It was Ian's first firefight. Not his first life or death struggle, obviously, but the first time he'd actually gone up against a group of Jaffa who were determined to kill him. Him and all those around him.

To his credit, he didn't freeze up in the face of that fight. He also didn't just randomly start blasting away at the first thing that moved in front of him, either. Which was a good thing, since the first thing that moved in front of his field of fire was Jaffer, who slunk through the area like a dark shadow, already choosing a target and completely ignored by the Jaffa, who were aiming for the humans of the group and had unwittingly ignored the two deadliest members of the team.

A cry of pain sounded over the staff blasts and ended with a gurgling sound. Jack knew it to mean that Jaffer had scored a kill, since Jack (the dog) almost always went for the hands or legs, while Jaffer invariably went for the throat. A moment later there was another pained yelp, and Jack knew the dogs were doing their job. Now it was time for him to do his.

He raised the P90 in his hands, sighted in on the first Jaffa that the dogs flushed out of cover and dropped him in a spray of bullets. An instant later there was answering fire from the other side – somewhere near where Jack had seen Daniel diving for cover. A moment after that, a staff blast tore through the armored chest of one of the Jaffa, proving that Teal'c was alive and well. Which only left one member unaccounted for – the one he was most worried about.

Firing again – and dropping yet another Jaffa – Jack moved out from the covered position he had and dove towards the last place he'd seen Ian. In front of him a Jaffa rose up, staff weapon aimed at him, but an instant later Jaffer was there, his teeth flashing and his considerable weight dragging the Jaffa down before the warrior could even realize that he'd lost sight of his target. Jaffer shook his head, effectively ripping the Jaffa's throat out and blood sprayed everywhere. Jack didn't even notice; he'd already rolled out of the way and behind the closest tree.

"Ian!"

"Here."

The voice was a lot closer than Jack had expected, and he turned to see that Ian had actually been covering him as he'd rolled – although it was obvious the boy hadn't dared fired with Jaffer all over the Jaffa. Something Jack appreciated immensely.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Stay down, and follow me."

He whistled sharply, drawing Jaffer's attention, and the lab joined him and Ian as well. They headed for a small rock-strewn area surrounded by trees. A moment later, Teal'c and Daniel both came diving into the area, with Jack (the dog) hot on Teal'c's heels. A staff blast erupted overhead, and Daniel rose up just enough to fire back before hiding behind a tree once more.

"What's the plan?" He asked Jack, water dripping off the end of his nose.

"The plan is to get the hell out of here – with our asses intact."

"Good plan."

Jack looked around them, trying to get a feel for how far from the gate they were – and how many Jaffa were still out there. The rain was covering any noise they might be making as they snuck up on the team, but the dogs would hear them and give them warning – which gave them a chance to regroup. He looked at Teal'c.

"How far from the gate would you say we are?"

"A few hundred feet at the most."

Which was about what he'd been thinking, too. It wouldn't take them long to cover the distance, but it would take a bit of effort – especially since the area around the gate was free of any trees or even rocks as Jack could recall. Which meant they needed to clear the Jaffa out before they broke cover.

Jaffer growled softly just then, and everyone turned to look the same direction he was. Jack (the dog) moved up to stand protectively next to Teal'c, who couched lower, but brought his staff weapon to bear.

"We need to take the fight to them," Jack said. He looked at Ian. "Stay here and cover us as well as you can, but watch for the dogs."

Ian nodded. He would have argued about being left in the safest position, but this wasn't the time to argue, and there really wasn't a guarantee that this was the safest position. Instead, he brought his P90 up, in a similar manner that Teal'c had raised his staff weapon, and motioned that he was ready.

"Daniel, you go right, with Teal'c and Jack. Jaffer and I'll take left. We'll try to flank them and-"

Jaffer snarled as a Jaffa suddenly came out of nowhere, his approach masked by the darkness and the rain. Ian's P90 fired instantly, at the same time Teal'c's staff weapon went off, and the Jaffa tumbled back without a sound.

"Go!" Jack hissed, waving Daniel and Teal'c off to their position. He looked at Ian. "When I call you, you make for the DHD as quick as you can, understand?"

"I'll be there, Jack."

O'Neill nodded. He didn't have any doubt.

"And keep your head down, god damn it."

"Yes, sir."

Satisfied, Jack gestured to Jaffer and the lab led the way out from behind the trees and rocks. A moment later Ian heard gunshots and staff blasts coming from all directions. He raised up, moving away from the cover of the trees so he could get a better view, and immediately spotted a dark shape moving in behind the position Daniel and Teal'c had disappeared. Knowing it wasn't Jaffer made it easy. Ian simply fired and picked the Jaffa off from behind. The man dropped, and Ian scanned the area for another target before he could start to think about what he'd just done.

There was a volley of gunfire from Jack's position and several snarls that even the rain couldn't cover. Ian pointed his P90 that direction, but wasn't anywhere near close enough to be of any help. He moved a little forward, but was careful to stay close to where Jack expected him to be, knowing that it would be easy to mistake him for someone else in the dark and definitely not wanting to get shot if he could avoid it.

"Ian! Go!"

The shout startled him, coming far sooner than he'd expected it to, and Ian lurched to his feet, stumbling through the dark towards the DHD, which was just to the right of the Stargate. Of course, he couldn't see either the gate or the DHD, but he knew they were there. He'd find them if he just made sure to run the right way. Sure enough, after only a minute or two at a full run – expecting to be shot down any moment, especially when he stumbled out of the brush and into the clearing – he saw the dark form of the Stargate looming above him. Gun up in front of him, he sprinted for the DHD, and slapped his hand down on the first symbol so hard he was surprised he didn't knock the damned thing over.

Slap slap slap slap! He dialed the coordinates for the SGC as quickly as he could, and entered his own GDO signal, then turned, crouching and watching.

"Go!" He yelled.

Jaffer was the first to break cover, and the black lab scrambled towards him, while Ian covered the clearing with his P90. Before the lab was halfway to him, Jack and Daniel both came out of cover as well, Jack firing his machine gun towards his left, but Daniel just running hell bent for leather. He and Teal'c had cleared the Jaffa in their area, and were ready to go. A moment later, Jack (the dog) came into view as well, obviously guarding Daniel's retreat as he ran behind the archeologist, and Teal'c joined the dog only a few moments after that, firing his staff weapon the same direction Jack was firing his P90 – although Teal'c couldn't see what they were firing at.

From his position by the DHD, Ian was the only one looking toward the rear, and he was the only one who saw the four Jaffa coming as well. He raised the P90, firing over the others and at the enemy, and one fell instantly. Daniel turned and fired also, dropping another, but as Jack turned to see what was happening, one of the remaining Jaffa fired, and the staff blast caught O'Neill directly in the chest, knocking him to the side like he'd been hit with a hammer.

"Jack!"

Ian's P90 fired – and jammed – and the cadet tossed it to the side and pulled out his Glock, firing at the Jaffa as he ran to the fallen Colonel's side. He didn't see if he'd hit any of them; he was too intent on Jack to even look, but Teal'c and Daniel both saw Jack fall as well, and a volley of P90 fire and Teal'c's staff weapon fire sounded, dropping the other two instantly.

"Shit!"

Even through his Kevlar vest, the staff blast that hit Jack had done considerable damage. Ian swore again, and looked up seeing Daniel and Teal'c both coming towards him. Pushing Jaffer aside, he pulled his glove off, tore open the remains of Jack's shirt baring his bloody and battered chest and rested his palm on it, sinking quickly into a partial trance as he started to use that healing ability to check out O'Neill's condition. And found himself in a three-way bond. Himself. Jack. And Jaffer.

He stared at the dog for a moment, but the faltering heartbeat under his hand pulled him out of his shock, and Ian turned his full attention to the task at hand. Jack was unconscious and barely breathing. Worse, the staff wound had crushed his sternum and splintered bone fragments had pierced the aorta, causing massive bleeding. Ian took all that in in an instant, and started healing the severed blood vessels before he could do anything else.

He was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't see the danger. And while Jaffer normally would have protected him, the big lab was just as distracted as he was. From the left, a rustle in the wet brush was the only warning there was, and it wasn't enough. A Jaffa rose up, clearing the cover, and fired his own staff weapon at the boy who had been foolish enough to hold still long enough to become a target.

"Ian!"

Ian turned at the sound of his name, and Daniel and Teal'c were both close enough to see the danger now, but they hadn't had the right angle. Not until it was far too late. As Ian was slammed backwards to the muddy ground, they both fired their weapons at the Jaffa, killing him instantly. But the damage had been done.