A/N: Okay i finally remembered what it was i'd originally wanted to do with this chapter so i added what i'd wanted. it's still unbeta'd.

WARNING! This chapter is graphic, at least the best i could do w/o GrUmPyBeAr's help, and is very sad. Unfortunately, it's also short. it wasn't meant to be that short, but it just wasn't flowing past a point and i originally was going too keep it all together, but i split it up so i can put something else in between.

64) Daniel paced Yu's quarters having been dismissed for the time being. He pulled out the communication device and hit the button in frustration.

"Jacob!"

"Did you release the poison?"

"It's not working!"

"What do you mean it's not working?"

"I broke the seal, mixed them together, and they're all still alive."

"I'll warn the ground troops and have Jack take over the Goa'uld's personal mother ships."

"I'll be sure to stay out of the way."

Daniel clicked off just as Osiris walked in and pulled out her knife. She advanced on him as he tried to close the doors.

"Stop!"

Daniel ran through the corridors, Osiris hot on his heels, blasting away at him every chance she got. When he reached the ring room he turned and stared into her eyes. She smirked, but the look fell momentarily. Daniel took that chance to yell out for Sarah, hoping just maybe she'd hear him.

"Sarah! It's me, Daniel."

Osiris regained control and laughed. "She cannot hear you!"

He hit the ring controls and stepped into the center of the rings. As they flew up around him, she fired the hand device at him just a moment too late.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The small army spread out through the forest, each man staying just within visual contact. They were noisier than Jack would have liked, but the Tok'ra were trained in espionage, not stealth. It was a good thing the sun had gone down almost fifteen minutes after they'd landed, it would conceal their movements through the forest and make it harder for the guards to spot them.

They wove through the trees, barely visible to anyone who may have been watching. As they got closer to the clearing, they spread out, covering as much ground as possible. They wanted to surround the clearing from one side in a semicircle, mostly to avoid friendly crossfire. If their intel was correct, it would be easy to take out the few guards posted in the clearing.

Each Ha'tak would have their own guards inside; they'd have to be defeated in order to take over the ships. That wouldn't be easy, no matter how cocky they got.

The entire group was in position and ready to take out the few pacing guards when Jack's radio crackled in his ear.

"Jack, Osiris is among the delegation."

Shit.

"And for some reason, the poison didn't work."

Double Shit.

"Murphy's Law, Jacob." Jack pulled the group to a stop with a hand signal.

"This is a go for your end of the mission."

"Copy that."

Jack waved his hand forward and the group moved on again. The clearing was more like the Plains States than the field Jacob had made it out to be. It helped and it hindered. Their plan was now shot to Hell, but it meant they could actually see their opposition. They should have known it had to be larger than the simple clearing just from common sense, but that was all said and done now.

There were about ten Jaffa circling the smaller clearing formed by the ring of Ha'tak's; easy pickin', especially for the Tok'ra who took them out silently with the zats. They hadn't been planning on being able to take out the outer guards so easily or they would have brought along a few silenced sniper rifles.

Jack turned on the edge of the clearing, facing as many of their group as possible at once. "Okay, I want at least six Tok'ra with every SG team. We need ten or more per Ha'tak."

Levi took up next, standing next to Jack. "Those Tok'ra not with an SG team, split off and take the remaining ships."

Jack waved his hand over his head and pointed towards the ships. "Let's move out!"

Jack, Levi, SG-1 and four other Tok'ra set off towards Yu's Ha'tak. Levi was easily able to pick it out from the rest, and Jacob would no doubt be close by. There were no signs any of the Goa'uld had broken Summit Law and brought in extra Jaffa, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

Jacob sidled up beside them, seemingly from out of nowhere. Levi and Jack were well aware he was there before anyone else in their group, and weren't at all surprised when he showed up on the other side of Jack, zat gun at the ready.

"Jacob," Jack whispered. "Where's Daniel?"

"I'm assuming he's on one of the ships. He was going to try to stay out of the way for the rest of the meeting, and avoid any crossfire when all hell breaks loose."

The group continued moving forward through the open. It made Jack uncomfortable, no cover anywhere for them to hide behind, but it also left no place for the enemy to hide either.

"You're assuming!"

"It's the best I can do Jack. Once we've got the System Lords we can find him."

Jack nodded, eyes forward, searching for any signs of movement. He caught it too late. The sound of the staff blast ripping through the air caught his ears at the same time he saw one of Lord Yu's Jaffa come out from behind an outside wall of the Ha'tak.

"I'm sure that I could never
Make it through the night without You here
The fires in the sky

Illuminate the demons closing in

Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last to go"

The staff blasts flew overhead, turning the sky white. The Jaffa from every Ha'tak came flowing out of the ships, marching towards the small opposing army. Their small group hunkered down on the edge of the clearing, hoping to take some cover whether in the tall grass prohibiting them from being spotted or protection behind the trees.

Two of the Tok'ra in their group were caught by the blasts, what mostly looked like stray trajectories, in the shoulders and thighs. The Jaffa were getting closer, and soon they would be spotted from the light of the staff blasts and fires caused by the dry brush.

Jack prayed silently to himself, something he'd actually been doing regularly since Sam had disappeared and now that she was back – and his wife – he was worried constantly about his sons.

Oh, God, please… I want to see Sam again, meet those two wonderful boys. I know you don't make deals, but I want to go home.

He popped up and fired at the Jaffa heading their direction.

Please keep me safe and watch out for my family.

He crawled forward and took out two Jaffa trying to flank their position.

"As I crawl around these trails
And fight upon this widowing field
The ground below is bare and burned
At the places I have learned to trust You

Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last to go"

He didn't feel it, but knew when it happened. It was white, everything fuzzy around the edges. Time seemed to slow down as he looked from side to side noting the positions of his team, Levi and Jacob.

The second staff blast sounded lower and took longer to reach their position, but he saw it catch one of their partnered Tok'ra in the throat, his body jerking back from the force. It was worse than anything he'd remembered seeing, the head barely attached by the few intact nerves in the spinal column. Most of the wound was cauterized from the blast, but still seeped oozing fluids and blood, running down the front of the Tok'ra's light brown garb.

It made him wonder briefly just what he possibly looked like. The fire in his chest had been raging for the all of a half a second it took for him to assess the situation with the other Tok'ra. The soft breeze blew over the gaping wound in complete contrast to the utter chaos around them.

He shifted his gaze down to his open chest, the area above his vest charred, bloody, and ­lurid, and knew immediately that the sticky, red substance flowing down the gleaming of his sternum in tiny rivulets was proof of the very thing he dreaded. The wound wasn't completely cauterized, and as his heart pumped, the open vessels reacted and blood cascaded down his BDU's and slicked over his abdomen.

Pins and needles shot up and down his arms and legs, his knees giving out under his own weight. Dust shot up around him as he fell to his knees and his eyes rolled back in his head. Drops of blood hit the ground and he sank onto his side, rolling, settling on his back.

"Jaaaaack!"

He heard the voice, long, deep and echo-y, through the drum of the explosions around him. His vision swam and blanked, turning blindingly white.

"Jaaaaack, hoooollld ooooonnn." His eyes opened again and Nate's face popped into his line of vision before whiting out again.

No! This can't be happening!

His hazy thoughts drifted thousands – maybe millions? – of light years away; back home, to Earth. He thought back to his weddings, the first years before and the second only days ago, and had he known at the time how each would end, he'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

He had regrets, more than just dieing. He regretted never teaching Charlie proper weapon handling or telling him just how dangerous they could be. He regretted they hadn't found Neal yet, and he regretted never meeting his boys, leaving Sam alone.

Just like Charlie, he'd never get to see them grow up, become men he could be proud of, only this time it was he who was going to die. All he could hope for was that Sam would tell them about him. Maybe Sea would take care of her for him. Eventually, they would marry. Or maybe she'd marry Daniel. As long as she didn't wallow for him and took care of their children, he could die content. Not happy, he wouldn't die happy until he met his sons, but he would be content.

Nate's face came back into focus, joined by Jacob's, concern written all over their features.

"Jaaaack, yooouuuuu haaave tooo staaaay with usssssss."

He nodded weakly and tried to smile, hoping it would make them feel better. It didn't instill any confidence in himself or his condition; he knew he wasn't going to make it. As his sight started whiting out again, he saw a staff blast hit Nate from behind, directly in the shoulder. Blood splatter from the force of the shot hit Jack in the face, dripping down his cheek. A tear pooled in his eye and slowly dripped down the side of his face as Nate slumped over his thighs, unmoving. He'd promised to protect him, and he'd failed.

The chaos around him faded out, the sounds echoing before silencing all together. It was an odd feeling, he knew the battle was still waging on around him, but he was separated from it, like he was watching it on TV, with his eyes closed. Someone had slowly turned the volume down before muting it. He let himself relax, and felt himself drifting away.

"When even silence sets my heart to racing
I will lift my eyes to you
Please, Father, find me

Have mercy on my soul...
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last
Have mercy on my soul
If I am not the last to go"

A/N: okay, the song is The Widowing Field by Jars of Clay from the We Were Soldiers Soundtrack. it's one of my absolute FAVORITE songs.

GrUmPyBeAr won't be helping me anytime soon, her mother was hospitalized this morning and we're not sure when she'll be released so i'm not bothering her at all. i hope you like what i've added. please review!