Chapter Twenty-five

One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand…

Daniel counted in his mind in the pitch black. The rain fall was still just a sprinkle, but he felt as though it was lashing against his skin. Three seconds had gone by and nothing had happened. It wasn't like Sam to hesitate.

Four one-thousand, five one-thousand, six one-thousand, seven…

Daniel's heart rate was exponentially increasing with each second that passed. Now that more than five seconds had passed in the dark he knew something had gone wrong. Seven seconds was too long and in three more seconds give or take their one opportunity was going to be lost forever.

If he'd had the time to think about it Daniel would have realized that it was amazing that things had gone as well as they had up to this point. The original plan was to use him to lure Tefnut out into the open, make him feel in completely control of the situation, and then use the Reck'nis to block out not just weapon's radiation, but all radiation: including any light from the sun.

They needed to time it with the closing of the Gate so that the darkness would be absolute. In the chaos of the sudden unnatural nightfall Sam was supposed to have taken Tefnut down before he could think to activate his personal shield. She should have had her aim all set, only needing to pull the trigger.

However, Daniel's straining ears had not heard the distinctive sharp sound of gun fire. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, the darkness hadn't even lasted long enough for the Jaffa to react. Worse than the lack of sound Daniel could sense that Tefnut was still standing in front of him.

Eight one-thousand, nine…

Something had to be done and it had to be done now.

Ten…

Knowing that he couldn't win, but deciding he had to try anyway, Daniel went to lash out at Tefnut. The damage that Janu had done to his knee suddenly made itself painfully known. Daniel had tried to leap up and get the Goa'uld by the throat, however the injury caused him to stumble and pitch forward instead. He blindly grabbed for something to steady himself on, however the object he gripped came free and he fell back to his knees.

Crack!

The single shot echoed through the wide ravine followed by a hot spray of blood. Before Daniel could blink the Reck'nis failed and light poured down upon the scene. Daniel was just as blinded by the sudden sun light as when it was black. He tried once more to get to his feet. His cry of pain went unheard in the general chaos that the brief darkness had caused.

Still on his knees despite the flare of agony Daniel felt the object now in his hand. He quickly realized that it was Tefnut's hand device, he had striped it from the Goa'uld when he'd tried to use it as purchase to keep from falling. Although his eyes were watering from the invasive light Daniel forced them open.

It took a moment to truly comprehend the scene. Tefnut was laying motionlessly on his back in a slowly expanding pool of red and blue blood. The bullet had caught him right between the eyes, not only ending the life of the host, but the Goa'uld himself as well. In about six hours Daniel would come to the realization that if his knee hadn't been injured he would have been killed in Tefnut's place. Despite the fact that it was still raining Daniel was close to relaxing when he realized that only half of the plan had been completed.

"My Lord!" Janu cried.

With his own eyes finally adjusted Janu dropped to his former master's side. With his jaw open in shock he just stared at the devastating injury that had brought down his 'god'. He barked an order for the Gate to be opened to their home world and then turned a deadly glare on Daniel.

"You will pay for what you have done." Janu hissed.

"You mean freeing you from a merciless slave master?"

"Lord Tefnut is a God!" Janu cried. "And despite your trickery I know that you are not one!"

"I never said I was…but can't you see that he wasn't one either?"

"Just because you have injured his flesh shell does not mean that he is not watching us right now!"

"I assure you he is dead and if you don't take him to a sarcophagus he will stay that way and you will no longer have to serve him. You could be fre…"

"No! There is no escape from the Gods!" Janu screamed in what looked like panic. "I will be rewarded for my loyalty when he returns…he…he will understand that I could not prevent what has happened here…"

"Do you truly believe that?"

Daniel had sounded confident, but he was holding his breath. With their master down all of the Jaffa now looked to their First Prime for direction. If he could be convinced that Tefnut was indeed a false god then the others would follow. Daniel had seen this before, he knew how much the Jaffa craved their freedom, but he also knew how much they feared it.

Even though Teal'c had been confident that this would be the easier half of the plan Daniel had never been as sure. Janu stared at Daniel and then at the rest of his followers. He looked as though he was seeking guidance or at least permission from them, however they just stared back at him expectantly. Centuries of blind faith and slavery made it difficult to accept that the one you had sacrificed everything for was not what he seemed.

"I...I…" Janu stuttered.

"My Lord!" A strong voice called from behind the crowd.

Daniel swore under his breath, he had felt that Janu had been close to wavering. The interruption had brought his thoughts away from changing loyalties.

"My Lord!" The voice called again, closer this time. "We have regained the Reck'nis and those who would plot against you!"

Daniel gasped sharply as his heart slammed against his ribs. Forgetting about his knee he went to get to his feet only to be quickly brought down again. He managed to turn around as the crowd of Jaffa was parting to allow the new comers to arrive at the front.

Daniel instantly recognized the leader of the small group as the one who had been sent off to destroy his necklace. He held Sam in his arms as though she was a maiden in distress that he was rescuing. Unconscious, most likely from a zat, she was completely lax with her head lolled back at an unnatural angle. It had taken two Jaffa to drag Teal'c back to the scene in a similar stunned state.

Tanya was the only one awake and alert. However she had no hope of fighting back. The Jaffa that was keeping her had his large hand on her injured shoulder. Sweat dripped from her hair and rolled down her frighteningly pale skin. Tanya and new comers seemed to all catch sight of Tefnut at the same time and the exact same expression of shock fell on all of their faces. Tanya pried her eyes away from the dead Goa'uld and turned her attention to Daniel.

"Daniel…"

The Jaffa holding Tanya clamped his hand down on her shoulder. Crying out sharply she dropped to her knees. Without thought Daniel tried to get to her only to have Janu grab a fist full of his hair and kept him back.

"No! Let her g…" Daniel was cut off as Janu jerked his head back.

"Silence!" Janu spat having regained his leadership mentality.

"First Prime Janu," a Jaffa called from the DHD "the Cha'pa'i is ready for our return home."

"Not until I know the Reck'nis is safe."

When Janu released him Daniel risked crawling the few feet it took to get to Tanya. When she had dropped down the Jaffa had released her, knowing she was in no condition to escape. Daniel pulled her into a protective embrace ignoring both of their injuries to do so. Unable to rise he simply sat back to cradle her as she trembled violently.

"We almost did it…" Tanya whispered.

"It's not over yet."

Tanya looked up at Daniel and actually managed a weak smile. Overwhelmed by the shock, and with her adrenaline finally failing, her dark eyes rolled back as she passed out. Daniel tried to think, but nothing was coming to mind. Still in the Jaffa's arms Sam suddenly moaned as she came back to her unfortunate reality.

"Put her down!" Janu snapped as he brought the Reck'nis forward.

Finding herself on the ground Sam looked around with an understandably confused expression. Janu did not give her time to get her bearings. Instead he placed the Reck'nis in front of her.

"What have you done? Why does it glow yellow instead of blue?"

"I…uh…" Sam shook her head to try and clear it.

"She broke it," Daniel answered for her "I told her to."

"You will fix it!"

"I can't." Sam replied instantly.

Daniel could see the panic in Janu's eyes. The First Prime looked back to his fallen god who was looking less and less like a being worthy of devotion. His conflicted thoughts were practically visible. An uneasy tension had fallen over the entire small army. Janu snatched a staff weapon away from the nearest guard and aimed it at Daniel and Tanya.

"Fix it, or they die."

"I can't." Sam repeated firmly even though it was clear she wasn't fully alert yet.

Oscillating between fear and anger Janu stepped forward. He narrowed his eyes as he prepared to fire. Janu visibly hesitated as Daniel curled up tighter around Tanya, trying to protect her even though it was a useless effort.

"Janu," Daniel said desperately "do you have a family?"

The First Prime paused as fear flashed across his strong features.

"The Reck'nis is never going to work again." Daniel continued. "Tefnut will already be angry for you failing to protect him, do you really want to risk those you love to his wrath? Even if he does not punish you for this, do you think his temper will keep forever? It can all end right here, right now."

"I have served him all of my life…"

"That doesn't mean you have to serve him for the rest of it."

"Janu," Sam interjected "we don't have to be enemies. Does that really look like a 'god' to you?"

Janu automatically looked back at Tefnut. The pool of multi coloured blood had begun to blacken and congeal. For a moment he lowered his staff weapon slightly. Once again Janu tried to find guidance from the others, but all eyes were on him waiting for answers instead.

The First Prime was about to raise his staff weapon once again when Teal'c stirred. Once again everything fell deathly silent and still as everyone watched Teal'c slowly come to his sense. Janu walked up to him slowly causing the Jaffa around Teal'c to step back. As if he hadn't missed a minute of what was going on Teal'c got to his feet and stared expectantly at Janu. Daniel and Sam exchanged a nervous glance.

"Does the Jaffa Nation truly exists?" Janu asked quietly.

"Indeed it does."

"You do not hold a Goa'uld…I had always thought that it was a myth."

"We no longer need them. They are false gods, nothing more than parasites." Teal'c growled. "We are free, you could join us as brothers."

"You would be willing to share how this freedom is possible?"

Teal'c simply nodded.

The entire world seemed to be holding its breath. The light rain that had continued to fall suddenly came to a stop. Janu walked back over to Daniel and contemplated him for a moment. Eventually he graced him with a shallow bow and dropped the weapon. He silently ordered the army to move through the Gate that was still waiting for them. Two of the guards leaned down to collect Tefnut's body.

"No." Janu said softly. "Leave him here to rot. We shall not allow his blood to stain our new free world."

The Jaffa hesitated at first, but then dropped their fallen master. Janu stayed behind as the rest returned to their world. As the last were leaving he looked to Teal'c to hold up his end of the mostly unspoken agreement.

"I must stay until my friends are safely returned home, then I shall come to help you rebuild. You have my word."

"I believe you."

Janu nodded and stepped backwards through the Gate. The event horizon snapped shut leaving the team staring at one another in disbelief. Unable to believe that they had actually succeed Daniel and Sam were left speechless. Teal'c was speechless simply because he had nothing to say. It wasn't until the Gate dialed and opened again that the silence was broken.

"Carter!" Jack's voice squawked angrily on their radios. "Carter, what the hell is going on?!"

"More than I can explain at the moment, Sir." Sam replied. "We need a medical team."

"On their way."

It didn't take more than a few seconds for a medical team to arrive on the planet. They didn't bother with any treatment, they simply placed Tanya on a stretcher and waited to redial the Gate to carry her back through. Daniel went to get to his feet and once again failed. Sam got up and went to help him.

"Colonel Carter," one of the medical staff said quickly "please, let us help him. We've radioed for another stretcher."

"I'm fine, I can make it back through myself."

"Dr. Jackson, I can see that your leg is broken from here."

"No it isn't."

"I don't know, Daniel," Sam looked at him critically "I think he may be right."

"Don't be ridicul…"

"Daniel!" Jack barked as he stepped out of the Gate and surveyed the scene. "What the hell? When I said 'break a leg' before the mission I was talking to Carter, and I meant 'good luck'."

"It's not broken," Daniel reiterated "now help me up."

Sam looked to Jack with a dubious expression. Jack just shrugged and offered his hand for Daniel to take. Struggling to his feet Daniel only managed a single step. With a sickening sound and a yelp of pain he dropped back to the mossy ground.

"Okay…now it might be broken." Daniel admitted.

The medic just shook his head sadly. Another stretcher was brought through the Gate and Jack helped the medical team lift Daniel onto it. Once everyone was set the Gate was shut down and redial for Earth. Back in the Gateroom Daniel asked one of the Airmen to bring his wheelchair up to the infirmary.

Tanya was brought directly to the infirmary and placed on one of the beds. Dr. Brightman was at the ready and cut away the bandage around her shoulder to inspect the damage. Absolutely refusing medical attention Daniel only accepted help into his wheelchair and then chased the nurses away. He wheeled his way up to Tanya's bedside.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be just fine, Dr. Jackson." Brightman assured. "However, I'm going to have surgery prepped right away to graft some Biobane over the burn. There will be a scar."

"That's okay, she loves them."

"I see." Brightman looked at Daniel. "What's this I hear about you breaking your leg?"

"I didn't break it, someone broke it for me." Daniel replied. "It's nothing, take care of Tanya first."

Dr. Brightman nodded, since that had been her plan in the first place. She bustled off to make sure surgery was prepared properly. Daniel reached out and brushed Tanya's wet ebony hair off her face. Sam entered the infirmary and handed Daniel a small powerful magnet. At first he just looked at it, not sure why she had brought him this particular gift. When he figured it out he used it to shut off the crystal.

"Better?"

"Feeling no pain now." Daniel forced a smile.

"I can't believe we got away with this."

"Neither can I…for about ten seconds there I thought we weren't going to."

"I think I had that feeling for about sixteen hours."

"Can you recalibrate the Reck'nis?"

"I think so."

Silence settled over them even though the infirmary was still buzzing with activity. Jack was standing in the doorway just watching them. He looked like he hadn't slept at all since they'd left. As Daniel's body finally decided that the danger was over he suddenly felt exhausted. Still not quite believing they had made it he reached out and brushed Tanya's cheek again. She seemed to stir, but didn't open her eyes. Daniel sighed in contentment and smiled warmly.

"Sam, that was an amazing shot…even for you."

"Except it wasn't me."

"What?"

"Tefnut's Jaffa descended upon us right as Teal'c was turning off the lights. I'm not sure if I actually witnessed a second of the Reck'nis working, or if it was only the zat blast that caused everything to go dark, either way I missed my chance."

"Then who…"

"Well I can only think of one other person up on that ridge armed with a 9mm."

Daniel looked at Tanya in shock. He had thought that she was still unconsciousness. However the smile that spread across her lips told him other wise. Feeling that he was staring at her Tanya opened her eyes. Daniel smiled to see her dark eyes glittering with a combination of pride and tearful relief.

"You saved my life…all of our lives."

"It was your gun." Tanya replied meekly.

"It was your aim."

"I just took a shot in the dark…"