A/N: Chap 53 Review Responses in my forums. And now...it's been a while since we heard from Bra'tac. Let's see what he's up to.


Chapter Fifty-Three: A Knight of the Empire

"Master Bra'tac, are you well?"

Mione Andona Montrose studied the ancient Jaffa with open concern as the two walked toward the gate. For this trip, Bra'tac wore his old Jaffa armor and cloak, and walked with a staff weapon in one hand and a fold of his cloak in the other. His metal headpiece gleamed under the lights of the staging dome that protected the stargate. They were standing by in a priority queue as a column of soldiers and armored vehicles moved through the gate to reinforce a position already under attack by the Ori.

"A passing weakness of spirit, child. It is nothing."

In a very real sense of the word, Bra'tac was Mione's great grandfather. In the absence of her own parents, her mother Tel'gat viewed Ishta and her husband Teal'c as her surrogate parents. And Teal'c to this day viewed Bra'tac as a father-figure. The bonds they shared were of a family, even if they were not blood. She knew that Bra'tac, like most Jaffa, was a terse man. The Jaffa were not prone to talking about their feelings like a Hebrides or Byrsa native. But the few words he spoke were revealing enough—Bra'tac grieved not just the loss of Gerak, but for the man's betrayal.

Pity would not be appreciated, she knew. Instead, she merely nodded. "A weakness I share. I was afraid when I saw the Empress hurt as she was, and I grieved that it was Prince Daniel's sister who aided the Orici."

Bra'tac bobbed his head. "The Lady Hermione is strong. I remember the first time I saw her, many decades ago. My former master Apophis's queen selected her as a host. This fear you speak of—I felt it when I heard Amaunet screaming from Hermione's mouth. I remember Lady Luna's blood on my hands—Apophis ordered me to kill her, and I did as instructed. That very night, the Lady Luna forgave my stabbing her. They called me wise. But were I truly wise, surely I would have seen…" His words faded into silence.

Mione took the man's hand, her fingers lacing through his above the line of her vambraces. "Master Bra'tac," she said softly. "His duplicity fooled even the Empress, who is guided by the Force. It must have been the Ori's influence that shrouded Gerak's duplicity. You are among the wisest men I've ever known. So you should know that one can grieve the loss of a friend without blaming yourself for their acts. Gerak chose the enemy and hid his actions. There is nothing to do now but grieve the man you once knew, and try to save that which he tried to destroy."

With his other hand, the old Jaffa patted hers while nodding firmly and gazing out across the dome with rheumy eyes. "Yes, child. Yes, you are right. What does an old man know about wisdom that a child like yourself cannot also know? You are right."

The armored vehicles continued rolling through the gate, their shields off and their laser cannons secured for the passage. Between the wheeled vehicles came rows of soldiers weighed down by their field packs and weapons. The lighting of the vast dome overhead made it look almost as if they were out in the day, even though in fact it was approaching midnight. Many of the soldiers were Jaffa or Eridu.

Finally the column finished its passage and the gate shut down. Almost immediately another unit began assembling with more ground vehicles and several small one-man airships for close air support. However, Mione and Bra'tac were next. The gate began dialing for Dakara as the two left the covered seats of the VIP section and walked toward the gate. They already passed through several layers of security.

Abruptly the dialing was interrupted. "Incoming wormhole, please stand by," a voice announced on loudspeakers mounted on the customs station building on the far side of the gate from them. Moments after the incoming gate established itself, something flashed out of the gate and impacted a combination of shields and the Tripartite's personal wards ten feet from the gate.

"Enemy fire, enemy fire!" The voice over the speaker was screaming in panicked alarm.

The beam of energy burned with a brilliant white light and took up almost half the circumference of the gate itself, it was so thick. Bra'tac moved as if to shield Mione while the assembled military unit desperately tried scrambling out of the way. The air ten feet from the gate shimmered as a ZPM-powered Ancient shield and a cascade of magical wards fought to contain the energy. The roar of the beam made Mione's ears ache while every hair on body stood on end from the ionization of the atmosphere.

Suddenly the Akai'kheb was there, popping out of nowhere almost directly in front of the beam. Moments later, a second object appeared and Mione felt her eyes bulge as she saw a Tollan phased torpedo, but with a very large naquedah-infused warhead. The soldiers behind him stopped mid-run and stared at what was in many regards the most powerful single weapon the Empire possessed.

Harry simply stood staring at the beam, his lips moving. Mione knew he was talking to the gate control room, but she couldn't hear what he said.

Almost five minutes after the attack started, the beam ended and abruptly the gate shut down. It began dialing again instantly, doing so much faster than Mione had ever seen. Behind the Akai'kheb, the warhead went live with an ominous hum and then phased out of sight. The very second the plume of the out-going wormhole settled, the missile roared through the event horizon. A second later the wormhole collapsed and the gate immediately began dialing again.

In the stunned silence that followed, Harry nodded to Mione and Bra'tac. "Go through quick, they may try attacking from a different gate."

The gate dialed for Dakara, and this time Mione and her escort wasted no time going through. The moment they emerged from the gate, they were met by a squad of Jaffa in full armor with staff weapons pointed at them. Standing at their lead was a woman Mione recognized. "Ka'lel?"

Ka'lel was one of the survivors of the Hak'tyl, but was not herself Mal'Jaffa. In fact, she was one of the last of the Hak'tyl to receive a symbiote before the Mal Jaffa retrovirus was perfected by the Hebridans. She wore the robes of the Dakara Council, the planetary governing body and a major voice among all Jaffa politics.

"We heard the Emperor slaughtered Gerak and all of his supporters," Kal'lel said. "We expected no less. I will admit I'm surprised the Emperor sent only you."

"He sent only this child you know," Bra'tac said. "I came of my own will, and the Akai'kheb agreed. Jaffa, kree!"

The whip-snap command of a century-plus old First Prime broke through the inherent distrust and the squad of Jaffa warriors lowered their staff weapons. Only then did Bra'tac walk down the ramp with Mione a step behind on his right. "The Akai'kheb respects and needs the Jaffa. His actions were not that of a tyrant, but of a good man betrayed. I will speak more of it to the Council as is my right as Jaffa."

"And the Imperial lackey?" Ka'lel said with a nod to Mione.

Mione bit back an angry retort and tried to hide the fact that the statement hurt. Ka'lel and her mother were friends at one point, supposedly. "I am Mal'Jaff," she said instead. "My mother was your sister in arms. If we meant you violence, you would be dead already. In Bra'tac's words, he came as a reminder of a Jaffa's honorable past, while I am the future."

"Enough of this," Bra'tac snapped. "I will speak to the Council now."

"You'll not find them receptive."

"Nor will they find me complacent," Bra'tac returned. Without further word, he began to march determinedly toward the stark, arid mountain in which the Dakara Council met. Mione, being her first time on the arid planet, found herself studying the massive image of a Goa'uld ruler carved into the mountain.

"The Temple of Dakara," Bra'tac said, noticing her look. "It is where the Goa'uld first enslaved the Jaffa. It is where we were created, and first implanted."

"Just like Hebridan was where we were freed," Mione said.

She noticed some of the Jaffa warriors around them stiffen at her statement. However, in the wake of the in dominatable Bra'tac, Ka'lel made no effort to stop them. Instead she and the warriors accompanying him formed up to either side. She even lengthened her stride to overtake him, and thus when she turned away from the long, colonnaded building that ran along the edge of a ridge, Bra'tac hesitated.

"Do not think me so old as to forget where the council I helped form is located?" Bra'tac said.

Ka'lal stared at the old warrior with the hint of a knowing smirk, if a Jaffa could ever be said to smirk. "Much has changed, Bra'tac of Kalmah. The Council now meets in the Temple."

Mione did not have the perspective to understand why Bra'tac brought his hand to his chest as if in shock. "What sacrilege is that! No Jaffa has ever stepped foot in the temple!"

"Until now. If you wish to address the council, that is where you must do so."

Bra'tac placed his staff in the dirt. "So be it. Lead on."

The small courtyard that framed the entrance to the temple looked different than normal Goa'uld construction, which always swerved toward overwhelming ostentation. It was ancient, though, on a scale Mione had never seen before.

It was as they passed through low, heavy doors lined in ancient script that she felt her stomach clench. Though she could not read all of it, she recognized enough of the script to know they were not walking into a Goa'uld structure, but rather an Ancient one. Bra'tac too must have recognized it, though he gave no mention of it.

Within was a long, wide-open area with a low stone ceiling. A circular table with an empty center took up much of the room, but toward the back Mione could see the unmistakable form of an Ancient control panel, likely dating back millions of years.

The Force hummed with a hidden danger, though she could see the hostility from those in the room easily with her own eyes. The five council members seated at the table glared at the newcomers. Ka'lel herself stepped past them and resumed her seat.

"The lapdogs of the Emperor are not welcome here," a tall, harsh Jaffa in the middle declared.

"That is good, Se'tak," Bra'tac said. "If any arrive, I shall join you in fighting them. In the meantime, you shall hear my words and take heed."

"I don't need to heed the words of a traitor!" another councilor said.

"You already have, every time you speak!" Bra'tac roared the words, his eyes flashing in a rage Mione had never seen from the man.

Neither, it seemed had the council. The second speaker, half-way out of his seat, sank back again at the sheer power of Bra'tac's declaration.

Bra'tac stepped into the empty space in the center of the table, slowly looking from face to face. "I saw how you spoke down to my companion, Ka'lel. And yet your own sister Hak'tyl is her mother. Your own daughter is free from the scourge of the Goa'uld just like she is. You decry the Empire, but why do our children live free from the symbiotes, my friends, if not for them? We are free at last, and it was the Empire that gave us that freedom! It was by the Akai'kheb's hand personally that Dakara is ours! That this council exists and has say over this world!"

"We would have gained our freedom in time!" the councilor who insulted them at the beginning said.

"Is your tongue split, Yat'yir? For you speak the lies of serpent!"

The council member stood, his face flushed with rage.

Bra'tac didn't even deign to notice. "It was I personally who prepared for rebellion against our Goa'uld masters! It was myself, and Teal'c, and An'hur who joined the Akai'kheb and first fought against the Goa'uld. Where were you? Where were any of you? I will tell you. Save for Ka'lel, every one of you were still slaves to your masters. And Ka'lel herself was but a child facing death at the hands of Moloc when I accompanied the Akai'kheb and the Lady Hermione to save her! It was me who carried her off that world! Do you not remember, Ka'lal? Is your honor so far gone that you remember not who saved your very life?"

Ka'lel flushed as brightly as Yat'yir, but for different reasons.

"And yet that Empire you worship has killed the leader of this council!" Yat'yir argued. "Worse yet, we've learned that almost a third of Gerak's allies in Parliament have been murdered!"

"Because he was Shol'va, as were those who followed him so blindly!"

Another of the council rose to his feet. "You dare call a member of this council a traitor to the gods?"

"No, U'kin. I declared Gerak a traitor to his honor, and to the Tripartite throne which freed him from his bondage. He has broken faith with those who freed him and bowed his neck to dark gods who bring nothing but destruction."

"You speak of an Enemy and dark gods," U'kin said. "What name would you give this enemy?"

"They are called the Ori, and they are the Great Enemy the Akai'kheb spoke of when he first formed the Empire."

All five of the council members went still at the name. It did not take the Force to know that the council already knew what the Ori were called.

Bra'tac didn't miss it either. "I see," he finally said, his voice dripping with contempt. "This is what it means to be Jaffa today? Honorless cowards?"

"Bra'tac, the Ori did not come to us with violence," Se'tak said. Like all the others he wore the robes of the free Jaffa, though the emblem on his head was a simply black mark of Ba'al. He was a handsome man, but his tone spoke of barely concealed rage. "They came peaceably to speak, and in their discussions they proved they were allies of the Jaffa. Thanks to the Ori, the Jaffa Nation will never bow down to your Empire again. Only now, with the Ori, are we truly free. We have all voted on this matter. The decision is made."

"Is this true?" No longer did Bra'tac sound angry or on the verge of fighting. Instead, he simply stared at the councilors incredulously. "Has the Jaffa Nation voted to betray the Empire?"

Yat'yir, with his short stature and round face, spoke quickly. "Yes!"

Ka'lel, however, shook her head. "We did not! You know we did not, Se'tak. The vote was to hear the Ori ambassador in peace, and learn how the Ori could ensure the freedom of the Jaffa better than the Empire." She turned and glared at Yat'yir. "That was the only thing the council voted on.

The oldest of the councilors nodded. "That is correct."

"Very well, Maz'rai," Bra'tac said to the old, heavy-set man. "If that is what the council voted for, then we shall hear these words."

"We?" Yat'yir spat the word. "Who are you…"

"He is a founding member of this council, Yat'yir," Maz'rai said, cutting the younger Jaffa off quickly. "Whatever you think of his ties to the Empire, he is Jaffa, and has earned a right to sit at this table more than any of us."

"I agree," Ka'lel said. "If he can accept the vote of the council, he should be allowed his place on it."

Bra'tac turned to walk to one of the empty seats beside Ka'lel. "In this space, say nothing," he told Mione quietly.

She nodded and followed him in silence, taking up a position two feet behind him.

Se'tak remained standing from before, and evidently led the council in Gerak's absence. "Jaffa, bring in our guest."

Mione felt a sudden cold chill run up and down her spine. Only a lifetime of training kept her from igniting her lightsaber. A Jaffa warrior led a single figure through the door and into the sacred space of the Jaffa. The man wore a simple, sleeveless gray robe over a white blouse. His head was the color of bone without a trace of hair, and his eyes were clouded over as if with cataracts. In one hand he clutched a leather-bound book, while in the other he held a dark wooden staff topped by a brilliant white crystal the size of a large man's fist.

"Greeting and blessings from the Ori," the creature said. His voice was deep, rich and perfectly modulated to reach every ear and penetrate every mind. He thrummed with a hot, violent power that clashed with the Force so hard it made Mione nauseous. He pulled her own power in, trying to avoid the Prior's presence as much as she could.

"Greeting," Se'tak said, his voice changing from angry and confrontational with Bra'tac to sycophantic with this newcomer, who could only be one of the Priors of the Ori.

"And to you," the Prior said. "Have you read the Book of Origin?"

"I have," Se'tak said. "I found much wisdom in it, wisdom that I do not find in the teachings of the Tripartite."

"And well that is, since the words of heretics and blasphemers carry no wisdom, only damnation."

"The Jaffa people are mighty warriors, it was how the false gods created us," Se'tak continued. "For us to convince our people, we need to show them more than just a book with wisdom. We must show them might. We must show them that the Empire will not attack and enslave our people just as the Goa'uld did. In our last discussion, when you showed us how to unlock this temple, you mentioned such a means. Can you tell us more?"

"The Ori are all-seeing. The Ori are all-knowing. The Ori were before time, and will remain when all is dust. The Ori bore witness to their fallen kin on this world, eons before your ancestors could speak or walk. The Ori bore witness to a plague which the Fallen brought upon themselves and all the worlds of the galaxy, and thus bore witness to the last days of their Fallen kin in this galaxy. They built a great machine on this very ground to reseed the galaxy they themselves decimated in their folly. The machine still stands as you see. Within this machine lies the key to your salvation. For that which can create can also destroy."

"You're saying…the ancient temple is a weapon? Of the Ancients?"

"The worms that flailed blindingly about always sought the tools of the Fallen to raise themselves up," the Prior said. "Why then is it a surprise that the Goa'uld would come to this place? In the time of the Fallen this world was a paradise, and the Worms who enslaved you found many treasures to lift themselves higher unto the heavens. And yet, the truth eludes he who does not seek it with both eyes. The Worms sought only what they searched for, and did not see the truth before them, else all who opposed them would be no more. Such is the power you possess."

Mione fought to keep her mouth shut. What he was describing was a weapon of galactic-level mass destruction. If the Ancients used it to reseed the entire galaxy, then somehow it would have been keyed through the gate system. If the tool could be weaponized, the Jaffa could wipe out all life in the galaxy. They would wipe out the entire Empire in the blink of an eye.

The other councilors realized that as well. Se'tak sank back into his seat. "Such power."

"Indeed," Bra'tac said. Somehow he managed to keep his voice neutral. "Tell us, what would the Ori have us do with this power?"

"The Ori would have you walk the Path or Origin, so that you may be blessed with enlightenment. Blessed are the true believers, for only they shall walk the Path, and they shall be welcomed unto the realm of the Ori and made as one with Them. But those who reject the Path to enlightenment must be destroyed."

Bra'tac nodded thoughtfully as he stroked his pointed, gray beard. "So you would have us use this weapon against the enemies of the Ori?"

"Verily. With the strength of your will, they call upon you to prevail against the corruption of all unbelievers."

Mione noted that both Ka'lel and Maz'rai shared a look with another of their members, Cha'ra, one of the Jaffa who survived Moloc's service, only to accept the Akai'kheb's mercy extended to Tilgath's men.

"I have heard tell of a powerful savior among the Ori," Bra'tac said. "The Jaffa nation responds to strength. Can you tell me of this champion of the Ori?"

"You speak of the Orici, Ex uno disce omnes. From one, all will learn. In this vast expanse, that is sheltered by evil and led astray, he is the beacon of light in the darkness, to the warriors of the Ori, and to all who follow the true Path to salvation. With the wisdom of the ages, he will lead us to glorious victory over any and all unbelievers. And it is he who would have you use the weapon of the Fallen to undo their terrible work."

Again Bra'tac nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that would be him. He was at Magtirith, was he not?"

"So he was."

"Tell me, Prior of the Ori, how many Jaffa did he kill there?"

"What are you on about, old man?" Yat'yir snapped.

"It is a reasonable question," Bra'tac said, betraying none of the indignant anger he showed previously. Now he sounded calm, as if addressing the Parliamentary subcommittee on defense, than the High Council of the Jaffa Nation. "By Imperial treaty, this council speaks for all true Jaffa, do we not? Which means all Jaffa are our responsibility. And this morning, the Ori attacked the Magtirith shipyards and the defense fleet there. So tell me, you who see all, how many Jaffa did you kill this morning?"

"You seek truth in numbers, but numbers hold only fact. Truth may only be found by embracing the Path of Origin and heeding the Will of the Ori."

"Perhaps." Mione found herself fighting back a grin at how utterly calm and reasonable the elder Jaffa suddenly sounded. "It so happens that I do know the number of Jaffa killed this morning. After all, I had a hand in training many of them. They made up a quarter of the Imperial garrison there—over two hundred thousand men and women of the Jaffa nation, all killed in a surprise attack without warning, nor chance to surrender. Just as the Vice Empress Hermione was attacked by your Orici without warning, led into a trap by this council's own Gerak, where your Orici attempted to murder her. He failed, by the way."

U'kin, another of the noriginal council members, paled at this news. "The Orici attacked the Vice Empress? And failed?"

"From the smallest seed of doubt springs forth the mighty poisonous tree of evil." The Prior had maintained a a beatific smile on his face until that last statement. "Beware your thoughts, lest they sway you from the Path."

"Indeed," Bre'tac. "This Orici, I would learn more of him. Surely the Ori did not shape him from the air. Was he born of a human mother?"

"He was," the Ori intoned.

"This much I agree is truth," Bre'tac said. "In fact, his given name is Amhar. For those of you who do not know, he is the son of Catherine Jackson, sister of Crown Prince Daniel of Kheb."

"Blasphemy!" Yat'yit shouted.

"I have yet to reach the true blasphemy, serpent tongue, though it comes nigh. For your blessed Orici is mazmer!"

Ka'lel actually sucked in her breath in shock, while Se'tak rose to his feet. "What are you talking about?"

"It is a tale not spoken off, for the shame it brings to the Imperial family," Bre'tac said. He stood and walked around the table behind the other councilors, facing the Prior. "Some of you were there when the Akai'kheb fought the fallen demon Anubis. They fought like gods in open space, wielding powers the likes of which we'd never seen before or since. Though he was victorious, the Akai'kheb was sorely tested and terribly wounded.

"After he was found and brought to seek healing, the sister of Prince Daniel stole into his chambers and stole his seed while he slept! The child was granted without his consent. The Orici bears the powers he does because they were stolen from the Akai'kheb." Bre'tac spat at the granite-faced prior. "He is no light in the galaxy. He's an overpowered bastard of the rightful emperor, using the lies of fallen gods to usurp the throne!"

"Is this true?" Ka'lel demanded of the Prior. "Is this Orici of yours the son of the Akai'kheb?"

"The Orici is the son of the Ori, born to light the wave in a galaxy shrouded by darkness," the Prior said. "He is the flame that shall burn away the chaff so that only the seed of goodness can grow."

Mione quietly removed her lightsaber when the Prior's staff took on a fell white gleam.

"Those who do not accept the Path of Origin must be destroyed. Choose wisely."

"What choice is there?" Bra'tac. "Omit your precious book, and your words are no different than what the Goa'uld said. You do not promise us freedom! You promise slavery with new masters! This council voted to hear your words, and they have been heard. So I call on the council to vote. Do you betray the man who gave us freedom, and ensured our children would never again be subject to the whim of the Goa'uld to live? Or do we bow our necks to yet another false god! Let us vote!"

The white grew stronger. Mione felt a terrible pressure against her mind, and realized what the Prior was doing. Without lighting her blade, she moved to stand in front of the messenger of the Ori, meeting his cloudy white eyes with her own dark irises.

"What are you doing, child?" Bra'tac asked.

"He's using his power to try and sway your minds," Mione said. "Can't you feel it? Like a hand grabbing the back of your head and squeezing? I'm blocking him."

"By the Ancient's light," U'kin whispered. "I do feel it, but only now that it has stopped. Is this your truth, Prior? A true compulsion to ensure now doubt or resistance?"

The Prior ignored them as he stared at Mione. "You are touched by the Fallen demons," he finally said. "More than any words spoken in this place, you are a living blasphemy." The light of the staff flared. "In the name of the Ori, I smite you down!"

He swung the staff over his head in a mighty blow. The single Jaffa warrior in the corner of the room leveled his staff weapon and fired, only for the orange bolt to deflect off a personal blue shield that surrounded the Prior.

Mione lit her lightsaber, expecting it to slice easily through the staff. Instead, the power-enhanced wood hit her blade with a loud, grating crackle that surprised the Prior as much as it surprised her. He jumped away awkwardly before swinging his staff not at her like a club, but light a sling. She had only a moment to brace herself in the Force before an unbelievable kinetic energy slammed into her and threw her backward over the table. If not for the Force, she had no doubt the blow would have killed her instantly.

The Prior's eyes widened, openly showing surprise, when she not only regained her feet but struck back with her own Force-blow that sent him stumbling backward. She somersaulted over the table and charged forward. The Force guided her blows with a strength and fury she'd never known, as if the energy of life itself was infuriated by this creature.

He responded with fire. The column of it shocked her, but she surrendered herself to the Force wholly and spun away, capturing the fiery column with her own power and redirecting it back toward the stunned Prior. She followed the fire with her lightsaber, which the Prior was barely able to block.

Her kick to his knee made him stumble; her blast of Force energy sent him flying back against the ancient black stone of the temple, and her Force-sped roll and thrust sent the point of her lightsaber directly into the man's heart.

The Prior gaped. "Blasphemy," he gasped. "All…will…be…destroyed!"

With a startled yelp, Mione jumped back when the Prior burst into a nearly white-hot fire that consumed him so fast he might as well have been vaporized by a staff canon. "Well struck, Tel'gat's daughter!" Ka'lel called.

Mione might have basked in the praise, if it weren't for the lingering sense of terrible danger. "We need to leave!" she said. "Bra'tac, the danger remains!"

"But the Prior is dead," Se'kat said.

"And a weapon that by his own words represents a threat to the Ori remains," Bre'tac said. "I see now why the Prior came here, and why he helped you open this temple. They wish this weapon for their own purposes, and if not for theirs, then no one else's."

As if in confirmation of those very words, a Jaffa warrior ran into the temple. "Councilors, two unknown warships have broken our defensive line and approach!"

"How did two ships break through our line?" Se'tak demanded.

"Councilor, you misunderstand!" The Jaffa looked shaken. "They didn't break through the line, they destroyed it utterly, all ten ha'taks are destroyed. The ships approach quickly!"

"Councilors, we must evacuate to Kalmah!" Mione pointed toward the gate. "We must go now if the Jaffa Nation is to survive!"

They emerged from the temple into the plaza just as the first thick, white beam of destructive energy seared through the atmosphere to impact the worn, carved head of an ancient Goa'uld. The explosion was of such magnitude as to shatter the mountain top entirely and send clouds of debris flying everywhere.

Jaffa warriors screamed or shouted in alarm as ahead, another warrior dialed the gate. The council ran through the gate as the second beam struck the mountain's body, followed by a third. The ground under Mione's feet heaved and the plaza split before her eyes as whatever Ancient technology which powered the weapon began to fail. She paused long enough to see terrified Jaffa running toward the gate before she heard Bra'tac call for her.

The two of them stumbled into the isolation fields of Kalmah. She turned and watched expectantly for more Jaffa to stumble through, bust just seconds after she emerged, the wormhole flickered and then died.

"What happened?" Ka'lel was breathing hard as she wandered toward the gate. Around them, Imperial soldiers and Rangers were approaching to contain what definitely constituted a security breach.

"The plaza was cracking in half," Mione said softly. She met Ka'lel's pale-faced stare. "I think the Ori destroyed Dakara."