AN: froggy0319 & shetlandlace, here's the next bit for you, since I know you're waiting impatiently...
o0o
Part Nine
The world exploded with the distinctive sound of a Super Soldier's weapon and the rattle of gunfire. Teal'c and Daniel were instantly on the ground on either side of them, kneeling outwards in a firing stance, eyes trained on the tree-line looking for a sign of attack.
"I don't see anything. You?" Daniel's voice was tense.
"I do not." Teal'c replied.
Sam shook her head, lifting her own weapon as she scanned the area. Still nothing. Not surprising if Teal'c couldn't see anything.
'Come on Colonel, where are you?'
She jumped as Kenneally's voice barked through her radio.
"We have a hostile in the trees! Five o'clock! Attempting to engage!"
They immediately spun to look in the direction behind the gate. They could see movement in the trees now, the flashes of weapons fire. The sound of gunfire grew closer.
"Hughes has been hit! We can't…" the transmission faded out into static, "…in the trees. We're falling back to the gate, see if we can take it out in the open!"
"Understood. Do you require backup?"
No reply. A different voice came over the air waves instead.
"Carter, report! What the hell's going on out there?"
"According to Dad there are two more Super Soldiers, sir. SG-12 are currently engaging one, but there is no sign of another."
Three green-clad figures burst from the trees. Ducking and weaving as they tried to stay out of the tall black figure's line of fire, but remain close enough to get a shot off. A figure stumbled and went down, clearly injured. The Super Soldier turned his way.
A hail of gunfire from a figure on its other side redirected its attention. The other man took advantage of its distraction and pulled the injured soldier to his feet. Before they could retake its attention, it concentrated its fire on the darting figure of the man who had provided the distraction. He dodged, doing his best to avoid being hit, but a shot flared and caught him in the side. He crumpled to the ground, not moving.
Kenneally swore. "Dammit, Bartlett's down! Colonel, we need some help here! It's cuttin' us to pieces!"
Sam winced as she saw Kenneally's figure crash to the ground in a desperate dive to avoid being hit. They couldn't allow that to happen. She couldn't allow that to happen. She checked her watch as an idea came to her and made her decision.
She signalled to SG-5 still holding the gate. "Forget the gate! Go help SG-12!"
She turned to Teal'c. "Give them a hand, Teal'c."
He nodded silently and took off in their direction at an easy half-crouched lope. Perry exchanged a quick look with her, concern for his downed team-mate evident in the grim set of his face.
"We've got to get your father on his feet and through the gate right now, or this mission's a bust!"
She nodded. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Other people weren't supposed to give their lives in the place of her father. That wasn't what she wanted. But it was too late to change things now.
Sam got back on her radio. "Sir, I've sent SG-5 as backup. We're coming up on 38 minutes so the gate is going to shut down anyway. We'll dial it back up again and send our GDO code through when it's clear."
He cut her off. "Roger that. Have you any more of these grenade things we could send through to help out?"
"No, sir. I'm afraid not. We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."
"Understood. We'll be waiting for you to come through. O'Neill out."
She turned to Daniel. Opening her mouth to tell him to get over to the gate and be prepared to dial, in readiness for them to make a quick withdrawal.
"Colonel, look out!"
The cry came from her side and she had a split second to look and register its meaning, before the shot hit.
o0o
A body ploughed into her and knocked her down. Jacob cried out as she landed half on his side, half on his injured back. The searing bolt of heat flew by so close she could feel the warmth of it's passing on her face. A muffled sizzling thump was echoed by a cry of agony and the sickly smell of burnt flesh. The body covering hers relaxed.
Then hands were there, frantically tugging the limp form off her. Dazed, all she could think was how much this must be hurting her father.
"Sam? Sam!"
The hands grabbed her shoulders, hauling her upright. They began shaking her and she struggled to focus on the voice shouting at her. Looking up, she saw Daniel's panic-stricken face.
"Sam? Are you okay? Talk to me!"
She squeezed the hands still shaking her shoulders, letting him know she was alright.
"It's okay, Daniel. I'm okay."
Her eyes automatically scanned the area, looking for hostiles. Other than where the other SG teams were engaging the Super Soldier, there was nothing. Nothing at all.
The ground between them and the Stargate, now minus it's blue puddle, was clear. Who had fired at them? Coming up empty, she dismissed it as a stray shot from the battle still in progress and turned her mind to more immediate matters.
Daniel.
He was still staring at her, wide-eyed and she wasn't even sure he was listening. She grabbed his arms and shook him firmly.
"Daniel!"
He blinked and snapped out of it.
"I'm okay," she repeated softly, meeting his eyes to make sure he could see her.
He took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Sam was shocked to see tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
"Daniel?"
He opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to dispel the treacherous water. He gave her a sheepish smile.
"Sorry about that. For a moment I was losing Janet all over again."
She squeezed his shoulders gently in understanding. She'd had more than a few flashbacks of her own over the years. It was the curse of the professional soldier. Deadly if they caught you at the wrong moment.
Like now.
Sadly Daniel wasn't even a soldier by profession. By rights, he shouldn't even be having flashbacks. A fact which was the worst – the only – downside of the cause to which they dedicated their lives.
The smile faltered as he looked past her and turned pale. Then he was spinning around, awkwardly stumbling a few feet on his hands and knees before retching into the dusty grass. Steeling herself, she turned around. And felt like joining him in tossing his cookies.
Perry lay spread-eagled where he landed when Daniel had tugged him off her, his eyes staring blankly at the sky. They weren't seeing it and never would again. The gaping, still-smoking hole where his stomach had been put paid to that. She swallowed hard, blinking back tears. He'd saved her life, no doubt about it. And he'd paid the price.
She reached forward with a trembling hand and closed his eyes. Holding her breath to keep out the stench of blood and death, she reached under the neckline of his shirt. He was still warm, her mind noted clinically. Finding the chain round his neck, she pulled off his tags. They didn't leave their people behind, but they might not have a choice this time.
Sitting back on her heels, she placed them in her vest pocket, the rip of the Velcro sounding harsh in the stillness. Even the sounds of battle were distant and muted. 'Thank you', she told him silently.
The moment was broken by a weak cough from beside her. Instantly she was scrambling over to her father's side, guilt striking for having forgotten all about him in her grief. She laid a trembling hand on his arm.
"Dad?" She asked tentatively.
"Sam?"
Jacob blinked up at her then attempted to roll over. He hissed sharply as his back suggested that wasn't such a good idea.
"What happened?"
People were asking that a lot today, she thought absently. She cleared her throat.
"Perry - " her voice hitched. "Perry was shot."
He turned his head to look and closed his eyes for a second when he saw the dead man.
"Damn," he said softly but with feeling.
He met her eyes again.
"Sam?" His voice was a soft query, asking if she was okay.
She blinked and looked away, unable to deal with the emotion of it all. Forcibly, she locked it down, becoming the Colonel once more. An echo of the General's voice rang in her head. Giving her the advice she needed on command, just like the man himself always had whenever she needed it.
'Focus on what needs to be done, Carter.'
Composing herself, she took stock of the situation. Unconsciously straightening her spine as she ran their various options through her head. Looking behind the gate, she saw that the fight with the Super Soldier seemed to be over, the tall black figure lying prone on the ground. The green-clad figures were ignoring it, concentrating on their wounded. A sure sign that it was no longer a threat.
She noted one man being helped to his feet who must be Hughes. Another was being carried. That had to be Barlett. They didn't seem to have incurred any more injures. Thank god. As she thought it, her radio crackled.
"Colonel, we've taken this one out. Suggest we head back through the gate before anything else comes out of the trees at us."
"Agreed, Colonel. We'll dial the gate."
She looked back at Jacob, her face now an unreadable mask. "We need to get to the gate. Can you walk?"
He returned her gaze for a long moment, but she didn't weaken, needing to be strong right now, knowing it was what was required of her. He nodded slowly, eventually understanding.
"Sure. With some help."
She smoothly rose into a half-crouch and moved over to Daniel who was still sat on his haunches, staring blankly at the ground. She touched his shoulder and he jumped violently before turning his head to meet her eyes.
"Daniel, go dial the gate."
Still saying nothing, he rose quietly and jogged back to the gate. Sam watched until he began punching in the symbols, recognising battle fatigue when she saw it, then walked back to her father. She knelt down by his side.
"Let's sit you up, Dad." She said, taking his elbow and placing her other arm round his shoulders.
"On three. One, two, three…"
"Argh! Holy - " his voice trailed off.
"Dad, you okay?"
Then she inwardly cursed herself for asking such an obviously dumb question.
He breathed deeply. "I will be, kiddo. I will be."
A shadow fell over them and she looked up to find Teal'c and Kenneally stood over her. Kenneally dropped to his knees next to Perry. He cast her an anguished look. She recognised it instantly. It was the look of leader unable to protect his people. She knew precisely how he felt. She'd been the ranking officer with Perry, it was her job to protect him. Instead, he'd died in her place. It wasn't right.
"What happened?"
She met his eyes, willing to accept his censure. "Super Soldier fire. It came out of nowhere, I didn't even see it. Perry…pushed me out of the way."
Kenneally nodded gravely, seemingly unable to risk speaking. His knuckles going white as he clenched his fists.
"He was a good man." She offered up as something to say.
"Yeah." Kenneally replied shortly. "He was."
Standing up, he looked over at Teal'c. "Teal'c, could you – "
Teal'c bowed his head and bent down, gracefully scooping up Perry into his arms.
"I shall carry him." His tone brooked no argument.
"Thanks Teal'c."
Her radio burst into life, making them all jump.
"Col…Cart…is…eynolds. What…your sit…ion?"
The transmission was patchy, the background noise almost overwhelming. She could barely hear him over the klaxons and babble of voices. Sam exchanged startled glances with Teal'c and Kenneally. What the hell was going on through the other side of the gate?
She thumbed her radio. "Say again?"
"Col…Carter. What's…our…situation?"
"We still have one Super Soldier unaccounted for. We're coming back through and we have wounded."
Daniel reappeared, hovering over her head. "I've sent the GDO code. SG-5 are heading back through with Hughes and Bartlett. They need a medic. Badly."
She gave him a quick glance of acknowledgement before her radio came to life once more.
"Und…stood. Get…back…side ASAP. Reynolds out."
She frowned, worry forming a tight ball in her stomach. What had happened? It sounded like something bad. More importantly, where was the General?
Daniel waved a hand at her radio. "But, uh, I guess you already knew that…so, never mind."
She gave him a smile, letting him know his efforts were appreciated. Kenneally nodded his head, stepping back.
"Guess we should go join them then."
"Yessir."
Sam took Daniel's offer of a hand and started to stand. Pain flared throughout her chest and she let go with a cry.
o0o
TBC…
Review Responses:
Sci-Fi Gillian - Thank you.
shetlandlace - You're welcome.
froggy0319 - I miss Jack going through the gate with them too...but he's going to have enough to be dealing with soon to even consider pulling his hair out over SG1's latest troubles ;)
Quinndolynn -Yes, I know I am ;D And you know, Jacob's reaction to the whole Sam-Jack thing hadn't even crossed my mind until you mentioned it, lol. Guess that should tell you something...