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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"What is your plan of action?" Bra'tac asked Jack, Daniel and Sam in the briefing room.

Jack turned to Daniel.  "Why don't you explain since you're the one who insists we do this."

"All right."  Daniel faced Bra'tac.  "Teal'c said that a shock grenade would take care of about half the Jaffa guarding the gate, leaving roughly thirty for us to deal with.  I figured that, if I come through the gate, uh, primed and ready to go, I can strike at the rest of the Jaffa before they have time to get off very many shots."

"Our plan is to time things perfectly so that we'd come through the second after the grenade goes off," Sam explained, "when the other Jaffa will still be dazed by the flash."

"What of ships that may be in orbit?" Bra'tac asked.

"We're going to be injected with the isotope that will hide us from the ship's sensors.  We'll bring more with us to give to Teal'c, Ishta, Aron and however many other rebel Jaffa we find alive.  In that way, they won't be able to track us with sensors."

"A few of us will make our way to where the summit was held and see if there are any rebel Jaffa we can rescue," Daniel said.

"The area will have many patrols," Bra'tac pointed out.

"Yes, but we have a big advantage over them.  I'll be able to sense their approach before they get near us.  Then I can either incapacitate them or we can hide."

Bra'tac nodded.  "I had intended to gather intel on the situation with the rebel forces in Moloc's army, but I see that will not be necessary at this time."  He smiled.  "It will be a great pleasure to at last witness your power in battle, Daniel Jackson."

No one questioned the Jaffa's apparent decision to join them.

"Well, I'm really hoping there won't be all that much battling going on," Daniel said.

"I can't say that I'm a hundred percent happy with the plan," Jack said, "but I guess it's the best we can come up with that we can carry out quickly.  I'd prefer going with you, but Hammond's already given me a lecture about joining that rescue mission to Tegalus.  At least he didn't complain about my trip to Atlantis."

Just then, Rya'c and Kar'yn came in, followed by the rest of the Hak'tyl warriors.

"We have learned of what took place," Rya'c said.

"We will not abandon Ishta," Ka'lel declared.  "We insist a rescue mission be devised immediately."

"Well, as a matter of fact, one already has been," Jack told them.  "We're working the details now."

"Then we must be a part of it," Rya'c declared.  "It is my father who is trapped."

"And my teacher," Kar'yn stated.

All the other members of the Hak'tyl began talking, insisting that they be included in the mission.

"Silence!" Bra'tac bellowed.  Everyone went quiet.  "I understand your desire to aid those we seek to rescue, but, for this mission to work, we require the ability to act swiftly and move silently.  A large party will be a hindrance."

"I will not be left behind while my father's life hangs in the balance," Rya'c stated firmly.

"Nor will I as long as Ishta's life is at risk," Kar'yn said with equal firmness.

That started all the other women going again.  It was necessary for Bra'tac to order them to be silent a second time.

"All right, that's enough," Jack said.  "Rya'c, Kar'yn, you two can go.  As for the rest of you, you're staying here."

One of the women glared at him.  "You are not our master."

Jack was about to respond, but Bra'tac held up his hand.  "Please allow me, O'Neill."  He turned to the woman.  "In this place, O'Neill is your master.  His word is law.  However, I will explain to you something that may put your minds at ease.  Dan'yar will be with us."

There were sounds of surprise in the group.  Rya'c and Kar'yn both glanced at Daniel.

"Dan'yar?" Ka'lel said.  "We have heard much about him from those in Moloc's army.  They say that he has power like that of a god."

Daniel sighed very softly.  He really, really needed to do something about that.

"His power is great indeed," Bra'tac confirmed.  "I have witnessed it with my own eyes.  However, he is no god, which he would be quick to confirm.  But, with him at our side, our victory against Moloc's forces on the planet is almost assured.  Go back to your quarters, and—"

"Um, wait, Bra'tac," Daniel interrupted.  "I've got an idea.  They might come in handy after all."  He quickly explained the idea he had, being careful to avoid referring to himself as Dan'yar.

Bra'tac nodded in approval.  "Yes.  The plan is sound."  He turned to the Hak'tyl.  "Now, go.  We must prepare for the mission.  Every moment delayed is a moment more that the lives of Teal'c and Ishta are at risk.  When it is time, you will be summoned."

All the Hak'tyl filed out of the room, except for Kar'yn, who remained with Rya'c.

"Why did you not tell them that Daniel Jackson is Dan'yar?" the young woman asked.

"It would only have caused further delay," Bra'tac replied.  "They will know soon enough."

A while later, everyone began assembling in the gate room.  Nurses moved around the room, injecting everyone going on the mission with the isotope that would render them invisible to the sensors of any ships in orbit.

Several of the Hak'tyl were looking around the room.

"Where is Dan'yar?" one of them asked.

At that moment, Daniel came into the room, dressed all in black and without his glasses.  He wore a sidearm, but did not carry a P-90.

Bra'tac smiled.  "He is here."  He bowed his head at Daniel, who returned the gesture.

The Hak'tyl gaped at the archeologist.

"He is Dan'yar?" one asked in disbelief.

"Indeed he is," Bra'tac replied.

The gate had begun dialing.  Ignoring the whispers of surprise among the Hak'tyl, Daniel took up position at the foot of the ramp, centering his mind and gathering his power for what was to come.


The distant sound of the gate activating alerted Teal'c, Ishta and Aron to the fact that someone was coming through.  They left their hiding place and hurried to the spot where they could watch.  They'd no sooner arrived when a shock grenade came flying out of the gate, clearing the steps of the platform.  Within two seconds of hitting the ground, it went off.  All the Jaffa within its range were rendered unconscious.  Those who were left had no time to react, for, no sooner had the flash of the grenade faded when thirteen figures came through the gate, a man all in black in the lead.  He lifted his hand, and a wall of fire blasted outward, racing toward the remaining Jaffa, who cried out in fear, some running, others diving to the ground.  The fire touched none of them.  Then the three blast cannons went hurtling through the air to smash into trees or the hillside.  A few of the Jaffa fired at the party.  Their staff weapons were wrenched from their grasps, and they were slapped to the ground by an unseen force.

"Dan'yar," Aron whispered in awe, knowing there could be only one man who could do what he had just witnessed.

Ishta, too, was struck with awe, the feeling in no way lessened by the knowledge of Dan'yar's true identity.

"I am Dan'yar!" the man in black called out.  He and the others were now standing at the foot of the steps.  "You know what I can do.  Drop your weapons and surrender, and you will not be harmed.  If you don't, I will have no choice but to kill you."  He backed up his words by creating a small fireball to hover over his outstretched hand.

Just then, a large group of female Jaffa came through the gate, which had remained activated, and aimed their weapons at Moloc's men.

The Jaffa of Moloc did not move for long seconds.  They all knew who Dan'yar was.  They had all heard the tales of this man who was hailed as being mightier than the Goa'uld.  What they had just witnessed gave proof to the tales.

One by one, then two and three at a time, the Jaffa began throwing down their weapons.  Only five were foolish enough to choose not to surrender.  Their staff blasts never reached the intended target, and, a second later, they were all dead, shot by the female Jaffa.

"Okay, go tie their hands," Daniel ordered the Hak'tyl.  He turned to the leaders of SG-3 and 5.  "Cover them.  We need to move fast.  Chances are that racket was heard by patrols in the area, and we'll be getting more company."

Everyone obeyed without question.  Daniel looked at Sam, who nodded and began dialing the gate.  He then got on the radio.

"Teal'c?"

"We are here, Dan'yar," Teal'c replied, "on the hill above you."

Daniel looked up and saw three figures rise to their feet.

"Good.  Get down here as soon as you can."

The gate activated, and Sam sent the IDC code.  She explained to Jack that all was going well and that around thirty prisoners would be coming through.  It had been decided earlier that it would be best to get any captured Jaffa out of the way so that they wouldn't cause trouble.  If there was time, the unconscious ones would be carried through as well.

Daniel cast his mind out into the surrounding woods, attempting to sense the approach of anyone.  So far, they were all clear.  His sixth sense was also not warning him of anything, like approaching ships.

Rya'c and Kar'yn came up to the archeologist, their eyes filled with wonder.

Teal'c's son smiled at him.  "Never have I seen anything like that."

"It is no wonder that you are so revered by the rebel Jaffa and that your name strikes fear into the hearts of those still loyal to the Goa'uld," the young man's bride-to-be said.

Daniel made a face.  "Yeah, well, I'd prefer to be a whole lot less revered."

Just then, Daniel sensed three people approaching.  One was Teal'c.  Soon, they came into view.  Rya'c and Kar'yn hurried toward them and accompanied them the rest of the way.

"Are you guys okay?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but both Ishta and I have lost our Tretonin.  We do not need more yet, but if we remain here many more hours, we will require some."

"Ishta can share mine," Kar'yn stated.

"And my father mine," said Rya'c.

Daniel sensed eyes on him and turned to the man who had arrived with Teal'c and Ishta.  This must be Aron.

"You are Dan'yar," the man said.

"That's what the Jaffa call me," Daniel confirmed.

"I had hoped to meet you one day."  He bowed his head and crossed his arm over his chest.  "It is an honor."

"Is it?" Teal'c asked, staring at Aron with suspicion in his eyes.  "We know that one among those who knew of the summit must have betrayed us."

"It was not I," Aron claimed.  "This I swear."

"Well, we can sort this out later," Daniel said.  "For right now, I think you'd better go with the others to Earth.  If you're innocent, I'll be able to tell."

Aron met Daniel's eyes for a long moment, then inclined his head.  "Very well."

The man surrendered his weapons, handing his staff weapon to Teal'c, and was escorted to the gate by two of the Hak'tyl, one of them going through with him.

A sudden internal warning drew Daniel's attention to a spot off in the distance.  "Company's coming!" he called out.

"Hurry!  Get the rest of the prisoners through!"  Sam shouted.

The last few prisoners were shoved through the gate.

"To the trees!" Bra'tac commanded.

Everyone rushed into the woods, hiding in the thick stand of young trees at the edge of the clearing.  They were there for around half a minute when a large patrol came running into view.  The men slowed when they saw the unmoving bodies of their fellow Jaffa and the wreckage of the blast cannons.  Cautiously, they looked about, weapons ready.

Needless to say, they were more than a little surprised when their weapons were jerked from their grasp and went flying away.  In the next moment, the humans and Hak'tyl emerged from the trees, weapons aimed at Moloc's men.  Some of the men backed away a step, but there was no way for them to escape.  If they tried, they would be shot down before they got far.

"Hey, guys," Daniel greeted.  "Welcome to the party.  You're a little late, but we don't mind, do we?"

"Nope, not at all," Sam replied.

"Whatever plan you have will fail," one of Moloc's Jaffa declared proudly.  "There are many more on this world who are loyal to our god.  You cannot hope to defeat them all."

"On the contrary," Bra'tac said with a little smile, "We will, indeed, defeat them.  Look around you.  Do you think that any ordinary force could do this?  Look at the grass beneath your feet."

The Jaffa looked down to see that the patches of grass were blackened, as if from fire.

Bra'tac pointed at the blast cannons.  "Look at the cannons and how they have been tossed like leaves to smash upon the ground.  What force tore the weapons from your hands, hmm?"

"Dan'yar," one Jaffa murmured, shifting nervously.  The name caused a few others to start glancing about as if expecting a monster to appear.

Bra'tac smiled again and nodded.  "Yes.  Dan'yar is here."

"Then let him show himself," one of the braver of the bunch said.  "Our great god Moloc will soon be here, and he will strike this Dan'yar down."

"Moloc is coming?" Ishta asked sharply.  "When?"

The Jaffa refused to answer.

"Okay, dial again and send these guys through," Daniel ordered.  "We need to hurry."

As one of SG-3 dialed the gate, the hands of the enemy Jaffa were bound.  Sam, Teal'c, Bra'tac and Ishta walked up to Daniel, Rya'c and Kar'yn joining them a few seconds later.

"Do you know if there are any ships in orbit?" Sam asked the archeologist.

"I'm not sure I could see that far, not easily."

"Didn't you see me when I was on the Prometheus?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but that was a different situation, and it took a great deal of effort and concentration."

"So, we do not know if Moloc waits in orbit or if he will come through the gate," Ishta said.

Something occurred to Daniel.  "No, there is another way to find out."

He turned and called to Reynolds, telling him to wait on sending the new prisoners through.  He saw that two of the Jaffa had already been sent.

Daniel walked up to one of the Jaffa who had spoken before.  "Are there ships in orbit?"  The man said nothing.  "Hold him," the archeologist instructed Teal'c and Bra'tac.  They grasped the man's arms tightly.  Daniel laid his hand on the shoulder of Moloc's Jaffa and closed his eyes.  As he did with Frank March, the member of The Trust, Daniel sought to see the man's past and learn what they needed to know.  It didn't take long.

Daniel's eyes opened, his gaze meeting the Jaffa's, who was staring at him in confusion.

"They came through the gate," Daniel said.  "I didn't see anything that would indicate there are ships in orbit."

"Then it is likely that Moloc will come through the gate as well," Teal'c said.

"Did you find out when he's coming?" Sam asked Daniel.

"No, I don't think this guy knows."

"That is not surprising," Bra'tac said.  "Moloc would likely choose not to reveal the details of his plans to anyone but his most trusted men."

The captive Jaffa was now looking at Daniel with realization and hatred.  "You are Dan'yar."

"Yes," the archeologist replied.  He stepped back.  "Okay, send him and the others through."

"My master will destroy you!" the Jaffa being held by Teal'c and Bra'tac exclaimed as they took him to the gate.  "You are a pretender!  Moloc is a true god who will bring you to your knees!"

Teal'c and Bra'tac shoved the man through the gate rather forcefully, then returned to the others.

"Okay, we need to get to where the summit was held and rescue anyone who might still be alive," Daniel said.

Ishta's expression hardened.  "I will not lose this chance to kill Moloc."

"I'm not asking you to, Ishta, but, if we don't get those prisoners now, we'll lose our chance."

The woman nodded.  "You are right.  Teal'c can lead you to the meeting tent.  I will stay here with the Hak'tyl to await Moloc's arrival.  We will ambush him as he comes through."

"That is unwise," Teal'c stated.  "We cannot know how many Jaffa will come through with him.  You may be vastly outnumbered.  And if Moloc is protected by a personal shield, your weapons will be of no use against him.  He may escape."

"Right now, we need to focus on the rescue and worry about Moloc later," Daniel said.  "We'll leave SG-3 and 5 here to keep an eye on the gate.  If Moloc comes though, they'll let us know."

"When he arrives, it is likely that Moloc will go to the meeting tent as well," Bra'tac said.  "He will want to interrogate the survivors, if any exist."

"Okay, if that's the case and he heads that way while we're still there, we'll wait for him to show up.  Otherwise, after we see about survivors, we'll come back here and wait."

Ishta nodded.  "Very well.  The Hak'tyl will await Moloc's arrival here with your teams."

"No," Daniel said.  "I'm sorry but a party that large would be too hard to hide for any length of time.  We could be waiting for several hours.  They'll have to go back to Earth."

"The Hak'tyl will not run to safety when the murderer of our sisters is finally within our reach."

Daniel sighed.  "All right, choose four of your people besides yourself and Kar'yn to stay with SG-3 and 5, but the rest have to go.  Pick women that you're certain will be able to resist the urge to shoot Moloc the second they see him."

"None of my warriors would do so if I command otherwise," Ishta declared.

"Are you sure of that?  If Moloc was standing just a few yards away from you, how hard would it be for you not to pull the trigger?"

Ishta met the piercing blue gaze for long seconds.  "It would be difficult," she finally admitted.

"Daniel, we need to get going," Sam said.  "We're not going to have much more daylight."

Ishta spoke to the rest of the Hak'tyl, explaining everything to them.  They were not happy about having to leave.  Ishta selected four women from among them to remain, one of which was Ka'lel.

"Daniel, there is one possible problem," Sam said.  "What if Moloc doesn't come for several hours?  You can bet that Jaffa will be sent to relieve the men who were stationed at the gate sooner or later.  The moment they see what happened here, they'll probably warn Moloc."

Daniel nodded.  "Yeah, you're right.  We're going to have to make sure they can't do that."

"How?" Ishta asked.

"I can sabotage the DHD," Sam replied, "remove one of the control crystals.  It'll mean that, if we have to get out of here in a hurry, we're going to have a problem, but it's the only thing I can think of."

"I agree," Bra'tac said.

The gate was dialed a third time.

"How's it going over there?" Jack asked.  "You're certainly giving us a crap load of prisoners to deal with."

"It's going fine, Jack, but I'm afraid that we're going to be sending a lot more prisoners through, unconscious ones this time, so be prepared to gather them up.  Oh, and, um, we've learned that Moloc is coming here, so we're going to wait for him and try to take him down."

"That wasn't part of the mission, Daniel."

"I know, Jack, but it's the best chance we'll have to get him without a lot of bloodshed.  I promised Ishta that I'd help get Moloc, and I intend to keep that promise.  We've come up with a plan that should work."

"Dammit, Daniel.  This is the second time you've decided to run off and go get yourself a Goa'uld.  I'm sensing a pattern here.  I'm going to seriously consider never letting you command a mission again."

"That's not really much of a threat to me, Jack."

"Yeah, I know, and I suppose that asking nicely wouldn't help either."

"Nope.  Sorry."

"Bribes?"

"What sort of bribes?  No, never mind.  Look, Jack.  I'm not going to order anyone here to stay.  Anybody who wants to leave can go.  I'm the only one who made the promise."

"I'm staying, sir," Sam said into her radio.

"As am I," Teal'c stated.

"I would not wish to miss this," said Bra'tac.

Reynolds spoke up.  "I'd like to see the bastard brought down, sir.  I've got two daughters."

Harper, the leader of SG-5 said that he, too, wanted to stay.  All of the other men of the SG teams said likewise.

"Daniel, you're corrupting my people," Jack complained.

"Sorry."

"Okay, fine.  Do you need more men?"

"No, I think we're good.  Um, just so you know, it might be a long wait.  The sun's going down here, and Moloc might decide not to show till morning."

"All right.  I want check-ins every four hours," Jack ordered.

"Uh . . . yeah.  That's not going to be possible."

"And why is that, Daniel?"

"Because we're going to have to temporarily disable the DHD."

"Daniel, I'm not liking this plan of yours."

Sam got on the radio.  "We have no other choice, sir.  If we don't disable the DHD and any of Moloc's forces show up, they're going to see that something is wrong and contact Moloc."

"And what if this plan of yours doesn't work?  How are you going to come running back here if you can't dial the gate?"

"It would take less than a minute to undo what I'm going to do to it, sir," Sam replied.  "And, if he had to, Daniel could dial it."

"Fine, but let me go on record as saying I have serious reservations about this."

"Duly noted, Jack," Daniel responded.

With the help of the Hak'tyl and SG-3 and 5, the unconscious members of Moloc's forces were sent through the gate, followed by all of the Hak'tyl, except Ishta, Kar'yn and the four women Ishta had chosen.  The bodies of the five dead Jaffa were also taken so that there would be no clue as to what happened to the force that had been guarding the gate.  By that time, the sun had dipped very low in the sky.

Sam got to work on disabling the DHD, explaining to everyone what she was doing and how to reverse it.  She wanted to be sure that, if something happened, there would be other people who would know how to get the DHD working again.  Once the chosen control crystal was removed, it was hidden in a safe spot.

Daniel turned to the leaders of SG-3 and 5.  "I think it will be safer for you to position your teams up there."  He pointed at the place where Teal'c, Ishta and Aron had been.

Reynolds nodded.  "Right.  Are you sure you don't want any of us with you?"

"Yes, I'm sure.  We're going to be moving in the dark and will probably have to hide often.  The smaller our group is, the easier that will be.  Use your earpieces.  We don't want the sound of voices on radios alerting anyone to our positions.  We'll check in every two hours.  If we miss a check-in, wait fifteen minutes before contacting us.  We may be hiding from a patrol.  Contact us if you run into trouble or if Moloc arrives."

Everyone ascended to the top of the hill, then SG-1, Bra'tac, Ishta, Rya'c and Kar'yn parted company with the others and headed toward the meeting tent.

The sun had barely set when the rescue team encountered their first patrol.  Daniel, who was concentrating fully on sensing the presence of anyone in the area, abruptly stopped and motioned to the others.  They all sought a place to hide.  It was not long before they spied the patrol, a group of six men.  The Jaffa looked around, eyes watchful, and continued on their way.  The rescue team waited until they were well past before leaving their hiding place.

"Why did you not strike at them?" Ishta asked Daniel.

"Because the more bodies we leave lying around, the more likely it is that someone will figure out that something's up before we manage to get to that tent."

They continued toward their destination, but had not gone very far when Daniel sensed another patrol.  This time, there was no place nearby to hide, and they were forced to go deeper into the woods.  They were heading for a shallow gully to hide in when Daniel suddenly sensed yet another patrol heading straight toward them.  Daniel hurried the others into the gully and went in after them.  He peeked out from over the top of the edge and waited.  Within seconds, the Jaffa appeared, coming right toward them.  Daniel waited for them to get a bit closer, then struck, rendering them unconscious one by one so quickly that none of them had time to cry out.

The team climbed out of the gully and approached the men.

"They are still alive," Ishta said.

"Yes.  It wasn't necessary to kill them.  Come on, let's hide them in the gully."

The Jaffa were dragged to the gully, then bound and gagged.

"At this rate, it's going to take us forever to get there," Sam remarked.  "They sure do have a lot of patrols out here."

"If Moloc has some idea of the size of the rebel faction in his army, he would believe that there may be many more here," Teal'c said.  "The closer we draw to the meeting tent, the more patrols there may be.  His Jaffa would want to scour the area of all who would seek to harm their master."

"Which means that I'm probably going to have to deal with quite a few more before we get there," Daniel said.

Daniel's words proved to be prophetic.  They encountered three more patrols, one of which Daniel had to knock out.  And then, just as they reached a vantage point for the tent, what Daniel had feared would happen did.  There was a shout of alarm as someone apparently found one of the patrols he'd knocked out.  Activity exploded around the tent, what had appeared to be only six men quadrupling in number as more appeared from within the tent and the surrounding area.

"Crap," Daniel cursed in a low voice.  "Well, this is going to make things harder.  I'm really limited on what I can do here.  There are too many trees to risk fire.  I could burn the whole forest down.  We may have to—  Get down!"

As Daniel shouted the warning, a patrol of eight men appeared behind them.  Daniel struck at the men, hurling them against the trees.  Teal'c, Bra'tac, Rya'c and Ishta opened fire with their staff weapons.

The racket alerted the men in the camp to the rescue team's location, and they were suddenly being fired upon.  They took cover and returned fire, Daniel knocking staff weapons out of Jaffa hands and throwing men back.  He sensed that more Jaffa were closing in on their position.

"We need to get to that tent now!" he shouted over the din.

Knowing that he had no choice, Daniel unleashed his pyrokinetic abilities.  Tongues of flame shot through the trees, aimed at the Jaffa in the clear area around the tent.  They stumbled backwards, trying to flee, but there seemed to be no escape from the living flame.  It chased them like hounds pursuing rabbits, singeing their hair and raising blisters on their skin.

The team raced toward the chaos, weapons blazing.  Daniel, his mind focused on controlling the fire, barely noticed where he was going.  He stumbled and almost fell.  For that instant, he lost control, and the fire consumed one of the Jaffa, who screamed in agony.  Feeling sick, Daniel put out the fire, but he knew it was probably already too late.  He pressed onward with the others.

They made it to the tent.  Daniel spun around and crouched at the entrance with Sam and Bra'tac on one side, Teal'c on his other.

"Get in there and check on the men!" Daniel shouted to Ishta.  She and Kar'yn hurried inside as Rya'c joined his father.

As the two women checked the rebel Jaffa inside, the five people outside held their ground, Sam, Teal'c, Bra'tac and Rya'c firing their weapons at every Jaffa they saw as Daniel divided his time between sheltering them from staff weapon fire and attacking enemy Jaffa.

Ishta came back out.  "There are two still alive, but they are gravely injured," she shouted.

"Can you take them out the back?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, but Kar'yn may need help."

"Rya'c, help them."

Ishta and Rya'c went back into the tent.

Ignoring the headache that was rapidly growing worse, Daniel continued to defend himself and the others.  He built a wall of flames between them and the attackers, then sent it racing outward, chasing Moloc's Jaffa back into the woods.

Finally, the attack on their position stopped.  Daniel knew it was only temporary, though.  Soon, more Jaffa would arrive.

Ishta returned.  "The injured men have been taken to the edge of the hill."

"All right, let's go while we've got the chance," Daniel said.  "We need to find a place to hide and regroup."

They went around behind the tent.  Kar'yn and Rya'c were crouched beside two injured rebel Jaffa.  Teal'c lifted one of the men up over his shoulders as Bra'tac did likewise with the other.

They all made it down the steep slope, having to take it slowly because of the living burdens that two of their number carried.

Once they reached the bottom, the team made it to a stand of young trees almost too thick to pass through.  They squeezed in between the trunks for several feet, then Daniel leveled a small area, snapping the trees off at ground level.  Ishta, Rya'c and Kar'yn quickly gathered up the felled trees and fashioned a wall around them as Sam and Daniel kept watch at the edge of the trees.  It would now be impossible for anyone to see them.

Bra'tac and Teal'c laid down their burdens, then the older Jaffa left to take over the job of keeping watch.  Daniel and Sam entered the cleared area.  The archeologist checked on the man Bra'tac had been carrying.  There was a staff weapon wound in his shoulder, and it looked like he might have been beaten.

Daniel looked over at Teal'c and the Jaffa lying unconscious beside him.  "How is he?"

"Not well.  I do not believe he will live the night without medical attention."

Sam knelt beside the man, the first aid kit in her hands.  She checked on him.

"Teal'c's right," she confirmed.  "He's in really bad shape."  She looked over at the other man.  "How about him?"

"I'd say he's a little better off," Daniel replied.  He walked up to the more gravely injured man and knelt beside him.

"Daniel, are you thinking of doing what I think you are?" Sam asked.

"If you think I'm planning on healing him, then you're right."

Sam stared at him intently.  "How bad is your headache?"

"I've had worse."

"That's not what I asked, Daniel."

The archeologist sighed.  "Oh a scale of one to ten, ten being the headache I had after lifting the Stargate, this is only a three. . . .  Okay, maybe a four."

"You are ill?" Ishta asked him.

"Every time Daniel uses his abilities extensively, they take a physical toll on him," Sam explained.  "If he uses them too much, he'll collapse.  More than once, it's caused minor hemorrhaging in his brain.  It's possible that it could even kill him."

Ishta stared at Daniel.  "This I did not know.  I was aware that your powers were limited, but I did not know that using them brought harm to you.  I am sorry."

"It's all right, Ishta.  I'll be okay after I get some rest."  He looked down at the unconscious man.

"Don't even think about it, Daniel," Sam said sternly.  "If you try to heal him, you'll drain yourself even more."

"I just need to heal him enough to get him through the night.  We came here to rescue these men.  If I let them die, this will be for nothing."

Sam sighed.  "All right, but just enough so that he won't die."

Daniel laid his hand upon the man's body and closed his eyes.  The others gathered around to watch.  They saw the wound in the man's lower chest begin to heal.  The healing stopped before it was completed.

Daniel swayed, and his shoulder was caught by Sam, who looked at him anxiously.

"I'm okay, just really tired," he insisted.  "I stopped the internal bleeding and repaired the damage to his liver.  He should be all right for a while."

"And the other one?" Rya'c asked, filled with wonder over what he'd just seen.

Sam went to the other man.  "The wound's nasty, but no internal organs would have been hit.  I don't know about internal bleeding, though."

"I'll check on that," Daniel said.  Sam gave him a warning glare, but said nothing.

Feeling more than a little shaky, Daniel went over to the other man.  He delved into the injured Jaffa's body and found a small bleeder, which he repaired.  The rest of the damage was not immediately life-threatening.

Daniel sat down to take the weight off his trembling legs.  "He'll be okay."

"What are we going to do now?" Kar'yn asked.

"Daniel needs to rest," Sam replied.  "If he pushes himself any more, he's liable to pass out."

Daniel nodded.  "She's right, I'm afraid.  Once I've gotten some rest, if Moloc hasn't come through the gate by then, we can head back, send the injured men through, then wait for Moloc to get here."

Daniel found a spot on the ground that didn't have any tree stumps, spread out a blanket, then laid down.  He didn't even have time to think about going to sleep before he was out.

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