The sun rose slowly, painting the sky with a reddish hue that reminded Sam of the Colorado sunrises back home. She realized that she could count the ones that she'd seen in the last year on one hand, and it made her sad somehow. She caught herself thinking that there were a great many things that SG1 had kept her away from, and quickly shook the thought from her head.
Sam and her companions had no time to observe the colors of the sunrise, as they were hiking quickly through the woods, hurrying to reach the Goa'uld structure. General O'Neill had sent Bra'tac and Ishta to the stargate to assess the situation there, and he signaled to the others to wait when Bra'tac contacted him through the radio.
"O'Neill…" it crackled loudly.
Jack kept his eyes on the trees ahead of them as he answered.
"Go ahead."
"The shipment has arrived through the stargate."
Sam peeked around the hollow tree she had ducked behind, her eyes scanning the trail ahead of them. O'Neill kept his voice low as he spoke into the radio.
"Did you get a look?"
"Only from a distance," Bra'tac responded. "There are several small containers, but we have been unable to see their contents."
There was a distant sound of heavy footsteps, and Jack said quickly, "See if you can find out anything else, but stay out of sight. Maintain radio silence for now."
He returned his radio to its place and ducked down, motioning for the rest of the team to take cover. Sam pressed her back to the tree trunk, holding her weapon against her chest and listening to the sounds grow closer. She kept her eyes on the General, watching for his signal. He shook his head at her, and she nodded, leaning her head against the bark and trying her best to keep still. After a tense couple of minutes, the footsteps faded and the woods grew silent again. The General gestured for them to keep moving, and they carefully made their way through the woods until they reached the Goa'uld structure.
Taking cover nearby, they all eyed the dozen or so Jaffa who guarded the front of the building.
"Any idea which snake-head these guys belong to?" Jack whispered to Teal'c.
"I do not know," he replied.
"Really?" O'Neill nodded his head in the direction of the guards. "You can't tell from the things on their foreheads?"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. However, the Jaffa on this planet bear the markings of several different Goa'ulds. It is likely that many Jaffa have changed masters several times during the System Lords' struggle for power."
"Ah," Jack said simply.
"Jack, I don't think we're getting in this way," Daniel pointed out.
O'Neill turned to answer, when suddenly the door slid open and three Jaffa exited the building. The man in front was tall and widely built, the golden shimmer that Sam could see on his forehead indicating that he was First Prime. The two Jaffa behind him only followed a short ways, and then stopped to join the others standing guard. The First Prime continued on alone, passing near SG1 and O'Neill and heading into the woods. Jack signaled for Sam to follow him, and she rose up quietly. She turned back before she disappeared into the trees, giving O'Neill a quick smile. She watched him mouth "be careful" to her, and she nodded, leaving the rest of her team to search for a way inside the structure.
The Jaffa walked quickly, following a specific trail. Sam had a hard time keeping up while still making sure that she wasn't heard. She stepped softly over leaves and pushed aside twigs and branches, struggling to keep him in sight. Finally, he reached his destination and stopped.
It was a small clearing in the trees, with a circular platform stretched out over most of it. It was empty except for a plain, cylindrical stand in the very center. Sam guessed what it was for, even before the Jaffa pulled out the silver, round communications device and placed it on the pedestal. The Jaffa stepped back, and a picture appeared slowly in front of him. Sam clamped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from gasping out loud.
"Val'tak," the familiar voice boomed. "What news do you bring me?"
Sam felt an eerie feeling crawl up her spine, and horrible memories bubbled up and flashed into her mind. She saw a Goa'uld hand device and felt it burning, stealing her life away. But not her life.
Jolinar.
"I bring good news, my lord," Val'tak answered loudly, bringing Sam back to the present. She shook her head and tried to concentrate. "The tests indicate that the substance will be ready to be put into use within the week."
"Excellent." Sam's skin crawled at the deep, echoing voice that surrounded her. "Does the subject still live?"
"It does, my lord."
The image wavered and faded for a moment, then returned. "When you have finished extracting the needed information, you may kill her."
Sam's eyes widened.
Kar'yn!
"Yes, my lord." Val'tak hesitated momentarily, and then spoke again. "There is one other matter."
"Speak."
"We discovered a Tel'tak vessel in orbit around the planet."
The Goa'uld hovering above Val'tak leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "I assume you captured its pilot."
"We did, my lord," Val'tak responded cautiously. "He appears to be a rebel Jaffa, perhaps attempting to rescue the female. However, we are uncertain that he was alone. A zat'nik'tel was used on one of the Jaffa on the planet, and we do not believe that the pilot was responsible."
Sam felt a bit of relief at hearing these words. At least this meant that the Jaffa had no idea how many of them there were, or knew who they were dealing with. That did give them an advantage.
"However, if there is another, he cannot leave without using the chappa'ai," Val'tak said confidently. "We will not allow him to escape."
"See that you do not," the Goa'uld spat out. "I will come on schedule to inspect the first shipment. Find out what this rebel Jaffa knows. If he is useful, perhaps I will take him with me. He will regret that he has turned aside from his god. Be certain that there are no other rebels alive on the planet before I arrive. Do not fail me, Val'tak."
Sam watched as Val'tak bowed low to the ground, giving her a sickeningly clear view of the hideous face and long, silver hair that shimmered in and out of view. Val'tak raised his head and spoke reverently before the image faded, his words echoing clearly across the glade.
"Yes, Lord Cronus."