Chapter 13

Their movement up the trail was slower than Carter had hoped, but it was much smoother than it would have been to traverse the rougher areas of the mountainside. The trail would suddenly become steep, impeding their progress to a snail's pace. They made up time, though, on the downgrades and flat portions.

Teal'c's activities in the distance faded off into silence with the exception of the rhythmic overload of the maltak. The guards would have figured out by then that there was no attack. There would be enough confusion that they would not know where to begin to look. Carter only hoped that Teal'c's evasion abilities were still in peak form. It looked like more guards were being sent into the hills to look for the attackers.

The cave was in sight, but Teal'c was not. She was considering contacting him by radio, but she would maintain silence until she could do it far enough away from the cave once O'Neill, Jackson and Avedra were safely tucked inside. Neja would be able to triangulate the position of the transmission, and that was not an advantage she was going to give him without a fight.

Daniel was becoming sluggish again, forcing her to carry more of his weight as they moved up the trail. She could feel the heat emanating from him as his fever raged. His torso seemed to be in an eternal shiver. Sam thought ahead to the supplies in the cave. She'd be able to care for everyone once they were inside the dark recesses of the mountain. They could warm up, and she could load them up on antibiotics and give something to reduce their fevers. They had to rest. There was no question about that. What remained to be seen was how long to stay within the confines of the cave once they got there. It would take time to get to the gate, especially with how slow they had been moving. According to her watch, they had already spent over an hour just making it to the hills. She wanted a maximum window of time to make a run for the gate.

She saw something move in the trees to her left. She stopped the party short and ordered everyone to take cover. Someone was out there. She cursed inwardly. They were so close to the cave, and now someone was between them and the goal.

Carter got down close to Avedra. "Stay here and keep these guys under cover. I'm going to go check it out ahead. I saw something move in the trees."

Avedra nodded his understanding. "Please be careful. I have no idea how the hell to get off this planet."

The joke was so deadpanned that it caught her off guard. Avedra gave a small smile afterwards, as though to say he understood that the entire mission had gone to hell in less than a few hours. It was his way of comforting her. Maybe he was the atypical Tok'ra Jack would like to have a beer with, she thought.

"I'll be back," she said, not able to contain her smile either.

She set off into the brush that ran on either side of the trail. She kept low, using whatever was there for cover. Carter saw the movement again in the distance and approached carefully. It had to be Teal'c, she repeated to herself over and over again. If it wasn't, then they were all in a lot of trouble.

Another warm front was moving through the area, creating more humidity as it passed. The thick air was like breathing under water as she hiked up the mountainside toward her target. When she was close enough, she took a knee behind a tree to watch for more movement. Her direction of travel had been dead-on. The night vision showed a large man moving with purpose in her direction. A staff weapon was at the ready. She kept her P90 ready to fire, just in case the figure was not the man she thought it might be.

"Major Carter," he whispered.

"Teal'c!" she whispered back with excitement.

They met up quickly, and Carter automatically scanned him for injury. "Are you all right?"

"I am well. I drew the patrols away from this area as much as I could. They will not be deceived for long. We must find a place of safety and form our plans of escape."

Longwinded, though he was, she knew exactly what he meant. "Yeah, we were making a run for the cave, too." Then she added, "The Colonel and Daniel are pretty sick. Avedra isn't looking too hot, either. They need to rest, but that maltak is going to blow in a few hours. Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it quick."

She turned and began making her way toward the place she had left the three men earlier. Teal'c followed close behind. When they reached the place on the trail, Avedra stood with a grimace. "Avedra, this is Teal'c. Teal'c, this is Avedra," she said, doing a quick introduction.

"Pleased," was all Avedra said before reaching down to get O'Neill on his feet again.

Carter moved to get Daniel up, then realized he was out cold. "Dammit," she muttered. Teal'c moved in and quickly scooped the younger man up, laying him across his broad shoulders in a fireman's carry.

They continued the journey to the cave in single file, with Carter taking point. They reached their objective with no resistance from the patrols. It appeared that Teal'c had drawn them far enough away to give them some breathing room. Still, she cleared the cave systematically before bringing everyone inside. They followed the curve of the cavern until they reached the camp that Antalus had shown them earlier.

She moved to the portable heater Antalus had unboxed earlier and managed to turn it on. A red glow began warming the cave. Teal'c moved closer and lay Daniel on the ground next to the device. The young man shuddered with fever again. She looked for Jack, then. Avedra had propped him against the wall near the heater. He looked worse now, too. Finally, she took a moment to check on Avedra. He looked to be in considerable pain as he slid down next to O'Neill.

She unfastened the straps to her pack and dropped it to the ground. Teal'c took a seat on a small boulder. Exhaustion was becoming an even greater enemy than the toxins in the soil or the patrols trying to kill them. Carter approached O'Neill and Jackson, kneeling down next to her commanding officer first. She took out her canteen and fed him more water. He was weak, barely able to swallow. A bit went down the wrong side, sending him into a fit of coughing.

"Easy, sir," she comforted, helping him to find a more comfortable position against the stone wall of the cavern.

Stepping over O'Neill, she bent down close to Daniel. He was pale, even in the glow of the heater. She felt his cheek and found his skin still hot to the touch.

She looked to Teal'c. "Can you get me the med kit out of my pack? He's really burning up."

Teal'c moved quickly to her pack and retrieved the box from inside. Carter had been trained to deal with basic medical emergencies in the field. She could bind a wound, even put in a stitch or two if needed, but what was wrong with Daniel and O'Neill went far beyond her capabilities. The best she knew to do was get some antibiotics and painkillers into them to bring down their fevers.

She injected penicillin into Jackson first, sending the needle deftly into his upper arm. She returned to O'Neill and followed suit with him, only he protested more and let go a mild curse as she emptied the contents of another syringe into his body. She removed Jack's wet BDU shirt, leaving him in the t-shirt underneath. The tremors in his body increased almost immediately, but she knew she had to make him cold in order to get his temperature down to a more acceptable level.

Teal'c moved toward Jackson and stripped him of the heavy uniform shirt, as well. Daniel's body was limp and unresponsive as his arms were forcefully slipped from the sleeves.

"Major Carter," Teal'c said, "it appears Daniel Jackson's fever is rising."

"I know," she answered, frustration seeping into her voice. "I've done what I can for now, but they need to be in the infirmary."

Finally, she approached Avedra and knelt down next to him. "How about you? You all right?"

"I'm the least of your worries, I assure you," he said with a gentle smile, echoing nearly the same words Antalus had told her a day earlier.

She took comfort in his care of the situation, but she pressed on for an answer. "Where are you hurt?"

He looked down at his torso. "Oh, a few broken ribs."

She felt his side, moving her hand away quickly when he winced. "Let me take a look at it. At least I can tape them so it's easier to move."

She finished caring for Avedra as much as she could. She picked up her rifle again and told Teal'c to rest while she scouted outside the cave. Carter slipped on the night vision goggles once more and made her way to the entrance.

She climbed up to the top of the hill and peered down in the direction of the gate through her binoculars. The night sky was sliced open with electrical emissions from the protection grid. There were numerous rumblings of thunder as the bolts cut through the air surrounding the gate. She watched from a distance, her mind timing the blasts like a child under the covers hiding from a thunderstorm.

Flash. One … blastoff.

She looked down at her watch, timing the silence for accuracy before the next flash. Two minutes, forty-seven seconds. She timed it again with the same result.

Taking a closer look at the compound around Neja's palace, Carter could see no signs of transportation, such as a shuttle. If there was one, Neja was keeping it well-hidden, perhaps in the courtyard behind the walls of the fort.

The maltak shot off another blast at the gate. A plan began forming. If they could just get close enough to the gate, they could make a run for it. The hard part would be eluding Neja's forces in order to get close enough to make that run. Adding to the problems would be hoisting Jack and Daniel to the gate and throwing them through. Avedra, she was sure, could make haste if it would save his life. Either she or Teal'c would have to remain behind and provide cover fire while the other made the run for the gate with Daniel and Jack one at a time. Either way, it was risky, probably deadly.

She was about to start back down toward the cave when she spotted activity inside the maltak, itself. She zoomed in on it with her binoculars to find guards literally throwing Antalus through the shielding. He staggered a few steps until he was brought under control by more guards, some remaining inside the maltak. One of the outside guards struck the old man from behind, sending him reeling to the ground.

Her heart was racing as the scene played out through the night vision. She zoomed in on Antalus, seeing the horrible things being done to him. They swarmed around the man like a pack of wild animals, each taking a turn at administering a blow. It was almost surreal how merciless they were. They would not stop. It seemed to go on forever before they finally stepped back from the broken and bleeding body in front of them. A large gash had been opened on his head, covering his face with blood. His hands moved lethargically at his sides, his awareness cut to a minimum.

She saw a guard aim a staff weapon at Antalus. Another moved in and nudged the old man's head upright with his foot so Antalus could see death coming. There were parting words spoken, then the parting shot from the staff weapon that hit point blank in the chest, killing him.

Carter's eyes snapped shut at the image before her. They had killed a defenseless old man for the sheer enjoyment of it. Or perhaps it was revenge. Either way, she had witnessed yet another murder by those who desired power at any cost. It was not just the act of zealots or mercenaries. It was something much more. It was hatred at the highest heights of power, an unyielding machine of terror that ate through entire civilizations to feed its hunger.

She opened her eyes again and looked one more time at Antalus as he lay dead in front of the maltak with the remains of his people. It was possible he had bought her and her team time. If he did, it was now or never that she would use his sacrifice.

Large patrols assembled in the yard near the maltak and began to disperse into the hills. It was clear Neja wanted SG1 caught. Apparent, too, was that he had no idea the maltak was going to level his palace in less than an hour. He assigned all but a small band of guards to sweep the hills. The remaining guards moved back inside the palace.

It was time to go.

She made her way down the hill again, back to the members of her team. Jack and Daniel were out cold, their bodies slumped against the cave at awkward angles. Teal'c stood as she made her way back toward the band. "Antalus is dead, and the guards are inside the maltak."

Teal'c said nothing but closed his eyes briefly, as though to commend a dead soul to a better resting place. "I am sorry."

She almost thanked him but thought better of it. It would have come out wrong, at least to her. "Teal'c, I think I may have a way out of here."

"I am eager to hear your plan, Major Carter. Our situation is becoming critical."

She sighed. "Yeah, I noticed." She turned to check on Daniel once more. "It doesn't look like Neja has any spare shuttles laying around. So I started timing the arcs from the maltak. I know it's overloading, but I counted two minutes and forty-seven seconds between emissions. It's going to be close, but I think it's enough time to send the GDO signal and get at least two through the gate before we have to get out of the way."

"It is a plan of great risk. If the time between emissions does not remain constant . . ."

Carter nodded. "I know, but I'm pretty sure we're out of options. The SGC isn't going to send through a rescue team, the shuttle's AWOL, and we have to get Avedra back. That's what we came here to do. All we have to do is get down to that gate and dial home so we can get the hell off Beman."

"How will we evade Neja's guards?"

She sighed and grimaced slightly. "That's going to be the tricky part. We'll need to buy ourselves enough time to dial in, open the gate and get three people who aren't exactly mobile through it. The minute we start dialing, Neja's going to know where we are. I'm figuring one of us will probably have to provide cover fire and then make a run for the gate before the next arc fires from the maltak." Sam turned to Teal'c, satisfied that she had done all she could for Daniel. "Now, from what I can tell, the energy is directed straight at the gate in a synchronous wave. As long as we're not directly in front of the gate when it fires, we should be okay."

Teal'c cocked his head to the side slightly, his eyebrow raised in what appeared to be amusement. "And if we are?"

"Well," she answered, "let's just say they'll be sweeping us up with a broom and dustpan."

"Then we must endeavor to make the journey through the gate in a timely manner."

She couldn't help but smile. Teal'c had a poetic grasp of the obvious. Still, it was helpful if someone voiced the objective, which he seemed to do with an air of determination that bolstered them time and again. "We better get going before Neja's guards figure out there's a cave here. We have about forty minutes until the maltak overloads completely. I'm figuring our best bet is a straight shot toward the gate. We can use the woods for cover as we go. There's just no time to go another way with these guys being so out of it," she said.

"Agreed," Teal'c said, turning toward the team members on the ground.

Sam knelt down next to O'Neill. She felt his face, which was still hot. "Colonel, I need you to wake up." She tapped his face lightly. "C'mon, sir. It's time to go." Still there was no response, just a groggy lolling of his head. Her frustration mounted. They had to go. There was no way about it, and she and Teal'c couldn't carry them. "Jack, open your eyes. Open them!"

O'Neill coughed lightly, his head perking up at her use of his first name. His eyes focused on her after a moment, a wry smile creeping to the corners of his mouth. "It's good to know you care, Major," he managed.

Sam turned to Daniel, rousing him with a little more effort. "Daniel, Colonel, we're very close. It's not too far. We need to you help us get you to the gate. It's only about a half a mile, but we're being tracked."

"How many?" O'Neill asked, although his mind was still thick with exhaustion.

"Well, I don't think Neja's sparing any expense on our part." She opened her canteen. "Here, sir – take a drink." O'Neill took a mouthful, then another, his hand grasping for the canteen. Sam's heart sank as she took it away from him, forcing the bottle out of his hands to give Daniel a turn. If it were within her power, she would have given them a swimming pool full of drinking water. As it was, there just wasn't that much to go around, not even with the stream in the back of the cave that Antalus said was still pure. She simply could not risk doing more damage.

"Avedra, how are you doing?" she asked, checking on her charge.

His breathing was labored, something she had not noticed beforehand. "Not to spoil all the fun, but I am not certain I can carry Doctor Jackson."

Teal'c approached them after checking the mouth of the cave once more. "We must go soon, Major Carter. There are three patrols moving up the mountain. They will be here momentarily."

"Okay," she said. "You take the colonel and I'll get Daniel."

They both moved in unison, picking up their charges and helping them along. Teal'c stopped long enough to get Avedra to his feet and walking. Stealth was pointless now. Speed was what counted. They had the terrain on their side descending the mountain toward the gate. The ground was slick with forest debris, causing the occasional loss of footing. More than once, Sam's back was wrenched keeping Daniel upright and walking. Avedra kept falling behind, causing Teal'c to slow the pace to allow him to catch up. They had to move faster if they were going to make it to the gate before the guards caught up with them. So far, the grid emissions seemed constant, much to Sam's relief. She kept resetting the timer on her watch, keeping count of the time between the waves of energy projected at the gate. The sonic booms in the air were becoming deafening as they approached, but they were undaunted by the fact. The desire to go home surpassed the ringing in their ears.

The ground began leveling out below them, easing the task of walking on Jack and Daniel. Avedra seemed to get a second wind and managed to keep within a few steps of Teal'c. They were only a hundred yards or so from the gate when the hum of the protection grid filled the air. It occurred to Sam in a flashing thought that they were now too close for comfort to the massive machine.

"Get down!" she yelled. On instinct, they all dropped to the ground as the bright light of the grid ballooned out, sending an ice blue wave of electricity toward the gate. The air pressure seemed to divide then collapse on them as the snap and roar of the emission belted out around them.

The pulse was over as soon as it had begun. The grid powered down into darkness again except for a few operational lights.

Sam slapped the timer on her watch, starting a countdown sequence to the next emission. She was on her feet again, pulling Daniel up into a standing position. Teal'c helped O'Neill to stand, taking a moment once again to bring Avedra upright and ready to move.

She led them to toward the right side of the gate where she was willing to gamble the emission wouldn't go on the next pulse. Up until now, the pulse remained attracted solely to the ring of the gate, not the area surrounding it. They had to be close enough to have a shot at dialing in and getting through before the next firing. If she was wrong, the pulse would arc toward them, attracted to their bodies, frying them all into nothingness.

Daniel struggled against her pace, his legs refusing to cooperate. "C'mon, Daniel, just a little further. Don't give up now," she encouraged. At times, she was literally dragging him along, his body hanging on hers with its full weight.

She checked her watch, then behind her. Avedra was closer now, moving faster than Teal'c and O'Neill. "Fifty-six seconds!"

The information seemed to motivate them all. Legs began moving better toward a small gully twenty yards to the right of the DHD. Sam led them farther out than was probably necessary, but she found a certain comfort in taking them as far away from the grid as possible given their needs.

"Twenty-eight seconds!"

They descended ten feet inside the gully, moving along its ridge toward the gate. Twenty yards to go. They needed to be somewhat next to the gate if they had a chance to get everyone through. Daniel stumbled on the rocks, slamming his hand into the ground. He gave a shallow whimper as a laceration on his palm began to bleed. Sam pulled him along. There was simply no time to hurt. When they got back through the gate, Daniel could cry all he wanted without any admonishment from her. Right now, though, they needed to haul ass.

The hum from the grid grew, signaling another impending shot of electricity. The air was thick with the smell of ozone, reminding Sam of a summer rainstorm; but this was no rainstorm. It was just a giant wave of awesome power hungry to destroy anything in its path.

She let Daniel sit for a moment while she scrambled to the top of the gully to get a fix on the DHD. They were right below it. She checked her watch. Five seconds.

"Cover your ears! Fire in the hole!" she yelled, catapulting herself down the jumble of rocks. She covered Daniel's body with hers while Teal'c shielded O'Neill and Avedra just as the grid let loose again. The sound was all around them, even inside them as it finished. The gully provided them some protection, as though sending the brunt of the thunder over their heads and not right at them. Like warriors entrenched in battle, they covered their heads until the silence took over once more.

Sam wasted no time, anticipating the blast. She was on her feet in a shot, restarting the countdown on her watch and telling Teal'c to bring Jack and Daniel up toward the DHD. Avedra tried to help Daniel to move as best he could, but the two of them together didn't make one good body. Still, they managed to make it up half the gully hill before Teal'c returned to assist them.

She started dialing the sequence for the SGC, punching at the symbols with determination. She had plugged them in a thousand times before, her hand moving of its own accord. It was time to go home. The problem was the gate wasn't dialing the symbols fast enough. Whether the ring had somehow been damaged by the maltak or that it just seemed to be moving slower, Sam couldn't help but curse it under her breath. "Move it, damn it."

The seconds on her watch ticked down. Two minutes, seven seconds and counting. Four more chevrons to go. The next locked into place, sending the wheel of symbols circling once more.

Two minutes, two seconds; three chevrons to go.

Avedra kept Jack and Daniel on their feet, supporting them in their efforts to stay upright.

One minute, fifty-seven seconds; two chevrons.

"C'mon, c'mon," Sam muttered, urging the ring to move quickly through the remaining keys. She pulled out the GDO, preparing to punch in the identification sequence the moment the wormhole was established.

One minute, fifty-two seconds; one chevron to go.

"Major Carter," Teal'c said rather calmly, "the guards have found us. Get Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson through the gate. I shall attempt to draw their fire." And with that, Teal'c knelt down, readying his staff weapon.

"Teal'c!" Sam screamed, only to see the blast of a staff weapon land a few feet to her right. She dove down behind the DHD for cover just as the gate opened. The familiar bubbling flare that emanated from the gate pushed out like a finger through a diamond ring, then folded back on itself into a glowing wall of water. She aimed the GDO at the gate and sent the code for SG-1, opening the iris on the other side of the wormhole.

The incoming fire from the guard units wasn't too intense at first. It was enough to keep them all ducking for cover, with Sam getting off the occasional return fire from behind the DHD. All she wanted was to get the hell off this world and back to her own, and damn anyone for trying to keep her from doing just that.

There was a lull in the enemy fire. She moved to the edge of the gully and hauled O'Neill up over the edge, running him toward the gate. Rounds from staff weapons sailed over their heads, aimed to high to hit moving targets.

One minute, forty-one seconds.

The guards started firing with more vigor now as they moved closer to the team. Teal'c was steadfast in his position, aiming his shots with alarming precision. Carter pushed O'Neill down behind the DHD for cover. She returned fire at the guards, taking out the peripheral attackers as they managed to get around the maltak. She kept three of them pinned around the corner while Teal'c handled the ones approaching in the open field.

One minute, twenty-six seconds. It was time to go.

She reached for Jack, pulling him toward the shimmering wall of the open gate, hoping Avedra would follow suit with Daniel. Then, with every ounce of strength, she shoved Jack through, letting the gate's pull suck his body through the event horizon.

Avedra struggled to bring Daniel to his feet, managing to pull him along toward the gate. Daniel stumbled, still in a fog.

Fifty-six seconds before the next emission.

Avedra reached the gate with Daniel as more shots were exchanged between the guards and SG-1. He dragged Daniel up toward the gate and pushed him through, turning to fire off a few rounds from the nine-millimeter Carter had given him earlier. The Tok'ra then looked at her for a split second, knowing she would never leave Teal'c behind – knowing this had all been for him.

"Go!" she yelled, throwing him at the gate with two hands. She looked back for Teal'c, who began taking heavy fire. She could see the guards at the edge of the grid mechanism, stoically moving forward toward them despite Teal'c's dead-on aim at them. They fell, one after another, at the hands of a traitor to their ranks.

Twenty-four seconds.

Sam ran toward Teal'c, firing off short bursts to conserve the ammunition she had left. Teal'c heard the sounds of her approach, taking her cue that it was time to move. He stood, continually firing at the approaching forces. Together, he and Sam stutter stepped back toward the gate, not daring to turn their backs on the rapid munitions coming at them. Only at the last moment did they turn and hurl their bodies into the depths of the gate.

The gate screamed its trek through space, hurtling the body and souls of the two travelers across the galaxy toward home, back toward Earth. The snaking tube through which their consciousness sailed sent them spinning out of control until it all dissolved into the gate room of the SGC.

Sam was first to materialize, taking but a split second to recover from the trip. Teal'c stumbled into being behind her. They ran forward down the ramp, trying to put distance between themselves and the gate.

"Close the iris!" Sam screamed.

It was too late.