CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Jack looked at his watch for the dozenth time. He then looked at Carter . . . for the two dozenth time. This was taking entirely too long. He hated waiting. He hated waiting even more when the planet he was on what crawling with Jaffa, a mothership was bearing down on that planet, and two of his men were without backup in a very dangerous situation.
'Jack!' cried a voice in his mind, nearly making him levitate off the chair.
"Eeahh!" he exclaimed. After getting over the initial fright, he realized that the mental voice had sounded familiar. "Daniel? Is that you?" he asked aloud.
'Who else would be talking to you inside your head?'
"Well, next time, give me a little advance warning, will ya? You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Sam was staring at Jack. "Sir?"
"Our telepathic archeologist just spoke inside my head, and it was not a pleasant experience."
'I'm sorry, Jack, but we've got big problems here,' Daniel's voice in his mind said. 'Teal'c and I had no choice but to reveal ourselves.'
"Crap. Do they know that you're Dan'yar?"
'No, but this isn't all. The mothership has arrived. Once Trelak tells Ares that we're here, he'll probably start scanning the surface, looking for the rest of SG-1. He'll likely send down more Jaffa as well.'
Jack turned to Sam. "Carter, you need to get this ship fixed now!"
"Almost done, sir! Just a couple more minutes."
"We don't have a couple more minutes!"
Sam worked feverishly, worried about what was happening with Daniel and Teal'c.
"I'm done! I think!" she called out a moment later. She hurried into the cockpit. "Try powering it up, sir."
Jack turned his full attention on the ship, not really knowing how to do what he was supposed to.
'Focus your mind, Daniel said. Yeah, right. Easy for him to say.'
Trelak studied the two men before him, who had been stripped of their cloaks and their weapons. "What were you and your allies planning?" he asked. Neither of the men said a word, staring back at him defiantly. The First Prime walked up to Teal'c. "Know this, shol'va. I'll see to it that you suffer slowly."
"And I will see to it that you die quickly," the former First Prime responded.
Trelak snorted derisively. He wielded his staff weapon and drove the end into Teal'c's midriff, making him double over. Teal'c slowly straightened only to be struck from behind by another Jaffa, the blow knocking him to his knees. Proudly, he rose to his feet.
"I think not," Trelak said. "My men guard the gate, and the mothership descends as we speak." He chuckled and strode away triumphantly.
'Teal'c, are you all right?' Daniel asked silently. Watching his friend being beaten had made him yearn to use his abilities and put a stop to it.
'I am fine, Daniel Jackson. However, the arrival of the mothership means that, soon, there will be far more Jaffa here.'
'I know. If Sam and Jack don't get that puddle jumper in the air really soon, we're all going to be in big trouble.'
The damn ship wasn't cooperating, and Jack felt like taking a sledgehammer to it. He'd been thinking at it for a good half a minute, and nothing was happening. But he couldn't give up. Everyone's lives were riding on this.
And then, all of a sudden, it happened. The ship responded to his command. The cockpit lights flickered on, the hum of the engines growing steadier and louder. Jack removed his hands from the console as the ship awoke fully from its long slumber, shaking loose years of plant growth from its hull. Jack told it to lift off, and it obeyed.
Daniel sensed the launch of the puddle jumper, but, at that moment, his attention was on more pressing matters.
"You were plotting in concert with the people of this world," Trelak was saying, his voice heavy with loathing. "Treachery is something we cannot abide."
Maybourne stepped up, giving Teal'c a look of disgust. "I couldn't agree with you more." He strode over to Trelak. "You think you feel outraged? Imagine how I feel, betrayed by my own people!"
Either Trelak didn't buy his act or had decided he'd had enough of the man. He seizes Maybourne by the throat and began to strangle him.
At that moment, they all heard a sound that Daniel instantly recognized: the engines of a puddle jumper. It flew low and fast over the village. Taking advantage of the distraction, the two men of SG-1 attacked. Daniel grabbed hold of one of their two guards and rendered him unconscious with his abilities as Teal'c wrested the staff weapon away from the other guard and began hitting its former owner with it. Daniel got the downed Jaffa's zat gun. His instincts were urging him to use his powers, but he couldn't, not yet, not until that mothership was taken care of.
But fate – or circumstance – was conspiring against him. After zatting a Jaffa that was about to shoot him from a position on a building's second floor, another Jaffa attacked Daniel, attempting to hit him in the stomach with a staff weapon. The archeologist dodged away from the weapon and quickly dealt with the man, his physical strength and agility now heightened by his powers.
And then it happened. A warning blared through Daniel's mind an instant before he saw yet another Jaffa fire a staff weapon at him. There was no time to dive for cover. Daniel's mind reacted instinctively. The Jaffa was shocked to see the killing blast deflected harmlessly into the air.
Knowing that the secret was now out, Daniel killed the Jaffa with a thought. There could be no prisoners this time. Every Jaffa here knew that he was Daniel Jackson. If the knowledge that he was also Dan'yar reached the Goa'uld, more than just his life would be at risk.
A few yards away, Teal'c was in mortal combat with Trelak after having taken care of the guard and another Jaffa. Both men were focused fully upon each other, so neither of them noticed when "Dan'yar" at last stepped into the battle.
Daniel psychically threw a Jaffa fifty feet through the air to smash with killing force against a wall. Maybourne, who'd recovered from nearly being choked to death, witnessed the event. So did two other Jaffa.
"It is Dan'yar!" one of them cried. He and his companion raised their weapons to shoot Daniel, but they never got the chance to pull the trigger. Two balls of fire sprang into existence and streaked toward them like small missiles, killing them instantly.
And then what Daniel had feared came to pass. The only Jaffa left besides Trelak grabbed his communicator and called the mothership.
"Dan'yar is here!" he cried. He was dead a moment later, but it was too late. Up in the mothership, Ares heard the cry. Dan'yar, the enemy of all Goa'uld, was on that planet. He gave the immediate order to launch the death gliders that had been waiting for his command.
In the puddle jumper, Sam saw the new targets on the screen.
"Oh no. They've launched several ships, General."
"Are they heading for us?"
"No, for the surface."
"Crap. Something tells me that the cat is out of the bag."
Back in the village, Teal'c was fighting to keep Trelak's knife from plunging into him. Slowly he forced the blade down between their bodies. Then, with a surge of strength, he drove the knife into his enemy's body, killing the larva within and fatally wounding the man who carried it.
The dying Trelak looked into his eyes. "You are a man of your word."
"Indeed," Teal'c responded, shoving the blade in deeper. He walked away in contempt as Trelak went to his knees, then fell dead to the ground. Teal'c looked about and saw that all the other Jaffa were either unconscious or dead.
Daniel ran up to him. "We've got trouble, Teal'c. I had to use my abilities. One of the Jaffa alerted Ares. Nine death gliders are on their way."
"What of O'Neill and Colonel Carter?"
"They've got their hands full."
Jack and Sam did, indeed, have their hands full. They were under attack by the mothership and were desperately trying not to get blown out of the sky.
"Weapons," Jack muttered, talking to the puddle jumper. He closed his eyes, concentrating harder than he ever had before in his life. "Weapons."
Suddenly, two drones, glowing with deadly intent, were launched from the little craft and headed unerringly toward the mothership. They struck, causing a small explosion.
"Keep firing, sir," Sam said.
Jack tried but without success. "Nothing's happening."
"Weapons must be depleted. Hopefully, you hit some vital systems."
As they watched, wondering if they were going to be killed in the next moment, fireballs began to erupt from the hull of the mothership. Then a massive explosion ripped through it. Jack quickly pulled the puddle jumper up and away as Ares' ship met its doom, taking the Goa'uld with it.
Sam smiled in relief.
"Think that was vital?" Jack asked.
"Relatively speaking," Sam responded teasingly. Her levity did not last. "Sir, those death gliders."
"I know. And we're out of weapons, so there's not a damn thing we can do to stop them."
Daniel and Teal'c ran. They had to get clear of the village for the battle that would soon be upon them. Daniel didn't know how he was going to stop that many death gliders, but he had to try, for the sake of both his life and the lives of Teal'c and every person in the village.
Running behind the teammates were Maybourne, Garan and several other armed villagers. They were partway into the meadow beyond the village when the death gliders came into sight. Seconds later, Daniel sensed the destruction of the mothership. The blast lit up the sky.
"O'Neill was victorious!" Teal'c shouted.
"Yeah, but he's out of weapons," Daniel said, "which means he can't help us." He turned back to the gliders, hoping that the death of their master would cause the Jaffa to turn around and leave. The ships kept on coming.
Teal'c lifted his staff weapon and aimed it at the approaching enemy. If he was to die this day, he would do so fighting.
"Maybourne, get those people out of here!" Daniel yelled over his shoulder.
"No!" Garan responded. "We will stand by our king!"
Daniel had no more time to devote attention to the villagers. Gathering his power, he reached out his hand. The power leapt from him and raced toward one of the gliders. It struck an engine, which blew up spectacularly, sending the ship careening into the ground.
Maybourne's jaw dropped. "Holy shit! Jack wasn't kidding!"
In the next moment, the other eight death gliders were upon them. The weapons fire made the villagers scatter. Teal'c returned fire.
Daniel struck again, this time blasting a gaping hole in the cockpit window of his target. The shrapnel ripped into the face and chest of the pilot, who lost control and crashed. Two down, seven to go.
That's when Daniel recalled something he did at the Alpha Site when it was under attack by Anubis' forces. He spun around and faced an oncoming death glider. He stood firm as it bore down upon him, firing its weapons. Suddenly, the blasts of destructive energy turned around in midair and streaked back toward the ship that fired them, blowing it apart.
Daniel's sixth sense blared a warning, and he turned just in time to see a death glider streaking toward the village. Daniel's attack tore a hole in the hull. The mortally wounded ship went down. Barely was that accomplished when another death glider swooped in for the kill, aiming for Daniel and Teal'c. It was almost upon them, too close for Daniel to chance bringing it down. He deflected the weapons fire away instead. As the glider passed by, he aimed his attack at one of its engines. It crashed in flames seconds later.
Throughout it all, Maybourne just stood and stared in stunned fascination, watching the man he used to consider a troublesome geek single-handedly bring down ship after ship with a power beyond anything the ex-operative for the NID could have imagined.
What happened next made him realize that he'd only seen the tip of the iceberg.
There were still four gliders in the air, and the ache in Daniel's head was telling him that he was using his power too much. But he couldn't stop. That's when the odds against him rose even higher. Three of the four gliders chose to attack all at the same time, two aiming toward the people in the meadow, one toward the village. There was no time for a separate attack on each one.
Daniel dove even deeper into the well of power within him. In the sky above them a gigantic fireball flared into existence. It hurtled toward the nearest gliders. The pilots saw its approach and swerved away, but there was no escape. The fire consumed the first glider, shattering the windows and incinerating the occupants. Not pausing, the ball of fire went after the second glider, which very quickly met the same fate. Like a falcon swooping toward its prey, the fireball then dove for the third glider, which was almost upon the village. The pilot saw it, but it was far too late to even attempt an escape. The flames struck, and the glider plummeted to the ground, its pilot and co-pilot already dead.
Daniel swayed on his feet, the pain in his head like a hot poker. Teal'c grabbed his arm to steady him.
"Teal'c," he gasped. "I don't know if I have enough strength to take care of the last one." He grasped his head, his eyes clamped shut.
Teal'c lifted his eyes to the final death glider as it streaked toward them, intent upon their death.
At that moment, rescue came from out of nowhere. The puddle jumper dove straight at the death glider, which swerved to avoid a collision.
"Great job, sir!" Sam cried.
"Yeah, well it's not over yet," Jack said. "Playing Chicken with an armed death glider is going to get us killed sooner or later . . . probably sooner."
The death glider swung around and went after its new target.
"I guess we're about to see how maneuverable these little ships are."
Jack learned that the puddle jumpers were very maneuverable indeed, but it would only be a matter of time before they were hit. Seconds later, they were struck a glancing blow.
Jack cursed. "Carter, now would be a good time for one of your brilliant ideas."
Sam thought frantically. "I've got it! Sir, these ships have a DHD built into them. Once you dial the gate, the computer takes over and flies the ship right through, unless you override and go to manual control."
"And your idea is?"
"We make a dive for the gate and dial it up. We'll fly through, but the glider will crash into it."
"And what if it manages to pull up in time?"
"It'll have to be a really steep dive, sir. If we're lucky, the glider won't notice the gate until it's too late to pull up."
"You do realize that this will take out the gate."
"It would only take the Prometheus a few hours to get here, sir."
"We should have just hit Maybourne over the head and dragged him through the gate," Jack muttered. He made a quick turn and headed toward the Stargate, putting the ship into a steep climb. The death glider followed.
Jack let out an oath. "That guy sure is persistent."
At what he figured was the right moment, Jack turned the nose downward and dove earthward, eyes on the distant gate. They were struck by another energy blast, which rocked the little ship.
Sam's hand hovered over the DHD, waiting for the right second to dial. When the moment came, she rapidly punched in the address to a world that had nothing but a big empty field beyond its Stargate, plenty enough room for the ship when it came shooting through.
They were getting awfully close to the gate when it burst into life. Jack abruptly no longer had control of the puddle jumper. He let the computer do its thing.
Before he knew it, they were at the gate, the four Jaffa guarding it firing at them. He closed his eyes and stiffened, expecting to crash into the ring. But the ship did what it was designed to do and shot right through. Too late, the pilot of the death glider saw the Stargate looming before him. He tried to pull up, but gravity was against him. His ship's wing slammed into the gate, toppling it. Seconds later, the crippled glider fatally ended its flight.
Unable to see everything with his physical eyes, Daniel had watched it all play out with his mind's eye.
"Jack did it!" he told the others. "He flew the puddle jumper right through the gate. The glider couldn't pull up in time and crashed into it."
"Uhhh, what about the gate?" Maybourne asked.
"It's fallen. Whether or not it still works is anybody's guess."
"So, does this mean that you're going to be our guests for a while?"
"Probably not so long. Jack will likely call the SGC from wherever they are now and tell them to send the Prometheus here. It's now outfitted with Asgard hyperdrive engines."
"How'd you manage that? The Asgard actually gave them to you?"
"Yes, they did. A lot has changed these last couple of years."
Maybourne studied him. "You're not kidding." He noticed the pain in Daniel's eyes and the paleness of his face. "Are you okay?"
"Not really."
"Daniel Jackson's abilities take a great physical toll upon him if they are used too extensively," Teal'c explained.
Daniel closed his eyes, wanting to lie down somewhere dark and quiet. "And I definitely used them too extensively." He lifted a shaking hand to his head. "Uhhh . . . Teal'c, I need to sit down."
The Jaffa helped him to the ground. He rested his forehead on his crossed arms, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.
"Is he going to be all right?" Maybourne asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"He will be fine," Teal'c replied, "but it will take some time."
Garan came running up. She looked at Daniel. "Is he injured?"
"No," Maybourne answered. "He's . . . ill. Go to the village and bring back a wagon for him to ride on."
The woman glanced once more at the man whose power almost frightened her, then did as her king commanded.
Daniel was taken to the village in the back of the wagon, lying down at Teal'c's insistence, the Jaffa sitting beside him. The archeologist's legs almost buckled as he got out of the wagon. With Teal'c helping to keep him upright, he was led by Maybourne to the "palace". Actually, it was a stone structure attached to the hall that at one time had been official chambers for the village elders.
A minute later, Daniel was lying on the bed in the king's personal chambers.
"It's the most comfortable bed in the place," Maybourne said. "It's the least I can do to thank him."
Daniel didn't hear the remark, having already fallen asleep.
"Let us leave him to rest," Teal'c said.
They exited the room. Maybourne went over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pale yellow liquid.
"The local moonshine," he explained as he poured some into a cup. "It's got quite a kick. You want some? Oh, that's right. You don't drink alcohol. Or has that changed, too?"
"It has not, even though I no longer carry a symbiote."
Maybourne looked at him in surprise. "You don't? How's that possible?"
"A drug called Tretonin has completely released me from my slavery to the Goa'uld. It is my hope that, someday, all Jaffa will know the same freedom."
Maybourne shook his head and took a sip from his cup. "I can't believe how much has changed in two years." He looked at the door to his bedroom. "And him. He's like a totally different person. What he did out there was unbelievable."
"Daniel Jackson does have great power now, but, in his heart, he is still the same man. He has simply found an even greater level of the strength within him."
"Yeah, I guess I did always underestimate him. Not anymore, not after that demonstration."
Garan came in. "King Arkhan, the surviving Jaffa have revived. What are your wishes?"
Teal'c's expression turned somber. "They cannot be allowed to live. Though none of them witnessed the use of Daniel Jackson's powers, they have probably heard the villagers talk about what happened. It is likely that they know that Daniel Jackson is Dan'yar."
"Dan'yar?" Maybourne questioned. "Oh. That must be Jackson's secret identity. Hmm. Dan'yar, huh? Not bad. Has a nice sound to it."
They went outside to where the three Jaffa were being held. These Jaffa were not the only ones who survived. There were also the men who'd guarded the gate. A couple dozen armed villagers had been sent out to hunt for them.
The three prisoners glared at Teal'c.
"Our god will free us and kill all of you for this," one of them said.
Teal'c gave him a smile of satisfaction. "Your god is dead, his mothership destroyed."
"You lie."
"If he lived, do you not think that he would have sent a great army by now? He is dead, as are most of the Jaffa sent to subjugate these people."
One of the other Jaffa lifted his chin defiantly. "And, now, you will kill us as well."
"Yes," Teal'c said. "Do any of you renounce the Goa'uld for the false gods that they are? If so, speak now."
"We are not Shol'va," said the first Jaffa. "We will die proud warriors of the Goa'uld."
Teal'c nodded once. "So be it." He took the zat gun from his belt and aimed it at the three Jaffa. Hesitating only a moment, he zatted each of them once and then a second time, that second shot taking their lives.
Regretting that such an act had been necessary, Teal'c walked away.
All of the Jaffa that had guarded the gate were dead. One had died when the death glider struck the Stargate, the other three killed by the villagers sent to find them. Two villagers had been injured in the fight, but not badly.
Daniel walked through the village, trying to ignore the way everyone was staring at him. He'd mostly recovered from the overuse of his abilities, though he still had a lingering headache.
"Hey. Doctor Jackson!"
Daniel turned to see Maybourne coming, a big smile on his face.
"I see that you're finally up and about," the man said. "How's the head?"
"Better."
"Good. That's good. I didn't get the chance to thank you for what you did. The whole village is grateful. So anything you want, anything at all, and it's yours. You want some of those guangos? I'll send you back home with a case."
"Actually, I never did taste one."
"Well, I can take care of that right now. I bet you're hungry. I should imagine using all that power works up quite an appetite."
Daniel admitted to himself that he was starving. He hadn't eaten anything since they arrived on the planet, and that was quite a few hours ago. The sun was now setting.
By now, Jack had probably already ordered the Prometheus to come get him and Teal'c. Daniel didn't know how long it would take the ship to arrive. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what the status of the Stargate was.
"Does the gate still work?" he asked the man who was walking beside him.
"It sure does," Maybourne replied. "Those things are really hard to break. It's lying on its back, though, so no one can come through. Jack contacted us through it. He and Colonel Carter made it through okay to some other planet, but that ship of theirs had some sort of mechanical difficulty and is now stuck there till it can be fixed. Jack said that they were going to gate through to the SGC. He was going to send the Prometheus out to pick you and Teal'c up, but I told him to save the taxpayers' money. We'll get the gate back up where it belongs in the morning." He smiled. "So, this means that you'll be our guests for the night. We've got a big feast planned for this evening in celebration of the victory, and you and Teal'c are the guests of honor. Too bad Jack can't attend. He's really gonna miss out."
Daniel asked where Teal'c was, and Maybourne took him to the Jaffa, who stood beside a pile of staff weapons, weapons that Daniel knew had belonged to the men they'd killed.
"I'll, uh . . . leave you two alone to talk," Maybourne said. He turned and headed back the way they'd come.
Daniel covered the rest of the distance to his friend and teammate.
"Teal'c?"
The Jaffa looked at him. "Daniel Jackson. It is good to see that you have recovered."
Daniel's eyes went to the weapons. "I'm sorry that we had to kill them all, Teal'c. I wish we hadn't had to."
"There is no need for apologies, Daniel Jackson. They chose to willingly serve a false and evil god. We did what was necessary. Your identity as Dan'yar must be protected."
It was at times like this that Daniel felt that his abilities weren't all that great a thing to have. He had to wonder how events would have played out if he didn't possess these powers, if Dan'yar didn't exist. Ares probably wouldn't have sent those death gliders when he did, which meant that all Daniel and Teal'c would have had to deal with were the Jaffa in the village.
Deciding that there was no point in wondering how things might have been, Daniel rested his hand on Teal'c's shoulder. The Jaffa met his eyes, then nodded once.
With one final look at the weapons, the two men walked away to join the people whose lives they'd helped to save.
Maybourne hadn't been exaggerating when he used the word "feast". Several tables were nearly groaning under the weight of all the food on them, which included roasted meat, a variety of cheeses, bread, fruit and vegetables. Still more tables had been set up for the seating. Maybourne sat at the head of the king's table, Daniel to his right and Teal'c to his left.
At one point, the ex-colonel stood and called for everyone's attention.
"My friends and subjects, today we celebrate the destruction of the oppressors who sought to enslave us. I wish I could take some credit for our victory, but the truth is that all our thanks belong to these two men," he gestured at Daniel and Teal'c, "and their friends from Earth, who could not be here to share this meal with us." Maybourne lifted his goblet. "I would like to propose a toast. To SG-1 and General O'Neill."
All of the villagers raised their cups and repeated the toast, taking a drink.
"From this day forward, they will be welcomed with open arms and treated as valued friends," Maybourne said.
Loud applause and cheers followed his proclamation.
Maybourne sat back down. He smiled at the two members of SG-1. "I can guarantee that if you come visit us again, you'll get a lot warmer welcome from everyone than you did this time."
Daniel didn't foresee an occasion when they'd be coming back here, but he chose not to say so.
"So, did you tell everyone the truth about the prophecy?" he asked.
"Yeah, while you were asleep. I told Garan, Fen and Jeth that I would, so I couldn't very well back out of it."
"How'd it go? I noticed that no one here seems to be mad at you."
"The villagers accepted the news well," Teal'c said. "They are aware that what Harry Maybourne has done for them to improve their way of life did not come from the writings on the temple."
Maybourne shrugged. "I guess they all decided that my little fib about the prophecies wasn't that big a deal. I've decided to teach everyone how to read Ancient so that anyone who wants to can read the things written on those pillars. It's a part of their culture and history, so it's only right that they know what it all says. I don't know how well I'm going to be as a language teacher, though. That's not my gig." He looked at Daniel. "Too bad you can't do it."
"Sorry, but I'm kind of busy fighting Goa'uld."
"Yes, I bet you are. Teal'c's told me about what you've done since gaining these abilities. Osiris, Baal, Moloc. You've racked up quite a Goa'uld body count. And, now, you can add Ares to the list."
Daniel shook his head. "No, that one goes to Jack and Sam. I had nothing to do with it."
"Nevertheless, you've accomplished a lot. And you've got the whole Jaffa rebel movement just about worshiping at your feet." Maybourne grinned. "Pretty impressive."
Daniel frowned and looked at Teal'c. "Did you have to tell him about that?"
"Harry Maybourne wished to know how you came to be known as Dan'yar."
The ex-colonel nodded. "Yes, that was quite a story he told. It's no wonder that you're at the top of the Goa'uld hit list."
"Don't remind me."
"Well, your secret is safe with me, as well as everyone else here."
There was a time when Daniel wouldn't have trusted a word out of Maybourne's mouth, but he believed that the man was telling the truth. The archeologist doubted that Jack would ever believe it, but perhaps Harry Maybourne really had changed – and maybe, just maybe, he was the kind of king these people needed.
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