STARGATE SG-1 ATLANTIS: Homeworlds : Volume three of the Travelers' Tales (SGX Book 5)

by Sally Malcolm

  The courtyard directly below his window was full of people, most of whom seemed armed. Raised voices carried through the streets of the city and he could see rows of armored soldiers moving along the walls and taking position.

  “Probably not a drill, then.” He grabbed his glasses and left his room. Teal’c and Sam were already in the hallway, dressed for a fight.

  “Colonel O’Neill went to find Tychia,” Sam said.

  “Do we have any idea what’s going on?”

  Jack answered him as he emerged from the stairs. “The snakeheads are coming, the snakeheads are coming.” Tychia was right behind him. Her hair was down and she was dressed far more modestly than she’d been the night before. Daniel deduced that Jack had been the first one awake and ventured outside with her to find out what was going on.

  Tychia said, “It would seem Colson’s fears about your arrival were prescient.”

  “Seems the actor guy Tychia sent to find new stories went to a marketplace where this stuff is exchanged,” Jack explained. “A Jaffa overheard him talking about SG-1, asked what his interest was, and the guy got cocky. He pretty much threw down the gauntlet. Said where we were and basically dared the Jaffa to come challenge us.”

  Tychia wrung her hands together. “You must understand, he was simply overexcited by having you here. Steimous immediately realized what he had done and raced back here as quickly as he could to warn us. We’ve been keeping the Kyklos vibrant from the moment Steimous returned so the Goa’uld cannot establish their own link.”

  Jack said, “That won’t work forever.”

  “Teal’c and I can secure the gate,” Sam said. “We’ll contact the SGC and have them prepare reinforcements.”

  “Go.”

  Sam nodded to Tychia, who stepped aside so she and Teal’c could leave.

  Daniel said, “What can we do to help?”

  “Your help may not be required. We can hope that whatever Jaffa Steimous spoke to doesn’t choose to act on the information.”

  Daniel looked at Jack, who seemed on the verge of going on a rant, and cut him off before it could begin. “I don’t think we’ll be that lucky. Even without knowing which Goa’uld he was loyal to, it’s safe to assume that any of them would jump at the chance to come after us.”

  “The same way you folks jumped at the chance at having us as guests,” Jack said. “But they take the idea of being a good host to a much different place.”

  Tychia looked pained, but seemed to concede the point. “I’ll take you to the leader of the guard. He’ll know where you would be most beneficial.”

  They followed her out of the building. Halfway across the courtyard, Jack slowed and tilted his head toward the sky. “We’ve got gliders. Everybody down!”

  Daniel looked for a place to take cover. Tychia grabbed his arm and moved him a few paces backward so they could stand in an archway. Jack crouched behind the base of a statue and watched the eastern sky. By that point Daniel could hear the familiar whine of a Death Glider engine. Either they’d gotten spectacularly unlucky and the Jaffa was loyal to a Goa’uld who happened to be nearby, or the Goa’uld was willing to share the bounty with someone who was closer. Either way, it looked like they weren’t going to have the nice, relaxed mission he’d been hoping for.

  “Down!” Jack shouted again, waving to someone across the courtyard.

  Daniel looked and saw several of the townspeople had stopped their retreat to gawk. “What are they doing? They have to hear the gliders.”

  Tychia’s face was twisted with horror. “They’re watching SG-1 in action.” She leaned out and shouted their names. “Please, get yourselves to safety!”

  The gliders passed overhead and released two shots, both of which hit tall marble columns and caused them to explode in a shower of dust and stone shards. Jack returned fire as the ships split away from each other and started a wide turn so they could make another pass. Daniel broke from cover and ran to the civilians who were still standing out in the open. One of them smiled and pointed at Daniel.

  “Look! It’s Dr. Jackson!”

  “Get down!” He grabbed the man’s arm and shuffled him backward toward the wall. Another blast took up a chunk of the tile courtyard, sending small shards of ceramic raining down on them. He heard the clatter of Jack’s P90 as he fired at the retreating ships. Both ships unleashed volleys on the town below, destroying stone buildings in bursts of flame and smoke. He could hear people screaming now, though the people around him in the courtyard still seemed distracted by his presence.

  The man Daniel was covering said, “I’m bleeding.” A piece of shrapnel had hit his forehead. Thin lines of blood trailed down over his eyebrow and were now inching over his cheek. To Daniel’s surprise, he smiled. “I’m a part of the epikos!”

  Jack appeared by Daniel’s side. “You’re about to be part of a snuff epikos if you don’t get your asses to safety. Inside! Now!”

  Even strangers couldn’t argue when Jack used that tone of voice. The civilians hurried away and Jack turned to scan the skies again. For the moment, the gliders seemed to have found other targets. He grabbed his radio and held down the button with his thumb.

  “Carter, what’s the situation at the Gate?”

  “It’s... evolving, sir.”

  Daniel could hear the sounds of a skirmish in the background. “Evolving...? What does that mean?”

  “She and Teal’c can work it out. Right now we have to get these folks out of here.”

  Tychia had crossed the courtyard to stand with them. “We have to get my people to safety.”

  “We were just discussing that,” Jack said. “Any ideas?”

  “There are tunnels underground. They’re meant to be storage, but they might withstand a blast from those ships.”

  “Can we seal it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then start leading people down there.”

  “What about you?”

  Jack was still scanning for the gliders. “Now that those gliders have pinpointed our positon, they’re going to land. Then we’ll have a fun little group of Jaffa stomping all over the place. We’ll hold them off as best we can. Once everyone is safe underground, we surrender.”

  “Surrender?” Tychia said.

  Daniel was surprised as well, but it made sense. “We’re the only reason they’re here. If we leave, maybe they’ll go and leave you alone.”

  Jack said, “So they take us prisoner. We’ve been prisoners of the Goa’uld before. It’s not so bad. We’ll just listen to a few obnoxious monologues, maybe get knocked around a little. Nothing we can’t handle.”

  Tychia looked as if she wanted to argue, but the ground shook as the gliders took out another target. She cringed and gave him a reluctant nod as she scanned the area for more rubberneckers. A few townspeople were lingering nearby, so she rose and waved for them to follow her. As soon as they began moving, she ran to the entrance of the building and waited for them to pick up their pace.

  Jack said, “Get inside or I’ll start shooting at you myself! Go!”

  The courtyard was finally clear of civilians by the time the gliders passed by again. They fired at something to the north and Daniel winced. He couldn’t see architecture in this style without thinking it was something ancient and important. Hopefully whatever had just been destroyed was a tavern or something equally replaceable.

  “Carter, do you read?” Jack waited a moment and winced when an answer didn’t come. He was about to say something else when there was a double-burst of static over the line. “Okay... copied but can’t respond. Carter, Daniel and I are going to surrender. You and Teal’c should do the same if the Jaffa give you the opportunity. Repeat, stand down if possible. We have to get the Goa’uld away from these folks.”

  Another double-burst of st
atic.

  “Okay,” Jack said. “You ready?”

  “Can you ever really be ready to surrender to a Goa’uld?”

  “Good point. Just... try to look non-threatening.”

  “I’ll give it a shot.”

  As Jack predicted, they soon heard the stomp of feet and the odd shuffle that armor plating made when the person wearing it was running. Two Jaffa appeared at the entrance to the courtyard with their staff weapons extended. Jack held both hands in the air.

  “Yo!” Both staffs swung toward him and he flinched. “Whoa! Hey.” He waved his empty hands. “Unarmed. See? Going peacefully. Uh... take us to your leader.”

  The Jaffa glanced at each other.

  “Honest. No tricks. We’re surrendering ourselves.” He glanced at Daniel and kicked the side of his boot. “Stand up. Surrender yourself.”

  Daniel showed his hands and slowly straightened up from behind the pedestal. “Hi.”

  A third Jaffa approached, the gold glinting off his forehead identifying him as a First Prime. Daniel tried to make out the details of his tattoo, but he was still too far away when he stopped to make out who it signified. He smiled and raised an eyebrow.

  “You are the famous SG-1.”

  “We’re getting that a lot lately,” Jack said. “And who might you be representing? Sorry.” He gestured at his own forehead. “I don’t have all the hood ornaments memorized.”

  “Amaterasu.”

  “Don’t think we’ve run into him.”

  “Her,” Daniel muttered.

  Jack ignored him. “Always nice to meet new folks.”

  The First Prime narrowed his eyes. “We have been warned not to fall victim to Tau’ri trickery.”

  “No trickery. Honest. We’ll leave our weapons here and go quietly. If you want to reward that with one of your comfier cells, I certainly wouldn’t complain, but —”

  “Silence!” He stepped forward the grabbed the P90 hanging from Jack’s vest.

  Jack said, “There’s a clip... you have to unclip...”

  The gun came free and the First Prime handed the weapon to one of the other Jaffa. “My Queen will be most pleased with this gift.”

  “Well, I’m happy for you. Maybe you’ll get a big Christmas bonus this year.”

  He gestured for Jack and Daniel to walk, shoving Jack’s shoulder for good measure. Jack glared at him. “Easy, pal. Just... take it easy.”

  Daniel lowered his voice. “So Sam and Teal’c...?”

  “They’ll stand down when we reach the gate,” Jack said. “Tychia and her people will wait until the coast is clear and then they can get back to their lives.”

  Daniel looked at the destruction but kept quiet about how difficult they might find it to just go back to normal.

  They were flanked by the Jaffa and marched out of town. Jack was calm about their situation, hands casually held out to his sides, but Daniel still couldn’t make himself okay with the idea of being captured. He was a prisoner of people who wanted to kill him. He didn’t know how someone could treat that as a minor inconvenience. When they reached the stairs leading up into the Stargate complex, the First Prime held up a hand to stop the other Jaffa. He paused and scanned the area but, as far as Daniel could see, nothing was amiss. The Stargate was active, but there was no activity within the pavilion.

  “Kree!” the First Prime shouted, following by a string of Goa’uld that basically translated to ‘hey, where are you guys?’ He waited for a response and, when nothing came, approached Jack. “Where is the rest of your team?”

  “Maybe they went home. They probably heard us surrendering and jumped through the gate. Hell, it’s what I would’ve done in their place.”

  “You are lying.”

  Jack shrugged and looked around. “You see any green camo around here?”

  “No. But I also see none of my men.”

  Daniel said, “Maybe they followed our friends through to Earth.”

  “That’s probably it,” Jack said. “I bet there’s a big mess back at the SGC right now.”

  The First Prime drew his knife. “You will tell your men to stand down.”

  “First of all, one of them isn’t a man. That’s sexist. Secondly...”

  He grabbed the Jaffa’s wrist and twisted it, forcing the knife out of his hand. He threw his weight forward and used the First Prime as a battering ram against the other Jaffa. Daniel fumbled to get his revolver free as the remaining Jaffa moved toward him. He brought it up just as they were taken out of the fight by a volley of staff weapon fire that seemed to come from out of the sky. Those who spun around and attempted to return fire were quickly dispatched by quick bursts of P90 fire. Daniel covered his face and, when he looked again once everything quieted down, saw the Jaffa lying in a heap on the steps. At least one of them was still alive but was in no position to continue the fight. Jack had also dispatched the First Prime, leaving him alive but unarmed.

  “Secondly,” Jack said again, only a little out of breath, “you really ought to have tied us up.” He looked up toward the top of the pavilion and gave Teal’c and Sam a quick salute. “Well done taking the high ground, Carter.”

  “Thank you, sir. We were able to take care of the Jaffa who came to reclaim the gate, so Teal’c suggested we call an audible on your surrender plan.”

  “Hey, whatever works. Daniel... this Amaterasu. Is she one of the reasonable ones?”

  “Uh... relatively so, from what I’ve heard.”

  “Glad to hear it. So Primo... you only came here to take us prisoner and now you’re going home empty-handed. By the time you get back here with reinforcements, we’re going to be long gone. Your god already lost a couple of good men by attacking this world. She’s not going to get much out of another assault. No matter what else happens here, it’s going to be big loss. She’s got nothing to gain by coming back and harassing these fine folks.”

  The First Prime grimaced. “She will not rest until she has taken vengeance for the lives lost on this ground.”

  “Then you’re gonna convince her not to do that.”

  “Why would I help you?”

  Daniel said, “Because right now, all she’s lost are some foot soldiers. Losing a First Prime would be a much larger blow.”

  Jack said, “We leave. You leave. These people go on with their day like nothing happened. It’s a win-win.” He thought for a second. “Well, not for you or the guys you lost. But it’s the best scenario you’re getting. Clock is ticking on the offer.”

  “Very well,” the First Prime muttered. “Will I be allowed to retrieve the bodies of my brothers and our gliders?”

  “Sure,” Jack said. “Why not? I’m feeling generous. Teal’c, why don’t you come down here and supervise our friend’s retreat?”

  Teal’c bowed his head. “We will be down momentarily.”

  He turned and disappeared from view, followed by Sam. Jack watched them go and leaned toward Daniel to ask, “How do you suppose they got up there in the first place?”

  Amaterasu’s First Prime and the other surviving Jaffa gathered their dead in one location. They left in the gliders with a promise they would return only to collect the bodies. Teal’c remained behind to ensure they were true to their word. Jack led the rest of the team back to the city where he sounded the all-clear. Tychia released her people from the safety of their bunker, and it was clear that the novelty of being part of an epikos had worn off. Jack recognized the expression on their faces; these were people who had lost everything, who had seen dear friends hurt and bleeding in the aftermath of unexpected violence.

  Daniel tried to convey apology and understanding, but no one was looking at SG-1. Not anymore. No one even seemed aware of their presence.

  The team found Tychia near the building where th
ey had spent the night. She smiled weakly and held her hand out to Sam. Sam took it and squeezed, and Tychia placed her free hand on top. “I am glad to see you are all well, SG-1.”

  “Did all of your people make it through?”

  Tychia’s expression wavered. “Yes, but there were injuries. A dozen people were in one of the buildings hit by the gliders. We have physicians tending to them now. Everyone will survive, but there may be permanent injuries. Amputations.” She looked away and let her hand fall from Sam’s grip. “I apologize for what Steimous did.”

  Daniel said, “Wait, I’m sorry, you’re... apologizing to us?”

  “It was his actions which brought the Goa’uld to our world for the first time in recent memory. You put yourselves at great risk to protect us.”

  “If we hadn’t been here,” Daniel said, “you wouldn’t be rebuilding and tending to grievously wounded —”

  “Daniel...” Jack warned.

  Daniel glared at him. “So we’re not even going to take responsibility?”

  Jack returned Daniel’s stare. “It wasn’t our fault. It wasn’t Steimous’ fault, either. It was the Jaffa’s fault. Amaterasu’s fault. They’ve learned their lesson.”

  Daniel grimaced. “If there’s anything we can do to help with the relief effort, the SGC would be glad to lend a hand.”

  “Thank you.” She avoided his eyes. “But... there is some truth to Dr. Jackson’s claims we will be spared from further attacks if you do not return. In fact, I’m certain it would be best if you depart as soon as possible.”

  Sam said, “We did make the deal with Amaterasu’s First Prime. The longer we stay here, the more opportunity they have to call our bluff.”

  Teal’c joined them at that moment. “The Jaffa have been retrieved, and Amaterasu’s First Prime is back aboard her vessel,” he reported.

  “Good,” Jack said. “All right, campers. Let’s pack it up.”