Chapter Seventeen: Now strike!



Pilot was answering Apophis endless questions about the neighbouring star systems when a Jaffa hurriedly entered the room. He stood before his leader and bowed, saying.

"My Lord! A Jaffa assigned to guard the hangar bay has been found dead, apparently killed by a Zat'nik'tel."

"Kree, Jaffa!" An angry Apophis shouted.

In an instant, every Jaffa in the den area had pointed their staff weapons at Pilot, who could do little than hold his tentacles up defensively.

"There is at least one crewmember of this vessel still roaming free." Apophis demanded, with his eyes glowing. "Who is he?"

For a second, Pilot surveyed the eight staff weapons aimed at him. He realized that he was very probably counting down to the last few moments of his life. Strange, he thought it would be a Peacekeeper firing squad lined up to kill him some day, not these... Goa'ulds.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Pilot said, lying through his teeth.

Apophis looked as though he was about to order his men to fire but he stopped, getting a better idea. He pointed to one of his men.

"Bring the alien looking Human female, called Aeryn Sun." He said, then faced Pilot, saying next. "I want this creature to watch as we execute his 'friend' before him."


***

"How are you feeling?"

Sheba was sitting up against the wall of their cell, and looked at D'Argo who was sitting close to her. "Better, but I still feel like dren... Did I say that right?"

D'Argo grinned, the Human did look much stronger after some rest. "Cursing like a true Luxan warrior."

"Thank you." Sheba said, placing a hand over his. "I can see why John and the others like you so much. You are a true friend."

Sheba soon heard the approaching of heavy foot steps. The Jaffa were returning. She immediately leapt to her feet and D'Argo rose to his, standing next to her.

"I have not forgotten my promise," The Luxan warrior said to her. "I won't let them take you."

The Colonial warrior nodded ready for a fight. "Nor have I, we'll face them together!"

As the four Jaffa gathered in front of their cell door, both Sheba and D'Argo were surprised to see them turn and enter John's and Aeryn's cell across from theirs instead. They both hurried to the cell door to see what was going on. Three Jaffas went into the neighbouring cell, while one stayed outside.

John Crichton was already on his feet when he heard the Jaffa coming. These guys are not the type to make social visits. Staying close to Aeryn's unconscious form, three Jaffa entered through the opening cell door.

"We come for the female." One of them with a beard and gold tattoo on his forehead said. "Move aside."

"She's in no condition to be questioned, you can take me instead." John offered

The lead Jaffa with the tattoo stepped forward and jabbed his staff weapon in John's stomach. As the Human fell hard, his attacker said. "We're not here for questioning."

From their cell, D'Argo and Sheba started to shout, cursing the Jaffa. The one warrior out in the corridor, turned on them, arming his staff weapon, threatening them into silence.

Through the pain, John saw the other two Jaffa moving up and, hauling Aeryn off the floor. In that moment, he lost all control at the very thought of what they wanted her for.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he screamed.

With desperate speed and adrenaline driven strength, John jumped up taking the Jaffa leader standing over him by surprise. John managed to grab a tight hold of his staff weapon, but the Jaffa was inhumanly strong and he pushed the Human against the wall, pinning him there with his staff.

It was about that time when Aeryn Sun roared to life. The two Jaffa had already dragged her to her feet when they were distracted by the struggle between their First Prime and the Human. Thus they weren't at all prepared when Aeryn pulled her arms free of their grip. Like an angry striking cobra, she laid hard into the Jaffa to her left, with a powerful hand chop to his throat. He dropped instantly to the floor choking for breath through a crushed windpipe.

She immediately turned on the Jaffa to her right with a quick pantak jab to the face. That speciality punch had once dropped Crichton with ease but this time, it barely even staggered this large warrior. With a growl, he grabbed Aeryn by the shoulders, but the former Peacekeeper was determined to keep on the offensive. She reached out, taking hold of his armored neck collar. With all of her strength, she pulled herself towards him and headbutted the Jaffa squarely on the nose. Blood flew in all directions, causing him to collapse while holding his face.

The First Prime spotted what happened to his two Jaffa warriors behind him but John Crichton now had a death grip on his staff weapon, refusing to let the Jaffa leader to aim it at Aeryn. So he immediately ordered the Jaffa out in the corridor to come to their aid.

D'Argo and Sheba had been waiting for their moment to strike too. The Jaffa in the corridor had threatened to use his staff weapon against them if they didn't move back from their cell door. He didn't know that something was seriously wrong until he heard his First Prime calling to him. As soon as he turned to aid his leader, D'Argo's arm lashed out through the bars, grabbing the end of the Jaffa's long staff weapon. With his great Luxan strength, he pulled the staff weapon back into the cell with him, also tugging the unexpecting Jaffa who still tightly gripped his weapon, backwards into their cell door. After a head jarring crash into the sturdy cell doors, the Jaffa tried to move away but Sheba's arms suddenly snaked throw the bars and about his neck.

He struggled to break free and almost escaped Sheba's grasp, but it was too late. Sheba had gained enough time for D'Argo's massive hands to slip through the bars and over his head. D'Argo snapped the Jaffa's neck in one powerful twist.

Moving fast, Aeryn picked up a fallen staff weapon laying close by and swung it like a club, smashing it across the heads of the two injured Jaffa warriors laying about her feet, finishing them off. Now, Aeryn hurried to help John against the First Prime who was proving far tougher than expected.

Seeing the female coming up behind him and judging her to be the far more dangerous of the two, the First Prime headbutted the Human male, causing him to fall to the floor stunned for a moment. Now, he spun to face the very aggressive and angry female but who showed very little knowledge in using the staff weapon in close fighting.

Aeryn swung her staff weapon high, but the First Prime easily blocked it and countered catching Aeryn full in the stomach, almost lifting her off the ground. Aeryn dropped her staff weapon, struggling to catch her breath when the First prime circled behind her, slamming the staff weapon into the former Peacekeeper's back, knocking Aeryn into John who was trying to get back to this feet to help her. Both went down like bowling pins.

"Pathetic!" The supreme Jaffa warrior sneered as he aimed his weapon, levelling it at the two targets on the floor, priming it to fire. He targeted to kill the Human male first.

Seeing the staff weapon about to be fired, Aeryn threw herself across John's body to shield him.

"NO!"

"Aeryn!" John saw what she was doing he grabbed her and tried to roll over on top of her to shield her instead.

The First Prime lined up on the two easy targets, knowing that one shot would go through them both, no matter who was shielding who.

A staff weapon was discharged, and both John and Aeryn clung to each other tightly at the sound, as if to say good-bye. A moment later, they were both amazed that they were still alive, and they looked up to see the towering First Prime tumbling to the floor with a smoking hole straight through his chest armor.

From her cell room view point, Sheba let out a sigh of relief as she lowered the newly acquired staff weapon from the dead Jaffa, which she had to learn very quickly to aim and fire. Although the Jaffa leader was no more than thirty feet away, it was very nerve-racking when two lives hung in the balance on whether you hit or miss on the first shot.

"Well done!" The Luxan warrior gently gripped her on the shoulder. Sheba smiled back in appreciation. D'Argo had known that the First Prime would get his eventually. He was glad it was Sheba who had delivered his just fate.

In their cell, John and Aeryn suddenly found themselves in each others arms again. As the two stared at each other, it wasn't too clear who was more uncomfortable. John thought about pulling away, but Aeryn wasn't making any attempt to release him.

After a moment, John felt he had to say something. "You recovered fast."

"I was playing what you call... possum for a bit." Aeryn admitted.

"For how long?"

"Not long… but long enough," Aeryn said slowly, but she knew that time was against them. "We should get going."

John realized that she was right. There would be time later for talking if they survived this day. "Good idea."

He stood up, helping Aeryn to her feet before moving to let Sheba, D'Argo, and the others out of their cells.

Aeryn, still not feeling fully recovered, moved unsteadily on her feet. She picked up the staff weapon to use for added support and to help balance herself, and also took a strangely shaped pistol weapon on the First Prime's belt. It looked like the type they had used to incapacitate herself and the others.

Moving out into the corridor, she stared at John Crichton for a second. She had never believed in fate, or that any higher power in the galaxy was driving their destiny. If there was one, then it must have a cruel sense of humour. Just when she thought that she and Crichton had been completely driven apart by forces she couldn't control, some crisis suddenly rears its ugly head to drive them closer together again.

She wasn't too sure how much more of this she could take.