Cato only had minutes, and he knew it. As much as he'd have loved to personally kill everyone on the ship – and those littering the ground around it – he had a different agenda, and no time to do anything else. The sonic explosion would only incapacitate for a few minutes. He hurried up the ramp and into the ship, past Cyril – who he had killed – and past the cargo hold into the main body of the Ancient ship. Sneering at the inert form of O'Neill – and suppressing an urge to kick him – he grabbed the unconscious woman by the vest she was wearing and dragged her off the ship and down the ramp. Getting her past the bulk of the ship was a little more difficult, but he did it – and he was careful not to jar her too hard, since he needed her undamaged.

Passing the group of unconscious forms in the doorway, Cato couldn't stop the urge to kick Teal'c, and he did. Hard. The Jaffa didn't react, which made the kick no where near as satisfying as it could have been, but it was better than nothing. Spying the boy lying on the ground, his weapon still in his hand, Cato drew his foot back again, intending to kick him as well, just to vent some of the earlier frustrations at having had to put up with the child's smug attitude. Then he realized that the boy might come in handy to him as well, and he kicked out, knocking the gun form his hand before reaching down with his spare hand and grabbing him by the vest as well.

It slowed him down to drag both of them, but he didn't have far to go, and he'd already called off the attacking ships so he didn't have to dodge cannon fire as he hurried to the clear area of land just past the empty storage hangar. A moment later, making sure that both the Tau'ri had their feet completely in the area, he pulled a device form his pocket, activated it and spoke a single guttural command. Rings came up out of the ground around them and an instant later, he, Sam and Ian were gone, the space empty once more.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Whining close at hand pulled Jack from the dazed state. His head was screaming at him and he felt like he'd been turned inside out, but something was nagging at him, telling him he had to wake up and now, and he'd never been able to ignore that – not when it was so strong. He forced his eyes open, trying to remember what had happened, and the first thing he saw was Jaffer's very still body lying only ten feet away or so.

"Jaff…"

God, he felt like his head was going to explode, but the sight of Jaffer only added to his need to get up, because he knew that Jaffer had been in charge of… something… someone… shit!

"Sam…"

His voice was a croak, but he literally jerked himself upward. And almost fell as lancing pain stabbed through his head, causing white lights to dance in front of his eyes. He went to the front of the ship and fell beside Jaffer, already able to see that Sam wasn't there, and unable to go any further for the moment.

"Jaffer…"

The black lab whined; he'd taken the brunt of the sonic explosion – since his hearing was so much more intense than Jack's, he'd really suffered that much worse because of it. Jack ran his hand along the silky fur, and he felt a little better almost immediately. Amazingly enough, Jaffer seemed to as well. Well enough that he lifted his head, whimpering with pain, but looking around – as though looking for Sam as well.

Satisfied that Jaffer hadn't taken a fatal blow, Jack forced himself to his feet once more, looking all over the small ship with another glance, praying he'd somehow simply missed Sam's form. But she wasn't there, and he knew it. He could feel it in his gut.

Staggering to the hatch, Jack tripped over the still form of Cyril, and stopped just long enough to check for a pulse. The Tok'ra was dead. Hobbling beside him, Jaffer stopped as well, smelling the Tok'ra's dead body for a moment, and then heading for the ramp, walking no steadier than Jack, but urged on by the same concern. Sam had been his responsibility, after all, and the lab knew he'd failed.

Teal'c was just starting to come around when Jack stumbled up to him, kneeling down between the Jaffa and Daniel and shaking both of them. Daniel didn't make a sound, but Jack could see Jacob and Veda both sprawled close by – both of them were starting to make distressed noises as well, undoubtedly coming too faster than Daniel with a little help from their symbiotes.

Teal'c sat up, his hand pressed tightly against his head and looking around. Just beyond reach was Jack, who was whining with similar noises to the ones that Jaffer had been making, and Teal'c rolled over to reach out and touch the lab – checking him the same way Jack had checked Jaffer. A moment later, he looked at Jack, obviously still not focusing properly.

"What has happened?"

"Sam's gone." Jack answered, bleakly, turning his attention to Daniel. The archeologist wasn't dead, but he wasn't moving, either.

Teal'c pushed himself to his feet, and right behind him Jack was trying to do the same thing. Jaffer was already smelling the ground around them, and he came to point at an object lying on the ground only feet away, against the wall of the hangar. Teal'c went over and picked it up and brought it to O'Neill, who was finally getting a reaction from Daniel.

It was Ian's Glock.

Jack looked at it dumbly.

"Where is he?"

There was no way Ian would go anywhere without that gun, and Jack and Teal'c both knew it. Before Teal'c could answer, though, Jaffer was already heading for the door, his nose on the ground, following a scent that only he could smell. Veda sat up, looking at the black lab as he passed her and then over at Jack, who had taken Ian's Glock from Teal'c.

"Help Daniel," Jack ordered, and he walked past Jacob, who was just struggling to his knees as well, looking around wildly, but obviously unable to focus on anything properly, and followed Jaffer outside, with Jack (the dog) coming out as well, obviously catching the same trail Jaffer was following.

"Jack?"

He looked back, and saw Jacob was on his feet, now, showing remarkable recuperative abilities. Of course he was, Jack thought darkly, he had a snake. Fear and anger were vying for supremacy in Jack's belly, and he felt sick – whether from one or the other, or from the aftermath of the sonic explosion, he wasn't sure and didn't care.

"Sam's gone, Jacob."

He couldn't keep the accusation out of his voice when he said it.

The Tok'ra stumbled outside, too, walking unsteadily over to where Jack was following Jaffer and Jack (the dog).

"Where is she?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out."

He thought he could see marks where someone or something had been dragged, but Jack wasn't the tracker that Teal'c was. Jaffer was, though, and a few moments later, both of the labs stopped in the same place, sniffing the ground and making no move to go anywhere else.

"Where is she, Jaffer?"

The lab whined, looking up at Jack with his sorrowful brown eyes and Jack felt fear winning the battle in his stomach.

"There's evidence of a ring device, Jack," Jacob said, his own voice full of fear and concern as well. His eyes were just as concerned as Jack's when he looked over at him.

"A ring device?" Jack repeated, looking up as if he could see where it went. "Who used it?"

"Cato is the only one missing," Teal'c said, startling Jack and Jacob both. The Jaffa had revived Daniel somewhat, and was looking for the scattered Tok'ra. The only one he hadn't found was Cato. He'd come up behind Jack and Jacob without either of them hearing him.

"Cato?"

Jack looked at Jacob, who shook his head, but it was Selmac who answered the question.

"It can't be Cato, Colonel O'Neill. He's been with the Tok'ra longer than almost any of us."