Myth
Briar Elwood
Chapter XXV
James
"My guess? The Ori still have them."
Daniel turned to Ettan, frowning disapprovingly. "Do you have anything to do with this?"
Ettan winced. "I ordered them to exchange one of the kids for a tracking device, yes. I didn't specify what to do with the real kid."
Jack looked furious. "I love how you're so poise about this!" he shouted. "So you have no idea if James is even alive or not?!"
Ettan shook his head. "I can find out, though."
Cam frowned. "How?"
"The warriors don't know I've realized the truth yet," Ettan pointed out with a shrug. "I can act as though I'm still on their side."
"Couldn't you just tell them the truth?" Vala asked, confused. "I mean, you are their leader."
Ettan shrugged. "I could try."
Jack nodded curtly. "All right. Do it. I want Teal'c with you."
Later…
"My loyal warriors!" Ettan cried, running into a majestic building on Celestis. Hundreds of heads turned to see their leader, followed by that dark Jaffa they all were warned about, at the doorway. Far in the back of the hallway, the Doci stuck his head out, as he hadn't seen Ettan since the boy had left for Earth to warn his father about Sirius. And maybe…maybe Ettan could explain the mysterious and sudden disappearance of the wall of fire.
"A great revelation has come to me!" Ettan continued, seeing he had their undivided attention. "The Ori are false gods! However powerful they may have been, they were not true gods!"
"What do you mean 'were'?" a warrior called out.
"They have been eliminated," Ettan replied. "They are gone. Dead."
"And why are we to believe that?" the Doci shouted, stepping fully into the hall. "He is accompanied by one of SG-1! Surely you all recognize him as the Jaffa, Teal'c? How are we to know that our leader is not simply telling us these things because he has been threatened by SG-1? It is the way they work, through deception and lies."
Teal'c stepped forward. "I believe you have been misled, Doci. The Ori are those who work through deception and lies."
The Doci ignored the Jaffa and walked over to Ettan, taking his hand. "Whatever they have threatened to do, sir, they cannot do it here." He gestured to the crowd. "All of these men are willing to fight for you. Especially after that embarrassing defeat on Earth, I am sure they are all eager to repay SG-1."
Ettan smiled in return, backing away from Teal'c. "I am grateful you were able to see the truth, Doci."
Teal'c frowned. Had Ettan been, as O'Neill would say, yanking their chain?
"This Jaffa was ordered to keep a watchful eye on me," Ettan continued. "Now I must ask you, where is the son of General O'Neill and Colonel Carter?"
The Doci's eyes flitted to Teal'c, who kept his face as stoic as ever, realizing Ettan was simply playing with the cards laid out to him.
"I don't think, sir—"
"I wish to know where the son of General O'Neill and Colonel Carter is!" Ettan bellowed, putting the force of his authority behind every syllable.
"Safe, sir," the Doci replied quickly before lowering his voice. "Here, on Celestis."
Teal'c strained to hear the man. Ettan nodded his approval.
"In this building?"
"Yes, sir."
Ettan nodded again. "I will go see him," he told the Doci as he left the hall.
"What about the Jaffa?" the Doci asked hurriedly. "What do we do with him?"
Ettan stopped, pausing to think. Teal'c considered this as well. Ettan couldn't very well allow him to leave without raising suspicion and the Doci and the warriors would expect him to order them to kill Teal'c. This presented a problem.
"Do what you wish," Ettan said vaguely and left. The Doci turned back to Teal'c with a smile.
"Kill him," the Doci ordered. The warriors leapt for the Jaffa, weapons in hand. Teal'c raised his P90, let off a few rounds, and bolted for the door, running straight for the 'gate.
Earth… (A/N: I would just like to say that, yes, I realize Teal'c wouldn't be able to go straight from Celestis to Earth by the 'gate. What happened was, he gated to a planet on the far boundaries the Ori galaxy where he and Ettan had left a ship and flew back to Earth. Just so you know.)
"So Ettan's still there," Cameron concluded for Teal'c.
"Pretending to still be on the Ori's side," Vala added. Teal'c nodded.
"Indeed."
"All right, it looks like we're going to Celestis," Jack said, clapping his hands on the table.
"Whoa, wait, we?" Daniel interrupted. "Jack, you—"
"I'm going," Jack said with a very final tone. "James is my son."
Daniel looked to Sam for support but it seemed as if she was too lost in thought to realize the linguist's pleading stare.
"This is how its gonna work out," Jack continued. "Sam 'n' me'll go for James. Daniel'll go for the Doci. The rest of you, Mitchell, Teal'c, Vala and Oci'll go for the rest of the warriors. Keep 'em off the rest of us."
"What about Ettan?" Daniel asked, still not too happy with the idea of Jack coming along. "And who's gonna be in charge of the base while you're gone?"
"Walter can take care of it," Jack replied off-handily. "Ettan's a big boy too, Daniel."
"What makes you think we can take on a bunch of Ori warriors, General?" Cam added. "That's only four of us. Granted, Oci counts as about twenty but still. We're greatly outnumbered."
Jack's reply was a stare and the colonel began to rise slightly out of his chair. "Do the warriors have powers, Mitchell?"
Cam fell back to his chair with a thud, looking un-nerved. "Uh…no."
"How're we getting there?" Vala asked. "Oci's too big to get on any ships."
"We'll have to jump 'gates," Sam said quietly. "Dr. McKay did something like that to make transportation between Atlantis and Earth easier."
Jack nodded with satisfaction. "Sounds good. Let's go."
"Whoa, now?" Daniel asked incredulously. It seemed to him as if Jack was getting irrational with worry for his son. Jack gave him a stone cold stare.
"Yes, now, Daniel."
"General O'Neill, I believe it would be wise to leave in the morning," Teal'c advised. "We need rest."
Jack looked tense for a moment but nodded. "Fine. We leave at 0700 hours, then. Sharp."
A/N: (taps fingers nervously) Okay, so I know what's going to happen and I'm still tapping my fingers nervously? What's up with that?
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