Chapter 17 - Luck

"This is a terrible plan!" said Mckay as he followed Daniel back through the tents.

"Mckay, do you want to be on this team?" sighed Daniel.

"Yes."

"Then act like it."

"It's not the breaking orders thing," continued Mckay.

Daniel found what he was looking for and glanced at the scientist, a little surprised at the answer. "Oh?"

"No, it really is a terrible plan," said Mckay. "Sneaking into the ships to set off C4? Then what?"

"Then the Jaffa will be called to the more important issue, and we can evacuate all the Abydonians through the gate," said Daniel.

"What if they aren't all called?" asked Mckay.

Daniel gritted his teeth. "Look at who made the plan—what do you think comes next?"

"How is this not starting a war?" asked Mckay. "I mean, seriously, I hate the Goa'uld as much as anyone, but I'm not going to die here on principle's sake!"

"No one's going to die," assured Daniel. He grabbed what he had found, and walked past Mckay out of the tent.

"You don't know that!" Mckay hissed as they went back to the others.

"This is what I found," reported Daniel. "They're a bit big, but that's good." He tossed a tan robe each to Teal'c, Jack, and Dixon, who were crouched and keeping a sharp eye on everything going on below.

"They've got a third of the people on board by now," said Jack. "We still have time. Okay, team, this is it—Mckay, you're going to be the distraction since you can't be anything else."

Mckay blinked and opened his mouth, but the looks of his teammates had it quickly shut again.

"Just go over there and fire your gun a few times," said Jack. "Not the whole clip, though, we may need it later. Any of the Jaffa not busy will try to track you down, so you just run like hell back up to the gate. Before they get you, we'll have caused a bigger mess. Dixon, Teal'c, and I will sneak in among the Abydonians as they're all rushed in because of the fuss, and Daniel will position himself by the mines in the confusion. Teal'c will ring to the other ship and set the C4 there, and Dixon and I will do the same on this ship." Jack used his hands to indicate the various positions.

"When that goes off, if we have any luck this Quetesh will call them to see what happened. At that moment, you Daniel will reveal yourself and call for everyone to run, and we'll do the same from inside the ship. They should listen to us. Any Jaffa who try to stop us, you will zat them. No guns, because you might hit one of our people in the confusion. Mckay, you will dial the gate as soon as you get to the pyramid, then direct the people as they come towards you. Understood, all?"

"Yes, sir," said Dixon.

Teal'c nodded.

"Yes," said Mckay, after a moment's hesitation.

Daniel looked at Jack and nodded. He had some serious reservations, but he had also decided that more was going on than Jack's usual stubbornness—something that wouldn't be assuaged by his words alone.

"Just one question," said Mckay, finger raised.

Jack rolled his eyes, but nodded for him to continue.

"There's a lot of variables here," Mckay said, "but one especially—what if the people are too scared to run?"

"These people stood up to Ra and Apophis," said Jack. "With our help, yes, but we're here and we've got guns. They'll do it."

Mckay winced a little, still unsure, but didn't object.

"Let's go!" whispered Jack.

As the military men got their robes on and hid their weapons underneath, while Daniel made his way west along the ridge until the village was just southwest of him. The mines were a little farther back than the ships, caves of stone barely peeking up from the sand, but he didn't need to get all the way there. From this angle, any Jaffa running would be going to the east of him.

"You ready?" called Jack over the radio.

"All set," said Daniel, crouched and ready to dash down the hill and behind that nice dune near the mines.

"Now, Mckay!"

Behind him, suddenly, Daniel heard a wild banshee-like shriek and some random shots into the air. He glanced back and saw Mckay, head ducked to his chest and one arm raised with the gun, darting up the hill beyond the village. Looking back, he saw that the Jaffa had heard too. The strange noise was worth investigating, and all but who were necessary grabbed staff weapons and charged up the hill. The ones keeping guard kept their gaze on the prisoners, and Daniel thought he saw the Abydonians look up in recognition at the sound. But he didn't have time to look closer, and half-ran half-slid down the hill before the remaining Jaffa looked back up.

The little avalanche of sand that he left stilled before the initial confusion was past, and by then Daniel was in position. He looked across the plain to the ships, and saw three robed figures add themselves in the middle of the crowd. Sure enough, the Jaffa were hurrying the procession onto the ships, ceasing their check of each figure for a young man trying to escape the mines. Before a whole minute had passed, Daniel couldn't see the rest of his team.

"Mckay?" he whispered into his radio.

There was no answer for a bit, but before Daniel could worry, there came a breathless, frantic "What?"

"They're in—shouldn't be long," whispered Daniel, making sure the volume was turned as low as it could go.

"They're right on my tail up here, I only have a couple minutes, if that!" said Mckay, sounding desperate.

"You do know how to shoot, right?" asked Daniel, frowning a little as he realized the timing might go a little off.

"Not at a moving target!"

Daniel grimaced. "Come on guys," he murmured, not in the radio.

The seconds felt like minutes, and nearly all the crowd of Abydonians were on the ship now. Suddenly, there was a rapid fire of loud explosions, though not as loud as they could have been. A couple spots on the first ship burst into flame for a couple seconds before dying down to a smoky char.

Daniel leapt out, spreading his arms wide and calling in a loud voice. "People of Abydos!"

He wasn't loud enough for them all to hear, but as a few turned, they beckoned to the others. The Jaffa heard too, though, so Daniel didn't waste time. "I am Daniel and I have returned to help you, but you must stand up and fight!"

The Jaffa were prepared to fire, and Daniel was prepared to drop, but a few ambitious Abydonians tackled the nearest Jaffa to the ground. A second later, and suddenly they were moving as a mass, a mob, a crowd, not fighting but just knocking the Jaffa to the ground as they made their way to Daniel.

"Come! This way!" he beckoned, up the hill.

Another explosion rang out from the second ship, and two more from the first. Looking up the hill, Daniel hoped the other Jaffa were on their way. The Abydonians came rushing up to Daniel.

"Dan'yel!" called one.

"What are you doing here?" asked another.

"What should we do?"

"There is a demon here!"

"I know," said Daniel, speaking up. "And the Jaffa are on their way, but we can escape through the Chappa'ai."

"The Jaffa will kill us!" offered one frightened man.

"They have killed many," said another, sober.

"We are distracting them, hopefully they will not see," said Daniel. "Now hurry!" He ushered the first hundred or so, and the rest followed, seeing the wisdom of not loitering.

Daniel glanced behind as the Abydonians made their way up the hill. The Jaffa were inside the ships, and Daniel could only hope that Jack and Teal'c and Dixon were all right.

"Jackson!" Mckay's tense voice came over the radio. "Jackson, is it okay?"

"I don't know yet," said Daniel. He had run back to behind the sand dune as the Jaffa returned from the pyramid, intent on reaching their god's ship but not undistractable. "But everyone's coming your way—dial a safe place and have them go through. We can't send them to earth right now."

"I figured that," said Mckay, his voice just a hint relieved.

There were three more explosions on the ships, loud and dramatic, and Daniel frowned. Those couldn't be C4, they came from outside... He looked up and swore. Death gliders.

"Jack? Teal'c? Dixon?" he called into the radio. "You alive?"

"Barely, Jackson," answered Dixon, and the shots of Jaffa could be heard around him.

"There's another Goa'uld attacking," said Daniel, looking up. "Things are going to get really rough."

"Teal'c hasn't opened up the second ship—there's still some Abydonians in there. You?"

"They're headed towards the gate," said Daniel, ducking as a glider flew straight over him and sent several shots into the Al'kesh, leaving smoke and fire behind. "You have to get out of there now!"

"Whoa there!" came Dixon. "Teal'c, your ship's firing up engines!"

"Teal'c, get your ass out of there!" called Jack finally.

Sure enough, the second ship was beginning to rise in the air.

Daniel bit his lip, waiting. A few more death gliders ploughed through, sending their shots onto the first ship. It looked barely in one piece. Finally, he saw two small figures run down the ramp and out, and just as a third appeared, another shot hit the ship. Running as fast as they could, explosions rolled out from the damage to the rest of the ship behind them, and the rest of SG-1 was barely out of the way before the whole ship blew.

The second ship was already in the air, and flying high and away—they had failed to stop Quetesh entirely.

"We've got Jaffa!" called Mckay, desperate again over the radio.

"Get the guns into hands!" ordered Jack.

Daniel ran up to his three comrades, all a bit out of breath.

"We're so screwed!" said Dixon.

"Mckay needs support," said Jack, rising to his feet from where he had fallen to cover his head as the ship exploded. His face was streaked with soot and sweat, and his expression was grim. "And we need to leave."

They all ran up the hill, making the return trip in much better time. Dixon and Jack ran into the pyramid, guns blazing, and immediately had reason to fire. A few Abydonians lay dead on the floor, scattered as if hit while running, and the Jaffa were pouring from the rings every few seconds. The gate was wide open and still on its side, and the other Abydonians were crawling through. Mckay was sending out near-random shots from behind a pillar, an Abydonian providing support with his other gun.

Finishing off the few Jaffa, SG-1 quickly met up near the gate to establish a defense position.

"We're almost done," gasped Mckay, overwhelmed with panic and stress.

"Those are Heru'ur's Jaffa," said Teal'c. "He is an enemy of Apophis."

"So it could be coincidence?" asked Daniel. He glanced around, seeing that all his people got through safely.

A few more Jaffa ringed in, but the ready and aimed weapons of all four had them on the ground in seconds.

"Indeed," said Teal'c. "It is possible he heard the rumor that Apophis sent his queen here, as Jolinar suggested."

"Yes, Jolinar could get around, couldn't she," said Jack with a set jaw.

Finally, the last Abydonian was through the gate. Backing through with guns at the ready, SG-1 left Abydos a site of battle once again. Daniel felt a pang as he saw all the bodies on the floor, and thought of the people still on Quetesh's ship if it had survived the attack from Heru'ur. This mission had been so frantic, so on the spot, and such a mixture of success and failure.

On the planet, once the gate disengaged, they all stood for a minute. It was an empty planet, very green and sunny, as if all was well with the universe. The Abydonians were crowded around, trying to see who had been lost, and Mckay took a seat on a boulder.

"Now what?" asked Dixon.

"That ship's long gone," said Jack darkly. "One way or another."

"So they're lost for good?" asked Daniel.

Jack gave him a look, knowing that Daniel knew the answer to that question. Daniel sighed. "I know, we don't know anything about Quetesh or where her base is."

"Dan'yel?" Adros, a young Abydonian, hesitantly approached SG-1.

"Yes, Adros?" answered Daniel, turning a little wearily but glad for the change in topic.

"When you set forth to find our people, there are some among us who wish to join," he said. "There are many with family among the lost."

"Adros, we don't know what we're going to do about that yet," said Daniel, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "We don't know how this happened."

"It was a Goa'uld attack," said Adros, confused. "What more is there?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," said Jack, stepping forward. "You see, we think we know how this snake found out about this place."

"But what does that matter?" asked Adros. "Our people, our family?"

"We don't know where they are," said Daniel, putting a hand on the man's arm. "But we'll try our best. Believe me, Adros."

"We all believe in you, Dan'yel," said Adros, even though his brow furrowed.

Daniel frowned. "My good father, Kasuf?"

"He was chosen by Quetesh at first, because he resisted and stood forth as our leader," said Adros sadly. "He was the one who sent for you, and made sure that the Chappa'ai was not discovered. He told us that we were not to anger the Goa'uld further, because you would come to rescue us, and then he was taken. He was on the other ship in the end if he survived at all."

Daniel stood, somewhat stricken. All his family on this planet, taken by the Goa'uld, even after all his effort and sacrifice to keep them safe.

"We need to contact Hammond before anything else," said Jack, breaking the silence. He glanced to Mckay, who stood up and began dialing earth. "There's a lot to discuss."

ooooooo

Sam's first mission with the Tok'ra was dreadfully boring, as Jolinar had warned it would be. They were simply to bring supplies through Goa'uld territory to a Tok'ra outpost, and since all the Jaffa on this world were at that moment preparing for war with another Goa'uld, it was scarcely dangerous at all. Neither Sam nor Jolinar were at any moment concerned for their life, and as the delivery was over quickly, they were quickly able to settle for the night in a dark cave on the planet. Hopefully their return journey would be just as dull.

Just as they were about to sleep, though, there was a communication from the Tok'ra home-world.

"We thought you would want to know, we were able to connect to Abydos," said one of the Tok'ra who guarded the gate.

"You tried again?" asked Jolinar.

The Tok'ra nodded on the device, and it rippled a little. "We made a connection not long ago and sent our signal through, but received no answer."

Jolinar frowned. "That is another ill sign."

"We shall try again tomorrow morning," he said. "But if we again receive no answer, you should be ready to investigate."

"Understood," said Jolinar. The device went dark.

~I don't understand what the problem could be,~ said Sam.

*I have a bad feeling about this,* said Jolinar.

~Maybe it's a technical issue,~ said Sam. ~That happens a lot, more than the sinister things.~

*Maybe on your world,* said Jolinar. *But we cannot do anything tonight.* She silenced her mind after that, preparing for sleep.

Sam wasn't quite ready to let it go, unable to come up with an easy answer for the situation. Jolinar had been right before, maybe she knew more about this world, enough to guess. Or maybe she was just pessimistic. She had made the decision anyway, to go to sleep. Sometimes Sam liked to stay awake after Jolinar dozed off so to experience a modicum of privacy, but not tonight. She closed her mind off to worry and joined Jolinar in deep sleep.

ooooooo

Daniel wasn't sure he'd ever had a more painful briefing. At least when Sam had gone, there was no blame and no disobedience. This briefing had everything wrong. Jack was taking most of the blame, and if Daniel had been more on top of things he would have jumped up to say that he was just as ready to break the rules. But there were other, perhaps more important things, making him frown and rest his head on his hands sometimes, rubbing wearily at his eyes.

"Colonel, do you even give a damn about the rules?" snapped Hammond, losing all patience after a half an hour of butting heads.

"Yes sir," said Jack, "just not right now."

"Damn it, I should have you court-martialed!" said Hammond.

"I saved these people, sir," said Jack.

"And you didn't have the right," said Hammond. "The people of Abydos are not our responsibility, much as you may think otherwise. We didn't lead the Goa'uld to them, we came into a bad situation and tried to make it better."

"With all due respect, I don't think so," said Jack forcefully.

This was what Daniel had feared.

"You care to explain yourself?" asked Hammond, sitting back from where he had been leaned forward in his chair.

"This Quetesh didn't talk about Apophis or Ra," said Jack. "This wasn't two Goa'uld fighting over territory."

Hammond looked to Teal'c and Dixon, who had been still and mostly silent. Mckay had carefully seated himself down from both Jack and Daniel, out of near sight from Hammond. None of them protested Jack's observation, and Teal'c barely nodded his head in agreement.

"If this is true, where did this Quetesh come from?" asked Hammond, brow furrowed.

"Exactly," said Jack, thrusting his finger out. "Sir," he continued, "the only other person who knows about Abydos is Carter—and Jolinar."

"Are you suggesting that she lied to us?" asked Hammond.

"I don't think Carter had anything to do with it," said Jack, frowning. "I had my doubts then, I think they're proven right now. Jolinar didn't know we'd give Kasuf a way to contact us, so she let all her little Goa'uld buddies know that Abydos was free game. Maybe it was a compromise so she could get their help to take us out at the next meeting."

Hammond frowned deeply, not saying anything for a moment. "Doctor Jackson, why aren't you saying anything?"

Daniel looked up. "General sir, I don't know what to think here. I faced Jolinar—Sam even, maybe—and she didn't strike me as that dangerous."

"Isn't it a good possibility that that was her goal?" asked Hammond.

"Yes sir," said Daniel, but not confidently or convincingly. "It's just—it's all speculation, and it doesn't exactly match with how I saw things. I'm not saying I'm right, but I'm not ready to admit that I was wrong."

"The thing is, we won't know for sure," said Jack, turning from Daniel to Hammond. "We'll show up at that meeting, and who knows what Jolinar will do."

"That's not the most major issue, Colonel," said Hammond. "What's more important is, we've let this go on too long."

Jack's eyebrows raised, and he looked to Daniel, who had nothing to offer, and then back to Hammond. "Hmm?"

"Jolinar's possession of Captain Carter is a danger to more than just this base," said Hammond, resting his hands on the table. "We should have recognized before that her knowledge of this program's dealings is not something we want to risk. Whether she did orchestrate this attack on Abydos or not, we can't risk the chance in the future."

Jack sat for a moment, then nodded. "What I said from the beginning," he muttered.

"What are we going to do, then?" asked Daniel.

"Jolinar will be taken into custody at the scheduled negotiations," said Hammond.

"Wait, isn't that breaking foreign policy law, to do that at a parley?" spoke up Mckay, raising his hand slightly.

"Sir, that's hardly the way to approach diplomacy, if Jolinar was telling the truth," agreed Daniel, frowning.

"If this Jolinar was telling the truth, then she will understand if we make a mistake," said Hammond. "But I'm afraid that at this time, it appears to be a much larger chance that she wasn't."

"The guys at the Pentagon won't like this," commented Dixon.

"They don't have to know until it's over," said Jack.

"Agreed," said Hammond. He paused. "Gentlemen, I think we've discussed this enough. You may retire—and Colonel? I'll deal with your court-martial later."

"Yes sir," said Jack, nodding. He and Dixon stood as Hammond rose to depart.

"Next mission on hold then?" asked Dixon as the two left together.

"So you really think it was all coincidence?" asked Mckay when the other two were gone.

Daniel looked to him, to Teal'c, and then back at his own hands. "I want to hope that," he said quietly. "I want to hope that my wife was rescued, that there might be a chance for my brother, and that my father was taken accidentally. But I wanted to hope that Sha're could resist Amonet and return to me on her own. I wanted to hope that Abydos was forgotten by Apophis forever, and that it would be a safe haven for me and Sha're once we were together again." He sighed. "I've wanted to hope in many false things."

Mckay eyed him skeptically, but didn't say anything. Daniel hoped that meant he was beginning to understand when Daniel did or didn't want to talk. But with Mckay, it could be accidental.

"DanielJackson," said Teal'c, as he also rose from the table, looking Daniel straight in the eye. "Do not lose sight of the hopes that have not been false—we have defeated Apophis beyond all reason, with only hope on our side."

Daniel smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'll have to work on that. There's a large record of failures to be tempered by so few successes."

"You know, I think all this bad luck is due to the missions we get," commented Mckay, still sitting by Daniel.

Teal'c paused by the door, one eyebrow rising.

"Well somebody's letting SG-3 go to the nice primordial and prehistoric planets, and we get the potentially dangerous ones," said Mckay.

"Mckay, you realize we can't actually go to a prehistoric planet," said Daniel, rising with a slight sigh. "Prehistoric means—oh never mind."

"What would we do on such worlds, DoctorMckay?" asked Teal'c.

"Not get in trouble," said Mckay, in an obvious tone. "Seriously, if I had known the string of luck that would follow this team, the fear for my life would have kept me away. Do you realize how often we could have been killed?"

"Actually, we have been killed once," commented Daniel, closing his file.

"Really?" asked Mckay frowning.

"We have always survived, DoctorMckay," said Teal'c as the other two followed him out of the room. "Our individual fortunes cannot entirely combat our good fortune when we work together."

Mckay shrugged. "Yeah, that might be true."

Daniel looked to Teal'c, who gave him an encouraging twitch of the mouth—or that's how Daniel read it, not completely fluent in Teal'c-ese even now. Even taking into account what had happened to Sam, Teal'c was right—they were a team, and they were a good one, and they made it through to the next day. He just hoped they could do more than that; he hoped that they could live well and not just survive, and there would need to be a string of fortunate occurrences to start that.

—

Author's Notes: Nothing much in this chapter. Heru'ur did arrive, just later than in canon due to Apophis' change of plan, and Quetesh will be further explained later.