Here is the long awaited next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all who have reviewed this story.
Previously . . .
Daniel held up his hand silencing her.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Gunfire. I hear gunfire."
And now, the conclusion . . .
"Are you - " began Vala, but the radio suddenly crackled to life.
"Jackson, Vala, we're under attack! Get to the gate!"
"Roger that." Quickly, Daniel grabbed his stuff and hurried into the trees, Vala following. They were a little more than halfway to the Stargate when they saw the soldiers in front of them.
Daniel crouched down, pulling Vala down with him.
"They've cut us off," the latter observed in a whisper.
"Yeah, I noticed." Daniel grabbed his radio. "Guys, this is Daniel. We're cut off from the gate. I repeat, we are cut off from the gate."
There was a pause. "Hang tight," came Mitchell's voice, shouting to be heard over the gunfire. "We'll come get you."
"Negative," Daniel replied. "You guys just get through the gate. We'll try and get through later." There was silence. "They haven't seen us yet," he added. "We'll be fine."
"Copy that. If we can come back for you, we will. Just . . . try not to get caught and killed."
"No argument there," said Daniel with a small grin. "See you in a bit. Daniel out." He looked at Vala and motioned her to follow him. Still crouching, they retreated back out of sight of the soldiers.
"Well, what's the plan?" Vala asked.
"We'll head back to the ruins and wait for night. Then we'll try and get through the gate."
Vala nodded. "Sounds good." Unfortunately, even good plans have a tendency to go wrong. They hadn't gone very far when a shot suddenly hit a tree beside them.
"Down!" Daniel yelled unnecessarily. He whirled as he crouched, firing his weapon into the trees. Beside Vala, was firing too. Soon, however, it became obvious that the odds were not in their favor.
"Fall back!" Daniel yelled and they began retreating, still firing at the advancing enemy. They had just reached the clearing when the noise of a fast approaching ship was heard. Simultaneously, they both began to run. Shots whistled by from the pursuers. Soon those noises were joined by the large harsh sounds of the ship's weapons as it too opened fire. The two fugitives reached the ruins, but Daniel realized that they wouldn't provide much protection now. Quickly racking his brain for every bit of knowledge relating to temples of this design, Daniel ran into what would have been the main room. Once inside, he began tapping on the stone floor.
"What are you doing?!" Vala exclaimed.
"Some temples had secret vaults under the floor. I'm really hoping that this is one of them." Sure enough, he both heard and felt a hollow thud beneath his boot. "Help me get it up," he said, forcing his fingers under the stone. Together, they managed to pry up the stone revealing a deep hole underneath with stairs vanishing into the darkness.
"Go!" Daniel told Vala. She hesitated only a moment before hurrying down the rough hewn steps. Daniel followed her, allowing the stone to crash back into place behind him. It had barely done so before a huge explosion sounded directly above him, rocking the staircase. With loud cries, both Daniel and Vala lost their footing and tumbled into the darkness.
Another cliffhanger of sorts. Don't worry, next - and final - chapter will likely be posted by the end of today. Reviews welcomed and appreciated.