“I know,” he said, and put his hand on Sting’s arm as he moved past and into the hive. “But we’ve just got to keep our eyes on the prize, buddy.”
Carter offered Sting a rueful smile as she followed O’Neill. “He means—”
“I understand his meaning,” Sting said with a pulse of disquiet. “But I still do not like this plan.”
Hecate’s Ha’tak — 2098
Daniel was resting, but not sleeping, when Rya’c arrived in their quarters. His gaze roved across Teal’c, who sat cross-legged in kelno’reem—an attempt to heal the wound in his side faster—and then came to rest on Daniel.
“Your friends have returned to the Shacks,” he said in a low voice, so as not to disturb his father. “They will be here soon.”
“That’s good news,” Daniel said, pushing himself to his feet and trying not to look as weary as he felt. “Were they successful?”
Rya’c gave a slight nod. “I understand that they were. However, Hunter tells me that the Wraith they bring has caused much disquiet among the people of the Shacks. They do not understand why we would bring it here.” He gestured toward the door. “Come, you will wish to see them when they arrive.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Daniel said, wondering whether to disturb Teal’c, but when he looked over at his friend, Teal’c’s eyes were already open.
“I will accompany you,” he said and rose, stiffly and still in obvious pain, to his feet.
“You sure you’re okay?” Daniel said. “You could—”
“I am well,” Teal’c said, chin lifting in that familiar gesture of Jaffa mulishness.
Daniel knew better than to argue. Rya’c, however…
“Father, if you are wounded beyond your symbiote’s power to heal, the Lady Hecate will aid you.”
Teal’c narrowed his eyes. “I would rather endure the pain than be healed by a Goa’uld.”
“Then that would be your loss,” Rya’c said, and turned away. “But only a fool would go into battle weakened because they are too stubborn to be healed.”
“Only a—”
“Teal’c?” Daniel interrupted. “Jack and Sam are back, with the Wraith.” In other words, stow your crap.
After a beat, Teal’c bowed his head and said no more. Rya’c got the hint too, and led them in silence from their quarters to the ring transporter room.
There were a dozen Jaffa in there, encircling the transporter, staff weapons at the ready. It was a wise precaution; the hybrid they’d encountered in Shadow’s lab had been dangerously powerful.
Daniel took his place behind the Jaffa, Teal’c at his side flexing his fingers as if in search of his own weapon.
“You may begin,” Rya’c said, in Goa’uld, to the Jaffa manning the controls. A moment later the room filled with golden light and the violent thrum of rings slamming down onto the transporter platform. When they lifted, Sam stood there, alone with two Wraith. One was on its knees, bound, the other was Sting. And he had his weapon drawn.
“Don’t shoot,” Sam said, holding up her hands. “He’s with me.”
“Where is O’Neill?” Rya’c said.
Sam kept her hands up. “He’s, uh—I need to talk to Hecate,” she said, and then turned to gesture at the Wraith kneeling behind her. “This is Sobek-Boneshard, the prototype hybrid. Hecate will want to see him.”
“And the other one?” Rya’c’s disdain was thick as he looked Sting up and down.
“He needs to talk with Hecate too,” Sam said. “We have a proposition to make.”
There was a low murmur at that, the Jaffa glancing uneasily between each other.
“The Lady Hecate,” Rya’c said, “does not negotiate with Wraith.”
“Well, she’s going to have to start,” Sam said. “If she really wants to see this planet free of them.” Then her expression softened, and Daniel didn’t miss the shadows under her eyes, the weariness in her face. Something’s changed, he realized. “Rya’c, please. We all want the same thing; we all want to save Earth. We have to work together.”
He hesitated for another beat, and then said, “Very well. But you will leave your weapons here.” His gaze, as he spoke, fell on Sting. “All of you.”
Sam turned around too, facing the Wraith. “Trust me,” she told him. “You won’t be harmed.”
His lip curled up over his sharp teeth, a look of distrust even as he allowed the Jaffa to take his weapon. “You appear to be in no position to offer that assurance, Major Carter.”
“But I am,” Rya’c said. “If you do not play us false, Wraith, you will come to no harm here.”
Sting turned to face Rya’c, bowed his head in a gesture similar to Rya’c’s own—a strange similarity between two such alien and dangerous races. It seemed to be enough, however.
Rya’c gave orders and the Jaffa moved in, two taking hold of the hybrid and hauling it to its feet. It snarled but didn’t struggle, allowed itself to be pushed into motion, armed guards all around it as Rya’c led the way out of the transporter room. Sting was scarcely less well guarded, although the Jaffa didn’t dare touch him and he stalked along behind the hybrid in silence.
“Hey,” Daniel said, and crossed the room toward Sam. He squeezed her shoulder in lieu of a hug. “What happened? Where’s Jack?”
“He’s okay.” She smiled at him, then Teal’c. “You’re hurt?”
“It is minor,” Teal’c said, although Daniel suspected it was less minor than their friend was letting on.
“There was trouble?” Sam said, looking between them.
“You could say that,” Daniel said. “How about you? Was Atlantis…?” He didn’t even know how to finish the question. Was it amazing?
Sam smiled, but it was a watery expression. “You’d have loved it,” she said. “Aside from the Wraith and the fighting.” She touched his arm, squeezing through his sleeve. “You might get to see it.” She lowered her voice as they began to walk, falling in at his side. “The colonel wants to go back, and he wants you with him.”
“What? Now?”
Sam nodded. “Daniel, something happened.” She pushed out a breath, glanced over her shoulder at the Jaffa following behind. “Things aren’t what they seem.”
Which, generally speaking, could have described any given day since they’d arrived in this messed up future. He looked ahead to Rya’c, then back to Sam. “You mean with regard to our, uh, host?”
“We can’t trust her.”
He had to fight not to snort a laugh. “Well, no. Obviously.”
“I mean—Look, just follow my lead. But if things start going south, get yourself down to the surface and find Jack.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Jack?”
“The colonel.” She frowned. “I meant the colonel.”
Resisting the urge to comment further, Daniel just said, “Okay.”
“And Teal’c?” Sam went on, “I need you to speak with the Arbellans; we’ll want the CMF to come through and hold the Earth gate.”
Daniel exchanged a look with Teal’c, neither of them wanting to confess their failure.
“What?” Sam glanced between them. “Daniel, what’s wrong?”
“I, uh…” He pulled off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sam, I’m sorry. Things didn’t go well on Arbella—the CMF aren’t coming.”
Her jaw dropped. “Why not? What happened?”
“Long story short, the security forces are staging a coup. Sam, they killed Lana Jones.”
She closed her eyes. “No…”
“And President Jones is… Well, he’s not thinking straight. General Bailey wants to help but us but” —Daniel spread his hands— “Jones won’t listen.”
“No, Daniel, you don’t understand.” Sam lowered her voice to an urgent whisper, casting a quick glance at Rya’c. “We need the CMF. We can’t rely on anything from Hecate, and Shadow’s forces are already holding the Stargate on Earth.” She scrubbed a hand through her hair. “Damnit. The colonel wants you on Atlantis, bu
t I think you’re gonna have to go back to Arbella. We can’t do this without them, Daniel.”
“Sam, they arrested us. We barely got out of there alive. If I go back, I don’t know what—”
“I will go,” said Teal’c. “I will return to Arbella while you travel to Atlantis with O’Neill.”
“But you’re injured,” Daniel protested. “And you’re not exactly flavor of the month on Arbella.”
“My wound is healing. And did General Bailey not offer to leave a door open for our return?”
“General Bailey might not be in charge of the door anymore, Teal’c, as you well know.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Fear of failure is no reason not to make the attempt, Daniel Jackson. It is simply a reason to try harder.”
“Right.” Jack would have called the homily ‘fortune cookie logic’ but Daniel had always appreciated Teal’c’s stoicism. He blew out a breath and turned to Sam with a helpless shrug. “I guess it’s the best we’ve got.”
“Yeah,” she said, without much confidence. “Teal’c, if you can persuade the CMF to help, they’re gonna have to come through hard. Shadow’s got a lot of personnel at the Stargate. The colonel and I only made it past them because our ship was cloaked.”
Daniel bit his tongue to keep from asking questions. It sounded like Sam had a long story of her own, but now wasn’t the time to hear it so he just said, “What about Hecate? If we can’t rely on her support, where do we go from here?”
“We still have the same end goal,” said Sam. “The colonel has a few… suggestions he wants me to put to her.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows. “And if she doesn’t like his suggestions?”
With a glance around the ship, Sam said, “Then we do what we always do when we come across an unfriendly System Lord.”
The three of them shared an uneasy glance; they all knew what that meant. Only, this time, destroying the System Lord also meant killing their friend. The thought sat like a rock in the pit of Daniel’s gut.
The party slowed as they reached Hecate’s laboratory, its nondescript doors opening as Rya’c approached. In front of him, a head taller than the Jaffa that guarded it, the hybrid bristled as it stepped into the laboratory. Daniel could see muscles standing out along its shoulders, down its back. Its arms flexed against its bonds.
He exchanged a wary look with Sam. He would have expected more resistance from a creature so powerful.
“My Lady,” Rya’c said, and as Daniel filed into the lab he saw Hecate standing behind one of the work benches. His heart constricted painfully; had she been wearing a white coat it could have been Janet.
At his side Sam sucked in a breath and averted her gaze, as if she couldn’t bear to see her friend like this. Daniel knew exactly how she felt.
“Sam,” Hecate said in Janet’s voice. “I’m pleased to see you return successful, and unharmed.”
“Yeah,” Sam said, nothing soft in her voice at all. “So now you have what you need.”
“And more,” Hecate said, walking around the bench to regard Sting. “What is this one?”
Moving closer to Sting, Sam said, “He’s an ally. A potential ally.”
This close, Daniel could see that Hecate’s eyes were hard, very unlike Janet. Somehow, that made it easier. “I need no allies among the Wraith.”
“Sting’s different,” Sam said, “he—”
“I need no allies among the Wraith.” Hecate’s eyes travelled the length of Sting’s body. “They will all die.”
“Actually, he won’t,” Sam said. “Neither will his queen, or those in his hive.”
Hecate tilted her head. “How so?”
“Because they haven’t taken Shadow’s immunosuppressant. Your poison won’t work on them, Hecate. But they do want to leave this galaxy—and they can help you bring down Shadow if you’ll listen to them.”
“Yes,” Hecate said. “I know of Earthborn and her desire to leave this galaxy. To take with her the most powerful weapon ever created.”
Wrong-footed, Sam had nothing to say. She exchanged a confused look with Daniel, but he couldn’t help her; he had no idea what was going on either.
“And how do you know of Earthborn?” Sting hissed. “What spy is there who has betrayed my queen?”
A smile crossed Hecate’s face, something dark and malevolent. “Oh, don’t be concerned. It is not only you who have been betrayed. It is all your kind.”
Turning, she moved toward Boneshard and, standing on tiptoe, she pressed a hand to his cheek. The Wraith snarled at her, straining forward against the Jaffa who held his arms. “Bring me the suppressant,” she said, one hand lifted as she waited for someone to place a syringe in her hand. “Boneshard,” she said, and her voice carried the deep resonance of the Goa’uld, “you have served your god well.”
“You are not my god,” Boneshard hissed. “I am the god and you will bow before me!”
Hecate smiled and with one swift motion jammed the needle into the Wraith’s neck. Boneshard convulsed, head arching back, lips peeled away from its teeth. And then its head fell forward, shoulders rising and falling. After a moment it rose, slowly, eyes flaring gold. “Lady Hecate,” Sobek said, inclining its head slightly. “Well met.”
“The suppressant works?” Hecate said, studying the Wraith’s face.
“It is most effective,” Sobek said. “Nothing of the host remains. This body is now mine.”
“Unbind him,” Hecate ordered, and then turned with a slow smile to Daniel and Sam. “You understand?”
And, yeah, he did. Daniel understood all too well. “You’re not trying to kill them at all,” he said, aghast. “You want to use them.”
“The Wraith mind is… powerful,” Hecate said watching as Sobek’s arms were unbound, as he flexed his fingers. “We needed a way to ensure that the Goa’uld would always be supreme in the body of the host. And now, we have it.”
At his side, Sam said, “So you never had any intention of ridding Earth of the Wraith?”
“On the contrary,” Hecate said, smiling. “The poison is very real. And it will be released just as I promised. Then all the Wraith who do not host a Goa’uld will die.” Her gaze travelled to Sting. “Including your friend and his little queen.”
“And including Queen Shadow,” Sobek said, baring his teeth in a smile. “Atlantis will be ours and no System Lord will dare stand against us.”
“But you can’t use Atlantis,” Daniel said. “You can’t fly it any more than Shadow could…”
“Daniel,” Hecate said, putting her hand to his face. He recoiled from the touch, even though it felt warm and familiar. “Why do you think I went to so much trouble to bring you here in the first place?”
Sam sucked in a breath. “Colonel O’Neill…” she said. “You want him to pilot the city.”
But Daniel was still a step behind. “What do you mean you brought us here?”
“She—” Sam said. “Daniel, the attack on P5X-104? It was Hecate, she drove us into the wormhole at a specific time, to interact with a solar flare or—”
“I don’t understand,” Rya’c said from the other side of the room. His voice was taut to the point of snapping. “Major Carter, what do you mean?”
“I mean we’ve all been played,” Sam said. “Hecate engineered all of this. She’s to blame for everything.”
“Wait,” Daniel said, his mind spinning. “All of this? The Goa’uld invasion, the Wraith? How’s that even possible?”
Hecate tipped her head, preening in a way that was all Goa’uld arrogance. “The first time,” she said, prowling toward Daniel, “I simply had you killed. It was sufficient to allow Maybourne to break your little treaty and facilitate Apophis’s invasion, but then the Wraith came…” She put her hand on Sobek’s arm. “So strong, so vicious—so completely unexpected. Apophis, the fool, insisted on fighting. He didn’t stand a chance. I, on the other hand, recognized an opportunity when I saw it. And I realized I needed assistance if I was to take
Queen Shadow’s city from beneath her claws. So, the second time, I brought you here instead of killing you.” Her attention shifted to Sam. “I used the gravitational lensing effect of a drifting black hole,” she said, drawing her finger in a loop. “The wormhole was caught in its accretion disk for ninety-eight years. Very precise. Very elegant, don’t you think?”
Sam opened her mouth, closed it again. “You’re wrong,” she said at last, making a good show of bravado although Daniel could tell her mind was spinning as fast as his own. “You’re wrong if you think Colonel O’Neill will help you.”
“Oh he will,” Hecate said with a smile. “He will because I have his precious team.” She tapped her head. “Janet knows exactly how much you mean to him.” Her gaze swept them all, lips curled into a cruel smile. “And with the city of the Ancients and my hybrid army at my back no one will stand in my way: no human, no Wraith, no System Lord.” Her expression turned speculative. “Where will I go first, I wonder? Oh! Arbella, of course. I will enjoy watching their final defeat, the terrible moment when they realize that the fabled SG-1 has failed them once more. I will enjoy making those shol’va kneel before their god at last.”
There was a long beat of horrified silence. Then, from behind him, Daniel heard a sharp growl.
“Then you must be stopped,” Sting snarled as he launched himself at Hecate.
Chapter 14
Earth — 2098
Not knowing was the worst of it.
One of Earthborn’s darts had deposited Carter, Sting, and the hybrid in the middle of the Shacks and the rest had been up to them. There was nothing Jack could do but wait for them to make contact. There was no reason for it all to go FUBAR except for the fact that, in his experience, FUBAR was the usual state of the universe.
So he kept himself busy. He conducted a depressing inventory of his kit—no C-4, no grenades, no ammunition for his MP5—and then went in search of O’Kane. Their objective had to be Atlantis’s bridge—the one place in the city where he could control everything. And O’Kane was the only person who might have a clue where to find it.
Stargate SG-1 30 - Insurrection Page 19
