Author's Note: I make no claim to ownership of Stargate or any of its affiliated characters.
Chapter Twenty-One
Drey'auc reentered the house a few minutes later, followed shortly by a notably calmer Teal'c. No one dared ask what had transpired between them. For the moment we all wordlessly decided to focus on rescuing Rya'c.
Fro'tak spared a quick glance to his wife, then he walked to a large cabinet up against the back wall and pulled out a scroll. He brought it over to the table, where my team and I had gathered around, and unrolled it. It was a rudimentary blueprint for Apophis's palace. "Rya'c is being held in the west wing of the palace where I work." He pointed to the rearmost portion of the palace. "It is less than 200 paces away. I know it well. I have made a map. This is the main corridor. My place of work is here, in the Hall of Recording. The guarded room is at the opposite end." He traced the path from his house all the way to where Rya'c was being held.
Kalen walked to the right side of me and leaned over the map, brushing my arm in the process. Involuntarily I pulled my arm away and close to my side, but he didn't notice.
Kalen reached across and tapped on the map. "There is an entrance near that end utilized only for the changing of the guard. The west wing is the most isolated part of the palace."
"So we should be able to get in and out pretty quickly before anyone could get there." Sam said.
Jack's eyes roved over the map, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He was asking himself if this was a viable plan. Making up his mind he raised his head and looked at each of us around the table. "We go as soon as it's dark."
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Bra'tac led us deep into the palace. Every few minutes the group of us had to doge into an alcove or empty room to avoid being discovered. Still, for the palace of Apophis there seemed to be too few guards. This was too easy. Something wasn't right.
Suddenly Bra'tac halted our advance by raising his hand. Stopping just this side of a corner, Bra'tac propped his staff up against the wall and walked out into clear view of the guards we knew were there!
"Jaffa, kree! Tel ra nel t'ko!" He called for the guards to come and follow him.
Like the well trained jaffa they were, they did as they were told. And according to the plan, we were waiting for them when they came around the corner. A few zat blasts later, they were down for the count.
"Clear!" I announced and leveled my zat at my waist as we crept the rest of the way to the room where Rya'c was supposed to be.
Sam broke off a small glob of C4 and packed it around the lock. She then pressed the detonator into the grey mass. "Step back" She ordered and we all complied. "Three, two, one" The flipped the switch and the C4 fizzled and blew away the lock.
Jack walked back to the door and cautiously pushed it open.
I half expected to room to be empty, but I was wrong. There, sitting in a chair across the room, was a clearly frightened Rya'c. He bolted up from his chair and sprinted towards us. Teal'c opened his arms to receive his son's embrace.
But all he got was his son's pounding fists as Rya'c struggled to flee from us.
"Help guards! Help me!" He shrieked.
Teal'c grabbed his son by the shoulders and forced him to face him. "Do not be afraid, Rya'c. You are safe." He tried to assure the little boy.
Rya'c snarled at his father. "Get away from me! Shol'va!"
There is was. The greatest insult to a jaffa. The shock of hearing this from his son broke Teal'c's grasp on Rya'c just as a trio of guards rounded the corner. The guard at the head fired, blasting apart the wall just above Jack's head.
Teal'c's last bit of grip he had on his son broke, and Rya'c ran to cower behind the serpent guards.
"That's it, we're outta here! Lets go! Lets go!" Jack ordered, grabbing the back of Teal'c's robe and hauling him up and out.
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Drey'auc's hope-filled gaze turned to us the instant we opened walked through the door. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for the one person we knew she would not find. "What happened? Where's my son?"
Jack let out a sigh and answered her. "He's all right. We just ran into some problems."
"It is far worse than that, O'Neill. Rya'c's body lives, but his heart and mind has been destroyed." Teal'c hung his head in defeat.
"What are you saying?" Dey'auc's voice quivered.
"He is now with Apophis."
Bra'tac nodded in solemn agreement. "The boy was a stranger. A beast!"
Jack looked back and forth between the three jaffa. "Oh, come on! The kid's brainwashed."
"You promised…you would bring him home!" Drey'auc angrily said to Teal'c.
"Hear me, woman." Teal'c whirled on her. "He called me traitor and sought protection from the guards. Apophis is punishing me for my betrayal."
Drey'auc sucked in a breath. "But he's just a child. My child!" The sorrow in her voice was gut-wrenching.
"You cannot feel more contempt for me than I hold for myself." Teal'c turned away from her.
Drey'auc's face softened and she walked to Teal'c. "This was not your doing, Teal'c." She said taking his hand.
Suddenly there was a static like buzz from the upper level. Craning my neck to see into the second floor I could just make out a silver round orb. It was Goa'uld communications device, like the one we had seen on Klorel's ship.
"Apophis is about to address the people of Chulak." Bra'tac announced.
"This aut to be interesting." I looked up at Kalen at my side. We shared the same troubled expression.
The orb blurred for a brief moment before the image coalesced into the face and shoulders of Apophis.
"People of Chulak." His voice reverberated loudly throughout the house. "Rumors of my defeat are false, spread by traitors who would destroy our world. I bring you the truth, proof of my power to conquer evil and forgive transgression. Witness my most loyal subject…" The image blurred again, and when it cleared, Rya'c was standing beside Apophis! "Rya'c, son of Teal'c!"
"My father is not a hero. He is evil. He turned away from our god, our people, even his own family. He is a Ha'taaka!" Rya'c's voice was filled with hate.
Apophis spoken again. "My people, this Ha'taaka is now among us, here in Chulak. I will give one million shesh'ta to the Jaffa who brings Teal'c to me alive and another million for the heads of those who are with him."
Jack laughed humorlessly. "Well, if you've got a price on your head, you're doing your job."
"The evil ones have my mother. She is their prisoner." Rya'c's statement had everyone looking around in surprise. Drey'auc wasn't our prisoner. "Help us save her. My mother is Drey'auc of the Morning Cham'ka Groves."
At those last words Teal'c's head snapped up, there was even a ghost of a smile on his face. How that could be after what we just heard, I had no theory.
"This was to be expected." Bra'tac said.
"What about him saying we took Drey'auc?" I asked. "No one's taken her."
"You are correct Erin Clark. Rya'c has given me hope. Perhaps my son is not lost to me." Teal'c answered.
"Where do you get that?" Jack gave Teal'c his 'you've just lost your mind and this is my reaction' look.
"He is fighting this brainwashing you spoke of. His last words were a hidden message to me." Teal'c explained.
"You mean the thing about us having his mother?" Sam asked.
Teal'c nodded. "He called her Drey'auc of the Morning Cham'ka Groves.
"But I am of the Cord'ai Plains. Rya'c knows this." Drey'auc said coming to stand beside Teal'c, who put his arm around her.
Teal'c smile down at her. "Only too well. In the past, I have taken him to the Cham'ka Groves to play."
"Morning Cham'ka Groves…he wants us to go there in the morning." Daniel said.
"He has given us a way to free him." Teal'c looked around at us happily.
"Teal'c," Bra'tac said. "I know he is your son, but this is a wisdom far beyond his years."
"Yeah, I'm kinda with Bra'tac on this one." Jack wasn't convinced. "The boy had a chance to come with us the first time. I kinda think its wishful thinking, Teal'c."
Anger began to seep back into Teal'c's voice. "It is not wishful thinking, O'Neill! My son is strong. He is fighting this brainwashing you spoke of. It has simply taken him this long to win the battle. He…" Teal'c was cut off by a demanding pounding on the door.
Fro'tak moved to answer the door, but was stopped when Jack stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"You expecting someone?" Jack asked him.
Fro'tak minutely shook his head and sidestepped Jack. He opened to door to find several armed serpent guards. He quickly stepped outside and closed the door behind so they couldn't see into the house where we were.
"Hurry! This way." Drey'auc whispered. She walked up to one of the seemingly solid walls and pushed in one of the bricks. There was a faint shifting sound from within the wall and a pop. Then the wall slid inwards to reveal a secret room.
"Ok inside." Jack ordered.
We all crowed into the small space. I felt a bit of a panicky jump as the door closed behind us. While I didn't have claustrophobia, I sure didn't love small, tight places.
On the other side of the door I could hear several pairs of feet moving around. I jumped back from the door when something unexpectedly bumped into it. I knocked into someone, built in the dark I couldn't see who.
Just when it seemed like we would be stuck in here forever a voice called out from inside the house. "Next house."
There was a precession of footsteps moving away, growing fainter until they couldn't be heard at brushed past me in the dark and pushed open the door. When light flooded in I saw that it had been Teal'c.
He approached Fro'tak, and for a second I was afraid we were going to have to stop him from killing Fro'tak. But instead he placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Until this moment, Fro'tak, I was not certain you could be trusted."
The hurt showed clearly on Fro'tak's face. "We are old friends, Teal'c. I would hope you never lose your trust in me."
I couldn't help the smile that came to my face as these two old friends seemed to be reconciling. That was until I noticed the expression of Jack's face. He was particularly good at reading people, and right now he was watching this exchange with suspicion. For all our sakes, I hoped this time he was wrong.
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I was asleep, dreaming of better times when a hand roughly woke me up. It took me a moment to realize that the person who was shaking me was Jack.
"Jack? What's going on?" I asked.
"Fro'tak just left the house, I think he's up to something." He answered in a whisper.
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"Guard!" Fro'tak yelled out. "I will lead you to the traitor, Teal'c, and his evil companions."
The guard never got to respond before Jack and I jumped around the corner. We each had our zats out and blasted the jaffa.
Fro'tak whirled around, narrowing his eyes when he saw us. He reached behind his back and into his cloak, pulling out a wicked looking serrated knife.
"Don't do it." I warned him, but he kept coming. I fired on him once, his knees buckled and his knife clattered to the floor.
"Jaffa kree!" He shouted.
Jack jumped on top of him and clamped his hand over Fro'tak's mouth. "Shut up! It does not have to go down like this! Nice and quiet. Come on."
Fro'tak stared up at Jack wide eyed and nodded. Jack pulled his hand away from his mouth.
"Jaffa!" Fro'tak screamed again.
Jack threw him to the ground and zated him. He stood and zated him a third time, disintegrating Fro'tak's body.
Dozens of pounding footsteps were rushing down the hall towards us. Jack took of down the corridor in the opposite direction. But just as I was about to follow I saw the tip of a jaffa's staff weapon making the turn around the corner.
Jack must have thought I was right behind him because he just kept going. I couldn't yell out to him lest I reveal exactly where we were. Hoping that he would be able to make it out himself, I turned and plowed through a door at the side of the hall.
No sooner had I closed the door behind me, I heard jaffa running past. Taking a breath, I looked around the empty room. It looked like some kind of study. I had to get out of here. The chances that this room would remain unsearched for long were slim at best. There was a door at the other end of the room. Weaving my way around the desks and stacks of scrolls, I came to a stop before the door. I tried the latch and found it unlocked.
I opened it only as much as I needed to slip through, and closed it as soon as I was on the other side. I leaned my forehead against the door and let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, well." A reverberating and chillingly familiar voice rumbled behind me.
With a gasp I whirled around. Oh boy, I was in trouble.
Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed. Review, comment. See you all soon.