Retaliation (24 page)

Already, a steady stream of photos, diagrams, and translated material was flowing through the Star-Gate. Now the tech people were becoming more ruthless. Memory cores were being yanked out of computers. In some places whole computers were being torn out. Where the pieces were too big to remove, circuits would be dissected in place while everything was minutely recorded. Barbara Shore was down with the engines, an area they had been very leery of screwing around in. Those hulking mechanisms were putting out a tremendous amount of power-somewhere. Now a special team was measuring components, checking for a dozen types of radiation, shooting film and stealing every conceivable file from the engine-room computers.

Storey hoped it would be enough to let them create a duplicate drive when they got home.

Professor Pete Auchinloss had completely gutted the dormitory classrooms. In the end, with the help of some requisitioned muscle, he’d taken every single teaching computer he could find.

Storey wasn’t exactly sure he agreed with all this slash-and-burn scientific investigation.

But even he found himself getting annoyed at one of the more timid technicians who was trying to remove one of the circuits controlling the metamorphosis of a wall.

“You need both the circuit and what it controls,” he said, stopping his trolley load. “Have you isolated what that is?”

“Ah, more or less,” the other man said, indicating an area about four feet square. “It’s the size that’s the problem.”

“No, it isn’t.” Reaching into the front dolly, Storey brought out a blast-lance.

“Stand back, now.”

With the weapon’s head almost touching the wall, the bearded technician cut loose the indicated area.

“Just give it a moment or two to cool down,” Storey told his dumbfounded coworker. “Then add it to the next load of stuff coming through.” Beyond the gates of Nagada, Daniel Jackson saw a city in flames, topped by a sooty, red-flaring pillar rising high into the sky.

Daniel halted in his tracks. He wasn’t exactly a reli-gious man, but he recognized hell when he saw it.

Incredibly, there was activity on the catwalks. People ran back and forth, shouting down into the compound below. A knot of figures clustered on the wood and rope bridge. Was that Skaara up there?

And Sha’uri? Daniel sucked in a deep breath. “Hello, the gate!” he cried as loudly as he could.

“Gate’s closed!” one of the guards yelled back. “Try again tomorrow-if it ever comes!”

“I bring word from the Earth camp,” Daniel re-sponded. He threw back the hood of his Abydan robe.

“And I want to talk to my wife,” he added in English. The shouting on the towers and catwalks gave way to gasps as Daniel was recognized. Within the organic noise of surprise, Daniel also heard the sharp metallic clicks of firearms being readied. Nobody said this would be easy, he thought. He stood with his hands out, showing empty palms. “Put up those rifles!” Skaara’s voice cut across the confusion. “And open those doors. I’ll hear what he has to say.”

A voice rose in protest-Sha’uri’s. But she was pitching her arguments for her brother, not for the whole area. Even the sound of a hostile Sha’uri had an odd effect on Daniel’s heart rate.

By the time the gates had screeched their protesting ways open, Skaara had reached ground level. He faced his erstwhile brother-in-law, matching his empty-handed pose.

Daniel, however, could not ignore the pair of snipers with their rifles trained on his head, ready for the least hostile move. * “I’m not going to bite you,” Daniel finally said. “You think you can get those gunmen to aim some-where else?”

A single word from Skaara, and the pair desisted. Things might be bad in Nagada, but Skaara obviously had bloomed into a real leader. Maybe it’s because he’s the only hope these people have, Daniel thought. “I appreciate you not having me shot on sight,” he said. “Are your radios still working? Have you made out anything of what’s happened tonight?” Daniel gave a concise report of what had happened during the night-and what the huge ship signified.

Then, not knowing if any of his story had been spread, he gave Skaara a brief account of what had happened to him from the day of the assassination attempt. “I’d hoped that Sha’uri would also be here.

She really ought to hear some of this.”

The look Skaara gave him said, Don’t ask for what you can’t get. “She didn’t want you to come in,” he said. “When I insisted, she left.” Twenty pounds seemed to settle in Daniel’s chest.

“There’s nothing to blame her for. Did they tell you at least that Faizah was actually Hathor?”

Skaara nodded. “That did not make it easier for my sister.”

Daniel forced his hopes aside. “What’s happening with these fires?” “One of the many rival chieftains set some blazes to burn out an enemy-and his efforts have spread far beyond his plans. So far we’ve kept the flames from our enclave, but-“ “And Kasuf? How is he?”

For a long moment Skaara gave Daniel an enigmatic look. “Come,” he finally said.

“I’ll show you.”

They walked into a large whitewashed building-a hospital, Daniel realized as he came inside. Most of the big structure-a former warehouse, Daniel fig-ured-was devoted to open wards.

There were, however, a few private rooms for the very serious cases. Daniel couldn’t repress a gasp at Kasuf’s still condition. He took a lax, cool hand in his. “Old friend,” he said, “it grieves me to see you in this case. And that’s not just because you’re the only one who knows I didn’t shoot you-“ “B-but you weren’t,” a papery voice interrupted Daniel. The hand he held squeezed faintly against his, and Kasuf’s eyes opened. “The one who shot us wore a ridiculous yellow mop on his head. He was a bigger man than you-a Horus guard, with Ra’s sign tattooed on his face.” Daniel stared at this sudden reprieve, hoping that Skaara had heard all that the whispering voice had said.

Kasuf’s son, however, stood in the doorway.

“Dr. Destin,” he called. “Doctor!”

Dr. Terrance Destin couldn’t explain what had brought Kasuf out of his coma. “I’d like to say it was one of those miracles of modern medicine, but I don’t know where the credit goes.” He nodded at Daniel. “Perhaps it was Mr. Jackson’s voice-the voice of the man accused of attacking him.” The doctor shrugged. “Or maybe he was just ready to reenter the world again.” At any rate, Skaara agreed that Sha’uri ought to hear what their father had to say.

Daniel stood on one of the watchtowers, staring out into the night, when he became aware of a presence behind him.

“So,” Sha’uri finally said in Abydan, “you’re not a political traitor.” “No,” Daniel said, not trusting himself to turn. “Just a fool who didn’t know when he was well off.” He took a deep breath. “Nothing happened between her and me. I won’t kid you and say it was impossible.

She nearly did seduce me-she just found something she wanted more.” “Ah,” Sha’uri said with heavy sarcasm. “And now that you’ve come through your ordeal, you’ve re-turned, so things can go on as before.” Daniel shook his head. “I’ve come to tell you that nothing is as it was before. Your city is burning down, the Horus guards hold the mine-and a bunch of your people, Skaara tells me. That thing out there-“ “Thank you, I’ve heard enough.” Behind him, he heard Sha’uri turning away. Daniel felt a stab of anger. He whirled, catching Sha’uri by the arm. “Listen,” he said, “I love you, dammit. I want to make what was between us good again. But I don’t have the time. That thing out there has the power to reduce Nagada to a smear in the landscape. Look at it. Look at it!”

He dragged her to the parapet. They watched for a long moment as gouts of energy poured from the Boat of a Million Years, pounding the Marine positions. “Those are brave men out there. But they have noth-ing that can withstand those bolts. All too soon they’ll be driven into the StarGate. Then Hathor will control the gate, and no one will be able to get off Abydos.” “Then go,” Sha’uri said roughly. “No,”

Daniel said. “I want you to go. You’ve been marked for death because of the rebellion-you and Skaara, Kasuf, and many others. Skaara and I are willing to fight. But the ones who escape will need a leader, too. The people trust you. They’ll follow you.”

“And you think that we’ll be welcome on your wonderful world?” Daniel didn’t answer for a second.

Then he finally said, “I think Jack O’Neil is an honorable man. And I don’t think your people should die because you’re angry at me.”

He let Sha’uri go. “Hate me if you want. But I hope to save your life-and as many lives as possible.”

The dull rumble of Hathor’s blast-bolt attacks con-tinued through the night, like unending thunder with-out the promise of rain. Sha’uri had roused the refugees and explained the situation to them. Those willing to leave were even now assembling their scanty belongings.

A worried-looking Dr. Destin had approved Kasuf for travel and had even agreed to accompany him on a mastadge-drawn litter.

When Sha’uri saw her brother, she discovered that he, too, had been making preparations. He carried a blast-lance and stood among a knot of runners. “When Hathor sees your people, she might think we’re coming to aid Colonel O’Neil. We need to create a diversion, and Daniel has suggested a good one.

We’re going to attack the mine.”

“You’re going to attack-with that thing up there?” Sha’uri demanded, her eyes going to the Boat of a Million Years. “That’s hopeless!” Skaara looked at her calmly. “Not if it draws off Hathor and your people escape. For some reason Cat-head Hathor has the prisoners digging up the quartz. If it’s so important to her, she’ll have to deal with us.”

“Kill you, you mean,” Sha’uri said bitterly.

Skaara shrugged, not arguing with her. “I’ve sent messages to some of our old comrades. We’ll need every fighting man we can field for this attack. A number are joining us. They’d rather end fighting the Horuses than one another.” He hesitated for a moment, then said, “We sally forth within the hour. Daniel goes with us.”

When Sha’uri didn’t speak, her brother merely nodded. “No need to wish us luck.” From the berm surrounding the base camp, Colonel Jack O’Neil watched the line snaking through the company streets and into the golden pyramid of the cruiser Ra’s Eye. Slowly, group by group, the line advanced as those at the head transited through the StarGate. The men shuffling forward were often wounded, always tired.

And every man who man-aged to escape meant that much more contraction on the part of the colonel’s defense line. O’Neil shuddered as another torrent of energy lashed down from the bulk overshadowing them, illu-minating the whole battlefield for a moment. The men just in from the perimeter flinched at the sudden radi-ance. O’Neil understood. They’d been the targets out there.

The colonel focused his binoculars on the point of impact. Hathor’s big guns had scored another near miss as an infantry company executed a quick retreat. Another stretch of desert property large enough to accommodate a tract house had been transformed into a pit of fused greenish-brown glass. While his Marine’s soul hated every step of this retreat, O’Neil was glad that the men had lived to get away.

At least for this blast.

Standing at his side, Lieutenant Adam Kawalsky seemed to pick up O’Neil’s thoughts. The lieutenant had an interest in military history, especially that of the Corps. Not surprisingly, he used a historical per-spective. “I was too young for Vietnam. But now I know how it must have felt for the men pinned down in Khe Sanh.”

“Or the Alamo,” contributed Feretti. The other re-maining survivor of the first Abydos incursion had a rather fractured sense of history. “Not a good comparison,” O’Neil reproved. ‘The troops there didn’t survive.”

“Besides,” Kawalsky pointed out, “they weren’t Marines.” “Yeah.” Feretti nodded, scanning the battlefield with his glasses. “That’s probably why the poor bas-tards lost.”

O’Neil cast a glance overhead. Too much time had passed since the last gift from the heavens. Why wasn’t Hathor blasting them?

Astonishingly, new starfields disappeared in the sky overhead. The Boat of a Million Years was shifting position. O’Neil followed its progress tensely. Was this the start of a flank attack? Was Hathor pulling back in hopes of blasting his forward echelons more freely- without threatening the StarGate? No-the vast bulk in the sky was pulling too far away.

“Where the hell is Hathor going?” he growled, star-ing upward.

“Sir, I’d say that thing was heading back to the mines,” Kawalsky said. “And, sir, we’ve got a column coming at us,” Feretti suddenly reported. “It’s coming from the direction of Nagada, but they’re not using the road.” O’Neil quickly wheeled and aimed his binoculars. Although Nagada was not directly in sight, it was easy to zero in on its position. He just had to aim for the reddish pillar of fire in the distance.

A quick scan thorough his night glasses revealed a large infrared concentration coming their way. O’Neil frowned, trying to make some sense of what he was seeing.

The Horus guards had been getting a bit bolder un-der the aegis of their pyramid in the sky, patrolling ag-gressively and keeping the pressure on O’Neil’s withdrawing troops. But for the most part the Horuses hadn’t been attacking. They’d restricted their thrusts to picking off stragglers and overrunning positions that had already been thoroughly blasted by the Boat of a Million Years.

Frankly, O’Neil didn’t think the Horuses had the stomach for a full-scale assault. So why were they advancing without the cover of their monstrous air support? Somehow, he’d never think of Hathor as a commander very worried about killing her own people with friendly fire.

The colonel raised his binoculars again, trying to get some idea of the enemy’s intentions. Should he commit what was left of his artillery in the hopes of dampening the Horuses’ resolve? Or was this a feint to make him reveal his gun positions for a bunch of blast-bolts from on high?

O’Neil was about to order the battery fire when he looked hard into his field glasses. Something was wrong-then it struck him. The figures advancing were too covered up. Infrared showed exposed skin.

Clad only in pectoral necklaces and kilts, the Horus guards showed plenty of that. But their battle-masks cut off their heads.