Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
Every night, every night its just the same
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight on a downtown train
All my dreams, all my dreams fall like rain
On a downtown train
Downtown Train
Rod Stewart

At first light, there was a knock upon the door to where the members of SG1 and SG3, had been brought to a few moments before. A dark-skinned woman made her way inside with a fresh plate of food. Two women followed her, each carrying a tray of laden with food. “Naganti Kanan et Cok'Mon se gak. Eisen Cha’Dech et be dokum.” The first woman said as the others laid their trays down upon the table. They left, closing the door behind them.

“What did she say?” Sam asked as she began to look over what they had brought for breakfast. The dinner the Cha’Dech had brought them last night was very tasty and Major Carter was ready for her morning meal.

“I’m not sure, Kanan will talk to us soon and something about Calla.” When he awoke this morning Daniel understood that she had not come to in the night after all, not in the traditional sense anyway. Nonetheless, she had been with him and she had spoken to him. A slight smile crossed his lips as the memory of Sha’res image came to him. A memory that Daniel held close to his heart and which Calla had picked from his mind as though it were some strangely interesting artifact that he might have dug up. If only in his mind, Kanan’s Cha’Dech had been here last night. Daniel wondered where Naganti Kanan had been during that time.

“Who?” Teal’c asked as he too came forward to look over the tray of food.

“Dorothy.” Corporal Blood asked from behind the group. “That’s her name, isn’t it? Calla.”

“I thought her name was Cha’Dech.” Jack stated as picked up something and smelled like a pancake.

“That’s her,” It was Daniel’s turn to stop and look for the right word, the one he used seemed ironic to him. Many people spent a lifetime trying to get one and she would probably do just about anything to get rid of the one she had. “It’s her title.” He finished.

“And you would know that how?” Col. O’Neill asked as he finished the pancake. Tasty little breakfast morsel, not too bad really.

"I saw her last night." Daniel admitted as laced up his boots and tried not to look anyone in particular.

“She came to this room last night?” Teal’c asked in his deep voice. “Strange, I did not hear her.”

“Yeah, when we were sweatin' it out in the Great Hall last night, I noticed that she seems to have taken a shine to our boy here.” Jack held his hands out toward Daniel and smiled a mock smile. “Can’t get a woman at home but man, he is fucking Romeo when we're off the planet!"

“Shut up.” Daniel shot.

“Oooh,” Jack returned and shook his body a little. “I’m frightened.”

Although neither of them was aware of the other’s predicament, each of them was suffering from a raging hard-on. The type that not only made your dick stand straight up and your legs weak, but that also wove its way into your thoughts, filling your mind with the ideas that it had for your body, seeing if the two of you couldn’t agree on one unspoken deed or another. They were not the only two men in the room feeling that way.

Daniel tossed the plate down onto the table. “We’re going home. All of us. Today.” He turned and shot Jack a nasty look over his shoulder. “And I won’t fuck it up.”

Once more, they returned to the throne room in the keep and were lead to the same spot where they had stood the night before. Kanan lounged upon the heavy chair with his legs swung over one arm and his head perched on top of his fist. Daniel turned to Sam when Calla entered the room.

“Just like yesterday, repeat what she says and what I say. With any luck, we’ll all be home by lunch.”

“Got it.” Major Carter agreed.

Calla took the place where she had stood the day before, facing Major Carter and with her back to her Master. This morning the gown she wore was made of black velvet, it had long bat-wing sleeves that hung past her wrists in sort of a V shape. It made her look like some type of elvish royalty. The soft cloth draped past slender hips and covered her feet. She stood here in the Great Hall once again to speak on behalf of her Master.

Kanan leaned forward in the chair as he spoke. “Maen, ginan bagenan et wisane hojche yesta sanne et nyan kogan hamesh....”

Callas’ unsteady voice echoed his words in English. “Now that you have rested and eaten there is but one question left to ask and you and your friend will return to your clan...”

Major Carter stood across the room and repeated Callas’ words.

Suddenly Calla felt the breath of her Master hot on the back of her neck. “Dan-yo, Ginan gak tar hesta nyan.”

“Daniel…” Calla pronounced the word the way he taught her to the night before.

“Dan-yell?” Naganti Kanan asked from behind her in a suspicious tone.

Silently standing on his designated spot across the room from them, Daniel watched as Kanan’s eyes blazed at the woman in front of him. Yeah, and how did she know that, huh, Kanan? Callas’ eyes shifted left to look at him while the thought crossed through his mind. To his own eyes, it was clear that she had heard him just now. She had been with him last night, dream or not, she had been there. Moreover, so had he.

“Hei, Naganti Kanan, Daniel.” Calla cast her eyes firmly at the floor while she spoke to her Master. She admonished herself for not saying his name had she been saying it, Dan-yo. There was no need to turn and face him, she could felt the heat of his anger radiating through his stare on her back. It seemed a very long time passed as she stood there waiting for him to say something but he did not, this was something else they would discuss once Daniel and his friends had gone. Calla continued her translation; “You say you have come for your friend.”

Inside Daniel was nothing more than a bunch of jumbled nerves but outwardly, he remained calm as he waited for Sam’s repetition of Callas' interpretation. “Yes, we have.”

Major Carter’s voice. “Yes, we have.”

Calla now, “Hei, ginan.”

“Ginan gak ginan ye’te N’kte.”

“You say you have come through the....” Calla stopped as she searched for their word for the portal. “...the Stargate.”

Sam.

“Yes.” Daniel answered.

Sam.

“Hei.”

One of his hands landed squarely upon her shoulder. He stared past her and into the eyes of the one now called Dan-yel. “B’tok tar hesta, Cha’Dech, Dan-yel?” A large ebony hand reached out and snatched a hold of tresses made of silken fire.

Daniel’s body stiffened as he recognized the question that Kanan had asked of Corporal Blood the night before. Although he already knew it, Daniel stood silent and waited for Calla’s translation before answering.

Calla stood silently shaking beneath his touch. She knew the question would come, of course she did. Still that did not make it any less painful or make her feel less ashamed of who and what she was. Why did her Lord insist upon this, why didn’t he just let them go? Kanan understood that they had not come for her; why did he demand that Daniel say it? Inside her mind she cackled as though a lunatic had temporarily been let lose. The answer was as simple as it was spiteful, Naganti Kanan wanted her to hear it, he needed to dash all hope inside of her.

The hand on her shoulder gave her a firm shove forward. “Maen. Gin nap, Cha‘Dech. ” (Now, ask them Cha’Dech.)

With her eyes locked upon Daniel‘s she searched for the words of her Master in their language...her language. The words were there, they were right there; of course they were, just as they had been last night. Again, she shoved them away from her mind. She did not want to say the words in her own language. If she did so, she feared it would make this unrelenting nightmare even more real.

“Cha’Dech.” Kanan’s tone was dark as the hand that had shoved her forward now landed on the nape of her neck and gave a harsh squeeze as he done the night before.

“I told you once, don’t do that.” Col. O’Neill shouted from his place across the room. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Calla sucked in a large breath and focused her eyes on the medallion around Daniel‘s neck. “Have you come for the King’s Whore, Daniel? Do you claim her as your own?” Emerald eyes turned upwards to meet Daniel’s pale blue ones; Calla sucked in and let out a small breath as she waited for him to answer. His mind was open now, as it had been last night, there was enough strength left inside of her that she felt certain she could reach into it, punch the right buttons on the control panel and make him say 'yes' to Kanan's question. It would not be hard, not at all, because part of him already wanted to say it. The word danced on the tip of his tongue and lingered in his eyes, Calla found herself using her ability to push it back and away from his throat rather than pulling it forward. Fate really had closed her Circle too late and the boy before her was no longer a boy but a man, he was all dressed up and not just playing solider now, he was a solider, strong and brave. Wouldn't her Father be so proud of him now? A sad smile crossed her lips at the thought.

Too late. It was all just too late.

If Daniel had truly not come here for her, and she was fairly positive that he had not, then she must keep her place. More than that, she would not allow him to challenge Kanan for her. Last night she had decided that Daniel would return to his home and live a long and happy life.

For a few moments afterward, Major Carter’s voice seem to be hanging in the air, Daniel just stood there, Calla's eyes did not turn away from him but she wasn't looking at him either, she was looking through him waiting for him to answer her. With guilt heavy in his heart, Daniel uttered a single word. “No.” He listened as Sam repeated it.

“Co. “Calla said in an almost simpering tone. There was no need for her to turn around for her to know that her Master was smiling widely from behind her.

“Hasho,” he whispered directly into her ear. (I told you.) “B’tok nin n’kan Cok’Mon.”

“Take your friend.” Calla repeated.

“Kogan. Maen!”

“Go away from here. Now! “

“Well, just bring him up and we’ll be on our way.” Col. O’Neill chimed in a happy voice. He felt the chill as Daniel’s eyes turn on him. “What? We’re getting what we came for, she’s not our problem.”

“You can’t just leave her here.” Daniel spat.

“Why the hell not?” Colonel O’Neill returned.

Kanan was speaking again. “Mowtat, B’yan ye, n’yan.”

“Bring the friend here.”

“Ciptu.”

“Sit down.”

“Pama n’yan.”

“Wait for your friend.”

The hand that held a death grip on the nape of her neck now eased off and then completely released its grip. “Mowtat, b’yan ye Cha‘Dech.”

“Co.” Calla pleaded in a small voice as she rose. “Do not send me away.” She spoke in English for the benefit of those around her. Eyes full of tears and head spinning as though she were riding some horridly evil Tilt-a-whirl, Calla managed to rise to her feet. She stood there starring at the charm around Daniel’s neck and then at his fair skin, lastly she stared down at her white skin. “Please,”

“Nasana.” Kanan snarled loudly as his eyes scanned his property and the man across the room from her. He knew what Calla wanted, and even though he truly had no need of her any longer, Naganti Kanan would not give in to her request. “Coz’henan nin tash tope. Coz-henan!” (Never will I let you go. Never!) “Nin retak ginan Dan-yel!” (You defy me with the way you look at Daniel!) Though the anger still burned bright, Naganti Kanan dropped his voice to a tight whisper. “Cha’Dech ye nin hesta dame. Maen!” (Seize the whore and bring her to my chamber. Now!)

Calla moved quickly as she scrambled to get away from the royal guards who were now descending up here but it was too late “Ka’nok re!” She cried as their hands descended and her skin began to burn. It was only a light burning sensation where they grabbed the cloth that covered her. Where skin met skin, the sensation was one of pure fire.

“Let her go!” Daniel shouted and reached for a side arm he no longer had. What looked like steam was rising from her bare flesh where the men’s hands were grabbing her. Soon the reason she had pleaded with him not to touch her became apparent, that was not steam rising from her skin, it was smoke. The rising stench of burning flesh began to fill the air in the throne room. “Co! Naganti Kanan! Co! Maen!”

“You picked that up quick.” Jack remarked as he held his ground but was ready to strike at the larger man across the room if it became necessary.

“Yeah, well, it’s one of the things you pay me for, remember?” Daniel shot. "Co!" He shouted again.

“Endo! Shyiot bagin, ye nin hesta dame Cha‘Dech!” (Silence or I will kill them.) “Cok’Mon, kogan! Maen!” (White men! Leave! Now!)

“No.” Bucking and kicking for all she was worth, the world spinning over around and through her, Calla repeated the first part of her Master’s words, “do not harm them!” Her skin was burning as though someone had placed her naked body into an open flame. Calla screamed for help and found none. The only saving grace she had was that the burning affected the guards as well and so, they could not hold onto her bare skin for long.

In the throne room, above the sound of screaming was the loud clash the main door being thrown wide open and the alarming cry of; “Gesh’tah! Gesh’tah!” was heard echoing through the stonewalls of the Keep. All heads in the room turned to look toward the top of the stairs and Naganti Kanan. “Gesh’tah! Gesh’tah!” The voice continued to scream as its owner ran through the Keep sounding the alarm. The ground beneath their feet trembled and shook as an explosion went off somewhere in the distance.

The royal guards took their hands from the Cha’Dech; Calla fell to the floor with a small thud. “Kogan! N’kte! Kogan!” She commanded in Daniel’s direction as she brought herself to rise and hurried to make her way up to her Lord and Master, leaving all thoughts of her own escape behind. She was satisfied; Daniel’s way home was open to him.

Where are our weapons? Daniel thought in Callas’ direction. He probably would not be able to stop her from leaving this room with the good king and in this moment, he was not inclined to try. They were under fire. They needed weapons. We can help you.

Calla turned back to look at Daniel as she slipped her hand inside that of her Master. Weapon?

Guns. Bang-Bang. Quickly he conjured up an image of his side arm.

Calla cast her eyes and head toward a small door next to Kanan’s throne. There. Your friend as well. Go. Gesh’tah! Go Daniel! Run! Another explosion went off in the distance; the ground gave a great heave. Naganti Kanan grabbed Calla by the forearm and led her through a door at the far end of the room. Suddenly there was no one left in Naganti Kanan's Throne Room but the members of SG1 and SG3.

“Down there.” Daniel shouted and pointed toward the door.

“Anyone got any fire at all?” Col O’Neill demanded. Nothing. “Now, let’s go people.” Followed by the rest of the team, O’Neill scrambled to his feet. Running for the door next to the throne, they soon found themselves away from the smoke and chaos and in a darkened stairway. Groping with their hands along the walls the troop made its way down to the dungeon under the castle keep.

“Doesn’t anyone have a flashlight?” Andrews asked as they continued their descent. None replied. They had been stripped of everything which had looked like a weapon.

Soon there was a glimmer of light at the bottom of the stairway; from the look of it, Daniel guessed there was some type of torch burning down there. As they came around the last corner, he saw that he was right. The dungeon of Kanan’s keep was as dark and dank as he had imagined it to be. Four square barred cells lined one wall. Large rings with chains attached hung from the ceiling. Whips in various sizes were hanging along one wall along with several assorted objects which appeared to have only one purpose; to torture the prisoners housed here.

“Holy, Jesus! Am I glad to see you guys!” Blood said excitedly from behind the bars. “Get me out of here.”

“Easy big fella,” O’Neill told him, “we’re working on it. Any idea where the weapons are?”

“In there.” He looked toward a large cabinet in the far corner of the dungeon.

A large ring of keys hung from a nail next to the cabinet, Daniel dashed toward it, opened the cabinet and tossed the ring to Sam who was waiting by the cell door to let Blood out of his cage. “Come and get ‘em boys,” he called as he began tossing the automatic weapons to each member of the team. He found his own sidearm, a Glock 9mm and tucked it into the belt of his khakis.

It was not long before they heard the tumultuous sound of Kanan's guards hauling ass on their way down the winding staircase. “Any ideas on how to get out of here?” Her eyes turned in the direction of a second stairway but there were noises coming from that direction now. “Shit!” Col. O’Neill took the baseball style cap from his head, shook it and then replaced it. “All right, lock and load, people.” His order was made even more immediate by the crashing sound of metal against metal as everyone, including Daniel, cocked their weapons. They were going to have to make a run for the Stargate.

Another of those explosions went off in the distance; they were coming closer to the castle keep. The impact of the last one caused not just the ground at their feet but the walls around them to shake. Past the jail cell was a small barred window, Colonel O’Neill holding the gun tightly in his hands made his way over to it to see what he could see. The hillside where Lt. Colonel Andrews and his team had spent six weeks was a pile of rubble; large boulders tumbled down what was left of the hill heading toward the hard stonewalls of the keep.

“Do you see a way through?” Sam was asking as she peered over the colonel’s shoulder to get her own gander out the window.

“What if whoever they are, they came through the Stargate like we did?” Private Anderson asked. “What if we can’t get back?”

Those were two questions no one in the room wanted to ponder. Yep, there they were just hanging in the air for everyone to turn over and have a real good look. O’Neill looked back over his shoulder to answer the private and caught sight of Daniel making a dash for the stairs. “Grab him!”

“I’m not leaving here without her, Jack.” Daniel protested as Andrews and Carlisle grabbed his military issued olive drab jacket.

“Yes, you are.” Daniel opened his mouth to speak again and O’Neill pointed the gun at him. “Goddamn it, Daniel! Just shut up! She made her choice, or didn’t you notice? We’re gettin’ outta here.” The ground beneath them gave a huge heave and the walls of the dungeon began to crumble as an explosive round went off in the courtyard. Dirt and silt tumbled down from the ceiling and the walls. Jack raised his hand to wipe it away from his eyes as he coughed a good portion of it from his lungs. “Don’t give me any shit about it.”

“Fine.” Daniel muttered through a clenched jaw as shook the private’s hands from his body. “Any ideas on how to get out of here?”

“That way.” O’Neill pointed the gun toward the stairway they had first come down. One by one, they made their way back up the twisting dark staircase as mortars went off around them. The walls of the old keep heaved and shook, they let out long low cries and deep crashing sounds as portions of it fell to the ground giving way to the strength of the encroaching army.

They emerged through the door to the throne room to see that the large stain glass window, which Daniel had pointed to so often the night before, had been blow completely out of its pane. Bits and pieces of colored glass lay scattered across the heavy chair upon which Kanan had sat his large frame. The ceiling had begun to bow, it would not be long before the whole thing came crashing down upon their heads. Weapons at the ready and feet flying, the team made their way through the room, out into the great hall and through the wide oak doors to the inner courtyard.

Bedlam. Sheer chaos and bedlam. People were running screaming in every direction. Children cried. Smoke rose from the blood soaked ground. The first thing to strike O’Neill’s eye was that no one was armed. Not one of the men here possessed so much as a pocket knife with which to defend himself or his family. Off in the distance, he saw a group of guards running for the open main gate. Whether they would close it or run through it, he did not know. However, he did know those doors were their only way out of here.

Col. O’Neill led his team around screaming women, wounded children and shell-shocked men. They hid behind huts and carts as they scurried toward the still open door. None of the townsfolk noticed them. Not one of them gave a crap. No one tried to stop them, not even the guards who were running in formation toward the door. Mortars were exploding all around, the air filled with smoke and the stench of sulphur. Arrows flew over their heads from above as they made their way through the outer courtyard. The team instinctively aimed their guns upward to see guards on the walls shooting at the Gesh’Tah on the other side. No one was aiming at them. There was no reason to shoot them. They were only defending their territory from a greater invader than themselves.

The air around them filled with an odd blue shimmer, which seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Growing, teeming, spreading ever outward from its unseen source it crawled across the landscape from behind them. A warm chill was felt as its energy passed first through and then past the members of SG1 and SG3. Time slowed, if just for an instant, it slowed. People were running to escape the chaos of the falling bombs, running for the safety of the castle’s walls, looked as though they were Steve Austin the Six Million Dollar Man running at his top speed of 65mph. You know, how they always slowed that part down, way down, because otherwise they reasoned that Steve Austin would be running so fast the human eye might not see him, so you had to make him go very slow to give him the illusion of speed. Yeah, their break neck pace, suddenly broke into a snail’s pace.

Everywhere the shimmering blue mist spread to, as the bombs fell upon it, they broke apart in mid-air and fell harmless to the ground below. O’Neill looked up and behind himself once again. The archers were perched on the walls and towers of the castle keep but there was something else up there as well. In the middle of the highest tower stood the point from which the blue mist emanated. Moreover, the person from whom it came. The sun cast the figure only in darkest shadow. Only the point of light, which met at the deepest point of shadow, could be made out clearly.

“Calla.” Daniel whispered.

“I’ll be damned.” O’Neill returned. “She’s clearing a path, let’s get out of here.” Staying within the bounds of the light, SG1 and SG3 made a swift retreat toward the Gate. They followed the line to and through the gates to the town of Oz where it cut itself about at fifty feet. “Can we go through it?”

“I don’t know.” Looking around at his feet, he found a stick lying in the tall grass. Daniel picked it up and poked at the line where the mist ended. The stick slid through without problem and it returned to him in the same shape in which he had sent it through. “I guess.” Raising his eyebrows and giving his glasses a final push on the bridge of his nose; he stepped across the blue line.

“Daniel?” O'Neill demanded.

“Yeah, ok. Come through.”

Each made his way through the blue line and scurried for the hillside. Out here, the mortars were real; they exploded loud and deadly in every direction as the Gesh’Tah made their way toward the town of Oz. It was not long before the unseen enemy made its first appearance to human eyes.

A small battalion of Gesh’Tah had been steadily making their way down the hillside, firing off a canon as they went. “What the fuck is that?” O’Neill asked Daniel as the team took cover beneath a thick grove of trees. The creatures that were walking at a slow and steady pace passed them without seeing them. They looked like overgrown lizards who had somehow managed to mate with human beings. Walking on two legs, which looked like the hind legs of monitor lizard, and possessing a scaly trunk which was more human than reptile, face more like a snake than a man, something, which might have passed for hair, mingled with raised scales at the backs of their necks. In their hiding place in the thicket, they watched as alien soldiers stopped every few yards to fire the canon and continue forward.

Beyond them, down the hill, stood the town of Oz encased in a brilliant shimmering blue light. From their perch on the hill, they could make out her shape and even envision the peaceful look on her face as Calla stood atop the tower reigning protection down upon those below her.

“Maybe we shoulda taken her with us after all.” Sam whispered in the Colonel’s ear. “That’s worth the trouble, don’cha think?”

“Hell yeah I do. Too late now.” O’Neill began to rise but quickly sat back down as the Gesh’Tah troop stopped once again. They did not reload their cannon this time; it seemed they had realized their firepower was not of any use now. In their own language, they argued over what they should do about the blue mist that seemed to be shielding the town below them. It was not long before they agreed on the source of the mist and they should take it out. O’Neill watched as one of them drew what could only be a long-range weapon from the pack on his back. The barrel of the weapon was long and sleek, it looked almost like a regular high-powered long-range rifle but this thing did not shoot any ordinary rounds. The alien solider raised it to his eye and drew Calla into his sites. Instinct taking over his body, Colonel O’Neill drew a bead on the back of the Gesh’Tah with the long ranged weapon and fired.

Thunk.

The bullet entered his back and exploded through his chest. The Gesh’Tah fell to the ground with a thud.

Laser fire reigned through the thicket of trees in which they hid. A sharp yellow streak of light blew Anderson’s head wide open; his body fell through the protective green cover and into the open.

“Go!” O’Neill shouted as his team as he motioned for them to run toward the rear of the thicket. The Gesh’Tah were making their way toward them, they caught up with them just to seem the last of them run through the rear end of the thicket and into the deep forest. Sam and Daniel took cover behind the nearest large boulder while O’Neill, Carlisle, Blood Teal’c, and Andrews ran toward another thicket. Laser fire hit the far side of the rock blow off larger and larger chunks, it would not be long before the four thousand pound boulder was nothing but a pile of pebbles. Sam rose up on her haunches to have a peek over the top of the rock, she could see legs coming toward them and fired in that direction. She laid down cover fire while they retreated toward the second thicket.

Gesh’Tah soldiers emerged from the cover of trees unharmed by Sam’s gunfire. They sniffed the air with their noses and their tongues and headed off toward the trees.

“They’re coming.” Andrews warned from his hiding place behind a large rowan tree.

Four Gesh’Tah came into sight as they pushed tree branches aside. SG1 and SG 3 opened fired, killing all four where they stood. When it was over, O’Neill walked over to inspect his kill. “They’re gonna know we’re here.”

“I don’t think they missed that, sir.” Blood agreed.

Low on ammunition and not knowing how many enemy his men were about to face, Colonel O’Neill found himself wishing they were still back in Oz; back behind that lovely blue mist. There was no way they could get back through the mist, not now that they were on the outside of it. Going back that way was probably suicide. The direction from which the Gesh’Tah had approached did not escape the colonel’s mind either. They had come from the Stargate. Going in that direction did not really seem to have an upside. “Any suggestions?”

“We have to keep going for the Stargate.” Andrews stated. “It’s the only way.”

“We could go back down there.” Daniel countered.

“You think we can get back inside?” Sam shook her head. “I think we’ll get killed.”

“Me too.” The colonel agreed.

Knowing he was outnumbered once again, Daniel capitulated. “Let’s keep going to the Stargate.” Unable to believe the words that his hears heard his own mouth speaking, he turned the town again. Calla was still standing on that highest tower, the blue mist still spilled forward from her up stretched hands. I don’t want to leave you behind. The thought danced through his mind as he watched her. A ripple appeared in the blue mist, no more than a gentle wave really, but it was there. I don’t want to leave you behind. The ripple appeared a second time. Down there, casting her spell so far away from him, Daniel realized that Callas’ mind was still open to him; she could still hear him. Let us in and I will take you away from here. There was no reply only the ripple that darkened in color as it made its way toward the blue line. I swear, Calla, let us in and I will take you away from here.

This time when the ripple appeared, he heard her voice carried to him on the wave. It was just one single word and Daniel supposed that was all she could manage to send him at the moment.

“She will let us in. We have to down there before anymore of...of .....those things come over that rise.”

“How do I know that?” O’Neill demanded.

“She told me.” Daniel admitted. “Just now, she told me.”

“You better be right about this, Danny-boy.” The decision made, O’Neill lead them back down the hill and toward the town of Oz. “Keep an eye out.” He ordered.

The last was a moot point, the trees were moving all around them, the birds flying from their perches to soar high into the sky. Gesh'Tah soldiers were making their way to the team’s position as they tried to run for cover and the safety of Oz. Weapons fire echoed through the hillside as they sprinted toward the town. O’Neill kept one eye on the gates to the town and wondered why they were not closing them? What good were gates if you didn’t use them? Kanan’s men flooded through the open doors to stand ready at the border of the blue line.

A group of Gesh'Tah came out from behind a large boulder and fired their laser weapons at the group. Lt. Col. Andrews raised his weapon to return fire and was hit in the chest; he collapsed dead into a pile of old leaves. Col. O’Neill raised his weapon, squeezed off one round, and laid waste the Gesh'Tah who had taken down his teammate and continued running down the slope.

Major Samantha Carter turned hot on her heels just in time to see the group, before she could squeeze the trigger, one Gesh'Tah fired, blowing a hole big enough to read a newspaper through into Carlisle’s chest. Sam raised the weapon, fired the semi-automatic weapon and took out two more members of the alien troop. Three left that she could see. Major Carter raised the gun to fire again and lost her footing on the slippery hillside; she tumbled downward ten feet or more head over heels, keeping a tight hold on the gun as she went. Gunfire hit the ground all around her as she tumbled repeatedly.

“Son of a bitch.” Col. O’Neill spat raising his own weapon he returned fire, the side of one Gesh'Tah head ripped open spewing forth a purple substance that he supposed was blood. Another one bit the dust. “Get up! Get up!” He screamed at Carter as he rushed to where she lay.

“My leg!” Major Carter cried out and got her first look of the large stick that now protruded through the calf muscle.

“Come on!” O’Neill did not stop, he just held out his hand as he ran, scooping her back onto her feet. He wrapped one arm around her waist and bore her weight, not there was much of that, as they continued their downward path. “Run you bastards!” He shouted after Daniel, Teal’c and Corporal Blood.

“O’Neill! Get down!” Teal’c shouted as he turned to look back at his commanding officer. Almost as though that strange slow motion thing was kicking in again, Teal’c watched as Jack hit the dirt with Sam in his arms. O’Neill’s tight cut graying hair flew upward as he wrapped her in his arms and threw their weight forward. Sam’s red lips parted in surprised, her blue eyes grew wide. Teal’c shouldered the weapon he carried and fired past their heads as they continued toward the ground. The Gesh'Tah with the raised weapon who was running right behind them stopped as the bullet affected with his chest. Surprise on his face he slowly sank to his lizard-like knees, grabbing his chest as he went.

One Gesh'Tah left.

Teal’c’ sensitive ears picked up the sound of voices. More soldiers were making their way through the forest in their direction. On swift legs he ran to where O’Neill and Carter lay with their faces in the dirt, he put one around Carter and the two men brought her down the hill.

Running as fast as he could, his heart pumping like a run away freight train inside his chest, Daniel came to a complete stop with the town of Oz less than five hundred yards away. Gesh'Tah soldiers had already made their way this far, they were running for the shield and bouncing off it like super balls. They fell to the ground dead, their faces melted beyond recognition.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Col. O’Neill shouted as the three of them made their way past Daniel. The high whizzing sound of an incoming mortar shell filled the air around them. Daniel did not need any further encouragement to follow the troop down the hill. Even with the image of melted faces in his mind, Daniel walked straight through the blue line when they reached Oz with no hesitation.

O’Neill handed Carter off to Teal’c as they approached the blue line; he swung around to take one last unguarded look back at the aliens who were attacking this world and counted somewhere around thirty of them now running at full charge toward the town. The colonel raised his weapon, fired on fully automatic and took out five more before he threw himself through the line. Standing on the safety of the other side, he took the gun down from his shoulder and watched as their laser fire bounced from the blue shield to disperse harmlessly in the air. With his military eye, he watched and he waited to see if more of them would emerge from the trees but they did not. This was not a full on assault but a scout party of sorts.

Arrows and small weapons fire was shot through the shield all around him. Looking quickly left and then right, he saw the ladder that lead to the top of the main front wall and the guards standing on it. O’Neill dashed for the ladder, followed quickly by Teal’c and Blood. The three men stood atop the wall and fired at the raiding aliens until all laid dead in their tracks.

“There. That ought to do it.” Col. O’Neill proclaimed as he ceased firing and took a good look around. The trees did not move. No other lizard-creature came forward. “Take that!” He raised a clenched fist into the air.

“Jack.” O’Neill turned in the direction of Daniel’s voice, which was coming from the ground below him. Jack saw Daniel holding Sam on the ground, the large stick protruding rudely through her white skin. “She’s losing a lot of blood.” It was true; the ground around her leg was beginning to pool with the red liquid.

The blue shield, which Calla had provided as protection during the battle, now began to fold in upon itself. “Bring her to me.” She called from atop the tower as she drew her hands into her body, the last of the blue light fading, retreating inside of her body.

Sam was now unconscious and the men had to carry her back across the courtyard and through the doors into the great hall where they laid her upon the huge oak table and waited for Calla to return to them. To Colonel O’Neill that time to seemed to encompass all eternity as he sat by Sam’s side, running his hand through her hair. “It’s gonna be ok,” he murmured to her, “it’s gonna be ok.”

An exhausted looking Calla dashed and then stumbled into the Great Hall unaccompanied by Kanan’s royal guards and the Master himself was nowhere in sight for the moment. Not taking any notice of Daniel who rose when she came into the room, she walked to the table and stood over the wounded woman assessing her condition.

“Can you help her?” O’Neill asked as he cleared his throat. Callas’ eyes cast in his direction for an instant but she did not speak to him.

Instead, Calla began to rub her hands together in a slow motion and soon an amber glow appeared between her hands. Tentatively she reached out, took firm grasp of the stick protruding from the woman’s leg and pulled it backwards out of the wound. Blood spattered over Callas’ face and dress, she did not blink nor raise a hand to shield her face from it. Hands still hesitant, she reached out once more, her hands glowing with amber light, she laid them upon the gaping wound. To touch the skin of the white woman.

Healing energy the color of the rising sun coursed from Callas’ hands and into Major Carter’s body. The gaping wound began to close and the blood vessels below to repair themselves. Within a few moments, Calla removed her hands to reveal the smooth white skin of the soldier woman’s calf. No trace of a scar remained.

Soon after Major Carter's sapphire eyes fluttered opened.

“I told ya it would be ok.” O’Neill smirked as he tussled the top of her head. “Thank you.” He said as he looked up at Calla.

Calla smiled down at the place where O’Neill sat holding onto Sam‘s hand. “Daniel, go now.”

Caught by surprise, he uttered one word, “No.” To Daniel’s it seemed that she had not even noticed his presence in the room. “I told you I would take you with me, I will.”

Raised voices were calling, crying, shouting for her to come to them. J’Quin burst through the door, his uniform soaked with blood. “Byan, Cha'Dech! Naganti Kanan seque.”

“What?” Daniel asked as he reached out for Calla and watched as she stepped away from his touch. “What is it?”

“Master Kanan is badly injured.” She informed him in a hurried tone as tried to push past him. “I have to help him.”

“Let him die.” The words and strength of his tone surprised even his own ears. Daniel reached out and grabbed the sleeve of her dress.

“No.” She whispered with horror and shock. “I need him.”

“For what?” Daniel let go of her as he raised his hands high in the air, his gaze caught sight of her as she flinched away from him. “To hit you? Is that what you need him to do? Let him die.”

“No,” she said in a stronger voice this time and left Daniel’s side to go off with J’Quin to Kanan’s chamber.

End Chapter Six
Daughter of the Gods: Every New Beginning
By Moon Mistress
Continue to
Chapter Seven

This story and all stories in the Kingdom of the Gods & Daughter of the Gods series are copyrighted to Lisa Beth Darling these stories may not be transferred outside of this URL in any fashion.