CHAPTER SEVEN

Planet PJ3-176,

Milky Way Galaxy.

Strangely enough, the second meeting between Lt Colonel Samantha Carter and her captor, the Goa'uld Lord Tel'mar, was something akin to pleasant, though the host body still made Sam cringe instinctively, despite her own experiences with the 'learnered' and civilized Unas, Chaka. It was just hard to get over the creature's outward appearance, resembling that of a demonic nightmare being more than anything else... and knowing that the visibly disturbing host body housed the even more repugnant Goa'uld symbiote still made it all, well, unsettling.

"Colonel Samantha Carter, this is indeed a true honour! Please, sit, sit!" the Goa'uld ruler said amicably, indicating a positon at the long table stacked with a wide variety of delicacies. It was near the head of the table, right by his own position in fact, and Carter took her seat with a slight sense of trepidation. "I must say, I can hardly contain my own amazement at having such a noble, valiant warrior of such wide renown, sharing a meal with me, a simple governor of an unimportant back-water planet."

Carter cringed slightly at the praise, especially considering where it was coming from. She knew the fundamental differences between the Tok'ra and the Goa'uld – and also knew that there was little chance whatsoever that this flattering, silver-tongued leader meant anything that he said.

The Goa'uld were egotistical, manical dictators, who ruled over their people with ruthless impunity, waged war with an utter disregard for human or Jaffa lives, and sometimes even bought into their own propaganda and considered themselves gods. If Tel'mar was trying to play down his own level of power and influence, then there had to be a reason for it.

She also couldn't help but feel self-conscious about the dress she had selected for the evening meal. Most all of the clothing left for her in the closet of her room were too overbearing for Sam's personal tastes, and were also far too revealing and enhancing. But then, they were not her choices, and after the hot bath in various flavoured incenses that had been prepared for her, Carter hardly felt like slipping back into her dirty military fatigues again. She had picked out the least risque dress in the cupboard... but still, the Lt Colonel felt far too exposed than she would have liked. Almost on display for the Goa'uld Lord sitting beside her.

"What is happening with the rest of my team? Where are they? What have you got them doing for you, Tel'mar?" Carter demanded, looking squarely at the possessed Unas as he reached down to scoop up a large chunk of pork roast.

The creature tore into the meat and chewed it for a long moment before swallowing, then looked across at the Colonel at last, favouring her with a inquisitive look before at last finding the words to answer her question.

"I have sent them on a mission," he replied in a dull, disinterested voice, "the specifics of which do not concern you. Be at ease, Samantha, they will return, and I will honour my end of the bargain by letting you all go free... if that is what you wish."

There was something in the way Tel'mar spoke this last remark that chilled Carter to the core. He was going to HONOR the bargain now? Somehow, she did not think this was true.

Sitting back and watching Tel'mar continue to eat his food, the Colonel pondered her own situation, and wondered how she could now use the Goa'uld's seemingly warm hospitality now to her own advantage.

"So what am I to you now, a bargaining chip or a guest?" Carter asked. "And if I am a guest, why are you treating me like a prisoner with these guards following me everywhere I go?"

"Colonel Carter, please do not insult me with such questioning," the Goa'uld answered with a small, incisive smirk, baring his teeth to the blonde-haired woman as he reached out for another serving of food. "You are treated better than most of the people on this planet right now, who are suffering from an unjust war against the followers of the Ori... our shared enemies, Samantha. Your presence here on my planet was perfect, and I took swift action to take advantage of this situation. Now, please, eat my food and enjoy my hospitality. It can be extrmely pleasant. Or, as you already had a taste of before down in the dungeon, it can be quite unpleasant."

Then, a silence fell down over the table, and Carter turned her attention to the bowls of various types of food spread out before her. She began to fill her own plate with all different kinds of scrumptuous-looking foodstuff, piling it high as she realised that it had been many many hours since she had eaten a good, solid meal.

The conversation with the Goa'uld ruler was, for the moment, over, and Sam was very glad for this small mercy. She didn't know where she stood with this creature... but one thing was for sure. There was no way Carter, or any of them for that matter, could trust the word of this creature. He had spent centuries dominating this world and its people... and his race, the Goa'uld, were most certainly not known for their honour or integrity.

# SG1 #

They travelled long and hard, moving mostly under the cover of darkness. Artan checked in with his command every twelve hours without fail, and the team covered a great deal of distance quickly. At times though, they had to come to rest, to relieve the call of nature whenever necessary, and to take on food and water.

Meals ready to Eat – or MREs for short – were the 'delicacy' of choice, and they all cringed at the horrific taste of the food but stomached it anyway because it was the only option open to them. The pre-wrapped, ready-to-go meals from military-contractors back on Earth hardly cared for taste or appeal, only for the health, vitality and increased combat effectiveness of America's front-line troops.

Teal'c was the one who first heard the sound of approaching footsteps, through the thicket of trees off to their immediate left. The team was nestled in a naturally-forming gully in a small, open clearing – there was little chance that they could break cover and make a dash for any of the nearby trees or shrubs. He briefed them quietly on the situation.

"There are about half a dozen of them," the Jaffa warrior said softly. "About twenty yards away. They're armed with staff weapons, and I believe one or two are carrying zat'ni'katels. These could very well be followers of the Ori."

"I think that's pretty likely, considering how deep we are inside their territory," Daniel whispered. "Right, Artan?"

"Yes, Dr Jackson. Lord Tel'mar has no loyalist forces making ground against our enemies at this time... except for ourselves, of course."

Cam Mitchell bit back on his tongue. He was going to challenge the Jaffa on the use of the word 'loyalists', at least when concerned with SG-1 – none of them wanted anything to do with this fight. Killing a Prior of the Ori and helping a Goa'uld crush a rebellion; now that was a fight they would rather stay out of, if they could, and hope that both sides destroyed each other in the mayhem. But alas, that was not to be.

"What are they doing now, Teal'c?" the Colonel inquired finally, carefully maneuvering himself around in their makeshift foxhole, rolling bodily over Artan and Daniel who were crouching down as low as they could into the dirt and coming to a hard stop down beside the dark-skinned Jaffa.

"It seems they are performing a search of the surrounding forest, Colonel Mitchell," the warrior said softly, his eyes narrowing in something akin to concern for the old veteran. "No doubt, they are searching for any sign of our presence. I do not know if they are part of a larger patrol, or if they are the only ones in their group."

There was a long, protracted pause, as Colonel Mitchell took in the scene up over the edge of their gully and saw the shadowy figures moving amongst the trees out in front of him. He counted each and every one of the dark shapes that moved about he could see – seven of them in total. Cam dropped back down beside Teal'c and the others in the ditch, rolled over onto his back with the others, and assessed their options.

They were all spaced out in an obvious search pattern – it would be hard to take them all out fast enough, if not impossible, and then there was a real possibility that they could very well be bringing a greater number of enemies down upon them if the team was able to take them all down. The gunfire would not go unnoticed, if there were other enemies within earshot of the battle – they could in all likelihood alert them to the team's location, which was something they all would rather avoid doing if possible.

But there was aslo a big chance that they would be discovered in their gully if the team stayed where they were and did nothing. The search party was moving with organized purpose through the trees and shrubbery towards their small clearing; the ditch in the ground near the centre of the space in the forest was impossible to miss. No, there was no way they could stay where they were and do nothing, because they would be discovered in any event.

It was Teal'c, again, who spoke up.

"Colonel Mitchell, let me run a diversion for you." The look on the experienced Jaffa's face was utterly expressionless, yet his eyes burned with the intensity of righteous passion and confidence. "I will draw the enemy force away from here, while the three of you can slip out of this ditch and follow us in pursuit. I will do my best to take out as many of them as I can, and the rest of you, I trust, will assist once you are out of the clearing and able to follow."

Daniel quickly spoke up, before Cam could get a word in; but he basically said what the Lt Colonel was about to say himself. "No way, Teal'c," the archaeologist said with a firm, determined voice. "You can't just take all the risk like that. You'll be out there on your own, and they'll be coming right after you hard and fast. Plus, we have no idea how many other enemies are out there. You could be cut off and slaughtered before you get more than a hundred yards away!"

"Indeed I could, Daniel Jackson, but there is no other alternative," Teal'c said solemnly. "To stay where we are now will only mean they will discover us, eventually. We might be able to fight our way out from this position, but I believe we are more likely to survive if we take them on right now, and I am able to lead them away quickly enough for the rest of you to come in after us, eliminating the enemies that I have not yet been able to neutralize myself."

There was little point in arguing with Teal'c's logic – because it made sound tactical sense. There was really nobody else as suited to such a dangerous solo mission as Teal'c was.

He was by far the best fighter Cam had ever seen, in close quarters. Brutally effective and highly motivated, the Jaffa warrior had an inner strength and perserverance that had made him a highly capable member of SG-1 for nine years. He had established the Jaffa rebellion, witnessed the fall of the mighty Goa'uld empires that spanned much of this galaxy, and seen to the creation of a galaxy-wide government for his people.

This one act he was ready to perform was, when weighed against such incredible achievements, already a foregone conclusion.

"Okay then, we'll do this the way you say," Mitchell agreed at last. He looked across at Daniel and could see that the Doctor was mad – he wanted to go out there and risk his life alongside his good friend, but that wasn't the wisest plan and in his heart, Jackson knew it too. Teal'c would be faster and more lethal on his own. "Good luck, buddy. We're right behind you."

This was a fight that none of them wanted – but there was no other way around it. The patrol was almost upon them and the team had to act fast to deal with the threat. Teal'c, with a slightly straining grunt as he vaulted up over the ridge then raced off into the trees towards the nearest enemy, moved with the speed and agility of a born warrior.

# SG1 #

The first Jaffa, a youthful follower of the Ori barely old enough to be considered a warrior of his people, hardly stood a chance. A quick knife-slash across the throat and the warrior dropped to the grass, spilling his lifeblood out across the ground in front of him as he fell to his knees, then slumped forward on his face. The skilled fighter didn't even pause in his long, determined strides as he moved on past the first enemy he had killed.

After the initial assault, Teal'c immediately shifted his focus onto his next targets. There were two more armed Jaffa nearby, within firing range, and they were bringing their staff weapons quickly around to fire upon him.

It was all in slow motion though, from his prespective. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, and his muscles flexed and bulged with exertion. Teal'c was just that little bit faster than the two opponents opposite him, and he loosed off a long volley of bullets at the two Jaffa, cutting them both down in a vicious torrent of high-velocity rounds that sliced their bodies open and hurled their corpses back into the shrubs behind them.

The gunfire though galvanised the others into action. Staff weapon bolts and strings of dark-blue zat-fire shot out at him from all directions, as the Ori troopers around him immediately brought their firepower down upon him. There were at least four more enemies out there, Teal'c knew.

He could see a couple of shadowy figures moving from cover to cover, trying to get a better shot at him from behind some kind of barrier. The Jaffa warrior knew he had to keep moving – stay still for too loing, and he was as good as dead as things stood now.

Teal'c only hoped that the Colonel, Dr Jackson, and even the Jaffa Artan were following him... and that there weren't any more nasty surprises waiting for him, further on along his path through the forest up ahead.