CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Enraged, Baal paced the confines of the room. He did not know what enemy had dared to attack him, but, whoever they were, they would pay. Reports coming to him from his Jaffa had been confusing. Some said that the attacking forces were Jaffa, many hundreds in number. Others said that the Tau'ri were the ones attacking. One frightened Jaffa had claimed that Dan'yar was coming to destroy all of them.
Whoever it was, they had managed to trap Baal in this room. He had been on his way to the ring platform so that he could escape to his ship in orbit, but, instead, he and the Jaffa protecting him had been cut off from the ring room and forced to fight it out here. Baal knew that the ones who had done this were Jaffa, yet they did not fight like typical Jaffa. Instead of rushing forward into the battle, they took shelter and fired from safe locations, picking off Baal's Jaffa at an alarming rate. Only the fact that at least a hundred men protected Baal had prevented them all from being wiped out.
The cessation of staff weapon fire outside had the Goa'uld turning his attention to the door. A moment later, a loud roaring came to his ears, followed by cries of terror and the sound of running Jaffa.
"Jaffa, kree!" the Goa'uld said to the eighteen men there in the room with him. All of them hurried to the door, staff weapons aimed at it.
Baal thought he heard someone speak. Then there was the noise of more Jaffa running away. A single staff weapon blast was followed by a confusion of sounds: loud thuds, cries of pain and then more fleeing steps. And then there was silence.
For several seconds, everyone in the room stared at the door, waiting. Suddenly, the control panel for the door exploded in a shower of sparks, and the massive barrier began to lift. Baal's Jaffa started to fire into the opening, but soon saw that there was no one there. Confused, they ceased firing. An instant later, they were all tossed like leaves through the air to land with a loud clatter on the floor a good twenty feet away. And then there was fire everywhere, moving toward them and their master. Baal stumbled backwards, shielding his face.
Half-blinded by the flames, which now stretched in an impenetrable five-foot-high wall from one end of the room to the other, Baal thought he could make out someone come into the room.
"Jaffa. I am Dan'yar," said the man, whom Baal still could not see clearly. "Your master is defeated. Leave now and live."
The wall of fire opened off to the right, and, much to Baal's anger and dismay, every one of his Jaffa fled through the opening and ran out of the room.
With a resounding boom, the door to the room fell shut, cutting off both the Goa'uld's escape route and any chance that someone would be able to help him.
At that moment, the fire vanished, and Baal found himself face to face with the one called Dan'yar. Stunned, the Goa'uld stared at the shockingly familiar face.
"What manner of trick is this?" he demanded to know.
"There's no trick, Baal," Doctor Daniel Jackson said, moving toward him. "I am Dan'yar."
"That is not possible."
In the next instant, Baal found himself pinned helplessly against the wall by an unseen force.
"You were saying?" Daniel asked, taking a couple more steps toward him.
"Release me or I will punish you for your insolence!"
Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really. And how do you intend to do that when you can't even move?" His eyes flickered for a moment in the direction of the ribbon device on Baal's hand. It immediately jerked off and went flying across the room. "And unarmed as well," the archeologist added.
Daniel's expression hardened as he walked up to within a few inches of the Goa'uld. Baal looked into the blue eyes blazing into his and saw, not a weak Tau'ri, but a being of immense power.
"I know what you did to Jack, Baal," Daniel said. "I saw it. I saw how you tortured him again and again, sometimes to death. I was powerless to stop you then, but there is no one to stop me from doing something now. I could burn you inch by inch, crush every bone in your body, rupture your organs one by one. But I'm not going to do that, for that would also harm the innocent host whose body you inhabit. Instead, I'm going to do something far worse."
Jack stared unwaveringly at the entrance to Baal's fortress. Sam was seated nearby, her arm immobilized in a sling. She had refused to go to the Stargate with the other wounded, just as Teal'c had. Apophis' former First Prime was sporting a few bandages here and there, but Jack knew that the wounds Baal's Jaffa inflicted upon him would be healed soon.
Right now, it was the third member of Jack's team who was filling his mind with worry. It had been quite a while since Daniel left to go after Baal, and everyone there could not help but wonder what his fate was.
The Goa'uld fortress was eerily silent, no movement visible. All of Baal's Jaffa had been either captured or killed. A large group of prisoners was off to the left, being guarded by rebel Jaffa. About forty of Baal's men had rebelled and joined the attackers. They were not yet being trusted with weapons, however, just in case.
Waiting along with Jack, Sam, Teal'c and the prisoners were SG-3, three members of SG-20 and most of the surviving rebel Jaffa. An impressive number of the Jaffa had made it through alive, and Jack knew that it was mostly thanks to Daniel's leadership and his insistence that they try to stay alive instead of rushing forward into the jaws of death like they had been taught for centuries to do when fighting for their god.
There had been no fatalities among the forces from Earth, though there had been a couple of injuries, one to a member of SG-20, another to one of SG-5's men. SG-5 and a group of rebel Jaffa had been sent with the wounded to the Stargate. They would be making arrangements with the SGC for the incarceration of the prisoners.
A few minutes ago, more of Baal's Jaffa had come rushing out of the stronghold, some of them looking a bit singed around the edges. They had been quickly rounded up and put with the other prisoners.
Jack's concern for Daniel was not just for his physical welfare, but also his mental and emotional state. The colonel could not get out of his mind the look that had been on Daniel's face, the expression of rage in his eyes. Jack worried about what the archeologist would do to Baal, not because he didn't want Baal hurt, but because he didn't want Daniel to suffer later with the guilt of what he had done to the Goa'uld.
Movement in the doorway of the structure, pulled Jack's full attention back to it. He watched intently as a sizable group of rebel Jaffa exited. There were two people in the lead and. . . . What the hell?
Jack felt his mouth fall open as he stared in shock at the sight before him. He heard a little snorting sound and turned to look at Sam, who had her good hand clamped over her mouth and was shaking with repressed laughter. The colonel turned back to the source of her mirth.
Leading the rebel Jaffa was Daniel, a real sight for sore eyes to Jack. Yet that was not what every pair of eyes was staring at, for, walking before the archeologist, bound at his neck and wrists by a makeshift device that worked somewhat like the old yoke stocks used on prisoners in medieval Europe, was a very naked Baal. Well, not quite naked. Around his waist, was, much to Jack's amusement, a big red bow.
"Oh, God," Sam choked out. "That's just so. . . ." She couldn't say any more as she dissolved into helpless laughter. A moment later, others started to laugh as well. By the time the group came to a halt before them, over half of those assembled were laughing, both humans and Jaffa alike.
Daniel grinned broadly. "Hey, Jack. Brought you a present. I wrapped it myself."
That was the last straw for Colonel Jack O'Neill. He began laughing so hard that his sides ached and tears were threatening to fall. What made the whole thing even funnier was that Baal was desperately trying to maintain his dignified air – and failing miserably.
"How dare you laugh at your god!" the Goa'uld bellowed.
Jack let out a whoop of mirth and bent over, gasping for air. It took a lot for him to regain control.
"Love the present, Daniel," he said a bit breathlessly. "It's even better than the autographed card."
"Yeah, I thought you'd like it."
"It was nice of you to wrap it for me."
"Don't mention it."
Jack could now see that the red bow was made with a sash, probably taken from Baal's clothing. He could not believe that Daniel had done this. Yet, thinking about it and looking at the expression on Baal's face, Jack realized that this was a far worse punishment than any physical torture would have been. Baal was the kind of man whose dignity and public image were of upmost importance to him. To be publically humiliated like this would be torturous to him, torturous to any Goa'uld, for that matter.
Daniel looked over at the captured Jaffa, and his smile grew wicked. "Come on Baal. Let's go say hi to your loyal Jaffa."
"I will not allow you to humiliate me further," Baal declared defiantly.
Daniel looked at him meaningfully. "Do you really think you have any choice?"
Baal started spewing out words in Goa'uld that Jack didn't have to understand to know weren't complimentary.
"Tsk tsk. Such language, Baal," Daniel said, shaking his head. "Does your mother know you talk like that?"
Grinning, Jack accompanied Daniel and a very unwilling Baal over to where the prisoners were. The captive Jaffa were all staring, shocked, at the sight of their mighty god being made a laughingstock.
"Here is your great god," Daniel said to them. "He doesn't look so mighty now, does he. In fact, he looks pretty ridiculous. If he really was a god, do you think that he'd have allowed this to be done to him? He is a charlatan, a pretender. He is no more a god than any of you. None of the Goa'uld are. They are evil parasites who have been using the Jaffa for millennia as slaves to do their bidding. They are not worthy of your allegiance or your faith."
"Jaffa, hear me," Baal said. "I am your god. This one used trickery and surprise to bind me and strip me of my clothing. I merely await the right moment to strike back. Rise up and defend your god now!"
The prisoners stared in disgust at the Goa'uld.
"You are no god," said one. "You have deceived all of us with your lies and pretense."
Every one of the prisoners began to curse and deride Baal, their faces twisted with hatred.
"Give him to us, and we will kill him for you, Dan'yar," another prisoner said.
"No, it's not time for Baal to die, not yet," Daniel told him.
The Goa'uld was taken by Daniel and Jack back to where the others waited.
"So, what now, Daniel?" the colonel asked.
"Now, we go home."
To say that Hammond and the rest of the SGC were surprised when Daniel brought a naked Baal through the Stargate would have been an understatement. Actually, by then, Daniel had taken pity on the man, or, rather, on the host and wrapped some cloth around his hips as a sort of loincloth so that certain "bits" didn't get frostbite on the trip through the wormhole. He'd also been given back his shoes. Even so, the Goa'uld was a source of a lot of laughter as he was escorted to the brig – especially since the bow was still in place.
"I have a feeling that you've got quite a tale to tell," the general said to Daniel and Jack.
"Oh, you can say that again," the colonel responded, grinning.
"I'll be looking forward to hearing it."
As Daniel, Jack and the other SG team members were getting their post-mission physicals, Sam was getting her arm put in a cast.
"Are there any other injuries I should know about?" Janet asked her.
"No, other than a few bruises and minor cuts, this is it. How's Teal'c?"
"He'll be fine, nothing that won't heal completely within a day or so. You, on the other hand, my dear, will be wearing this for the next six to eight weeks."
"Wonderful," Sam muttered, not at all happy at the thought of wearing a cast for all those weeks.
"So, I heard about what Daniel did to Baal." There was amusement in the doctor's eyes.
Sam's mood instantly lifted, and she grinned. "It was beautiful, Janet. I just about died laughing. I think the big red bow was the kicker." Her expression grew serious. "Did you hear that he remembered what Baal did to the colonel last year?"
Janet looked at her sharply. "No."
"That's why he went after Baal. He regained all his memories of when he was with Colonel O'Neill during the colonel's imprisonment. It was probably being in that cell that brought the memories back. I guess it was the same kind of cell that the colonel was kept in."
"So, he went after Baal for revenge."
"Yeah. You know, most guys in his situation would have made Baal suffer as much as Colonel O'Neill suffered. I can't honestly say that, if I'd actually witnessed what Baal did, I wouldn't have beat the crap out of him, if given the opportunity, and I know that Teal'c would have torn him limb from limb. But Daniel. . . ." Sam shook her head. "I don't know how he stopped himself from hurting Baal." She paused. "Actually, I take that back. I think I know why."
"The host?" Janet guessed.
"Yeah. As much as Daniel may hate Baal, he wouldn't do anything that would cause the host suffering, if he could help it." Sam smiled softly. "I remember how gentle and kind he was to Apophis' host when Apophis was here after being tortured by Sokar. That man bore the face of the person Daniel hated more than anyone in the universe, yet he did everything he could to help the man find peace. Did you know that he actually made sure that funerary statue was buried in the Egyptian's homeland?"
"No, I didn't."
"In spite of everything that has happened since then, that kind of person is still inside Daniel. I found out from dad that Daniel had major issues about the fact that, if he released that poison at the Goa'uld summit, the hosts would die right along with the symbiotes." Sam smiled again. "He is such a good person."
"Yes, he is."
Despite their injuries, Sam and Teal'c were at the debriefing for SG-1 so that they could give their report on what happened at the village and during their time in captivity. Because the debriefing was for both the original mission and the rescue mission, it went on for a long time.
At one point, Jack halted Daniel's recount of what happened when he went after Baal.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," he said. "You just stood there in the middle of the corridor, facing all those Jaffa? Daniel, what did I tell you before about ducking?"
Daniel knew that the colonel was referring to what he said about the time that the archeologist stood in the path of the Al'kesh attacking the Alpha Site. "Actually, Jack, you told me to run next time, not duck. But I couldn't do either on this occasion. I knew that the impression I made on Baal's men was very important, and you have to agree that hiding behind something wouldn't quite have the same impact. I needed them to see me as fearless and powerful. I certainly wouldn't spout off things like, 'I am Dan'yar. Leave and you will be spared.' if I wasn't trying to convince them that they should get the hell out of there. That's sure isn't the kind of stuff I'd say under normal circumstances."
"You wanted to make yourself appear as intimidating as possible," Sam said, understanding his reasoning, though she also didn't like the thought of Daniel standing out in the open like that.
"Yes."
"I do understand your tactics, Doctor Jackson," Hammond said, "but, in the future, I'd recommend that you show a bit more caution."
"Yes, sir."
"Please continue."
Daniel went on to explain how he got in the room after psychically taking a look inside to see how many people were in there and where they were positioned. Since this was the first time that Hammond had heard about that ability of the archeologist's, he asked for some more details on it. Daniel then described his confrontation with Baal.
"Okay, I've gotta ask this, Daniel," Jack said. "What gave you the idea to do what you did to him?"
"I couldn't really say. I knew that the worse thing I could do to someone like Baal was publically humiliate him, and what could be more humiliating and embarrassing than being stripped naked and paraded around in public? Also, I knew that it would make him look weak and foolish to his Jaffa. They couldn't possibly still think he was a god after seeing something like that done to him."
Hammond nodded. "I would have to agree with you on that, Doctor Jackson." He smiled. "I also have to say that it was quite satisfying to see Baal humbled like that."
A short while later, Daniel and everyone else finished their narratives. Hammond turned to the archeologist.
"Doctor Jackson, I have spoken with the commanders of SG's 3, 5 and 20, and, though they have yet to officially debrief, they have already told me that you did an excellent job of commanding the rescue mission. Each of them said that they would not hesitate to be placed under your command again."
Daniel's gaze was glued to the table, clearly embarrassed by the praise.
"And well they should, General," Jack stated. "I give full credit for the rousing success of this mission to Daniel. He did a damn fine job commanding both the SG teams and the Jaffa, not to mention getting us all inside that place."
Daniel's blush deepened even further.
"There is one thing that concerns me, however," Hammond said to Daniel, "and that's the fact that you chose to go without backup to capture Baal. Though I can't deny the success of your actions, you should have taken Colonel O'Neill or at least some of the Jaffa with you."
Daniel at last lifted his gaze to meet the general's. "I knew that there were rebel Jaffa already there, so I wouldn't be alone when I got there. Maybe I should have taken someone with me, but I didn't want to risk any more lives. When the rebel Jaffa reported that Baal was being protected by a hundred men, I seriously considered telling them to let him go since too many would have been killed trying to capture him, even though I knew that the main reason why the Jaffa fought that battle was to get Baal, not to rescue Sam and Teal'c."
"What changed things?"
"I remembered what Baal did to Jack. I was there, General, in that room while Baal tortured him repeatedly. I remembered how angry and helpless I felt because I couldn't do anything to stop it."
"So, you're saying that personal feelings made you decide to go after Baal?" Hammond asked gently.
"Yes, sir, at least mostly. I knew that, if I was there, we could overcome Baal's forces pretty quickly without any casualties. So, I told the Jaffa just to keep Baal from escaping and not try to capture him themselves. In that way, the risk to them would be minimal. It is possible that I would have thought of doing the same thing even if I hadn't remembered about Jack, but remembering was what made me decide to do it."
Hammond gave a single nod. "All right. I'll expect all of your reports by 1700 tomorrow. Now, go home and get some sleep, people. You deserve it."
After showering, Daniel and Jack got dressed in silence in the locker room. It wasn't until after both men were fully clothed and ready to leave that Jack spoke.
"We need to talk, Daniel," he said.
The archeologist sighed. "Couldn't it wait until tomorrow, Jack? I'm really tired."
There was a weariness and strain in Daniel's voice that Jack hadn't detected before. "Head still hurt?"
"Yeah, but don't tell Janet. She'll make me stay overnight in the infirmary or, at the very least, run a bunch more tests."
"How bad?"
The archeologist paused. "Bad enough. I just need some sleep, that's all."
Really looking at him closely, Jack noticed that Daniel did appear to be rather pale, and those little lines around his eyes and on his forehead were testament to the killer headache he was apparently suffering. It was no wonder that Daniel was in pain considering how much he had used his abilities the last two days. Frankly, it was amazing that he was functioning as well as he was.
"All right, we'll talk some other time. Are you going to be okay to drive?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
The colonel nodded. "There is one thing that I want to say now, though."
Daniel turned to Jack. "What's that?"
"Thanks."
The archeologist was silent for a moment, then gave him a nod. Jack watched him leave, thinking that a man couldn't have a better friend than Daniel Jackson.
Daniel was late coming to work the next day, which was unusual for him. He was usually there early. Seeing that he looked a lot better than he had last night, however, Jack didn't make any comments. The guy had most definitely needed the sleep.
In his report about the rescue mission, Jack was sure to praise Daniel's stellar performance as mission leader. Upon reading the archeologist's report, he was not the least bit surprised that it was completely lacking in self-congratulatory pats on the back. The man's modesty was well known to the colonel. Reading the report, you could barely even tell that Daniel had been in command of the mission since he almost never mentioned the fact that he was giving the orders. The one exception was when he spoke of his command to withdraw their forces from the fortress. His report made it clear that it had been his decision to go after Baal and that Jack had advised against it, also stating that Jack had told him that he should take backup with him. The colonel knew that this was Daniel's way of making sure that, if there was trouble because of his actions, he and he alone would be hit by the fallout.
Jack was also proud of the way that Sam and Teal'c had stood up against Baal even when threatened with the same kind of torture that Jack had suffered at the hands of the Goa'uld. No commander could ask for a better team than what he had, which made what happened a few days later that much harder.
"Sit down, Colonel," the general said when Jack entered the office, his voice carrying that tone that told the colonel this was serious.
"I'm not going to like this, am I," he said as he took a seat.
"I just got off the phone with my superiors. They want me to offer Doctor Jackson command of his own SG team, and they made it pretty clear that they very much want him to accept."
Even though the announcement wasn't a surprise, it still hit Jack pretty hard. "It doesn't surprise me, sir," he said after a pause.
Hammond leaned forward in his chair. "I want your honest opinion, Colonel. Doctor Jackson did an excellent job of commanding that rescue mission, but is he ready to command his own team?"
"Yes. I knew that he was ready even before this mission, sir. He can be headstrong, and he tends to take too many risks with his own life, but, in spite of that, I think that he'd make a good commander."
The general looked at him with sympathy. "Jack, I know that you don't want to lose Doctor Jackson from SG-1, but there are a lot of people who feel that giving him his own command would be a tremendous asset to the Stargate Program. Do you understand their reasoning?"
The colonel nodded. "They figure that, with him in command of the team, he could do even more than he can staying on SG-1." He paused. "They don't want me holding him back."
"Don't think that they have a cavalier attitude about Doctor Jackson's safety, Colonel. They don't want to see him rushing headlong into situations that could get him killed. But they do feel that, with him in command, there is the advantage that he is in control and can plan the mission in the best way to make use of his abilities. In spite of my misgivings about that tendency of his to be headstrong and a bit too willing to risk his own life, I have to agree that they do have a point."
Jack sighed softly. "Yes, sir, they do, and, even considering what Daniel pulled on this last mission by going after Baal alone, I know that a team commanded by him would be an asset to the program." He thought of something. "Sir, did you tell them all the details about that?"
"I did not reveal the reason why he went after Baal, but, other than that, I was thorough in my report. They have copies of both yours and Doctor Jackson's reports, so they are aware that you told him he shouldn't do it."
"Which would have proven to them without a doubt that I hold him back. After all, Daniel succeeded and captured Baal. If I'd been in command, I'd have refused to allow him to go, and Baal would have gotten away."
"It could just as easily have gone the other way, Colonel," Hammond pointed out. "Baal might have escaped anyway."
"That's doubtful, sir, but, if that had happened, we probably wouldn't be sitting here talking right now since The Powers That Be wouldn't be quite so pleased with Daniel's performance."
"I'm afraid you're right about that."
There was a short pause. "Sir, I'd like to be the one to tell Daniel," Jack then said.
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Thank you, sir."
Jack left the office, his heart heavy at the thought that he might soon be losing Daniel from SG-1.
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