"Fire!" ordered Jack.
There was a massive sizzling sound as forty blue bolts shot through the air of the Big Room. About half hit their targets, engulfing the black torture-boxes in sparks. Some of the other bolts at least struck the pedestals on which the boxes stood, but many shot past and hit the opposite wall.
Jack kept his face carefully expressionless. "Better," he said. He reminded himself that most of the men weren't used to guns of any sort; but, damn, this was pretty close range.
If they'd had more time, he'd have said something a whole lot more challenging than "better." But, at this point, the men's morale was more important than their marksmanship. Many had been at the Arena for years. Jack was doing all he could to give them back their confidence and self-respect.
"Break up into squads," he said. "We're going to have another round of instruction and target practice." Jack let his gaze pass down the line of men, catching the eyes of each for an instant. "And make sure you take full advantage; because, after that, we'll be moving out. We'll be hitting Government House – and getting the hell off this planet!"
The men cheered wildly, many waving their stun-guns over their heads. Each had been provided with a pair of "bicycle shorts," and Jack had insisted on bringing solvent so they could wash off the Syndicate's paint, too. Many of the men had also hacked off their long hair.
They had followed Buddy's example on that. With the stumps of his plaits sticking out unevenly, and the paint and body jewels gone, Buddy looked like a different man. And he was beginning to act like one, too. He was yelling and whooping with the rest, his face transformed by feral joy.
Jack smiled at the sight. All the men were beginning to act like soldiers, instead of downtrodden slaves robbed of all dignity. He glanced at Sam, and saw her gazing at him with pride. That was almost enough to undo him.
"Okay," he said, "glad we're all happy. Now, back to target practice! And I think we need a new target. Sam, can you lower the shackles from the ceiling?"
Sam nodded. But Matao (formerly known as Jade Tiger) called out, "I have a better idea. Why don't you bring in the rest of the Trainers?"
The men responded with an atavistic growl that told Jack his embryonic army was in danger of turning into a lynch mob. Their rage was understandable – even a good thing, up to a point. But it was also a threat to discipline.
"Hey!" he snapped. "Did I ask for opinions? Our goal is to get off this planet, and I expect every man here to concentrate on making that happen. That means following my orders. Anybody got a problem with that?"
The ominous growl subsided, and they all shook their heads. Matao said, "Sorry, sir. I meant no disrespect."
The squads began to form. Each one was headed by one of the few Arena slaves who was familiar with guns. He and Sam would circulate among the men, supervising and giving additional instruction.
Jack was about to step forward to do that when a familiar voice said, "So they're still thirsty for blood. Even though you already gave them buckets."
Deeply annoyed, Jack turned and met Daniel's eyes. Nara was standing beside him, looking equally stiff and judgmental. In all the commotion, he hadn't noticed their return.
This was one of those moments when Jack truly wanted to smack Daniel, but he suppressed his anger. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Jack told him, his voice quiet and deadly. "Did Elal show you the tunnel to Government House?"
Daniel continued to meet Jack's stare in silence for beat. Then he described the location of the tunnel entrance. "We followed it to the end," he added, "and confirmed it exits into Euthanasia House.
"Good," said Jack. "Did you take Elal back to her quarters and tie her up again?"
"Of course. Ifefal stayed to watch over the prisoners, but none of them are giving us any trouble. They've been totally cooperative. Elal and the other three surviving Trainers – and Sweet Ass – are all terrified."
Sam had come up beside Jack. "After we escape through the Stargate," she said, "the Ashoran Government is bound to trace our intrusion back to the tunnel, and to this facility. They'll realize what sort of criminal activities went on here. And they'll also realize that the Syndicate's back door into Government House made our escape possible. Hopefully, that will inspire the Government to hand out stiff sentences to Elal and the other Wrestling Trainers. So they'll at least get something of what they deserve."
"I can't believe you just said that, Sam!" exclaimed Daniel. "I can't believe you're actually wishing they had all been killed." Speaking rapidly, his mild voice full of that sneaky edge that was so typical of him, Daniel said, "You know, I always believed that if you and Jack ever truly got together, you'd bring out the best in him. But, apparently, what's happened instead is that he's bringing out the worst in you."
Jack found himself stepping toward his erstwhile best friend. He actually started to take a swing at him – but something in those earnest blue eyes held him back.
This was Daniel. And Daniel always had a moral high horse between his legs; that was just the way he was. Most of the time, Jack kind of admired that about him. And found it reassuring, because he'd seen men lose their way amidst the ugly complexities of war. Having Daniel around was a kind of ethical insurance policy.
But, every once in while, Daniel just got it wrong. And when that happened, he was insufferable. "Back off, Daniel!" Jack snapped at him. "It's done. Get over it."
"For the record," put in Sam, her tone glacial, "I don't wish that Elal and her Wrestling Trainers were dead. They're not as bad as the others were. But they're bad enough. I was just hoping they would receive some punishment for their actions."
"And Sam didn't help me kill anybody!" added Jack. "The only person I killed was Bruiser, and I did that all by myself. What we did was give those women's victims the chance to decide what they deserved. Who had a better right, Daniel? You?"
Daniel looked pained. Was he actually going to realize he'd gone too far?
"I apologize for misinterpreting your statement, Sam," he said. "But I still feel that the way you two handled this wasn't right. For one thing, you shouldn't have taken the decision on yourselves and left everyone else out of the loop."
"Oh, come on, Daniel," said Jack. "What have you got to complain about? This way, your hands are all clean and shiny."
Daniel's eyes flashed. "As opposed to yours, which are red as Cain's. I don't doubt the Arena slaves suffered greatly at the hands of the Trainers, but that's exactly why they should never have been left alone with them. Those men were completely traumatized. It was unfair to suddenly place them in the position of passing judgment on their former slave-masters. How could real justice emerge from that? For God's sake, just look at what happened to Umala!"
Jack squirmed inwardly as he remembered what they'd found when they returned to Umala's bedroom, but then he got angry at Daniel again. "If you had any clue what Umala did to those men, you wouldn't be so quick to condemn them."
"I'm not condemning them! I don't doubt their state of mind wasn't normal. Especially in Squealer's case. But, my God, they literally tore her body limb from limb! That room brought to mind what I've read about the crime scenes left behind by Jack the Ripper."
"It's not as if she felt any pain," cut in Sam. "She never regained consciousness."
"We hope," said Daniel. Looking straight into Jack's eyes, he added, "At least, that's what some of us hope."
Jack glared back at him, furious and a little off-balance. He was beginning to wonder if maybe Daniel had a few valid points in there somewhere.
"Jack?" It was Lagash's voice, coming over the radio in Jack's helmet.
"What?" growled Jack.
"Three women have shown up at one of the doors of the Arena facility. They tried to open the door, but I stopped them." There was a pause. "Wait a minute. They've gotten into the network somehow! They're attacking Nara's blocks! I'm taking steps to reinforce…"
Jack's stomach sank. "Is one of these women a little old lady with eyes like a shark?" he asked.
"Now that you mention it… Damn! They just opened the outer door! And I can feel them penetrating deeper and deeper into the facility's network. I'm trying to block, but I estimate they'll reach the control room's systems within a few minutes."
Crap, thought Jack. So much for Plan A.
Jack traded glances with Sam, Daniel, and Nara, who could all hear Lagash, too. "Okay," he told Lagash. "Those are Syndicate higher-ups, and it sounds like they're going to re-take the facility's computer systems. We knew this could happen. Destroy the key systems in the control room. Then, retreat toward our position. Close the doors after you, and blow the door controls."
The lights in the Big Room flickered, causing the men to stop practicing with their stun-guns and look around apprehensively. Many looked toward Jack.
"I just destroyed external communications, as well as internal monitoring," said Lagash. "I'll be with you shortly."
"Good," said Jack. Then he turned toward the men, and began to address them in a matter-of-fact, confident tone. "Listen up. We're going to advance the schedule a little. We're heading for Government House now, because some Syndicate people are entering the facility." Jack watched the men's reactions closely. Many looked scared; others looked as if they wanted to go after the Syndicate people. But nobody seemed about to panic. "It's not that big a problem," said Jack, hoping he was speaking the truth, "because this facility is illegal, so there's no way the Syndicate can complain to the Government about us breaking in. We'll just lock the Syndicate people out of this end of the complex by closing and disabling all the doors in between." Jack indicated the large doors on either side of the Big Room. "These doors were originally designed to be part of an underground bunker, so they're damn tough. By the time the Syndicate gets through them, we'll be gone. We'll be off the planet." There was another cheer. It sounded more uncertain than the last, but Jack was satisfied that the men were ready for action.
Lagash entered the Big Room. He closed the door, and then shot out the controls.
"Okay," said Jack. "We're leaving." He indicated the opposite door of the Big Room. "Daniel, Nara: take the lead. Head for the tunnel entrance. Sam, Lagash, Buddy: you're with me. We're bringing up the rear. We'll pick up Ifefal on the way, and then join everybody else at the tunnel entrance." Jack intended to have a word with Elal, too, but decided not to mention that in front of Daniel. They didn't have time for another argument.
After everyone had exited the Big Room through the second door, Sam closed it and destroyed the control mechanism. Now, the Syndicate people would have to burn through the Big Room's two reinforced doors to get here from the outer chamber.
Jack's group began to move quickly toward the Trainers' quarters, with Jack giving them a few instructions along the way. They soon arrived at Elal's rooms, where the prisoners were being kept. Jack left Sam and Lagash in the corridor to keep watch, and entered with Buddy. Ifefal was waiting inside. "I'm ready to go," she said to Jack. She glanced at the four women and one man who were sitting in various sofas and chairs, their hands and feet bound. "We're leaving the prisoners here, right?"
"Leave us here?" cried Sweet Ass. "You're just going to abandon us? We'll starve! We'll die of thirst!"
"No, we won't," said Ishpia, her tone defiant. "Our people will be here soon. They're probably here already. That's why you're leaving in such a hurry, isn't it?"
Jack said nothing. He was staring at Elal. As soon as he'd entered the room, Elal had begun giving him hurt, bewildered looks, as if to say, How could you do this to me? Jack found that maddening.
It shouldn't have bothered him so much. She was a whacko; he knew that. But seeing her again, in these too-familiar rooms, was even more difficult than he'd expected. Though he was staring at Elal, Jack was acutely aware of the bedroom door off to his right. He could almost feel it there.
Realizing he was on the verge of a flashback, Jack tried to get a grip on himself. But he was finding it remarkably difficult to keep his mind in "combat mode."
He walked slowly toward Elal. With each step, more fear showed in her eyes. By the time he was standing over her, she was breathing rapidly, her hazel eyes wide. That's right, thought Jack. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
"How many people does the Syndicate have inside Government House?" he asked menacingly. "Where are they positioned? How does the Syndicate communicate with them?"
"The other male already asked me those questions," said Elal.
Jack had given Daniel the task of interrogating the prisoners, with Nara and Ifefal's help, because he and Sam needed to concentrate on getting the men ready. Daniel had shared the results prior to checking out the tunnel. But Jack had always planned to do a follow-up with Elal, since he knew she was a convincing liar. People who habitually lied to themselves often were. Now, unfortunately, they were running out of time.
"But now I'm asking," Jack ground out. "And you're going to tell me what you didn't tell him."
"But I told the other male everything I know!" protested Elal, getting teary and agitated.
"The fuck you did," said Jack. Some dispassionate corner of his mind observed that his voice sounded rather odd. It was coming out so clotted with emotion it barely sounded like his.
Jack lifted his P90 and pointed it at Elal. "You know what this is?" he barked at her. "It's my primitive patriarchal gun. It fires lead slugs that tear into people's bodies and mess up their organs. I used it to kill Bruiser. And I'd love an excuse to use it on you."
"Don't hurt her!" yelled Sweet Ass. He was the only one who protested; the other Trainers remained silent. A match made in hell, thought Jack.
Elal began to cry. She really did have certain child-like qualities – which drove him crazy. He knew there was a part of her that lived in a fantasy world, where what she did to the Arena slaves was just a game. A fun, harmless game, in which the men were her beloved playmates. But there was also a part of her that had a much more realistic grasp on who she was and what she was doing. Because she was not a child; she was just an extremely fucked up adult.
"Bronzy!" she wailed at Buddy. "Help me, please! Don't let him hurt me!"
Jack tensed. He thought he knew how Buddy would react, but Elal had had such a hold over him.
"Tell him what he wants to know, Eli," said Buddy, his tone concerned and sympathetic. "He won't hurt you if you do that."
Buddy's voice made Jack feel a little calmer inside. Good cop, bad cop. Yep. That was what they were doing. It was all perfectly sensible, and he was entirely in control.
"Come on, Eli," said Buddy. "You must know more than what you told Daniel. You're Mimoisa's great-niece. You're part of the Syndicate Family."
"You think that matters?" yelled Elal, suddenly sounding a lot more adult. "You think Mima tells me anything? She doesn't! She thinks I'm weak."
Unfortunately, that had the ring of truth. And yet… "I know you," said Jack. "You're holding something back. What is it? Tell me NOW!" As he shouted, he jerked the rifle toward her. He'd meant it to be just a threatening act, but as he acted enraged, the real rage almost took over. Only a lifetime of discipline kept him from actually pulling the trigger.
Elal flinched back. "No, please!" she wept. "We've sold male slaves to the Government, okay? To some kind of powerful group inside the Government. I don't know who! It's all very secret. That's all I know, I swear!"
And that was almost it. Jack's rage began to fade as he took in the information. But then Elal went on. "Please, Goldy," she said, her eyes full of tearful sincerity, "you wouldn't really hurt me, would you? I was good to you! I protected you from Umala! I helped you!"
Jack's mind seemed to go blank for a moment. Then, a series of full-sensory memories assaulted him. The ache in his muscles after Elal had inflicted Punishment, and the accompanying feeling of exhausted helplessness. The ache in his groin after she had used the Collar to force him to experience pleasure. The softness in her expression during sex. That was the worse thing; that twisted sense of intimacy. She'd been able to make him believe, sometimes, that he could reach her. That he could get her to help him. But he'd never even been able to make her acknowledge she had wronged him.
"You know, the hell of it is, that's sort of true." The voice sounded quite calm. It seemed to belong to someone else. "You did shield me from Umala. But you also hurt me. Kind of like this." Jack lowered the barrel of his P90, and shot Elal in the knee.
Elal screamed and writhed in agony.
"Jack!" shouted Buddy. "Why did you do that?"
"Eli!" cried Sweet Ass. "No. Eli!"
He heard Ifefal gasp. She came to Elal's side, and began pulling medical equipment from her backpack.
He heard the door open. He turned, and there were Sam and Lagash, looking shocked. He met Sam's eyes, and realized she didn't understand. "It wasn't revenge," he told Sam. "I just wanted her to get it." He wasn't sure if he'd said it out loud, or just thought it, but whatever. It seemed to get through. Sam's eyes reflected his pain, and he was glad.
Jack turned back toward Elal, and saw that Ifefal had given her some kind of shot, so she'd stopped screaming. That was okay. She'd already felt the pain. Ifefal was working on her knee, while Buddy muttered to her reassuringly. Buddy and Ifefal both looked strangely distressed. Elal was staring upwards vacantly.
Elal's glazed expression struck Jack as significant. Something seemed to shift inside him, and the room snapped back into normal focus.
Had he really imagined that shooting Elal in the knee would somehow help straighten out her crooked mind? Crap, he thought. What was that? Where was my head at?
He took a couple of steps back from Elal, face burning and guts frozen, as he realized this was the second time he'd lost it during this operation. The first time had been in Umala's bedroom, and he'd sworn to himself it wouldn't happen again. So much for promises.
Jack was now extremely frightened. His people had to fight their way to the Stargate, and he had to lead them in the struggle. How could he do that if he couldn't trust his own judgment?
He felt Sam's presence beside him, but didn't turn to look at her. He was afraid to. But she slipped her hand into his and gripped it.
A wave of reassurance seemed to pour through him. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, I'll be okay as long as I'm with Sam. But then he remembered: the plan required that they be separated.
"I've stopped the bleeding," said Ifefal. "She's no longer in shock. I think it's safe to leave her now."
"No," groaned Elal. She wriggled weakly against her bonds, and turned desperate eyes toward Buddy. "Don't leave me, Bronzy, please. You can't leave me. I love you."
Buddy regarded her sadly. "You don't love me, Eli. You don't know what that is. And, by the way, my name isn't Bronzy. It's Octave Desimus."
Jack felt a kind of happy shock. Buddy – no, Octave – had reclaimed his name! He looked at Octave, and found that Octave was looking back with a world of meaning in his gaze.
There had always been a certain unspoken understanding between them. Like Jack's bond with Teal'c, it was based on the fact that they were both natural soldiers. Now, Octave was silently saying, You got us this far. You've done what I didn't believe was possible. I trust you to lead us the rest of the way.
Eyes stinging, Jack smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Octave."
He looked around at the others, daring to meet their eyes now. Sam's expression was very controlled, but he could see both worry and love in her eyes. Lagash and Ifefal were regarding him with a certain caution that hadn't been there before. Well, there wasn't much he could do about that. Except try not to lose it again. "Let's go," he said. "We have a lot to do."
They left Elal's quarters, and headed toward the tunnel entrance. "From what Elal said," commented Sam, "it sounds as if the Syndicate is in touch with the New Start Program. I'll bet the Program used some illegal chattel-males as human guinea pigs during development of the Memory Erasure process."
Jack was grateful for Sam's normal, businesslike tone. "Yeah," said Jack. "Isn't that special?"
"It's extremely worrying," said Lagash. "It means the Syndicate is in communication with the highest levels of the Ashoran Government." He grimaced. "All the way up to the High Council, since my mother is on it."
"Does that mean the High Council knows about the Arena facility?" asked Ifefal. "That's terrible!"
"Mommy Dearest probably knows," said Jack. "And maybe some others. But I don't think they know about the tunnel. Remember, the New Start Program tried to kill me by sending me to Euthanasia House."
"Maybe they figured that even if you ended up at the Arena, you'd still be out of the way," said Sam.
Jack shook his head. "I don't think the Government conspirators would be willing to put up with the existence of that tunnel; it's too big a security risk. You can bet the Syndicate and the Foundationists don't tell each other everything. So I don't think the Syndicate is going to contact them about our invasion of the Arena; not right away, at least. They won't want the Government getting their hands on the Trainers in here, because they're prime witnesses to the Syndicate's activities. And there's probably physical evidence that they'll want to remove, too. Besides, I'm guessing there's no particular love between them." Noting that Octave's expression had closed up at these words, Jack said, "What do you think, Octave? You know the Syndicate people pretty well. What's Mimoisa going to do?"
"It's hard to say," replied Octave. But, after a few more steps, he drew up beside Jack and murmured, "I hate to tell you this, but Mimoisa's going to be very angry when she find's out her great-niece has been shot. Not because she cares about Elal all that much, but because she'll consider it an insult to the Family. She'll want to retaliate for that."
Jack felt as if his backpack had suddenly turned to lead. Along with his helmet, clothes, and shoes. His stride faltered. But then, with a tremendous effort, he set the guilt aside. What he'd done was done; he couldn't take it back. He forced himself to concentrate on what needed doing now.
They reached the tunnel entrance. The thick door, located in the back wall of the Arena facility, was currently open. Daniel and Nara and the men were waiting in front of it.
"What happened?" asked Daniel. "What took so long?"
Sam jumped in. "We got some more information out of Elal," she said. "Apparently, the Syndicate has had dealings with the New Start Program. Which means they have contacts at the highest levels of the Ashoran Government. As soon as the Syndicate breaks through to this end of the facility and rescues their people, they'll realize that the secret of the tunnel is going to be revealed, and that they're going to lose the Arena as a result."
Daniel's brow furrowed. Jack knew that Sam had deliberately presented the information in such a way as to encourage Daniel to focus on the ramifications, rather than on what may have just happened in Elal's rooms. He felt absurdly grateful for that. He really didn't want to deal with Daniel's moral outrage just now.
"Great," said Daniel. "So after they've evacuated their people, the Syndicate will have no reason not to warn the Government that we've broken into Government House and are probably headed for the Stargate."
"Maybe, maybe not," said Jack. "In any case, we've always known this operation had to move fast. We'll just have to pick up the pace a little more, that's all." Jack made sure to speak loudly enough for everyone to hear. He stopped and faced the men, who were spread out in front of the tunnel entrance. "Are you ready to get off this planet a little sooner?"
The men responded with several variations of "Hell, yes," some of them pretty colorful.
"Okay," said Jack. "Those of us with cloaks are going to go in first and secure Euthanasia House. Except you, Lagash. I want you to stay here and relay communications. Euthanasia House should be empty right now, since we've still got several hours before the day shift starts. But we'll make sure. When we give the okay, the rest of you can come through. After that, we'll block this tunnel by disabling the doors." Jack stepped closer to Octave and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is Octave Desimus. He's in charge while I'm gone. Octave will coordinate with me through Lagash. Everybody got that?"
Lagash nodded, and the men readily agreed. Octave met his eyes for a moment, and there was both pride and trepidation there. Which confirmed to Jack that he was ready for the responsibility.
Jack led Sam, Daniel, Nara, and Ifefal into the tunnel. At the far end, Sam used one of her gizmos to check for people on the other side of the door. The reading came back negative. Meanwhile, Nara hacked into the door mechanism. "The Syndicate has already compromised the security system inside Euthanasia House," commented Nara. "I can get into it from here."
When they opened the camouflaged door and stepped through, everything was quiet and dim. Jack had his team fan out and check the place, but it really was empty. Nice that something was going right.
Daniel was looking around with great interest. "This is classic Minoan architecture!" he proclaimed. "You can see it in the rectangular forms and strong horizontal lines, as well as in the style of the wall murals. And notice those round pillars that are wider at the top than at the base? Those are distinctively Minoan. This place bears a strong resemblance to the Bronze Age palaces of Crete."
"Thank you," said Jack. "We really needed to know that."
After Sam and Nara confirmed that the security monitors inside Euthanasia House had been neutralized, Jack called Lagash on the phase-shifted radio and ordered that everyone else start coming down the tunnel. Since the men had no cloaks, the original plan had been for them to stay in the Arena facility until it was time to assault the Stargate. But with the Syndicate coming at them from the rear, that idea was out the window.
Jack and the other four members of the advance party gathered in front of the door that connected Euthanasia House to the rest of the Bureau of Liberation. It was currently closed and locked.
"This is where we split up," said Jack. The plan called for Sam and Nara to penetrate the Bureau of Liberation in advance of the main force, preparing the way by compromising the electronic security systems. But as Jack said the words, his stomach lurched. The thought of being separated from Sam suddenly filled him with a kind of panic. God, he thought. I can't do this anymore. I really can't. But the implacable voice that lived within him said, Since when is "can't" an option?
Hoping that his mental stumble hadn't been noticeable, Jack said, "We're going to need to act more in parallel than originally planned. Once you two have reached the Stargate network annex, and started working on disabling the control system for the automated weapons emplacements in the 'Gate Room, I'm going to start marching our little army toward the Stargate. You should still have time to neutralize the weapons-control computer and join us before we reach the Stargate security foyer and start our assault."
He hoped. The original plan was to wait until Sam and Nara had confirmed success before surging toward the Stargate, but there was no longer any time to spare. Jack had to weigh the risks. If Sam and Nara weren't able to execute their task in time, their "army" might get trapped in the Stargate security foyer, unable to reach the Stargate itself due to the automated weapons in the 'Gate Room. But if Government forces were alerted before their uncloaked "army" reached the Stargate foyer, the gig was up. They needed the element of surprise to win.
"And then," finished Jack, trying to sound confident, "we all go home." Chances were that even if the operation was a success, not all of them would make it. But Jack didn't allow himself to think that thought.
Sam pulled out her gizmo and began checking for people on the other side of the Euthanasia House door. After confirming that the area was empty, she joined forces with Nara to hack deeper into the security network. They extended their influence to the systems in the adjacent area.
"Okay," said Nara. "We can now open this door without it being reported by the monitoring system."
Jack looked at Sam and Nara. "Ready to head out?" he asked.
"Yes," said Nara, looking determined. Then her gaze shifted to Daniel. Daniel stepped forward and embraced her.
"Yes, sir," said Sam, which made Jack wince. That "sir" had slipped out spontaneously, and he didn't like it. He didn't want to be Sam's commanding officer anymore. Jack hugged her fiercely, burying his face against her neck. She felt so good. It felt so good to be able to touch her like this.
Realizing he was probably squeezing too hard, Jack reluctantly let go and drew away. Sam smiled reassuringly and said, "See you at the Stargate."
Jack tried to smile back, but his guts were in knots. He wanted to stay with Sam, but knew that wasn't wise. The men needed him. And Sam was perfectly capable of looking out for herself and Nara.
Everyone recloaked, and then Nara opened the door that led into the labyrinthine depths of Government House. She and Sam stepped through. Sam turned and looked at him one last time, her cobalt eyes speaking volumes. Then, the door closed behind them.
"Jack," came Lagash's voice, speaking over the helmet radio, "all the men are in the tunnel, and I've disabled the door to the Arena complex. We're ready to come through."
Jack moved to an inner door that gave him a line of sight to the back wall, where the tunnel exited. "Go ahead," said Jack.
Octave appeared to step right through the wall. Despite the go-ahead from Jack, he quickly scanned his surroundings, gun at the ready.
Jack decloaked and waved. "Welcome to Government House," he said.
Soon, the rest of the men had poured out of the tunnel. Lagash came through last, closing and disabling the tunnel door on this end, as well.
Now they would have to wait a while. Jack hated waiting, and he knew it wouldn't be good for the men's nerves, either. He would have liked them to practice their shooting, but Sam had said that wouldn't be a good idea. All those energy discharges might be picked up by uncompromised security systems elsewhere in Government House.
So, he gave the men another pep talk/briefing. He explained that Sam and Nara had gone ahead to blaze a trail for them. As the two women breached the electronic security systems, they would leave behind a series of electronic "keys." That would enable the rest of them, including the large group of uncloaked men, to follow quickly along the same path without tripping any alarms or being picked up by the monitors. The cloaked members of their party would lead the charge, stunning any Government employees in their path, so that no one would see the uncloaked men pass through. But they had to move as fast as possible. The longer it took, the more likely it was that the Government would notice something amiss.
Jack then had Ifefal start telling them about the general layout of the Bureau of Liberation. Both Euthanasia House and the Stargate Facility were considered part of the Bureau, but the Stargate was almost at the other end of the area of Government House that housed the Bureau. And since the Bureau of Liberation processed all the people that the Ashorans kidnapped from other worlds, it was a huge area.
"It sounds like we have to go a long ways through Government House to get to the Stargate," said Umbet (formerly known as Red Panther). "How can we be sure we won't get lost? Don't men get lost inside Government House all the time? Do we have a map?" Umbet was one of those who had spent time as a regular chattel-male before falling into the hands of the Syndicate, so he'd probably heard stories about Government House.
"Detailed maps of Government House are unavailable," said Ifefal. "You see, this building has sacred functions as well as administrative ones. There's a tradition that the House represents the Goddess's wonderfully intricate design for the universe, which is full of unexpected twists and cannot be fully encompassed by any human mind. It's felt that to try to map the House would be disrespectful to the Goddess."
There were incredulous expressions from some of the men. Yeah, thought Jack, I can't believe it either.
"But," said Umbet, "if there's no map…"
Jack raised a placating hand. "There may not be a written map, Umbet, but there's another kind of map. Have you ever heard of an Ashoran getting lost in here?"
Umbet frowned in thought. "No."
"Only chattel-males can get lost," said Ifefal, "because they don't have interfaces in their brains. There are electronic 'signposts' throughout Government House, which keep you oriented if you have the proper neural equipment. That's why Daughters and Sons of Ashora never have any problem."
"So there's nothing to worry about," said Jack. "Ifefal and Lagash will guide us. They'll make sure we stay on the path that's been prepared for us by Sam and Nara." Jack tried to sound reassuring; but, in fact, the whole business of the missing map was a sore point with him. Somebody had to have one! After all, this structure had been built by Ashorans. How could there not be blue prints? How could the building be maintained without some kind of structural diagram? But Sam and Nara had both told him that, if any such map existed, they couldn't find it.
After Ifefal's presentation, Jack distributed energy bars from the team's backpacks, and told everyone to take a snack break.
Jack paced restlessly as he chewed on his bar. He kept glancing at his chronometer, watching it creep toward Sam's check-in time, and trying to clamp down on his rising anxiety. When Sam's check-in time came and went, his anxiety level went through the roof, even though he knew that Sam and Nara weren't supposed to drop whatever they were doing just to call in. Jack tried to use his usual mental disciplines to get back into "combat mode," but the mental cellar didn't seem to be working anymore. The damn door just wouldn't stay closed.
"Jack?" came Sam's voice.
His heart jumped. "What's going on, Sam?"
"Everything's going smoothly. We're ahead of schedule, actually."
"Then why are you calling in late?"
There was a pause. "We were finishing the programming of one of our 'keys' at an important security nexus. And it's only six minutes past the check-in time. I didn't realize you were expecting us to be so exact."
Jack felt like a fool. "I wasn't," he said. "Sorry, Sam. I'm getting jumpy. Keep up the good work."
"Thanks, Jack. I'll talk to you again soon."
"At the next approximate check-in time."
He could almost hear her smile. "Actually," she said, "we may reach the network annex before that." And then she said, "I love you, Jack."
Jack was swept by such powerful emotions that he felt almost dizzy. This was so much like the old days, and yet so not. "I love you, too, panda-girl," he said softly. "Jack out."
He just stood there for a moment, lost in a haze of love-euphoria. Which was pretty ridiculous, given the circumstances. You're definitely having a meltdown, Jack, he told himself. But, at this particular moment, he couldn't seem to feel worried about it. So what if his emotions were bouncing around like a ping-pong ball at the Chinese finals? Other people were allowed to have feelings. Why couldn't he have them, too? All his adult life, he'd put duty before his personal feelings. Maybe enough was enough.
Jack shook himself. Stop that, you idiot! When we get back to Earth, you can indulge in all the soul-searching you like. But not until then!
He looked around at the men. Most had finished their snacks and were sitting or standing in clumps, talking quietly. The Warrior Guy – whose real name was B'tama – was sitting next to Squealer, helping him get the cap off a water bottle. B'tama had volunteered to look after Squealer. Ifefal had joined Lagash near the door, where Jack had stationed him with one of Sam's gizmo to monitor the area outside. Then Jack noticed Daniel, who was standing by himself, stock-still, staring at the wall.
No, wait. He was staring at the mural on the wall, which depicted the destruction of a city. It showed elegant skyscrapers in flames, with a Goa'uld ha'tak vessel in the sky above them. The scene was painted in the same sort of happy, innocent style as the ocean mural in Sam's bedroom, which didn't work too well. The effect was surreal and cartoonish.
Daniel appeared to be mesmerized by the image. Unbelievable, thought Jack. Part of him was tempted to wander over and start harassing Daniel, like in the good old days, but another part felt reluctant to approach.
Suddenly, Daniel came out of his trance. He whirled around and scanned the room, until his gaze met Jack's. "Jack!" he exclaimed, eyes alight. "I think I figured it out!"
"Figured what out?"
"It's obvious, really. I mean, I guess I have no proof, but it just feels right. Nara was both right and wrong. But that's understandable. It would be difficult for any Ashoran to imagine the truth."
"To imagine what truth, Daniel?" Jack was beginning to feel really annoyed.
"The truth about the Founders' Secret!" cried Daniel. "I've got to tell Nara!" Incredibly, he began to reach up to activate his helmet radio.
"Daniel!" barked Jack. "You are not going to call Nara in the middle of a critical operation to discuss archeology!"
"It's not archeology," said Daniel. "It's history."
"I don't care!" shouted Jack. He was now standing toe-to-toe with Daniel, though he couldn't seem to recall moving closer. "If I hear one more word out of you about history, archeology, mythology, or any other 'ology while this mission is in progress, I'm going to do what I should have done years ago! I'm going to leave you behind! Do I make myself clear?"
Daniel stood his ground, but his face got the sort of pinched look that people got when they were in pain. His lips even turned white. "Very," he said, his voice soft. Then he turned and walked away.
An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the room. It made Jack realize how loud his voice had been. Maybe he had overreacted a little. Where had all that anger come from, anyway? It was already being replaced by annoyed regret.
"Jack," said Sam's voice.
"Go ahead," said Jack.
"We've reached the network annex. There were only two guards, and we knocked them out before they knew what was happening. We've taken over the room, and are working on the weapons-control computer now."
"Excellent," said Jack. "We'll start heading for the Stargate Facility. See you soon."
Jack turned and addressed the room. "It's time," he said. "Form up into your squads. Octave, you're in overall charge of the men. Lagash, you stay with Octave to act as guide and communications liaison. Daniel, Ifefal: you're with me."
When everyone was ready, Jack, Daniel, and Ifefal cloaked themselves. Ifefal used Sam's gizmo to check that the area beyond the door was still empty. Then she used the electronic "key" that Sam and Nara had created. This not only opened the door of Euthanasia House, but also neutralized the monitors in the next area. They went out the door, and closed it behind them.
This put them at the edge of a large, open space with lots of tables and chairs, and a complex structure in the middle. Ifefal said it was a cafeteria. It was flanked by archways leading to a number of corridors. On the far end was a closed door, which Ifefal said was the one they wanted.
As they began walking toward the other end of the cafeteria, Ifefal gave a little gasp and said, "Someone's approaching that door from the other side!"
The door slid open. Three women in grey uniforms stepped through, headed purposefully toward Euthanasia House. Naturally, they didn't notice the cloaked intruders in their cafeteria.
After the door slid shut behind them, Jack said, "On my mark, I'll take the two on the right. Daniel, you take the one on the left." He didn't ask Ifefal to participate because her shooting wasn't so hot.
He and Daniel quickly stunned the three women. After they had crumpled to the floor, Jack approached and examined one of them: a short, heavyset blond.
"I know this woman," said Jack. "She's one of the Syndicate's people."
"Those are Euthanasia House uniforms they're wearing," said Ifefal. "But it's not starting time yet."
"They must all be Syndicate people," said Jack. "The Syndicate sent them in early."
"What does that mean?" asked Ifefal.
"It's not good," said Daniel.
For some reason, that statement really irritated Jack. "It could be worse, Daniel. They must still be trying to figure out who invaded their facility, which means they haven't reached the Trainers yet. Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover."
Jack didn't want the uncloaked men to wait in the cafeteria, since it had so many access points. So, he had them stay in Euthanasia House while his advance party checked out the area beyond the far door. This turned out to be a bewildering warren of small offices, storage rooms, and corridors, currently empty of personnel. Once they'd secured the area, Jack ordered the men to join them in the maze-like office area.
Ifefal then opened the door to the next area, using the electronic "key" left behind by Sam and Nara, and they repeated the process. And kept repeating it. They hop-scotched along, with Jack and his two cloaked teammates securing each new area, and the uncloaked "army" following once Jack felt the area was safe for them.
Jack was pleased with the pace of their advance. Since the day shift hadn't started, there weren't many people around. They'd only had to stun a few. Ifefal said most of the round-the-clock operations were near the Stargate, so there'd be more activity as they got closer. But, so far, they'd made their way through lots of empty corridors and stairs and offices, as well as empty cafeterias, labs, and storage areas. The place was a huge tangle of interconnected passages and rooms of all sizes, all stuck together in no apparent order. Even though Jack's training normally enabled him to stay oriented in new environments, he began to feel he might not be able to retrace their route.
When Sam checked in on the phase-shifted radio, she said that she and Nara were making good progress as well. The weapons-control computer wasn't an easy nut to crack, but Sam estimated they'd have it licked in another fifteen minutes. Jack was happy to hear that, but he would have been happier to hear that Sam and Nara had completed their mission and were ready to rejoin the main group.
After talking to Sam, Jack found himself struggling to refocus on his surroundings. He was walking down a wide corridor with Daniel and Ifefal. Painted figures in strange costumes marched down the length of each wall, apparently participating in a ceremonial procession. Jack started thinking he might ask Daniel about the murals to help take his mind off Sam. That would also give him a chance to revisit what he'd said to Daniel earlier, and maybe tone it down a little. Not that Daniel hadn't deserved the reprimand.
Ifefal suddenly froze, her eyes wide.
"What is it?" asked Jack.
"Jack!" That was Lagash's agitated voice, coming through Jack's helmet radio. "I can't sense the electronic signposts anymore!"
Jack looked at Ifefal, and she nodded. His stomach sank. "Ifefal can't sense them either. Somebody just turned them off."
"I didn't even know they could do that!" breathed Ifefal, obviously stunned. "How could they do that to the sacred House?" She frowned. "It must be the Bureau of Internal Security. They're very secretive."
"I bet they have a map," said Jack.
"This is bad," said Daniel. "They're on to us."
"No kidding," said Jack.
"And, it also means…"
"Don't say it," Jack told him. But, Daniel being Daniel, he said it anyway.
"…we're lost in the Labyrinth."
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