Chapter One

Five hours earlier
Daniel stared in awe at the ruined village before him. Massive column drums riddled the area; the remnants of what were once buildings.

"This is amazing!" he told his companions, "This is the ruin of a village that could have been taken straight from Greece. These columns are exactly like the ones found at the ruins of the Olympieion."

"That's great, Daniel," Jack replied dryly. "Just don't wander off too far. And don't touch anything."

"Jack, I'm an archaeologist. It's kind of what I do."

"Well, just do what you…do, carefully."

Sam tried not to smile from where she was crouched taking soil samples a few feet away from the colonel.

"Carter, Teal'c and I are gonna take a look at the perimeter. Keep an eye on the Daniel," Jack said, gesturing to the errant scientist, after crossing the distance to stand just above her.

"Yes, Sir."

About an hour later, Sam's radio crackled to life with the colonel's voice: "Carter? This is O'Neill."

"Go ahead, Sir," She replied. She was standing in the center of the village. Daniel was a few feet away filming the inscription on one of the buildings.

"We ran into a two-man Jaffa patrol. Apparently, this planet's not as uninhabited as we thought. We took them down, but we've spotted another group headed your way. Our ETA is 2 minutes. Have Danny pack up and head back to the 'gate, we'll meet you halfway."

"Understood, Sir."

"O'Neill, out," Jack said, ending the conversation.

It took Daniel less than a minute to get his things together after Sam told him a group of Jaffa were heading they're way. They were just setting out toward the Stargate, when Jack and Teal'c emerged from the ruin of a large building to their left.

"Heard from our friends?" Jack asked, referring to the expected Jaffa.

"No, Sir," Sam replied.

"Good. Teal'c, take point. Let's move out."

Teal'c moved forward, his staff weapon extended in front of him as he made his way toward the Stargate. Sam came next, her P-90 ready, followed by Daniel, whose weapon remained in its holster. Jack took up the rear.

Jack thought he heard something and, turning around, paused to listen. A light breeze swept through the stone ruins, causing a few pebbles to dislodge from a pile of debris and bringing Jack's sharp eyes on them. The only other sound was the footsteps of his teammates behind him.

An almost inaudible roar began, so quiet at first Jack thought it was the wind. It grew slowly louder and more familiar.

Glancing up at the sky, Jack called to his team, "Anybody else hear that?"

When no answer came, he glanced back at them. They stood about ten feet away, listening. As Jack looked around again, Daniel answered, "That…That sounds like a…"

Jack knew exactly what Daniel was going to say; he was thinking it himself. Then he spotted the source of the noise, headed straight for them. "Death Glider!" Jack exclaimed, effectively finishing Daniel's sentence. "Cover up!"

Jack ducked behind a stone building for cover and glanced back in time to see his team disappearing behind another building, effectively putting another three feet between them. "Dang!" Jack muttered. One of the worst things you can do in a combat situation is separate yourself from your team. If those Jaffa were to show up, he would be essentially on his own.

The death glider swooped down on them, riddling the ground with energy blasts, causing the buildings to shake and pieces of them to break off. Jack crouched as close to the building and the ground as he could as chucks of rock fell around him, sending dust and smaller rocks into the air.

Jack coughed as the dust began to clear and looked back at his team. The glider was just passing them, causing similar damage to their chosen building. "Everybody alright?" Jack called into his radio.

"We're…fine," Daniel's voice replied, "A little bruised, but fine."

Jack was about to step out from behind his building when Teal'c called to him, "O'Neill!"

"Oh, for crying out loud! Now what?" Jack muttered. He stuck his head and weapon around the corner and his question was answered. There were at least twenty Jaffa marching toward them. Jack pulled back as a staff blast whizzed past. The Jaffa must have snuck up on them while the Death Glider was attacking. The entire Jaffa army opened fire, and SG-1 followed suit.

The resulting roar of weapons fire kept Jack from hearing the Jaffa warrior coming around the other side of the building, until the Jaffa's staff weapon fired. Jack turned toward the sound, instinctively dropping into a crouch and swinging his weapon around. The energy blast hit him in the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Jack gritted his teeth against the fiery pain that erupted in his shoulder. He had to get up—had to shoot the Jaffa or he was dead.

Sam saw Colonel O'Neill fall. "Colonel!" she exclaimed.

"Jack!" Daniel's voice was filled with as much worry as Sam felt.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c voice rang out the clearest.

Jumping up from behind the broken wall she was using as cover, Sam pulled the trigger on her P-90 rifle as she moved sideways toward the colonel.

"Major Carter!" Teal'c called to her, but she ignored him. The colonel needed her help and she was going to help him.

Teal'c went after Sam and Daniel followed him. With Teal'c and Daniel covering her, she directed her fire at the Jaffa bearing down on her colonel. She riddled the metal armor of his attacker with bullets, until one penetrated and the assailant fell.

The Jaffa still bearing down on them from behind Jack's wall seemed to multiply and the energy blasts ripping through the air came more frequently. Sam and her other two teammates dropped to their stomachs, still ten feet from their commanding officer. They couldn't have made it back to their shelter.

The colonel pulled himself up to sit with his back against the wall, clutching his wounded arm.

Jack forced his mind to think despite the mind-numbing pain in his shoulder. His team was in a vulnerable position; they were pinned down and would soon be overwhelmed by the Jaffa forces. He was stuck. There was no way he could make it to them. There was only one thing to do.

Replacing the clip in his P-90, Jack reached for his radio. "Carter, Teal'c, Daniel, head back to the 'gate." He said it with all the force he could muster, but he knew it was going to take some persuading to convince his team to do the one thing he was always refusing to do: leave a teammate behind.

"Colonel, we can't; we're pinned down," Sam's voice came back. For a minute, Jack shut his eyes. He knew this would be the last conversation he would have with her; the last time he would hear her voice.

"I'll take care of it. When I do, get the heck out of here. That's an order, Major." His words were harsh, but his tone was quiet, regretful. He looked at her and she looked back at him. Despite the distance, he hoped she could read the regret in his eyes.

He looked back around the corner at the wall of Jaffa looming in the distance. He looked first at Sam, then Daniel. The archaeologist was staring at him with something akin to horror on his face. "Jack…" Daniel shook his head.

Finally, he looked at Teal'c, who seemed to accept his decision. He was the only one who really understood it.

Jack checked his weapon, and looked at Sam again.

"Colonel, no!" she pleaded with him.

"I'm sorry, Sam." He spoke softly into his radio, hoping she understood how much she meant to him. He wanted to say more, but he had to go now before his courage failed him. Jumping up, he ran out in front of the Jaffa, weapon blazing.

Time seemed to slow down, Sam watched in horror as Jack threw his life away for them—for her.

The colonel seemed to be holding his own, but she knew it couldn't last—and she couldn't help him. There was nothing she could do to stop the oncoming Jaffa from overwhelming him, but she wouldn't leave him behind.

The staff blast, that they had all known was coming, hit Jack, sending him flying onto his back, a bloody, burned wound in the center of his chest—a wound he couldn't possibly survive. Sam felt like her heart was being torn out and she screamed his name, "Jack!"

"We must return to the Stargate!" Teal'c ordered his teammates, realizing that they needed to make use of the tumult Jack had created.

"No, we can't leave him," Sam muttered, more to herself than to her companions.

"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c gave Daniel a significant look. Daniel looked back at the body of his friend and nodded. Teal'c and Daniel started to back up toward the Stargate.

"Sam! We need to go!" Daniel called to her.

"No!" She looked about ready to take on the entire army of Jaffa.

"Sam, please! There's nothing we can do!"

Sam knew he was right. With one last look at Jack's body, she turned and ran for the cover of the wall they had been using before. Teal'c and Daniel joined her and from there they ran to the Stargate, using the ruined village for cover.

Author's Note: This story is completed on my computer. I'll put it up as I get around to it. Of course, reviews causeadrenaline rushes that would lead me to post faster...What does everyone think so far?