Amends -Chapter 13-
Jonas and Alexis sat in the front of the ship talking, while Sam and Jacob were in the Ring room, which had been transported into a makeshift supply room.
"I'm glad you're ok, Sam." Jacob placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. They were sitting side by side on top of one of the closed weapons crate. Sam rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thanks for coming." She was mad at the risks he'd taken to get there, but that was over now, and she wasn't going to bring it up now. She was just glad that he was there. It had been a while since she'd had a good conversation. The last time she'd seen him had been when Daniel had died.
Sam's stomach suddenly growled, and Jacob chuckled.
"When was the last time you ate?" He stood and retrieved an MRE for her.
She thanked him, and greedily ripped into the packet. "I haven't eaten since I had breakfast before we left."
Jacob frowned, and grabbed another MRE for her.
"So…" Jacob began after a few minutes of silence, except for the constant sound of Sam chewing. "I haven't seen you since… well, you know." He frowned at the memory. "How are you doing?"
Sam stopped chewing, and looked at her father. She swallowed, and then set the sandwich down beside her. "I'm ok."
"Are you sure?"
"As ok as a person can be after losing their best friend." Sam smiled sadly.
Jacob pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry I had to leave so quickly after it happened."
She leaned into her father's embrace, wrapping her own arms around him. "It's ok, Dad."
"What about Jack?" He asked as he pulled away.
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "What about the Colonel?"
"Jonas filled me in about you two having a bit of an argument." Jacob admitted.
"Oh, did he?"
"Don't' worry, I know no details; just that you seemed pretty mad at him." Jacob was fishing for details which Sam wasn't going to provide.
"We're fine now. We talked about it on the ship." She gave him a curt nod as if to announce that the conversation was over.
Jacob sighed at his inept attempt at getting his daughter to speak. He raised his arms in defeat just as they heard Jack and Teal'c reenter the ship.
Sam wearily got to her feet. The short break had made her realize just how tired she actually was. She couldn't wait to get home and have a nice long shower, and then fall asleep in her bed.
Jacob placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, and Sam smiled warmly to him. She was thankful that her father was there. It saddened her to know that the only time she ever got to see him was whenever an emergency arose. Maybe, when all this was over, she'd be able to spend some quality time with him.
Jack came marching into the room with one mission: food. "I'm so hungry!" He grabbed an MRE and tore into like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
Sam smiled as she sat back down, and grabbed her unfinished sandwich. Without a single word spoken, Jack handed Sam his granola bar, and Sam handed Jack her chocolate bar.
Jacob looked on in surprise as the exchange took place. He also noticed how Teal'c and Jonas didn't even react to the littler interaction, when they joined them in the room, along with Alexis.
He smiled to himself, and sat back down next to his daughter.
"Ba'al's Jaffa haven't attacked yet. Jack began as he swallowed the remnants of his sandwich, and moved onto the chocolate bar. "They seem to be moving everybody to the middle of the city. Something's going to go down soon."
"What are we going to do?" Jonas asked.
A plan suddenly sprung to Jack's mind. "I have an idea. Alexis, what did you do with that robe?"
Alexis tracked over to the other side of the room, and grabbed the robe which he'd discarded there earlier. He then handed it to Jack.
"I'm going to go in," Jack said, holding up the robe. "You guys will surround the villagers, and stay hidden. Nobody fires, unless it's self-defense, or until I say so, got it?"
There were mumbles of agreement, and a "Yes, Sir" from Sam.
"I want to find out what Ba'al has… had up his sleeve." Jack continued. Yes, they had blown Ba'al's ship to smithereens, but how many times had they thought they killed Apophis before he finally wound up dead? Honestly, Jack wouldn't be surprised if Apophis showed up alive and well at that exact moment.
"What about me? I wish to help also." Alexis looked around at them, and his eyes then landed on Jack.
Jack had wanted Alexis to remain on the ship, but it wouldn't hurt to let the guy have a zat and tag along.
"Ok, take a zat again, and you can stick with me. We'll go as soon as everybody's ready." Jack then pulled on the robe. Everybody around him began to get ready.
Within five minutes, the group was geared up, and ready to go. They walked to the outskirts of the city in silence.
"Ok Carter, I want you and Jacob to go around that way," Jack pointed off to the right. "Teal'c, you and Jonas go the other way. Just, well… you'll know when to act."
They all nodded, and left in their respective directions.
"Try not to let Marin, or any of his guys see you." Jack pulled the hood over his head as he spotted people up ahead.
They quietly made their way through the buildings until they opened up into a large courtyard which was packed with hundreds of people. Jaffa were patrolling the perimeter, and all the people were talking amongst themselves.
The sun was setting, so the whole scene was coated in an orange glow.
A podium was raised in the centre of the clearing. On it stood Ba'al's first prime, Marin, and Caineth. Their facial expressions were hard to see, as they were silhouetted by the sun.
Alexis shot Jack a pained expression at seeing his leader in obvious danger, but Jack shook his head. There was nothing they could do with the masses of Jaffa surrounding them.
The Jaffa on stage raised his arm to silence the crowd. "Silence."
The people instantly stopped talking, and turned their attention to the platform.
"This man, you so-called leader, refuses to accept the mighty Ba'al as your god! For that, he will be punished. You will all follow your god, or you will suffer the same consequence." He raised his staff, and pointed at Caineth.
The old man's eyes revealed defiance and a hint of sadness as he stared down the length of the weapon.
A gasp escaped a few of those in the audience, and a few turned their eyes away. They all dreaded to see their leader perish.
Alexis' hand grabbed Jack's arm in a deathly grip. His eyes were begging Jack to save Caineth.
Jack already had his P-90, which was hidden beneath his robe, grasped tightly in his hand.
The Jaffa suddenly lowered the weapon, and turned to Marin. "You will kill this man, if you wish to rule in his place." He smiled slyly as he passed his staff to Marin.
A flicker of uncertainty swept across Marin's face, before it was replaced by determination. He took the weapon, and turned it on Caineth.
"Marin," Caineth said in disappointment. His friend's betrayal had cut deep, and he was still having trouble grasping the concept. Now all he wished was that he'd listen to Alexis.
"You old fool!" Marin snarled.
Jack threw of his robe, and aimed at Marin's back, but before he shot, a blue string of electricity struck Marin, and he fell to the ground unconscious. Jack spun around to find Alexis with his zat nikatel raised. That boy just continued to surprise Jack.
Yells and screams erupted throughout the crows, and chaos ensued. The Jaffa surrounding the area were instantly moving in; seeking them out.
"Get down!" Jack shouted to the panicked crowd. Only few listened as a staff blast whizzed by. Within seconds, the whole courtyard was filled with gun fire, and staff blasts.
Jack shoved a shocked Alexis to the ground, and shot down an enclosing Jaffa. He noticed another Jaffa go down out of the corner of his eye. The others had obviously joined the fight.
Jack made his way to the stage, just as the first prime was fumbling for his staff, which had been lodged underneath Marin when he fell.
At seeing Jack's approach, he gave up on his inept attempt at his staff weapon, and grabbed for his zat'. But Jack was quickest on the draw, and pointed his P-90 at him.
"Drop it!" He ordered harshly. The Jaffa glared at him before slowly lowering his weapon.
"Listen up!" Jack yelled over the chaos. "Hey!"
The Jaffa all silenced upon seeing their leader at the hands of the Tau'ri. Relief swept through Jack when he spotted all of his team, and Jacob, accounted for, and, from what he could see, without injury. The Jaffa's numbers had also dwindled considerably.
"Your so-called leader slash god, Ba'al, is dead.
"You speak lies!" A Jaffa hissed at Jack.
"Well then, why don't you fly back up to your ship? You'll find it in millions of tiny pieces, just floating around in space."
The first prime glared at him. "Gods can not die."
"He's not a god. False-god, more like it."
The Jaffa fell into silence as they contemplated the truth to Jack's words. During this time, Teal'c had made his way to the platform, and he stood next to Jack.
"You still have the choice to join the rebel Jaffa. No longer do we have to be enslaved by the Goa'uld!" Some Jaffa nodded their heads at Teal'c's words, but some remained unswayed.
"Those of you who don't want to," Jack looked pointedly at the prime. "Can fly off in your little gliders to whatever system lord you want to serve next. But I ask you, how many Goa'ulds have to die before you realize the truth?"
Jack left the rest up to Teal'c, and he took the Jaffa's zat with a smile, before leaving the platform.
Alexis scurried over to Caineth, making sure the man was ok.
The adrenaline which had been pumping through Jack during the fight began to slowly fade. It was replaced by a growing, throbbing pain in his shoulder.
"Sir? Are you ok?" Sam looked at him overly concerned as she, Jonas, and Jacob met up with him.
"Fine." He looked at her confused. Yes, his arm was in pain, but he was certain he hadn't shown it on his face. He noticed that they were all looking at his shoulder, and he followed their gaze. Blood had obviously soaked through the bandage, and was now appearing on the sleeve of his jacket.
Aw crap! That can't be good. He thought to himself. He was obviously loosing a lot of blood.
"Sir, we need to get you back to the Infirmary." Jack nodded, and looked over at Teal'c's progress. The Jaffa had ventured closer to him, and even the first prime seemed to be listening intently to Teal'c's words.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, Jack spotted Marin getting to his feet; unaware of the others around him. He picked up the staff on the ground before him, and his eyes met Jack's with a malicious grin. The weapon was raised directly in Jack's direction; straight at Sam's back. That guy really did have it in for women.
"Teal'c!" Jack yelled to get the Jaffa's attention, and he bowled into Sam, knocking them both to the ground. The blast flew just inches above Jack's head.
Everybody's attention shifted to Jack, and then to the man who had fired the weapon. Alexis was once again the first to fire, as he shot his zat twice at Marin, who fell lifeless to the ground.
"Sir… can't… breathe." Jack's eyes snapped to Sam, and he realized he was lying completely on top of her.
"Sorry Carter!" He quickly climbed to his feet, as much as he wanted to stay exactly where he was, and offered his good arm to help her up.
"Thanks." She smiled to him, and he nodded. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn't of spotted Marin.
"Jack, we really need to get that arm checked out in the Infirmary." Jacob pushed.
"Ok. Jonas, stay here with Teal'c. Through to help with the Jaffa and getting the town situated."
Jonas nodded, and left to go join Teal'c.
Jack looked at the others. "Let's go."
A/N: Only one more chapter to go! I'll have it up either tomorrow or the next day. Thanks for all of the reviews once again.
BTW, I have no idea what's in MRE's! So, I just made it up... I don't think I even know what MRE stands for... lol!
