Chapter 75 - Organization
"Be cautious, two Jaffa came and then went," Vala's voice had come over the Tok'ra communicator.
Sam, herding the ten panicked Abydonians she'd rescued, had nodded to herself. Avoiding the road, she'd pulled them through the woods, arriving at the gate from around the back. At the sound of rustling, Vala had spun in her hiding place, gun drawn and eyes sharp. "Oh," she'd said on seeing Sam, and then had run to the DHD to dial back.
With a slight eyebrow raise, Sam had sent the Abydonians through after Vala and had pulled up the rear. On the other side, Vala had given her a small smile, and Sam had tipped her head and responded. It had gone well.
Vala had learned surprisingly much in her few short weeks of freedom, and that day at the firing range must have been productive. A bright light shone at the back of her eyes, and she cradled the gun as a precious tool.
"Are there any more worlds to storm?" she'd asked, pushing back a hair that had come loose with a lightness that Sam and Jolinar both recognized as the high of success.
Sam had been required to answer no, but Vala just nodded. It had been enough for then.
With only a few things left, Sam and Jolinar and Vala dragged themselves back and forth to put it all into place. As Jolinar talked to the leaders of the Jaffa/Dorien alliance about Abydos, Vala counted each and every Abydonian, still scattered across several worlds. Sam had paused to wonder if they realized that she was Quetesh's host—her bearing, clothing, everything about her was just different enough that Jolinar thought that maybe they didn't. Especially given that she'd taken to Jolinar's former style of slicking her hair back to a knot at the base of her neck, wearing a leather band to keep it firmly in place.
"Even before the flagship arrives, we have not found them all," Vala said quietly, fingers fidgeting as she frowned and flicked wood chips into the fire around which they sat.
"People die in war," Jolinar answered.
Vala looked up, brow taut. "I do not want war."
"You will not have to see it, then," Jolinar said. "But this is the aftermath."
Vala rose and turned away, walking off into the evening. And Sam had known that she couldn't follow her. You had to learn to accept loss, it didn't come naturally. The next morning, though, Vala had been ready to be busy again, and even had a kind of cheerfulness.
The most difficult negotiation was the defense of Abydos. In the entire day and a half when there was nothing else to do but wait for the last few Abydonians from the flagship, Sam and Jolinar had found their day entirely full of arguing with the leaders of the other worlds. They'd taken their advice too well.
"We cannot spread ourselves so thin," said Alma, a non-Abydonian woman on the Council centered at Calmah Tealc. "If those people wish to return home, we do not begrudge them it. But no more."
"You would lose their influence then," Jolinar protested firmly. "And remember who inspired you to this freedom. Do not curse the hands that helped you."
"But we have barely enough to keep our own planets safe, and though that is partly due to Jaffa stubbornness, it is something we cannot negotiate further," Alma continued, with furrowed brow and a slight bitterness in her tone.
"Abydos is one of your own planets, whether you say so or not," Jolinar said strongly. "Believe me, a unified front will count for just as much as adequate protection. You need Abydos."
In the end, though, Sam had to come forward and sit down, going over all the details of planetary defense. She reminded them that with ships, they could bury their gates, thus eliminating one set of dangers. As there had been plans to modify cargo ships to serve as guard towers to the gate, something Sam thought quite ingenious and something to be proud of, this revelation did add to the resources for orbiting defense.
"Abydos wouldn't need much, given how few Goa'uld are aware of its presence. Everyone will know of Quetesh's downfall, given the circumstances; Apophis abandoned Abydos with quiet, and so it's relatively secure." Sam adjusted the simulation on her handheld Tok'ra device, and showed it to Alma. The woman frowned, but had no apparent answer.
When she reported back to the Council, it took only a little further debate before all was agreed. The Abydonian leaders were brought in to sign a treaty, and Sam, Jolinar and Vala gated to the world where Quetesh's flagship would be arriving.
ooooooo
"Well, that changes things," said Dixon, looking at the scorched computer.
It wasn't the first time he'd said it in the past day. It was one thing to discover that the boy wasn't a trap, despite his iris-opening techniques. It was another when he seemed to know too much, and had told them of a faction of an alien race called the Re'tu who wanted to destroy the Goa'uld by keeping them from taking hosts. Earth was in danger again. Of course, the boy had also claimed that he knew all this because of his mother, who was both invisible and able to open the iris. They'd protested as long as they could...until "Mother" showed them her reality.
Hammond called an immediate meeting.
"Theories?" he asked SG-1, sitting sober around the table, looking at the computer that Mother had destroyed.
"Um, the alien is real?" Mckay offered, raising his hand in a sarcastic imitation of insecurity.
"And that solves the Junior problem, too," Dixon said, nodding to Teal'c. "I guess the little guy doesn't like Re'tu."
"So they are not totally invisible," Teal'c said.
"Well wait just a minute there," Jack said, raising a finger in protest. "If you know the enemy is there, but can't tell what they're doing, what's the point?"
Mckay frowned, then tapped the table and snapped his fingers. "They can interact in our reality, which means they're just shifted, phasically speaking."
"Phasically speaking," Jack said, an eyebrow raised.
"Are we able to see into other phases?" Daniel asked curiously.
"No," said Mckay, as if that was obvious. "Not unless we were in them ourselves, or what was in them shifted to ours. This isn't like a different light spectrum, Daniel."
"So we can't just send some kind of interference, disturb their phase so they come into ours?" Dixon suggested, with a hand movement reminiscent of dragging and shaking something out of the sky.
Mckay rolled his eyes—then paused. "I have no idea," he said.
"Well, since they're planning on destroying Earth's stargate, which may I remind you all, happens to be where we spend most of our time," Jack said, "I think we should know that."
"Do we have any other defense?" Daniel asked with a frown.
"They come through the gate," said Hammond. "We can further restrict gate travel, though our offworld teams are an unavoidable risk. Dr. Mckay, I suggest you and your colleagues speak with the boy "Charlie" and his mother about how we might detect these other Re'tu."
ooooooo
"They are almost ready to demand that the Tok'ra leave them alone," said Martouf with a slight eyebrow raise. He had joined Sam and Jolinar and Vala for that evening's meal off-base. "And I believe the Council can scarcely be more in line with their feelings. We have involved ourselves too deeply already."
"Well, we'll start the removal back to Abydos tomorrow," Sam said. "Today was difficult enough, though." She glanced to Vala, remembering how the woman had violently refused to approach the flagship. And given the state of the slaves who had survived being constantly under the power and whim of Quetesh, Sam sympathized.
"And after we have given all the information we have about business matters and treaties, we may wash our hands of this new civilization," said Martouf. "I shall enjoy a rest once it is all over."
"So it will be back to the Tok'ra base soon?" Vala asked, looking up from her meal.
"What else?" Sam asked. She assumed it was rhetoric.
"Nothing, of course," said Vala, her smile just shaky enough around the corners to be noticeable.
Jolinar didn't like how much shielding Vala still engaged in, and didn't like how difficult it was to tell if she was truly interested or putting on a show so as to be left alone. But Sam reminded her, it had only been a few weeks. A few weeks after over twenty years' captivity. They couldn't push. And Vala did appear genuine as she offered to play checkers with Sam, as the evening grew dull. With Martouf standing over her shoulder to give her hints, some of which seemed to make her laugh and glance at Sam, she managed to clear quite the board before Sam finally won.
The next day, however, stood out strong. They'd all spent the night on Calmah Tealc, for ease's sake, and rose in the morning to finish the mission.
All counted, Vala had reported, there were 843 Abydonians who wished to return to Abydos. This included Kasuf, Nirishi, Inchen, Creot, and many others they'd known through the entire rebellion against Quetesh. Seeing just how many influential leaders for the free peoples had been among them, Sam was glad to remember the treaty only recently signed.
As they gathered by the gate, all their belongings in hand, a few deathgliders flying ready to go through first and make the last assurance of safety, Sam and Jolinar gave them one last look-over. Many had come through with little scathing, bouncing back with the earnestness of Sha're herself. Others clearly hid their damages, remaining quiet but insistent. And though it hurt, seeing only a few barely functional after their ordeal came as somewhat of a relief.
The sun hung high in the sky when the organization was complete, and the gate was ready to be dialed. The leadership of the Free Peoples had assembled for this, as it seemed to be an official function, and the Councilmembers of each world gave their farewells to the Abydonians.
*They have grown,* commented Jolinar.
~There's something to be said about the way the galaxy does that, no matter how low a starting point you come from,~ Sam answered proudly. ~They may fake their way through these first few months, but they have the structure to keep them intact.~
Finally, the attempt at formality came to a close, and as she had asked to do the honors, Jolinar walked up to the DHD and pressed the symbols for Abydos.
"Recall," she called out to the first Abydonians. "Do not move quickly, and do not loiter about the gate. There is only so much time before the gate closes."
The blue kawoosh followed her words, and then the gliders flew through with a sucking sound. After a moment, Jolinar's communicator twinged with the buzz of their confirmation—Abydos was safe and ready to hold its people again.
Jolinar walked through the gate, and as she came out on the other side, a warm afternoon baking the golden sand past the ruins in this temple, she felt a rush of satisfaction. The Abydonians started pouring through behind her, and the noise slowly grew into a rush of excitement that bounced off the sandstone walls and reverberated out to the very sands themselves.
Though only 30 minutes passed before the people finished streaming in, Sam and Jolinar felt as if months of guilt and worry had been wiped away. Already, people had begun digging up the tents buried in the sand, and shoving aside the rubble in the temple.
"This will be our monument to all we stand for," Nirishi told Sam, standing in the gate room and looking upward. Her lined face seemed to glow in the light of her homeworld, golden brown shadows barely visible on it, dark brown eyes glistening with proud emotion. "And as soon as our ships arrive, we will construct a coverstone once again."
Sam smiled and nodded, swallowing a little at the remembrance of Daniel's original plan on this planet. But though she had a few more things to check up on, Abydonian night had only barely approached before she realized that it was over. It was time to leave them in peace, mission accomplished.
She and Jolinar climbed the sand dunes back up to the temple, headed for the gateroom.
"Wait," she heard calling from her left as she reached for the DHD. "Wait."
She turned to see Kasuf. "What is it?" she asked, frowning.
Kasuf bowed a little to her, waiting a second to speak. "We cannot thank you enough now that we are returned," he said. "But though it is a shame that it has taken so long to remember, the rest of our brethren are not here."
Sam paused. It was an important observation—the SGC had moved the other Abydonians, apparently, perhaps considering this planet a danger.
"Will you help us contact them?" Kasuf asked. "My daughter—all of them."
Sam swallowed, the thought hitting her all of a sudden. "You mean through Earth. I—" ~We promised Sha're, we promised ourselves.~ Jolinar had nothing to offer. "I shall look into it," she promised.
Kasuf nodded, and Sam dialed the gate.
The thought waited at the back of her mind the rest of the day. Martouf was going over the final treaties and agreements, and she had only one hour to wait before he was ready to give his last farewell. Vala stood by her side as she watched, quietly waiting.
At last, however, Martouf approached with a small, weary smile. He nodded to Jolinar, who was at last able to dial the address for the Tok'ra homeworld. They walked through, leaving behind them the alliance of Jaffa and humans that they had helped create. They might as well have spread Quetesh's ashes to the wind, so little of her influence remained.
And yet, Sam and Jolinar's mind was too active to be proud. They had another concern yet.
ooooooo
Daniel hadn't ventured down into the science area of the SGC since the briefing about Charlie and Mother. Shifu had developed a slight fever, and so Daniel's tentative plan to relocate with his family to a hotel until the Re'tu threat was eliminated had been crushed. Janet insisted that Shifu remain under constant attention, given his young age. "Not even five months," reminded Janet with a raise of her eyebrow.
"This time, I am assured, this place will be safe," Sha're said, taking her shift of watching the child who wept miserably through the headache that seemed to accompany the fever.
Daniel realized that she had correctly diagnosed the worry on his face. He nodded slowly, taking a moment to rub her back and kiss her hair. She leaned into him, comfortably warm herself, only a little tension in her back muscles. He kissed her again on the temples before leaving to find a cup of coffee, planning to make the most of the slight reprieve before it would be his turn again.
After a stop at his lab, he felt a need to make sure of all the fors and againsts that related to Sha're's insistence that they would be fine. Like her, he had adopted the idea, not so much because he thoroughly believed it, but because he needed to. And there was enough past evidence to make it worthwhile.
Jean Miller and Chloe Dorris had joined together in one lab, Chloe almost taking the part of Sha're as Jean's mind flitted along a hundred different ideas. Daniel had heard what he thought were the voices of Clare Tobias and Jay Felger, and presumably other scientists were forming odd partnerships as well as they could. But he caught sight of Mckay before he'd passed Jean's lab, and they both turned into it.
"Rodney, there you are," said Jean, looking up with an only barely frazzled expression. She walked over in a few short steps, stretching out her hand. "Hold this."
"Why?" Mckay asked, hands stubbornly at his sides.
"I want to see if you waver," she said. "Come on, I would hardly want to do anything to you that might put you out of commission; we'll need you to find a solution."
She was honest, but the form of flattery prompted Mckay to hold the battery-shaped object in her hand.
Jean narrowed her eyes and looked at him. Daniel too, not sure what he was looking for.
"It tingles," Mckay said flatly.
"That's...good," said Jean, tapping her finger against her lip. "Hmm."
"Why didn't you let Dorris do it?" Mckay asked, suddenly seeing the other woman.
"Oh, it has to be aligned with your DNA," said Jean, waving her hand as she grabbed the battery thing back.
"You used my DNA?" Mckay protested, following her across the lab.
Daniel felt surprised but intrigued.
"It would take too much energy to disrupt an entire section of reality," Chloe explained, as Jean frowned over her notes. "Much harder to direct energy to a random area. We're hoping that if it has a focus, we'll be much more successful."
"In doing what, exactly?" Mckay asked, arms crossed.
"Hampering the frequencies that tie one to one's own phase," Jean said without looking up. "What were you thinking?"
"I was working on trans-phasic energy beams," Mckay said. "No success. I thought you'd be going at something similar enough to be useful; after all, you did grow up with my ideas."
"Oh please, I was into science before you," said Jean with a slight eyeroll.
"No, no, not now, please," Chloe intervened before Mckay could say anything. "Phase breaking, that's our job."
"Here, let me look at those notes," Mckay said, scooting into his sister's desk.
Daniel was almost about to ask what Chloe thought the proximity of success was, when he heard a familiar sound behind him.
"Dan'yel," Sha're said, walking in with whimpering Shifu in her arms, "where did you put his fresh diaper?"
"Oh," Daniel said, remembering. He frowned and put a hand in his jacket pocket, pulling out a white cloth.
Just then, a loud thump sounded from below them. Everyone paused. And then the SGC klaxon sounded. Not an incoming wormhole—a dangerous base presence.
"Oh god," Mckay said, frozen.
"What do we do?" Jean asked.
"I don't know yet," Daniel said, heart now pounding. "But try the phone." He reached to his side for the weapon he most often carried nowadays. "I'll get bearings."
"And I'm locking the door behind you," Chloe said, eyes wide but holding herself together.
Remembering that Sha're and Shifu were now stuck there, Daniel didn't object. He hadn't planned to rush out like this, but something told him that he couldn't hide, not yet.
"Daniel, do you hear?" Jack's voice sounded sharp over the radio that they'd been required to wear at all times.
"Yes, what is it?" Daniel said, fumbling a little to shuffle the gun to his other hand so he could answer.
"Re'tu, through the gate as SG-9 came in. We don't know where they're headed, but the report is that Charlie said they'll go for the source of power, so probably Level 25. I'm on Level 27, headed that way. But there's a chance that they'll head for the surface too, try to find escape routes to block, so no level's safe."
"I'm on Level 19, I just left Mckay and Miller and Dorris locking up their lab. What do we do?"
"Take cover," ordered Jack. "They don't have anything to help, do they?"
"Not yet," Daniel said, heart sinking a little as he realized what that meant.
"We need to stop them here, bottleneck them if we can," said Jack. "They aren't used to civilizations of our level, and we're pretty well set-up for defense. We may even have a couple days, depending on their fighting style. Get back to them, I'll tell Hammond, and for god's sake just keep at it."
Daniel could only nod, and put the radio back in its holder. He'd walked halfway across the level, and turned to go back. Apart from the alarm, he didn't hear any noise. The rest of the labs must have gotten in touch, given how all the doors were now locked.
The Re'tu had breached the SGC, and apart from Teal'c and Charlie's Mother, they had nothing at their hands to affect the situation. Sitting ducks, Daniel thought, as he got back to the right lab. He grabbed his keycard, about to slide it in, when a shot sounded behind him.
He spun around, holding his gun. "Guys," he called through the door.
"Daniel?" he heard Mckay, muffled through the door. "Something in here's affecting the radios."
The corridor was empty.
"We're pretty screwed," called Daniel, as he waved his gun back and forth, not sure if he should open the door yet. "The Re'tu broke through."
Then another shot flamed at the wall close to his head, and he ducked, swearing under his breath. He could almost think he saw something, but a clamoring noise from the other end of the level, the sound of footsteps and slamming doors, distracted him in a moment. Then he saw a flash of something, and felt a force push against his chest.
Daniel slammed back against the door, head cracking against it, as something pushed the air out of his lungs. He crumpled to the floor, a groan escaping. The back of his head started to throb.
"Daniel?" he heard Mckay again.
But he barely had enough time to bring his hand up to the back of his head, as the noise down the corridor grew, and actual gunshots were fired. His hand came back bloody, and the world went dark before he could sense anything else.