Chapter Seven

Blind as a Bat

They made it to the Stargate without incident, but it and the DHD were still well guarded, despite the chaos ensuing from the quakes. Jack signaled the group to approach the DHD with due caution. Four Zigarans and a squad of Jaffa were lurking about, doing their level best to keep their feet on the bucking ground.

Jack pulled out his zat and took aim at the Zigaran closest to the DHD. "We'll clear the DHD first, then you and Etep can set up cover fire while Carter and I make for the Gate."

Etep shook his head. "We'll be going through the Portal with you. To ensure you come back as promised. With reinforcements."

Jack looked at him with a frown. After a moment, he nodded his head. He gestured over to Sam, and she moved to his side, raising her weapon and aiming for the Jaffa soldiers. Etep and Chaela followed suit, taking cover positions and readying their weapons. At Jack's signal, they all opened fire, killing half the squad in the first volley. A few rounds back and forth later, and the remaining guards defending the device were dead or too seriously injured to pose any further threat.

"Dial out, Major," Jack ordered. She nodded and began pressing the symbols addressing earth. Just before she could activate the Gate, though, a new round of fire came at them from behind. The search party lead by Aresan's First Prime had caught up with them. Chaela and Etep opened fire back, but it wasn't enough. The pack of soldiers had drastically increased in size, and they were completely surrounded. They had no choice but to surrender.

The First Prime walked into the midst of the circle surrounding the foursome and the DHD. He pulled out a zat and leveled it at Jack. He squeezed and fired, then hit Jack upside the head for good measure. He then turned to Sam and fired the zat at her, then at Etep, and lastly, Chaela. He walked back down the line of them to stand before Jack, who had dropped to his knees after being hit.

"You will not escape again," the Jaffa announced. "We report to Lord Aresan immediately." One of the soldiers shoved Jack forward, and they began marching behind the First Prime. They were lead back to the same bunker that had housed the shield generator, and they walked in over the rubble that was left in the wake of the explosion they had set off. They didn't go far before the First Prime stopped. He waved a hand before a part of the wall and a control panel appeared. He pressed a series of buttons and a doorway appeared. The team was shoved inside, followed closely by the guard.

It was a chamber, nearly empty save one console that housed strange looking controls. The team was led into the center of the room. One of the soldiers manned the controls, while the rest surrounded the team. After a moment, the room shimmered around them, and they were suddenly transported out.

The world disappeared into a bright white fog, and when it faded away, they were no longer on the chamber; in fact, they appeared to be on board the Mothership.

"Well, this isn't exactly according to plan," Jack mused aloud. The quip earned him another blow to the gut. He grunted loudly when the butt of the staff weapon struck him.

The First Prime whirled round to loom over Jack. "You will learn the meaning of silence if I have to rip your throat out," he growled. He turned and strode out of the room, and the team was herded to follow him through the halls of the ship.

After walking through the endless maze of golden corridors for what felt like hours, they finally stopped before an ornate doorway. The First Prime pressed a few buttons on the console near the doorway, and the doors slid up silently. The team was shoved inside behind the First Prime.

It was obviously the throne room, and sure enough, the might Lord Aresan was seated in his regal chair. The foursome were brought before him and forced to their knees.

"I know you," the Goa'uld spoke in his artificially deep voice. His comment was directed at the human half of the team. "You are Jack O'Neill, leader of SG1. And you," he said, turning his eye to Sam, "are Major Samantha Carter of SG1." He smiled, a sickly evil grin. "Lord Ba'al will be most pleased with your capture." He stood up and walked down the carpeted stairs, stopping to stand before Etep. "You and your companion, however, are of little consequence to me. Take them to the prison cells," he ordered his guards. Four of them moved into place behind Etep and Chaela. "They will pledge their allegiance to their God, Lord Aresan, or they will die; either way is little difference to me."

Before they could be moved, the entire ship began to quake and shudder. Jack looked to Sam. Secondary team? he mouthed out to her. She nodded her head. The entire guard was suddenly distracted with trying to keep their balance, and alarms began to blare through the small chamber. Jack looked around, quickly assessing the situation. He turned his head back to Sam, and by way of a few small hand gestures, he indicated his plan for escape. She nodded in understanding.

Jack lunged toward the nearest guard, easily stealing his zat and firing it at the surprised soldier twice. The Jaffa crumbled to the ground. Sam followed suit, grabbing the weapon of the soldier nearest her and killing him with it. Etep and Chaela quickly realized what was happening, and in moments they were both armed as well, and over half the guard was dead.

Lord Aresan screamed in fury. He lifted an arm clad with one of the Goa'uld hand devices and pointed at Jack. Just as it fired, the room heaved and bucked, knocking everyone off of their feet. Aresan howled in frustration. Jack rolled to his side, lifted the zat and shot at Aresan. The shot just glanced off of Aresan's personal shield.

Etep, now right beside Aresan, reached out to the Goa'uld, getting hold of the device on his chest that powered the defensive shield. He ripped it off and threw it across the room. Jack fired again, this time the shot hit its mark. He fired again and Aresan dropped to the ground. Etep leveled his zat and fired it at Aresan, and the man disintegrated into nothing.

"Well, that's a bit of overkill, but I guess I can't blame you," Jack said to Etep as he helped his alien comrade to his feet.

"We must get off of this ship; the secondary team has struck and this ship will be destroyed soon."

"Yeah, I caught that," Jack replied. He turned his attention to Sam, who was still having trouble getting back to her feet. He walked over and lent her a hand. "What do you think, Major? Should we chance that transport device they brought us up in?

Sam shook her head. "That place was under heavy fire when we left; there's a good chance it won't work. That leaves us with rings or gliders?"

"We have no idea if there are rings planet-side. Gliders would be the better bet."

"We will have to avoid friendly fire since they won't know we're friendly," Etep said. "I am a fairly skilled pilot, though, and I doubt that will be a problem for me," he added with a pointed look at Jack.

"Gliders it is, then," Jack decided. "Let's move." Jack led them out of the throne room, and then he turned to Sam. "You probably know the layout better than any of us," he said to her. "Why don't you lead the way, Major?"

"Yes, sir," she said, and then she turned to lead them down the corridor. They walked slowly and cautiously, wary of any lingering Jaffa; they only encountered a couple of groups and were able to avoid detection rather easily, since the only thing they were concerned with was escaping the soon-to-detonate ship, which was still rocking and rolling with explosive blast after blast.

They finally reached the glider bay, but most of the ships had been dispatched to fight the battle still raging on outside. There was only one left, and it only had room to seat two.

"You go ahead, we'll make our way out some other way," Chaela said. Sam shook her head, not wanting to leave their new friends. Jack frowned, as did Etep.

"We can't just leave them here like this, sir. I suggest we go ahead and try the rings… the transport room shouldn't be too far."

"What happens if there are no rings on the planet?"

"We should just bounce back onto the ship, sir."

"Then we're no worse off, just down a little time." Jack looked back to Etep and Chaela. "I'm not eager to try squeezing four into the two-seater gliders, are you?" They both shook their heads. "All right, Major, lead the way to the ring-room."

They left the glider bay and made their way to the transportation chamber of the Mothership. It only took a couple of minutes before they found the room. Sam raced around to the control console, pressed a few buttons as the other three went to the center of the rings. Sam raced back around and joined them seconds before the rings rose up out of the ground. The world flashed white.

As the bright light faded, they could see they were no longer on the Goa'uld ship, but exactly where they were, no one was certain.

It wasn't the bunker that housed the shield generator, nor did it resemble any other facility they had been in so far. Jack and Sam turned to Etep and Chaela with questions in their eyes.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Jack asked.

"I believe we are in what remains of the prison facility," Etep answered. "This looks like one of the chambers the slaves were brought into for trade with the Goa'uld. I never saw them utilizing the ring transports, though." Etep walked around the room, finally stopping in front of one non-descript wall. He waved a hand in front of the wall and a console appeared. He pressed a button and a door opened.

"Follow me," Etep said as he stepped out of the room. Chaela followed him closely, and Sam and Jack weren't far behind. They wound their way through broken halls and tons of debris before they finally found an exit to the outside world.

The battle was raging fiercely just beyond the compound. They could see flashes of light, could hear the rumble of heavy gunfire. They were close to the front line. Then, from above, they heard another rumble, like thunder but bigger, exponentially bigger and louder and stronger. It seemed to rip right through their bodies, and it drew the eyes of all four of them up toward the sky. It was the Mothership, in a low and deteriorating orbit, and it was exploding into a huge fireball. That fireball was on a collision course with the Stargate.

"We need to get to the Gate fast! I'd say we have less than a minute before that fireball hits it!" Jack said as he took off in a dead run for the Gate, Sam hot on his heels. Etep and Chaela exchanged glances before running after the humans.

They reached the DHD without incident; all the Jaffa and Zigaran soldiers remaining in the area were thoroughly engaged with the Noggraans or running from the coming fireball. Sam punched in the symbols to dial Earth as quickly as she could, and soon the Gate whooshed to life. She lifted an arm and pushed the buttons on her GDO, which had been returned to her just prior to the mission.

All four of them set off on a dead run for the gate, the fireball of a Mothership boring down fast and furiously. They just made it through the event horizon before the fireball finally hit the ground directly in front of the Gate.