When Teal'c arrived, the sun was setting. He was greeted by O'Neill and Carter who were smiling. He was surprised to see that no guards surrounded them and that they had all their gear back on.
"Hey T'! D'you manage to contact Hammond?"
"Yes, O'Neill. General Hammond was most displeased with SG-1 being detained against our will, but he agreed to your plan and he will send the device in fifteen hours and forty two minutes."
"How many seconds?" Jack joked.
"Twelve, O'Neill. But it does not appear to be relevant," The Jaffa said with a straight face.
O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Twas a joke, T'. Let's go find Daniel. We have many things to tell him, your gear is in your quarters, and we need to elaborate plan A."
"O'Neill!"
"What?"
"Back when I was at the Stargate, I noticed our MALP had disappeared and several men attacked us. I believe I recognized one of those who surprised us upon our arrival on this planet. I assumed these where Lord Kyyato's men."
"And you said the MALP had disappeared?"
"Indeed, O'Neill."
"George's gonna have my head," he sighed. "All right folks, let's move and the quicker the better."
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Daniel had learnt enough to understand the why, where, and when. His discoveries were exciting and proved once more that the Goa'ulds, powerful as they were, could be overruled by simple humans and more than simple means.
He was still absorbed in some parchments when the panel of the room he was studying into, slid open and the rest of his team stepped in. He stood up, eagerly calling them. "Jack, Sam, Teal'c! This is amazing!"
"What?" Sam asked.
"These people are the descendants of Ancient Japan!"
"Well we kind of established that already, Daniel," Jack quipped.
"No, no, I mean listen to this." He took his notebook and read from his notes. "This is this planet's mythology, and history – sort of." He cleared his throat. "In the beginning, a witch, Pimiko, ruled over the people. She had only one male servant, and a thousand female ones -- thus the essentially female staff here. That civilization was almost destroyed when Hun-like warriors invaded the land and established a new empire, and the first emperor of Johpôhn," he pronounced carefully, "-- see how it sounds like Japan -- was enthroned: Jimmu Tennō. He was believed to be the son of the Sun Goddess Amaretasu."
He paused. "See? This indicates that Pimiko was a probably a minor Goa'uld that was overruled by a more powerful one. I mean, 'witch, sun goddess' is too much of a song we've already heard, right? Anyway, Jimmu Tennō's first vassal, Tiranū (a descendant of the original people, and most probably a minor Goa'uld too) tried to overcome his master. The revolt was subdued, and Tiranū was expelled to this world, where he was to remain in exile with all the servants and people that had helped him, thus creating a medieval Japanese-like culture thousands of light years from Earth." He paused to moisten his tongue and take a breath. "What is interesting here, is that this is almost the same history as Japan's until the revolt! Not only Egypt, and other places on Earth, but Japan was also ruled by the Goa'ulds!"
"Boy, are these folks intrusive or what!" O'Neill snapped.
"Wait, it's not finished!" Daniel resumed. "When they were settled here, the people grew tired of Tiranū's tyrannical abuses and bloody war games. They revolted, and much like Earth Japan's peasants, they used their agrarian utensils as weapons and killed him, creating the basis of the present society, and defining new rules/codes to prevent such a thing from happening again. A new leadership was established with the Shōgonate. So basically, these people have not changed much in centuries," he concluded. "What is strange though, is that we didn't find any evidence of Goa'uld technology."
"We didn't go everywhere," Sam stated.
"True, but I don't believe they have remnants of Goa'uld technology, or else, they'd have already used it in that war. Besides, from what I've gathered, the people did not have access to Goa'uld technology, even when they were ruled by the Goa'uld. The means they used for the revolt were their agrarian tools, remember?"
"Indeed," Teal'c acquiesced. "They appear to have great knowledge of their weapons and their use, but they are rather primitive."
"You could contact General Hammond?" Daniel asked, changing the subject.
"Indeed. As I told O'Neill."
"Yes, and Carter and I also have some interesting news," O'Neill interrupted, smiling proudly. "We managed to get an overview of the military situation here. It wasn't easy, since there was no actual oral communication, but Carter understood when I didn't, and vice versa. I'll bet when we stepped into this mess, what Kyyato was preparing was his final attack, and that's why he was so interested in our weapons, why we were guarded so closely despite our 'guest status', and probably why the MALP was stolen. He must have thought it was a weapon. Carter and I explained what we wanted to do through drawings and Hai-Ri-Ki seemed quite amazed by our plan. He agreed to let us go to the Stargate whenever we need, with a military escort of course. Now, from what Teal'c said, Hammond should send a UAV soon. So Daniel, I suggest you talk to your lady friend so that we can all go to see Hai-Ri-Ki and finalize our plan."
He turned towards his 2IC and frowned as he realized she was silent, obviously thinking hard about something. "Carter?" he asked.
"Hey, wait a second!" Daniel exclaimed suddenly.
"What?" O'Neill asked, annoyed.
"I'm remembering something I should have paid more attention to when we were at Kyyato's. He said something about his scouts searching for something his ancestors had left—"
"And you think it could be a Goa'uld cache?" Sam interrupted.
Daniel shrugged. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but with what we know, it's highly possible, don't you think?"
O'Neill nodded.
"And right after that, he spoke of our arrival and weapons," Sam went on.
"Hiding weapons when threatened would not be unusual of the Goa'uld," Teal'c added.
"Well then, if Daniel's right, we'd better get that UAV flying over the area quickly, because if that bastard puts his hands on that, then one, there'll be no mining treaty for sure, second, we'll have one hell of a problem in our hands!" O'Neill said, heading towards the exit.
"Sir!"
"Carter?"
"He may find them, all right, but he may not be able to use them at least immediately," she said.
"I wouldn't bet on that, Carter. Come on, SG1, let's go find Hai-Ri-Ki and explain what we have."
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A few minutes later, they were all seated on their heels, save O'Neill, facing the small platform where Hai-Ri-Ki would be seated in a few moments.
The panel slid noiselessly, and the servant entered, sitting instantly on her heels and bowing as her master and his suite of generals - or whatever they were called here - entered and seated themselves in front of SG1.
After the usual salutes, Daniel started explaining their fears and how they thought they could help them. "Hai-Ri-Ki-sohn, we fear that Lord Kyyato may be in search of a weapon cache left by the people who enslaved your ancestors. If that is indeed the case, and he finds this cache, this could give him a serious advantage over you, for there may be weapons more powerful than what you imagine." Daniel paused, observing Hai-Ri-Ki's impassible face. He turned to Jack, raising his eyebrows in a questioning manner.
Jack nodded, encouraging Daniel to go on.
"We may have a way to predict exactly Kyyato's move. Teal'c-sohn managed to contact our lord at the great stone circle. We should go back there and wait for their response."
Hai-Ri-Ki nodded. "What makes you think Kyyato is seeking that cache you told me about, and how do you know about it?"
"We don't actually know anything about it. But we suspect. After reading about the history or your people, and knowing what we know from our own exploring experiences, we have suspicions about what said Kyyato on our first meeting."
Daniel cleared his throat before resuming. "O'Neill-sohn told me you both managed to agree on a plan?" he asked.
"O'Neill-sohn was expecting some information before he could tell me exactly his plans. I suppose it is the information your war monk went to seek," Hai-Ri-Ki replied.
"Well, not exactly, but let's say he asked permission for this information to be given."
He paused, and O'Neill talked to him calmly. Daniel acquiesced to what his friend said, and turned to Hai-Ri-Ki, once again bowing respectfully.
"Hai-Ri-Ki-sohn, if we may insist. We must act quickly or our help will be of no use."
Hai-Ri-Ki frowned and seemed buried in his thoughts for a moment. He turned to his right and spoke with the elderly man they had seen on their first day here, but Daniel couldn't quite catch what they said. Then Hai-Ri-Ki turned towards them as he rose from his sitting position. "We have trust in you. Go sleep, my servants will wake you when we are ready to move to the great stone circle and set our camp in the vicinity."
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Hammond was pacing in the control room. He checked his watch once again, then stopped, stood behind the gate technician, and said, "Dial P5X-748."
"Yes, sir," Walter Davis replied, his fingers already typing the coordinates on the keyboard.
"Chevron 1 engaged…" he started his litany.
After a short while, the familiar kawoosh resonated in the gate room.
"SG1, this is Hammond, do you copy?"
"General! Good to hear you!" the unmistakable voice of his 2IC came through the speaker.
Hammond smiled faintly. "Good to hear you too, Colonel. Teal'c told me of your situation, has it evolved?"
"Sorta, I guess. We'd be very grateful for that UAV survey, though, and the MALP has not-so-mysteriously disappeared, as you might have guessed," O'Neill replied.
Hammond sighed, he had already thought about the hiccups he would most certainly hear when he would have to present the bill for this year's explorations in D.C..
"The UAV is ready, Colonel, a MALP will be coming right afterwards." He turned to Sergeant Siler. "Is it all geared up?"
"Yes, sir!" replied the man, disappearing down the stairs. "I'll position it on the ramp, sir!"
"Launch the UAV," Hammond ordered into the microphone to the gate room.
The reactors of the small plane sprang to life and its binders were freed, sending it through the shimmering pool.
"MALP ready, General!" Siler said stepping into the gate room beside the automatic device.
"Send it through, Sergeant," Hammond said calmly.
"Colonel, I'd suggest you keep an eye on the MALP this time."
"Yes, sir! We're setting camp in an area not far away anyway. We'll keep you informed of our progress, O'Neill over and out."
"Shut the gate dow,." Hammond ordered.
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While SG1 started to collect information from the UAV, Hai-Ri-Ki's troops did not remain idle and constructed a small, fortified camp at the edge of the near-by forest, where they were.
O'Neill and Teal'c were on guard as Carter analyzed the images the UAV transmitted to the lap-top wired into the MALP and piloted the flying device at the same time. Daniel was trying to see if he could spot something remotely Goa'uld from the readings.
After four hours of an extensive survey of the area, up to about fifty klicks from the gate, they had enough data to plan a strategic counter attack. The survey also showed an unusual concentration of Kyyato's troops retrieving things from a small cave.
O'Neill and his teammates quickly realized it was probably the Goa'uld cache.
"He found it, sir." Carter said, nonplussed. "What are we going to do?"
O'Neill seemed deep in thought, for a while then he spoke. "Actually, what Kyyato found is not a problem."
Daniel turned to Jack, bewildered. "It isn't?" he asked his friend.
"No, Daniel. If we have to, we'll destroy it."
"Without getting our hands on Goa'uld technology!" he exclaimed.
"Sir, I have to agree with Daniel. You know what our policy is when we find advanced technology, or evidence of it!" Carter chimed in.
"Daniel, Carter!" O'Neill said in an authoritative voice. "Since Kyyato has indeed obtained those weapons, or whatever it is they found there, how much time d'you think he'll need to figure it out? You said yourself that he might need time to work them out, but I think that if he has intel about the 'where', he's also likely to have intel about the 'how'!"
"Jack, you want to blow it up despite the people that are around it?" Daniel asked.
"Daniel, I don't want to enter a philosophical debate on whether it's good or bad to kill people in a war. That's what soldiers do, and that's what I am. I don't know how long, these people have lived here, but they seem to have managed very well without those weapons. From what we saw, it's a rather violent civilization. I don't want to interfere or anything, but for starters if the bad guys have found these weapons and they learn how to use them, how the Hell are we gonna get a mining treaty with them? Second, how long d'you think it might take them to figure out how to use the gate?"
"We don't know that they've found all this in that Goa'uld cache, sir," Sam said.
"Exactly, Carter. We don't know. And given the stakes, I wouldn't bet on it, once again. See my point differently: we destroy the cache, there might be casualties in the immediate vicinity, but we prevent even more casualties and other really unpleasant things."
"I see your point, O'Neill, and I believe it is a wise decision." Teal'c said.
"Thank you, Teal'c!"
Daniel sighed. "If we can't do otherwise."
"I don't think we can. Carter, now can you, from the UAV's readings, determine what kind of warhead we need?"
"I haven't extrapolated the infrared analysis, sir, but I can get it done in an hour. That should give us the approximate depth of the cave, and thus the fire power we'd need."
"Good. Teal'c, you stay here with Carter. Daniel, you're with me, we're going to tell the light version to Hai-Ri-Ki and show him where to put his troops."
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At Daniel's request, a meeting was called upon in Hai-Ri-Ki's tent.
O'Neill and Daniel entered. Hai-Ri-Ki and his generals were seated on the small platform in the center of the tent, using camp chairs.
The most difficult part was to explain to Hai-Ri-Ki that the images he saw were images of his world seen from above. Jack set to explain where his enemy was, and what his advance was, with the help of Daniel as a translator.
"Hai-Ri-Ki-sohn, the situation regarding your enemy is both complicated and simple. We've drawn a map of the area, and where you should position your troops if you want to counter-attack efficiently, and sever all his ties to attacking troops. Now, we fear it is too late to prevent him from reaching that cache."
As he was speaking, O'Neill had unfolded the map he and Sam had drawn from their observations, punctuating his explanation pointing at dots on the map that indicated Kyyato's troops.
Hai-Ri-Ki frowned. "What makes you think this cache exists, and why does it appear hopeless to reach it before Kyyato?"
"From what we see here," Jack pointed on the map, "Kyyato's scouts have already begun extracting devices from that small cave, there." He pointed on the map. "We will be taking care of that," he said firmly.
Hai-Ri-Ki frowned. "How?"
"We plan on destroying it," he said, looking the man straight in the eyes.
Hai-Ri-Ki observed him a long time, frowning, then finally sighed. "Is that the only way? These weapons could be useful."
"Lord Hai-Ri-Ki," Daniel jumped in, "their power is great and very destructive. We fear that by using them you might set fire to the entire planet, and that the peace you are obviously seeking would be definitely out of the question for a very long time. We are not even ready to use them."
Hai-Ri-Ki nodded. "Like I said before, we trust you, and so far, our trust has not been misplaced. Do what you have to do."
"Thank you, my lord." Daniel translated, both men bowing.
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The night was falling when they finally established a strategy.
While Hai-Ri-Ki's troops set out in various directions, SG1 returned to the gate to contact General Hammond and instruct him of their plan. After much discussion and convincing by Colonel O'Neill, George Hammond finally agreed to send the UAV loaded with a conventional warhead, finding nothing to actually say against his 2IC's arguments.
The day had just started when a first UAV hit its target, causing a large crater where there once was the entrance of a cave and a small encampment. It killed about twenty of Kyyato's scouts along with it, as a second UAV confirmed the success of the first. The few remaining men appeared too shocked to move or do anything else and O'Neill considered his job done, while several mounted soldiers of Hai-Ri-Ki's set out to capture them. They could now concentrate plainly on the other battles and on capturing Kyyato.
As it appeared, O'Neill's strategy succeeded in almost all situations, but one, where Hai-Ri-Ki's soldiers were caught in an unexpected ambush. Fortunately, with a UAV still hovering above the battle field, they could evaluate the situation fast, and reinforcements could be sent quickly. Soon, Kyyato's troops were overwhelmed.
SG1 and Hai-Ri-Ki's staff had moved along with the troops, and they now surveyed several battles from a hill.
The man-to-man combats were raw and violent, and more than once, Sam wondered, as an observer, if they had done well in helping those people.
"It's all relative, Carter," O'Neill said as if reading her thoughts. "Like I said to Daniel, we're soldiers, we do what we have to do. We use bombs and guns where they use sabers and spears. The only difference is the distance with the target."
"I know that you've probably seen really ugly things in your career, sir, but this-- Is indescribable. It's what I would call a slaughter," she paused.
"Would you prefer staff weapons and death gliders, Carter?"
She shrugged. "No. But I'd rather not see a field of cut heads and limbs."
"Yeah," O'Neill acquiesced. "Actually, I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to recommend establishing a mining facility here." He sighed. "All right, Carter, let's move out to where Teal'c and Daniel are and see how the troops are doing."
As it turned out, the 'troops' were doing well, and were rapidly taking the upper hand over the situation. Hai-Ri-Ki had yet to find his rival though. As the messages of victory or surrender of the enemy troops began to arrive, Hai-Ri-Ki's excitation grew proportionally.
O'Neill was also fidgety, but not for the same reasons. He had a feeling, and it kept bugging him. "Carter?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Are there any troops left by the Stargate?"
"I'm not sure, sir. Why?"
"Why do you think Kyyato had troops in the vicinity of the Stargate?"
"Watch, probably. Unless-- you think it might have something to do with his discoveries, sir?"
"I have a bad feeling, and I'm generally good at that. Having bad feelings that are bad, I mean."
"What's your guess, sir?"
"My guess is that we'd better get our asses to the gate quickly because I have a hunch that Kyyato might be trying to go through it, now that it's unguarded by Hai-Ri-Ki! I'll go with Teal'c, tell Daniel to talk to Hai-Ri-Ki, and join us as fast as you can and with as many reinforcements as you can!"
"Yes, sir!"
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They were running too fast for Jack's knees, but he ignored the pain. He was not sure if Kyyato was indeed trying to go through the gate, or even if he had the sufficient knowledge, but the hair at the back of his neck had been standing at attention ever since he'd first thought about the possible whereabouts of Kyyato.
At last they arrived in sight of the Stargate. O'Neill stopped abruptly, signaling Teal'c to crouch beside him. He took his macro binoculars and inspected the area. "Well, seems like our birdie's not there." He murmured.
"Do you believe he activated the gate, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
"I'm not sure, we left the gate about six hours ago, so that left him a rather short time to figure the DHD out and dial a working address. Unless his intel was real good, I will opt for 'no', but that doesn't mean he's not going to try.
They watched the area cautiously, until Carter, Daniel, and a dozen of Hai-Ri-Ki's men arrived. Silently, O'Neill ordered them to secure a perimeter around the gate and keep watch there, hidden in the bushes or the high grass.
They remained still for a couple of hours, until some movement attracted O'Neill's attention: a small party of five men was heading into their trap from the west. O'Neill observed them through his macro binoculars. At first sight, they appeared anxious and wary. The second look confirmed what he thought: Kyyato was among them.
He tried to look more closely. The man was carrying some sort of leather book, and was limping heavily, obviously wounded. After a while, they finally reached the DHD. The four men who accompanied him stood on guard around the device, facing the outside, while Kyyato was fumbling with his book. He set it on the DHD and studied it a short while, then punched a key.