SG1-16 Four Dragons

by Botsford, Diana

  “Wéiqí,” Yu boomed in warning.

  “Whatever!” Daniel shouted back. “Why do this? Why capture me? Why kill my friends? If what you say is true, I came to you. Of all the System Lords, I warned you about Anubis and the Eye of Ra. Doesn’t that count for something?”

  A shadow passed across Yu’s face and he bowed his head. When he next spoke, it was the host, not the Goa’uld.

  “Watch. Learn. All games teach if the student observes.”

  * * *

  One column down. One to go.

  Jack scrambled to his feet and searched the terrace for the best way over to the other side. Carter and Bra’tac were pinned down only yards ahead of his objective. He began to lay down cover fire and then realized someone was at his back. It was Teal’c, peppering the air with zat fire.

  The cover gave them the chance they needed to retreat. Carter and Bra’tac fired their zats and dove in opposite directions, taking out several Jaffa along the way.

  “O’Neill!” Teal’c pointed at the far end of the terrace. Carter’s pack lay there. He then pointed back toward the statue by the door. The com ball was rolling right toward it.

  With a tap on Teal’c’s shoulder, Jack led the way. They got halfway across the terrace when a round of zat fire blew a chunk of terrace floor in front of them. Jack stopped, spun around and shot back at a trio of Jaffa. The three dropped to the ground though not before one of them got off another round.

  Fortunately the shot went wide, feet away from Jack and Teal’c’s position. As mortar and brick sprayed across the terrace, they bolted toward the pack. Teal’c turned, fired off another round as he ran beside Jack. They got within ten feet of the pack when three more Jaffa stormed out of the column, zats raised in their direction. Along with Teal’c, he nailed them in seconds.

  Jack darted forward and grabbed the pack. A new round of zat fire erupted to his left. Carter and Bra’tac. So far, the two of them had held up, but if they didn’t get a break soon, they’d be toast. With Teal’c at his side, Jack retreated to the statue, pack in hand.

  As he tossed the pack to the ground, Teal’c picked up the com ball. Hammond’s wonderful, worried face peered out at him.

  “General, nice to see you!”

  A hand jerked on his vest and he was pulled down by Teal’c. As Jack kissed the brick terrace, a shot whizzed by over head.

  “Colonel, are you all right?”

  “Peachy, General. You?” Shattered limestone dust fell on his head. Teal’c crouched beside him, the com ball in one hand. Jointly, they squeezed off a few more shots at a Jaffa half-hidden behind the remaining column. The Jaffa shot back at them, taking out more of the building’s wall.

  “O’Neill, the statue — ”

  “Yep, let’s move.” Jack grabbed the pack and dove behind the statue.

  Zat fire kept coming, eating at the walls to either side, though never directly hitting the statue. If the Jaffa had suddenly developed an appreciation of art, that was fine by him.

  He grabbed Teal’c’s hand and lifted the com ball to eye-level. “Sir, I hope you and the ambassador are enjoying our little outing. A bit extreme, don’t you think?”

  Another shot, this time over the statue’s head. Jack coughed as dust from the walls rained down on top of them.

  “I’d say extreme is putting it mildly, Colonel.”

  Jack waved Carter’s pack at the ball. “Extreme enough to move to plan C, sir?”

  A chunk of wall exploded to his left. He threw up his arms to block flying chunks of limestone from hitting him or Teal’c.

  “Plan C, Colonel. Consider yourself reinstated as SG-1’s commanding officer.”

  “Thank you, sir!” The magic words evoked, Jack ripped open the pack, having no patience for zippers or snaps. He yanked out two P90s.

  Teal’c dropped his zat, unbuckled his own pack and pulled out two of the black translucent magazines. Jack snatched one, jammed it in and gave Teal’c a quick nod. “Lose the ball.”

  Teal’c tossed the com ball and grabbed a rifle. “There!”

  A Jaffa headed toward Carter and Bra’tac.

  Jack opened fire.

  STARGATE COMMAND

  STATUS: GATE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED

  3 JUL 03/2035 HRS BASE TIME

  Ten tons dropped off George’s shoulders as the welcome sound of rifle fire rang out.

  SG-1’s communication ball was on the move again, transmitting a jumble of images. It rolled past fallen Jaffa, by busted up bits of brick floor. A quick flash showed Major Carter and Bra’tac racing toward Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c.

  The ball kept going, rolling toward a marble column near the center of the terrace.

  “What have you done?” Huang shouted over the din of bullet and zat fire.

  “What I should have done days ago.”

  The display stopped rolling. Most likely it had become wedged up against the column. The view showed a green marble statue of a woman with a baby in her arms. P90 fire erupted from the left and right sides of the statue.

  From behind the ball’s location, a rapid succession of zat fire sprayed across the statue. George could barely make out two sets of standard issue boots run out of frame. He had to presume they belonged to Jack and Teal’c.

  The statue disintegrated.

  “No!” Huang cried out. “They cannot!”

  George ignored Huang’s protest. “Oh, but they can, Mr. Ambassador… or whoever you are.” He signaled Sergeants Brooks and Gerling into the briefing room. “Airmen, arrest this man.”

  Brooks raised his pistol while Gerling grabbed hold of Huang’s arm.

  “They cannot,” Huang whispered, his words barely heard above the ruckus on the communications ball.

  “Come with us, sir,” Gerling said.

  Huang didn’t budge.

  “Major Carter!” Teal’c shouted.

  A P90 flew by, caught by a hand extending out of a service black operations jacket. “Thanks, Teal’c!”

  “They cannot,” Huang repeated.

  “What can’t they do?” Jacob asked. He grabbed Huang’s chair and spun him away from the table. “What the hell is going on, Huang? Who the hell are you?”

  Huang’s eyes were glazed over, his jaw slackened.

  George knew they’d get no answers from the man any time soon. “Get him out of here,” he ordered.

  The sergeants lifted Huang from his seat. As they dragged him past, the near comatose man lifted his gaze toward George.

  “They cannot.”

  Disgusted, George slid his eyes away and looked toward the com ball where a furious barrage of bullets and blasts crowded the screen. Teal’c ran by, scooping up a discarded zat. The deluge paused for a moment, long enough for George to see a Jaffa raising a zat gun toward the communications ball.

  Blue electricity covered the display.

  Then the image winked out.

  PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S

  HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)

  STATUS: SAR MISSION UNDER ENEMY FIRE

  APPROX 0730 HRS LOCAL TIME

  3 JUL 03/2050 HRS BASE TIME

  Teal’c retrieved a second modified zat as he joined the others by the rear of the one remaining column. He passed the weapon on to Bra’tac, who quickly made use of its function by shooting the ground in front of a group of impending Jaffa. As O’Neill and Major Carter took use of their rifles, Teal’c leaned out from behind the column. He shot several bolts toward the far end of the terrace roof.

  The gun was effective in its destruction. Metal and clay shattered across what remained of the terrace, propelling many Jaffa. He had raised his weapon again when the column he leaned against began to shake.

  He jumped away. “We must retreat from this section.”

  O’Neill stopped firing and glanced at him. “Must we? And here I was just starting to have fun.”

  “Teal’c is right,” said Bra’tac. “More Jaffa approach. Quickly, we must — ”

  A horn blew.
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  With O’Neill and Bra’tac at his sides, and Major Carter covering their rear, Teal’c ran toward the single door leading into the building. Behind him, the thunder of many boots drummed from within the massive column. A new round of Yu’s Jaffa ripe for battle. If they did not reach the door in time, he could not be sure they would win another round against such formidable opposition.

  A glance over his shoulder as they ran confirmed his suspicions. Several dozen more Jaffa had exited the one remaining column.

  “Jaffa! Obi-tan!” Freeze.

  Teal’c froze in his tracks. He knew that voice. He spun around, his zat raised and ready to fire.

  First Prime Oshu stood flanked by his Jaffa. In his hands was a staff weapon, aimed directly at Teal’c. Enemy, ally, Oshu had been both in the past. The question was which manner of man stood before him today?

  “Sholvah!” Oshu thumbed his staff weapon. His dark eyes searched Teal’c’s, waiting.

  “Teal’c…” warned O’Neill.

  Oshu narrowed his brow, the creases on his forehead rippled in uncertainty. “Surrender now and you and your people will not die.”

  “Funny,” said O’Neill, waving his rifle at the Jaffa. “I was about to say the same thing.” A not so subtle reminder that the ‘odds had evened,’ as the Tau’ri would say.

  Oshu cocked his head, confused by O’Neill’s humor.

  “Jaffa!” boomed a voice from high above.

  Teal’c looked up. There, above the one remaining column, hung a massive Goa’uld communications device. Within its mists, an image of Lord Yu looked down upon his Jaffa.

  Relief flooded Teal’c as he caught sight of a weary Daniel Jackson beside the System Lord.

  “Thank God,” whispered O’Neill.

  The sound of an energy surge brought Teal’c’s attention back to Oshu. The First Prime raised his fully charged staff weapon at Teal’c.

  “Shel Kree!” ordered Lord Yu. Retreat.

  Oshu remained steadfast, his eyes never leaving Teal’c’s. It was then that Teal’c made the connection.

  The high forehead, the sharp eyes that took in everything in a single glance — Oshu looked a great deal like a younger version of Ambassador Huang.

  “Follow my command, Oshu.”

  A moment more of traded glances, and then… Yu’s First Prime obeyed his master. With the Jaffa at his heels, Oshu departed through the column’s opening.

  Teal’c raced to the column, but was too late. The wall had slid tightly shut. He tried to pry it back open but was unsuccessful. The column was now unmovable.

  A tap on his shoulder and he turned. O’Neill raised a finger to his lips and gestured upward, toward the super-sized communications device overhead where Yu scowled down upon them. Daniel Jackson’s mouth was open, as if he wished to speak. Before he could say a word, Yu’s palm covered the display.

  The image disappeared.

  Teal’c’s mind reeled as he considered the implications of the Tau’ri ambassador’s ties to Lord Yu and Oshu. How could he not have seen the similarities?

  “Teal’c, can he hear us?” asked O’Neill.

  “As long as it is turned off, no.”

  O’Neill lifted his rifle and aimed at the communications device. Bra’tac placed a hand on his arm. “Do not. If we destroy the device, Yu will send more troops. We must retreat.”

  “We’re not leaving Daniel behind.”

  Teal’c eyed the communications device once more to ensure it was turned off. “There is something more we must consider.”

  “Like how the hell did their zats pack such a punch on the very first shot?”

  “There is that as well, yes. But… “ He gazed upon his three comrades, each of their faces open to him, trusting of his abilities. It would be difficult to admit his failure, but he must.

  “Having seen Lord Yu’s First Prime, I now know why Ambassador Huang looked so familiar. Remove the beard and they are identical. I should have realized this sooner. I have failed. For this I apologize.”

  O’Neill placed a hand on his shoulder. “T, if you were a dictionary, failure wouldn’t even be a word. Besides, I don’t see it.”

  “I do,” said Major Carter. “Same height, same face — ”

  “Different ages,” Bra’tac observed. “But how is this possible? If Huang and Yu’s First Prime are related, that means Huang was not born on Earth. He could only have come through your Stargate.”

  O’Neill shook his head. “I think we would have noticed, don’t you?”

  “Unless Huang came through the Antarctica Stargate,” said Major Carter.

  “Seriously?”

  “Sir, we only found the gate a little more than six years ago. Before that, who knows what sort of traffic went through?”

  “I did not want hear that,” muttered O’Neill.

  “Sir, we know the Serpent Guard found in the ice was only a couple of hundred years old.”

  “Carter!”

  Major Carter persisted. “Remember that Medieval Christian village we found, the one terrorized by Sokar’s Unas? Daniel said they had to have been taken through the Antarctic gate because their religion was based on events post Egypt’s gate being buried.”

  Teal’c remembered the experience clearly. If not for placing himself in a deep state of kelnorim, he would not have survived the Canon’s demon test. Instead, he would have drowned.

  Nonetheless, one element of Major Carter’s theory troubled him. “If the gate in Egypt was uncovered in the early part of the twentieth century, would not Huang have traveled through it instead of the gate in Antarctica?”

  “Possibly… but then Huang would be even older than he already is. We know Yu was aware of the Antarctica gate over three years ago when he demanded both gates be forfeited during treaty negotiations. How did he know it existed?”

  O’Neill dropped his hands and frowned. “Because he used it.”

  “Exactly.” Major Carter handed her P90 to Bra’tac and removed her handheld scanner from a vest pocket. “With Yu’s access to photonic energy, he could easily duplicate the right kind of electrical jolt to jump gates. Just like what happened to the colonel and me when we were thrown through the second gate.”

  O’Neill waved at her scanner. “And you think you can find out the source of this jolt?”

  “Yes, sir. Given time, I might be able to backwards engineer — ”

  “Negative, Major. We’re here to get Daniel. Unless some miracle occurs — and based on the fact that our covert operation has been blown up with the rest of this terrace — I don’t see us having the time to study Yu’s gizmo.”

  If Major Carter was disappointed, she hid it well. “At least we know Daniel’s all right.”

  “Indeed,” Teal’c replied. “I had little doubt… until Yu’s Jaffa attacked us.”

  “He’s a Goa’uld,” said O’Neill. “What did you expect?”

  “In my previous encounters with Lord Yu, my life was never threatened. Why he captured Daniel Jackson remains to be seen, although — ”

  “This wasn’t just a kidnapping,” said Major Carter. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to convince the president and his staff that Huang was a legitimate diplomat.”

  “Enough trouble to almost get us killed.” O’Neill rubbed his neck, an unusual habit Teal’c had first noticed during their expedition through the maze. “Any idea why they pulled back?”

  “None,” Teal’c said. It was a most curious tactic.

  Major Carter adjusted the controls on her scanner and directed it toward Yu’s fortress. “What now, sir? I’m assuming, with Huang’s com ball disintegrated, plus what we’ve discovered so far — ”

  “General Hammond communicated his approval of Plan C,” Teal’c reported.

  “Yes,” O’Neill said. “So, if you wouldn’t mind, Major, I’ll take the proverbial command chair back. Not that you didn’t do a great job. You did. You were — ”

  “Yes, sir.” Though her words were formal, Major Ca
rter’s smile eased the moment’s discomfort. Truly, she had done an excellent job and Teal’c would gladly follow her again if the need arose.

  “What is it you plan, O’Neill?” asked Bra’tac. “Yu must certainly know we plan to retrieve Daniel Jackson. He will try to stop us.”

  O’Neill patted his rifle. “That’s where these come in. Siler stuffed enough C-4 and P90 magazines in Teal’c’s pack to take out Yu’s whole army.”

  Major Carter looked up from her scanner. “We’ll need them. I’m pretty sure I’m out of rounds.”

  Teal’c looked back toward the door, where he had placed the pack behind the now disintegrated statue. Nowhere amongst the debris could it be found.

  “T… where’s the pack?”

  “It is gone, O’Neill.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Yu’s voice boomed across the throne room. “Explain what you saw, what was said, what took place.”

  Daniel only half-listened as Yu’s four Royal Guardsmen retold what happened. He’d seen it for himself on the communication device. More importantly, for the first time in days, his head was clear. Seeing Jack, Sam, Teal’c and Bra’tac was… If Daniel had to compare his reaction to anything, it would be the equivalent of five cups of coffee. Given intravenously.

  Yu stood by the jade statue at the back of the throne room, conferring with the Jaffa. With the Goa’uld’s attention elsewhere, Daniel studied his surroundings with fresh eyes. He’d need to be ready. He’d need to be able to do his part to escape when the opportunity arose, but one glance out the latticework lining the west windows confirmed his earlier doubts. The Stargate remained heavily guarded. In fact, he was fairly certain the guard had been doubled since his arrival. Three, possibly four dozen Jaffa surrounded the stone ring while a circle of energy cannons covered what he could only assume was the DHD.

  If the gate had been guarded all this time, that meant Jack and the others had come by ship. Looking down at his bare feet, Daniel groaned at the idea of running barefoot. He’d do it, but it wasn’t going to be fun.

  Heck, running barefoot in freezing temperatures would be the easy part.

  Getting past Yu’s Royal Guard would be next to impossible. Even now, they took turns watching him… no, glaring was more the right term.