Stargate SG-1: Sacrifice Moon (35 page)

"You wish to rescue your friends from a planet trapped
within the event horizon of a black hole." The hand proffering
the metal cylinder began to tremble. "You wish to understand
our gravitational technology."

And how the hell did he know all that? "Says who?"

Quadesh bit lightly on his lower lip, eyes shifting as if considering his options. And then his narrow shoulders lifted in an
apologetic shrug. "Your Ambassador."

"Crawford?"

The Councilor nodded. "He told Councilor Damaris that
he'd overheard you talking with Major Carter."

That night when he couldn't sleep, out in the courtyard.
"The rat-bastard!"

"It is all here," Quadesh promised. "All the schematics held
in the Kinahhi database - a copy, of course. They will not know
it is missing and it is more than your Major Carter will glean
here." He glanced over his shoulder, pushing the tube towards
him. "I must go before I am missed. Please, Colonel, consider
my plea."

His lips suddenly dry, Jack stared at the tube. Dare he take
it? Could he live with himself if he did? The Security Council had already refused to trade the technology, so taking the
schematics was tantamount to stealing from a would-be ally.
It went against everything he stood for, everything he'd fought
for when he'd brought down Maybourne's rogue NID agents
who'd been doing the exact same thing.

And Kinsey! If he got wind of this it would be the end of Colonel Jack O'Neill. And if Jack went down, he had no illusions about the rest of SG-1. Kinsey was after their blood.

But none of that changed the fact that Henry Boyd and his
team were still out there, still lingering in terror on the point
of death. Or that this was probably their best chance of getting
home... And nobody gets left behind.

Letting go of his gun, he reached out and let his fingers close
slowly over the cool metal tube. A glimmer of satisfaction
passed through Quadesh's eyes as he stepped backward.

"Thank you, Colonel." He bowed, hands pressed over his
heart. "The people of Kinahhi thank you."

Jack said nothing; he hadn't done it for the people of Kinahhi
and he didn't deserve their thanks. "I need a way out," he said
by way of a reply. "Not the stairs."

Quadesh nodded and pointed a slender finger towards a
thick pillar standing at the far end of the chamber. "In there is a
conveyor. It will take you to the surface."

Jack gave a curt nod. "I take it we won't be discussing this
again?"

"We will not," Quadesh agreed. "I just pray that I was not
seen leaving the city." Then, with a short, nervous nod he turned
and hurried into the shadows. Jack watched as he touched something on the mosaic surface of a pillar and a door slid silently
open. Quadesh looked back once and gave a half-hearted gesture of farewell before he stepped inside and disappeared.

In the silence that followed, Jack hefted the slim tube in
his hand. It was light, weighed almost nothing. And yet it was
heavy with danger, possibility and risk.

Available from www.stargatenovels.com