Chapter Thirty-six

Three days passed and word came from the Daedalus that they were cloaked and in orbit over the planet. Hammond used the sensors to detect life signs and found that both ships were empty.

He spoke to Landry back on earth and said, "They must have just dropped off more slaves."

Landry said, "There's nothing stopping you then?"

"No, except, if we blow up the ships and anyone tries ringing up, they'll end up on the Daedalus."

"I say go for it. If it's Netan or his men, we arrest them. If it's kassa, we dump it out an airlock. That might not be a bad idea for Netan and his men, come to think of it."

"I agree Hank, except we might need Netan's testimony to convict the Chinese delegates whom were involved with in the plot."

"Won't the resulting explosions be seen from the planet's surface?"

"Maybe. But, they might think it's one of the mines."

Hank said, "It's your call, George."

George said to his crew, "Prepare to fire on the cargo ships."

Thirty seconds later, Hank heard Hammond give the order to 'fire,' and then George said, "It's done, Hank. Both ships were destroyed."

0 0

Landry called a briefing for the departing SG teams and said, "Everything is in place. The Daedalus is in orbit and waiting. Anyone have any questions?" The room remained silent. "Jack, let's get this going."

Harriman had started the dial up process and the first chevron connected and then glowed.

Daniel looked at Vala and took her hand saying, Nervous?"

"Me? Never. I'm as cool as a cauliflower."

"Cucumber."

"What?"

"That cliché is 'Cool as a cucumber,'" He hoped he was distracting her enough for her fears to be eased.

"Cucumber, Cauliflower, what's the difference?"

"Well…"

Cam walked up and said, "Vala, be prepared for a half hour dissertation on the merits of various fruits and vegetables. Wait. Is a cucumber a vegetable or a fruit?"

Daniel paused and said, "I don't know." He looked around the room and then shouted, "Hey, Sam! Is a cucumber a vegetable or a fruit?"

Sam looked over at Daniel and said, "What? Why do you think I would know the answer to that question?"

"Cause you know stuff like that!"

Teal'c answered, "If said edible form comes from a flower and is seed bearing, it is considered a fruit. Therefore, a cucumber is a fruit. As are tomatoes, zuchinni, squash and pea pods, to name a few."

All activity and conversation in the gate room came to a screeching halt and jaws dropped as all eyes turned in stunned fascination towards Teal'c.

Vala said, "Well, Muscles, I guess that answers that question!"

Cam looked at Teal'c and said, "How did you know that?"

Teal'c smiled at his friend and said, "The World Wide Web is a very satisfying contrivance to educate one's self on many divergent topics of enlightenment, Colonel Mitchell. I can advocate numerous sites for you to peruse should you wish to avail yourself of any topics with which you would wish to inculcate yourself."

Cam looked stunned and asked Daniel, "What did he just say?"

"He basically said, next time go online and look it up for yourself."

Mitchell rocked back on his heels and said, "I thought that's what he said."

The seventh chevron locked and they heard Landry say, "General O'Neill, you have a go!"

"Okay, kids," Jack said, "Let's move it!"

SG-1 watched SG teams 2, 3 and 15 went through the gate and then stepped back. From high above the gate motors hummed and soon the puddle jumper was lowered and maneuvered to stand poised in front of the gate. The back of the jumper opened and Jack and SG-1 stepped inside and took their seats.

"There's no chance that we're going to accidentally get sent back in time, is there?"

"No," Sam said, "The time travel device was removed and is still at Area 51. I was working on that when you got the team back together, Cam."

Vala walked around the small compartment, fascinated with the technology and then sat down next to Daniel and smiled. "This should be fun."

Daniel grinned at her and said, "Just watch."

Everyone quieted down and watched Jack concentrate. Soon, lights and panels lit up and the puddle jumper was powered up. Jack said, "Daniel, dial it up." Daniel reached forward and punched in the gate coordinates on the DHD and the chevrons lit up. The big, blue kawoosh sprang towards them and everyone waited for Jack to contact Colonel Pierce on the other side.

"What's the situation, Pierce?"

"All clear, Sir."

"We're on our way," Jack said and they entered the event horizon.

They exited the cave exit and moved out over the heads of the other teams and then settled down about on the beach. When the teams made it down the path to the beach, Jack said, "Okay, we can all fit in here if you stand. This is a whole hell of a lot faster than going by foot."

"Or by ship," Sam said. "And you shouldn't get motion sickness, either."

The group agreed, some remembering the harrowing experience they'd had on the clipper ship.

0 0

The puddle jumper moved forward quietly through the early morning mist. The town was a few miles away so they stayed low and entered the town near the harbor. They wanted to get into Owensville and sneak up on the Alliance guards while evacuating the citizens toward the beach to keep them out of harm's way. They exited the jumper and Jack hit the button on the remote to cloak it. The teams moved forward and one by one, homes were checked but they didn't encounter any people.

Daniel said, "Has anyone noticed how many of these houses are empty?"

"Yeah, all of them are and I don't like it," Jack said.

"Where do you think everyone went?"

"My guess is Netan called some big meeting and they were all ordered to attend. That's the only reason I can think of. I'm sure they've scared everyone into doing exactly as they've been told so there's not much to fear from the locals."

The four teams turned into the business district and everyone stopped and stared. In the center of town was a gallows and hanging from it were five corpses, two men and three women. The bodies swayed in the wind and as the breeze blew their way, the cloying odor of decaying flesh hit the noses of the SG teams, turning stomachs inside out.

Daniel stared, horrified and said, "Oh, no." Vala was crying as she came to his side and asked, "Are those two in the middle the Kopka's?"

Daniel closed his eyes and nodded. "And Pastor Dunbar is on the end. What have we done?"

Vala grabbed him by the sleeve, turned him to face her and said, "Stop it! We didn't do this! Netan did and we're going to make sure he pays!"

Jack saw the exchange and patted Daniel on the shoulder. "She's right. I want you to remember something, Daniel. Nobody knew there were people on this planet. The damned UAV failed to send the correct information. Again! You came here with the blessings of your superior officers. AND, YOU DID NOT DO THIS!"

Daniel looked at his friends around him and then said, "You're right, Jack. Let's go get the S.O.B. that did do it."

Jack ordered everyone to the boardwalks on either side of the street and they started through the town, not knowing what to expect. They relayed forward and checked each business but noticed that most of the businesses were torn apart and there were no people about.

"What the hell happened?" Cam asked as they entered the next block of buildings. "Where is everybody?"

Jack said, "Let's head for Netan's compound. I have a feeling that's where we're going to find everyone." He pointed to the gallows and said, "We'll give these poor folks a proper burial when we're done. I'm sure that they're friends will want to take care of that."

"If there's any left," Sam said.

"Right," Jack said, "Let's go!"

The whole group silently moved forward in the early morning light and headed for Netan's prison. They could hear the sounds of someone shouting and stopped to listen.

"Teal'c, can you make out who that is and what he's saying?"

"I can. It is Netan and he is urging his troops to continue to capture all people they find and send them to the prison."

"Why?"

"I do not know, O'Neill but I suggest we attack them before they attack us."

"Good plan, Big Guy!" He gave the order and the SG teams moved towards the prison gate. As Jack looked past the opening, he saw that the only individuals visible were Alliance soldiers and everyone was facing the other way, listening to Netan. Jack used hand signals and soon everyone was in place. On his signal, grenades were readied and thrown into the crowd.

The resulting explosions caused the panicked Alliance soldiers to run for cover, some of whom ran outside the compound, only to be captured or cut down by the SG team members. Jack signaled for them to move into the prison and saw that they were facing a group of Alliance soldiers who were covering Netan as he made his way towards the back of the compound and disappeared. Some of his men ran after him, leaving few to defend the prison. Soon, the rest were captured and Jack had the lieutenants brought before him. They were bound and kneeling in front of Jack so he picked the biggest, ugliest one and pointed his zat gun at him.

"Where's Netan?"

"Gone. You won't get to him."

Jack zatted him and watched him fall, noting that the others down the line saw what he did. He had Teal'c drag the man behind a wall and then everyone heard a gun shot.

Jack approached the next one and said, "Where's Netan?"

"I won't tell you!"

"Fine, have it your way," Jack said as he zatted the man. Teal'c came forward and dragged this one away, too. A gun shot was heard and then he came back to stand next to Jack.

Jack approached the next one and asked again, "Where's Netan?"

This man remained silent but glared at Jack. So, Jack zatted him. Teal'c dragged him away and by the time Jack approached the fourth soldier, he noted that this guy was shaking in his boots and had wet himself.

"Where's Netan?"

The man immediately opened up and told them that Netan had escaped through a secret tunnel and was probably headed for the kassa warehouses, which were about a half mile behind the prison compound.

Jack ordered that the soldier be placed with the others behind the wall, where the man saw that his friends were alive and well, recovering from a zat blast, groaning and in pain. He look of relief on his face was quite evident until he realized that he had just ratted on his boss and these men would probably kill him when they found out. He shouted to Cam to protect him from the others and Jack said, "Take him inside and lock him up. Make sure he's safe. We might need his testimony."

Cam and some of the others headed for the cells and soon Cam radioed Jack and said, "O'Neill, you should see this!"

Jack gave an order for SG's 2, 3 and 15 to continue to subdue Netan's remaining soldiers and then he and the rest of SG-1 went into the prison. Cam met them at the door and led them to a block of cells where he could hear voices. To the right were Netan's men whom he had just had arrested. But, as he looked across the way and down the hall, he saw that the cells were full of men, women and children - all citizens from Owensville and the surrounding towns. The cells were packed with barely any room for movement and a lot of the prisoners were sick and in bad shape. The cell doors were opened and Jack and SG-1 was surrounded by the miserable people who were weeping and offering their thanks for being liberated. Slowly the group moved away and as they did, Daniel and Vala looked through the crowd, trying to find anyone they might recognize.

As the last ones left the block, Daniel stopped and said, "I didn't see Arthur, Adam, Robert… or anyone we met before." He turned towards one of the last of the prisoners to leave and asked, "Where is Doctor Samuels, Adam Rollins and Robert Dibble? Have you seen them?"

"Doctor Samuels was sent to the labor camp. Adam and Robert were arrested and sent to Netan's palace. I was told they were tortured but I haven't heard anything about them for a while."

Daniel turned towards Jack and said, "We have to find them."

"Okay, Danny, we will." Jack turned towards the others and said, "Let's find that tunnel and go after Netan. I think that's where we'll find him and the others."

The made sure that all the cells were empty and then Jack had SG-3 lead them to a safe spot outside of town and first aid was started. Food and water was gathered and a makeshift refugee camp was set up.

Jack and SG teams 1, 2 and 15 carefully made their way to the tunnel, to find Netan and put and end to this nightmare.

After they were gone, one man came out of hiding and watched as Daniel and Vala were the last to disappear into the darkness below the far wall. He was filthy, half starved and crazy. And bent on vengeance.