DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Sci-Fi Originals, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

Author's Notes: Pleeeeeeease forgive me!! (Image of me on my knees before you) I'm sorry I took so long! I'm sorry I neglected your Stargate reading pleasure to work on other stuff! Mea culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa!!!

Now that the obligatory groveling is out of the way: This chapter is especially long because I'm trying to keep the final number of chapters down to a preset limit. So get started reading it now!

The Return of Ra: "Abydos Storm!"

by Darrin Colbourne


Colonel Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c and Martouf were headed for "Central Park" at a brisk pace. Bra'tac was off supervising a thorough search of the city and was keeping touch by radio. Colonel Cromwell was on the radio already, giving O'Neill a situation report. "We have ten casualties in all, seven KIAs, 5 SGC and two Chulakians. Duster Three is down with a busted rotor. The plane crew says it'll be out of commission for about a day. It looks like there were about six bad guys--girls, whatever. We have one KIA and one casualty, as I said before. The live one is on her way to the field hospital. There's no way to tell what kind of damage she inflicted on the 'Gate."

"What does Major Carter think?" O'Neill asked.

There was a pause that raised the hackles on O'Neill's neck before Cromwell answered. "Major Carter? I haven't seen her."

"She should be there right now. I sent her to check the Stargate."

Another pause. "She never got here, Colonel."

O'Neill didn't answer, but he grimaced as his pace increased to a run. He changed direction, confusing his party as they rushed to keep up.

"Where are we headed?" Daniel asked.

"Field Hospital!" O'Neill said, as he pulled away.


Over the years that Abydos had been interacting with Earth, local healers had learned a great deal about modern emergency first aid from their Tau'Ri counterparts, and had combined these new skills with native practices in an effort to modernize their own healing arts. As such, they were well able to handle the light casualties that might be generated by a minor skirmish or two until Dr. Janet Frasier arrived with the equipment and personnel to staff a proper battlefield hospital unit.

Even so, they might have been hard-pressed to help the wounded Selket Guard if she weren't a Jaffa, and therefore had a larval Goa'uld doing most of the work. Though she had been bleeding profusely from her wound and could barely move from the pain, she still had enough strength to fight her captors all the way to the large, empty storage building that the healers had converted into a sparse operating theater. It had taken four SGC troops to hold her down while the Abydonians went to work, setting what was left of her shattered hip and pelvis. The larva's actions had already caused the body to expel the bullet, so there was little left to do but close the already healing wound.

After rushing to get to the field hospital, O'Neill had to force himself to wait patiently until the Abydonians finished. As he did, a sergeant brought over the weapons they had confiscated from her. The Colonel grimaced as he examined the gauntlets, trying to figure out how to retract the "zat" emitter sticking out from one.

Soon the Abydonian healers moved away, leaving the Jaffa to struggle against her captors. One of the women approached O'Neill and said something which Jackson translated. "She said they've done all they can."

"Thank her." O'Neill said. Jackson did so, and the woman bowed to both of them before moving aside. Then the men approached the bed. The Selket Guard noticed the group immediately and relaxed, deciding that she would not escape with the main Tau'Ri and Tok'Ra in attendance. The soldiers holding her down relaxed a little and backed off with a soft command from O'Neill, but they kept their weapons ready just in case. The woman covered herself with a sheet, more out of defiance than embarrassment. O'Neill was unimpressed.

"Well, if it isn't 'Jaffa Warrior Barbie'!" He said as the men gathered around. "Martouf, I want you to question her, Daniel, I need you to confirm the translation. I want to know two things: 'What was she doing here?', and 'Where is Major Carter?', and not necessarily in that order."

Martouf was about to speak when the Selket Guard beat him to it. "I can speak your guttural language, Tau'Ri dog...and my name is Sekh'Amun--not 'Bar-bee'!"

O'Neill sneered and moved his face close to hers, causing her to bare her teeth and hiss at him. "Then this will be quick. Tell me what I want to know." He growled.

"I would sooner be your concubine...slave." She said, with an air of utter contempt.

Suddenly a burst of blue lightning hit her square in the chest and spread across her body, causing her to cry out and tremble. No one was more surprised than Jackson that it happened. He hadn't even noticed that O'Neill was wearing the woman's gauntlet. Sekh'Amun shook herself and rocked back and forth, trying to fight the effects of the stun blast and stay conscious.

"I assume it's like a typical 'zat' gun." O'Neill said. "First shot stuns, second kills." He took aim. "Let's try again."

"Jack..." Jackson began, but Martouf put a hand on the archeologist's shoulder, cutting off his protest. Teal'c merely glared at the deluded Jaffa.

"It...is an...honor to die for the goddess!" Sekh'Amun gasped.

"I suppose it is." O'Neill said. He'd finally figured out how to retract the "zat" emitter. A flick of the wrist inside the gauntlet, then... "But let's just see how little Sekh'Amun feels about it!"

With that, O'Neill's clawed hand arced right into the Jaffa's midsection, piercing the sheet and sinking the five sharp blades into her larva pouch.

Sekh'Amun's scream could be heard two buildings away.


"They were wearing these." Bastet said as she handed the night-vision goggles to Sia. "It appears they perform the same function as the eyes of our helmets, allowing the Tau'Ri soldiers to see great distances and in the dark. They were carrying familiar Earth weapons, Empee Fives, Em-six-teens. Possibly grenades, but none were used on Sekh'Amun and Qoras."

"How many Tok'Ra did you see?" Sia asked.

"Only six in the pursuit, but I am sure there had to be more. The Tok'Ra would not miss this opportunity to deal a glancing blow and would therefore send a large force to assist the Tau'Ri."

"And the others? Jaffa in armor fighting with the Tau'Ri and Tok'Ra?"

A pause. "We only saw a few of them as well, and could not tell whose Jaffa they were."

"And how many helicopters and desert vehicles?"

Bastet gulped. "We only saw two of each, My Goddess, but I cannot imagine that the Tau'Ri wouldn't have brought more if they managed to bring those with them."

"Another assumption." Sia said softly, and Bastet cringed. "You have made several of those in your report." The Goa'uld got very close. "I hope those assumptions don't get you killed when you attack."

There was a sting to the statement, but physical punishment did not follow, and Bastet exhaled in relief as Sia continued past. The Nubian goddess strolled up to the kneeling and bound Major Samantha Carter. She lifted the human's head daintily by the chin and examined her pretty face. "Maybe we can get more precise information from this one." Sia wondered aloud.

"I'll never tell you anything." Carter said through clenched teeth. She was fighting the grogginess left over from having been stunned.

Sia cocked her head for a moment. "Oh, you'll tell me more than you realize." She cooed, then said to Bastet: "Get as much rest as you can and prepare for the assault. We will attack at the appointed hour. I would speak with this one alone."

Bastet saluted and bowed, then gestured for the Jaffa to follow her out. Soon Sia was alone with Carter in the sarcophagus chamber. The Goa'uld paced around slowly as she began. "Can we be honest with each other, Captain Carter?"

"Major Carter." Carter corrected, her strength returning. Sia smiled when Carter couldn't see. She cares for precision, the alien thought. This will be easy.

"I beg your pardon. I let myself forget your promotion. Refresh my memory further: Was it before or after you were blended with Jolinar of Makshur?"

"Jola who?" Carter said, trying to deflect the question. Sia ignored her.

"Oh, of course, now I remember. It was soon after your father--his name is Jacob, I believe--was blended with Selmak. Have you ever wondered why your family lends itself to being blended so easily, Major Carter? I have a theory that you might be descended from one of my brethren's 'comfort women', and your DNA compels you to always strive to take part in the perfection that is my race. What do you think?"

Carter fought back the indignant rage that began to show on her face and forced herself not to respond, considering that the best option.

"No opinion? That is a shame. I had hoped you would be as curious about that as I was. I know you are a scientist, and are considered to be very intelligent--for a Tau'Ri. I am a scientist as well, and such minor mysteries plague my subconscious all the time."

It was too much for the Major. "Scientists don't pretend to be gods. Scientists don't use the rubrics of superstition and myth to enslave innocent people. By your standards, Josef Mengele was a scientist."

"By my standards, Josef Mengele was an amateur. 'Master race', indeed. I am hurt that you would make such a comparison."

"I'm sorry...that I can't hurt you as much physically I've just hurt you verbally...yet." Carter said. Sia stopped pacing and forced herself to smile at her prisoner.

"No, you can't, but you can assist me in one of my endeavors."

"I've already told you that I won't tell you anything."

Sia sighed. "I did so hope that your reasoning skills would be different from the average slave's. You have just prefaced an oath not to tell me anything by reminding me that you told me something. Do you not see the conflict in logic?"

Carter frowned, twisting her mouth in contempt. Bad enough she's got me trussed up in front of her like a turkey, but if she's going to start correcting my grammar... "Well, if you're so scary brilliant, why do you need me to tell you what we've got in store for you and your snake-carrying stooges?"

Sia blinked in surprise. "Why, Major Carter. I don't need you to tell me what you have waiting for us. I'm sure it's a very capable force, and I'm just as sure that Anubis and Bastet will smash it when they assault the city and retake the Stargate. I try to interfere very little in military affairs. As I said before, I am a scientist. I need your help with a scientific endeavor, an experiment I'm currently running."

Carter's surprise was genuine. "What experiment could you need my help with?"

"One that you are intimately familiar with...or rather, someone like you is intimately familiar with."

The subtle hint was just the sandbag that Carter needed to fall on her head. "Ra. Your alternate Ra. He's suffering from Entropic Cascade Failure isn't he?" She stopped herself from talking then, realizing the scientist in her was getting the better of her, and that was probably what Sia wanted.

"I'm not certain." Sia said. It had been easy. "If not yet, then his time is running short. I tried to use his sarcophagus to insert some preventive measures into his physiognomy, but my recent scans show that they appear to be failing for no discernible reason."

"Aw." Carter said, unable to hide her glee and not trying very hard to do it. "So sorry to see him go. Does that mean you'll be leaving soon, as well?"

"Neither of us is going anywhere. You are going to help me save him."

"I'm not going to help you save Ra." Carter said. Grammar check that, bitch.

"Do not make your decision in haste, Major Carter. You have yet to hear my offer."


"'Target of opportunity'?" Daniel Jackson said as O'Neill's group returned to headquarters. They were discussing the answers they'd just received from the Selket Guard now being ministered to again in the field hospital. O'Neill had come very close to severing the larva inside her into many pieces before she gave in. "So they didn't intend to kidnap Sam?

"That's what the phrase means, Danny." O'Neill said. "They were here on a recon mission, and I guess taking Carter was icing on the cake for them."

"Do you think they know that Samantha was the architect of our battle plan?" Martouf asked.

"It does not matter." Teal'c said. "She is the architect of the plan. If they do not know this already, they will get the information from her under torture. We can be sure that it will take time, however. Major Carter is strong, and the enemy may not strike until they have broken her."

"But we can't rely on her buying us time, Teal'c." O'Neill said. "She could just as easily be a hostage or human shield." He turned on his radio. "Cromwell, O'Neill!"

"Cromwell here." The radio said back.

"Colonel, I'm gonna need you to take over Operations. Major Carter is now a POW."

"Bad News, boss. Take over Ops, roger. Be advised: The Stargate is up and running. Dr. Frasier has just arrived with a medical staff and a bunch of equipment."

"Get her squared away and start getting the troops to their posts. Time just became a bad guy."

"You got it, Colonel. I'm out!" The radio went dead.

"Teal'c, lets get to the command glider. Daniel, Martouf, you know your jobs. Have your people rest easy at their posts but get everybody awake and ready to shoot. We're officially in defense mode."

Jackson and Martouf went off to their command posts while Teal'c and O'Neill went to theirs. Cromwell got in touch with Bra'tac and soon the search for more infiltrators was abandoned. There'd be more than enough invaders to go around very soon.


Sia untied Carter's feet and stood the prisoner up, then led her out of the sarcophagus chamber with a warning: "You are free to walk with me, but attempt to hurt me or escape and you will die where you stand." It was enough to keep Carter docile--for the time being--since she couldn't tell what security measures the Goa'uld may have hidden along their path. They walked through the ship in silence until they reached Sia's throne room. It was as opulent as Daniel Jackson's report on the first Abydos mission had described Ra's. There were several servants waiting in attendance, mainly adolescent children who looked to be between ten and fifteen years old.

Sia led Carter to a large bay window that opened a whole side of the room to a view of the vast Abydonian desert. The first sun had risen a third of the way above the horizon, and the sky was filled with autumn hues as dawn broke. Carter knew that it would not be long before all three suns would rise, and the attack would commence. On further inspection she noticed that she could see the right profile of the Sphinx at the left edge of the window, and she realized that they must be in the headdress of the machine. The horizon tracked slowly to the right, opposing the motion of the stylized head.

"Such desolate beauty." Sia said. "It will soon be Ra's again, as will the universe. You will be witness to the greatest return to glory in cosmic history. I will bring the Sun God back to prominence , and rule at his side."

Carter smirked and sidled up to Sia. "You know," she whispered, "nowadays most women avoid tying their futures to the careers of immature men."

"Says the woman who plays--what is the Tau'Ri phrase?--'Second Banana' to the Great Colonel Jack O'Neill." Sia whispered back. "Or would that be 'Third Banana'? After all, there is Daniel Jackson to consider." Carter remained silent as Sia went on in a normal tone of voice. "However, I did not bring you up here to trade barbs with you."

"You said you had an offer." Carter said.

"Yes, I did. I offer a trade: your help, for your life...and your world."

"Excuse me?"

"It is rather straight-forward. Soon the combined armies of Ra and Sia will descend on the Abydonians like locusts. I cannot stop that from happening, but I can stop the rest of our plans. Once we are done here, we will use the Stargate to send an army to your homeworld."

"You'll never make it." Carter said.

"What will stop us? Your vaunted 'iris'? That is no longer a factor."

Carter felt a chill run down her spine. It had been a bluff, since the iris wasn't protecting the Stargate Earth was using at the moment, but if it hadn't been a bluff... "Others have tried to breach it..."

"'Others' were not me." Sia said, and her eyes flashed as she moved away from the window. "Be assured, we will defeat your iris, destroy your SGC, and take over your paltry civilization...unless I can convince mighty Ra to spare you. I might be able to do so, if I were to tell him a Tau'Ri offered her services to him willingly in exchange for the safety of her world, then convince him to strike the deal."

"And the help I would offer would be to help prevent his total dissolution from our reality." Carter said as she followed Sia.

"Precisely." Sia said, smiling.

"So he knows precisely what's wrong with him?"

"Of course not. I told you I wanted honesty between us, Major Carter. For one thing, I'm sure you realize that we are not 'gods' as you understand the term."

Again Carter was surprised. "I never thought I'd hear one of you admit it."

"Only to you, and other Tau'Ri, since you have evolved enough intellectually without the influence of my people to peer beyond the falsehoods we maintain for our more...compliant followers. However, playing such a role requires a certain level of the actors' own belief to bring out that belief in others. I am not 'pretending' to be a god. As far as I and my worshipers are concerned, I am a god!

"Yet, many of my people fail to understand that this belief can be carried too far, usually at their peril. Ra is one of those, probably the worst for it since he was the first. It was his belief in his own immortality and power that led him to come to this world so poorly defended and open to rebellion. It is that belief that will force this new Ra to reject any information I give him about Quantum Mirrors or alternate universes. Telling him such things would make him doubt his godhood, and gods' belief systems are just as fragile as those of their subjects. Such doubts will affect his ability to rule, defeating the purpose of my whole mission."

"So you have to present the problem to him in a way that doesn't conflict with his beliefs, and yet convince him that a lowly Tau'Ri might be able to help you solve it, in exchange for his promise not to decimate the first world that rebelled against him?"

"You make it sound as if it were impossible."

"I'd hate to be the one to try."

"That is not a choice you have. Once you accept my offer you will have no choice but to help me make the case."

"What makes you so sure I'll accept?"

"Acceptance is the only realistic option open to you."

"Realistic? Choosing to save my own hide and my own world by helping to save the glorified thug that put them in peril in the first place? By helping to save the alien scum that will wipe out the Tok'Ra, decimate this planet's populace and enslave the universe once he's back to full health? How could such cynicism be realistic?"

Sia wheeled on the Major, eyes flashing and body shaking with barely concealed rage. "It is realistic because it is the only option your narrow, sentimental mind will allow you to choose! You will do the math, and like the good, self-righteous primitive that you are, you will come to the conclusion that subtracting six billion lives, including your own, from the rolls of the enslaved and dead will be preferable to adding them, which is exactly what you'll be doing if you refuse me! Decide now, Tau'Ri! I'm through haggling with you!"

Major Carter balled up her fists, and her muscles strained, wanting to lunge and strangle the evil tyrant that stood before her. But she couldn't, because she was miles away from safety and one didn't strangle the lioness in the lions' den. She would probably be dead seconds after her hands tightened their grip, fading alternate Ra or not.

She needed to buy time, for herself and the defenders in the city, and she couldn't do that if she were dead. Ultimately, there really was only one...realistic course of action.


O'Neill had to hand it to Cromwell. The entire force was turned out a lot sooner than he'd expected. All four desert vehicles were out and patrolling the perimeter of the city. The Tok'Ra and Chulakians were manning the walls, the Tok'Ra anchored on the Southwest corner and Bra'tac's people on the Northeast. Both teams were augmented by SGC troops with Light Anti-Armor and shoulder-fired Anti-Air Weapons, and together they formed a heavy weapons defensive line. The Abydonian volunteers were deployed at key points around the interior to handle any breaches, while more SGC troops and Special Forces troops conducted regular patrols on foot outside the walls. The remainder of the ground force would be held in reserve, and hopefully could be kept intact until the next phase of Carter's plan could be put into action. The plan had called for four of the helicopters to be deployed with two in reserve, but with one down that became impossible, so one would launch to fly cover for the super death glider, while the others kept their engines running on the ground and would scramble when the shooting started.

The second sun was cresting the horizon as Teal'c and O'Neill boarded their command craft. The Colonel decided that they were as ready as they could be to fend off an attack. He just hoped they weren't underestimating the enemy.


The Goa'uld invasion force was ranged in front of the Sphinx Ship. The third sun had just broken the horizon, and the force would begin its march in mere moments.

Bastet watched with forced patience as Anubis climbed one of the forepaws of the Sphinx to deliver an address to the Jaffa. She knew intellectually that it was only right the First Prime of the Chief God was in overall command, but she also knew that there would have been no invasion if it weren't for Sia. That meant it should be her addressing this legion. She took it philosophically. It was always possible for her to act as First Prime to both gods, should something...unfortunate happen to Anubis during the coming battle.

"Jaffa, Kree!" He called, and all eyes turned to him, Horus and Selket Guards turning as one.

"Fellow Jaffa," Anubis said, "today we embark in the greatest adventure in history! Today we will return the Mighty Amen-Ra to his rightful place as ruler of the heavens! We will smash his enemies, retake his world, and make the lesser gods fear his name once again! It is our duty, our privilege, to fight and die for the Gods! Let no one shirk this duty, lest they face my wrath before they are brought before the gods to answer for their cowardice! Our hearts, our minds, our LIVES for Mighty Ra!!!"

"Our hearts, our minds, our lives for Mighty Ra!!! Our hearts, our minds, our lives for Mighty Ra!!!" All the Jaffa took up the cheer. Bastet was not the least bit surprised at the fact that her Selket Guards had joined right in, nor was she surprised to hear herself shout the words. Sia would have demanded nothing less, as it was her will as well as Ra's. Then again, a small part of her couldn't help but alter the oath in her head: My heart, my mind, my life for my Goddess!

"Kree, Jaffa!" Anubis called out, ending the cheers. He pointed at the third sun and proclaimed: "The time is now! For the glory of the Gods...Advance!"

It was time to retake a world.


"How long has he been in there?" Sia asked as the Horus Guard led her to Ra's sarcophagus. With the attack commencing, she'd decided to return to the Pyramid Ship to watch the event unfold with her patron. She transported with Major Carter in tow, flanked by two Selket Guards, and found out that the Sun God was regenerating.

"Since soon after you left, Goddess." The Horus Guard said as they approached the device. "He left orders that only you were to awaken him."

Sia went over to the sarcophagus as the Jaffa stopped a respectful distance away and dropped to their knees. A not-so-gentle whack to the backs of her legs sent Carter to her knees as well, then she felt a hand press her head down in a bow. "Avert your gaze!" Sia hissed as she touched the controls. She bowed as the device fell open.

Ra awoke with a scream, this one more pitiful than any other. He rose up and tried to stand, but almost fell out of the sarcophagus in the attempt. Carter dared a glance at him, then couldn't help but look up when she saw what was happening to him. He was..."out of phase" was the only way she could describe it. His true image was lost in a blurred series of after-images, each one trapped in a distinct moment in time. Sia couldn't help but stare as well. Both women knew that Ra's days were officially numbered.

He regained some control over his body as the effect subsided, and his first act was to grab Sia by the throat with one hand and squeeze. The bloodlust was plain on his face, but the Selket Guards forced themselves not to react.

"What have you done to me?!!" Ra growled at the goddess.

"Nothing, My Lord!" Sia gasped, barely able to get her breath. "I...live to...serve you!"

Ra released her as he felt his strength come back. "Then what is happening to me?"

Sia caught her breath and began the story she had rehearsed with Carter. "My Lord...my Lord, you must understand how long you were vulnerable before I found you. There were so many opportunities for your enemies to try to finish what the Tau'Ri had started. I'm afraid one may have found a way to hasten your death. A sort of plague has infected you, one that was triggered, unfortunately, by the method I used to revive you. I tried to cure it using the sarcophagus, but even my modifications can only alleviate some of the effects of the sickness." It was almost the truth.

"Who has done this?!" Ra demanded. "Tell me so that I may rip out his heart, and tell me what you are doing to find a cure!"

"All I can, my Lord. I do not know who has done this, yet, but once I know the exact nature of the disease it will be easier to find out."

Ra turned away in disgust and scanned the room with a malicious gaze. That was when he noticed Carter. "What is this slave doing here?"

"She has begged an audience with you, to plead on behalf of her people."

Ra stepped out of the sarcophagus and stared at Carter. "Make your plea." He said, patience already waning.

Carter took her cue and said her lines. "Forgive my impertinence, My Lord, but I had come to the Goddess to ask her to spare my world, and I was told that only you could grant such mercy."

Ra sneered and approached Carter with slow, deliberate steps. "You are Tau'Ri. Why should I grant you any mercy?"

"I offer my services to you, a lifetime of loyalty and obeisance as payment for the salvation of my home."

Ra reached her and looked down in contempt. "You would serve me forever starting any time I chose. Why should your obedience cost me my revenge on your world?"

Carter realized she was losing him. She had to play the trump card a little early. "I know of your illness. I've seen it before."

The Sun God grabbed her chin and crushed her face in his hand. "How do you know of my illness?"

Carter fought the pain as she answered. "My...sister was afflicted with the same malady. I saw what you were experiencing as you emerged from your sleep and remembered seeing her go through the same thing." Ra released her and she continued. "Whoever infected you must have taken the illness from my world. If I tell the Goddess what I know, and assist her in her efforts, we may be able to find a cure more quickly."

"And for these actions you would demand that I spare your world?"

"I would gladly give thanks for the pardon of Earth by doing anything I can to...further the glory of the Mighty Ra." She managed not to choke or grit her teeth as she spoke, but it was getting harder and harder to humble herself.

Ra bent low and looked her right in the eye, as if trying to find any duplicity in her gaze. Carter played her part well, for a moment later he said: "Sia, you are witness to this decree. The Tau'Ri and their homeworld will remain unharmed, for only as long as I live." He stood and walked away, leaving Carter to absorb the implicit warning.

"It shall be as you say, My Lord." Sia said, as Ra returned to the sarcophagus.

"No!" Carter yelled as he was about to step into it. Her heart stopped when both Goa'uld turned to glare at her with their eyes blazing.

Sia came to her senses first. "Perhaps, My Lord, it is best not to use the sarcophagus just now, since it does not seem to be helping."

Ra looked at her, then back at Carter. "Very well." He said. "I will be in my bath. Tell me of any news of the battle or your progress on the cure." The Sun God departed a few moments later, and everyone stood. Sia stalked over to Carter and slapped the Major hard across the cheek.

"Are you insane?!" She demanded.

Carter glared back at her. "Do you want him to die now? His molecular structure is already unstable! The sarcophagus will just do more damage as it tries to regenerate him!"

"I know that, you fool! I've been trying to keep him out of it since I first brought him back, but you are Tau'Ri! You do not presume to tell a God 'No'! And what were you thinking before then? You almost made him think your people infected him!"

"The conversation wasn't exactly going the way you predicted, 'Goddess'!"

"It didn't have to go exactly the way I predicted, as long as it went the way I wanted!" Sia turned to her Selket Guards. "Take her back to the ship. Show her my laboratory and get her anything she needs to begin work, but do not let her out of your sight! I will be back after the battle is over."

The women led Carter back to the transport rings as Sia and the Horus Guard headed for Ra's Throne Room.


The waiting was the worst part. As Teal'c flew a lazy circle around the perimeter of the city, O'Neill wondered for a fleeting moment if the Snakes had decided that li'l Abydos wasn't worth the trouble.

No such luck. "Here they come!" He yelled.

The attack began from the air. Teal'c and O'Neill could see clearly as twelve death gliders dived on the city from out of the suns, weapons primed and ready to shoot.

The super death glider had been converted from its lifting role to a command and control one. This mainly involved carrying a powerful SINCGARS field radio and a few small TVs, connected to antennae and cameras hung haphazardly on the exterior of the airframe. O'Neill got on the radio.

"Cromwell! Get the choppers in the air, and get the air defense network up and running!"

"Roger!" Cromwell acknowledged from his command post in the Elders' conference chamber. He then switched channels. "Command to Duster lead! Scramble! Get your birds off the ground!"

"Roger!" The lead helicopter pilot radioed. "Flight, This is Lead! Scramble!"

Four Mini 500-Ds kicked up a cloud of dust as they gunned their engines and leaped into the air. Each was armed with two modified Stinger missiles, two TOW missiles and a .50 caliber machine gun. The last 500-D, Duster 6, was already in the air, flying high cover for the death glider and armed with four Stingers.

Around the city, teams of Abydonians and SGC security troops were climbing to the rooftops of the highest buildings carrying staff weapons and shoulder-fired Stingers, and once in place would form a ragged but credible Anti-Aircraft Artillery network. It was their job to bring down any death gliders the helicopters missed.

Duster Flight firewalled its throttles and rose straight up to meet the inbound udajeet. The pilots were already going for target locks on the hawk-like craft when the lead pilot ordered: "Duster Flight, pick your targets and fire at will!"

O'Neill listened in on the radio calls as the helos closed on the death gliders and salvoed their weapons. "2 has good lock!" "3 has lock!" "Missile away! Taking next target!" Soon eight Stingers were streaking into the air, each one tracking an individual glider as the Jaffa returned fire. One Stinger was blown up by an energy blast, another missed when its target jinked the wrong way. The others hit, damaging four gliders and destroying two outright. Three of the damaged gliders veered away from the city. A Stinger from Duster 6 caught the last one as it swung around to intercept the super death glider.

"Air-to-Air ordnance expended," Duster lead reported, "in hot with guns!" With that, O'Neill watched in awe as four helicopters rose to duel gun to gun with the slick alien fighters, knowing the odds were against them. Each chopper engaged a glider, leaving two to break off and continue on their mission.

One came after the super death glider again, energy weapons blazing, and it took all of Teal'c's will not to haul off and blast the attacker to smithereens. He restrained himself because he remembered Major Carter's briefing. His job was to keep O'Neill where the Colonel could see the whole battlefield, and he was to restrict any combat maneuvering to evasion tactics. So the Jaffa dodged instead of engaging, but felt some small comfort in seeing that Duster 6 had read his mind. The helicopter pilot went a little trigger-happy, loosing two Stingers and firing a hail of .50 caliber rounds into the attacker, blowing it away.

The other stray dove on the city and began a strafing run, trying to target population clusters and marketplaces, but it was thrown off by a swarm of staff blasts that reached up at it at every turn, driving it into two Stingers that blasted its wings off. The fuselage and the Jaffa pilot spiraled into the sand just beyond the wall and exploded.

Surprise and luck could only get the good guys so far. Duster Lead was blasted into the sand by its target, which veered off and pursued Duster 4, which was pouring bullets into another glider. 4 was blown up in the air, but had caused enough damage to make its target pull away and abandon the mission. Duster 2, the new Duster Lead, ordered 5, 6 and Teal'c to disengage and fall back to the city. As everyone complied, O'Neill prayed that the AAA teams would have no trouble acquiring the right targets.

He needn't have worried. The three remaining enemy gliders were pounded by staff blasts and Stingers. One disintegrated, one crashed to the ground and the last one broke off, leaving the mission unfinished.

"Son-of-a-gun." O'Neill said. They had beaten back the air raid. It was probably the greatest upset in history. O'Neill hoped it was also a good omen. "Let's get back into place! We need to see what's coming at us from the landing ships!"

Teal'c turned again and headed back to his air station with Duster 6 still close by. Duster Lead ordered 5 to land to refuel and rearm its Stinger launchers. O'Neill adjusted his cameras for long range scanning as they reached open desert again. On one of the screens he caught a large cloud of dust approaching in the distance. He knew immediately that it wasn't one of Abydos's famous sandstorms.

"All units, heads up!" He said over the radio. "Enemy column approaching from the Northwest. Repeat: Enemy coming from the Northwest! Weapons teams, stand ready!" he zoomed in as close as possible, but what he was seeing confused him. There appeared to be six huge vehicles, but their shapes were broken up, uneven-looking. "Cromwell, get the UAV on a Northwest heading and give me a low pass over the enemy formation!"

Cromwell passed the order along, and soon the UAV they had orbiting high above the area for wider coverage turned and arced down, diving right onto the inbound Jaffa vehicles.

O'Neill watched the video feed being transmitted to the death glider from the UAV. The small aircraft had come out of the sparse clouds and the picture of the enemy was getting clearer and clearer. O'Neill's worst fears were confirmed when he could see the enemy vehicles in detail.

Each of the vehicles was a mechanical scorpion, roughly the length of a massive tractor-trailer and made of the same carved-relief gray-black metal as the death gliders. Fully articulated, the machines traveled on six robotic legs with the speed of a sports car, kicking up clouds of sand in their wake. The stingers and claws of the beasts were replaced by massive energy cannons, designed like the barrels of staff weapons. As the UAV camera zoomed in on one of the cockpit-like heads, O'Neill could see that a Selket Guard pilot was strapped into each one.

He got on the radio again. "Okay, everybody, listen up! Enemy armored column is approaching from the Northwest. Six large vehicles with heavy weapons! I want Road Runner Team and all recon teams to form a two-hundred meter skirmish line to protect the Northwest corner of the city. Form the line half a klick out and dig-in. I want Duster Flight ready to go air-to-mud as soon as the column gets within range. We want to keep them from splitting up and surrounding the city. Heavy weapons teams, stay at your posts! Do not concentrate on one threat axis until we're sure where that will be. Target the "heads" and "legs" of the vehicles. You'll see what I mean when they come into visual range." With that, O'Neill clicked off, let out a ragged breath and spoke to Teal'c. "Giant scorpions! Jeez! What do they call those things??"

"I would not know, O'Neill," Teal'c said, a strange tone in his voice. "I have never encountered one before. It is uncharacteristic of Sia to use so visible a weapon."

"They are hard to miss." O'Neill conceded.

"Perhaps this new endeavor has emboldened her more than we realized. There may be weapons in her arsenal that no one but her Jaffa has ever seen, waiting for the day when she will use them to overthrow the universe. If this is an example of that secret cache, I fear the day when she will make her ultimate move is close at hand."

"Yeah," O'Neill said. "I hate surprises, too."


"How does she expect me to read these notes?" Carter mumbled. "They're all in Gould."

As she stared blankly at the imaging screen, Carter wondered idly if she could convince Sia to kidnap Daniel to translate for her. Of course she wouldn't really ask, but it didn't matter anyway. One of the Selket Guards that had brought her to the lab had turned on Sia's computer for her. Seeing Carter's confusion, the guard touched a contact on the screen. Suddenly, the glyphs and characters in the notations morphed into English text.

"Thank you." She said. The guard merely scowled and backed off. Carter shrugged and looked over the notes. The computer was set to display Sia's research into the effects of Entropic Cascade Failure, including the Goa'uld's tentative thoughts on a way to halt or reverse the process. She had even included notes on the modifications she'd made to Ra's sarcophagus. Carter could tell from reading them that the attempt to fortify his physical make-up was dicey at best.

On closer inspection, Carter saw that the database worked in the same way as a "PDF" file. There was a menu going down the right side of the screen. She reached up and touched a contact in the menu. She was taken out of the file she was reading and found herself looking at the main page of Sia's scientific journals. There were hundreds of entries. She scrolled down the table of contents. There was page after page of files on weapons she'd never imagined before. I have to get this information back somehow, she thought.

Carter touched one of the weapons files and the pages were displayed on the screen. The entry contained notes and diagrams on an explosive device with a warhead with unusual properties. Why that material? She wondered as she delved deeper into the file.

"What are you doing?!" The Selket Guard barked. "Stop reading that!" The Jaffa moved to turn off the display, but Carter blocked her and spoke quickly.

"I need to be able to see everything in the files. Maybe something else Sia was working on is creating an environmental condition that's exacerbating Ra's condition..."

The Selket Guard grimaced and shook her head. Apparently the Goa'uld didn't waste energy telling all her guards about her scientific endeavors, and it seemed this one had little stomach for technical discussion. "No! The Goddess would...!"

"The 'Goddess' instructed you to give me everything I need. I need to see everything in here. Do you want to be the one to tell the Goddess you refused my request if something in her files might have contained an answer she'd overlooked?"

"The Goddess would never overlook anything!"

Carter smiled as she said: "Then why am I here and not in a cell?"

The rage was plain on the Selket Guard's face, but she backed off. Carter turned back to the screen. The Selket Guard was spurred into action by what she'd seen, an image of the explosive. So why was it so important for Carter to not read the file? She started to read the text very carefully.


The skirmish line had formed. It was anchored in the middle and at both ends by the desert vehicles of Road Runner Team and interspersed with humans with Light Anti-Armor Weapons. The TOW tubes on the vehicles were already loaded with Dragon anti-tank missiles and the gunners had their hands on the triggers. Duster 5 was now flying cover for O'Neill while Dusters 2 and 6 refueled and rearmed with anti-tank weapons. O'Neill was glad they'd thought to bring so much heavy firepower.

He checked the feed from the UAV again. The operators had given the little plane some altitude as it tracked the Jaffa force, but some of the tail weapons in the "Scorpion Tanks" had opened up and were taking pot shots at it. One shot got frighteningly close, and the image on the screen was replaced by static.

O'Neill was about to order the last UAV launched when he realized it wouldn't be necessary. Dusters 2 and 6 were airborne again and headed for the Goa'uld vehicles. He watched as they sped to close the distance, trying to get into position to coordinate an attack with the defensive line. He could see on his screens that the enemy was still coming on steady and would be in range of the skirmish line in a matter of minutes.

All across the line, targeting scopes scanned back and forth across the cloud of dust that was closing in on the horizon, looking for an early shot at the bad guys. The helicopters had a better view, and were already zeroing in on the massive artificial beasts.

"Steady..." Duster 2 prompted on the radio net. "Steady...!"

The minutes crawled past, ticking inexorably away as O'Neill bit his lip and watched. Then suddenly the radio was alive with calls of "Target!" and "Good Shot!" as the Scorpion Tanks came into full view.

"Fire at will!" O'Neill yelled into the radio.

A second later, a wave of a dozen or so optically-tracked missiles of various sizes streaked through the air and across the sand to intercept the Scorpion Tanks. The Jaffa drivers immediately tried to evade, but not all were successful. The helicopters each scored a "head" shot on a tank, knocking one cockpit off its hinges and blowing in the canopy of the other. In both cases the Selket Guard driving was knocked out, and the two machines weaved around uncontrolled till they crashed into sand dunes. A third tank lost one of its large, fragile legs to a missile from a desert vehicle and overbalanced, trapping itself in the sand. The Selket pilot, enraged, activated her claw and tail weapons and sent a barrage of energy blasts screaming at the Tau'Ri defenders.

The blasts were so large that they left wakes in the sand as they traveled, and the skirmish line was hurt badly as they hit, blowing up a desert vehicle and a recon team. The line scattered and tried to regroup on the advance, reloading missiles and moving in on the Scorpion Tanks as the remaining Jaffa machines opened fire, closing in fast.

O'Neill watched the firefight in awe as energy blasts and missile trails crisscrossed in the air. The helicopters had expended all their TOW missiles and had veered off, but Duster 2 was blown up by a tail weapon. Duster 6 sped away to rearm as the combat dune buggies moved close in an effort to outmaneuver the tanks' claw weapons. It did them no good. Smaller energy weapons were mounted in the flanks of the heads. The Selket pilots scythed short-ranged blasts across their path, trying to catch the Tau'Ri vehicles in murderous defensive fire. Another of the buggies was upended when a series of blasts incinerated the crew operating it.

O'Neill grimaced with each loss his command suffered, feeling it every bit as if he himself were dying. Yet he knew they had to go on. They were doing better than they had any right to expect, and any loss of momentum could be disastrous. "Road Runner, Command! Fall back and act as point defense for the city! I want all recon teams to reload and go to ground. Get behind the tanks, don't try to hit them head on! Cromwell, get that chopper reloaded pronto!!"

Acknowledgments sounded from the radio as O'Neill adjusted his cameras again. The three intact Scorpion Tanks had formed up and were headed straight for the city. "Martouf! Bra'tac! They're headed for the Northwest corner! Coordinate with the dune buggies and lay into the Snakes when they get into range!" As he watched the dune buggies pull away and the foot patrols scatter, the Colonel hoped they'd screwed up the enemy's plans enough that he wouldn't try to encircle the city with the tanks. He adjusted his cameras again, this time taking a closer look at the disabled Scorpion Tanks.

"Oh, shit!" He said. He'd been wondering what was taking the Snakes so long to play their trump card.


M'Toth was firing her cockpit cannons in blind rage, trying to blast the retreating Tau'Ri vehicles into dust. Enemy foot soldiers were sneaking around the rest of the advancing Jaffa force, presumably to get into positions behind the line of advance. The Selket Guard cursed the lucky shot that blew off her death walker's leg and ruined the fragile balance of its stride. It was still mobile but could not advance properly missing one of its forelegs and partially buried in the sand as it had become with the fall. Righting it and getting moving would take time.

It was time she wouldn't get. One of the Tau'Ri blew off another leg on the same side with a shoulder-fired rocket. The walker came to rest on its side in the sand, unable to move normally at all. M'Toth screamed and fired her cockpit guns, but her vehicle was at an awkward angle and they didn't hit anything. She fervently wished the Goddess had equipped the vehicle with proper antipersonnel weapons for such a contingency.

Then she remembered: The vehicle was already designed to carry the ultimate antipersonnel weapon.

It was early, and she was too far away, but the assault plan hadn't counted on the Tau'Ri being so effective at stopping the walkers. With this in mind, she pressed a contact on her control panel.


O'Neill watched as a large set of doors opened on the back of the tank with the missing legs. When they were fully opened, a contingent of Horus and Selket Guards poured out of them. The Jaffa were looking around to get their bearings as O'Neill counted and multiplied. He got on the radio. "All right, listen up. The tanks are troop carriers! We have Horus and Selket Guards, call it fifty in each machine. That makes the infantry force battalion strength! Recon teams fall back and regroup with Road Runner Team! Do not try to engage the Snakes in strength! Wall Security, get ready to add antipersonnel weapons to the mix!"

The foot patrols disengaged and sprinted back toward the city before the Jaffa could get their bearings and bring their staff weapons to bear. Some didn't make it, and were cut down by energy blasts. The Jaffa commanding the short company of guards swore when he realized how far away from the target they were. Then he noticed the other two immobilized walkers and saw that the troops inside couldn't get out. One of those walkers carried the two First Primes. He dispatched two teams to help get the guards out of those vehicles, then advanced at a run with the rest.


They were trying to keep up with the three intact death walkers, which were on a straight path toward the city and trading fire with the Tau'Ri vehicles. The original plan had been to surround the city with the walkers and disembark close to the walls. With three of them out of commission that was no longer an option. The Selket Guard pilots were improvising, making their way in force to one single assault point. It simplified the defenders' task, but allowed the greatest concentration of force to be brought to bear.


Anubis and Bastet were the first to crawl out of the walker when it was opened from the outside. Sia's First Prime cursed when she realized what had happened to her machines and their pilots, while Ra's First Prime surveyed the battle and cursed for a different reason.

"What incompetence is this?!" He yelled, as he watched missile trails reach out for the walkers and their troops. "Your women were supposed to get all of us much closer!"

Bastet let her cooler head prevail as she answered. "Apparently the Tau'Ri and their allies are better equipped than we realized."

"Than you realized!! You were supposed find out what the Tau'Ri had and report it! Why did you not know of their missile weapons?"

"It was not as if I could simply walk up to the gate and conduct a survey!" Bastet shot back, then their attention was drawn to the other disabled walker. The recovery team had just cracked its doors open and the Jaffa inside were climbing out.

"I suggest we concentrate on the matter at hand," she said. "There will be time for recriminations later."

Anubis snarled at her, then looked around at the nearby Horus and Selket Guards. "Jaffa, KREE!" He yelled. "For the gods...ADVANCE!!!"

He and Bastet donned their full helmets, then led the charge of the Jaffa from the disabled walkers.


"Damn, look at them move!" O'Neill grunted as he watched the Snake infantry advance. He got on the radio. "Half the enemy force is advancing on foot! The rest is still in the Scorpion Tanks! Take those things out! Daniel, get one of your units outside the walls to reinforce the skirmish line!" He saw that Duster 6 was back in the air. "Duster 6, antipersonnel mission! I want you to rain 50 caliber rounds on the invaders!"

The 500-D sped off to comply as Jackson scrambled to get a quarter of his Abydonian defenders to the outer perimeter through side gates in the walls. Martouf and Bra'tac had now concentrated their force on the Northwest Corner, firing staff blasts and LAW missiles at the advancing tanks in conjunction with the fire from the remaining Road Runners and recon teams. A concentration of fire blew a Scorpion Tank apart as the Jaffa got to point blank range, but return fire from the survivors destroyed another desert vehicle and sent the last one dodging for its life.

Meanwhile, Duster 6 was strafing the Jaffa infantry mercilessly, trying to thin out the herd as much as possible. The enemy was smart enough to get low and spread out as he made his passes, but the two "First Prime" types--the ones wearing the dog and cat helmets--were his primary targets. If he could cut off the heads of the Snakes, he might bring this action to a close that much sooner.


Anubis and Bastet stayed together as they tried to scatter their ground force in an effort to avoid the hellee-copter and its projectile weapon.

The First Primes kept track of their forces as they ran. Some of the Jaffa were trying to bring the Tau'Ri aircraft down with their staff weapons, but it was agile, and as it avoided each blast it seemed more and more determined to kill as many Jaffa as possible.

This situation was intolerable. Bastet was determined to get it back on course. "Over there!" She called to Anubis over the din. "That dune! We can take cover there!"

Anubis looked where she pointed for a second, then sprinted that way, not seeing as Bastet paused and headed in the opposite direction.


The head Snakes were splitting up. Duster 6 decided that he could no longer afford to be subtle. He expended two of his TOW missiles, using them as mortars in an effort to kill the First Primes by effect.

The double explosion hurled Bastet fifty feet and knocked her out. Anubis was not so lucky. He was closer, and the blast pressed him into the sand.


"Nice one, 6!" O'Neill cheered, just before a staff blast blew off the chopper's tail. It corkscrewed into the sand and caught fire, causing the Colonel to choke back bile. He forced his attention back to the mission at hand, taking another look at his screens. The two remaining Scorpion Tanks were almost on top of the wall. They had all their weapons raised, and O'Neill could see the troops on the walls scatter in anticipation of what was coming.

The Scorpions let loose, and six massive energy blasts disintegrated the Northwest Corner of the city wall, the shockwave throwing troops helter-skelter and kicking up a sandstorm. When the fire cleared and the noise died there was a gap in the sandstone barrier big enough for both tanks to drive through.

But the tanks weren't going in. Instead they continued to fire into the gap, providing cover for the Jaffa they were now deploying from their backs. The survivors of the strafing runs and ground defenses were linking up with the fresh troops, and together the swarm of Snakes was headed right for the gap.

"Breach, Daniel, Breach!!" O'Neill called. "They brought down the wall at the Northwest!!"

"Already moving!" Was Jackson's reply.

"Teal'c, get down there!" O'Neill said. "Screw flying watch! Just get those things!"

Teal'c had no problem obeying. O'Neill felt the super death glider dip and dive at the Scorpion Tanks. The machine unleashed a fury of energy blasts on the enemy machines, blasting them to pieces.

The surviving Jaffa dodged hot debris as they advanced onward. There was about four feet of wall left across the gap. The Selket and Horus Guards were barreling toward it, ready to hurl themselves over it and into the city.

They got within a hundred feet. Fifty of Jackson's Abydonian defenders beat them to the wall, climbing the debris from the other side and forming a ragged firing line. All of them let loose on the Jaffa, emptying their clips at full auto and reloading as rapidly as possible. Several of the surviving wall defenders joined them as the Abydonians outside the wall and the surviving recon troops came in from all directions. Soon the Jaffa invasion force was decimated in a hail of energy blasts, rocket-propelled grenades and bullets.

Finally, finally, the shooting died down, the din of battle disappeared, and the super death glider circled the battle area, allowing O'Neill to see the results of the defense plan his teammate had come up with. His estimate of the allied force's losses left a bad taste in his mouth, but they had done it. They had stopped the armies of Ra and Sia at the Abydonians' doorstep.

"Cromwell," he said into the radio, "secure the area. Get search and rescue and security teams out, get the wounded to the field hospital. Cromwell...no more prisoners." It was a grim command, but the last thing his battered force needed to deal with was the need to watch over Jaffa POWs.

"We have won a great victory here today, O'Neill." Teal'c said, his deadpan only just hiding the pride he was feeling.

"It was just the first battle," O'Neill said. "Next, we get Carter back...and win the war."


NEXT: THE END OF RA.