In a tent on the planet Abydos, trillions of light-years from Earth, Colonel O'Neil stuffs books and clothes into a cloth bag. Daniel Jackson rushes behind him unpacking most of his possessions and securing them from Jack's grasp.
"I'm not going back to Earth."
"Jackson I'm under orders from General West."
"I really don't care... I have a wife."
O'Neil drops everything in his hands and pulls a letter from his pocket and hands it to Daniel.
"I didn't want to have to play this card."
Daniel opens the letter and looks to see it signed by Catherine Langford.
"What is this?"
"Doctor Langford wrote a letter to you a couple years ago, after we returned from Abydos... I don't think she ever intended for you to read it. Since I was coming, I figured I'd bring it."
"Do you know what it says?"
Jack shakes his head.
"It was signed to you."
Daniel sits and begins to slowly read through the letter. After a few moments, Jack starts walking to the exit of the tent, he stops and turns back.
"Jackson... I'm not leaving without you."
O'Neil steps outside the tent to meets up with Kawalsky and Feretti who are standing on a sand dune watching the sunset, O'Neil walks up behind them and lights a cigarette. Kawalsky turns and notices the Colonel.
"So, whats the story?"
"I gave him Catherine's letter, with any luck it'll push him to come back to Earth to at least see her."
"...Why don't we just shoot him?"
O'Neil and Kawalsky turn to Feretti.
"Well it'd save a lot of time."
"Jackson's afraid if we take him back to Earth... we won't send him back."
Suddenly Daniel rushes out of his tent and looks around to spot O'Neil and the others. He rushes over to the three standing on the sand dune not far from him.
"How long did she have the cancer?"
All three turn to face him. O'Neil and Kawalsky look at each other.
"She knew about it a few months before we stepped through to Abydos."
Daniel hesitates... there is a pause among all of them.
"...When was the funeral?"
"Eight months ago... Jackson... Catherine's office was left alone. Kawalsky tells me that she was researching several ancient artifacts, related to the Stargate."
Jack blatantly tries to sweeten the pot. Before Jackson can speak, horns are sounded in the distance. The four men look to see, in the far distance, a sand storm beginning to set in their direction. Feretti turns and notices the sky getting darker... and thunder roaring in, Feretti steps over to O'Neil."
"Colonel... three years ago when Ra's ship landed."
"What about it Feretti?"
"...The same type of weather was setting in."
Kawalsky begins to remember the events.
"That's right the sand was so bad you had to fall back to the pyramid... Colonel we were locked in the Abydonian city."
O'Neil looks at Jackson.
"Against our will as I remember."
O'Neil pulls a radio from his belt and switches it on.
"Correll, O'Neil."
Over the radio Lieutenant Correll, who volunteered to stay with the gate, is heard.
"Go ahead, Colonel."
"Lieutenant begin the aligning process to the Earth gate."
"Yes sir, I'm on it!"
O'Neil switches off his radio and puts it back on his belt. He grabs Jackson by the arm.
"You're coming with us Jackson. Even if I have to have Feretti here shoot you."
Feretti pulls his sidearm from his hip. O'Neil turns to him and Kawalsky.
"Both you get back to the gate, secure your position until we get there."
"Yes sir."
Kawalsky and Feretti take off running down the sand dune, through the make shift fort and down to the stone walkway leading to the entrance of the pyramid. Inside they meet up with Correll who is finishing aligning the gate, as the last symbol, the point of origin, is locked the gate explodes with energy and the all too familiar pool of energy streams out the front... then as soon as it extends it retracts. Kawalsky and Feretti take positions on either side of the ramp leading into the gate chamber. They cock their MP5 submachine guns, causing Correll to do the same.
"What's going on?" Asks Correll as she takes cover behind the probe.
"Colonel O'Neil thinks another alien spacecraft is landing."
"Colonel ain't the only one." Feretti says almost to himself.
"Where is the Colonel?"
"Him and Jackson are on their way we gotta hold until they get here."
Feretti thinks for a minute, then jumps up and walks over to the gear they brought with them. He kicks open a crate and slings his submachine gun behind him, from the crate he lifts a G36 assault rifle and slams a one-hundred round drum into the bottom. Kawalsky looks over at Feretti confused as he returns to his position with the added firepower. Feretti turns to Kawalsky and Correll.
"When those alien troops came through the first time, our 9 mil MP5 rounds didn't penetrate their armor... it was like we were shooting blanks."
Kawalsky nods then gets up and walks over to another crate opens it and slides a M-16 assault rifle and a couple magazines over to Correll who drops her MP5 and picks of the M16. Kawalsky walks around and picks and an M60 machine gun from another crate and a box of ammunition. He returns to his position next to the door way and begins to load the gun, he stops and turns to Feretti.
"Think a seven-six-two would have better luck?" Feretti just smiles.
Meanwhile back at the make shift Abydonian fort, the sand storm is beginning to blow in and everyone rushes for cover, heading into a cellar below the sand. Jack looks around and notices Daniel helping the others down the ladder to the shelter below. The two struggle to yell over the roaring winds.
"Jackson! We're going now!"
Daniels closes the door to the shelter.
"Can you assure me that they'll let me return!"
"I'll do everything i can!"
Daniels wife steps up close next to him.
"I'm not leaving without Sha'uri!"
Finally from the dark clouds overhead a large metallic pyramid spaceship lands over the Temple of Ra. The ship dwarfs the stone pyramid it lands on and comes to a stop, moving four large clamps into place securing it to the base.
O'Neil nods then grabs Daniel by the arms and begins to pull him as Daniel pulls his wife. The three rush out of the fort and make their way to the temple. Jack points as they run to writing he sees engraved on the base of the alien spaceship. Daniel quickly glances and makes out the first word.
"Nephthys!"
Inside the temple Kawalsky, Feretti and Correll hold their positions waiting for Jack and Daniel. When the hatch above them opens and nine rings descend down.
"Kawalsky!"
Just as Kawalsky turns the matter materializes and four alien soldiers with helmets similar to the ones Ra's men wore. One of the alien soldiers lowers his staff, as the rings ascend back up, and fires hitting Correll in the shoulder. Kawalsky opens fire with his massive machine gun, as does Feretti. The spray of hundreds of bullets cuts the alien troops to shreds, they fall to the ground.
"Feretti, take Correll and get through the gate!"
Feretti jumps from his position and runs over to Correll, on his way past Kawalsky he drops his assault rifle. Feretti picks up Correll and he carries her to the gate, just as he's about to step through the hatch opens again and the nine rings descend. Feretti hesitates and turns to look at Kawalsky.
"Go!"
Feretti makes the leap through the gate just as more troops materialize, Kawalsky lets rip even before the rings ascend. The troops drop to the ground dead, Kawalsky drops the machine gun and picks up the G36 and makes his way up the ramp to see O'Neil, Jackson and Sha'uri running towards him.
"Come on! They're sending troops down!"
Behind him he can hear the rings activate again and without thinking Kawalsky drops to his back and slides down the steep ramp. Stomping his feet as he hits the bottom, the soldiers are already materialized, Kawalsky opens fire, hitting only two as the other two run for cover. O'Neil runs down the ramp and joins in Kawalsky firing on at the remaining two soldiers taking cover behind the walls. O'Neil pulls a fragmentation grenade from his vest, he pulls the pin and rolls the grenade into the gate room.
He and Kawalsky jump to opposite sides as the grenade explodes killing the last two soldiers. Kawalsky runs over to O'Neil, helping him up.
"They'll send more troops in a matter of moments , Sir."
"Kawalsky, we don't have time to take our gear with us."
Kawalsky nods at O'Neil's indication that they have to destroy their gear quickly. O'Neil runs up the ramp and grabs Daniel and Sha'uri, as Kawalsky pulls a few bricks of RDX plastic explosive from one of the crates. O'Neil and the others run past Kawalsky, and head up to the gate, O'Neil pushes Sha'uri through. Then O'Neil runs back down to Kawalsky position behind the probe, as he inserts detonators into the explosive bricks.
"Jackson! Could the gate withstand an explosion?"
"Well it would certainly survive a nuclear one... though I don't think the pyramid would."
"Good enough."
Kawalsky hands O'Neil the detonating device and runs up the steps to the gate grabbing Daniel and pushing him through the gate. Again the rings descend, Kawalsky pulls his forty-five caliber sidearm from his hip as O'Neil runs up the steps.
"Five second delay."
O'Neil hits the little red button on the device in his hands and both men jump through the Stargate. Just as the transport rings ascend, the plastic explosive detonates in a fiery explosion, that shakes the whole pyramid.
In the Creek Mountain facility the large ringed gate activates with a surge of energy. The giant pool of energy pours out of the gate, the protruding pool of energy retracts and the gate stabilizes. After a few moments of waiting General West observers the remaining two members of the team who went to Abydos, stepping onto the metal ramp, out of the gate. The security teams stand down as General West and Major Eckhart enter the Gate Room, just as the Stargate is deactivated. O'Neil and Kawalsky join Correll, Feretti, Daniel and Sha'uri at the end of the ramp. General West approaches Daniel, with Major Eckhart by his side.
"Doctor Jackson."
"General, I would like to be the first to formally protest being here."
"Protest?"
General West looks to Colonel O'Neil.
"Another sand storm blew up sir... Same kind that erupted when Ra's ship landed."
Feretti speaks up.
"Another ship did landed, General, alien troops and all... This is not good."
General West and Major Eckhart glance at each other, then General West snaps back to O'Neil.
"Colonel I want a full debriefing in twenty-minutes."
In Catherine Langford's cluttered office inside the Creek Mountain complex, Daniel sits at her desk going through several of her journals. Daniel has been going over her work for hours. Colonel O'Neil and Colonel Kawalsky enter the office, Daniel pops his head up.
"That was a long briefing."
"It was an interesting mission..."
O'Neil and Kawalsky sit down across from Daniel
"Jackson... they're going to bury the Stargate."
"What!?"
"They think its the only way to keep us out of danger."
Daniel lifts one of Catherine's journals.
"Jack, Catherine was onto something. Nephthys is connected to Ra, they controlled separate planets, with separate slaves."
"Jackson..."
"Jack there's more... Catherine's father uncovered more then just the cover stones and the gate at Giza. He uncovered a tablet that was written in a derivative of ancient Egyptian, he nor Catherine could ever translate it... but I have."
Jack is only slightly interested in Daniel's ramblings, mainly because he only slightly understands it.
"What does it say then?"
"Nephthys imprisoned Ra thousands of years ago, for some untold crime. She tortured, she beat him... but Ra escaped... wounded and nearly dying he came upon a world full of life..."
"...Earth."
Daniel nods.
"Jack we can't bury the Stargate, it won't keep Nephthys from coming here... but if we go out there we might be able to learn more before she gets here."
Kawalsky looks at O'Neil confused, then turns back to Daniel.
"How do you know she's going to come here?"
"After Ra left Earth he traveled to Abydos... they're linked, all we have is time. Before Nephthys learns about Earth and how to get here."
O'Neil stands and looks over the journals on Catherine's desk, he takes a minute.
"... So what do we do?"
"I'm not one-hundred percent sure. But I think we should retrace her steps, find out exactly why she's looking for Ra and maybe learn more about their race."
O'Neil looks down at Kawalsky.
"The planet Kawalsky and his team were on had several temples and pyramids."
"... We were only able to explore a portion of them."
Daniel stands and looks at Jack, picking up Catherine's journals.
"I think we should go there Colonel... Don't you?"
...TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3!!!