CHAPTER NINETEEN
The sun was just rising above the horizon as Daniel stepped out of the door. Leda was beside him.
"There's bread, fruit and dried meat in here," she said as she handed him a small satchel, "as well as matches, a knife, a blanket and some other things I thought you might need." She then gave him a canteen of water. "That should be enough to last a couple of days."
"Thank you." Daniel gazed at the woman, seeing the expression on her face. "It's going to be all right, Leda. I'll be fine, and I promise that I'll protect Jared as well as I'm able."
Leda searched his eyes for a long moment, then took his hand in hers. "Be safe, Daniel."
The archeologist gave her a parting smile, then turned away to begin his journey. As Daniel walked, he kept his senses open to the presence of any humans in the area. It was vital that he not be spotted by any of the rebels. If they saw him, there was no doubt that they'd question him, and Daniel doubted that he'd be able to make up a story that they'd believe, which meant that he'd have no choice but to kill them, something he really didn't want to have to do.
Occasionally, Daniel came across people who lived in the area, most of whom ran away when they saw him. The look in their eyes haunted him, the desolate look of people without hope. It tore him apart to see it.
Countless times, Daniel had tried to figure out what he could have done differently to keep this from happening. If he had just seen what was going to happen sooner, he might have had the time to stop it. If he could have made Gareth listen to him, the man would have increased security at the missile control facilities and may have prevented the capture of one of them. If Daniel had known that the facility taken by Soren's men was going to be right there in the capital city, he could have gone there and prevented it from happening. If. . . . Daniel's thoughts halted. All the 'ifs' in the universe weren't going to change what happened. All he could do now was help the people who had survived and try his best to stop Soren. And Soren did have to be stopped. Daniel had no doubt of that. The man must have known what would happen when he fired those missiles. He deliberately started the war. And, now, his troops were waging a campaign of terror on the survivors. In many ways, the man was equally as bad as the Goa'uld. In some ways, he was even worse. He had done this to his own people.
It was early afternoon when Daniel heard a woman's scream. He ran toward the sound and saw that eight rebels had a man and woman on the ground. The arms of the man were being held behind his back by one rebel as another questioned him, hitting his face when the man apparently answered in a way the rebel didn't like. The scene infuriated Daniel. But if he took action, he'd have to kill the rebels to prevent them from reporting the incident.
At that moment, the rebel holding the man's arms, let him go and backed away. The one who had been doing the hitting took hold of his rifle. Horrified, Daniel realized that they were going to kill the man. He could not let that happen.
It was then that an idea struck the archeologist. The rebels had done this believing it to be the will of their gods. Perhaps it was time for the "gods" to tell them a thing or two.
Degan aimed his rifle at the man before him. His orders were to kill anyone whom they suspected to still be loyal to the old government. Shooting helpless civilians turned his stomach, but better that than face Soren's wrath if he failed in his duty.
Before he could pull the trigger, there was a sudden roar behind the rebels. A wave of blistering heat struck them. Everyone spun around to witness a sight that sent terror racing through them. A tremendous fireball had appeared in midair, tendrils of flame writhing and coiling like serpents from hell. As the frightened men watched, a face began to form. Words of fire were written in the air.
"You have offended me," the words said. "Soren is not doing the bidding of the gods. You will follow him no longer. Throw down your weapons and go. Harm no more survivors."
It didn't take long for the rebels to make up their minds. Throwing down their weapons, they ran away like scared rabbits.
The young couple that was about to be killed by the rebels cowered on the ground, eyes fixed upon the fire. As they watched, it slowly dissipated to reveal the figure of a lone man, who walked up to them. They shied away in terror.
Daniel held his hands out before him. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
"A-a-are you one of the gods?" the man whispered.
Daniel smiled gently. "No, I'm no god. That whole thing was just for the benefit of the rebels. Hopefully, they got the message and won't hurt any more people."
"But . . . but the fire," the woman said in a shaky voice.
"Um . . . yeah. That's a long story and too hard to explain. It's more important that you get out of here. There might be other rebels in the area. Do you live around here?"
The man nodded in reply.
"Then go home and stay there. Don't venture out unless you have no choice. If rebels come there, say whatever is necessary to make them think that you're harmless. I believe they're looking for people they think are still loyal to the former government, those who won't bow down to Soren. Make them think that you're willing to accept Soren's rule. They should leave you alone then."
The couple got to their feet.
"Who are you?" the man asked.
"A friend," Daniel replied. "Now go, before more rebels come."
The couple hurried away. After checking with his senses if anyone was else in the area, Daniel left as well, wondering what Soren would think if he ever found out that the "gods" had spoken and weren't happy with him.
"Sir, we stopped radio jamming at the scheduled time so that the patrols could report in, but one of them has failed to contact us," one of Soren's men announced. "Eight men sent to patrol an outlying area east of the city."
"Perhaps they encountered some surviving members of the military."
"That's what I had thought, but another patrol came across what we believe to be their weapons, lying abandoned on the ground."
Soren frowned. "Soldiers would have taken the weapons."
"There is something else as well. Near the weapons, there was an area of scorched ground, as if it was exposed to fire or tremendous heat."
"An explosive?"
"There was no sign of an explosion. The earth was not damaged, only blackened from heat. The nearby grass was dry and brown."
Soren walked away a short distance, puzzling over what this could mean. He turned back to the man.
"If the missing patrol is found, I want them questioned."
"Yes, sir." The man left the room.
Soren turned to the map of Rand and Caledonia, putting what the man said out of his mind. Soon, Rand would belong completely to him. His eyes fixed upon Caledonia, knowing that the revolution would not be complete until that country was his as well.
He thought about the off-worlders. From what he knew, their technology was superior to this world, including their weapons. With such weapons, he could conquer the Caledonians. Yes, perhaps it was time to speak with the people from Earth. They seemed very determined to find this Daniel Jackson. Though Soren was certain that the man was dead, he might still be useful. Soren would refuse to allow the off-worlders to search for him. Such would be a wise course of action regardless since he didn't want them to interfere with the subjugation of the survivors.
Given enough time, the off-worlders might be willing to trade weapons for this man that they appeared to value so highly.
With a smile, Soren gazed at the map, confident that a day would come when all of Tegalus would serve the gods – and him.
The four days were finally up. The instant they figured that Soren would be awake, Jack had the gate dialed. This time, Soren didn't bother coming to talk to them himself. After a wait of a few minutes, they were told by someone else that they could come to Tegalus tomorrow. Jack tried to insist that they be allowed to go there today, but the man wouldn't budge. Accepting Soren's terms, Jack had the wormhole shut down.
"Another day," Sam said. "Daniel's already been trapped there for over a week. Who knows what's happened in that time."
"Daniel Jackson is a man of great strength and resourcefulness," Teal'c stated, "and he has great skill in protecting himself."
"Yes, but we all know Daniel," Jack said, "and how much you wanna bet that, if there's some way for him to do it, he's going to try to 'fix' this instead of keeping his head down and waiting for us to come get him?"
That made Sam even more worried. "Alone? Even with his abilities, I don't see how he could take care of all the fundamentalists."
"Carter, you're talking about the man who sent an army of Jaffa running away with their tails tucked between their legs, Al'Kesh, death gliders and all. If he's pissed off enough, an army of those religious nutcases sure wouldn't be able to stop him, and I'm betting that he's pretty damn pissed right now."
"If he's still alive," Sam murmured. It got a little harder with each passing day to believe that Daniel was still alive.
"He's alive," Jack stated firmly. "He's got to be."
The second day of Daniel's journey was far worse than the first. The closer he got to the city, the fewer people he saw – and the more bodies he found Some of the dead had clearly died of injuries sustained in the attack, but there were others who had been shot or stabbed. One had been hung from a tree. Daniel had cut down the body, and raised a cairn over it, wondering if the man had taken his own life or been yet another victim of the rebels.
With each body that he saw, every person still living but with the spark of life doused from their eyes, Daniel's anger grew, along with the determination to put an end to Soren. He had encountered another rebel patrol and repeated his performance of the previous day. This time, however, one of the rebels opened fire. Daniel taught him a painful lesson by burning his hand and melting the barrel of his rifle. That was enough to send him and the others scurrying away.
Daniel reached the outskirts of the capital city at mid-afternoon. He stopped for a rest in the ruins of an abandoned building. As he ate a late lunch, he thought about what he would do next. His first job would be to find Kane and his men. Though Daniel knew that he could probably take the bunker by himself, it would be a lot easier to take it and stay in control of it with help. Once they had taken the bunker, he would dial the gate and get in touch with the SGC. Jack would probably insist that Daniel come right home, but he was determined not to abandon the people of Rand. He had to make sure that the fundamentalists were no longer going to be a problem, though there would probably always be some around.
Daniel had been thinking about what Leda told him, and he now knew that she was right. The SGC's activation of the Stargate on this planet may have been the spark that lit the fire resulting in this war, but they weren't the ones who started that war. The people of Tegalus had started down this path a long time ago when they allowed mistrust and political differences drive a wedge between Rand and Caledonia and then began stockpiling weapons. If they had not done that, this destruction would never have happened. Soren would not have had the power to virtually destroy both countries. He may have managed to overthrow the government of Rand, but that would have been the extent of it. And maybe, just maybe, if Rand and Caledonia had been on friendly terms, the Caledonians would have helped stop the fundamentalists.
In the end, Leda was right. They had done this to themselves. All anyone could hope for was that both countries had learned a valuable lesson and would seek peace.
The terrified man was brought to the control room, babbling incomprehensibly about the gods striking them all down.
"This one was found by a patrol," Joreth said. "He was a member of another patrol, but the ones who found him saw no sign of the rest of his unit."
Soren scowled at the man. "Explain yourself."
"The gods are coming," the man cried. "We have committed a sin against them, and they are angry. There was fire and flaming words written in the air. I did not believe, and they punished me for my defiance."
"Look at his hand," Joreth instructed Soren.
The leader of the rebels took hold of the frightened man's hand. It was badly blistered and reddened.
The man grasped Soren's sleeve. "You must hear me, Soren. We must stop what we are doing and beg forgiveness or we will all die."
Soren jerked his arm away and backed up a step. He pulled out his pistol and shot the man through the heart, watching emotionlessly as his victim crumpled to the floor. He turned to the people manning the various stations, who were staring in shock and uncertainty.
"This one was weak, his mind polluted and unfit to serve the gods. We are doing their will. Do not doubt that. And, when they return, they will reward us for our service to them. All those who remain faithful to them will be rewarded." Soren looked back down at the dead man. "Take him away."
As the body was dragged off, Joreth came up to Soren. "What about what he said?"
"Ignore it. The man was mad."
"And his hand?"
"Most likely an accident or carelessness. It is of no consequence."
Joreth nodded and turned away. As he left the control room, there remained a small doubt in his mind, the fear that the man had been right and that they were all going to pay for what they had done.
His meal finished, Daniel made his way into the city. Now that he was finally here, he had to be very careful. It was likely that the capital was crawling with rebels. He just hoped that Kane hadn't run afoul of some and been killed.
As the afternoon wore on, Daniel had to duck out of sight twice, choosing to hide this time instead of putting a fright into more rebels. The danger was too great that one of them would see him.
There was perhaps an hour of light left when Daniel sensed a sizable group of people approaching. Yet again, he hid in a place that would allow him to see them. When they came into view, he recognized their uniforms as that of the Rand military. And then he saw Kane.
"Kane," Daniel called out softly. Immediately, every one of the thirteen men aimed their weapons in Daniel's direction.
"Who is it?" Kane called. "Show yourself."
Daniel rose to his feet, hands in the air. "It's Daniel Jackson, Kane."
The man stared at him, recognizing him. "Doctor Jackson? What are you doing here? Why are you not with Leda?" His eyes widened in surprise as Daniel came closer. "You're healed. How is that possible?"
"It's a long story, and this is not the place for it. Let's go someplace where we can talk."
Kane and his men took Daniel to the remains of a building with a basement that they had been using as a camp.
"Is Leda all right?" Kane asked.
"She was fine when I left."
"And why did you leave?"
"To get back to the Stargate."
"The Stargate is under Soren's control. That bunker couldn't be taken by a small army, let alone one man. How do you think that you could get in and not be seen?"
"Kane, there are things about me that you don't know, things that you won't want to believe, just like you didn't believe me when I told you that I could see the future. But everything I said came true, didn't it."
Kane did not reply. He had thought about this more than once, wondering if this man really did have the ability of precognition or if it had all been just an incredible coincidence.
"So, what are you saying?" he asked.
"That I can get into that bunker, that I have the ability to take care of anyone who gets in my way."
"How?"
Daniel looked over at the far side of the room. Kane and his men gasped and drew back as a wall of fire sprang up. It spread into a half-circle around them, then was abruptly extinguished. No sooner was the fire gone, then a fallen support beam suddenly lifted into the air. It was turned upright and placed back in its original position, shoring up a piece of the ceiling.
When Daniel turned back to the others, they were all gaping at him.
"How is that possible?" Kane asked in a hushed voice. He stared at Daniel narrowly. "You're not human."
"No, I am human, Kane, but something happened around two and a half years ago that resulted in me being . . . changed. I gained these abilities less than a year ago. If I had known where Soren was, I could have stopped him before he gained control of that missile control facility and prevented this from happening."
Kane shook his head. "Even after seeing what you just did, I am still finding it hard to believe."
"You're not the first one to react like that."
Kane studied him intently. "How strong is your power?"
"Strong enough that I could wipe out hundreds of Soren's troops, if I had to." He met the eyes of the chief aide. "But I would still like your help. I can take the bunker on my own, but holding it will be easier with you and your men. Once I get in touch with my people, they can send troops through. One way or another, we will stop the rebels."
Kane turned away, his gaze going to his men, a tiny handful of what had once been a great military force. "I had believed that Soren had won, that there was no hope. But, if what you say is true, maybe there is hope, a chance that we can take Rand back from Soren."
"We can, Jared," Daniel assured him. "I swear that I'll do everything in my power to see that happen."
Kane turned back around. He gave a short nod. "My men and I will help you however we can. How do you want to proceed?"
"There won't be a moon tonight, right?"
"Yes."
"Unfortunately, that means it'll be too dark to move in on the bunker. With all the debris in the streets, someone could either get hurt or cause a racket that'll attract attention. We'll go at first light. Do you think we could get in the same way that you and I got out?"
"It's possible. There is only a small force guarding that entrance. If we took them by surprise, we could make it inside before anyone else realized what was happening."
"All right, then that's what we'll do."
It was then that Kane realized something. "It was you. When the rebels attacked the bunker, the first men who came through were thrown up against the walls as if they'd been struck by a powerful force. You did that."
"Yes."
"Why did you stop? Why did you allow the bunker to be taken?"
"Because I was telling the truth when I said that I could see the future. I had another vision, one that showed me that, if I kept the rebels from taking over the bunker, Soren would have destroyed it with a missile, killing everyone inside. There is a chance that I could have gotten to the Stargate before that happened, that maybe all of us could have escaped through it, but the gate would then have been buried in the rubble, the DHD destroyed."
"And we could never have returned."
Daniel nodded. "Soren would have been left unchallenged to do whatever he wanted with Rand."
Kane gazed into his eyes. "Thank you. You risked your life in the hope that you could save us." The look in his eyes turned to regret. "I only wish that we had listened to you when you tried to warn us. Our refusal to believe you doomed our people."
"There's no point in thinking about what we should have done, Kane. We need to focus on what we can do now."
Sam lay in the dark, the only light coming from the tiny nightlight in the bathroom of her quarters. Tomorrow, they would be going to Tegalus to talk to Soren. She and Teal'c were prepared to start searching for Daniel the moment the rebels gave them permission. But what would they find when they finally started the search? Sam had been trying to prepare herself for what she'd see. In their travels through the Stargate, they had seen the remains of cities decimated by war, but they had been wars fought many years ago, the bodies of the dead long gone. But what of the dead of this war? Did Soren and his troops bother to bury them or were they left to rot?
And what if one of those bodies was Daniel's? Sam closed her eyes tightly, trying not to think about that. She knew what finding Daniel dead would do to her. It would destroy her.
"Daniel, please be alive when we find you," she whispered. "Please. I can't bear the thought of living without you."
Turning over and burying her face in the pillow, Sam prayed that, tomorrow, they would find Daniel alive and well.
Dawn was breaking when Daniel and the thirteen members of Rand's military headed out. It would take a while to get to the bunker, especially since, the closer they got, the more rebels there would be to avoid. Daniel had let Kane know that he could sense the presence of anyone nearby, which would enable them to hide before they were seen.
Even before the sun had cleared the horizon, they had to hide once.
"We've noticed that, as the days have passed, more and more of the rebels are being sent out into the areas beyond the capital, but there are many still in the city," Kane murmured as they hid behind a wall, waiting for some rebels in the distance to pass out of sight. "And the closer we get to the bunker, the more there will be. Sooner or later, we are going to be spotted."
"What about the survivors here in the city?"
"All those who were suspected of still being loyal to the old government were immediately executed."
Daniel was not surprised to find out that his guess had been right. "Soren wants to continue the chaos, weaken resistance."
"You're right. It would only have been a matter of time before those few who survived pledged their loyalty to him."
"Well, that's not going to happen," Daniel stated firmly.
They left their place of hiding a minute later, Daniel's senses alert for anyone in the area. They were just coming around the corner of a building when he sensed four men approaching. He signaled for everyone to hide, but as they turned, one of Kane's men tripped over a piece of lumber, causing several others to fall with a loud clatter.
"Get inside," Daniel ordered, shoving the men in through an open doorway. They'd no sooner gotten through when the four men Daniel had sensed came running into view, their weapons ready to shoot anyone they saw. Knowing that the rebels would find them, Daniel took action. He psychically struck the men in the head, and they dropped senseless to the ground.
"What did you do to them?" Kane asked.
"Gave them all one hell of a headache. Come on. We need to get them out of sight and tie them up. This is going to cause a problem, though, when they fail to check in. We might have to pick up the pace."
"All radio traffic is normally being jammed," Kane told him, "but we suspect that the jamming is being halted at least once a day so that the patrols can report into the bunker. We have no idea when that takes place."
The four rebels were taken inside the building, tied up and gagged, then shoved into a closet. Daniel melted the doorknob so that, even if the men managed to escape their bonds, they wouldn't be able to get out. Their weapons were distributed among Kane's men. All but one of the radios were destroyed. Daniel kept that radio, turning the volume down as far as he could and still be able to hear it. He wanted to know when it was discovered that there was a missing patrol.
Daniel and the others left the building and continued on their way, hoping that they'd make it to the bunker before all hell broke loose.
"Dial the gate," Jack ordered. "It's time to wake Soren up."
As the gate began to dial, Sam and Teal'c entered the control room, geared up and ready to go.
"He damn well better not give us some excuse for not coming through," Jack said. "If he does, I swear I'm getting on the phone to the president and telling him we want that Al'Kesh now."
When the gate connected, they were told that Sam and Teal'c could come through. A minute later, the two members of SG-1 at last set foot back on Tegalus. They were greeted by several armed rebels.
"I'm Colonel Carter and this is Teal'c," Sam said, coming forward. "We're here to speak with Soren."
"Soren is busy at the moment and cannot speak with you," said one of the men. "I will take you to where you can wait. You will have to surrender your weapons to us. They will be returned to you when you leave."
Sam was tempted to demand that they be allowed to see the rebel leader immediately, but she was afraid that, if she ticked the man off, he'd make them leave.
Unarmed, she and Teal'c were led to a room that looked as if it had been some kind of break room. They were told to wait there, and the door was shut, the distinctive sound of a lock clicking into place telling them that they weren't being given a choice about waiting.
Settling into one of the chairs, Sam prepared to wait for as long as they had to.
Daniel and the group of loyalist soldiers were making their way through a narrow alleyway when The archeologist suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
"Doctor Jackson? What is it?" Kane asked.
Daniel turned to him. "Sam's here." He smiled. "And Teal'c, too. They must have just come through the gate."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel them. My ability to sense their presence is a lot stronger than with most other people."
"Why would they come here?"
"Probably to search for me. I'm betting that they've been trying to get Soren to let them come through right from the start."
"So, what does this mean?"
Daniel thought about it. Now that Sam was actually on the planet, he was pretty sure that he could make contact. It might even be possible that he could speak to her telepathically. If he could get a message to her, they just might be able to get some help from the SGC, hit Soren from two sides.
Daniel was so distracted by his thoughts and the feel of Sam and Teal'c's presence that he didn't sense the approaching rebels until it was too late to hide. The six men came into view and immediately saw them.
Striking with the speed of thought, Daniel yanked their guns from their grasp before they could get off a shot. The shocked men stood dumbly for a couple of seconds. That's all the time they were given before they were slammed to the ground by an invisible force too powerful to fight.
Daniel and the others approached the men, who stared up at them with wide, frightened eyes.
"Say good night," Daniel said as, one by one, he rendered the men unconscious in the same way that he had Sam when she was inhabited by Anubis. When he looked up, Kane and his men were staring at him, a touch of fear in their gaze.
"Why don't you kill them?" Kane asked.
"Because I don't have to. I have never intentionally taken a life that I didn't feel I needed to, and I don't intend to start now."
"With the power you have, you could rule an entire world."
"Yes, I probably could, but, unlike Soren, I have no desire to."
The unconscious rebels were hidden out of sight. Daniel and the loyalists then found a place where they could also hide while Daniel made contact with Sam.
The archeologist closed his eyes, reaching his mind out to the woman he loved.
'Sam,' he called in his mind. 'Sam, I'm here.'
Half a mile away in the bunker, Sam was walking over to get some water when she froze at the sound of a ghostly whisper that tickled at her mind.
"Colonel Carter, is there a problem?" Teal'c asked.
Not replying, Sam stayed still, not sure if what she'd heard had merely been the product of her imagination. But then she heard it again, a voice that she'd know anywhere.
'Sam, it's Daniel. I'm alive.'
"Oh, God," Sam whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Daniel."
'Sam, can you hear me?'
'Yes! Oh, Daniel. I was so afraid you were dead.'
'I know, but I'm all right. Sam, listen to me. I'm around half a mile from the bunker. I'm here with Jared Kane and twelve of his men. We're planning on attacking the bunker. You need to get back to the SGC and tell them. If Jack sends through some SG teams at the same time as we attack from this end, we can take care of Soren pretty quickly.'
Putting aside her joy over Daniel being alive, Sam turned her mind to his plan. 'We can't leave, Daniel, not yet. We came here to talk Soren into letting us search for you, but he hasn't come to see us yet. At the moment, we're locked in a break room. Even if we could attract someone's attention, if we asked to leave, they'd get suspicious.'
'And you have no idea how long he'll keep you waiting?'
'None.'
'Well, I'd suggest that we wait, but that could cause a problem. We've had to disable two patrols so far, and, sooner or later, someone's going to discover that they're missing. When that happens, things are going to start heating up out here.'
'So, what should we do?'
'Hold on. Let me talk to Kane.'
Sam opened her eyes to see Teal'c staring at her in puzzlement and concern. She gave him a brilliant smile.
"Daniel's alive, Teal'c. He just spoke to me."
The Jaffa smiled. "This is good news, Colonel Carter. What has he told you?"
"He's with Jared Kane and some other men. They're planning on attacking the bunker."
"Then we must aid them."
"How? We're locked in here. Even if I had a gun to shoot the lock, Soren's men would come running the second they heard it."
'Sam?'
Sam turned her full attention on Daniel's voice in her mind. 'Yes. I'm here.'
'Kane and I agreed that we shouldn't wait. We're going to head out now.'
At that moment, the door to the break room opened, and a man with a goatee came walking in, several armed men behind him.
"Colonel Carter. Teal'c. What a pleasure to meet you. I hope that you haven't been too terribly uncomfortable in here while you waited. It may interest you to know that, when my men brought you here, they did not mention that there are listening devices in this room."
Horrified, Sam curse herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She should have assumed that they were under some kind of surveillance. What was she thinking talking aloud like that?
"Although I do not know how it is that your Doctor Jackson contacted you, I heard you speak of his plans," Soren said. "They have no hope of taking this bunker, and, if they try, I will have both of you killed."
