A/N: After two weeks of boxes and heavy lifting, I am finally completely moved in to my new place. Needless to say, I'm in dire need of a good chiropractor now. :0) On a different note, I think I'm officially in Stargate withdrawal. I need to see new stuff or I think I'll go mad. How many days until October?!

Warning! I often end my sentences with a preposition and I don't say "Ka" until I've tried it.


Do Not Go Gentle

Chapter Twenty Five

"Major, come in." The Colonel's voice seemed incredibly loud in the otherwise silent room. It bounced off the ornate walls with a clear echo.

"He's going to know something's wrong if I don't answer it," Sam said, gesturing to her radio.

The man in front of her shook his head. "And if you do answer it, you'll let him know something's wrong. Do you think I am stupid?"

"Darvan," she said, "I don't understand why you're doing this." Her eyes fell to the weapon that was pointed at her chest and she forced her body not to betray her. "Those are your people dying up there."

"They are not my people." He took a step closer; anger flashed across his face. "They mean nothing to me compared to my god."

Sam felt disbelief rise in her chest. Was this the same man who had been so gentle with her as they'd marched through the desert and then mountains toward the Garund village? "Your god? Darvan, he's a Goa'uld!" She gripped her own gun tighter, willing her arm not to shake as she trained it on him.

"My god has never hidden his identity from me," he said. "I was but a boy and from the day I met him in the mines he was gracious enough to allow me to serve as spy. It was his generosity alone that permitted me to later become his First Prime." Darvan straightened his back with pride.

Sam felt her eyes widen. "I've never seen a First Prime who was so..." she struggled to find the right word.

"Weak?"

Carter shrugged and half mumbled, "I was going to say mild mannered, but okay."

If Darvan was insulted, he didn't show it. "My god did not need muscle. He needed smarts and loyalty. There were only a select few who were entrusted with his true identity. I was found to be the greatest among them."

"But why ally yourself with a Goa'uld?"

"What did I ever have before I met him? A life of slavery. Suffering." Darvan's eyes narrowed to slits. "I watched my parents die from sickness in the mines. I knew what future lay ahead for me." He focused on her then. "But I was smarter than them."

"Your people were free. Had you not helped him—"

"Someone else would have."

"Carter!"

Darvan waved his hand at the radio. "Turn that thing off. I grow tired of O'Neill's voice."

Sam didn't move. "You act like you're in charge here, Darvan." She motioned with her gun. "But I'm willing to bet I'm a much better shot."

Darvan smiled. "Sam." His shoulders relaxed in a deceptively friendly posture, his tone mocking. "You can barely lift the weight of your weapon." He took a sudden and unexpected step toward her.

Sam lifted her gun warningly and blinked sweat from her eyes. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead.

He stopped and laughed. "And your reactions are sluggish."

"I'm still fast enough," she said.

"Then why haven't you shot me yet?"

She countered with a question. "Why did you help me when we were taken by the Garund?" She brought her other hand up to steady the gun.

"If you were dead, they had no reason to keep me alive. A lowly scientist is not worth the effort. Besides, there had to be someone else to blame for the assassination and since the Garund decided the Jaffa was too much trouble to take along, I had to settle for you." His face had taken on a look of satisfaction that unsettled her stomach.

"I promise I won't mistake ambition for kindness again," she said. Pain shot down her legs. She needed to sit down.

"There won't be a need," he said. "As soon as Apophis arrives with my god's fleet, you will not be forced to look on me again."

Sam frowned. "It was a mistake to arm us," she said. "Apophis won't hand over anything to the king if he hasn't regained control of the planet before Apophis arrives. He'll try to take us and go right through you and your king to do it."

Darvan shifted his weight. "It was my idiot brother's mistake," he said. His lips pulled back. "I did not realize how resourceful he could be or I would have used someone else." He grinned. "No matter. He has paid for his disloyalty."

"You killed him."

Darvan nodded. "And if what you've said is true, Apophis will not mind so much if you are already dead when he gets here, either. After all, it is the Jaffa and Daniel he wants most."

Sam pursed her lips thinking she definitely shouldn't have allowed him that little tidbit of information. Even as she thought it, she sensed a change in his demeanor. She anticipated his movement and squeezed off a shot. The gun flew from his hands and she smiled. "I told you my reaction time was fine."

His lips pulled back in anger and he rushed her. She squeezed off another shot before his body barreled into hers. She heard his pained grunt and then his full weight shoved her back against the computer panel. She lost her grip on the gun and it hit the floor loudly.

Darvan's fist slammed into her cheek and stars exploded around her. For such a small guy, he packed a lot of strength in his right hook.

She lifted her knee to his groin and connected with the soft tissue there. She jabbed her fingers at his eyes. Blood flowed from the gaping hole in his shoulder where her bullet had hit its mark.

Even his pain was not enough to offset her weakness, though. Her blows lacked strength and her world had begun to swim again.

His elbow came down hard on her wound and dug in.

Sam cried out. Her legs buckled under her and her full weight lay limp against the panel, pinned down by the onslaught.

The pressure let up. Strong fingers wrapped around her neck. Sam didn't have strength left to fight. It took all she had to reach up and make one last attempt at his eyes. She gasped for air, but there wasn't any to be had. Her eyes rolled back up into her head and she knew. This was where she was going to die.

OoOoOoOoO

Reynolds popped out from the cover he'd found behind a well-used wooden utility cart and fired off shots in rapid succession. Several guards fell to the ground, only to be replaced with more. The explosions had stopped and soon after, guards holding staff weapons and zats had spilled from behind the castle's walls into the town. No doubt to finish the job the bombs had started. He was beginning to realize the enormity of what the king had planned for his people.

Women screamed as they were pulled from what buildings still stood to be massacred in the streets. Beside him, a couple cried openly as they huddled together, hidden—for now—from the carnage. He didn't have time to comfort them. His team had been steadily pushed back from their desired destination… the entrance to the castle. He'd been separated from them when a building fell between them. He'd radioed them ahead, assuring them he'd find a way around. Now, he could hear the sound of their weapons fire somewhere ahead of him in the distance.

Somehow, he needed to find his way to them and together they had to cut off the king's access to the town. The guards needed to be stopped.

The ground beneath him seemed to shake and he felt a large presence approaching from behind. He turned quickly, his gun ready, then lowered it just as fast. One of the men who'd helped him earlier rushed toward him, dodging staff blasts. His blue jacket hung undone, exposing a dirty white shirt underneath.

Reynolds spun in the direction of the heaviest fire and squeezed off a few shots to cover the man. Amazingly, he avoided getting shot and threw himself down beside Reynolds.

"Our king has turned against us," he said. His breath came in fast pants, his body leaning against the cart heavily as he dragged in air.

"I'd say that's pretty obvious," Reynolds said.

The man shook his head. "We did not know," he said. "We treated you poorly at his orders and he rewarded us with death."

"Your town can still be saved. He has many men and stronger weapons, but you outnumber him even after all he has managed to kill."

The man nodded. "Those who were unaware of the king's plans are of one mind," he said. "We have gathered near the square and are ready to reclaim our town." He nodded to the gun in Reynolds's hand. "We humbly ask your help and promise to grant you all you wish should you lend the weight of your weapons and fight with us."

"We never wished any ill will to your town," Reynolds said. He ducked an incoming blast and popped up again to shoot an advancing guard. "Your best bet of retaking the town is to rush the castle and kill the king. With no one to follow, the rest will probably surrender."

The man smiled. "We thought the same," he said. He held out his hand. "I am Orwin."

Reynolds took the hand and shook it. "Reynolds," he said. "How soon can your men be here?"

"If you will clear the way for me once more, I will leave and be back with them before the moon reaches its highest."

Reynolds eyed the bright circle in the sky and figured that would be in about an hour. He nodded and took position so he could cover Orwin's exit. He hoped things were going better inside the castle than they were outside. His gut told him SG-1 would be able to find the king and stop him. They had yet to fail at pulling a miracle out of their collective hats.

OoOoOoOoO

"The situation out here is grim, Colonel, but I think the townspeople are ready to fight back," Reynolds reported.

Jack ran down the hallway, his eyes on Teal'c's back as his finger reached up to the radio attached to his vest. "Define grim."

"Many of the buildings have been destroyed and at least four dozen men have made their way out of the castle intent on killing the survivors."

Jack pursed his lips. He rounded a corner and spied the stairs at the end of a hallway. He pushed more speed and made it to them in less than a minute. Kailan was right beside him as he took the steps two at a time. "What's your plan?"

"I spoke with one of the guards. Apparently, not all of them were in on the king's plans. He says they've gathered and are ready to go on the offensive."

"How many?"

"I'm not sure, sir, but however many they are, it'll have to do. The town won't survive much more."

The sound of machine gun fire interrupted the transmission. A couple seconds later Reynolds returned. "The plan is to rush the gate and cut off whatever men the king still plans to send outside."

Jack nodded. "Keep me informed. Don't attempt to take the gate if he can't deliver enough men."

"Copy."

The radio went silent and Jack turned his attention back to the hallway below. He slowed a bit. They'd be visible to anyone down there before they made it all the way down the stairs. He held up a fist and his team came to a halt. He inched downward, and hugged the wall beside him. The others followed suit. When they reached the bottom, they found the hallway empty.

"Which way do you suppose they went?" Daniel asked. The stairway had emptied out into the middle of a hallway.

Jack frowned and reached for his radio, knowing it would be as silent as it had been the last time he'd tried. "Carter."

Daniel met Jack's eyes and shook his head.

"Come in, Major," Jack said.

Nothing.

Jack looked down one direction of the hall and then the other. He thought he remembered their cells being down to the right. He pointed to the left. "That way."

OoOoOoOoO

Sam's hands fell limp to the top of the console. She felt the heat of Darvan's breath on her face. She fought for air and found none. Her ears began to ring.

And then Darvan's weight disappeared.

She lay, panting, fighting to keep from collapsing to the floor.

She failed.

Her boneless legs folded beneath her. She slid down the panel and crashed onto the cement with a jarring thud. She barely registered the pain. The sounds around her reminded her of being under water.

There was muffled shouting. She tried to focus. She knew her eyes were open but her vision refused to show her anything but a dull grey background to accompany the confusing sounds that came from nearby; grunts and furniture being knocked about.

She willed awareness to come back to her quickly. She blinked her eyes, squeezed them tight. She felt something hard beneath her hip. It hurt. She concentrated on it, used it to focus.

The room cleared in front of her and she turned her head. Her eyes widened and she reached for the object underneath her. A few feet away Darvan was locked in battle with his attacker.

Kailan. His back was to her, his bare flesh slick with sweat as he landed a blow to Darvan's gut.

Darvan gave an oomph, but retaliated instantly, throwing his entire weight downward at Kailan's knees.

Thrown off balance, the Garund landed hard.

Sam's hand finally made contact with the object beneath her. She wrapped her fingers around the comforting weight of her gun.

Just then her eyes met Darvan's. Knowing what she had in her hand, he pushed up from the floor and half ran-half crawled toward her. His assailant made a grab for him, but he was too quick.

Sam tugged the gun free, her hand and the weapon wet from the blood that pooled on the floor beneath her. Darvan was on her before she could get off a shot. He knocked the gun away with his left hand while his right elbow swung around and slammed against her cheek. His knee landed heavy on her stomach.

Just before she lost consciousness, a savage war-cry rang out, followed by the blast of a gun. Darvan's body crashed down on top of her, his sightless eyes hovering just above hers.

Then he was shoved off her and she looked up. Her heart stuttered and her eyes widened.

Surprisingly gentle fingers went to her cheek.

Not Kailan. "Galek?"

Confusion. Pain. Then darkness.

OoOoOoOoO

"Carter!" Jack tried the radio again. They'd been in the basement for at least ten minutes now and there was no sign of where she'd gone. Stone had told them there was a secret passageway. Surely they'd marked the way somehow.

"Jack," Daniel called. "Here!" He turned down a hallway that seemed to end at a wall. It wasn't until they were nearly to the end that Jack saw a darker shadow at one end than the other and a clear red handprint halfway up the edge.

Teal'c stepped up to the print. "It is blood."

Jack nodded, not surprised. He pushed his anger aside. Now wasn't the time, but when they returned to Earth, he'd have something to say to Stone for allowing Carter to move forward when she'd obviously not been well enough.

"She can be very convincing, Jack."

Jack looked at Daniel. How did the man know him so well? "Yeah," was all he said and he stepped next to Teal'c to inspect the wall.

"You believe this to be Sam's blood?"

Daniel nodded at Kailan. "She doesn't always know when to quit."

Kailan smiled. "Actually," he said, "I do not believe she knows what the word means."

Jack had to agree.

There was a clear gap where the back wall should have joined the one at its perpendicular. Teal'c gave it a shove and it moved.

"Looks like this is the place," Jack said. "Teal'c, open the door."

Teal'c nodded and leaned against the wall with all his weight. The sound of stone grinding against stone made Jack's teeth itch. When the opening was wide enough, Jack lifted his weapon to the ready and led the way into the newly revealed hall.

He had just enough time to notice light cast from a distance against the gold-covered walls before he heard a gunshot.

His heart in his throat, Jack didn't even bother casting a glance at the others before he broke into a run. He slid to a stop and moved to the side of the open archway that led into a room at the end of the hall. Kailan fell in beside him.

Daniel and Teal'c took position on the opposite side and waited while Jack peeked around to assess the situation.

What he saw sent him around the corner and into the room in an instant. Darvan and Stone lay dead on the floor. Jack didn't waste time worrying about them. His eyes were trained on the man who knelt over Carter with a gun in his hand.

"Galek!" he shouted a warning and aimed for a kill shot.

Robert Picardo is my hero. I need to write something that includes him next time.