SG1-16 Four Dragons

by Botsford, Diana

  The Goa’uld’s lips widened into an odd, yet chilling smile.

  Daniel repeated the phrase himself. “’A man who does not know where he has been cannot know where he is going.’ I know that saying.”

  Yu cocked his head. “Do you?”

  Daniel’s eyes widened. “That saying’s attributed to Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, but he was born a good five or six hundred years after the Stargate was buried at Giza in 3,000 B.C. Long after all the Goa’uld left Earth.”

  Yu’s smile widened further. “You forget, Daniel Jackson, I am not all Goa’uld. 3,000 years ago, I did not cower under Ra’s rule of the System Lords, nor do I cower now under the threat of Anubis.”

  Plunging a hand into his bowl of stones, Yu scooped up a handful. He opened his palm, allowing the stones to scatter. “I am my own master and answer to none.”

  Chapter Eleven

  PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S

  HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)

  STATUS: SAR MISSION IN PROGRESS

  APPROX 0320 HRS LOCAL TIME

  3 JUL 03/1640 HRS BASE TIME

  “Drop another light stick, Colonel.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Jack muttered, his breath turning to instant fog in the cold night air. He handed his flashlight off to Teal’c and snagged another foil packet from his pack to mark their path through the maze. He’d have put a bit more emphasis on the ‘ma’am’ part if anyone else had taken command, but Carter didn’t choose to play this game, it’d been dumped in her lap.

  Besides, she was doing the right thing. Other than their flashlights, there was nil in the way of light from the few scant breaks in the foliage covering the top of the maze. Placing light sticks every time they turned a bend gave them a proverbial trail of breadcrumbs, just in case they ended up going around in circles. Or squares. He had no idea how the maze was shaped. No one else did, either. Hence the downside of flying stealth: no floodlights, no way to get a good look at what they’d gotten themselves into, plus all those damn vines covering the tops had made recon impossible.

  Jack ripped open the foil packet, pulled out a chemical stick and snapped its center. With a shake, the six-inch long tube came to life; a tiny green glow to light up the fifty-foot long tunnel of head-to-toe, thorny hedges six times Teal’c’s height. The thorns were the worst part. The hedges were covered in the stiff, but not so little sharp buggers. They were as long as his hand though so thin it was impossible to see them, especially in the dark.

  An animal howled somewhere off in the distance. Far enough away for Jack not to worry too much about it, but close enough for him to loosen the strap on his holster which held his zat in place. He searched at eye level for a safe spot in all that greenery to secure the light stick. “Teal’c, push in on the flashlight, will you?”

  The muted beam didn’t get any brighter.

  “Ah, anytime now would be good.” Jack glanced over his shoulder at Teal’c, but his Jaffa buddy’s attention was on Bra’tac. While Carter scouted the far end of the tunnel, Bra’tac paced back and forth behind her, no easy feat in a space not much more than a car’s length in width. From the worried look on Teal’c’s face, Jack knew he’d noticed Bra’tac’s behavior, too.

  That animal howled again. No closer, no further away. Just some hungry thing looking for its next meal.

  Which Jack had no intention of being, thank you.

  “Sooner we get this stick secured, the sooner we’re on our way,” he gently reminded Teal’c.

  “My apologies, O’Neill.” Teal’c refocused the flashlight on the hedge wall.

  Jack carefully wedged the light stick in between two thorns and snapped on his pack. He jerked a thumb toward the still pacing Bra’tac. “What’s his problem?”

  Teal’c frowned. “I do not know.”

  “He can’t be afraid of close quarters. I’ve been in a glider with him and it doesn’t get any closer than that.”

  “Perhaps he shares our urgency to free Daniel Jackson.”

  “Maybe,” Jack said, taking back his flashlight. “I’m all up for getting out of here, that’s for sure.”

  They’d been at it over an hour. An hour of wandering through a godforsaken maze of relentless twists and turns. A colossal waste of time.

  Teal’c shone his own flashlight along the base of the hedges. “Could there be some way to cut through the base of this vegetation?”

  Jack agreed. “Some way to make a bee-line straight for Yu’s fortress would be good.” Problem was, the bottom was as thick as the rest of the damn stuff. Not for the first time, Jack wished he had a machete.

  Teal’c slid his eyes in Bra’tac’s direction again. “Could we not zat our way through?”

  “Possibly. You’ll have to ask Carter.” When Teal’c raised an eyebrow, Jack reminded him, “She’s in charge.”

  Teal’c’s frown deepened. “This is highly uncomfortable. While I find Major Carter a warrior of surpassing ability, I’ve grown accustomed to your command.”

  Jack patted his friend on the shoulder. “Thanks for the support, my friend, but there’s none better than Carter. We’ll be fine.” He aimed his flashlight down at the base of the hedge wall. “You think your zat idea might work?”

  Bending down, Teal’c brushed away enough dirt to reveal a solid wall of roots. He pulled out his zat. “Major Carter,” he called out. “I believe we could create a straight path to Yu’s fortress by disintegrating these obstacles with our zat’nik’tels.”

  Carter and Bra’tac double-timed back to their position. As Carter bent down to examine Teal’c’s handiwork, Jack noticed the thin film of sweat on the older man’s brow, but he didn’t mention it. Instead, he took out his knife and bent down as well. He dug away more dirt. No good. The roots ran too deep to pull out. “Unless we want to keep on playing ‘rats in a maze,’ Teal’c might be on to something.”

  Pointing her flashlight at the roots, Carter said, “I was thinking the same thing, sir.”

  Jack smiled at the ‘sir.’ Though she was nominally in charge, old habits die hard. His smile vanished when he glanced down at the ball hanging off her vest.

  Huang’s shit-eating grin stared back him.

  Jack stuck his knife back in its sheath and snapped the restraint. Resisting the urge to give the ambassador the finger, he turned toward Bra’tac.

  Another howl reached the maze, this time from the south.

  A bit too hastily for Jack’s tastes, Bra’tac uncoupled his zat from his wrist band. The old Jaffa thumbed the side release and the head popped up, charged and ready to shoot. Jack jumped back from the hedge. “Easy there, fella.”

  Carter swung her flashlight toward Bra’tac’s sheet white face. “I don’t think whatever’s out there can hurt us.”

  “Forgive me. This maze conjures a distant memory I had thought long buried.” Bra’tac swiped an arm across his wet forehead.

  Jack hoped that whatever was bothering Bra’tac would soon pass.

  “Teal’c is correct,” Bra’tac said. “Three shots in quick succession should provide us a far faster outlet from this place.”

  Carter aimed her flashlight on the hedge wall. “You don’t think we’ll set the whole thing on fire? The leaves appear green enough, although the thorns might be flammable.”

  “Only one way to find out.” Jack pulled out his Zippo.

  “That’s the lighter you gave Skaara,” Carter said with a smile.

  Clink. He flipped it open. “Being ascended and all, I doubt he’ll be in need of it any time soon.”

  Flashlight in one hand, lighter in the other, he stepped over to a section of the hedge where a vicious crop of thorns jutted out. He thumbed the wheel, the flint sparked, but a sudden gust of wind blew it out.

  As quickly as the wind had picked up, it disappeared. Deciding the brief gust had been a fluke, Jack thumbed the lighter again. The flame sputtered to life. Satisfied, he extended his arm toward the thorns.

  Another gust of wind blew the flame out.


  This was getting annoying. He looked up at the others. “Where the hell’s the wind coming from?”

  Teal’c cocked an eyebrow. “Of what wind do you speak, O’Neill?”

  “I didn’t feel anything, sir,” Carter said with a shrug.

  Bra’tac said nothing, the sweat on his forehead beading up something fierce. No doubt about it, something had him spooked. Maybe Carter was in charge, but Jack knew he’d have to speak up soon; otherwise rescuing Daniel would be a bust if Bra’tac wasn’t on top of his game.

  That is, if they got out of this god forsaken maze any time soon.

  Jack turned back to the hedge, deciding he must be imagining things. It was late, he was tired, and admittedly, a bit cranky. Just in case, he hunched down next to a lower patch of thorns he could bodily block from any wind. Sticking his flashlight under his armpit, he cupped the lighter and thumbed the wheel. This time, the Zippo lit up. He held the flame under some of the longer thorns.

  The woody needles smoked a bit, giving off a sour smell— almost like rotten apples — but the good news was, they didn’t burn. He stood up. “Looks like we’re in business. A few zats and we should be able to — ”

  Another gust of wind swept across his neck. This time, it was warm. Too warm, considering the cold climate. Jack aimed his flashlight high, looking for a hole in the hedges. Anything that might explain where it had come from.

  He saw nothing but forty-foot tall shrubs blocking him from getting where he wanted to go. He turned back to his team.

  The warm wind blew again. As he lifted his hand to the back of his neck, a memory was triggered. A memory he’d discounted at the time, but now, he wasn’t so sure.

  A breeze, just like this one, had blown by him once before. Couldn’t have been much more than a year ago. He’d been waiting for the elevator, along with Carter and Teal’c. Barely a week had passed since Daniel had ascended. Carter and Teal’c had started to deal with the loss of their teammate, but Jack had pushed ahead, knowing the truth. You never got over losing someone, you simply got used to the loss.

  And you never stopped the missing part.

  Just as Selmak had told him in the locker room.

  When he’d stepped on to that elevator, he’d been thinking about Daniel. Then, that breeze came out of nowhere. Everyone had noticed it, but only Jack had suspected it was Daniel. Some ascended, lighter than air, glowier than thou, form of Daniel. That breeze had given Jack some small form of comfort then.

  Now, not so much.

  “Colonel?” Carter looked at him expectantly. Huang’s beady little eyes peered out from the damned com ball hanging over her pocket.

  Should he tell her? Tell her Daniel might already be dead? Clenching his Zippo, Jack considered how crazy he might sound if he did. Besides, if it really was Daniel, he’d have shown up.

  Wouldn’t he?

  Refusing to follow that line of thought any further; Jack shoved the lighter in a vest pocket. He unsnapped his holster and pulled out his zat. “On your orders, Major. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Carter raised an eyebrow and for a moment, Jack worried she wouldn’t follow his misdirect. He deliberately shifted his focus toward Bra’tac who’d resumed pacing. She caught his drift and turned back toward the western side of the hedge.

  Carter aimed her zat at the unburied roots. “This is the direction we need to go. We’ll rotate shots. Each one fire three times. Myself, the colonel, Teal’c and then Bra’tac.”

  After Carter blew a nice hole in the hedge, Jack bent down and began firing. The electric blue arc tore into the leaves. One more shot and they’d have a big enough hole to climb through to the next tunnel. Once, twice —

  A heavy hand grabbed his shoulder. “O’Neill,” said Teal’c. “A glider approaches.”

  “Flashlights off,” Carter ordered.

  “What of the light sticks?” Teal’c asked.

  “No time.”

  Jack scrambled out of the hole and stuck his zat back in its holster. Sure enough, the thin whine of a glider’s engines grew louder. The last thing they needed was for Yu’s minions to see the telltale light of a zat from overhead. A couple of well placed shots from a glider cannon and it would be game over. Finished.

  Teal’c dashed across the tunnel, grabbed the light stick and stuck it in his pocket. “Should I retrace our steps and recover the other sticks?”

  “The colonel’s right. We don’t have time,” Carter said.

  She was right. From the sound of things, the glider was getting closer. It’d be overhead in less than a minute, but there was one light source they could do without. Jack pointed at Carter’s vest. “Ditch the ball,” he ordered, not giving a damn who was in command.

  On the com device, Huang’s mouth opened in protest as Carter popped the ball from its webbing. She shoved it in a leg pocket and the maze tunnel fell into complete blackness.

  STARGATE COMMAND

  STATUS: GATE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED

  03 JUL 03/1720 HRS BASE TIME

  “I find this unacceptable, general. Why is Major Carter still accepting Colonel O’Neill’s orders?”

  George pinched the bridge of his nose, wanting nothing more than to have Huang arrested then and there. Of course, he couldn’t do a thing, not without proof positive. “Colonel O’Neill has made a recommendation that could quite possibly save their lives. It’s up to you whether you want to take that as the major following an order from a subordinate or simply using common sense, I don’t care.”

  “Excuse me?” Huang blinked in surprise. “Our agreement included my witnessing the entirety of SG-1’s mission to Emperor Yu’s homeworld.” He reached for the com ball.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” George warned. “Without naquadah in your blood, you might inadvertently turn the device off.” He took a seat at the other end of the table, as far removed from the com device as possible.

  Huang pulled back his arm.

  Lowering his voice, George suggested, “I’d also recommend that you join me over here, so our voices don’t carry. We don’t want to give away SG-1’s position.”

  “Ah, yes. Of course.” Huang hurried to a seat by the star map. He whispered, “When will General Carter return from his — ?”

  “Physical? Soon enough.” George checked his watch and then forced a smile he wasn’t feeling. SG-1 could be detected by Yu’s Jaffa any moment, and here he sat, being politically correct with a damned diplomat more concerned about protecting a Goa’uld’s assets than the safety of SG-1.

  PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S

  HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)

  STATUS: SAR MISSION IN PROGRESS

  APPROX 0415 HRS LOCAL TIME

  3 JUL 03/1735 HRS BASE TIME

  It was damn near pitch black inside the hedge wall. Jack could barely see his hand in front of his face.

  High above, the glider’s engines throttled down, but kept closing in. Jack recognized the deeper pitch from when the Jaffa had taken their sweet time strafing the dig site at P3Y-702. “I’ve never seen a glider with searchlights, but just to be sure — ”

  “We should get under cover,” Carter said. “Think that hole’s large enough, sir?”

  On hands and knees, Jack felt for the hole. A thorn jabbed his hand but he kept probing. A few more inches to the left and, “Found it!”

  “Teal’c, Bra’tac, climb in,” Carter ordered.

  Jack scrambled further back in the hole to make room. He barely made out the hulking shape of Teal’c crawling in when the ground began to thrum. “Let’s go, let’s go! That glider’s almost over head.”

  “I shall remain out here,” Bra’tac insisted.

  “No you won’t,” Jack said. “Teal’c, grab him.”

  Teal’c yanked Bra’tac inside. Just as Carter dove in, the glider buzzed overhead. It’d been a close call.

  Too close, in Jack’s opinion, and yet…

  He touched the back of his neck. Had someone, or something, tried to warn him of the approachi
ng glider?

  * * *

  As they awaited the glider’s departure, Teal’c crouched alongside his friends within the dark, makeshift foxhole. By his count, the ship had made three passes of the immediate area, each time at a lower altitude. It was his hope that the light sticks sown in the other tunnels they’d passed would be obscured from above.

  Finally, the glider’s engine grew distant. It had departed the immediate vicinity. Teal’c estimated the ship was searching further west, where they had yet to traverse. Relieved, he inhaled deeply, the pungent scent of dank soil beneath them filing his nostrils. His breathing and that of the others returned to normal — all apart from Master Bra’tac whose shallow breaths were loud in the cramped space.

  Teal’c did not know what troubled his old friend and was hesitant to ask while amongst the others. He would wait for Bra’tac to share his woes when he was ready.

  O’Neill had no such patience. “Bra’tac, unless hyperventilation is your idea of a good time, it might be nice of you to tell us what’s got your panties in a bunch.”

  Bra’tac exhaled loudly. “It is nothing, O’Neill.”

  “I’m sorry, Bra’tac,” said Major Carter, “But something’s got you wound up. You’ve been like this since we entered the maze.”

  Far off, an animal cried out, the sound low, as if the creature was in pain. Teal’c felt Bra’tac tense beside him.

  “That whole ‘conjured memory’ thing you mentioned earlier,” said O’Neill. “You mind telling us what that’s about? We’re flying blind here and the more intel we have, the better chance we have of getting out of here… and getting Daniel back.”

  Teal’c noticed the hesitation in O’Neill’s voice when mentioning their mission to rescue Daniel Jackson, but more immediate concerns required his attention. He placed a hand on Bra’tac’s arm. “You are the bravest Jaffa I know. If you are troubled, the cause must be genuine. Should you not share the reason so that we may understand?”

  Bra’tac sighed. “I am a foolish old man, but this maze… It is reminiscent of the ancient trial of Amen’ta.”

  “The ancient test once used to deem those worthy enough to become Apophis’ First Prime,” Teal’c explained. “But by my time, no one, not even you, old friend, would share its details.”