"Right," Jack said, physically exhausted but mind clear, "We have a few more hours before we leave." The ships still needed fuel and munitions. "Take a little while to wander around, check things out, we need to get a plan of action together. Meet back here in an hour."
The team spread out. Young and Scott hung around the quarters, talking with the soldiers. Jack wandered around, keeping his silence, but observing the jaffa. Carter sought out any bit of technology she could find. Teal'c hid himself away, pretending to sleep. An hour later they gathered around his bunk.
"There's an armory not far from here," Young said. "We might be able to steal some explosives."
Jack pondered this. "Maybe. But these guys seems rather professional, I doubt they would leave their weapons unguarded."
"If we can access some of the inner workings of the ship," Carter said, "we might be able to disable the ship."
Teal'c nodded, "The most battle necessary areas will be heavily guarded, but perhaps some of the other areas would not be. Several key systems may be vulnerable to assault."
"Yeah, but we still have to consider the other ship," Scott said. "Any overt action we take could warn them. Even one ship would cause trouble on Earth." Young gave a slight smile.
"Okay," Jack said, "We can either focus on arms, though that seems risky." Young nodded. "But not without merit. They also may have technology that can help us take out this ship. Carter," an imperceptible pause, "Teal'c, get a plan together for that. We also have to consider getting off this ship and onto the other."
"They have some sorta short transport system in place. I took a look at a map, and I know where these, I dunno, I guess you'd call them transport pads, are located." Scott said.
"Rings. Their like mini stargates that come out of the ceiling. Those will be our best bet. But first, we need to take care of this ship." Jack said.
In hushed whispers they began plotting the demise of their enemy. Carter was noticeably glancing around at every strange sound or close voice. Jack had to tell her to be calm. Looking around suspiciously was almost certainly going to arouse suspicion. They must act as though they were doing nothing more than just talking.
"Listen," Carter said, "If we want to disable this ship, we must make our move soon." She glanced nervously at Jack.
O'Neill was accustomed to making decisions in the heat of battle. He was even accustomed to making considered decisions in the relatively slow paced world of black ops. This, however, was different. He longed to go home. He wanted to plant his garden, and consider plans for his backyard deck. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Right here, right now, he needed to be the commander that would save Earth. Every decision was vital.
"Right. We move. I think that our best bet is attacking the control systems of the ship. If they can't reach Earth than it faces no threat." With a nod and a glance around, he assessed the acceptance of his idea with the group. "Okay. We move now." Jack stood up. He approached a guard.
"I need the restroom. Battle always makes me nervous." He said, rather sheepishly. The guard smiled in a condescending fashion. Jack left the barracks room, trusting the others to make their own excuses. Some also claimed to need the bathroom, others said that they were full of nervous energy, and simply needed to take a walk. Teal'c merely exited the room, trusting in silent confidence to avoid confrontation. A few gave him strange looks, but none questioned him. They gathered in the hall.
"So, where's this room?" Jack asked casually, trying to force down the adrenaline.
"Two floors down, and a few hundred meters away," Carter answered. They began to move.
"Halt!" The command came from behind them. The team turned to see a jaffa, weapon lowered. "What are you doing here?"
Jack tried to answer, but his faltering response was over ridden.
"I know you," the jaffa said, striding forward. "You are Teal'c, the shol'va." The jaffa smiled. "My master will be most pleased with me." He called in reinforcements, and before anyone could react, they were surrounded. "Follow me," the jaffa said, a grin spreading across his face.
They were led to the brig. They were the only ones there. Dammit, Jack thought to himself. The weight of failure crashed down upon him. The entirety of Earth depended on him, and he had failed. They would likely be held here for a few hours, then removed so that Apophis could gloat. Shortly after, they would be executed, the first to die in defense of his home planet. Dammit, he thought, wishing there was a word to more accurately describe the sense of worthlessness he felt.
They were held in a cluster of cells. Down the hall was a central room, containing the officers in charge of detaining prisoners. Several such clusters branched off of this room, but all led directly to this prisoner control room.
The force fields containing them dissipated. Jack looked at his cellmate, Everett Young. They both moved instantly.
They left their cell and entered the hall. The rest of the team was moving slowly, confused by the turn of events. Seeing their leader, they coalesced around him. "Get ready to fight," Jack said, assuming that they would need to overpower the jaffa guarding their escape route.
"Who opened the doors?" Sam asked.
"It doesn't matter," Jack said, "They are open." They moved.
They were surprised to find both guards dead, one slumped over his control panel, the other sprawled on the floor near his chair. He appeared to be drawing his weapon. O'Neill grabbed one gun, and ordered Young to grab the other. They left the brig.
/
"My lord, the prisoners have escaped." Lora, the adjutant said as Sadiki entered the bridge.
"Have they now?" Sadiki allowed himself a smile. He had left ten minutes previously, not deigning to explain his reasoning. "Organize search teams. I will go myself. I wish to confront this shol'va." Nodding, Lora bent over a control panel, issuing orders. Sadiki left the bridge.
/
"Where the hell are we?" Jack demanded of Carter.
"Sir, we have to go up three levels. We are closest to the engine room."
"Lead the way," Jack said. Carter nervously nodded her acquiescence before heading up the corridor. Teal'c glanced at Jack before following.
Hallway became hallway, one bleeding into the other, each so similar as to be identical. Occasionally Carter would stop and consult a map that she called forth from the wall. Jack was privately impressed at her abilities. She seemed to know every detail of the layout of the ship. Carter, meanwhile, would stop at every available terminal to double check their progress, terrified that they would get lost. She was riding the disaster curve, trying not to be overwhelmed by her confusion. Teal'c remained silent, prepared to speak only when necessary.
They turned a corner. A high ranking jaffa blocked their path. He took one look at them before spreading his arms wide, staff weapon off to his side and the off-hand gesturing peace. Jack was reminded of Teal'c's arrival.
"I wish to help you. You must follow my instructions without hesitation."
"Uh, what?" Jack said, raising his weapon. Just then they heard footsteps approaching. Turning his back on the team, the jaffa dashed up a side corridor. The people from Earth held deadly weapons. If they wished they could kill him now. Perhaps they feared attracting attention. Perhaps they had believed him when he said that they must obey his commands. It didn't matter. Every doubt had evaporated, every option had dissipated. He could only act as he had decided, as he knew he must. Turning his back on the Earthlings, giving them the opportunity to shoot, had been easy, it required no thought. Keeping that back turned and running up the hallway was difficult.
"They are not down here. Search that hall, they may have gone that way," their jaffa friend said to the interlopers.
The jaffa returned to them. "We do not have much time. Follow me, I can lead you to where you need to go." The jaffa held Teal'c's gaze for a moment. Teal'c nodded. Jack watched impassively. The jaffa passed the group, going a short way down the corridor. He stopped near a panel. He ripped it from the wall, and gestured them inside. He entered the opening he had made. The team followed.
They found themselves in a utilitarian tunnel, lined with cables and conduits. Ladders branched off from it on occasion. The jaffa led them through a maze of passageways before halting at a junction.
"We are near the engine room. I will enter it, and they will not question me." There was only one way forward, now, their friend thought to himself. His future appeared certain.
"Hold, on," Jack said, "Who the hell are you?"
"I am the one who will let you succeed." He faced Teal'c, he glanced at the golden mark on his forehead. "You are Teal'c, the shol'va, are you not?"
"Yes," Teal'c replied.
"You have come from Earth, is that not correct?"
"Hang on, it doesn't matter where we're from," Jack said.
Their friend looked at them for a moment before replying. "You are wishing to defend your planet, yes?" He did not bother to wait for a reply. "You wish to destroy these ships?"
"Yeah," Jack replied, "But we need to know-"
Their friend cut him off with a gesture. "I am the one who released you from your captivity. I believe that I can set the hyperspace engines to overload when we jump to hyperspace. You will then need only take out the other ship. That should be easy, as it is the one you used to command."
"And what will you do once you accomplish this goal?" Teal'c asked, the interrogative tone of his voice clear.
"I will attempt to rejoin you, of a certainty."
"And if you can't do this?" Jack asked, referring to the central issue, the destruction of the ship they were on.
"Well," their friend replied, thinking only of his possibly impending death, "If today is the day that I die," he said introspectively, "then today I die a free jaffa." He looked at them.
Teal'c stared solemnly at this unknown person, eyes filled with emotion.
"Yeah, great," Jack said, "But if you fail to destroy the ship?"
"There is nearby a transport. If I fail then surely you will destroy the other Ha'tak. You would certainly prefer to defend against one ship rather than two?"
"Yes," Jack reluctantly replied.
"Then no matter what, you will have a lesser threat to contend with because of my actions. Up that way," their nameless friend indicated a small and shadowy passage way, "You will find an exit. Not far from it you will find a transport platform. Once aboard the other ship I would advise making your way to the environmental control room. From there you will have immense control over the ship."
"Won't this room be protected?" Jack asked.
"Certainly it will be, but if you can gain access to it …" Their friend let the sentence trail off.
"We will be able to have control over who lives and who dies," Teal'c said.
"The shol'va sees it clear. Each room can be closed off individually, from within, but only the environmental control room can dictate large scale control. Even so, though each room can cut itself off from the general system, it will have limited air and be cut off from the halls."
"Uh, your meaning?" Jack said.
"Meaning," Teal'c said, "That those within any such room will be unable to move from it, and have a limited amount of time to act, due to the lack of air supply."
"Wait, are you saying that we should vent the air and suffocate the jaffa?" Carter said.
"Precisely." Their friend smiled at Carter.
Carter glanced nervously between the two jaffa, Teal'c and their new friend. Major Young interpreted the shared glances.
"And you are both comfortable with killing potentially thousands of jaffa?" he asked the aliens.
"I am," Teal'c replied and their unknown assistant nodded, "They have made a choice, the choice to defend Apophis. I will not mourn for them, only the situation that led them to make this choice."
A moment of silence passed.
"The ships will depart soon," Teal'c glanced at O'Neill, who gave his uncertain assent to whatever their friend had planned.
Entrenched in the armor of most jaffa was a radio communications link. Their friend activated it. "Miktal," he said.
"Yes sir," Miktal replied, recognizing his commander's voice.
"Proceed with the jump as scheduled. You will have to oversee the jump, as I am still searching for Teal'c." Sadiki ended the communication. On the bridge of the second ship Miktal acknowledged the command with reluctance. It was strange to not have his commander on the bridge during such an action. He must be testing me, Miktal thought to himself, he must be assessing my command ability. He promised himself that he would not fail, and so began preparations for the jump.
"We have a scarce few minutes before you must board the other ship." With a weary smile he said, "This is where I leave you. May the best of luck be with you all."
Jack shifted position, steeling himself to speak. Teal'c laid a hand on his shoulder, and slowly shook his head. Sadiki left them, stopping twenty meters down the passage. Peering through a grate in the utility shaft panel that granted access to the passage, he waited. When he was confident none would see him, he emerged. He replaced the panel. Walking confidently down the hall, he faced two guards outside a large door.
"I wish to enter."
The guards stood aside. In the passage O'Neill turned to his team. "Right. He will do what he said or he won't. We have to get onto that other ship."
"He seems on the level," Scott said, "at least, I think that there really is a ring transport down that way." He pointed towards the shadowy passage way.
"Alright. We move."
They made their way along the passage. Soon they came upon another service panel. This granted them access to the hall. Not far away was the transporter room, a small round room containing the circular transporter pad and one guard. O'Neill, still wearing the jaffa armor that Roodia had given him, advanced on the enemy. The guard began asking him his purpose. Jack shot him.
Jack forced himself to look away from the corpse. He ushered the rest into the room. He gave a nod to Teal'c, who pressed a series of buttons on the control panel. A moment later a bright light filled the room, and a set of small rings engulfed the team. The experience was akin to gate travel, though much shorter and much, much less intense.
They appeared in an identical small round room. Jack, disoriented, barely had time to register their surroundings before Teal'c leveled his weapon and killed the guard. Moving swiftly he knelt beside the fallen jaffa.
"In the name of Apophis." A sour look passed across his face, then Teal'c bowed his head. "You died for freedom, my friend."
They assembled around the doorway. "Alright, we need to get to the environmental controls. Carter, lead the way."
She looked startled. "Uh sir," she said.
"I know this ship better than she does," Teal'c said. He gave an apologetic look to Carter. She nodded.
"He does, sir," she said.
A moment of doubt clouded O'Neill's thoughts. He ignored it. "Fine. Teal'c, take point."
"This way," he said, and then left the transporter room. They made their way down the hallways leading to the environmental control room. A dull and low pitched whine began. Quickly it grew to a pitch and magnitude that invaded the ears and penetrated the brain.
"Prepare for-" Teal'c began. Suddenly each person felt smeared wide, across all the cosmos and all of time. A sensation akin to having a hook placed deep within every cell and jerked suddenly across the galaxy consumed them. An instant later they felt fine.
"What the hell," they asked.
"We have made the shift to hyperspace," Teal'c said.
"A little warning would have been nice," Jack said.