Apophis heard Sha'uri cry out in pain. He quickly aimed his weapon in the direction of the rebel at the door. He fired and hit the armor. The guard went down.

Apophis looked back to Sha'uri. She reached for her right shoulder with her left hand. The blood dripped from her hand as she looked at it quizzically. She began to laugh a sordid maniacal laugh worthy of the Goa'uld. She would be fine. No primitive weapon could really harm her. The symbiote would see to that by healing the human body.

Apophis knew, however, that he was a different story. He could not grow back a hand.

Apophis turned his attention to other problems. He realized there was no one for him to trust. All of his guards were down, and his assailant was wearing a serpent hood. He ordered the priests to take him, and the rest of his god family out the back entrance of the room.

"Where is Teal'c?" He wanted his most loyal and trusted servant. The priests would take him by the palace barracks where he would pick up more guards he hoped he could trust. Then he would head to the Chappa'ai via cargo ship and return to his home planet. He determined to escape quickly, but he might need to assault the gate area if enemy Jaffa were staged there. Whoever was responsible for this would pay!

It took him a few minutes to get to the palace barracks. There were only a few guards there. Four of these guards would take him to the cargo ship. One would gather a detail to secure the palace, and the last would lead whoever he could find to assault the gate to secure Apophis' escape. The guards moved quickly, Apophis made it known he was in a hurry.

Scarlett and Hon'Teck came up on the fallen guard only to see him rouse. Scarlett deactivated the seriously damage armor while Hon'Teck aimed his weapon at the guard to cover him. Hon'Teck gasped at the horribly scarred face. The soldier, or perhaps gargoyle, thought Hon'Teck-seemed to smile, as much as the face could form one.

Scarlett helped him up as he slowly dismantled the mangled armor. The man reached into his armor and pulled out clothes. Hon'Teck's new friend, Scarlett, accepted the man, and his horrid appearance. The first thing he put on was the black mask that covered his deformed face. Hon'Teck marveled that the man never said a word. Scarlett, did not expect him to.

Scarlett looked at the man and introduced him, "Hon'Teck, Snakeyes."

Hon'Teck tried the name, "Snakeyes." Snakeyes nodded.

Scarlett went over to Skaara and saw his lifeless body. She had only seen him briefly when the Goa'uld had selected him from the prison crowd. Also in the room were the other prisoners in the room who were huddled against the wall, unsure of what to do.

Hon'Teck's head began to swirl. These mere humans had interrupted the Choosing, one of the highest rites of the Goa'uld. Were these rebels the Tauri who in legend so long ago on a distant planet had fought off the Goa'uld? Is Ra dead and did this 'O'Neill' really kill him? He looked at the fiery woman with the red hair, and the silent Snakeyes with the face of death, now dressed in black. His mental paradigm fell apart.

"Hon'Teck, we've got to go." He could not understand the words she said as she walked toward the door, but he knew their meaning.

He began to think quickly. He dug into the one primal thing that remained, his military training. He saw Scarlett and the former prisoners as his combat team. Only their lives meant anything now. The other Jaffa and the Goa'uld-all the Goa'uld-were now the enemy.

He moved briskly into the room. He told the prisoners how to escape. Those who did not understand him simply followed those who did. They headed back on their own towards the cell where they had been held. He walked over to Skaara, picked him up, and motioned for Scarlett and Snakeyes to follow him.

Hon'Teck reactivated his serpent armor, as did Scarlett. Hon'Teck took off down the hallway, carrying Skaara, with Scarlett and Snakeyes right behind. Scarlett saw that Snakeyes was still moving gingerly, so she kept some distance from Hon'Teck so she could see them both.

They followed corridors, and took staircases until Hon'Teck finally walked into a room. Scarlett noticed SG-1's radios, MP5's, XMLR-3A's, as well as their field packs and handguns. She and Snakeyes grabbed as much as they could carry and set the rest in a corner and used the laser rifles to destroy the equipment. Then for good measure they lobbed two grenades on the pile. Then they hurried away, more guards would be drawn to the explosion.

Hon'Teck led them on deeper into the building. Finally they entered into a room where Scarlett noticed an ornate casket in the middle of the room. Hon'Teck walked over to the casket.

"I don't think we have time for this." Scarlett said to Snakeyes, knowing it would not do any good to say it to Hon'Teck. "I'll watch the door, you try and hurry him up." She kept her serpent hood on hoping it would throw off any guards loyal to Apophis.

Hon'Teck, with his hood lowered, opened the casket and carefully set Skaara's lifeless body inside. Scarlett called over the radio, "Hawk, do you copy?"

"Scarlett? This is O'Neill. What's going on in there?"

"We've destroyed our stuff, but we do not have Sha'uri," she said into her microphone.

"What about Skaara?"

She did not have the heart to answer. They had come for Weterings, Skaara, and Sha'uri. The first two were dead and the third was out of reach. "We'll be along shortly. Tell Hawk to stand by for precise coordinates for a strike on the city."

"We'll do." Scarlett heard in O'Neill's voice that he understood about Skaara. She could tell he had affection for the boy.

She turned around to see the strange casket open. Hon'Teck looked expectantly. She gasped as she saw Skaara sit up in the casket! He was scared. He took a deep breath and then he began to breath quickly, followed by another deep breath. He looked down and touched the place that Apophis had given him the wound. It was no longer there.

"Skaara," Scarlett said in shock. He looked at her. He had never seen her before. He had never seen a woman with hair so red. Was this the afterlife? He saw the guard standing over the tomb and the man in the strange black clothes. Scarlett finished her question, "Are you okay?"

Hon'Teck reached down to help him out. He was a little shaken, but Skaara felt strong. "Are you with O'Neill?"

"Yes," she replied. "Are you okay enough to move?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded unconvincingly. Then he looked around again, not ready to go, "Sha'uri! O'Neill's man shot Sha'uri."

Scarlett looked at Snakeyes. Skaara looked at Hon'Teck and repeated himself in his own language. It took a moment for Hon'Teck to understand who Skaara was talking about. "Amonet. Our queen. She is Goa'uld. They have the ability to heal quickly, and they have strength beyond that of normal humans."

"But I saw her bleed," he told Hon'Teck.

Scarlett did not know what they were saying, but she interrupted anyway, "Was she standing in front of anyone?"

"Yes," Skaara responded.

"And where was she shot?"

"In the right shoulder."

"Shooting her there was the best way to get her out of the way and a less likely way of killing her. If Snakeyes" pointing to the man in black, "would have aimed for her heart, he would have killed her. I know this is not what you want to hear, but he needed to move her out of the way. It sounds like he did not succeed."

She could see Skaara was still mad. He looked over at the man in black.

"If you want to get Sha'uri back we'll need to work together. We need you, and you need Snakeyes. So if you want to be angry at him, do it later."

Then Hon'Teck said something. Skaara turned to Scarlett, "He says it will be difficult to get out of here, we must take a ship."

Scarlett looked at Snakeyes and said, "I'm game. But we have to do something else first." Then she hit the radio again. "Hawk, 20 minutes to hit these coordinates." Scarlett gave Hawk the direct coordinates of the sarcophagus since that seemed like an important part of the enemy's technology.

Just then, a group of guards noticed Scarlett and came up to her at the entrance of the sarcophagus room. Hon'Teck noticed that Snakeyes had quietly disappeared.

"What are you doing?" one guard asked.

Hon'Teck recognized the guard, Kronack. Hon'Teck responded, "Apophis ordered me to resurrect this traitorous slave, then escort him to the launch port. Will you assist me?"

Kronack responded, "I cannot, my mission is to secure the palace. My orders are direct from Apophis himself. It is not like the Goa'uld to allow us to use the sarcophagus," he asked quizzically.

"Nevertheless, those are my orders, and if you cannot assist me, then do not delay me. You know what Apophis will to do us if his orders are not followed."

"Go. Use the main entrance to the building. But beware, someone has betrayed Apophis."

And with that, Hon'Teck took the lead, followed by Skaara, their supposed prisoner. Last came Scarlett. Snakeyes was nowhere to be seen.

Shooter watched as the haggard column formed and began moving in the field that would pass right in front of her. She heard the incoming 155mm shells and turned her face away. The soldiers dropped down, not sure of what to make of the whistle. Then came the explosions and the flying dirt. The men in the open field were hesitant to move as the explosions were purposefully placed in their path. Four rounds fired in a line in front of them.

"Hawk, their stunned for now," she reported. She continued to watch from her concealed location in the forest beside the open field. How would they adapt? Could they adapt?

Finally, after several minutes of lying still, one of the enemy soldiers began to rouse the men. This time more slowly and cautiously they began to move forward. Shooter reported this to Hawk. Again the sound of 155mm shells came through the air, everyone got down. This time the shells were closer. Many in the alien column put their hands over their ears as this time six rounds came in. Hawk hoped this would deter them for longer.

The soldiers seemed so helpless to Shooter. Some were now crying, others curled up in the fetal position. They were about 75 yards from her position.

She began to feel a sharp pain. She was nowhere near any combatant. As she looked around she saw nothing. No blood, no rips in her clothes. She was aware of everything: the ants sharing the tree limb she was on, the wind blowing, grass ruffling, birds, cries of men, the reflection of the alien sun in her scope, and one alien soldier who had not been terrified by the barrage. Once the shelling stopped, he walked shouting to the others. He did not seem arrogant, only determined. It took some time, but the men slowly began to get up. He led them across the field toward the forest on the other side, and she sat in the tree frozen, unable to move.

Hon'Teck led the others through the building. He had no idea how it had happened, but Snakeyes had disappeared from the group. Scarlett did not seem concerned, though he wondered if she had noticed under her serpent hood. Scarlett simply walked straight, pointing her staff weapon at Skaara. Hon'Teck became nervous as another patrol of Jaffa stopped them in the hall.

Hon'Teck stopped the guards, "State your name and business," he ordered.

The guard answered quickly, "State your's. I am Trilac on business from Apophis himself. I am recruiting men to go to the gate and secure it for Apophis. An enemy Goa'uld holds the Chappa'ai and has sent spies among us and attempted to assassinate Apophis and Amonet. They failed.

"Yes, you fool, and our prisoner is one of them. Apophis wants us to escort him to 'Point Forward'," responded Hon'Teck.

Scarlett did not like how long this was taking.

Then the guard speaking with Hon'Teck turned to Scarlett and said something. She waited for Skaara to give her a cue. Hon'Teck tried to step in, but Trilac would not hear it. Finally, Skaara turned to her mockingly and said in English, "Can you not speak? He's asking for your name."

Scarlett pushed the button to release her hood. Un-noticed by all, Skaara reached slowly behind his back and into his belt. He reached forward while the guards focused on Scarlett and bang! Scarlett had given him the small handgun she keeps in her glove and he shot Trilac.

Hon'Teck was quicker than Trilac's partner and fired his staff weapon into his armor. The guard went down. Skaara had shot Trilac in the leg because he knew the armor would withstand a shot from the little handgun. Scarlett moved quickly and took Trilac's weapon before he could fire.

Hon'Teck spoke to Trilac while Trilac stood there with his leg bleeding. Skaara told Scarlett that Hon'Teck was asking Trilac to join them. Trilac told him that he would never betray his god.

Hon'Teck looked troubled now. Scarlett looked at them both, and then swung her staff weapon at Trilac's head. He fell down unconscious. Hon'Teck looked stunned. Scarlett looked at him and said through Skaara, "It was better than shooting him." Hon'Teck noticed she did no kill Trilac. What would cause a soldier not to kill an enemy?

Now they again made their way toward the exit. It was guarded. Scarlett looked at her watch, "Ten more minutes!" Just then they heard a loud noise overhead and it was coming closer.

"O'Neill! Hawk! Enemy air cover incoming, now!" She yelled into her radio. In doing so, she gave away their position to the guards at the palace entrance. About five guards understood that someone was there who should not be. They opened fire down the hall.

O'Neill and the group had now been free from the prison for almost 45 minutes. He figured they had traveled about a half of the distance to the stargate.

Just then, three alien ships flew overhead. One was larger while the other two, O'Neill and Jackson knew well. They were gliders, small alien fighter craft. Everyone hit the ground and O'Neill got on his radio, "Hawk, you copy? Hawk, come in."

"I read you clear, Colonel, I assume you met up with Stalker and Grunt alright."

"Yeah, but in about 5 seconds, you're facing air-power." Then O'Neill, Stalker and Grunt each heard the fireworks on their radios.

Clutch had suggested to Hawk that they switch positions until Grand Slam returned. Hawk agreed as he moved to a vamp, Clutch took the MoBaT, and Steeler operated the Hal.

"Fire that Hal into the ships."

"Hawk, do you copy?" he heard Scarlett speaking into the radio. "Take down the fighters, the larger ship is unarmed and had Dr. Jackson's wife on it."

"I copy, but I can't make any promises for her safety. Where are you?"

"If you hold them off, the shuttle will have to land and we intend to be there and take the ship to get to the gate. So hold them off, and don't blow up that ship."

"Over and out," Hawk replied. Scarlett knew he could not promise her that, the larger portion of the expedition depended on him destroying any threats, and that ship was likely a threat.

Steeler lit the sky with the twin barreled Hal. He had heard the conversation and just wanted to distract the birds. Zap came out from under the brush as the fighters made a flyover. The cargo ship could not land so it made off in the direction of the fort. The fighters circled around to attack the troops at the gate.

Just then, one exploded and crashed into the forest in front of the gate.

"Kowalski?" shouted Rock'n'Roll. Just then the remote controlled atv came into sight.

"Kowalski," responded Hawk. SG-2 had arrived back to at the gate. It was Warren who came with the atv.

"Casey and Kowalski are coming, they had to stop to handle the light work." Hawk was glad to have the extra guns. The troop formation from the fort was still out there, and Grand Slam had not finished his scouting.

"Here comes the other one again!" shouted a Joe. In the middle of the combat situation Hawk was not sure who said it, but he thought it was Breaker. It wildly took some shots at the ground and then veered off. Zap fired his AA missile while Steeler fired the Hal at the fighter, but this time they missed. The second death glider disappeared into the distance.

Scarlett, Hon'Teck and Skaara were around a corner from the entrance, but they could not get a clear shot at the gate. Scarlett gave Skaara an MP-5, which he quickly bolted the rifle, loading the chamber. Scarlett looked at him, "You've done this before."

He smiled at her. Then they heard an explosion, and a loud noise that Hon'Teck had never heard before. Scarlett recognized the explosion, and the loud noise of an Uzi. She took her staff weapon and to the surprise of Hon'Teck and Skaara, charged around the corner into the hallway that had just been saturated by enemy fire. Hon'Teck and Skaara followed, not sure of what was going on, though Skaara did recognize the sound of a weapon similar to the one he now carried-one of O'Neill's weapons.

Scarlett fired into one guard and the battle was over. The other guards were already on the ground. Hon'Teck and Skaara were confused when a man in black fatigues carrying a small but intimidating weapon jumped into the doorway and landed in front of them.

Scarlett did not even stop to thank him. For that matter he did not seem to notice. Hon'Teck and Skaara followed. Snakeyes ran out in front of Scarlett and led them.

Snakeyes led them over to a garden with bushes. While Scarlett hid in the bushes for a brief minute,

Hon'Teck spoke to Skaara privately. Scarlett came out of the bushes in a blue jumpsuit with a tan vest. They also had more gear. Scarlett was now also carrying the same type of smaller menacing looking weapon that Snakeyes carried while they both shouldered other weapons. They loaded Skaara with whatever he wanted to carry, and again destroyed the rest.

Skaara looked at Scarlett and told her of his conversation with Hon'Teck, "He has never heard a noise like your weapons make. It scares him."

Scarlett looked at the grin on Skaara's face. He added, "They do not scare me, I have used them before."

"Great," she said nervously, wondering what Skaara's point was. Then she commented, "That improves our chances of getting out of here. Wait until he hears the explosion that's coming."

Hon'Teck now realized he was on. Hon'Teck led the way, followed by Scarlett and Skaara who stuck close together. Snakeyes came last. Scarlett was now confident Snakeyes had recovered from the shock he had received earlier.

Hon'Teck had to warn his people of an impending explosion. He activated his helmet, and again led the others through the city. He used the amplifying technology of his armor to carry a message to the people. Scarlett asked Skaara, "What's he saying?"

"I am embarrassed to say," he replied. They reached the gate of the city and began to run. Then they all hit the ground as they heard the incoming rocket.

The rocket hit. The explosion obliterated the palace. The ground outside the palace shook violently. The smoke and ash billowed into the sky. A shockwave threw dust throughout the city. Scarlett wondered what added extra punch to the explosion.

Hon'Teck was already up and running, unwilling to submit to the fear he felt from the stunning explosion. Snakeyes took a position behind Scarlett and Skaara as they began to run. Scarlett cocked her head, "What did he say?"

Skaara translated for her, "He said, 'The Tauri' have come. Those who despise and repelled the Go'auld so many thousands of years ago are here to bring their wrath upon Apophis. O'Neill, slayer of Ra, has come, and he has brought the Scarlett plague. Behold her beauty, for she is fierce and leads the black death. He bears the face no one can look upon unscathed and his name is the One Who Sees the Go'auld. They bring death and destruction upon the Go'auld. Fear the wrath of the Tauri and flee the city in this moment. Death comes to this place in minutes. But beware, they will not stay long and the wrath of Apophis will be hot upon both his enemies and those who failed him. Flee this city for they will lay waste to his palace.'"

"That's a bit dramatic," said Scarlett feeling a little embarrassed herself. "I wonder how many people listened."

Scarlett had mentioned to Hon'Teck that they controlled the Stargate, and it would be difficult for Apophis to escape that way. He knew that Apophis would return aboard his cargo ship to a secondary location. The closest location was a mile from the city and he and his new friends would have to ambush the guards so as not to scare off the ship, and take the ship quickly.

Minutes earlier

Grand Slam ran in from the treeline. "What are you doing running?" asked Breaker.

"I was on my way back when I saw the ships. I figured it was safer on the ground, but now I am tired," he replied.

"Report," Hawk unceremoniously ordered.

"Troops seem to be gathering, but they are at least an hour away."

"We may not have enough time." Hawk was now concerned. The troops from the fort were too close and they could not handle a larger formation. And now time was up. He launched his last missile into the sky toward the coordinates that Scarlett had given him.

"Dial the gate. Warren, take the atv and the first Vamp back through the gate and report to General Hammond of our current situation," Hawk ordered. Breaker took the remote from Warren, and Warren drove the Vamp with Hawk's MMS back to earth.

Clutch spoke out loud, "Just so you know, that was the longest drive in history." Hawk smirked, then went on to the next thing. Shortfuze wanted to slap Clutch on the back of the head.

Just then, the ground shook. They saw smoke rising into the sky. From a distance it looked like a dust cloud from a nuclear explosion.

"Scarlett, do you copy?" There was no response to Breaker's call. "O'Neill, do you read?"

"Yeah," O'Neill responded, "what was that?"

"Hawk fired the last MMS at the coordinates Scarlett gave him. I never heard anything about the extra punch, must have been some kind of fuel depot or something," said Breaker.

"We are just a few minutes from the gate. We'll see you guys soon."

"We're just waiting on the sniper, Scarlett and Snakeyes. Maybe you can reach them, I haven't been able to."

"Hay, tell Hawk we're bringing guests. We have refugees and one enemy soldier who helped us escape. If Scarlett is alright, then they have an enemy soldier helping them as well.

Hawk chimed in, "How many refugees?"

"About 30, and it looks like several more are behind us."

Uh-Oh, Hawk thought. This is going to be interesting.

O'Neill noticed those who were running to catch up to his band of refugees. Jackson recognized them as some of those who were selected to become hosts while in the cell. He ran back with O'Neill and Teal'c, but there was no Scarlett, and no Skaara.

Carter walked back to O'Neill. "I bet they hit something with that quartz mineral the gate is made out of. It's highly unstable."

Jackson came up to Carter and O'Neill. "Teal'c calls that element Naquadah. He says that the sarcophagus is the most likely source of the large explosion."

O'Neill tried to reach Scarlett but was unable to. There was no response. SG-1 and the refugees kept walking. At the front, Grunt was almost to the foot of the last ridge before the gate. They were almost home.

Scarlett heard the explosion in the city. So did Hon'Teck. The explosion was larger than Scarlett had anticipated. Scarlett wondered what the sarcophagus was made out of. They could no longer see the city, but they did see debris fly into the air. Hon'Teck was moving quickly. He feared that if Apophis landed his ship near the fort rather than where they were headed, they could not get to the ship.

Their only hope was that he brought it to this site. Hon'Teck called it Point Forward. It was the site where Apophis would take command in case of an attack via the gate that threatened his castle. This was one such occasion.

It had a bunker, and stocks of equipment, but it was lightly manned. It was not a fort, per se, but was defendable. It was more intended to be secret, than fortified. It did not have enough people to adequately defend it right now. Hon'Teck planned to take advantage of that.

Hawk stood near the gate and went over the situation in his mind. The Joes had the gate, but were at the center of what was about to be a firestorm. Luckily Kowalski had just arrived. Grand Slam had scouted to the west of the gate and found enemy forces gathering there. Shooter was in a wooded area near a field with nearly 65 combatants passing by her position. This enemy formation was about to come between Shooter and her way out. SGs 1 was on their way to the gate with Grunt, Stalker, and an uncounted number of refugees. Snakeyes and Scarlett were still near the city and out of radio contact-he hoped. Everything was coming to a head and they weren't any closer to home than they were an hour ago.

How could Hawk know that Snakeyes and Scarlett, along with Hon'Teck were rushing headlong to an enemy command bunker? Hon'Teck's ran toward what he hoped would be a battle symbolic of the freedom of the Jaffa from the Goa'uld. Scarlett thought of getting home-alive. Skaara thought of Sha'uri.

Who could tell what was on the mind of Snakeyes? The expressionless mask told no tales. Perhaps he thought of freedom for enslaved races, or of going home, or of rescuing an alien princess, or perhaps none of these. None might ever know.

What would be found is awareness. Awareness of teammates in front of him. Awareness of wind, grass, ground being crushed beneath running feet, trigger finger, sounds in the distance. Sounds of gunfire. More than he hearing them, he felt them.

And one last sound, one of an aircraft off in the distance drawing nearer.

Hope you enjoy.