lose consciousness. Then he felt the particularly uncomfortable sensation of a Jaffa standing on his neck. Over the ringing in his ears he heard a loud voice declare, "SG-1! I have your man!"
The melee around him quickly died down. The slap of fists echoed across the great square as Aleo finished off his opponent, but everyone had heard the cry of the Jaffa. The situation went from bad to worse as screams from the other side of the buildings heralded the arrival of Chiron.
The few inhabitants of Dashou that remained backed away from the hated creature as he strode confidently into the courtyard. He surveyed the carnage around him dispassionately. In the moments they'd been watching Daniel and Chiron, Jaffa had flanked Jack and Sam's positions. Shaboni was relieved of her 'Zat and all of them were marched into the square.
Asclepius was shoved forward to face his former master.
"You have betrayed me," Chiron spoke lowly. "For this you will suffer," he paused melodramatically, "and die."
Asclepius smiled at him, "Then I die free." It was the battle cry of the rebel Jaffa. It was the notion that spurred them all to turn away from the only life they'd ever known and try to spread the fires of resistance.
One of the Jaffa that was guarding them struck Asclepius on the back of the legs, sending him into a kneeling position. Jack was standing beside him and was suddenly knocked to his knees as well. The Jaffa standing on Daniel's neck released him and forced him to his knees next to Jack. The Jaffa holding them brought Sam and Shaboni forward.
Chiron's eyes flashed in anger. He raised his voice so that the whole square and those cowering inside could hear:
"People of Dashou! You women have been led astray by the ranting of offworlders…"
His oration was interrupted by the sizzle of a staff blast. It struck his personal force shield, causing it to glow red around him. Teal'c stood across the square, a defiant hatred twisting his usually placid face. He had gambled that Chiron would not have a shield, and lost. Instantly three Jaffa were on him. His staff weapon clattered to the paved walkway as he threw it down.
The sudden commotion from Teal'c had given the colonel enough time to reach down and unsheathe his knife. He dropped it next to his leg and covered it with his knee before returning his hand to his head then waited for his moment.
Chiron turned back to Shaboni and Sam and sneered. "You and your companion," he nodded at Daniel, "are coming with me." He turned to his Jaffa and ordered them, "Take these to the mines," he pointed at the Aleo and Carus. Then he lowered his face to look sinisterly through his eyelashes, "Kill the rest."
He reached out his hand to grab Shaboni by the wrist, but she flinched away, stumbling backwards. In her haste she tripped over Jack, falling to the ground next to him. Chiron let loose a throaty laugh at her. She felt Jack pressing something in her hand: a knife. She wrapped her hand around it and held it close under her as one of the Jaffa hauled her to her feet, her back to Chiron. In that instant all her thoughts calmed. Time slowed comfortably. She inhaled, calculated…
Shaboni spun on her feet and threw the knife with precision. Slipping through the shining armor of the shield, it met its mark. Chiron stood there with it sticking out of his neck just beneath his chin. A look of shock transformed his haughty face into something infinitely human.
Before the Jaffa could restrain her properly she stepped forward so Chiron could see her eyes.
"My name is Shaboni Uziel!"
And Chiron fell to the earth…dead.
