Chapter 34

"Morning, kids," Jack greeted with a yawn. "Day three; any signs?"

"Good evening, sir," Carter replied with a smile. "And no; not a one."

"Damn. Well, who's up next?"

"Teal'c's out now, but it's Daniel's shift in a few minutes..."

"Yeah, yeah; I'm coming." Daniel ambled out of the tent, brushing moss out of his hair. "Do we have any glue for this stuff? I'll be more camouflaged than our tents soon."

"All the better to keep you from getting killed," Jack pointed out. "Besides, as long as Syrus and his Psychopaths are murdering their own people in the city, we shouldn't have to worry about any--or many, at least--Loyalists showing up."

"How very reassuring," Daniel said. "Radio?"

"Teal'c's got it; you're relieving him now; as in, five minutes ago."

Daniel sighed heavily. "All right. See you guys in the morning."

"Don't you want Mama Carter to pack you a lunch?" Jack teased.

Carter glowered at him. "Does Papa O'Neill want to lose what makes him 'Papa' O'Neill?" she asked sweetly, and Jack widened his eyes in mock terror--the past few days there hadn't been much to do other than tease one another mercilessly. He turned to Daniel. "Wanna trade shifts?"

"Sorry," Daniel said lightly, "but you dig your grave, you've gotta lay in it."

Jack and Carter stared after him as he ducked out of their carefully shielded shelter. "Who's teaching him all the clich�s?" Jack asked with feigned casualness.

Carter eyed him with a smirk and didn't respond. It just seemed to go without saying.

=====

"DanielJackson."

"Hi Teal'c. Anything?"

Teal'c dropped silently from the boughs of the elected 'stake-out' tree to land beside Daniel. He relinquished the radio and his staff weapon with what, if Daniel wasn't mistaken, was a shrug. "Nothing," he said serenely. "It is what O'Neill would undoubtedly call a 'sleep festival'."

Daniel grinned as Teal'c gave him a boost into the thick, concealed branch serving as the watch site. "'Snoozefest', Teal'c," he corrected. From his position in the tree and the dim moonlight he could see Teal'c's slight smile. Daniel shook his head, realizing he'd been had. "'Night, Teal'c."

"Good night, DanielJackson."

=====

**Daniel.**

If he ignored it, maybe the irritating voice would just go away.

**Daaaaannniiiellll. You there?**

With a resigned sigh, Daniel thumbed on the radio. "You know, you're not exactly being 'covert' here, Jack."

**I know, but it's a little boring out here.**

"Want to go for a super-long shift?"

**Uh...no. No, I'm not that bored.**

"You wanted to trade with me before, remember?"

**Daniel, Daniel, haven't you learned the fine art of sarcasm yet?**

A clang in the distance caught Daniel's attention and he instinctively froze in place, peering through the branches toward the Stargate. **Daniel? Hello?**

"Hang on," he said curtly into his radio, cutting off some spiel his friend began about overworked police dogs and squinted harder, zeroing in on the 'gate. Another clang, a familiar, orange light appeared in the distance.

**Daniel? Hey, y'okay?"**

"Jack, someone's coming through the 'gate."

**Yea, right.**

"No, there's someone coming through the 'gate."

**Holy shit--seriously?**

"Looks like it--we've definitely got an incoming wormhole."

He could practically feel Jack's eagerness, and the infectious enthusiasm found its way through the radio. Daniel grinned; in mere hours, they'd be back at the SGC, in a hot shower, in a warm, comfortable bed, eating normal food...**Okay, hang on,** Jack was saying, then obviously forgot to take his finger off the button as he heard him shout for Sam and Teal'c to follow. **We're on our way, Daniel. Keep an eye out!**

"Got it."

Daniel watched the final five chevrons light up on the Stargate, and his heart soared as he both heard and saw the faint ka-woosh of the stabilizing wormhole. He never thought he'd be so happy to see the 'gate activate.

"Looks like it's them," Daniel reported, needing to say something whether Jack was listening or not.

At the very moment a good two dozen figures stepped through the event horizon, before Daniel could even breathe the word 'Goa'uld', an eerily familiar high-pitched whine reached his ears, Daniel felt his body explode in fiery pain immediately after impact of razor-sharp projectiles, and then he was falling backward into nothingness.

---

"Hear that?" Jack panted as he, Carter and Teal'c crashed through the trees.

"What, sir?"

"Sounded like--"

"La'tum fire," Teal'c finished.

Jack's gut twisted. "Yeah." He thumbed his radio again. "Daniel! Daniel, come in!" He waited a minute, then two; nothing came back to him. "Daniel!"

"Sir, something's wrong."

"What gives you that idea, Carter?!" he snapped, and automatically picked up his pace. "Come on; move!"

---

SG-1 quickly but carefully exited the thick, concealing tree line into the thinner, more vulnerable perimeter in a crouch. "Goa'uld all right, sir," Carter said, scouting toward the Stargate. "Probably safe to assume it's Durga."

"Who cares? They'll still be here in five minutes. Find Daniel now." Jack moved to the base of the stake-out tree, craning his neck to try and see up into the branches. "Daniel," he hissed. "Hey, Daniel!"

Carter moved around behind him carefully, in case Daniel was injured and lying on the grass near their feet. Jack followed her progress, Teal'c moving around the opposite side of the tree. He heard a sharp intake of air, and turned toward her. "Carter, you okay?"

She didn't reply one way or the other, but just murmured something unintelligible that, as Jack hurried to her side, was audible as "Oh God, oh God, oh God..."

"Carter?" Jack dropped to his knees beside her in the dark.

"Sir, it's Daniel," she said, voice choked. "He's hurt."

"Fuck." Jack ran his hands up the body, damp with something he prayed against hope wasn't blood, until he felt Daniel's face beneath them. Fumbling slightly, he leaned forward, cheek over Daniel's mouth, holding his breath. He exhaled in a rush of relief when he felt faint puffs of air against his skin. "He's alive," he announced. "Still alive. Daniel. Daniel, can you hear me? Do we have any light at all, Carter?"

"No sir." By the sounds of things, Carter was checking out Daniel for location of wounds. "Colonel," she said tightly, "that was definitely la'tum fire, and it's probably not a coincidence that we found Daniel injured so soon after we heard it. If it was a la'tum, and all the fragments of the projectile impacted him..."

"We have no idea how many or where the impact points are in the dark," Jack finished. Fuck. Fuckshitdamn...."Teal'c, is the Goa'uld still at the 'gate?"

"It is; they appear to be waiting for something."

"Probably the Minister," Carter said absently, still trying to staunch unseen wounds on the body stretched in front of her.

"Yeah, and he's dead. Listen, you couldn't come up with some kind of diversion or something, just anything to keep them around until we can come up with a game plan to get that crystal? This is our only shot."

"I can." And just like that, Teal'c was off, in full Operation: Distraction mode.

"Sir, what are we supposed to do about Da--"

"I don't know, Carter," he barked. "First thing I'd like to know is who the fuck did this. One of Syrus's bastards; they're the only ones who use these fucking weapons." He leaned over Daniel again, cupping the younger man's face in his hands. "Daniel," he called, a bit too loudly for their sensitive position. "Daniel, wake up." He reached until he found Daniel's closest hand, and pinched the fleshy bit between his thumb and forefinger hard. A faint mumble from the vicinity of Daniel's head, and Jack held longer this time, his fingernails digging mercilessly into the soft flesh. "Daniel!" This time, he was rewarded with a choked moan. "Daniel?" he asked.

"...Jack?"

Jack barked a slight laugh of relief. "Yeah; hey buddy, how're you doing?"

Carter gave him a nudge. "I'll go give Teal'c a hand," she said, voice suspiciously thick.

"Sure. I'll see what I can do here and then join you."

"God...hurts," Daniel wheezed. "What...what was it?"

"Uh...la'tum, by the looks of things; we were hoping you could tell us for sure."

"...Hmm...think so. Heard it." There was a pause, and then a shaky, "Definitely felt it...Can't see, Jack."

"I know; it's not your eyes--it's just dark. It'll be dawn soon, though; don't worry about it." God, he hoped he was right.

"...Two months." The pained tone was tinged, surprisingly enough, with a good deal of irony.

"What?"

"Two months," Daniel repeated, his hand gripping Jack's tightly as a wave of agony rolled over him. "Not shot...mortally wounded for two months. Broke record."

Jack laughed incredulously. "Hey, you're right--we'll definitely have to get you a cake or something for that, huh?"

"Coffee cake...choice of icing."

"Yeah." Jack reached a hand up to cup Daniel's cool cheek. "Whatever you want, you got it."

Daniel was silent for a long while as Jack listened to the sound of weapons fire from the vicinity of the Stargate. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't..." Daniel trailed off.

"Can't what, Daniel?"

"Can't see."

Jack's heart twisted. "I know, Danny; it's just dark."

"Oh...already told me didn' you?"

"Er, no--no, I didn't pal."

"Sorry..."

"Hey, don't start with that; you don't have anything to apologize for."

"Gonna die here."

Jack tightened his grip on Daniel's hand. "No, you most certainly are not."

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted from across the expanse.

"Shit," he swore. "Daniel, the Goa'uld are here, remember? I've got to go get the control crystal so we can get the hell home. Understand?"

"Yeah..."

"Good." Jack pulled off his flak vest--personal safety be damned--and his jacket, draping them over the shivering man. "You hang in there til I get back, okay? I won't be long." He waited a beat and couldn't smother a small smile. "Daniel, I can't see you nodding."

"Oh. Sorry...yeah, okay. Understand."

"All right. Be back in a jiff."

Chapter 33

Guerilla tactics were useless when there were only two against two dozen. It was even worse when one of the two were unused to using a staff weapon, the only weapon available to them. Teal'c set his jaw determinedly, he and Captain Carter falling back into the rhythms that had become second nature to them over their two month stay with the Nihilists, Carter positioned on one side of the 'gate and he on the other, keeping themselves moving through the thin tree line and firing alternatingly on the Jaffa that had formed a protective circle around their Goa'uld mistress. Durga, Teal'c heard the First Prime refer to his 'goddess'. DanielJackson would certainly know the significance of the name...Teal'c forced back concern for his youngest friend. 'DanielJackson will live,' he told himself firmly. 'He has faced many great trials and overcome them all; this will be no different.' Instead, Teal'c took his anger out on the Jaffa, firing rapid blasts of his staff weapon toward the DHD, where a few were edging over, the control crystal no doubt held protectively between them.

The element of surprise was wearing off, however, and the Jaffa were overcoming their initial disorientation and figuring out that it was no army that was attacking them. Their staff blasts were becoming more frequent, better aimed as the enemies extrapolated where Teal'c and Carter would move. More than once, Teal'c had to duck, a searing blast nearly missing his head. He'd already been grazed on the shoulder--a wound of no consequence, but a warning to him nonetheless.

A sharp whistle cut through the night air, barely making itself heard over the sound of staff weapon fire. O'Neill, signalling that he needed a weapon--and needed one now, judging by the ferocity of the call. Teal'c caught sight of the colonel crouched low next to Carter, face unreadable from this distance, but Teal'c knew that O'Neill was simmering with rage and fear for DanielJackson, whom he'd no doubt had to leave alone in order to join their efforts. Simultaneously, Teal'c and Carter opened fire on the Jaffa, hoping to create enough confusion for O'Neill to snag himself a staff weapon.

But suddenly a whine filled the air, and O'Neill was down, staying as still as possible but clutching his side, and Teal'c's symbiote surged in response to the Jaffa's horror. O'Neill was hit; whoever had shot DanielJackson was still lurking in the trees, waiting to pick them off, one by one. Teal'c deigned the Jaffa a secondary concern now, and crept, stealthily as possible, through the trees in the direction he'd thought the fire had come from. He couldn't underestimate these people; he'd fought alongside them for nearly three months, and they were adept at fighting in exactly these conditions. If he wasn't careful, he and his friends could all end up dead very quickly.

"Jaffa!"

The brazen, strong young voice that rose up from the trees gave Teal'c pause. Carter's fire slowed and stopped, and O'Neill was dragging himself back to the tree line--the stubborn human having gotten his hands on a staff weapon. In the centre of the ever-shrinking circle of Jaffa, the Durga held up a hand. "Who calls?" the distorted female voice called. "If you are the traitors who have orchestrated this attack on myself and my loyal Jaffa, you are sadly mistaken that you are making a difference."

"I am not." A lean, tall figure emerged from the trees to either side of the main pathway--a familiar figure, at that, one Teal'c had grown to admire for his skill, bravery, yet compassionate spirit. "I assure you, I am one of those who fights for you, my lord. I am Behin, I come in place of the Minister, who has been in danger from rogue inhabitants of our world. Please, will you accompany me?"

Teal'c held his breath, gaze flickering between Behin, the soft-spoken young man who had killed more Loyalist soldiers than Teal'c himself, and the Goa'uld, who was studying the young man with undisguised wariness. "And those who attack me?" Durga asked. "Am I to believe that they will not fire upon me the moment I leave the protection of my guards?"

"Of course not, my lord," Behin responded gravely. "But I have already killed two of the four who attack you. The others will be of no difficulty." True to his word, Behin fired one shot - directly at Teal'c. Swearing in his own language under his breath, Teal'c flung himself to the ground, hearing the sharp whine of the la'tum's bullet as it spread itself out. Teal'c pressed himself as low to the ground as he could, but he still felt on of the razor-sharp fragments slice along his back, drawing blood as it went. Behin sounded triumphant when he spoke again. "Three. I vow to you, my lord, if you should send your guards to the trees, they will doubtlessly uncover three bodies. Tau'ri bodies. Soon to be four."

The Goa'uld was smiling, Teal'c could tell from her tone of voice. "You are duplicitous, young one," she said condescendingly to Behin. "I sense these four trust you."

Behin didn't respond verbally, and the Goa'uld's next response was lost in the flurry of activity that exploded from the trees. Teal'c looked up at the sudden shouts of attack, and into the clearing poured half a dozen Nihlists, led by a stout, familiar woman. "BEHIN!" Fahrn yelled, her rage palpable in the rising red dawn. "You traitorous manipulator!"

"Fahrn!" Behin's voice was no longer bold and fearless, but held a tone of submission, of innocence. "Fahrn, I thought Syrus had your unit assigned to the safe house! I was told to come and fetch the Destroyer, bring her back to the city."

"You lie, Behin," Fahrn growled as the battle around them erupted into full swing. Without a second thought, Teal'c joined them, watching as Carter and O'Neill, his left elbow pressed as tightly as he could manage against his wounded side, followed suit across the clearing, firing along with the Reformists, not questioning this sudden turn of luck. Teal'c took out Durga's First Prime with three quick blasts, the large Jaffa flying backwards several feet to lay dead over the control crystal, neck twisted at an unnatural angle from the fall.

"Fahrn, please," Behin begged. "Listen to me. I am one of you--I have always been one of you."

"Who believed himself to have killed three of our Tau'ri allies?" Fahrn retorted disbelievingly. "You are a fool, Behin; you should know that in these times of distrust and paranoia, you would not be left to your own devices."

Behin's gaze drifted from Fahrn to the fight carrying on mere yards away. "I was not..." he murmured softly, trailing off as an explosive, angry light came into his eyes. Quick as a flash, he had his la'tum drawn, but he barely got it levelled before his chest exploded in one crimson burst. Fahrn barely blinked as the mangled corpse fell heavily to the cool ground, the la'tum clattering beside it. She merely turned away in disgust, boldly striding up to the Goa'uld, whom O'Neill had in a chokehold, preventing her from employing her hand device.

With the air of one who knew victory was at hand, Fahrn pulled the hand device from the Goa'uld's fingers and smashed it under the hard heel of her boot. "You will have my people's submission no longer," she said venomously, leaning close to glare up into the Goa'uld's eyes, which flashed defiantly.

"Fool," Durga hissed. "Your people are little more than cattle, your petty disputes and pitiful 'rebellion' mere entertainment for the likes of your gods. Where I fail, another shall take my place; there is nothing for you to do to stop it."

"Are you as tired of her as I am?" Jack asked her wearily. Fahrn nodded, a smirk on her face. Jack twisted the Goa'uld's head sharply and Fahrn heard a snap. The Goa'uld slumped lifelessly in Jack's arms, which fell away as though he'd been burned, allowing the false god to hit the ground hard. "Nice," he said with a triumphant grin. All around him, Jaffa were lying dead, along with three of Fahrn's five Nihilist companions. She turned to the two survivors with a grim smile.

"Return to Syrus and the others and inform them what has happened here," she ordered them. "Leave nothing unsaid; be sure Behin is exposed for the traitor he was."

"It shall be done," Pege acknowledged, and she and the man with her turned without a word and hurried down the cleared path back to the city.

"Sir, I've got it!" Carter stood up from where she'd turned over the First Prime's body, holding the control crystal with a broad grin and relieved tears on her face. "It's intact; perfectly intact!"

"Good--get that thing fixed; Teal'c and I will get Daniel."

Fahrn noticed for the first time that the younger man wasn't with his companions. "What happened to Daniel?" she asked, fearing she already knew the answer. Behin's boasts about having killed three of the four Tau'ri had left her shaken until Jack, Carter and Teal'c had burst from the trees in a hail of weapons fire.

"Behin shot him with that la'tum while Daniel was on watch," Carter said coldly, opening the DHD and manipulating the large crystal into place.

"I am sorry," Fahrn said sincerely. "We had no idea Behin was a Loyalist. Will Daniel recover?"

"I don't know," Carter admitted. "It was the dead of night when he was hit, and we couldn't tell where or how many times he was hit. We couldn't even bandage any wounds."

Fahrn winced. The Tau'ri knew as well as she did the destructive power of the la'tums. If Daniel had been hit by even half of the shards of the projectile, he would have suffered severe damage.

"Why did you come back?" Carter asked unexpectedly, already beginning the dialling process.

"You all made my own revenge possible," Fahrn admitted. "That sounds terribly petty--I realize that--but I am eternally grateful to you."

"'Your revenge'," Carter echoed. "You mean getting Achsel killed?"

Fahrn nodded. "What was he to you, anyway?" Carter asked.

Fahrn smiled grimly. "Achsel was my husband," she said, meeting Carter's interrogating gaze head-on. "Five years ago he condemned our only child, our daughter, when he refused to fight for her freedom. The Destroyers took her, and he pledged his loyalty to the Minister. I hated him," she said passionately. "Now he and the Destroyer are gone; if my daughter is lost, at least no other innocents will be taken from their homes."

"Why don't you come with us?" Carter asked impulsively. "We can help you look for your daughter--Daniel's wife was also taken by the Goa'uld, and we're searching for her. Syrus is engaged in mass murder; you don't have to stay."

Fahrn was shaking her head slowly. "Thank you, but no," she said. "I've been fighting for this cause for too long; I cannot simply vanish from this world...no matter how much I disagree with Syrus's methods."

O'Neill and Teal'c were hurrying back, their relief at seeing the 'gate already open and waiting obvious, Daniel cradled between them unmoving. "Carter, get that code sent now," O'Neill ordered.

Daniel looked terrible, Carter realized as she waved O'Neill and Teal'c through to the event horizon. He was so pale he was nearly translucent, the bruise from Kristof's punch still brilliant against his cheek, streaks of blood on his skin--and everywhere else, she noted with a turning stomach.

Fahrn crossed to the men and laid a surprisingly gentle hand on Daniel's head, which was laying limp against O'Neill's shoulder. "I was wrong," she said to no one in particular. "He is greater a warrior than any I have met." She met O'Neill's gaze directly. "I am sorry he had to prove it in such a manner."

O'Neill studied her, his attention only broken briefly when Teal'c murmured that they had to go. "Me too," he said simply, and he and Teal'c moved through, vanishing into the welcoming wormhole.

"Either bury the 'gate...or you can dial out," Carter told Fahrn hopefully. "The universe is waiting; there are better places out there than this."

"I agree," Fahrn said quietly. "Thank you, Sam."

"And you," Carter returned. "Goodbye."

And after nearly three months, SG-1 was going home.

As Carter disappeared through the wormhole, she didn't see the woman left behind, content for the first time in her life, pick up the weapon she'd dropped at her feet. She cast a long look around at the death and destruction around her, and turned it on herself.

The wormhole shut down then, leaving the world in silence.

Chapter 34

"Medic!"

No sooner had the word left Jack's mouth, as he and Teal'c stumbled through the wormhole, boots clattering in a long-missed and familiar rhythm on the metal ramp in the SGC embarkation room with Daniel slung between them, than Fraiser and her medical team were mauling them, gingerly pulling Daniel from their grasp and settling him efficiently on a gurney for immediate transportation to the infirmary. Hot on their heels, General Hammond greeted them halfway up the ramp, the wormhole shutting down as Carter stepped through, looking none the worse for wear and too nostalgic for Jack's comfort.

"SG-1. Welcome home." The relief in the general's voice was palpable, and Jack returned his heartfelt salute. He didn't have to look behind him to know Carter was doing the same. "You people are a sight for sore eyes." His gaze turned worried, shifting from SG-1 to the medical team, which was about ready to flee the scene.

"Likewise, sir," Jack said wearily, eyes on Daniel, unmoving on the gurney. "It's been a long...decade?" he said dryly.

"Three months," Hammond supplied, though the sympathetic smile he offered them told them he understood exactly where they were coming from. "And one hell of a three months its been."

Jack nodded in the direction of the medical team. "With all due respect, sir, while I know we have a lot of catching up to do..."

"Of course," Hammond said, clapping him on the shoulder. "On that note, I'll allow the three of you to go and check on Doctor--"

"Not right now, they're not," Fraiser said smartly, stepping between Jack and Hammond. She pointed her chin at their battered uniforms. "I want those clothes contained for testing," she ordered, "and I want the three of you to shower, change--and for heaven's sake, have something to eat--before you set foot in my infirmary." At Jack's impending protest, she held up a hand. "It isn't like he's going to be up for visitors anytime soon, Colonel, so get yourselves in order and then you can plant yourselves in my infirmary--first for your physicals, and then for keeping Doctor Jackson company."

Jack shot a look over Fraiser's...well, her head...at Hammond, who shrugged. "She's been waiting months to order you folks around, I think," he said with a slight laugh. "If I were you, I wouldn't question her."

Jack sighed and Fraiser took that as a victory on her part, immediately turning tail and leaving the embarkation at a run, following on the heels of her team. "Right," he said, slumping. He gestured for his teammates to follow him, which they did without question. Jack had to admit, nothing sounded better at that moment than a hot shower, eating real food, then sleeping for a week. "General," he called over his shoulder. "Think our debriefing can wait 'til we actually feel human again?"

"Under normal circumstances," Hammond began.

"Aht...but sir, these aren't 'normal' circumstances," Jack said winningly, turning at the door and smiling his most charming smile.

Hammond shook his head helplessly. "Tomorrow evening, Colonel. That should give you time enough to 'humanize' yourselves."

"My thanks, mon general." Jack bowed with a flourish and exited stage left, leaving Hammond watching them go with a fond smile.

"It's just so damn good to have you people home," he said quietly.

=====

It was so good to be home. Home. Earth. Terra firma. Where the heart was. For Jack, that 'home' was currently the end shower cubicle at the SGC, surrounded by concrete, relatively soundproof walls, comfortably cool twenty-eight levels underground, heated only by computers and other electro-stuff. 'Home' was a hot shower, using up an entire bottle of shampoo and a whole bar of Irish Spring soap. Reluctantly, Jack finally shut off the hot water and stepped out of the shower stall, seizing a thick towel from where he'd draped it over the adjoining cubicle wall and wrapping it around his waist. Padding barefoot to his locker, he picked up another towel and rubbed at his hair, feeling about one hundred pounds lighter, the overall grimy, gritty feeling in his skin, hair that had accumulated over nearly three months of not having a decent shower, finally scrubbed, re-scrubbed and rinsed away. He glared at the containment bag holding his Frihet 'uniform', tossed haphazardly onto a bench in the center of the locker room, bound for Fraiser and her many many many many tests.

Jack opened his locker and tossed his empty shampoo bottle inside, bypassing his sets of BDUs for the moment in favour of his shaving kit. "How I've missed you," he muttered, not at all embarrassed by the bordering-on-ecstasy element in his voice. Giving his hair one last vigorous rub with the towel in his hand, he tossed it away and settled himself in front of a mirror, taking unadulterated pleasure from the first stroke of razor through shaving cream and three months' worth of beard.

"O'Neill." Teal'c entered the locker room and Jack grinned. The Jaffa was looking normal in his own set of BDUs, and for a moment it was simple to entertain the notion that the past three months had never happened at all.

"Hey T." Jack finished up the first half of his face, running his hand over the smooth skin with relish. "What's up?"

"I have just come from the infirmary. DoctorFraiser wished me to inform you that DanielJackson stands a fair chance of recovery."

Leave it to a Jaffa to quickly and efficiently adhere to doctor's orders, showering and dressing in record time with said time to spare in checking up on SG-1's resident trouble magnet. Jack automatically sped up his shaving process and nodded his thanks when Teal'c read his harried half-sign language and handed over a set of clean BDUs from Jack's locker. "He's out of surgery already?" Jack asked. He hadn't expected the archaeologist to be out of the OR so soon--by the looks of the man on Frihet, Jack would have guessed Fraiser would have to scour the Earth searching for enough thread to sew him up again. Jack had wanted to be in and out of the shower and commissary in order to meet Daniel when he'd finished in the OR...looked like his indulgence of the facilities had been more in-depth than he'd thought.

Teal'c nodded. "Merely five minutes ago. DoctorFraiser believes it will be some time before he regains consciousness." Obviously, Jack thought; otherwise Teal'c wouldn't be here. None of them would allow Daniel to wake up alone. "Also," the Jaffa continued, a curious note in his tone, "CaptainCarter wishes to send another probe to Frihet."

Halfway through stuffing one arm through the blue overshirt, Jack froze and gaped at Teal'c. "What? Why?" In his opinion, out of sight, out of mind was the best way to go.

Teal'c hardly blinked. "She has an overwhelming desire to learn what has become of Fahrn."

"Oh." Jack straightened his overshirt and pawed briefly at his hair, settling the drying spikes. "Well, what'd Hammond say?"

"He agreed. CaptainCarter thought you would like to see for yourself."

Did he? Syrus had condemned all of the Nihilists with his do-or-die final strike--though, Jack conceded, without that distraction, SG-1 would likely have not come through the attack on the Goa'uld in one piece. That, and Fahrn had taken an awfully big risk to drag a unit out to help, defying Syrus' orders. Who knew what punishment that held for her. "Sure," Jack said finally. "I want to swing by the infirmary, and then we'll head up to the control room."

"DanielJackson is being held in one of the isolation rooms," Teal'c reported, following Jack from the locker room. Jack gritted his teeth. If Fraiser wanted Daniel in an iso room, it was undoubtedly as bad as Jack had guessed it was. Only the seriously injured or seriously contagious were kept in those rooms.

"Fantastic," he mumbled. However, knowing Fraiser, she was probably already...

"Ah, Colonel O'Neill. General Hammond said I'd find you here."

Speak of the devil. All five-two of Janet Fraiser took two steps from the elevator before stopping and holding the door for Jack and Teal'c. "Doc. How is he?"

Fraiser stepped back inside and hit the button for the iso room level, then shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets. "Holding his own," she reported wearily.

"What's with the fast food version of surgery?" Jack had to ask. "The way that thing cut him up..."

Fraiser shook her head. "It was serious, Colonel, there's no denying that. A four-hour surgery--"

"Four hours?" Jack was stunned. That was a long 'shower and snack'. Janet nodded.

"Four hours of non-stop stitching, reattaching...to be honest with you, sir, he's lucky he kept his right arm."

Jack felt his blood change course. "Is it..." The thought of Daniel Jackson without full use of his archaeological faculties was too gut wrenching to even think about.

"We think--we're hopeful," Janet rephrased, "that things will look as good a few hours from now as they did at the end of surgery. Despite the cruelty of those weapons Sam described, the wounds are remarkably precise. There was no infection...just blood loss and separation of some pretty crucial tendons."

Jack sighed a breath of relief. "So no..." he grimaced. "No gangrene or anything?"

"It's looking good," Fraiser reiterated. "I wouldn't say he's totally out of the woods quite yet..." The elevator rolled to a stop and she preceded Jack and Teal'c out, leading them down the corridor to Iso room three. "But things are looking as positive as they can under the circumstances."

Jack nodded his thanks and peered into the small isolation room, uncharacteristically uncertain about walking in and getting a good look. Daniel looked...small, lying there surrounded by machines, a tube down his throat, the steady beep of his EKG telling them that he was indeed hanging on. He was clean, at least, scrubbed of the blood that Jack had found so difficult to scrub from his own hands, neck...whatever Daniel had come into contact with when Jack and Teal'c were carrying him back to the Stargate had been virtually saturated. Daniel was pale--ghost-white, with a grey undertone, a testament to the amount of blood he'd lost--but his face was shaven, his hair ruthlessly trimmed. Jack turned questioningly to Fraiser.

"We had to trim him a bit," she said with a slight smile. "he hit the back of his head hard when he fell; it was a minor scalp wound but we had to stitch it a little."

Jack grinned slightly, unable to help himself. "He's gonna love having a bald spot."

"DanielJackson has plenty to comb over," Teal'c said seriously, obviously intent on defending Daniel's dignity. Jack chuckled and, feeling a little less awkward about standing at his friend's side when he had so recently been close to death, reached out and squeezed Daniel's left shoulder.

"Teal'c's gonna kick anyone's ass who makes fun of your new 'do, Danny Boy," he said, "so you're gonna wanna come to and take advantage of it, huh?"

"Perhaps not, O'Neill."

Jack turned slightly in surprise. "Why...not?" 'And why am I afraid to ask...?'

"Because it was undoubtedly be you from which DanielJackson requires protection."

Chapter 35

When Jack and Teal'c left Daniel in the iso room and headed for the control room, they could hear Sergeant Harriman's reports even as they rounded the corner up the few steps. The Stargate was already active, rippling serenely while those gathered in the control room hovered around monitors to catch a glimpse of what the probe would pick up. "Receiving MALP telemetry," Harriman announced. Jack and Teal'c squeezed in closer to the monitor next to Carter, unconsciously holding their breath--at least Jack did; Teal'c just looked more foreboding.

It wasn't as though the Nihilists had been the undisputed 'good' guys in the civil war, but in most respects they had been the lesser of two evils, and they'd ultimately been the side SG-1 had wound up on. Their fate was of concern to them, no matter how much Jack had tried to steer clear of forming any bonds of friendship or trust beyond what went on in the battlefield.

There was static before the image stabilized, revealing the clearing in the early morning light. Dawn had arrived, and had brought with it the visual results of the attack. Carter heaved a shaky sigh as the camera settled on the first body. "Dear God; who is that?" Hammond asked, disgusted at the effect of the la'tum, as the camera panned over the mutilated body.

"Fahrn," Carter croaked. "It was Fahrn, one of the second in command of the rebel faction, sir." She turned to Jack, who noticed the la'tum in Fahrn's hand. "She killed herself, sir," she said quietly, stating what Jack already suspected.

"Not any worse than what Syrus would have done when she went back," he tried reassuring her. He could feel Hammond's confused stare at his back and shrugged with a tired smile. "We'll explain at the debrief, sir."

They continued to watch the MALP's relay in stony silence as the camera passed over the broken, maimed bodies of Nihilists, Jaffa, the Goa'uld, Durga..."O'Neill," Teal'c said sharply. He pointed at to a spot on the screen, and Jack swallowed, his heart rate increasing.

"Can you get the MALP to move...there?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Harriman manipulated the controls and the probe moved in closer--until SG-1 made out the face on the nearest, strategically-placed body.

"Syrus," Jack said flatly, his suspicion confirmed.

The old veteran was on his back, eyes open and staring sightlessly at the sky, chest riddled with wounds. The MALP moved away from him, down the row of bodies--all Nihilists, laid out side-by-side, doubtlessly by the Loyalists as a sign. "I guess that answers our questions of who won the final attack," Jack said as the screen flashed the images of Pege, Arta, Clagh, and the others who had been their allies.

"With all--or most--of them dead, it's only a matter of time before the Loyalists rebuild their power base," Carter said quietly, "and if the Goa'uld decide to check in..."

"They'll find a lot of zombie Goa'ulds just waiting to be put to work...assuming the Loyalists don't get rid of them."

"Exactly."

Jack groaned. "We should've killed them all."

Carter chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "They were 'programmed' only to create weapons," she reminded him. "We destroyed the weapons, the means by which to make them...Teal'c said hosts to Goa'uld like that don't live long. We cut off their supply to the larval symbiotes, so..."

"They will not pose a tactical threat for some time," Teal'c finished. "Had we simply killed them, we would have wasted precious time in which DanielJackson would have been killed. We would have been no better than the Goa'uld--or the men and women of that world."

"True," Jack muttered, "but if fighting their war didn't make us like them, I don't know what does."

Suddenly, the monitor went fuzzy. "Lost transmission," Harriman reported in surprise. Jack, Carter and Teal'c glanced at one another.

"Shut it down," Jack instructed. "Sir, recommend locking PS6-754 out of the system."

"Colonel?"

"That was a sign, sir; from the Loyalists. It's not an invitation to come back, and it'd be stupid to try." Jack stared down at the snowy monitor, and out to the Stargate. "It's over."

Hammond nodded slowly. "Sergeant; shut it down."

=====

Epilogue
Back to Part 3
Apostasy Home
Home