"No, we're not!" snapped Jack. "We are not lost in the Labyrinth. Because Ifefal works here in the Bureau of Liberation, so she knows this place. She can find her way around even without the electronic signposts. Right, Ifefal?"
"Probably," said Ifefal. She didn't sound terribly confident.
"Jack." It was Sam's voice. Up until that point, Jack had been more annoyed than afraid, but now his gut went cold as his mind raced. "We seem to have a problem," Sam went on. "The electronic signposts…"
"Sam, get out of there!" cried Jack. "Leave the Stargate annex right now!"
"But we haven't finished…"
"It doesn't matter! They know we're in Government House, and it's obvious we'll try for the Stargate. Somebody's bound to check on that room any minute now."
There was a small pause. "This room is force-shielded. We can hold it for a while."
"No, Sam. Destroy the control computer and get out!" As Jack spoke, he realized he hadn't even considered the computer at first. All he could think was that Sam was in imminent danger.
"That wouldn't be good enough." Sam's tone was implacably reasonable. "The processing nodes in the weapons emplacements themselves are capable of independent operation. They're not as intelligent as the full system, but they'll keep the weapons active. The only way to neutralize them altogether is to take over the controls from here."
"Sam's right," said Nara. "None of you will have any chance of escape as long as the automated weapons in the 'Gate Room are still functional."
None of you… Nara's choice of words seemed to echo in his skull. Jack's eyes met Daniel's, and saw his fear reflected there.
"We're not leaving you behind." It was Daniel who said it. Jack felt incapable of speech. His mind was full of violent static.
"You might have to," said Sam. "Our plan relied on surprise. The Government still doesn't know exactly where we are, but if you don't… uh oh. Someone's trying to get in here."
Jack's heart and mind exploded, and the fragments flew in all directions. He wanted to rush to her position and attack her attackers. He wanted to join her at all costs. He couldn't leave Ashora without Sam. It was inconceivable. But another piece of his splintered self knew he had an obligation to Daniel and the others.
"The room is holding, Jack," said Sam. "We'll keep working on the computer. You just have to get everyone to the Stargate as fast as you can."
You just have to… Jack found that his shattered thoughts and feelings were coming back together again, cohering into intense determination. He couldn't fall apart just now. He simply didn't have the luxury. Not while the lives and freedom of the people under his command hung in the balance.
"Lagash," he commanded, "tell Octave to get all the men in here, fast!"
Even as Jack spoke, he started loping down the hallway, gesturing for Daniel and Ifefal to keep up. When the door opened behind them, and men started boiling through, Jack looked back just long enough to catch Octave's eye and say, "Come on!"
"Jack," said Daniel, speaking rapidly as he trotted along, "no matter how fast we get to the Stargate, I can't imagine they won't have the rest of the guards there before us. The barracks is only five minutes away. That means we won't outnumber them, like we planned. They'll outnumber us. What about Sam and Nara? There's probably only a small force laying siege to their location. Why don't we go rescue them?"
"I know where you're coming from," said Jack. "But rescuing Sam and Nara from the network annex won't mean squat if we can't get ourselves off this planet. The longer we take to get to the Stargate, the worse our odds become, because it won't be long before even more troops get here from other parts of Government House." So much for Plan B, he thought. "We need something else." And then the answer hit him. "Ifefal, how many new 'chattel-males' are being held in here?"
Ifefal's eyes went wide. "The number varies," she said, "but there are usually about five hundred."
"The numbers are on our side!" exulted Daniel. But then his expression grew uncertain. He'd no doubt begun to realize what Jack had realized immediately.
"The male captives won't make much of a fighting force," Jack said to him. "For several reasons. But if they're freed from their cells – and their Collars – the Ashorans will have to pull troops off the Stargate to deal with them. Won't they?"
"Definitely," said Daniel. "This is Ashora."
Lagash and Octave had caught up to them, with the rest of the men right behind. They were all booking it together down the long hallway.
"But," said Ifefal, "our route doesn't take us through the areas where males are kept. Sam and Nara avoided the male processing areas, because those are the busiest."
"Crap." The word came out as a small, enervated puff of breath. Why can't things just go right for once? thought Jack.
"You're not thinking of releasing the wild males, are you?" asked Lagash.
Jack gave Lagash an irritated glance. Despite everything, the guy was still Ashoran. "I would love to," said Jack. "but the male holding areas aren't on our route, so Sam and Nara haven't gimmicked the security systems for us. The Ashorans would pinpoint our location. We should split up; send a small cloaked party to create the distraction while the main part of our force continues toward the Stargate. But how do we split Ifefal? She's the only one who can use the Collar deactivator, but she's also the only one who knows the way to the Stargate."
"Ifefal," said Daniel, "how many Collarless men are being held within the Bureau of Liberation?"
Ifefal frowned. "About a third of the males will be in the initial holding cells, waiting to be processed. Those men aren't Collared yet. The men being evaluated in the medical area aren't either, but they'll be anesthetized."
"But aren't the men kept drugged before they're 'processed'?" asked Jack. "The first thing I remember about Ashora is waking up with a Collar on."
"Most aren't kept drugged the entire time," said Ifefal. "It depends how long we take to get to them."
"Yes!" exclaimed Daniel. "That's what we need, Jack. Given Ashoran attitudes, the mere thought of Collarless men running loose inside Government House will create panic. I guarantee the Ashorans will divert resources to deal with that."
They reached the end of the hallway. Everyone halted before a pair of large, elaborately decorated doors. Ifefal immediately went to work on the doors.
Jack looked at Daniel, and was reminded of what had made this man his best friend. Without needing to exchange a word, Jack knew that he and Daniel were on exactly the same page.
He turned to address everyone. "This mission has entered a new phase. The Ashorans know we're in here, so you're going to sprint the remaining distance to the Stargate, and shoot anybody that gets in your way. Ifefal will guide you, Lagash will relay communications, and Octave will lead you. I expect you to follow Octave's orders as if they were mine."
At these words, the men shifted uneasily, all their eyes on Jack. "Daniel and I," he continued steadily, "are going to create a diversion to draw some of the guards away from the Stargate. Once the diversion is in play, we'll go get Sam and Nara, and join you in the 'Gate Room. And then, we're all getting off this lovely little rock."
There was a silence. The men weren't stupid. They knew that their chances of escaping were now greatly diminished. And they also knew which part of Jack's little plan was especially unlikely.
"We won't leave without you!" cried one of the men.
"I'm not planning to stay," said Jack, "but, regardless, you'll do what Octave orders you to do. Is that clear?" The men went still.
"Daniel," said Jack, "the GDO." Daniel handed it over, and Jack strapped it to Octave's arm. "As I explained before," he told the men, "Earth's 'Gate has an iris, which will prevent the Ashorans from coming after you. I'm giving this device to Octave just in case. It will allow him to signal my people to let you through the iris. I've already taught Octave the code he needs, and Lagash and Ifefal know it, too."
There was anguish in Octave's eyes. He knew what Jack was asking of him. He knew that if Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Nara couldn't reach the Stargate in time, Jack expected him to lead everyone else safely to Earth.
There was another silence. Then B'tama raised his gun in the air and intoned, "Freedom or death."
"Freedom or death!" they all cried.
Jack looked at Ifefal. "You ready to open those doors?"
"Yes. And if the two of you want to go to the initial holding cells, this is where we have to separate." She described how to reach the initial holding area. "That part is easy," she said, "but getting to the network annex from there isn't. Frankly, I'd have a hard time finding the way. There's no way I could just give you directions. And what are you going to do about the locked doors?"
"Let us worry about that," said Jack. He drew his gun, and everyone copied the action. Then Jack positioned himself behind one of the doors, while Daniel got behind the other.
Jack nodded at Ifefal. Then he cloaked, as did Daniel.
The doors began to swing open. They were heavy doors, covered with carved wood and enamel, and they opened ponderously. As soon as the gap was big enough, he and Daniel slipped through, into a round chamber with several arched openings along its circumference. The chamber was empty except for a kind of animated tableau in the center. The luminous, semi-transparent forms depicted a woman in what Jack had come to recognize as Ancient Minoan costume, surrounded by men. Some of the men knelt and gazed at her adoringly, while others prostrated themselves before her and kissed her feet.
"Ah," said Daniel. "Obviously intended to represent the proper relationship between the sexes."
"Obviously," said Jack.
Jack and Daniel checked the archways, but saw no one approaching down any of the corridors. "We're all clear," said Jack, speaking to Lagash over the phase-shifted radio.
Jack and Daniel decloaked as Ifefal, Lagash, and Octave entered the round chamber, with the men streaming after them. Ifefal was frowning. "This is a busy intersection," she said. "There should be lots of people passing through, even at this hour."
"With the signposts off," said Daniel, "things aren't exactly normal. The Ashoran workers must be aware they have intruders."
Ifefal headed for the rightmost archway, with Lagash and Octave right behind her, and the men following in a column.
Jack gestured toward the third archway from the right. "Let's go," he said to Daniel. They recloaked, and entered a corridor that had mismatched, unevenly spaced doors on either side. All the doors were closed.
As they moved quickly down the hallway, Jack informed Sam and Nara of the plan. The women tried to argue that their lovers should go straight to the Stargate after freeing the male captives, but Jack cut the argument short.
Jack and Daniel followed the corridor through an intersection, and around a couple of sharp bends. They continued to encounter closed doors and a deserted passageway. Damn, thought Jack, his mood turning grim. There goes Plan C. Or was that D? After the third bend, they reached a large door with a red outline. According to Ifefal, the "initial holding area" was on the other side.
"Sam and Nara didn't prepare this door for us," said Daniel, "and Ifefal said the room is reinforced, so we can't use the disintegration setting on our guns to blast our way in. So, what's your plan for getting past this door?"
Jack glared at Daniel. "In case you haven't noticed, we're way past plans here. We're improvising and praying now. I thought we'd be able to take an Ashoran prisoner, and use her to get in. I wasn't expecting them to go into lockdown so fast – it's not like this is a military facility. But we haven't seen a soul. Maybe we could find someone if we blasted through one of these other doors, but that'll alert the powers-that-be to our position. We may have to settle for that kind of smaller distraction, but for right now, our best bet is to just wait and hope someone enters this corridor."
"Just wait? While the rest of the team rushes to get to the Stargate? While the Ashorans rush to send more troops in here, and to break into Sam and Nara's location?"
"Yes, Daniel, it sucks! You got a better idea?"
Daniel pursed his lips. "No," he admitted.
They waited. Jack began to shift from one foot to the other, and then to pace. After what seemed a long time, Jack said, "So, when's it coming?"
"When's what coming?"
"My scolding. For shooting Elal in the knee. I know Ifefal and Lagash must have told you by now." Jack didn't look at Daniel as he said this. He continued to gaze down the empty corridor.
There was a pause. "Am I really that self-righteous?" Jack did look at him then. Daniel grimaced ruefully and said, "Never mind. I know the answer."
Jack was surprised. That was almost an apology, and Daniel never apologized for his moral zeal.
"Daniel," he said, "if I start doing something crazy, you'll tell me, right?"
"Of course," said Daniel. "I always tell you when you do crazy things. And you always tell me when I do crazy things. And then we ignore each other. That's the way it works."
Sure it is, thought Jack. Though Daniel certainly seemed able to blithely ignore what Jack said to him – including, at times, his orders – Jack knew for damn sure that he didn't really ignore what Daniel said. On the contrary, Daniel's opinions affected him deeply. Not that he would ever admit that.
"I'm serious, Daniel. I think I may be cracking up."
Daniel's eyes met his, full of that special brand of fervor that Jack figured he must have patented by now. "I don't believe that for a second," said Daniel. "You've been through a hell of a lot, and it's affected you. Of course. Nobody's made of stone, not even you. But you are not cracking up. I know you're going to do whatever it takes to keep us safe. Just like you always do."
Jack looked down for a moment, trying not to let Daniel see how tremendously relieved and encouraged he felt. It was ridiculous, really. Why did he believe that just because Daniel said it?
His mind went back to the first Abydos mission, and the hopeless geek that Daniel had appeared to be. He remembered how the soldiers on his team had picked on Daniel, angry that this nerd's intellectual overconfidence had gotten them stranded on an alien world. Jack had intervened, impatient with his men's petty spite.
But something about the way Daniel had handled the harassment that had caught Jack's attention. Daniel had been so physically helpless, and yet so doggedly unaffected by the men's behavior. He hadn't fallen into a state of poor-little-me self-pity, nor had he responded to the men's anger and malice by returning it. The vast majority of people would have done one or the other.
That had been Jack's first clue that the unworldly young archeologist was something special. During the course of the mission, Jack had come to realize that Daniel had an extraordinary spirit. And a little of that passionate, iron-willed idealism had rubbed off, inspiring Jack to believe there was still some point in living, after all.
Jack experienced a renewed sense of gratitude for that. The intervening years had brought a lot of pain and hardship, including this latest ordeal on Ashora – but they'd also brought so much that mattered. A chance to do some worthwhile things, and to get to know some very special people – and to love as he'd never loved before. If he'd died on Abydos, as he'd originally planned, he would have died without ever meeting Sam.
He refocused on the man who stood beside him now, comparing this confident scholar/soldier to the geek he'd met all those years ago. Daniel had changed a good deal since joining SG-1. The toughness that had always been inside him was no longer so hidden. He had become more aggressive and, to some extent, more pragmatic. And as Jack thought about that, he realized that maybe Daniel didn't really dismiss his perspective on the world quite as completely as it sometimes felt.
"Considering the way we ignore each other," said Jack, "it's amazing we're both still alive."
Daniel gave one of his small, rare smiles. As usual, his forehead furrowed almost as if in pain – as if his face wasn't quite sure how to accommodate a smile. It always reminded Jack that Daniel hadn't had an easy life.
"Yes," said Daniel, voice soft and eyes alight. "Definitely one of the great mysteries of the universe."
Jack smiled in return. They stood in companionable if slightly awkward silence for a moment.
And then, things went right for once. The door to the "initial holding area" opened. As a woman stepped out into the corridor, looking anxious and hurried, Jack and Daniel quickly slipped in under cloak.
Jack checked his chronometer and saw that, though it had felt like a very long time, they'd been waiting for only eight minutes. "Thank you, God," he said.
He and Daniel now found themselves at one end of a long, rectangular room, with another large door on the far end. There were no paintings or decoration here; everything was white and sterile-looking. To their right was a monitoring station that reminded Jack of the control room in the Arena facility. Four women sat at a console, with a large array of holographic windows above them. The windows showed tiny white cells, each holding one man. The men were dressed in black loin-cloths and shoes, but did not have Collars. Across from the monitoring station, three openings led into long hallways lined with doors. Jack figured those were the holding cells pictured in the holographic windows.
The four women were armed, but only with stun guns, and their bearing didn't seem very military. Their guns, of course, would be those neural-controlled numbers that only Ashoran women could operate. Without modification, no Ashoran weapon could be used by a man.
"I don't care what Internal Security said!" one of the women suddenly exclaimed. She sounded rattled. "I don't trust those women. I say we get out of here now! The Goa'uld are invading through the Stargate!"
"Don't be ridiculous," snapped another woman. "The intruders are heading for the Stargate, not away from it."
"You call me ridiculous," sneered the first woman, "and yet you believe that? How'd the intruders get in here if not through the Stargate?"
"It's no use trying to leave," put in the third woman. "The Bureau of Liberation has been sealed off."
"Which proves they're trying to prevent someone from getting out!" cried the first woman.
"They shouldn't have turned off the signposts," muttered the fourth. "The Goddess will be displeased."
Jack and Daniel exchanged looks. "Seems to be some confusion about what's going on," observed Daniel. "I guess Internal Security isn't telling people the whole story."
"What else is new?" said Jack. "We need to take one of these women prisoner, and make her open the holding cells. Then, we'll make her guide us to Sam and Nara."
"Uh, Jack," said Daniel. "Are we really just going to use the male captives as a distraction? Don't they deserve to get off Ashora, too?"
"Don't start, Daniel." Jack's tone was especially harsh because he'd been thinking the same thing. "We'll be damn lucky to get Sam and Nara and ourselves out, without trying to drag a bunch of disoriented, unarmed men along with us."
Making a snap judgment about which of the women would be easiest to intimidate, Jack positioned himself behind the one that was worried about Goa'uld invading through the Stargate. At his signal, he and Daniel started stunning the other women.
When energy bolts materialized out of thin air to hit her companions, Jack's target leapt to her feet and reached for her gun. Jack grabbed her wrist. She gasped as he made her drop her gun. Then he twisted her arm behind her back, at the same time stripping off her data-wristlet and tossed it to Daniel. He didn't want the authorities alerted. Not yet.
Jack decloaked. Keeping the woman's arm in a lock, he pressed the barrel of his gun against her neck. "Don't move a muscle," he growled.
When Daniel decloaked, the prisoner gave him a very intense stare – and then gasped again. "Oh," Daniel said to her, "did you just try to send a command to my Collar? Sorry, it's been deactivated." He dropped her data-wristlet on the floor and disintegrated it. "I might as well not even be wearing a Collar," he went on conversationally, "like him." Daniel jerked his chin toward Jack.
Jack's prisoner swiveled her head around, trying get a look at him. Jack shifted position so she could see him better. When she caught sight of his bare neck, her eyes got so wide the whites showed around the irises. Damn, thought Jack, Daniel was right about the "Collarless male" thing. She's completely freaked out.
"This is what you're going to do," he told her, trying to sound as masculine and menacing as possible. "You're going to open the doors of all the holding cells. Right now."
"I can't," she whispered, eyes rolling in terror.
"Do it," Jack barked at her, "or I'll make you wish you'd never been born." There, he thought. How's that for clichéd villainy?
The woman actually whimpered. Then, there was a loud click as all the cell doors popped open.
Men began to appear in the hallways. They all wore dazed expressions of one sort or another. Some stood around incuriously, looking strangely serene – obviously drugged. But even the men who didn't appear to be drugged looked hopelessly confused. After all, they'd just been kidnapped from some low-tech world. They had no clue where they were or what was happening.
"Oh, no," moaned the Ashoran prisoner, as more and more men left their cells. "Oh, no."
Yeah, right, thought Jack. Just look at them. What a huge threat.
Lagash's voice came over the helmet radio. "Jack, we've almost reached the Stargate security foyer. Ifefal says it's around the corner and down the hall."
"Good," said Jack. "We're about to launch our little distraction. Hopefully, you'll soon see some of the Stargate guards leave the security foyer. Wait till then to attack the Stargate Facility."
"Got it," said Lagash.
Jack turned his attention back to the freed males. "Everybody listen up!" he called to them. "This is your chance to escape from the female demons! Follow us."
He strode toward the door at the far end of the main room, dragging his prisoner with him. Some of the men began to follow him, with more coming forward as Daniel coaxed and encouraged them. Daniel also started trying to explain what was going on, which Jack considered pointless. There was too much these men didn't understand, and time was very short.
According to Ifefal, the other door led to the medical areas. When Jack reached it, he gave his prisoner a rough yank and growled, "Open it!" She didn't even protest. She seemed nearly catatonic with fear. The door slid aside.
Jack stepped into a large, dimly-lit room filled with rows of "beds" laden with electronics. A man lay on his back in each bed, and a holographic display hovered above each man's head. The men's eyes were open, staring at the images that flashed above their faces, but it was evident they were in some sort of twilight mental state.
Several Ashoran women walked among the rows of beds, checking on the men. When Jack entered the room with his prisoner, followed by lots of Collarless men, they all froze in wide-eyed shock. One woman dropped the gizmo she'd been holding. Another let out the sort of screech you might expect from a woman startled by a cockroach. Then they all ran for the exits.
"When those women tell the authorities the wild males are loose," said Daniel, "they'll send soldiers over here in a hurry. Count on it."
"I just hope those soldiers are taken from the Stargate contingent," said Jack. "It can't be much longer before more troops start pouring in here. Speaking of which – we better get a move on. This is taking too damn long."
Jack turned toward the men they'd freed. Most were standing in a clump, gaping at their surroundings. Some of the drugged ones had begun to wander off aimlessly. "There're lots of exits from this room," he told them. "Pick one and run for it. If you scatter, you'll confuse the female demons." Then Jack put his mouth next to his prisoner's ear and growled, "Show us the fastest way to the Stargate network annex. Or else."
The Ashoran woman remained gratifyingly cooperative. She led them through one of the exits, and they passed into another hallway. However, there was a problem. Many of the men from the holding cells continued to trail after them.
"Hey!" Jack barked at them. "Shoo! Vamoose! You don't want to go where we're going, because we're heading into a firefight, and you don't have any guns."
One of the more alert-looking men, a black guy with Rasta-type hair, frowned at him and said, "What's a gun?"
"Oh, for crying out loud!"
"Jack?" It was Lagash's voice over the helmet radio.
"What now?" snapped Jack.
"Uh… thirty guards just left the Stargate security foyer."
Jack tried to get his blood pressure under control. "That's excellent, Lagash. Hold on just a second." He looked at Daniel. "While I talk to the team, you talk some sense into these idiots. And remember, we've got to keep moving!"
So their strange procession continued down the hallway. First came Jack, with the Ashoran prisoner in tow. Then came dozens of confused-looking men in black loin-clothes, accompanied by a rapidly-talking Daniel.
"Sam," asked Jack, "what's your status?" Lagash had made his announcement on "open mike," so Sam and Nara had heard it, too.
"I'm sorry," she said, "we haven't quite finished taking over the weapons computer. The people outside our door keep trying to take back control of this room's security systems, so Nara and I have to fend off their electronic attacks and work on the computer at the same time. But we've already compromised the outer security layers of the Stargate Facility, so we're preventing the Ashorans from closing the doors of the Stargate security foyer or the 'Gate Room itself. And we should be done disabling the 'Gate Room weapons emplacements within the next ten minutes. The Ashorans haven't been able to infiltrate this annex electronically, and they'll need a blast cannon to break in here physically." There was a small pause. "I'm not sure how far they'll have to go to get a blast cannon."
"We'll be there to get you very soon, Sam."
"Jack, about that…"
Jack cut her off. "Did you hear that, Lagash? By the time you guys fight your way into the security foyer, the 'Gate Room should be safe to enter. And your odds should be close to even, now. There are ninety Stargate guards altogether, and you saw thirty of them leave, and a group of them are at Sam and Nara's location, too. Sam, any idea how many Ashorans are outside your door?"
"No, Jack. We still haven't been able to get any data from the hall sensors. We think they've been destroyed. But,"she added, "there have to be more than two."
"In case you were wondering," put in Nara, "Sam and I still think you should head for the Stargate instead of coming here. Wouldn't it be better if you boys helped with the assault?"
"Hey," said Jack, "what kind of attitude is that for damsels in distress?"
"Daniel," said Nara, "did you hear me?"
Daniel broke off his conversation with the freed captives long enough to say, "So noted. See you soon, honey." If there was anybody who'd have no trouble following two conversations at the same time, it was Daniel.
Nara made a disgusted sound and signed off.
"Lagash," said Jack, "you should wait a few minutes to let the guard detachment get farther from your position. Octave will understand that. Call us again when Octave decides to launch the attack."
"Okay," said Lagash.
During the conversation, Jack and Daniel had kept moving. They'd made their way down the hallway, through some empty labs, and into another hallway. Jack felt confident that his Ashoran prisoner was taking them down the correct path. She was too terrified to do anything else. And, thanks to Daniel's efforts, many of the men in their unwanted escort had dropped off along the way.
But eight freed chattel-males still persisted in following them.
"Daniel?" inquired Jack, trying to stay calm.
Daniel's face scrunched up in resignation. "These men refuse to leave us, Jack. They say they have an obligation to fulfill, since we freed them."
"We will help you in your quest," said the man who hadn't know what a gun was. He seemed to be the leader of the holdouts. "I am a good fighter, and an excellent hunter. Ask anyone who knows me."
"We don't doubt you, Wegage," said Daniel. "But you have no weapons, and no cloak. You must fulfill your debt at another time."
"I have my hands and feet, my eyes and ears!" insisted Wegage.
To his extreme irritation, Jack discovered that they'd all stopped moving. "That's it!" Jack yelled at the men. "If you don't turn around now, I'll shoot you myself!"
"Please!" added Daniel. "We appreciate your intentions, but you will help us best by letting us go on alone. You must accept this."
Wegage's gaze went back and forth between Jack's thunderous expression and Daniel's earnest one. Finally, his shoulders slumped. "Very well," he said.
"Thank you," said Jack. He'd meant it to be sarcastic, but somehow it came out sounding pretty sincere. As he turned away from the men and started moving again, his sense of relief was touched with regret. Which didn't make any sense.
"Have they really stopped following?" he muttered to Daniel.
"Yes," said Daniel. After a pause, he added, "All those men are going to be recaptured and enslaved."
"I know, Daniel. But at least they won't get killed."
He and Daniel hurried on in silence, making their way through a tangle of very narrow corridors and cluttered rooms in what appeared to be a storage area. Jack tried to keep his mind off the battle that would soon be raging at the Stargate Facility. That wasn't his mission. He couldn't direct the battle from here. But, an inner voice whispered, why the hell are you trusting Octave to do it? No matter what your intuition says, you've never actually seen the guy in combat. Didn't you abandon the men just so you could go after Sam? Guilt began trying to gnaw at him, but he ruthlessly suppressed it. The decision was made. He would concentrate on his own job, and trust Octave and the men to do theirs.
Jack's prisoner stopped.
"What's the holdup?" he snapped at her.
"You… you s-said," she stammered, "when we got close to the Stargate annex…"
"Right," said Jack, in a calmer tone. "Good. Where is it?"
She pointed to a door. "Left through that door, then left again when you reach the big hallway. Then right at the intersection. The Stargate annex will be two or three doors down on the left."
"Daniel," said Jack, "go check that."
That was when Lagash's voice came on again. "We're about to attack the Stargate Facility," he said. Jack's guts knotted, but he expressed his confidence in Octave and the men. Daniel, Sam, and Nara all wished them luck. Then Jack reminded everyone that, from now on, messages to and from the main group had to be restricted to vital developments, so as not to distract Octave and his men in the middle of combat.
After Lagash signed off, Jack and Daniel exchanged looks. "The plot thickens," said Daniel. "I just hope we don't run into the Minotaur."
With those comforting words, Daniel cloaked and went out the door. A few minutes later, his voice came over Jack's helmet. "Okay," he said, "I'm including Sam and Nara in this broadcast. I can see nine women in Ashoran Defense Force uniforms and three women in civilian dress gathered outside what has to be the Stargate network annex. Some of them seem to be working on the door's electronic controls. The rest are…" Daniel's voice broke off.
"Daniel?"
"It's okay, Jack. I ducked behind the corner in time. Some of the women are holding these odd devices, which they keep pointed away from their position, apparently sweeping the hallway in both directions. I think they're those anti-cloaking projectors Sam told us about – kind of like the T.E.R's we used to see the Re'tu. They project a beam that neutralizes cloaking fields."
"That's right," said Sam. "It's a mobile version of the same anti-cloaking devices that are embedded in the walls of the Stargate Facility."
"Great," said Jack. "Well, at least we're here to save you."
"Yes," put in Nara. "How wonderful."
Jack put his mouth close to his prisoner's ear and said, "Thanks for all your help." Then he stunned her, and pulled her unconscious body behind some boxes. After cloaking himself, he went out the door to join Daniel.
But when he exited, he could see people approaching his position from the right, a ways down the long corridor. There were two women in civilian dress, and five in black military uniforms. The women were followed by a large machine, which barely fit in the corridor. The machine drifted along behind them, suspended two feet off the floor on a kind of sled.
"Sam," said Jack, "you know that blast cannon you were talking about? Would it be about five feet wide and five feet tall, with three things sticking from the front that look like giant versions of the 'barrels' of our Ashoran guns?"
"Yes," said Sam. "You mean…"
"Afraid so," said Jack. "The big guns have arrived."
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