SG1-16 Four Dragons (20 page)

A chunk of wall exploded to his left. He threw up his arms to block flying chunks of limestone from hitting him or Teal’c.

“
Plan C, Colonel. Consider yourself reinstated as SG-1’s commanding officer.
”

“Thank you, sir!” The magic words evoked, Jack ripped open the pack, having no patience for zippers or snaps. He yanked out two P90s.

Teal’c dropped his zat, unbuckled his own pack and pulled out two of the black translucent magazines. Jack snatched one, jammed it in and gave Teal’c a quick nod. “Lose the ball.”

Teal’c tossed the com ball and grabbed a rifle. “There!”

A Jaffa headed toward Carter and Bra’tac.

Jack opened fire.

STARGATE COMMAND

STATUS: GATE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED

3 JUL 03/2035 HRS BASE TIME

Ten tons dropped off George’s shoulders as the welcome sound of rifle fire rang out.

SG-1’s communication ball was on the move again, transmitting a jumble of images. It rolled past fallen Jaffa, by busted up bits of brick floor. A quick flash showed Major Carter and Bra’tac racing toward Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c.

The ball kept going, rolling toward a marble column near the center of the terrace.

“What have you done?” Huang shouted over the din of bullet and zat fire.

“What I should have done days ago.”

The display stopped rolling. Most likely it had become wedged up against the column. The view showed a green marble statue of a woman with a baby in her arms. P90 fire erupted from the left and right sides of the statue.

From behind the ball’s location, a rapid succession of zat fire sprayed across the statue. George could barely make out two sets of standard issue boots run out of frame. He had to presume they belonged to Jack and Teal’c.

The statue disintegrated.

“No!” Huang cried out. “They cannot!”

George ignored Huang’s protest. “Oh, but they can, Mr. Ambassador… or whoever you are.” He signaled Sergeants Brooks and Gerling into the briefing room. “Airmen, arrest this man.”

Brooks raised his pistol while Gerling grabbed hold of Huang’s arm.

“They cannot,” Huang whispered, his words barely heard above the ruckus on the communications ball.

“Come with us, sir,” Gerling said.

Huang didn’t budge.

“
Major Carter!
” Teal’c shouted.

A P90 flew by, caught by a hand extending out of a service black operations jacket. “
Thanks, Teal’c!
”

“They cannot,” Huang repeated.

“What can’t they do?” Jacob asked. He grabbed Huang’s chair and spun him away from the table. “What the hell is going on, Huang? Who the hell are you?”

Huang’s eyes were glazed over, his jaw slackened.

George knew they’d get no answers from the man any time soon. “Get him out of here,” he ordered.

The sergeants lifted Huang from his seat. As they dragged him past, the near comatose man lifted his gaze toward George.

“They cannot.”

Disgusted, George slid his eyes away and looked toward the com ball where a furious barrage of bullets and blasts crowded the screen. Teal’c ran by, scooping up a discarded zat. The deluge paused for a moment, long enough for George to see a Jaffa raising a zat gun toward the communications ball.

Blue electricity covered the display.

Then the image winked out.

PLANET DESIGNATION: LORD YU’S

HOMEWORLD (P3X-042)

STATUS: SAR MISSION UNDER ENEMY FIRE

APPROX 0730 HRS LOCAL TIME

3 JUL 03/2050 HRS BASE TIME

Teal’c retrieved a second modified zat as he joined the others by the rear of the one remaining column. He passed the weapon on to Bra’tac, who quickly made use of its function by shooting the ground in front of a group of impending Jaffa. As O’Neill and Major Carter took use of their rifles, Teal’c leaned out from behind the column. He shot several bolts toward the far end of the terrace roof.

The gun was effective in its destruction. Metal and clay shattered across what remained of the terrace, propelling many Jaffa. He had raised his weapon again when the column he leaned against began to shake.

He jumped away. “We must retreat from this section.”

O’Neill stopped firing and glanced at him. “Must we? And here I was just starting to have fun.”

“Teal’c is right,” said Bra’tac. “More Jaffa approach. Quickly, we must — ”

A horn blew.

With O’Neill and Bra’tac at his sides, and Major Carter covering their rear, Teal’c ran toward the single door leading into the building. Behind him, the thunder of many boots drummed from within the massive column. A new round of Yu’s Jaffa ripe for battle. If they did not reach the door in time, he could not be sure they would win another round against such formidable opposition.

A glance over his shoulder as they ran confirmed his suspicions. Several dozen more Jaffa had exited the one remaining column.

“Jaffa! Obi-tan!” Freeze.

Teal’c froze in his tracks. He knew that voice. He spun around, his zat raised and ready to fire.

First Prime Oshu stood flanked by his Jaffa. In his hands was a staff weapon, aimed directly at Teal’c. Enemy, ally, Oshu had been both in the past. The question was which manner of man stood before him today?

“Sholvah!” Oshu thumbed his staff weapon. His dark eyes searched Teal’c’s, waiting.

“Teal’c…” warned O’Neill.

Oshu narrowed his brow, the creases on his forehead rippled in uncertainty. “Surrender now and you and your people will not die.”

“Funny,” said O’Neill, waving his rifle at the Jaffa. “I was about to say the same thing.” A not so subtle reminder that the ‘odds had evened,’ as the Tau’ri would say.

Oshu cocked his head, confused by O’Neill’s humor.

“
Jaffa
!” boomed a voice from high above.

Teal’c looked up. There, above the one remaining column, hung a massive Goa’uld communications device. Within its mists, an image of Lord Yu looked down upon his Jaffa.

Relief flooded Teal’c as he caught sight of a weary Daniel Jackson beside the System Lord.

“Thank God,” whispered O’Neill.

The sound of an energy surge brought Teal’c’s attention back to Oshu. The First Prime raised his fully charged staff weapon at Teal’c.

“
Shel Kree
!” ordered Lord Yu. Retreat.

Oshu remained steadfast, his eyes never leaving Teal’c’s. It was then that Teal’c made the connection.

The high forehead, the sharp eyes that took in everything in a single glance — Oshu looked a great deal like a younger version of Ambassador Huang.

“
Follow my command, Oshu.
”

A moment more of traded glances, and then… Yu’s First Prime obeyed his master. With the Jaffa at his heels, Oshu departed through the column’s opening.

Teal’c raced to the column, but was too late. The wall had slid tightly shut. He tried to pry it back open but was unsuccessful. The column was now unmovable.

A tap on his shoulder and he turned. O’Neill raised a finger to his lips and gestured upward, toward the super-sized communications device overhead where Yu scowled down upon them. Daniel Jackson’s mouth was open, as if he wished to speak. Before he could say a word, Yu’s palm covered the display.

The image disappeared.

Teal’c’s mind reeled as he considered the implications of the Tau’ri ambassador’s ties to Lord Yu and Oshu. How could he not have seen the similarities?

“Teal’c, can he hear us?” asked O’Neill.

“As long as it is turned off, no.”

O’Neill lifted his rifle and aimed at the communications device. Bra’tac placed a hand on his arm. “Do not. If we destroy the device, Yu will send more troops. We must retreat.”

“We’re not leaving Daniel behind.”

Teal’c eyed the communications device once more to ensure it was turned off. “There is something more we must consider.”

“Like how the hell did their zats pack such a punch on the very first shot?”

“There is that as well, yes. But… “ He gazed upon his three comrades, each of their faces open to him, trusting of his abilities. It would be difficult to admit his failure, but he must.

“Having seen Lord Yu’s First Prime, I now know why Ambassador Huang looked so familiar. Remove the beard and they are identical. I should have realized this sooner. I have failed. For this I apologize.”

O’Neill placed a hand on his shoulder. “T, if you were a dictionary, failure wouldn’t even be a word. Besides, I don’t see it.”

“I do,” said Major Carter. “Same height, same face — ”

“Different ages,” Bra’tac observed. “But how is this possible? If Huang and Yu’s First Prime are related, that means Huang was not born on Earth. He could only have come through your Stargate.”

O’Neill shook his head. “I think we would have noticed, don’t you?”

“Unless Huang came through the Antarctica Stargate,” said Major Carter.

“Seriously?”

“Sir, we only found the gate a little more than six years ago. Before that, who knows what sort of traffic went through?”

“I did not want hear that,” muttered O’Neill.

“Sir, we know the Serpent Guard found in the ice was only a couple of hundred years old.”

“Carter!”

Major Carter persisted. “Remember that Medieval Christian village we found, the one terrorized by Sokar’s Unas? Daniel said they had to have been taken through the Antarctic gate because their religion was based on events post Egypt’s gate being buried.”

Teal’c remembered the experience clearly. If not for placing himself in a deep state of
kelnorim
, he would not have survived the Canon’s demon test. Instead, he would have drowned.

Nonetheless, one element of Major Carter’s theory troubled him. “If the gate in Egypt was uncovered in the early part of the twentieth century, would not Huang have traveled through it instead of the gate in Antarctica?”

“Possibly… but then Huang would be even older than he already is. We know Yu was aware of the Antarctica gate over three years ago when he demanded both gates be forfeited during treaty negotiations. How did he know it existed?”

O’Neill dropped his hands and frowned. “Because he used it.”

“Exactly.” Major Carter handed her P90 to Bra’tac and removed her handheld scanner from a vest pocket. “With Yu’s access to photonic energy, he could easily duplicate the right kind of electrical jolt to jump gates. Just like what happened to the colonel and me when we were thrown through the second gate.”

O’Neill waved at her scanner. “And you think you can find out the source of this jolt?”

“Yes, sir. Given time, I might be able to backwards engineer — ”

“Negative, Major. We’re here to get Daniel. Unless some miracle occurs — and based on the fact that our covert operation has been blown up with the rest of this terrace — I don’t see us having the time to study Yu’s gizmo.”

If Major Carter was disappointed, she hid it well. “At least we know Daniel’s all right.”

“Indeed,” Teal’c replied. “I had little doubt… until Yu’s Jaffa attacked us.”

“He’s a Goa’uld,” said O’Neill. “What did you expect?”

“In my previous encounters with Lord Yu, my life was never threatened. Why he captured Daniel Jackson remains to be seen, although — ”

“This wasn’t just a kidnapping,” said Major Carter. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to convince the president and his staff that Huang was a legitimate diplomat.”

“Enough trouble to almost get us killed.” O’Neill rubbed his neck, an unusual habit Teal’c had first noticed during their expedition through the maze. “Any idea why they pulled back?”

“None,” Teal’c said. It was a most curious tactic.

Major Carter adjusted the controls on her scanner and directed it toward Yu’s fortress. “What now, sir? I’m assuming, with Huang’s com ball disintegrated, plus what we’ve discovered so far — ”

“General Hammond communicated his approval of Plan C,” Teal’c reported.

“Yes,” O’Neill said. “So, if you wouldn’t mind, Major, I’ll take the proverbial command chair back. Not that you didn’t do a great job. You did. You were — ”

“Yes, sir.” Though her words were formal, Major Carter’s smile eased the moment’s discomfort. Truly, she had done an excellent job and Teal’c would gladly follow her again if the need arose.

“What is it you plan, O’Neill?” asked Bra’tac. “Yu must certainly know we plan to retrieve Daniel Jackson. He will try to stop us.”

O’Neill patted his rifle. “That’s where these come in. Siler stuffed enough C-4 and P90 magazines in Teal’c’s pack to take out Yu’s whole army.”

Major Carter looked up from her scanner. “We’ll need them. I’m pretty sure I’m out of rounds.”

Teal’c looked back toward the door, where he had placed the pack behind the now disintegrated statue. Nowhere amongst the debris could it be found.

“T… where’s the pack?”

“It is gone, O’Neill.”

Chapter Thirteen

Yu’s voice boomed across the throne room. “Explain what you saw, what was said, what took place.”

Daniel only half-listened as Yu’s four Royal Guardsmen retold what happened. He’d seen it for himself on the communication device. More importantly, for the first time in days, his head was clear. Seeing Jack, Sam, Teal’c and Bra’tac was… If Daniel had to compare his reaction to anything, it would be the equivalent of five cups of coffee. Given intravenously.

Yu stood by the jade statue at the back of the throne room, conferring with the Jaffa. With the Goa’uld’s attention elsewhere, Daniel studied his surroundings with fresh eyes. He’d need to be ready. He’d need to be able to do his part to escape when the opportunity arose, but one glance out the latticework lining the west windows confirmed his earlier doubts. The Stargate remained heavily guarded. In fact, he was fairly certain the guard had been doubled since his arrival. Three, possibly four dozen Jaffa surrounded the stone ring while a circle of energy cannons covered what he could only assume was the DHD.

If the gate had been guarded all this time, that meant Jack and the others had come by ship. Looking down at his bare feet, Daniel groaned at the idea of running barefoot. He’d do it, but it wasn’t going to be fun.

Heck, running barefoot in freezing temperatures would be the easy part.

Getting past Yu’s Royal Guard would be next to impossible. Even now, they took turns watching him… no, glaring was more the right term.

Now that Daniel had interacted with each of them, he knew enough to recognize their loyalties to Yu went far beyond normal blind obedience. These men — each cutting quite the princely figure in their cloaks of grey, green, blue and red—were highly intelligent, unique individuals. Oshu had a genuinely curious nature. Lao Dan’s kindness made him the most atypical Jaffa Daniel had ever met. Kong Qiu’s dedication to reason over emotion was almost admirable.

The fourth Jaffa, the one in the red cloak… Daniel had heard Yu call him Ying Zheng. The perfect name, all things considered. The original Ying Zheng, Emperor of China sometime around 225 B.C., had been far more infamous than the legendary Yu the Great. Sure, Zheng had been the original builder of China’s Great Wall, and the renowned terracotta army, and a massive national road system as well, but it had all been done at the expense of thousands of lives.

Ying Zheng had been a tyrant.

The current Zheng wasn’t much of an improvement in the personality department, either. Their brief encounter a few days ago when Daniel had tried to convince the Jaffa to let him go free had been proof of that. By the way Zheng hung on the Goa’uld’s every word, he was obviously devoted to Yu. Like a son to a father.

All four of them were, actually… And why only four and not six, or ten, or even twenty? Four seemed like a small number for a System Lord’s Royal Guard, and it wasn’t like they were brothers, even though they acted like it. Short, tall, lean, stocky. Each of them was physically different though all four were most definitely of Chinese descent.

He looked down at the
Wéiqí
board, its surface mostly covered in Yu’s black stones. Only a few groups of white were still in play. That and the first of Daniel’s four dragons. The one with gray eyes.

What was it with Yu and the number four?

Yu’s conference broke up, tearing Daniel’s attention from the board. As the guards began to file out of the room, he noticed the Goa’uld give a final pat to his statue, and then returned to his seat. He took up his bowl of stones with a casualness that belied the battle of mere minutes ago.

“You may now play your second dragon as you planned before our interruption.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Daniel furrowed his brow, utterly confused. Didn’t Yu have bigger things to worry about, like capturing Jack and the others?

“I am most serious,” Yu said.

“Okay…” He picked up the blue-eyed dragon and placed it on an open spot in the center of the board.

“My Lord?” Oshu approached the table. “Should we not keep the communication device engaged?”

Yu ignored his First Prime, plunking down a black stone to the left of Daniel’s dragon.

With a frown, Oshu tried again, speaking with a level of patience Daniel found rather remarkable, all things considered. “My Lord, if the Tau’ri have entered the — ”

“Do not speak to me as if I am some addle-minded idiot.”

Oshu blanched. “I would never, my Lord. I only meant — ”

“Enough! You,” the Goa’uld pointed at Daniel, “play your next piece.”

Daniel hurriedly placed a white stone on the board, next to his second dragon.

“And you,” the Goa’uld continued, pointing at Oshu, “do not disturb us again unless it is urgent. The game is not to be interrupted.”

With a bow, Oshu backed away from the table. “Perhaps my Lord would consider resting in the sarcophagus. It has been many hours since — ”

“Leave us,” Yu warned.

“Yes, my Lord.” Oshu glared at Daniel one last time and hurried out, his gray cloak flapping against his back.

His gray cloak.

Daniel looked once more at the four dragons, each one’s eyes a different color. Gray, red, green, blue… just like the Royal Guard’s different colored cloaks.

Yu dropped a stone in front of the second dragon. Half of Daniel’s mind focused on the game, dropping another white down beside the first. The rest of him tried to figure out how the pieces of Yu’s puzzle came together.

Four Royal Guards. Four colors. Four dragons. There was a connection. Daniel was sure of it. He just didn’t know how they were connected. Not yet, at least.

With a sigh, Yu laid a hand on the communications ball. “Not one of my four guards appreciates your presence.”

“I can understand why.” Daniel said calmly. He tried to feign disinterest in the guards’ animosity, the puzzle that defined Yu nagging at him.

“My reasons are my own.” He indicated the board by lifting his chin. “Play your next piece, Daniel Jackson. In doing so, be mindful of your dragons.”

Yu waved his hand over the communications device. As a mist gathered in its center, he nodded approvingly. “Yes… be mindful of your dragons because no one else will.”

* * *

“So much for Plan C,” said Colonel O’Neill. “Without ammo, we can’t stay here much longer, Carter.”

“I know that, sir.” Sam restarted her scanner for the third time. “One more minute.”

“Do I smell a Plan D… as in ‘get it done’? We’re getting through the alphabet pretty quick on this mission.”

“Possibly, sir. Photonic energy readings are through the roof… which simply isn’t possible. Not without some giant beam of light pouring down on top of us.”

Colonel O’Neill frowned. “Only light I see is that meek little sun poking itself up above the mountains. In other words, time’s a-wasting.”

“Just one more moment.” Finally, her scanner chirped. Sam thumbed the results screen, only half-surprised to see the detection needle once again pegged beyond normal bandwidth. Way beyond, into some frequency the scanner couldn’t even register.

Maybe she was too tired to read it properly. She raised the scanner closer.

The needle dropped down to zero.

“Okay, now I’m starting to think I need glasses.” Or a new scanner, she told herself. Though the colonel probably didn’t realize it, he was right about one thing. Sunlight should have registered at least a low degree of photonic energy.

In essence, all light contains photons.

“Keep at it,” the colonel said, patting her shoulder. “In the meantime… Teal’c, Bra’tac, our next objective is through that door. Scout ahead. I want to know what what’s inside and what we’re up against.”

“Understood,” Teal’c said.

Dropping the scanner to her hip, Sam watched the two Jaffa allies run toward the door. They scooped up two more of the modified zats on their way. Good idea, since that was pretty much going to be the extent of the weapons they had.

She looked back at her scanner. The needle pinned red again. “What the heck?”

“Carter?”

Sam lifted the scanner to eye-level one more time to be sure. The needle dropped to zero. “Sir, I think I know what’s going on.”

“That makes one of us. Care to share?”

She held the scanner out between them. The needle pegged. “There’s an enormously high level of photonic energy being emitted somewhere — ”

“Isn’t that why your dad gave us the pendants?”

“Exactly. Watch the scanner.” She flipped it out so he could see the display and then placed it against her chest, just above where her pendant hung. The colonel’s eyebrows shot up.

“The needle dropped to zero, didn’t it?” She raised the scanner to his chest and the same thing happened again.

“Neat trick.”

“The pendants caused that, sir.” She picked up one of the modified zats and ran the scanner over it. The needle went nuts, pegging both sides of the spectrum. “I can’t be certain, but I think — ”

“
O’Neill
,” Teal’c whispered over the radio. “
The building’s entrance remains unguarded. We should proceed quickly.
”

The colonel thumbed his radio. “Scout ahead. We’ll be there shortly.” He released the radio. “Talk on the way, Carter. Let’s move.”

“Yes, sir.” She pocketed the scanner.

“Bring your P90,” he ordered. “You might be out of rounds, but the Jaffa won’t know that. And bring one of those one-shot-and-you’re-gone zats, too.”

Colonel O’Neill led the way across the remains of the torn up terrace. Dead and dying Jaffa lay everywhere. “So what’s the deal with the zats?”

“Without taking one apart, sir, I’d have to guess they’re built of a composite similar to the pendants… except in reverse.”

“And reverse is good?” A wide gap in the floor brought them to a halt. The colonel pointed at the back end where a narrow strip of flooring had managed to survive the battle. They shimmied across and dropped down by the partially open door.

Sam knew she needed to make her point and make it fast. “Sir, something inside these zats not only filters out random electrical charges, like the pendants, but also acts as a conduit for some sort of massive energy source. A source I’d be willing to bet is somewhere close. The phase velocity of photons must be — ”

“Carter… just tell me how this helps. We’re low on ammo, we’ve got an enemy with far more powerful weapons — ”

“Sir, I think if we shut down the energy source, we can even up the odds. Their zats will revert back to normal issue. The chances of rescuing Daniel will be heck of a lot better.”

His weapon raised, the colonel nudged the door a bit more and peered inside. With a frown, he pulled his head back out. “Don’t be so sure, Major.”

When the colonel shoved the door open, Sam saw Teal’c and Bra’tac crouched beneath a silvery metal stairwell. Halfway up the stairs, an activated Goa’uld communications ball shimmered.

From inside its mists, Lord Yu looked on. Daniel was by his side.

STARGATE COMMAND

STATUS: GATE OPERATIONS SUSPENDED

APPROX 0730 HRS LOCAL TIME

3 JUL 03/2050 HRS BASE TIME

Jacob Carter transmitted an update to the Tok’ra council, asking… no, demanding to know what the hell kind of technology allowed Yu’s Jaffa to zat the snot out of anything with just one hit. The council denied any knowledge.

Jacob climbed the stairs leading to the briefing room. Half the time, he felt like the council had blinders on. The rest of the time, they just played at being dense. He knew because as a ranking member of the council, he’d played dumb to operatives plenty of times.

As my former hosts did as well
, Selmak agreed.
What an operative does not know can save the lives of others
.

That doesn’t make it any easier, Jacob countered.

He stopped at the top of the stairs. The room was dark, save for some light streaming in from George’s office. Thinking his friend might be catching up on paperwork now that they couldn’t stay abreast of SG-1’s rescue mission, Jacob headed toward the door.

Until a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He stopped, turned toward its source.

It was George. Staring out the window, most likely down at the Stargate.

Probably making himself nuts, what with not knowing how Sam and the others were holding up. Well, he wasn’t alone. Every time Jacob was deployed on a mission for the Tok’ra, far removed from the S.G.C., he worried like a maniac about Sam.

He sighed. The not knowing really stunk.

“Jacob?” George turned from the window.

“How are you holding up?” Jacob joined him.

“I could ask you the same the thing.”

Jacob shrugged. “This isn’t my first barbeque… and it isn’t yours, either. I have to believe Sam will be fine. Otherwise — ”

“You can lie to yourself all you want, old friend, I know better.” George returned to looking out over the Stargate. He sighed. “You never get used to it. The waiting, I mean.”

“The burden of command,” Jacob said. He knew it too well. “Between Selmak’s memories, and my time as an Air Force General, I could share stories that would make your hair stand on end.”

As soon as his bald friend raised an eyebrow, Jacob gave an apologetic grin at the metaphor.

“The worst part,” George said softly, “is having to balance what’s right with what’s necessary. I swore an oath, and I’ll stand by it, no matter what, but having to send good men and women into an enemy stronghold, with their hands tied behind their backs. It’s just plain wrong.”

“Sneaking those P90s in their packs wasn’t exactly a hands tied behind the back course of action,” Jacob replied. “Not that I’m complaining, but is that bit of foresight going to get you into trouble with the president?”

“At the end of the day, this president’s only going to care about results — ”

“And protecting his rear end. Which is something you and SG-1 have done pretty damn well these past six-and-a-half years, George. Don’t forget that.”

“From your mouth to God’s ear.”

With that, George fell silent.