SG1-16 Four Dragons
Page 13
Whether SG-1’s leader knew it or not, one thing was clear. The parameters of this mission had gotten under his skin. Of course it bothered him, considering what and who was at stake. Dr. Jackson wasn’t only a fellow member of the colonel’s team, the two were friends, close friends.
That wasn’t true, either, reflected George.
SG-1 was family, each member an integral part of a whole far greater than each individual. Daniel Jackson’s departure had weighed heavily on everyone, George included. When he’d returned, it had been nothing short of a miracle. That miracle had revived an apparent weariness in Teal’c, Major Carter, and most especially, the colonel.
George said a silent prayer. God willing, Jack would follow through and obey orders. Otherwise, Ambassador Huang wouldn’t be the only one breathing down their necks. Vice Presidential candidate Kinsey would lap up any opportunity to shut SG-1 down. Permanently.
* * *
“Wake up. You cannot sleep all day.”
Something hard nudged against Daniel’s side. Opening bleary eyes, he discovered its source: A Jaffa poked him with a staff weapon. Daniel groped around for his glasses, finding them attached to his t-shirt. Without a word, the Jaffa frowned and stepped back.
Daniel sat up from the cushion he’d slept on, stuck his glasses on and looked around. This wasn’t Yu’s throne room. Smaller, darker, four bunks lined the one solid wall in the room. The other three walls were slatted screens, partitioning the area from what appeared to be a hallway. Incense burned from a single brazier on top of a mahogany table at the center. Four simple wooden stools surrounded the table, each a different color; gray, green, blue and red.
Daniel peered back at the Jaffa. “Where am I?”
“Where you should not be,” the Jaffa said with a scowl.
Not a good start to what Daniel hoped could be a sympathetic relationship. He needed to get out of here and he’d need help. At the very least, he’d need someone to get word to the Tok’ra or the Jaffa Fifth Column so they could pass along his location to the S.G.C.
So far, luck hadn’t been on his side, but maybe this Jaffa would be different. He certainly looked different. Shorter than most, squat like a fireplug. Broad shouldered, but equally wide in the torso. From the red cloak and jade brooch at his shoulder, Daniel could only assume he was another member of Yu’s Royal Guard. A bronze tattoo on his forehead punctuated an otherwise jowly face. Above the Jaffa’s upper lip, a narrow black mustache made him look like an Asian version of Hitler.
Daniel winced. He’d have to overlook that last comparison if he hoped to sway this Jaffa to help him. He tried the Jaffa rebel passphrase.
The Jaffa barked out a short laugh. “You’ll have no luck here, Tau’ri. Come, Lord Yu has risen from his sarcophagus and awaits your return.”
He reached out to grab Daniel’s arm, but Daniel jumped sideways. “Wait a minute, don’t you want freedom? Don’t you understand what Lord Yu really is? He’s a parasitic creature, a Goa’uld. They’ve enslaved your people and people like you all over the galaxy.”
The Jaffa seized Daniel’s elbow and shoved him toward the door. “Do not try your empty words of freedom with me, Tau’ri.”
Daniel wrenched his arm free. The Jaffa leveled his staff weapon directly at him.
Daniel raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll go, but at least hear me out first.”
“You say nothing I do not know,” the Jaffa said. “Nor do I care to listen. Freedom is a falsehood. A lie told to children who have not the stomach to recognize greatness.”
“Greatness. Is that what you think of Lord Yu?” Daniel couldn’t believe his ears. Was Yu’s brainwashing so solid that even his highest ranked warriors couldn’t recognize the truth?
“Enough.” The Jaffa thumbed his staff weapon. The head split in four as an arc of energy announced the weapon charged and ready to fire.
Daniel dropped his hands to his side and headed toward the door. He’d failed again. Still, he couldn’t help but try and get through to this man, this Jaffa whose whole life was about playing incubator to a growing maniacal monster.
As he passed through the door with the Jaffa right behind him, Daniel couldn’t help himself. “You have no idea what it’s like to have the freedom to live your life as you see fit. To control your own destiny. To live in peace.”
“Do not waste my time, Tau’ri.” The Jaffa pushed him forward. “Peace is a modern Earth idea, unworthy of my master’s legacy. Or my own.”
* * *
Surrendering to the inevitable, Daniel plunked down another stone. Yu placed a black beside it, cutting off any attempt on Daniel’s part to get a line longer than three stones going in any direction. It was only a matter of one or two moves before Yu would once again scoop up ten or so of Daniel’s playing pieces.
Outside, the sun had started its descent. Another few hours and dusk would hit. Again. Sticking a hand into his bowl of stones, Daniel sighed. He wasn’t sure how much longer he had before the game would end or Yu would grow bored and just kill him. That was the scary part, the not knowing.
Daniel flinched at that realization. Knowledge was the core of his life’s work, or rather, the pursuit of knowledge. He shouldn’t give up asking questions, even if it meant risking another outburst from Yu or his guards.
Daniel stuck another stone down on the outside of Yu’s latest grouping. As Yu once again cut him off, Daniel raised his hand like an eager student. “I have a question.”
The Goa’uld’s eyes flashed white but only briefly. “Ask.”
“Why am I prisoner? You know I’m not going to reveal how to access — ”
“I am not interested in attacking Earth.”
Daniel jerked his head up, shocked. “Then… then why?”Yu’s eyes grew distant for a moment, as if some internal struggle took place. He opened his mouth, and then closed it just as quickly. Gesturing toward Daniel’s bowl of stones, the Goa’uld said, “Place your next stone.”
Daniel dropped a stone on the board, his mind racing over this latest piece of information. Since when does a Goa’uld not want to occupy Earth? Yesterday, Yu’s host had spoken. Or at least, he’d sounded like the host without any boom to his voice. Since then, the Goa’uld had made reference after reference to China, from saving the country from a flood to quoting its philosophers.
He had to ask. “Why am I here if you don’t want to attack Earth?”
“Victory is what I want,” Yu said, his hand hovering over the board. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Not surprised by his answer — victory was pretty much every Goa’uld’s endgame — Daniel waited for Yu’s next move.
Yu held his stone out toward Daniel. “Do you know the first rule of winning, Daniel Jackson?”
Daniel chanced a smile. “Knowing how to play the game?”
With a shake of his head, Yu sank back in his seat. Hands in his lap, he gazed out toward the mountains to the east. The room became still, with only the crackle of the braziers sparking every now and then.
Finally, Yu turned back to Daniel and said, “The first rule of winning is to know when to attack and when to avoid a battle.”
He plunked his piece down, far from the current round of play.
PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S
HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)
STATUS: SAR MISSION ARRIVAL
APPROX 1850 HRS LOCAL TIME
3 JUL 03/0810 HRS BASE TIME
Belly down behind the solitary tree on the hill, Jack used his periscope to take a good long view of Yu’s fortress. Beyond all the other problems this mission had going for it, one thing troubled him. Neither Jacob nor Teal’c had mentioned the ever-present squadron of gliders circling above Lord Snakehead’s little nest.
Which meant Yu either knew they were coming, or at the very least, had something or someone, guarded closely.
Jack tossed Carter the scope to see for herself. “One thing’s for sure. We’re gonna have to wait till sundown.”
; “That’s a few hours away, sir.”
“Teal’c and Bra’tac ought to be back from a perimeter scout before then.” Jack slid down the hill a few feet and sat up. For a snake-infested planet, he had to admit it was a damn nice one. Lots of snow, but not too cold. Would be a helluva place to ski.
Carter crawled down beside him, handing back his scope.
Stowing it away, he gave her a nod. “If we’ve got a few hours to kill, you might as well send some pretty pictures to the folks at home.”
“Sir?”
He eyed the dreaded thing, hating every moment it was around. Still, if he didn’t at least appear cooperative, Hammond would fry his bacon for breakfast. “You can take that thing out of its webbing, right?”
Freeing the ball, she held it out to him.
He waved it away. “Not toward me, Carter. Stick it up over the hill. Let Huang get a gander.”
“The ambassador will probably appreciate the gesture.” Carter reached up and stuck the ball on top of the hill, left of the tree. Sitting back down, she brushed some dirt from her vest.
Checking his own vest, Jack could see plenty of the same, but didn’t bother to dust off. “The ball works fine without you holding it, right?”
“It’s been activated, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Jack snorted. ‘No problems’ would be a first when it came to how this mission was going down. He shrugged his shoulders up and down, uncomfortable under his pack. Under normal conditions, he rarely wore one, though there was no telling how long it would take to get in, grab Daniel and get the hell out.
Beside him, Carter looked down toward the deceptively blank ground at the base of the hill. Her furrowed brows told Jack she was thinking too much, as usual.
“What’s on your mind, Carter?”
She flashed one of those toothy grins his way, the kind that made him relax even while sitting knee-deep in enemy territory. “I’d love the chance to take apart a cargo ship some day, sir.”
“Some day?”
“If we ever get to keep one. Yes, sir.” She sighed. “I’d love to reverse engineer the stealth mechanism and figure out how it works. It can’t use only radar deflection, otherwise, we could still see it with the naked eye. On the other hand, if it bends particle — ”
“Ack, Carter.” Jack stuck a finger in each ear. “I’m begging you, stop.”
“Sorry, sir.” She dropped her head. “I just know that if we ever actually get to keep a cargo ship, Area 51 will get the fun, not us.”
“Yes, well… I’m sure they’d love to steal you away to play in their sandbox, given half the — ”
His radio squawked.
“O’Neill,” said Teal’c. “We are being pursued. Ten, perhaps twelve Jaffa.”
Over the radio, Jack heard the familiar sound of a staff weapon firing. He scrambled to his feet and thumbed the radio.
“What’s your twenty?”
“Less than five minutes away.”
Jack pulled his zat from the holster. “Head back toward the ship. We’ve got your six.”
“Understood.”
Carter grabbed the com ball and stuck it back in its webbing. “There’s some brush down below.” She pulled out her own zat and unlocked its safety setting.
Jack took a chance and popped his head up. Teal’c and Bra’tac had just run past the hill when another round of staff weapons fire erupted. Jaffa poured from the wood’s edge, staff weapons shooting off like they were going out style.
He crouched down again. Damn, why did plan B always come into play so quickly? With a curved sweeping motion of his free hand, Jack signaled Carter. Head down the hill’s edge. He then made a fist. Hold for my signal.
With a silent nod, Carter crept on a diagonal toward the bottom, her zat at the ready. A clump of dead brush at the far edge gave her perfect cover.
Teal’c and Bra’tac had cleared the hill when a red stream of staff fire shot past them. Jack jumped up, spotted the offending Jaffa, and shot him with his zat. Though too distant to knock the guy out cold, it was still a direct hit. The Jaffa dropped his weapon and stumbled to his knees.
Two more Jaffa started firing. Teal’c and Bra’tac spun around and shot them down within seconds. As a third Jaffa ran past the hill, Carter got him with a single burst.
Jack began to slide down the hill when he saw a glint of silver off the setting sun. A Jaffa’s skullcap — and it wasn’t Bra’tac.
Jack raised his zat, waiting for the telltale sign of another Jaffa. More staff fire shot past the hill. Teal’c and Bra’tac squeezed off a couple of more shots, never at the same Jaffa so they wouldn’t kill them. The red plasma bolts kept coming. Another Jaffa ran past and Carter zatted him quick from her hiding position.
The glint of silver caught Jack’s eye again. At the far side of the hill, above Carter. A big-assed Jaffa, tall as a house, built like one, too. Twenty, maybe thirty feet away. Jack shot his zat, but Mr. Tall-and-Ugly dodged it. The Jaffa raised his staff weapon right at Carter.
“Carter! Duck!”
Molten hot plasma hit the brush. A cloud of dust below let Jack know she’d rolled away just in time. The dirt cleared. Carter sprang up, zatted the Jaffa though she was too far away to stun him good. He took the hit, but kept on coming, his staff weapon blasting at her feet as she ran off.
From his position, Jack knew exactly what was going through Carter’s mind. If she shot the Jaffa again, he’d die. Huang would be pissed and there’d go the Stargate program. Carter followed orders, plain and simple. That’s what made her who she was, a damn fine officer and the best second-in-command Jack ever had.
Jack made the decision for her. With two flicks of his thumb, he dumped his pack and zipped it open.
Out came a P90, loaded and ready to bear.
Chapter Eight
PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S
HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)
STATUS: SAR MISSION UNDER ENEMY FIRE
APPROX 1930 HRS LOCAL TIME
3 JUL 03/0850 HRS BASE TIME
Jack flipped the safety and raised his rifle, ready to nail the Jaffa about to shoot Carter. He sighted the target, sucked in a breath, and watched as Teal’c tackled Tall-and-Ugly to the ground. Bra’tac laid down zat fire while Carter retreated with Teal’c at her side. They jumped behind a downed tree south of the hidden cargo ship.
Most of the first round of Jaffa were down for the count, knocked out by zats. A horn bellowed in the distance. Another wave of Yu’s troops heading their way. Too many for Jack’s liking, based off the number of war cries he could hear. He crouched low to stay hidden, knowing the element of surprise was all they’d have left.
There were three Jaffa left from the first wave, firing off round after round with their staff weapons. Bra’tac jumped out from behind the cloaked ship and took two down in the blink of an eye. Carter nailed the third. Jack took a fast body count. There had to be a good twenty Jaffa knocked out cold on the ground. All from zats. Back at the S.G.C., Huang must be tickled pink.
Again, that blasted horn bellowed.
If their position had been made, they’d need to scramble onboard and get the cargo ship in the air, fast. But just as Jack reached for his radio, some of the stunned Jaffa stirred.
“Shel kek nem ron,” shouted Bra’tac to the awakening Jaffa. “Lay down your arms in the name of freedom.”
“Sholvah!” An awakened Jaffa, scrawny as a tadpole, grabbed his staff weapon and fired at Bra’tac.
Jack held back on shooting from his hidden position, knowing Bra’tac was fast enough to escape the blast. Sure enough, the Jaffa Master rolled right, sprung to his feet and grabbed an errant staff weapon. He flipped forward, landing dead smack in front of the skinny Jaffa and clobbered him over the head. The Jaffa sunk to his knees and collapsed.
The other stunned Jaffa clamored to their feet. When a few reached for their weapons, Jack raised his P90, but Bra’tac stood firm. He shouted out his little Jaffa Rebel ditty again.
Damn it. Mister Tall-and-Ugly was up. Somehow he’d snuck around behind Carter and Teal’c. The Jaffa was maybe twenty yards off, his staff weapon raised high and ready to strike at their backs. Neither Carter nor Teal’c saw the guy coming. If Jack called out, or even used the radio, he’d give away his cover.
He thumbed the P90’s dial to single shot and sighted the bastard in his scope. His orders stated no killing. Fine. Jack hadn’t spent all those years in Special Ops for nothing. The Jaffa’s staff weapon head unfolded, red plasma crackled along its edge, and bam! Jack shot him in the arm.
Mister Tall and Ugly flew sideways and all hell broke loose. From Jack’s right, he saw more Jaffa round the hill, blasting up the ground like there was no tomorrow. Carter, Teal’c and Bra’tac picked off the first wave with their zats, but Jack wasn’t an idiot. Zats were no good against sheer numbers.
He grabbed his radio. “Hit the deck,” he ordered.
Jack switched to automatic and opened fire, shooting anything that moved. Down went the Jaffa by the trees. Another splatter of bullets took out the soldiers climbing toward him. One magazine spent, he slapped in another from his pant leg and kept on shooting. He had no choice. It was a case of kill or be killed.
First emperor of China, or not, Yu could kiss his ass.
If they survived long enough.
* * *
“I won’t do it. I won’t play anymore.” Daniel threw down the bowl of stones. “Not without some answers.”
Yu glared at him. “You cannot change tactics. Not now.” The distortion in the Goa’uld’s voice reverberated through the throne room, louder than normal.
“You want to kill me, then have at it.” Daniel closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Oma was around.
Maybe Jack was right and Daniel would take risks he shouldn’t, knowing he might get the chance to ascend again.
Nothing happened.
Daniel opened his eyes to find Yu sitting back, his fingers steepled together. The flame from the nearest brazier reflected on the silver metal of the Goa’uld’s hand device.