As Sam hid behind the thick trunk of a tree to reload, she wondered if Barney had already made it to the roof and found her missing team mates. She, Teal'c and all the other men General Hammond had been able to send at such a very short notice were storming the temple, attacking entrance directly. They were going to do their best to take down as many of the ruler's guards as possible. Leo had finally returned to Earth, realizing that he'd just be on the way in such a battle.
In the meantime, Barney, Denver and few other rebel dinosaurs had made their way past the guards, armed with zat guns, attempting to get directly to the roof. Once there, Barney would easily be able to trick the guards into letting him go, even giving him the keys to the cage. After all, there weren't that many Goa'uldosaurs on the planet, and Barney would easily pass for one, with Ranys's kind assistance.
Sam couldn't linger on the thoughts and the worry over her friends, both human and dinosaur. She felt the ground tremble with the heavy footsteps of some great beast. She left the shelter of the tree, and saw that on the opening in front of the temple, a pair of guards were driving forth a Tyrannosaur, guiding it towards SG-2, who stood at the edge of the opening, struggling with at least ten guards already.
"Teal'c! The T-Rex," Sam called out, and the Jaffa cast her a quick glance and a nod, acknowledging that he'd noticed. The monstrous dinosaur wasn't exactly easy to miss.
After their previous mission to this planet, they'd learned from Colonel O'Neill that the way to take down one of these huge dinosaurs was to hit the vulnerable parts on its head. Teal'c aimed his staff weapon carefully, and Sam did the same with her gun. She wasn't sure whether they were getting anywhere, but at least they annoyed the dinosaur enough that it turned away from SG-2, and changed its direction. Sam kept her aim steady, ignoring the fact that the huge creature was rushing straight towards her. It felt like staring at a speeding train while standing on the tracks.
Just when she thought they weren't going to get it, when the dinosaur's huge snout was already brushing the leaves above their heads, it went down. She and Teal'c stepped aside to avoid getting caught under it, as it hit the dirt with a ground-shaking thud.
Using the corpse as cover, she glanced at the opening to get a general view of the situation. Apparently, the dinos were taken aback when their biggest asset had actually been taken down. They were gathering closer to the temple entrance, backing away.
Sam and Teal'c made their way past the dead Tyrannosaur and joined the other SG-teams, surrounding the dinosaurs. There were now so many guns pointed at the guards that they didn't even try to fight. Most of the dinos were unarmed, though some had spears and crude bows. As they started retreating into the doorway, Sam called out, "Don't let them escape! Fire at will!"
It was crucial to Barney's plan that they'd keep take down as many guards as possible. The dinos could take many more bullets than a human would, but they weren't invulnerable. Many of them fell. It was brutal, it was as close to a massacre as Sam had ever come. After she'd gotten to know Barney, there was no way she could trick herself into thinking that these were just lizards and animals. They were sentient beings, and who knew how they'd have ended up without the continued Goa'uld rule.
When there were no living guards left outside the temple, the SG-teams ceased their gunfire. A wave of dinosaurs that looked just like the guards stepped out of the jungle around them, and approached them. Some of the men pointed their guns at the newcomers in turn, but Sam told them to stand down. These were the rebels.
"Look carefully," she told everyone else. "They've got those thick stripes of white paint on their snouts. Any dinosaur that has one of those is our friend. Don't shoot, no matter what. There will be a few dinosaurs in there who don't have those markings, but are nevertheless friendly. Take care, think and look carefully before you shoot."
She gave some more orders, leaving two teams outside the temple in case more guards should come, and then lead the rest into the temple. The dinosaurs followed them as well.
The hall they entered looked very familiar. They'd been here before, after all. Though this wasn't the hall where Teal'c and Sam had gotten sealed in, it was the one where Daniel and O'Neill had been. Two doorways lead into two other halls. Sam knew the first of them had stairs leading down, into the catacombs. The second one should have a door that'd open to the throne room, though it might be closed.
They ran into that room, meeting little resistance, just some guards that'd retreated in, which they took down quickly. They found no door in any of the walls, but Barney had told them to expect that. One of the rebels stepped forth, carrying a device of some sort, and waved it in front of a wall. A part of the wall slid aside to reveal the enormous hall that was the throne room, and a scene amazing enough to make Sam stop on her tracks.
The door was behind the throne, to the right of it, and in front of it stood two dinosaurs engaged in combat. There were several other dinos in the hall, and all but those two were standing still in a wide circle around them. There a few dead dinosaurs in the room as well, lying on the ground here and there.
Almost in the middle of the room, on the ground, were O'Neill and Daniel. The younger man looked very still and pale, his eyes closed. His upper body was bare except for bloodstained bandages. The colonel was holding on to him tightly, Daniel's head resting against his shoulder. Sam felt her breath catch in her throat as she took in that sight. "Oh, no," she whispered under her breath.
The SG-teams and the rebels crowded into the hall, but Sam held up a hand to keep them from engaging in any action. They spread out, joining the gathered dinosaurs, and all stopped to witness the struggle in front of them.
One of the two dinosaurs that were fighting was obviously the ruler. He had a golden circlet on his head, and a hand device, but for some reason, he wasn't using it. The dinosaur fighting the ruler had to be Barney. He had the belt with the zat gun that the SGC had given to him, to make it even easier for him to pose as a Goa'uldosaur. But he wasn't using the zat either.
A rebel dinosaur close to them growled something at Teal'c, and Teal'c translated it to Sam. "They will fight to the death, and the one who wins will be the rightful ruler. It is tradition. If Barney wins, no one will question his right to rule."
Teal'c had witnessed many fights to the death before, but none like this. Even though use of all weapons was banned, the dinosaurs still had plenty at their use, their teeth and the claws in their hands and feet. Both were bleeding from more cuts than he could count, but they were steady on their feet, still fighting, growling at each other in Dinosaurian and Goa'uldian voices and languages in turn.
It was an even fight. The dinosaurs were both about the same age. Barney had the advantage of being slightly larger, and his Tok'ra symbiote might be better versed in different combat techniques than the ruler's Goa'uld, who had lived in isolation on this planet. On the other hand, Barney had the disadvantage of being weakened by his recent injuries.
If Barney lost, then there would be another riot, a general fight among all those in the hall. That was why the rebels all had markings to tell them apart from those loyal to the ruler. If it came to such a fight, the rebels and the SG-teams easily outnumbered the ruler's followers, but it would be ugly, and many would die.
Barney did not lose. He turned the course of the fight with one blow that hit the side of the ruler's head badly enough to blind him. It stopped Rrragrathssh for a passing moment, and with that moment, Barney was able to finish him, tearing a long, deep cut down his neck. The ruler fell to the ground, his growling changed into wet groaning as his blood flowed freely to stain the floor at the foot of the throne. Barney placed a foot on the ruler's head, pressing it to the ground.
"In this day, I, Ghhrrwuaghr, claim the rule of this world, all its animals and this chosen people, and as is tradition, I shall rule for a whole cycle of the moon before anyone can challenge me again," Barney announced victoriously, first in Goa'uld-Dinosaurian, and then went on in Dinosaurian, probably repeating the same words.
The rebels answered it in a joyful, excited roar. Some of the former ruler's guards growled as if they wanted to fight, but they didn't. They realized that they were hopelessly outnumbered. It would be up to Barney and the rebels to decide how to deal with them. Teal'c's concern was now for his friends.
Not only he and Captain Carter, but Barney as well, ran to Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson.
"Way to go, guys, that was some rescue operation," O'Neill greeted them, and though his voice was strained, it was not as grief-stricken as Teal'c would've expected if Daniel Jackson was dead. Apparently, he was not, only severely injured and unconscious. "And good job, Barney. That damn Goa'uldosaur finally got what he deserved."
"Is Daniel..." Captain Carter began, crouching to the ground in front of them.
"He's been out cold for hours. The bastards wouldn't leave him alone. The ruler tortured him. Used the hand device on him who knows how many times. We need to get him back home and fast," Colonel O'Neill answered urgently.
He made to get up, and Teal'c lent him a hand. Captain Carter was already working to put together a collapsible stretcher to help in transporting Daniel.
A nerve-racking, sorrowful roar from behind made them all freeze. They turned around, and saw Barney crouched over one of the dead dinosaurs. There weren't many injuries on the body, and none that looked lethal. More likely, he had been taken down with a zat gun. As Teal'c gazed at the deceased dinosaur, he recognized it as Denver. The young, kind and gentle rebel had become one of the many casualties of this battle. It was a noble death. The fight had been more than just to save O'Neill and Daniel. It had been to liberate the dinosaurs from Goa'uld rule as well, and it had been a success.