Disclaimer: Just a reminder, only the people who've never been featured on Stargate SG-1 are mine. (See disclaimers in Chapter One)

Author's Note: I almost let myself get distracted with other story ideas, but I decided that I should stick with the story with the biggest following (i.e., getting the most reviews). I'm sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the others. As I was writing it, I painted my characters into a few corners without realizing it. I got them out, but I didn't quite get the chapter I was intending. I'll do better next time.

By the way, Becky, I had just as much fun writing that line as you had reading it.

The Return of Ra: "Night Moves"

by Darrin Colbourne


Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill watched as a squad of Special Forces soldiers poured out of the Stargate, led by Colonel Cromwell. Both of the SGC veterans suppressed a chuckle as a couple of the novices tumbled down the makeshift ramp, not used to emerging from the wormhole in just the right stance. Squad by squad Colonel Cromwell's force arrived until the whole unit was on Abydos. He looked back for a moment at the still open 'Gate, then turned to talk to O'Neill and Jackson. "O'Neill," he said, "Dr. Jackson. Where's the Jaffa?"

"Teal'c is in the air, making sure the Snakes don't launch any air raids." O'Neill said.

"He'll be getting some help soon." Cromwell said. "So will your Abydonian friends, Dr. Jackson. More weapons. Major Carter said you had a force assembled."

"We do," Jackson said. Since Ra had been chased off the world the first time the Abydonians had assembled a modest defense force of about a hundred boys, though they had only the few weapons they'd scavenged from that battle.

"We're here to secure the area for the build-up." Cromwell said. "Anything we need to know that wasn't covered in the briefing?"

"The enemy has landed." O'Neill said. "That means our time window just got a lot smaller."

"I'd better get my men deployed then." Just as Cromwell said that, a clattering sound came from the Stargate. Everyone looked and saw a tracked cargo drone emerge and crawl down the ramp.

"Weapons for your people, Jackson." Cromwell said, then turned to O'Neill. "You're honcho on this mission?"

"That's the way we planned it." O'Neill confirmed.

"Oh . . . well, I'm gonna have to keep on my toes then!" Cromwell joked, then started barking orders to his troops.

"Blowhard." O'Neill muttered.

"Don't let him get to you, Jack," Jackson said, then rushed off to talk to Kasuf and the others.


Bastet and five Selket Guards were lined up for inspection in Ra's throne room. Sia had just looked them over thoroughly and nodded in approval. They had abandoned their warrior robes and armor and were dressed for a covert mission. They resembled mummies, wrapped from head to toe in sand-hued gauze, with only their eyes, ears and mouths visible. Their only weapons were claw gauntlets and modified zat'n'ktels. It was hard for the Horus Guards in the chamber to keep their attention neutral, given the way the gauze clung to their colleagues' athletic forms.

"Remember," Sia said, "your primary mission is to gather intelligence. I want to know what the Tau'Ri are bringing in to help the slaves."

"And the other matter, Goddess?" Bastet asked.

"That is a target of opportunity. Only execute that mission if you can do it without drawing undue attention to yourselves. You must return unimpeded with the intelligence I need."

Bastet bowed. "Jaffa, Kree!" She barked, then led her women to the transport rings. Sia watched them go, then turned her attention back to Ra.

"I must return to my ship and conduct some more experiments." She said. She had tried to use the dialing device to disrupt the Tau'Ri's operation of the Abydos Stargate, but the only way to know for sure if it had worked required being able to see the device. Ultimately she had given up and decided to prepare as best she could for the coming attack based on what Bastet and her people could find out, but there were other problems that required her attention. "By your leave, My Lord?"

Ra, the Sun God, seemed content that things were going well, despite the loss of the Chapaa'aii. He gave a perfunctory nod, and Sia made her own way to the transport rings. As the machine came down around her, she contemplated what she'd told Bastet. "Target of Opportunity". She hoped that her Jaffa would have that opportunity, because the target's unique attributes were very important to the Goddess of Wisdom.


The flight crews for the helicopters came through next, followed by the choppers themselves. They rode through the 'Gate on larger cargo drones, and strained at the ramp as they arrived. The rotors on all of them were folded back and the weapons pods were inside the cockpits. The flight crews--with the help of some ground personnel who had volunteered to come along-began getting the aircraft ready to fly. Twenty minutes later, two were airborne to take over the Combat Air Patrol while the other four were moved to safe locations out of the way of the Stargate.

Teal'c landed soon after. He was a little tired from the activities of the past few hours, but it did not show on the outside, and "Junior", as O'Neill insisted on calling his symbiote, was already helping him rebuild his strength.

O'Neill came over with some water. "You'll be able to rest for a while. The choppers are up and ready. We probably won't need to go back up until this little war kicks off."

Teal'c finished the water, then said: "That is good. However, I would prefer that we had a more . . . active role in the battle."

"You and me both, buddy." The Colonel said. Although he had been in charge of the SGC on a few occasions, it was rare that he ever commanded more than one or two fire teams-ranging between four and twelve men-simultaneously in combat. In Operation Sundown, he'd have to command more than two hundred personnel from disparate commands, half of whom were illiterate slaves using prehistoric equipment only a few years ago. The best way to do that was from the air, so that he could see the entire battlefield and survey the positions of his forces and his enemies'. The problem for him-and Teal'c, who'd be flying him in the modified glider-was that it took him out of the action. He couldn't be down with his people, trading shots with the Snakes. In the air, combat maneuvering would merely prevent him from doing his job. They'd have to rely on the choppers to shoot death gliders down for them.

They were both attracted to the noise of the 'Gate reopening after a brief period of downtime. Moments after the wormhole stabilized a rugged, framework-constructed dune buggy roared out of the event horizon, barely touching the ramp as it landed. It was soon followed by three more, and they were all armed with TOW (Target-on-Wire) anti-tank missile launchers. They were being operated by SG-5 and SG-7, and each had a driver and a gunner.

"Hotdogs!" O'Neill chuckled as they sped off into the city's wider streets. "But, at least we have our fast recon element."


The trip was long and arduous, especially in the heat of the three suns, with few supplies and traveling on foot, taking to the sides of the most treacherous dunes, trying to keep out of sight of the city walls till the last possible moment. Yet it was nothing that Bastet had not gone through before in the service of her Goddess, and she was confident the larval Goa'uld she and the others carried within them would allow them to survive to carry out Sia's wishes. The gauze did help them blend into the landscape and the claw gauntlets were all painted with dull paint to prevent reflection of light.

They moved swiftly but steadily, like veteran desert nomads moving from land to land. They stayed low to the sand, remaining immobile when some errant patrol from the city moved nearby. As they got closer, they could see strange flying craft darting around. Tau'Ri death gliders? Bastet made it a point to remember what they looked like and how they flew.


The main teams came through next. The rest of the SG teams arrived in their usual groups, followed by fifty tactical troops from the SGC's security force. Bra'tac led a group of fifteen armored Jaffa from Chulak to Abydos. Minutes later a force of 20 Tok'Ra, under the command of Martouf, arrived. All of the late arrivals were armed with staff weapons and zat'n'ktels and would act as Sundown's heavy weapons force. Jackson met them and showed them where they would take up station.

More cargo drones came through, many more, carrying spare weapons and ammunition, medical supplies and several MREs. The last one carried the launch pad for one of the small UAVs that were usually sent through the Stargate as advance scouts with greater range than MALPs. There was also a portable control panel for the aircraft.

At long last, while the equipment and troops were being deployed about the city, Major Samantha Carter, the architect of the operations plan, emerged from the 'Gate. She had stayed behind to make sure that every piece of equipment had been properly sent off.

O'Neill met her at the ramp. "I see everything made it one piece." She said.

"Pretty much." O'Neill said. "I'm glad that thing made it." He pointed at the UAV. "I didn't want to risk sending one of the helicopters to scout the enemy."

"We can get it ready in a few minutes." Carter said. "I pre-rigged it back on Earth. We just have to power it up and point it in the right direction."

"Then let's get it done, Major."


Ra didn't know what was happening to him. He was suddenly overcome with a strange malaise. He forced himself to stand and pace, trying to fight the sudden affliction. It had little effect, and the Sun God worried that whatever Sia had done to revive him was starting to wear off. It might have been the result of a malfunction in the sarcophagus, or an unsuspected defect in his host body. All he knew for sure was that he did not . . . feel as if he were at full strength.

A fleeting thought entered his mind. What if Sia were somehow causing it, using some strange trick to make him ill? He decided that it couldn't be possible. The goddess had been the most loyal servant in his empire for millennia, having never shown a hint of disobedience or rebellion. Besides, why would she have gone through all the trouble of bringing him back from his gruesome death if she intended to kill him anyway?

(Had Sia been privy to his thoughts, she might have noted that Ra's logic was flawed, and didn't go far enough. She would never have said so to his face, of course.)

He then thought of calling her back from her ship, but decided against. She was already doing too much in this endeavor, commanding both her forces and his. It would not do well to show too much dependence on her under those circumstances.

"I am going to rest." Ra said to Anubis, still standing faithfully before his throne. "I do not wish to be disturbed until Sia returns. Have her wake me herself."

"By your will, My Lord." Anubis said as he bowed.

With a nod in return, Ra turned and left the dais, his entourage in tow as he retired to his sarcophagus.


The UAV had attracted a crowd. Several Abydonians gathered around the small aircraft, debating amongst themselves about how powerful such a tiny death glider might be. Major Carter was busy at the control console a few yards away, doing the final pre-flight checks. Daniel Jackson, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were gathered around her. O'Neill had decided to use SG-1 as his command staff, with Carter handling Operations and Intelligence, Teal'c running Security and Jackson acting as "Cultural Liaison".

"Get away from there!" Carter called out to the spectators. Jackson repeated in their dialect, adding details about the danger. The Abydonians backed off.

"Ready, sir." She said to O'Neill.

"Let's do it." The Colonel said.

Carter hit the "Launch" button. Small rockets in the UAV blasted the craft into the air, giving it an altitude boost until its rear propeller got up to speed. A minute later the rockets were discarded and the UAV was flying under its own power. Carter steered it in the direction of the pyramid.


Bastet and her team were keeping to the lengthening shadows of the dunes, making them difficult to see from the air. Still, the UAV was flying on a direct heading and wouldn't have caught them anyway. Bastet could just barely make out the tiny speck in the sky as it passed overhead. She debated for a moment what it might mean, then decided there was nothing for her to do about it anyway. She had a mission to complete.


The UAV flew unimpeded to its target as SG-1 watched on the video display. O'Neill was a little concerned that there were no death glider patrols to try and intercept it. Their absence could mean that the enemy was getting them ready for a major assault. The Colonel expected that assault to come the next morning.

"Coming up on the target," Carter said. The coordinate readout showed that the UAV was getting close to the Pyramid Ship. Carter adjusted course and altitude and zoomed the camera as several objects on the ground came into view. The gold, shining hull of Ra's Pyramid was prominent on the screen, of course, but a smaller object in the foreground caught everyone's attention.

"What is that?" Carter breathed.

"It's a sphinx . . . " Jackson said.

The object rested on the sandy rise about a hundred meters ahead of the Pyramid in the direction of the city. It was black and gold, with the body of a lion and the stylized head of an Egyptian woman with a headdress. The head moved back and forth as if scanning the horizon, and its eyes glowed bright green.

As the UAV gained altitude the Pyramid and the Sphinx both came clearly into view. "That is Sia's landing ship." Teal'c said, with a hint of awe in his voice. "I've heard stories about it before, but Sia always kept it hidden from her enemies' view."

"It's Giza . . . " Jackson said, lost in the image, " . . . the Great Pyramid and Sphinx. It's Giza Plateau."

Suddenly, the head of the Sphinx looked up, its eyes pointing right at the UAV. The eyes glowed white for a split second before a searing light filled the screen. A second later, there was nothing but static.

No one spoke for a long moment, then Carter said: "Um . . . we have a couple of spare drones. I could . . . "

"That's all right, Carter." O'Neill said. "I think the big kitty has had enough target practice for one day."


It was dusk by the time Bastet and her party reached the city. They stayed out of sight until full night, trying to discern what they could from outside the walls. The Tau'Ri aircraft were patrolling the air and ground on a regular basis. They buzzed around in the air, held aloft by powerful fans. They were small, but Bastet recognized the structures hanging from their flanks as weapons pods.

Engine noises in the distance caught their attention and made them hide in the shadow of a tall dune. The Tau'Ri had also brought wheeled vehicles through the Chapaa'aii. They seemed fragile compared to Goa'uld vehicles, but offered the enemy more mobility than the Mastadges and carts available.

Bastet adjusted her eyes to the dark and examined the walls themselves. There was movement on the catwalks and in the lookout posts. It looked like there were men with staff weapons on guard duty. Sia's First Prime cursed silently. The Jaffa who'd created this fiasco had deserved her death.

They started moving again when the vehicles and aircraft were far away. They stayed low, trying to avoid the attention of the guards. They made it to the wall without being spotted, their breathing ragged with fatigue and anticipation. Bastet led them around the perimeter, looking for any kind of opening that would give them access to the inside without having to climb the walls or try to get in through the main entrance.

It took them about twenty minutes to find a small gate along one wall, one that was probably used for quick access to the outside when the main entrance was shut. They approached at a crawl, sure that the Abydonians would have told the Tau'Ri of such entrances. No doubt there would be guards here as well. Looking closely, she saw the shadows of moving figures through the thick wood branches that the gate was made of.

Bastet thought as she lay in the sand. She had a decision to make. She knew a few things: The Tau'Ri had come through the Stargate in force, and had probably brought Tok'Ra with them (hence the guards with staff weapons). They had brought their own death gliders-what had she heard the Goddess call them once? Yes, hellee-copters-at least two of them, and had brought desert vehicles to patrol the perimeter of the city. That was what she knew; anything else would be guessing. The First Prime shuddered at what Sia might do if she had been forced to act on an incorrect guess.

The problem was that getting more detailed intelligence would be more dangerous than they'd suspected. If the Tau'Ri were being this vigilant with external security, then it would be nearly impossible for an enemy force to move about the city undetected. They would have to kill the guards at this entrance without them raising an alarm, try to get an exact accounting of the strength of the Tau'Ri's forces, which could be hidden anywhere, then get away with the information without being pursued. It might have been easier had they had a communications device, but the Goddess had been adamant: No transmissions that the enemy might intercept.

Yet Sia had to know more about the enemy than what Bastet had seen. Bastet had to know more, to act effectively as one of the leaders of the coming attack. It would seem that the impossible had become necessary.

"From now on," Bastet whispered to the others, "we will have to move like lightning. Sekh'Amun, we have need of your particular charms . . . "


"What in the hell is that?" Sgt. Steven Price said. The SGC Security troop caught the movement of a silhouette through the spaces in the gate he was guarding. He approached the gate cautiously, MP-5 assault weapon ready. He used his free hand to unlatch and open the gate.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

The silhouette was a woman, dancing and strutting and posing a few meters away from the gate. She hummed a soft, strange tune and undulated gracefully and seductively to the melody. Even in the heavy shadow Price could tell that she was naked, a brave thing to be in the cold desert night. Every so often he caught a glimpse of her bare breasts as they shook in time with her movements.

"Hey, Bishop." He called. Sgt. Joe Bishop came over to where Price was standing, weapon ready.

"Whoa." He said when he realized what Price was showing him. He watched for a few seconds, hypnotized by the movements of her long hair and the rear end that it came down to, then said: "Shouldn't she be inside? Don't these people have a curfew with all that's going on?"

"Yeah." Price said. "She probably got drunk while she was out or something. Let's see what's what . . . and get a better view." The troops had night-vision goggles strapped around their helmets. The devices were turned off to conserve battery power. They now turned the goggles on and lowered them over their eyes.

The black night turned bright green, allowing the SGC sergeants to see the naked woman in all her glory . . . as well as the odd lumps in the sand surrounding her.

P-t-t-t-tow! P-t-t-t-tow! The sound of zat'n'ktel blasts echoed in the night. The emitters of the weapons extended from special recesses in the Selket Guards' gauntlets. Their arms emerged from the lumps of sand, firing with abandon at the two Tau'Ri. They went down, dead, before they could fire a shot or warn their compatriots.

"Go!" Bastet hissed as quietly as she could manage. Sekh'Amun led the way, abandoning the wrappings she had stripped off in the sand. The others shook off the sand they had covered themselves with as they ran for the entrance.

Bastet stayed to the rear, stealing the Tau'Ri weapons and goggles before catching up.

The ingress hadn't been as quiet as they'd hoped. An echo of the sound of "Zat" blasts reached the ears of a Tok'Ra on watch at the top of the wall. He looked down to see if he'd imagined the noise and noticed unbroken light coming from the small gate, which lit the shadowy forms of two fallen figures.

"Tok'Ra!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "Tok'Ra, Tau'Ri, KREEEEE!"


There was a Mastadge pen near the gate. The Selket Guards ran in and caught their breath in the shadows, ignoring the stench of the animals. Bastet handed the Tau'Ri weapons to Sekh'Amun and another. "You two must draw their attention." She said to them. "Make your way to the center of the city. M'Toth and I will shadow you." Then she turned to the last two. "Stay here out of sight. We may need these animals to make our escape. Move!"

Sekh'Amun and her partner rushed out first, automatic weapons and "Zat" weapons at their sides. "There they are!" A voice called out in the distance. Sekh'Amun fired a burst from the gun in its direction, then took off down one of the streets. Bastet peeked out from her cover and saw four Tau'Ri pass by in pursuit. When they couldn't see, she and M'Toth emerged and took to the side streets. It was the First Prime's intention to see who and what pursued the Selket Guards as they headed for the center of the settlement. Their passive reconnaissance was becoming very active indeed.


Teal'c's meditative state was disrupted by the crackle of his radio and the shouts of people outside his tent. "Echo Team to Command!" The radio called. "Echo Team to Command, do you read?!"

Teal'c seized the radio. "This is Teal'c, Echo! What is your situation?" Echo was one of the fire teams Teal'c had put on roving patrol within the city.

"We're in pursuit of two hostiles! We're headed south down I3 on foot!" When they first arrived, the SGC personnel had started giving the roads alphanumeric names to help them find their way around and keep patrols and transits organized.

"Are they Horus or Selket Guards? What kind of armor are they wearing?"

"They're not wearing armor, but they're both women! That means their Selkets, right? One's wrapped up like a mummy, the other...well, she's not, but you won't mistake her for-cover!"

The sounds of submachine guns and zat'n'ktels firing made Teal'c rush up and head for the door. He grabbed his staff weapon without missing a step. "Keep them in sight!" He said into the radio. "I will alert Colonel O'Neill!"

SG-1 was quartered in the Elders' meeting house at the invitation of Kasuf. The small room O'Neill occupied was right next to Teal'c's. The Jaffa was surprised to find the Colonel awake.

"Couldn't sleep . . . " O'Neill started when Teal'c walked in. Then he noticed the staff weapon. "What's going on?"

"There are Selket Guards in the city." Teal'c said. "Echo Team has two of them in sight, but there are bound to be more."

O'Neill paled, then was striding out the door with his weapon and with Teal'c following right behind. As they made their way Martouf came running up. "One of my people spotted two of your soldiers down by one of the side entrances-"

"We've got Selket Guards in the walls!" O'Neill broke in, not even pausing to look at Martouf. A few seconds later they reached their destination.

"Danny!" O'Neill barked. "Daniel! Get up!"

The stunned linguist woke up and tried to focus on O'Neill through broken sleep and a lack of glasses. He failed miserably. "What is it, Jack?"

"We have intruders. How do we raise the general alarm around here?"

That woke him up. "Give me a radio . . . "


Bastet and M'Toth looked on from shadows and small alleyways as Sekh'Amun and her partner Qoras led the Tau'Ri on a merry chase through the city. Another four enemy soldiers had come up a different way and tried to cut the Jaffa off. A brief firefight ensued, but no one got hurt. The pursuit was moving too fast and furious for any effective fighting at the moment, but that would change once enemy security got organized.

Sure enough, the sound of one of the hellee-copters got closer. It was probably returning with searchlights and heavy weapons for dealing with situations such as this. If her soldiers didn't reach their destination soon, they would be destroyed.

Then she heard something that truly frightened her. A low rumbling tone echoed through the night, followed by three more. The third sounded very close.

The native warning horns had been sounded. All around her windows shone with candlelight as Abydonians awakened by the horns rose to see what the problem was. Soon the six Selket Guards would have to evade the searching eyes of hundreds of hostile former slaves.

Bastet uttered a truly disgusting profanity before moving out again.


"They must have come in here." Martouf said, pointing on a map.

"And they were being pursued through here," Teal'c said, pointing as well.

"They're making their way South and East," Major Carter said, after the latest reports came in, "but they're following the main roads, operating out in the open . . . and did I hear someone say one of them was naked?"

"Yeah . . . " O'Neill said, " . . . that kinda threw me, too. That some new Jaffa fashion sense, Teal'c?"

The Jaffa merely looked at him.

"Right . . . at any rate it indicates you might be right. They have got to be drawing our attention away from something."

"Maybe, maybe not." Carter said. "Suppose this is the direction they want to go in? I mean, their course is erratic, but if it keeps going in this general direction . . . " She traced her finger along the map, raising her eyebrow when O'Neill saw what she was thinking.

The radio sounded before the Colonel could say anything. "Echo Team to Command! Hostiles are now moving due south on G7! Bravo and Foxtrot Teams also in pursuit! We're trying to cut them off, but they're putting up heavy resistance!"

O'Neill took the radio. "Echo, Command. Can you tell where they're headed?"

"Sir, on this road they have a clear run to 'Central Park', and it looks like that's-wait one . . . Foxtrot's closing-watch it!" Gunfire and "Zat" blasts drowned the soldier out.

O'Neill cut off. By now Cromwell was also in the room. "Colonel, secure 'Central Park', and I want at least one of those women alive!"


Bastet and M'Toth were now moving as frantically as their compatriots, trying to stay out of the lights from residences and the hellee-copter, as well as the Tau'Ri patrols closing in on Sekh'Amun and Qoras. There were a few Tok'Ra as well, and M'Toth had spotted at least one soldier in the armor of a Jaffa but with no badges of service. That meant he was probably a rebel from another Goa'uld world. What unnerved them most were the Abydonians. Some of them had taken to the rooftops to help with the pursuit, guiding the soldiers in with shouts in both the modern and ancient Tau'Ri languages: "Shemyau!!" "Miyu!" "Here! Over Here!" It wouldn't be long before they spotted the First Prime's team as well.


Meanwhile, Sekh'Amun had taken the lead and was weaving through the streets of the settlement, making her way to what she was sure was the center. She had noticed that their pursuers' eyes were drawn to her (naturally), so to confuse the focus of those above them she and Qoras were running a considerable distance apart, allowing Sekh-Amun to draw fire and Qoras to return it. They managed to make an Abydonian duck for cover this way, but also drew the attention of the Tau'Ri in the streets.

Sekh'Amun heard Qoras fire a short burst from the Tau'Ri weapon, then the clatter of the now empty weapon being tossed aside. They were down to zat'n'ktels at close range, against an array of weapons, from MP-5s to staff weapons.

Then Sekh'Amun realized that there was a vast open space just a few buildings distant from where they were. She signaled to Qoras and together the Selket Guards made a mad dash for the area, which had to be a large marketplace. They had made it!

When they arrived, Sekh'Amun realized they had achieved more than they expected, for at the center of the marketplace . . .

"The Chapaa'aii." She breathed. At once she approached the device, zat'n'ktel primed. If she could only disable it . . .

She was suddenly bathed in a searing white light, coming from the Tau'Ri aircraft, and froze. Tau'Ri soldiers emerged from alleyways all around the marketplace. Two staff blasts exploded near her, making her stand still, and she heard in the language of the Goa'uld: "Stand down, Jaffa! You will not escape!" She looked to where the voice came from and saw three Tok'Ra with staff weapons approaching with a group of Tau'Ri.

Qoras, standing at the edge of the circle of light, tried to back off, and was met by a dozen soldiers closing in on her. With blood in her eye and a scream she charged ahead anyway and was gunned down.

Sekh'Amun, deciding it was her destiny to die in the service of Sia, screamed and charged at the Stargate, wildly firing "Zat" blasts at it. A sharpshooter on Cromwell's response team, remembering the Colonel's orders, fired a round at the naked woman's hip. The bullet found its mark, shattering the joint and cracking the pelvic bone. Sekh'Amun fell to the ground, wailing in pain but still alive for now.


"They took both Snakes down." O'Neill said. "One's dead, the other's on the ground with a leg wound. They're treating her now and will get her to the field hospital ASAP. She got off a few 'Zat' rounds at the Stargate."

"I'd better go check it out." Carter said. O'Neill sent her off with a nod.


Bastet and M'Toth had to abandon their observations when they realized the enemy was closing in to take up positions in the alleys. They didn't know the fate of their sisters but were sure it couldn't be pleasant. Bastet decided they had seen all they could and they were making their way back to the Mastadge pen. They were taking a roundabout route, making sure that if they were spotted they wouldn't lead the enemy to their last two teammates-though that was unlikely. The center of town was now also the center of the rebels' attention, just as Bastet had wanted. Now she hoped it would stay that way long enough for them to make their escape.

As they traveled, Bastet kept her eyes peeled for the slightest hint that they were being followed or otherwise observed. They made their way on cat's feet, trying to be as invisible as physically possible. Had she not been in such an alert state, she might not have noticed the lone Tau'Ri heading down a nearby street. She froze and inhaled sharply, then gestured to M'Toth to stay perfectly still.

As she watched the human, eyes wide open, Sia's words came flooding back into her mind:

Target of opportunity . . .

Exchanging quick hand signals, the Jaffa advanced, staying quiet but moving rapidly until their path intersected that of the human, who was looking down at some equipment. Bastet fired a single "Zat" blast, careful not to kill the Tau'Ri. Then she grabbed her captive and flung the unconscious form over her shoulders. They moved out rapidly then, with M'Toth taking the lead, less concerned with secrecy than they were with getting their prize back to the Goddess.


When they got back to the Mastadge pen, they were surprised to find more guards standing near the gate. Three were Tau'Ri, two were those armored rebels. They had brought the bodies of the fallen soldiers back in and closed the gate. Bastet grimaced. They would have to fight their way out as well.

M'Toth signaled Bastet to stay put, then crawled along the sand to the pen. Then, using the sharp claws in her gauntlets to create handholds in the wall, began to climb up the side of the pen, step by step. When she got to the roof, she had a perfect vantage point from which to attack. She took careful aim with her weapon and fired.

She managed to kill the two rebels before the Tau'Ri fired back, spraying bullets at the pen roof but missing her. The Selket Guards still hiding inside came out to see what was happening, then started shooting when they saw the Tau'Ri running toward them. The fire from the three Jaffa finished off the soldiers.

Bastet raced to the pen with her captive. Already she could hear alerting cries coming from nearby. She picked a beast and slung the captive onto its back, then climbed on herself. She held on tight and kicked the Mastadge into a gallop. It was a horrible ride, but was the fastest getaway she could manage.

One of the other Selket Guards recovered a staff weapon and blasted away the gate just seconds before Bastet reached it. Soon the First Prime was out and galloping away, and soon M'Toth and the last guard were following behind on another Mastadge. They picked up the fifth guard on the run.

Another hellee-copter approached as they made good their escape, but several blasts from the captured staff weapon got close, and one damaged the rotors. The aircraft dipped and turned away. By the time the desert vehicles got around to pursue, the Mastadges were lost in the shadowy dunes.


It was early morning by the time they got back to the Sphinx. Only one of the Abydonian suns was peeking over the horizon. Sia was still in her sarcophagus, having only gotten a few hours' sleep. She had been up most of the night working on a research project. Bastet felt the usual trepidation that came with waking a God from his or her slumber, but it couldn't be avoided.

Bastet touched a contact and the sarcophagus opened up. When it was fully open Sia rose with a gasp. She was wearing a simple nightgown, and her chest rose and fell in it as she caught her breath. Finally, she turned to see her First Prime and her warriors.

"This had better be good." The Goddess said.

Bastet merely smiled through her wraps and stood aside, as did the others. Tied up and kneeling on the floor behind them was Sia's "Target of Opportunity": Major Samantha Carter.

Sia smiled wide. Once again, Bastet had proven herself worthy. "Excellent . . . " she hissed as her eyes glowed.


NEXT: ABYDOS STORM