“That’s going to raise some red flags, sir.” Davis crossed his arms, clearly uncomfortable.
“Do what you can to stay under the radar for now… but Major?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m getting close to not caring. We’re not leaving SG-1 out there to hang unless there’s a damn good reason.”
PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S
HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)
STATUS: SAR MISSION ON STANDBY
APPROX 2110 HRS LOCAL TIME
3 JUL 03/1030 HRS BASE TIME
Sam emerged from the cargo ship only to find the colonel back into insubordinate mode. She looked on as he stalked off past Teal’c and Bra’tac. He went over to the other side of the clearing and flopped down beside the fallen tree trunk. He stretched out his legs, tugged his wool cap down over his eyes, and crossed his arms. The perfect posture for an angry Colonel O’Neill.
And a not too subtle reminder, she was sure, that if not for his P90, she’d be lying by that tree trunk, dead.
“Major Carter,” said Teal’c, holding out the com ball as she joined him and Bra’tac. Moonlight shone on the Goa’uld device, washing the display of her father’s face, all anxious lines and furrowed brow, into an almost monochromatic brown. Behind him, Ambassador Huang sat smugly by, obviously completely unaware that they were on to him.
“Your father wishes to speak with you,” Teal’c said.
Sam checked her watch. If nothing else, her father was punctual. Hopefully, he’d have some sort of news, something to indicate how they should proceed, but with Huang still there, it meant whatever message her father had, it would have to be wrapped up in one of the passphrases they’d worked out before leaving.
She schooled her face, not wanting to appear too eager.
“Hang on a minute, Dad.” Leaving the ball with Teal’c, she strode over to Colonel O’Neill.
“What?” He didn’t even bother to push the hat back from his eyes.
“Get up,” she ordered loud enough for the com ball to pick up the sound. She deliberately kept her back to it, knowing it would take a bit of practice before she could actually order the colonel around.
“Get up and do what?” he asked casually.
“Until that moon sets, we’re in no shape to go after Daniel. We’ll take turns at watch. You’re first.”
“First watch, you say?” The colonel put back his hat and opened his eyes. Sitting up, he waved toward Teal’c, or more precisely, toward the com ball with a grin. “Was that Jacob’s voice? Hi, Dad!”
The colonel smiled. Only Sam was close enough to see it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Grab an MRE for the hike,” she ordered. “Teal’c should have some in his pack.”
Turning back around toward Teal’c and Bra’tac, she added, “You two should eat something as well.”
Teal’c bowed in that cooperative, assuring manner that meant he understood. She hoped he did. With his normal silent grace, he handed her the com ball and retreated a few feet away with his back pack.
The colonel joined him and Bra’tac, taking the pack out of Teal’c’s hands. He stuck both hands in and rummaged about for a moment. When he pulled out several brown wrapped packages, he complained. “Turkey? T, don’t you ever pack anything else to eat?”
“
Sam, everything all right?
”
Sam lifted the com ball to her eyeline. “We’re fine. Colonel O’Neill is heading off to stand first watch.” She glowered at the colonel, hoping her annoyance was clear to Ambassador Huang.
“
Should be pretty easy to stand watch on that planet at night. Last time I was there, you didn’t need a flashlight, what with all the light coming off those two moons.
”
Two moons.
Sam didn’t need to look up into the night sky to confirm the only moon up above. She’d seen for herself when they’d first entered orbit. What she did see from the corner of her eye, however, was Colonel O’Neill hand Teal’c back his MRE ration.
Her father’s message meant Huang was somehow tied to Yu. Yes, the mission was still a go. They should go after Daniel, but keep up the charade. The S.G.C. didn’t have enough information yet.
Sam struggled to keep her face from revealing her frustration. Information was her wheelhouse. Not knowing what they were getting into, not knowing how to best advise her team on how to stay safe, how to rescue Daniel and make it back to the ship in one piece… She could do it, she could command SG-1 quite well, in fact. That didn’t mean she had to like it. Not for the first time, she realized how lucky SG-1 had been all these years having the colonel in command.
Which wasn’t the case at the moment.
Not officially, at least.
Colonel O’Neill gave her a grim nod. With a brief pat to Teal’c’s shoulder, he walked off up the hill. Watching him go, it took all of Sam’s willpower to keep her from squashing the communication ball under her heel.
The moon continued its upward ascent.
* * *
Having placed his first dragon on the board next to three of his white stones, Daniel sat back and waited to get slaughtered by Yu… figuratively, or at least he hoped so. Each dragon piece would take up four intersections on the board instead of one. Maybe that gave him some advantage, but at the moment, he wasn’t quite sure how.
Outside, the full moon was past its zenith, beginning to sink down below the far mountains. Just like it had done the night before, and the night before that.
Yu plunked down a stone next to the dragon. Daniel put a white stone down by the Goa’uld’s black and waited for another round.
As Yu studied the board, Daniel wrapped his arms across his chest. His tee shirt was stiff, stale from too many days of wear. One sniff of a shoulder told him he desperately needed a bath. He was tired, dirty, worn out, but most of all, finding it hard to keep up any hope of escape. Any possibility of being released was next to none.
Escape wasn’t very likely either. The odds of Yu or one of his Royal Guard killing him were too high.
Yu set another black, this time cutting Daniel’s dragon off from support of neighboring stones.
Daniel sighed, unsure what move to make next. “I’m not very good at military games.”
Yu raised an eyebrow. “Then why do you play at the warrior? If you do not value military strategies, why the weaponry? Why fight?”
“The weapons are more to protect myself against you and the rest of the Goa’uld,” Daniel admitted. “My background… What I really am… is a scholar.”
Yu gestured at the board, urging Daniel to play his next piece. “Can you not be both?”
Daniel picked up a stone from his diminishing bowl and stared at its smooth, perfect surface. Finally, he answered Yu. “When I have to be, sure.”
“Play your piece,” Yu boomed.
For a brief moment, Daniel wondered if death might not be such a bad thing. He could antagonize Yu, maybe try and make a break for the door. Or maybe, the next time Lao Dan showed up with food, he could antagonize the Jaffa enough to get himself killed.
Then he remembered Jack’s accusation.
More importantly, Daniel remembered his rediscovered determination upon helping Teal’c rescue his son and Bra’tac. There were reasons Daniel had returned from life as an Ascendant.
Reasons he refused to give up on.
Daniel put down a stone, this time to the left of his dragon where it would provide the most support.
Yu grunted his approval. “Is it true you cannot remember your time as an Ascendant?”
“I really can’t.”
“I pity you.”
Daniel glanced up from the board. A Goa’uld pitying a human? “Uh, thanks… I think.”
Yu played his next stone to the dragon’s right. Only one spot was left open for Daniel to take, one intersection that would keep the dragon in play. “It is said, a man who does not know where he has been cannot know where he is going.”
Daniel reached over to drop his stone into the space. “Don’t get me wrong, I remember pretty much everything from before I…”
His hand hovered over the board. “Wait… what did you say?” He looked directly at Yu.
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?”