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 Note: Thanks to all the loyal readers of the story, and thanks for all the reviews! Now here comes the payoff!

BTW, (This doesn't really have anything to do with the story. It's just something that keeps bugging me.) A lot of SG-1 fanfic authors arm the team with P-90 assault weapons, which I hadn't seen until recently. Now that I have, I don't get the appeal. Is there some significant advantage that the P-90 has over the stock MP-5 variants or the M-16, or is it just that the other authors recognize the P-90 better, the way I recognize the other weapons better? Or is it that the P-90 is all they use in the later seasons? Anyone can tell me what's what, but I'd love to hear from a weapons expert on the subject.

The Return of Ra: "The End of Ra"

by Darrin Colbourne


It had been a very long time since Sia had felt physically ill. She was religious about her regeneration schedule, using her sarcophagus the way it was meant to be used, regularly and for set periods of time. She also rarely did work more strenuous than that required for her experiments. She hardly ever left the confines of her ship when she was away from her seat of power, so she never subjected herself to the often risky environments of the worlds she ruled personally. She had been a stranger to ill health for literally centuries, and there was no reason at all for her not to continue the estrangement for centuries to come.

Which made it all the more surprising that she had felt her gorge rise in her throat as she had watched the battle to retake Abydos. Three hundred Jaffa, six Death Walkers and six Death Gliders had been sent to the miners' city to bring the slaves and turncoats within under heel. The outcome should have been obvious, should have been set in stone!

But the slaves and turncoats had fought back! And had won! And were now most likely planning a counterattack! All her planning, all her contingency planning, had been for naught.

As she walked through the halls of her Sphinx Ship, having just transported from Ra's Pyramid, she tried to consider the situation logically, but her emotions wouldn't die down. She felt anger, frustration and despair all at once, and saw few options for resolving her problems.

Her stress showed on her face as she walked into her lab, and it apparently pleased Major Samantha Carter no end. A sly smirk appeared on the blond Tau'Ri's face when she saw her captor's expression. "Why, Goddess, thank you for coming." Carter said. "To be honest, I didn't expect you so soon. I thought you'd be out celebrating our great victory over the treasonous vermin of Ra's beautiful desert world."

The Selket Guard guarding Carter was about to swing her staff weapon into the Major's abdomen, but Sia stopped her with a gesture, then got very close to Carter and spoke in a low, grave tone. "I am in a very bad mood. You might want to consider that before you aggravate me further."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I wrong in assuming that your triumph over the Great One's enemies was nothing less than spectacular?"

"I'm sure you've deduced the outcome for yourself. Does it please you to see my hopes dashed before my eyes?"

"Well, since you said we should be completely honest with each other...I'm ecstatic." Carter broke into a wide grin with that, and was surprised to see Sia grin back.

"Ecstacy is a wonderful feeling. May it sustain you through the hell you are about to experience." Then Sia raised her right hand, which was now adorned with a jeweled ribbon device--her own, decorated with the mask of a wise old man.

Carter's eyes darted to the device as the jewel in the center began to glow, and her expression became serious, but she didn't flinch or try to back away. "You can't kill me as long as Ra lives." She said.

"You'd be amazed at what you can live through," Sia said, eyes glowing, "and if I get a little...overzealous, I can always put you in my sarcophagus. Ra would never have to know."

Carter looked back at the Goa'uld. "So then you don't want to know what I've discovered about Ra's condition? It's nothing, really, just that I think I know how to slow the progress of the illness and give us more time to stop it."

"Is that why you requested my presence? Are you really so clever?"

The smirk came back. "I guess you'll never know. You'll be too busy torturing me. Oh, well. I'm ready if you are." Carter squared her shoulders and closed her eyes, as if bracing for the pain she was sure would never come. She was right, but was startled when the ribbon-armed hand gently stroked her cheek. She opened her eyes and stared into Sia's as the alien's slender fingertips came to rest under her chin.

"There's no need for us to be rude to each other." Sia said. "Please, continue."


Bastet revived to the sound of weapons fire. Every part of her body hurt, but her nascent Goa'uld was already repairing the damage. Still, she had a hard time moving, but she managed to open her eyes a little, just enough to see a new problem headed her way.

The Abydonians and their allies were out of the city in force, policing the battlefield under the watchful eye of one of the hellee-copters. They were moving about the carnage, retrieving the bodies of their wounded and killed friends and putting bullets into the Jaffa that they came across. Each shot was carefully placed, two shots through the abdomen and one shot through the head, the better to guarantee that the Jaffa stayed dead.

Bastet knew she had to get away, somehow. The prospects looked grim. Even if she could move normally, the moment she tried to break into a run the Tau'Ri aircraft would be upon her before she could get very far, or even reach the shelter of one of the disabled walkers. If its massive gun didn't kill her, it would call in ground troops from the mopping up force to hunt her down.

Trying to keep her movements as small as possible, she looked around for some closer hiding place. She realized that the explosive that knocked her out left a crater nearby. If she could bury herself in the still smouldering hole, the enemy might assume she'd been killed in the blast, and she could hide out there until nightfall and return to the Goddess after the rebels retreated behind the walls.

She crawled backwards toward the hole, slowly, sparingly, trying not to attract anyone's attention, hoping she could make it before the search line reached her.


"Wipe." Doctor Janet Frasier ordered as she worked on a human patient's abdomen. An Abydonian ran a cool, absorbent cloth across Frasier's forehead. The Air Force surgeon thought that the Abydonian healers made great nurses, once they learned a few basic commands in English and were schooled on the concept of proper sterilization. They were certainly very useful at this moment, as more and more wounded were brought in from the battlefield.

Frasier had brought practically the whole medical department of Stargate Command with her, along with four more Air Force surgeons and a slew of extra medics and technicians, and together with the Abydonians she had put together a creditable Triage operation. That operation was now running full tilt trying to keep up with the casualties.

Colonel Jack O'Neill, holding a surgical mask to his face, followed one of the stretchers into the field hospital. He stood off to the side, just inside the door, watching as the doctors conducted their grim business. Frasier noticed him as she was stitching up her current patient. She finished up, called for the patient to be moved and the table made ready for the next one, then came over to talk to O'Neill as she shed her blood-stained surgical gloves for fresh ones. "You shouldn't be in here." She scolded.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing," O'Neill said, "how they were doing."

"Well, our little MASH unit seems to be doing well. There have been no major problems, and while operating conditions here are Spartan they aren't so primitive that no real work can be done. We're saving everyone who can be saved. Those we can't...well, thank goodness there aren't that many, and we're keeping them as comfortable as possible."

"Good...good." O'Neill said, really at a loss for words as he looked around and saw the blood, smelled the odors, heard the moaning of those in pain.

Frasier continued on her own. "I heard about Sam. I was wondering..."

"We'll get her back." O'Neill said, glad to be the one doing the comforting for the moment.

"Prisoner exchange?" Frasier said, curious.

"We're...not taking any prisoners to exchange."

"Oh." Frasier said, so quietly O'Neill could barely hear it through her mask. "I had wondered why we weren't getting any enemy casualties. Well, what about the female Jaffa that was in here earlier?"

"Too unimportant. They all are, really. Jaffa are expendable, and if the Snakes realize what they have in Carter giving them all back wouldn't mean anything. Besides, I need that Jaffa. I'm not done squeezing her for information."

Frasier nodded her understanding, then glanced back at the new patient waiting for her. She left as an Abydonian helped her prepare for the next surgery. "Do what you need to, Colonel." She called back. "We're fine here, and these people will be fine, too."

O'Neill nodded himself, then left as quickly as he could. He was met outside the field hospital by his commanders, Teal'c, Martouf, Bra'tac, Colonel Cromwell and Daniel Jackson. "Okay, Cromwell, let's hear it."

Cromwell cleared his throat and gave his report. "We have 26 KIA and 59 wounded among our force, most of whom were lost when the Snakes penetrated the wall. The subsequent energy barrage destroyed several buildings in the city, resulting in a great deal of collateral damage. Right now the count is at 123 civilians killed and wounded, and we have yet to clean up all the rubble. SGC and Abydonian troops are assisting in the recovery. The mopping up operation is going smoothly. No nasty surprises so far. We should have the battlefield 'sanitized' within the next hour and a half."

"'Sanitized'," Jackson said. "Such a nice euphemism for summary executions."

"Daniel, we've been through this." O'Neill said.

"They would show us no mercy if the situations were reversed, Daniel." Martouf said.

"I know! I know...it's just...look at all this destruction! All this death, just because of the ambitions of a race of slimy eels."

"Don't think of the death, Daniel Jackson." Bra'tac said. "Think of the lives that are being saved right now, and those that have been saved and made free through our actions here today!"

"I suppose..." Jackson said, seeking comfort in Bra'tac's words. "Speaking of saving lives..." He said to O'Neill.

"Cromwell," O'Neill said, "how soon can you get an assault force together?"

"As soon as we're done outside," Cromwell said, "and can set up a security force for the city."

"What is your plan, O'Neill?" Teal'c said.

"We're going to finish what we started here...and get Major Carter back."

"I wish to accompany the assault force, O'Neill."

"I'm coming, too." Jackson said.

"We're all going! Daniel, once we get a force together I need you to find out if Kasuf can arrange some fast transportation for it. This ends today! We kicked the Head Snake off this world once! We can do it again, to him and his girlfriend!"


"And you are sure of all this?" Sia asked.

"I know how you feel about accuracy." Carter said. "I wouldn't be telling you if I didn't think the theory was sound."

The Major didn't think it was possible, but the Goa'uld looked even more annoyed than when she first entered the lab. "Do you know what I planned to use this weapon for?" Sia said.

"I can guess." Carter said. "I couldn't understand at first why you used this material for a primer charge, but then I took a look at your notes on the properties of the alloy. Once it impacts with sufficient force against a solid object, its molecules enter a highly unstable energized state, which goes through several fluctuations in frequency until it reaches a peak, then dissipates explosively, emitting radiation in every possible spectrum, across the entire EM range. In that state, no energy field or massive object can resist being affected by it.

"This is what you were going to breach the iris with, isn't it? The energy of the primary charge detonation could cross the wormhole threshold and weaken the iris, leaving it vulnerable to the main warhead in the bomb, which would blow it outward, opening the Earth Stargate."

"And what makes you think I won't still use it?"

"I'm counting on the fact that you won't break your promise to Ra, and the easiest way for you to keep that promise and save him is for you to dismantle that bomb and break the alloy back into its components. Sia, I just told you all the factors exacerbating Ra's condition: the duality of his physiognomy, the fact that he's here at Abydos, being bombarded by the particulate remains of the original, the use of the sarcophagus and the radiation put out by this alloy. Eliminate even one of these factors and he could live for years, if not forever, but right now he'll be lucky if he has hours. If you detonate that bomb, the residual effects will cross the universe, and his existence from that moment on may only be measured in minutes!"

"Nonsense! I've already tested the device!"

"Before or after you brought him back?"

"Before, but..."

"Then that's one more factor working against him. Through quantum connection and the Stargate network the effects of that detonation have been propagating throughout the galaxy. You can't take the risk of another detonation killing him outright.

"We can move the Pyramid ship and get him away, we can redesign the sarcophagus so that it will work around the problem, but only dismantling all of these bombs will keep the Entropic Cascade Failure from advancing so rapidly. How many did you make?"

"Just two." Sia said, more stunned than annoyed at this point. How could she have been so short-sighted? How could this slave have seen what she missed, what she didn't even consider? She didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but the more she considered it... "Just two." She repeated. "One to test and one to deploy."

"Sia, I want Ra to live because it saves my world. You want him to live because it will save yours. We're on the same side at this moment. We've got to dismantle the bomb, right now."

Sia grimaced, trying to come up with an alternative. For now, she couldn't think of any. Finally she said: "Very well. Come with me."


Bastet lay perfectly still, trying not even to breathe. It would have been hard anyway, with her head half-buried in the sand. She'd made it to the crater without being spotted, and was praying that the Tau'Ri soldiers now searching around it would go away without trying too hard to determine if she was dead. It seemed that her prayers would not be answered. She heard the sound of soldiers sliding down the sand toward her.

"This one's probably just like the other one." A voice said.

"Still gotta check." Another voice said. "I hear those Gould things can rebuild you from scratch."

They were getting very close, and Bastet contemplated attacking the two soldiers. The move would save her for the moment if she won, but would doom her as soon as their friends realized they were gone.

Fortunately, someone else had decided to take the risk. "All Units!" A voice from the soldiers' radios crackled. "Converge on Wreck Three! Snakes on the move! Repeat, Snakes moving!" There was the distant sound of staff weapon fire, and the soldiers coming down to inspect her rushed out of the crater to assist.

Bastet buried herself even deeper in the sand. She'd wait as long as she could, then try to make it back to the Sphinx without being spotted.


Sia and Carter were standing over the disassembled components of the Breach Weapon some time later. The alien had a scowl on her face, staring at the parts on the floor before them and mourning what they used to be.

"It would have been my gift to the Sun God." Sia said quietly.

"We're doing the right thing." Carter said. Sia glared at her.

"Do not seek to comfort me, Tau'Ri." Sia said. "You serve only your own purposes."

"And yours." Carter said, thinking More is the pity. She hadn't expected the Goa'uld to give in so easily. Letting her keep the bomb would have been risky, of course, but not as risky as having Ra around for any longer than necessary. She was hoping Sia would balk, get indignant in that famous Goa'uld uppity way and insist that another option be considered, prolonging the bomb's effect on Ra. Carter decided that she must have stated her case better than she expected. Sia was definitely a sucker for logic.

Still, they hadn't destroyed the primer charge yet, and that was the most dangerous thing to Ra and the Earth Stargate. Carter walked over to the casing it was in and picked it up. The material glowed a dull red color as she examined it in her hand. She knew the radiation was affecting her and Sia as well, but they would both recover from the minimal exposure as long as they got rid of it soon. Ra wouldn't be so lucky.

"How do we break this stuff down?" She asked Sia.

"I do not know." Sia said. "It took me a year of non-stop research just to synthesize it."

"Then we have to get it as far away from him as possible until we can find a way. If you let me go, I can..."

"'Let you go?' Why would I do that?"

"Do your forces control the Abydos 'Gate? No. Mine do. If I can take this there I can send it to a remote planet, where its effects would be negligible. Then, we can pick it up later and destroy it when Ra is safe."

"Or, I could imprison you with the material in this ship, send it into space and then send it to a remote planet. Do not think that because I am bound to obey Ra's order to keep you alive I will let you run amok."

Carter chided herself for overplaying her hand. "All right...then what if we get Ra away? Send his pyramid offworld..."

"Ra must stay! If he does not take back his own world..."

"If he stays on his 'own world' its environment will kill him! If he stays near us while this device is on this ship it will kill him! Everything around him at this very moment speeds up his Cascade Failure!"

"Ra must stay here! I must stay at his side! You will have to find another way to slow the process!" Sia forced herself to calm down. "This is ridiculous. I will transport the charge to my mothership and send it away, then you and I will go back to the laboratory and continue to work on a way to counteract the effects Abydos's environment are having on him."

Carter could see she was at an impasse, but at least she'd seen a little of the indignance she'd wanted. She just hoped Ra didn't die before...

"Goddess!" A servant called as she ran into the room. Sia's eyes flashed as she turned on the girl, who immediately dropped to her knees and bowed her head.

"I left specific instructions that I was not to be disturbed!" Sia raged.

The servant shivered as she spoke. "Y-yes, Goddess, but this is very..."

"Just spit it out!!"

"The rebels...they're advancing!"


It was the most ragtag convoy O'Neill had ever been in, and it was certainly the worst ride, but Kasuf had come through, and now he cradled an M16/M203 combined weapon in his arms, aching for the opportunity to use it.

Sixty "allied" troops were packed into two grain carts pulled at full gallop by two Mastadges each. O'Neill and Jackson were with the troops in the first cart, while Martouf, Cromwell and Bra'tac rode in the second. The carts were traveling in line behind the last desert vehicle, which kicked up dust as it weaved through the desert sands. Duster 5 and the Super Death Glider were flying high cover for the convoy. Teal'c was especially glad to be flying a real warcraft again. All of the communications and surveillance equipment had been stripped off.

The final phase of Operation Sundown called for an attack on Ra's Pyramid, but didn't take into account Sia bringing her own ship or Carter getting captured. O'Neill decided that they'd just have to improvise.


Bastet was surprised that the soldiers never came back after being called away to assault the other Jaffa. At first she'd thought that they'd simply convinced their superiors that she was dead, but when she finally dared to crawl out of hiding and look around, she realized that the group had been called away to more pressing matters.

She heard the passage before she was in a position to see it, so by the time she reached the lip of the crater the rebel assault column was already receding into the distance. The enemy was heading to attack the Goa'uld landing ships, traveling as fast as the Abydonian beasts of burden could draw their carts. Bastet knew there was no way she could get back before the attack started, especially not on foot.

She looked back toward the city. She didn't relish attempting to get back inside the complex, but it was her only way out of this situation.


"We detected the column with our long range scanners." A Jaffa was telling Sia in her throne room. "They are being protected by the super Death Glider that captured the chaapa'ai and one of the Tau'Ri hellee-copters."

"They are coming for you, Samantha Carter." Sia said to her captive.

"Actually," Carter said, "they're coming for you...and Ra."

"They won't get very far." Sia said. "I can simply have them destroyed from orbit. Contact the mother ship. Tell them..."

"Um, Goddess...in anticipation of your order I have been trying to contact the orbiting ships. Apparently...the signals are not getting through."

Sia looked confused, then angry as understanding came over her. She turned to look at Carter, who simply stood there with her hands behind her back and smiled. "When I realized we might have to combat assault Ra's Pyramid, I asked my friends in the Tok'Ra to bring something for the occasion."


"Is that thing actually working?" Cromwell asked Martouf as he manipulated a Goa'uld communications device. It had been modified to create jamming signals on all frequencies at close range.

"We're not being blasted from orbit!" Bra'tac answered for Martouf. "I'd say that is sufficient evidence that it is doing its job!"

"Actually, Colonel," Martouf said, "it works better the closer we get to the landing ships." He then took a moment to look up. In the distance the very top of the head of Sia's Sphinx was coming into view.

In the other cart, O'Neill got on his radio and called their air support. "Duster 5, Teal'c! Make your attack runs!"

Everyone watched as the helicopter and Death Glider surged ahead.


"How do they plan to 'get' us?" Sia asked.

"Oh, now you want tactical information from me?" Carter said. "I thought you had Jaffa to do your tactical planning for you."

"If Ra dies, you die. Tell me their plan."

"I've lived a full life. Figure it out for yourself."

"You've been waiting for this, stalling for time until your friends could come save you! I should have known not to put my faith in a Tau'Ri! I suppose nothing you said about Ra's condition is the truth?"

"Actually, it's all true...except the 'I'll help you save him' part."

"Even after we got him to promise to leave your world unharmed?"

"Where I come from on my world, we traditionally consider freedom more important than life."

Sia's eyes glowed in time with the jewel on her ribbon device. She was enraged at having allowed herself to be manipulated by this human. She'd made a dreadful mistake, one she intended to correct. "Very well," she said as she raised her hand, "I hereby grant you freedom. Enjoy your last few seconds of it!"

Before she could touch the jewel to Carter's forehead, the throne room lurched to the side as the head swung to meet a threat. Carter, Sia and the Jaffa were thrown around. Carter looked out of the window in time to see energy blasts escaping from the Sphinx's eyes, then the Major's eyes went wide when she saw energy blasts coming right back. The incoming energy rattled the entire structure with explosions, keeping everyone in the throne room scrambling to stay up.

Carter got to her feet first as an explosion blew in the massive bay window. The blast threw her down again but she managed to get up to her knees as Sia started to pull herself up. The Goa'uld looked around for her captive, and her heart nearly stopped when she found Carter and saw what she had in her hands.

She hadn't been paying attention when she brought the Tau'Ri with her to the throne room. Carter was still holding the Breach Weapon's primer charge, and she was headed for the open window.

"Stop her!!" Sia yelled to her Jaffa. "Kill her before..."

The head of the Sphinx slewed again, cutting off Sia's order with its motion. Carter managed to stay on her feet and lurch to the window. She had decided that if she was going to die, she'd take as many of the Snakes with her as she could. She dodged 'zat' and staff blasts as she moved, cradling the charge in her arm like a football. Finally she reached the window and looked back. She waited for one more barrage of energy blasts before hurling the charge back into the room and diving out of the window.

"Noooo!!!" Sia screamed.

A bright red flash of light accompanied a powerful concessive blast that Carter felt as she plummeted to the sand below. She only idly wondered if Sia survived the explosion. She was too busy trying to survive the fall. Carter spread her arms and legs out, trying to slow her descent and steer herself to a soft dune and away from the paws of the Sphinx. The landing would be very painful, but hopefully it wouldn't be fatal.


Teal'c noticed the last explosion as he finished swinging around for the next pass at the head. It wasn't the same as the other explosions that had been caused by his weapons. The red tint to the blast was odd to say the least. He saw that someone had been blown clear of the Sphinx when the blast went off. He knew he was far off, but it didn't look like a Jaffa...

It cannot be!

He slammed the throttles to their stops. He knew he had only seconds.


Carter was counting the microseconds as the sands got closer and closer. She hadn't slowed herself down enough. Oh, well, she thought, it has been a full life. 'Bye Dad, Janet, Cassie, General, Te--

Her thoughts were interrupted by a flash of gray and an impact with something solid that hurt like hell but didn't kill her. She had to flail to grab onto the big object that suddenly snatched her from the air. As she finally got a hold of the thing she felt a swift lateral motion. Her eyes were wide with shock. What the f--?

Then she looked straight ahead and realized she was gazing into the cockpit of the Death Glider! She could only guess that Teal'c had seen her fall and had matched her rate of descent enough to catch her. A big grin crossed her face and she peppered the cockpit glass with kisses when she saw Teal'c smile back. "I LOVE you!!!!" She screamed at him at the top of her lungs. The Jaffa merely bowed his head before he looked for a place to set down.


"What is going on?!!" Ra demanded as he walked into his throne room. The explosions had awakened him from a much needed slumber and just after that he'd experienced the worst seizures yet. The illness seemed to be getting worse with each bout, and now he constantly felt as if he would fall apart.

"My Lord, get down!!" A Horus Guard yelled as he flew at Ra, slamming the Goa'uld down just as a hail of .50 caliber rounds slammed into the chamber through the windows. The rounds brought down two Jaffa and wounded Ra's protector. The injury didn't stop Ra from pushing him off roughly.

"What is the meaning of this?!!" Ra bellowed.

"The Tau'Ri are attacking!" The Jaffa said. "Their aircraft are shooting at us and at Sia."

"Then launch udajeet to stop them!" Ra said.


They wouldn't get a chance. Duster 5 had finished his strafing run on the throne room and had moved down the opened pyramid to the launch bay, into which he fired the four TOW missiles he was mounting. The explosions detonated several gliders in the bay, setting off a chain reaction that destroyed the hangar deck and the one below it.

Meanwhile, Teal'c had resumed his attack on the Sphinx, destroying the blasters in its eyes and attacking the structure's smaller launch bay as well.


The column came to a halt at the foot of the Sphinx. Everyone's attention was drawn to the air attack as the assault team disembarked. Then, as the force surveyed their objectives, O'Neill's eyes locked on a spectator standing near one of the Sphinx's paws watching the fight.

"Carter?" He said, his voice displaying his disbelief.

Carter looked over and smiled. "Colonel!" She called as she ran over to the vehicles. As she got closer O'Neill could see that she was sporting several bruises and there was blood on the side of her mouth.

"What happened to you?" O'Neill said. Now everyone was staring.

"Believe me," she said, "it could have been a lot worse."

"We were just coming to get you." Daniel said.

"I managed to escape...after a fashion. I'll explain everything later. Listen, Colonel, right now Ra is as vulnerable as he's ever going to be."

"Gotcha. We'll go right now. What about Sia?"

"If she's still alive right now she's off balance."

"Let's not take any chances. Martouf, Bra'tac, the Sphinx is yours. Find a way in and do as much damage as you can until you get to Sia. Cromwell, get your guys ready and recall Duster 5. Carter, you up for doing some damage?"

"As much as I can, Sir."

"Then I've got something for you." Martouf said. He had a ribbon device of his own strapped on. He took it off and gave it to her. "It will be lighter to carry than a standard weapon. There's no reason to stress your injuries."

"Thank you." She said. O'Neill cleared his throat.

"Okay." The Colonel said. "Then you're with Danny and me. Okay people, this is it! Let's do it!"

The assault force split up. Cromwell led the smallest group to the flanks of the Pyramid. Martouf and Bra'tac led their group to the entrance to the Sphinx, while the largest group, led by O'Neill, headed straight into the Pyramid. Duster 5 and Teal'c disengaged when the ground troops went in.


Sia crawled from behind the table she'd jumped behind for cover. Her throne room was a wreck, with furniture, decorations and control devices damaged and destroyed all over. A couple of Selket Guards moaned as they lay next to others that had been killed.

Suddenly an alarm sounded. Sia cursed when she realized that there were intruders in her ship. Most of her force of Jaffa had been lost in the battle at the city, and she had no way to call up for more troops.

She got to her feet. If there were enemies in the Sphinx, then they had to also be in Ra's Pyramid. In his present condition, with so few defenders left on the surface, the Sun God would be hard pressed to save himself. He'd need help.

Sia allowed her mind to work, tapping into the intelligence that had made her a legend among the slaves of a hundred worlds. Her gambit was headed for failure. She had made mistakes, dreadful ones, errors that would have cost any servant of hers her life. Her forces were routed, her patron was endangered, and her great plan to humble the enemies of the Goa'uld had been compromised. What could she do?

She bowed her head in thought, then straightened up when she came to the only logical conclusion. With renewed purpose, she crossed the room to the transport pad. She activated the machine with the touch of a jewel on her necklace, and the rings descended with their usual ratcheting noise.


"Transport rings?" Jackson called out.

"Fastest way there!" O'Neill said as they approached. He pulled a jeweled panel out of one of his pockets. It was the remains of the gauntlet they'd recovered from the first Anubis. He handed it to an Abydonian as Carter, Jackson and three SGC troops got onto the transport pad.

"Remember, six at a time." He said to the native. The young man nodded as O'Neill stepped up, then touched the jewel when everyone was in place.

The ratcheting sounded, the blue light flashed, and the first six troops found themselves in Ra's throne room. An energy blast forced them to duck as soon as the rings ascended and O'Neill opened fire with his -16. The first group cleared the pad just before the rings descended again, firing as they moved. Three Jaffa were defending the space. All were cut down almost immediately.

As the group moved further into the room, they saw the job done by the 500-D. There were about five other Jaffa bodies scattered around, plus furniture and panels everywhere were riddled with bullets. Several child servants were huddled in a corner, quaking with fear. And just behind them, writhing in the agony of Entropic Cascade Failure, was Ra, The Sun God.

O'Neill and the others kept their weapons ready. The rest of the team was still being transported in from the pyramid. Two more Jaffa rushed in from another entrance, and they were quickly dispatched by a Chulakian with a staff weapon.

Ra's seizure had stopped by the time O'Neill halted his advance. His group was now standing at point blank range away from Ra, weapons to bear. His child servants, even through all that had happened, still stood in the way of the weapons, protecting their god. It turned O'Neill's stomach to see children used in such a way, but this time he was prepared for it.

Ra got awkwardly to his feet and glared at his enemies. He extended his right hand at them above the head of a smaller child. He was wearing his ribbon device, which was glowing. Carter concentrated on activating the ribbon device she wore as the Goa'uld backed his way to his throne.

"Ra, old buddy." O'Neill said, keeping the alien's attention on him. "Long time, no see."

Ra sneered back. "I don't remember your hair being so white." He said, then indicated Jackson. "Or the imposter's hair being so short."

"Well, that makes us even." O'Neill said. "You're a lot more alive than I thought you'd be."

"The Sun always rises again." Ra said. Then he looked at Carter. "So, you are not so loyal as you pretended?"

O'Neill glanced at Carter, who directed her answer at Ra. "I remembered that I like my team better than yours."

"Oh, this is gonna be one hell of a debrief." O'Neill said. As he spoke, he noticed that Ra had backed up past the throne and was trying to make it into the back chamber. He glanced out of the large windows in the room, willing Cromwell to hurry up.

"You're not getting out of this, Ra." He said. "Let the kids go and just surrender." His whole team was in the throne room now, and Carter had several of them moving to flank the Goa'uld. The children tried to compensate for the movement.

"You are weak!" Ra said. "That is why you will lose in the end. That is why your people will again serve mine! Your civilization's days are numbered!"

It couldn't have been timed more perfectly. Just as Ra finished speaking the sound of a helicopter rattled the throne room. Everyone's attention was drawn to one of the windows. The 500-D hovered as close as possible, straining under the weight of the four men standing on the landing skids. The four troops leaped the distance to the window and landed just inside, then leaped to tackle the children surrounding Ra and force them to the ground. Each man had an armful of angry servants pinned to the floor.

Ra was in the clear.

O'Neill's eyes narrowed as he aimed his weapon and smiled. All around him were the sounds of rounds being chambered, zat'n'ktels being extended and staff weapons being primed.

"Any last words before 'The Sun' goes down?" O'Neill said.

Ra seethed where he stood, breathed heavy with rage, shook with fear, and burned with mind numbing hatred. Damn them, he thought, damn them all to Hell!!!

He raised his ribbon device with an angry scream, ready to lash out at them all. Carter beat him to the draw, and her ribbon blast sent him flying. As he soared, everyone else took aim, riddling his body with bullets and directed energy blasts. Then, just when it seemed the weapons fire would tear him apart, his form dissolved into an unrecognizable blur, and with an agonized scream Ra felt Entropic Cascade Failure take its final toll. His corpse disappeared before it hit the floor.

The Sun God had been destroyed.

After a few seconds, O'Neill lowered his weapon, looked at the puff of smoke that Ra's departure had left, then looked around at his people with a smile. "Nice." He said.

That's when the cheering began, and it was so loud O'Neill almost didn't hear his radio. He put it to one ear and covered the other one. "Go ahead, Bra'tac, and speak up!"


"I take it you were successful, O'Neill!" Bra'tac said.

"You could say that! Do you guys need assistance with Sia?"

"Not precisely." He said, as he met up with Martouf in a corridor. They'd split their group into two teams after they had beaten the few Selket Guards that were left in the Sphinx. Martouf answered Bra'tac's unasked question with a shake of the head.

"She's not aboard, O'Neill!"

"Say again?" Bra'tac heard, then he heard O'Neill quiet down the team in the pyramid. "What did you say?"

"Sia is not anywhere aboard. Martouf and I just conducted a search of the whole ship. We found many of her servants and beat all Jaffa resistence, but we could not find the Goa'uld herself."


"Sia's gone?" Jackson said. He couldn't believe it. "Where could she be?"

"Maybe she transported to her mothership." Carter said.

"Which means she could be targeting this whole area from orbit right now." O'Neill said. He switched channels on his radio. "Teal'c! I need an eye in the sky!"


Teal'c angled his glider up and gave it full power, arcing into the sky toward the area where the two Goa'uld mother ships should be. At full power the trip into space only took seconds. What he saw when he was in viewing and scanning range stunned him.


"The motherships are gone, O'Neill." Teal'c reported.

"Gone? You mean they're not where they were?"

"I mean they are not here at all. I completed one orbit around the planet and could find no Goa'uld ships of any kind in the vicinity. I am on my way back."

"Roger. See you when you get back." O'Neill switched off the radio, then looked at Jackson and Carter. "Geez, Carter, what did you do to scare her off? Not that I'm complaining..."

"Actually, when I...left, she seemed more determined than ever to kill me and everybody else. I can't imagine why she'd leave."

"Neither can I." Jackson said. "You'd think she'd try to find some way to save Ra after all the work she'd done to get him back, but she abandoned him."

"Well," O'Neill said, "I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, you know how the Snakes are. All the 'You haven't seen the last of me!' business. We'll probably bump into her again investigating a planet full of invisible bats or something."

"Jack, I don't think you get it. This isn't an ordinary Gould. Everything she has ever done has been in service to Ra, and unlike other servant-gods she actually seemed to enjoy it. Yet today, when Ra needed her most, she abandoned him. For the first time in 10,000 years she decided her existence without Ra was a better option than keeping him alive. His influence over her was a limiting factor, Jack. Can you imagine the damage she can do now that it's gone?"

Suddenly the events of the past few days came to O'Neill's mind. The stolen mirror, the dead Tok'Ra, the return of Ra, the attack of the Scorpion Tanks and the capture of Major Carter. As the events played over and over again in his mind, Jackson's words took on grave meaning.

"Oh." He said.


As usual after a massive campaign it took longer to withdraw than it did to deploy. None of the visiting Allies would leave the planet until the battlefield had been properly cleared and the dead were prepared for proper burial. Dr. Frasier's field hospital worked non-stop until they had taken care of every casualty of the battle, while the Tok'Ra, Chulakians and SGC personnel lent a hand in rebuilding the city. The breach in the wall was blocked with a temporary buttress until the Abydonians could arrange to rebuild that section. Those soldiers not pitching in with repairs and recovery detail helped to train the Abydonian defense force to defend against future incursions. Most of the vehicles that the SGC had sent were going back in pieces. On Earth, as the parts returned through the 'Gate, General Hammond agonized quietly over what he'd say to the Army. The SG teams also sent back as many pieces of the Scorpion Tanks as possible for study.

After the defeat of Ra, teams were sent into the Pyramid and Sphinx Ships to wreck them even more, until they were rendered useless. Carter had them stripped of all their Naquadah power sources and took special care to download as much information as possible from Sia's lab before it was destroyed.

When all this work was done, Kasuf arranged for one final grand celebration in honor of their victory. It was a big, wild party, where the heroes of the battle were encouraged to throw all cares to the wind and just have fun. Many of the things that happened during this time would remain secret for years to come.

Finally, the offworlders began to file home. The Tok'Ra returned to their secret base, while the Chulakians returned to their home, with newfound hope that their people might someday be free. Cromwell and his people left next, followed by Dr. Frasier and her staff. The SGC personnel left team by team through the 'Gate, until the only offworlders left on Abydos were the members of SG-1.

"Are you sure you must go, my son?" Kasuf said to Daniel as they hugged. "I see you so seldom. I know, you are doing very important things, but your home and your people are only a few symbols away, and there is nothing to stop you from staying in touch, especially now that we have this grand device so close."

Jackson smiled as he looked back at the activated Stargate, sitting in the center of the Abydonians' home. "I know, Good Father, and I will come more often. I promise."

"I will make sure you keep that promise." Kasuf said with a chuckle, then switched to the English Jackson had taught him to speak to the others. "I would like to see all of you more often," he said, "under less trying circumstances."

"We'll be sure to stop by." O'Neill said, smiling. "Daniel, we better get back."

Jackson smiled as he and Kasuf shook hands once more, then turned away as Carter walked through the 'Gate, followed by Teal'c. O'Neill waited for Jackson at the top of the ramp, then the two of them walked through together. Kasuf watched the 'Gate until the wormhole closed, then turned and walked away, sad to see his adopted son leave, but glad to know that his people had Daniel Jackson and his friends to watch over them.


Later that night, a servant girl brought the two guards watching the 'Gate some water. They thanked her and drank deeply from the large bowl she had offered. It had been a long, dry night and they were grateful for the refreshment and the company, and she stayed and chatted with them about the events of the past few weeks. She kept right on chatting until the drugs in the water had taken their effect and the guards fell unconscious at her feet.

She thought the Tau'Ri and their cronies would never leave. She'd risked much to get to this point, sneaking into the city, finding native clothes and blending in, staying hidden for all the time it took for the Tau'Ri, Tok'Ra and Chulak rebels to clean everything up and go home. Now she bounded up the ramp and grasped the bevel of the Stargate. By applying all her strength to it she managed to get it to turn. As the minutes ticked past she strained to dial one symbol after another, and it seemed an age until the symbol for Abydos was locked into the top stylus.

She ducked as the wormhole opened. The noise would bring people out, she was sure, but it didn't matter. She stripped off her native robes and hood. Standing there in a short tunic and breeches, she took one last look at the city of the slaves and sneered. The tattoo of the mask of an old man gleamed on her forehead in the light of the event horizon.

With a final, silent oath of vengeance, Bastet stepped through the Stargate.

THE END