Ray and Rya'c made good time. The Gate room was relatively close to the empty storeroom they had parked over and used as a ring site. Rya'c recognized some detail of the ship that was, frankly, incomprehensible to Ray. Without Shirt's understanding of basic mother ship layout and the extra-cool mapping thingy on the scout ship, Ray would never have come back from his first mission. Everything the snakes made looked exactly the same to him.

The frantic call for Jaffa came over the ship's intercom just as they got to the Gate room, Ray cradling Carter closely against his chest. Holding her this way her weight wouldn't impede his leg movement.

"Knock." Ray whispered, but a flicker of movement down the hall caught their attention and they abandoned communication in favor of cover. They ducked into the Gate room, Ray hoping fervently that no one would shoot them from their own side.

It was close. As soon as Rya'c came through the door, Seleen and Dion were next to him, zats at the ready.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ray shouted. "Good guys, here!" The zats lowered.

"Reii-An." Seleen came striding forward, Dion shadowing her. "Your companion went to rescue the Tauri. We have been waiting for his return."

"Yeah, well, you're done waiting." Ray brought Major Carter over to a nook, sheltered slightly behind the Gate itself. He laid her down gently, indicating with a sharp jerk of his head that Rya'c should stay with her.

Ray cocked his head, looked at Seleen and Dion, lifting an eyebrow. "Hey. You guysÉuhÉ joining our gang? We could always use the help."

The couple broke into smiles, nodding their assent.

"Coolness. Great. Yeah. Now we're cookin'." Ray went to squat next to Rya'c. "Stay down. We're gonna go help get your dad. Anybody comes in here, stay hidden until they leave."

"I owe you a great debt, Ray." Rya'c was channeling his dad again. Ray had no problem with the straight face this time. He was startled - mildly - to find he would miss the kid.

Then Shir whispered in the back of his head and he smacked himself in the head sharply.

"Um...hey. I know I said that you can call me Ray...and I meant it, kid, you know? But...uh...when you tell your dad about us...you know...all that stuff I told you?...yeah...you better refer to me as Luke Skywalker again." he sighed. "And Frase had better be called 'Han Solo.'"

He grinned at an uncomprehending Rya'c, "It's not original, I grant you, but it'll have to do."

Rya'c looked completely mystified.

"I know it doesn't make sense, but...we kinda need to not be known...back there...where your dad lives now...on Earth...is this making any sense?"

Rya'c still looked stumped, but he gave a little Jaffa salute, fist over heart, and said, "I will not reveal your names to the Tauri if that is your wish."

"Good. Greatness. OK." He helped Rya'c pull nearby pieces of cargo around to form a barricade then covered the top with a loose cover he found in a corner. "Stay down."

Satisfied that the Major and the kid were as hidden as they could be, Ray turned to his new recruits. "Dion, stay with the kid. Keep your head down and don't be seen unless you have to, you know, shoot someone. Seleen, you're with me."

He grinned at them, sharp and feral, pulling his own zat out and opening it up. They grinned back.

"All right, people. " Ray said happily. "Let's kick some ass."

--------------------

Fraser gave Vosk a good minute to get into the lift before sending a single zat beam into each guard. He didn't really have too much choice, since Trev'van was raging to get to the sadistic Jaffa and it took everything Fraser had just to stand still. Once the guards were down he dragged them into the room one by one, ignoring the startled Dr. Jackson.

Daniel was dimly aware of the sound of zat fire bled though the door.

It's about fucking time, Jack.

He tried to pry his eyes open, succeeding with an enormous effort. A tall man with dark hair dragged one of the guards in.

What the fuck?

That was most definitely not Jack, even if they both were skulking around Goa'uld ships dressed all in black.

This guy was ridiculously attractive. Daniel got a glimpse of a pale complexion and model-worthy cheekbones before the guy disappeared into the hallway again. Jack wasÉwell, Daniel had never thought about it. Jack was a good-looking guy. But this guyÉhe was drop-dead gorgeous.

Whoa...concussion land.

Daniel wondered if maybe he'd hit the wall harder than he thought. These were not thoughts he generally entertained about other men. He tried to stand, but his stomach immediately rebelled and he sank back onto his bench, cradling his head.

He could hear the second guard being dragged in. He made another laborious and painful attempt to see his savior. Standing straight up, aiming his zat at the force field controls, was a freaking Adonis. Just the most incredibly fucking beautiful man Daniel had ever seen. Broad shoulders and deep blue eyes, a mouth that

Head-trauma. Yes. That was it.

And...ow...pain...and nausea...

Not-Jack shot the control panel twice, shorting out the field, then went back to the pile of guard he had made by the room's far wall.

He bent down and picked up both guards' zats, then turned and looked at Daniel for the first time.

"Dr. Jackson, I presume?" His eyes were intensely blue and grave, almost challenging. His voice was smooth and rich, rendering the most overused line ever into a deadpan joke with way too many overtones.

Chocolaty, Daniel thought; his voice is like chocolate.

Daniel made a small noise, somewhere between a moan and a yelp. He regretted it immediately as the world got darker. He opened his mouth to ask Not-Jack if he had an actual name.

The question never happened because Not-Jack cocked his head to the side and held up a hand. A second or two later, Daniel could hear the ringing of Jaffa boots approaching down the hall. They stopped in front of the room and the door opened. A vaguely familiar man came sneaking in. Not-Jack had him against a wall with a zat to his head almost faster than Daniel could see.

Wow.

So big and yet so fast.

Not-Jack could move like...well...

Like Jack.

"Oric?" Not-Jack said, his rich voice sounding taken aback.

Daniel wanted to know more about not-Jack, and he wanted to go find Jack and break him and Teal'c out and he wanted to go find Carter who had been shot in the leg. And he really, really wanted to get out of this room. But the overwhelming urge to pass out hit right about then and he faded to black.