“No, no, and…umm… no.”  The steely-cold gaze the old Jaffa crone tossed Vala as she tugged on the tethers of three decidedly scraggly goat-like creatures, encouraging them up the dais steps, would have normally been met with equal reproach, but she wasn’t in the mood.  The heat from this dust ball’s oppressive sun was burning her peachy complexion and the beads of sweat travelling down her back were big enough to pool and stain the fabric of her BDUs.  “What part of ‘Humanitarian Rescue’ do you not comprehend?” Vala chided, pulling the tethers from the woman’s hand and shooing the beasts away from the gate.  “People,” she enunciated, “we are here to save people.”

“These are my livelihood!” the old woman scoffed, hitching up her long robes and turning to chase after her scattering livestock.  “We were told to gather our most precious belongings!” 

Vala had a witty retort on the tip of her tongue but the old woman was lost in a sea of families surging towards the active gate.  Children gravitated together, urged forward by their parents’ not-so-gentle hands as they looked to the heavens, undoubtedly spurred on by the thought of attack from above.

Beckoning them forward with a waggle of her finger, Vala stole a look at her wristwatch and frowned.  The gate to the Zeta Site had already been open for ten minutes, and the headcount thus far was barely one hundred people, most of which were families.  That the Renolii hadn’t started their deathly broadcast was a blessing, but if they had any hope of getting a settlement of over two thousand people through the gate in the twenty minutes the aliens would give them, then they’d have to do better than this. 

Families filed past her, some regarding her with open suspicion, others reaching out to touch her briefly in a show of what she accepted as thanks.  Bundles of meagre belongings hung over their backs, testament to the amount of warning they’d been given to pack.  One young girl walked alone up the dais steps, carrying a small box in her arms that she was trying to shield with her heavy coat.  As she got closer, Vala could see a paw sneak out from the flaps at the top of the box and swipe at the air, begging for release.  The young girl quickly pushed the paw back in and smiled hesitantly at Vala.  “Please,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, “she is all I have left after Ba’al destroyed our world.”

Vala lifted her gaze to scan the crowd, looking for the old lady and her errant goats, and noticing her way off in the distance, smiled at the girl and nodded in the direction of the waiting wormhole.  “Shhh, this will be our secret,” she whispered, pressing a finger to her lips. “Now you scoot on through and let those lovely people on the other side know you have an animal and that I approved it, okay?”

~oOo~

The two aliens looked at each other and then turned their gaze to Daniel.  Their voices easily entered his mind.  We are preparing for an attack by the ships of the Jaffa. 

Wait!  Let us try to talk to them first.

Their weapons are preparing to fire; we will defend ourselves.

“Daniel, in case you forgot, some of us can’t read minds.  Wanna tell us what the hell’s going on?”  Jack spat the words at him, and he attempted to process the two conversations simultaneously. 

“The Jaffa ships are attacking.”

HLegacyInternal8

The floor began to vibrate almost imperceptibly while at the same time one wall shimmered, transforming into a viewscreen.  The planet appeared at the far right of the screen, while dead center, a fleet of a dozen Ha’taks hovered.  As if on cue, the Renolii ship accelerated, quickly maneuvering past the Hammond, dipping closer to the planet.  

Weapons fire spat simultaneously from every Ha’tak as they fanned out in an arc, attempting to circle the much larger Renolii vessel.  Even with their combined firepower it was quickly evident that the Jaffa fleet was no match, and SG-1 stood helplessly by as the Renolii weapons began slicing effortlessly through the nearest Ha’tak, blasting the ship apart as though it was made of Legos. 

“Is it really necessary to destroy them?” Daniel ground out, struggling to find words that would have some affect on the apathetic aliens. “They’re obviously no threat to you.” 
      
“We will not be challenged,” Red stated flatly. 
      
God, there had to be some way to get through to them!  He looked at the screen again just as another ship blew apart, scattering pieces into the emptiness of space.  The handful of ships that were still intact began to retreat, flashes of light signaling their plunge into hyperspace.  At least a few had been spared. 

The view on the screen tilted and he realized they were dipping closer to the planet.  Scant moments later the ship burst through the clouds, slowing until it hovered high over a settlement.  A voice sounded over the ship’s comm link, speaking in what Daniel recognized as Furling.  He felt Jack’s gaze and turned to him.  “It’s the same warning that was broadcast on the other planets.  In twenty minutes, that beam is going to destroy every non-Furling life on the planet.”

~oOo~

“Okay, people!”  Cameron tried to lift his voice above the noise of the crowd milling around the upturned crate he was standing on.  “I want you all to move in an organized fashion towards the Stargate, please.  Take only what you can carry!  You, sir,” he called out, pointing towards a young man with a chicken tucked under each arm.  “Just because you can carry ‘em, doesn’t mean you’re takin’ ‘em with you.”  He shook his head sternly, to which the man favored him with a withering stare, and realizing Cameron wasn’t about to be swayed by his reaction, promptly dropped both chickens to the ground and stalked away. 

“Give me strength,” Cam grumbled, as he jumped down from the crate and tossed it aside.  Reaching for his radio, he clicked the talk button twice.  “Yo, Grogan!”

“Here, sir.”

“How goes it?”

“Well, they didn’t exactly build this city to planning regulations.  I can’t tell if I’m missing houses as I work along some of the streets.”

“Just do what you can.  Are they listening?”

“Most are.  I’ve come across a few people reluctant to leave, but it appears word has already spread.  The ‘take what you can carry’ rule isn’t sitting too well with some of them and I’ve already had to referee a dispute between neighbors over the use of a cart.” 

“No time for that.  Let ‘em go and Vala can deal with them at the gate.”

“Roger that, sir.”

Cam signed off and clicked the talk button again to raise Kal’tok but go no further when a large shadow crossed the town square, plunging the area into darkness.  Tipping his cap back he looked skyward, right up to the massive and very familiar underbelly of the Renolii vessel.  Seconds later, he was clapping his hands over his ears as the air around him vibrated with the booming noise of the warning message. 

“Crap! Kal’toc, Grogan!” he yelled into his radio.  “Get those people to the gate now!  Vala!  Time’s up, and when I tell you to step through to the Zeta Site with the survivors, you go, no argument.”  The voice was so deafening that Cam could barely hear the responses from the rest of his team, however it had infused a sense of urgency into the Jaffa settlement.  Houses were abandoned en-masse.  People poured out onto the streets, clutching their belongings as they stampeded towards the Stargate.

He quickly found himself caught in a wave of humanity.  People pushed past, jostling him to one side and almost sending him sprawling to the ground in their hurry to flee.  Cameron wasn’t interested in these people though; they had the proof of their own impending deaths hanging in the sky above them. No, it was those refusing to leave that bothered him the most.  Catching his footing, he made a quick note of the time and started pushing his way through the crowd. 

~oOo~

“This!”  Cameron pointed to the over-stuffed chest the old man was dragging along the dusty street.  “You can’t take this with you.  It’s too heavy.”  He suddenly realized he’d been yelling at the man as a means of getting through to him, a tactic that had obviously failed.  As far as Cameron could tell, the guy had to be at least several centuries old and apparently didn’t speak a word of English. 

“Onak sha kree! Shal Goa’uld!” the old man said over and over.

“I got the Goa’uld bit, but…”  Cam reached for his radio.  “Kal’tok, what’s your position?”

“I am right behind you, Colonel Mitchell.”

Cameron twisted around and saw Kal’toc pushing his way through the crowd, his P90 held high above his head.  “Perfect timing,” he praised as the young warrior came to a stumbling halt and lowered his weapon arm. 

“I can’t understand a word this guy is saying.  See if you can make it out.  And try telling him he can’t take that…” he pointed towards the battered chest, “with him.”

Kal’toc turned to the old warrior and bowed deeply. “Onak sha sree, Jaffa.”

A flicker of understanding sparked in the man’s eyes.  “Kel’pak?”

“Kel, Kal’tok.”

“Ah, Lo’vas!” A smile spread across his weathered face, and the old man reached up to touch Kal’toc’s forehead tattoo, before spinning to face Cameron.  “Onak sha kree! Shal Goa’uld?”

“He is asking which god you worship,” Kal’toc offered.

“Heck of a time to be discussing comparative religion.”

“Considering his status as elder priest to the minor System Lord Aries, I believe he feels he has the right to ask that of someone not displaying the mark of their god.” Kal’toc stepped around the priest and threw back the lid of the chest, revealing a glass container of immature symbiotes. 

“Whoa!” Cameron took a reflexive step backwards, raising his weapon. “Are those…?”

“Yes, Colonel Mitchell.  Lo’vas was likely the priest who carried out the Primta ceremonies while in service to his god.  Tretonin is only an acceptable replacement for those able to tolerate the drug, and any unable to take it are still dependant upon the Goa'uld larva for their survival.  It is unfortunate that the defeat of the System Lords has had the consequence of limiting the availability of symbiotes for implantation.  Many Jaffa will face certain death when their symbiotes mature.”

“Okay.”  Cam scrubbed a hand down his face and sucked in a deep breath, weighing up their very limited options.  “No choice really. We have to let him through the gate with these.”

“Yes.”

“Lambert is gonna love this.”  Cam tugged at his vest and pulled his radio to his mouth. “Vala, come in.”

“I’m rather busy, Cameron.  People to count, cows to… well, I’m not exactly sure what to do with the cows.  At least I think they are cows.”

“Vala!”

“I’m not hard of hearing!”

“I need you to put a call through to Colonel Lambert at the Zeta site and tell him we’ll be sending through a Jaffa priest with a vat load of immature symbiotes.  He’ll know what to do with them.”

“Really?  Well, that’s a bit of a find, I must say.”

“Just make the damn call.”

~oOo~

Panicked cries choked the air, and Vala, not used to crowd control on such a scale, could do nothing but stand clear of the gate as people jostled and forced their way through to the other side.  Children stumbled over each other, their parents rushing past and sweeping them up.  Animals, abandoned by their owners once the futility of trying to maneuver them through the throng was obvious, broke free from the melee and scattered in every direction.  Even the old lady with her three goats had given up trying to round them up, and had allowed herself to be swept up by the masses and carried through the wormhole. 

Those waiting to go through now numbered in the hundreds, and all attempts at getting them through to the Zeta Site in an orderly fashion had been forfeited when the Renolii started their deadly broadcast.  At a guess, and Vala admitted to herself that she had long since given up trying to keep an accurate count, she figured perhaps three quarters of the settlement’s population had made it to safety.

And then it was over.  The harsh, guttural Renolii voice that had almost become background noise in all the excitement, ceased.  Vala froze, and on cue, the crowd stopped surging forward and turned to look at the sky, to the ship hovering above the city.

Comprehension dawned quickly. Vala screamed, “Move!” at the crowd. She stumbled and caught herself as an intense beam of light pulsed from the belly of the Renolii vessel and struck the ground somewhere on the far side of the city.

The beam was unmatched in its motivational presence as the crowd turned nasty.  Those unfortunate enough to lose their balance were trampled underfoot or pushed off the side of the dais, and at one point, not daring to enter the foray herself, she watched helplessly as a small child was thrown through the air above the crowd and straight into the shimmering vortex.   

Vala moved away from the gate and stood at the periphery of the crowd.  Taking out her field glasses, she swept the outer edges of the city looking for the rest of her team, pausing only to check the time.

Thirty minutes.  The gate had already been active almost ten minutes when the broadcast started. Add the twenty minutes the Renolii graciously allowed for people to escape, and she figured they had around eight minutes until the gate shut down.  There was no way the beam would let them use all of that time.  Lifting her glasses, she zoomed in on the city proper and winced; the beam was already making its way through the shanty streets.

“Vala!”

Startled, Vala almost dropped her glasses.  “Cameron!  Where are you?”

“On the eastern side of the city, rounding up the stragglers.  Please, please tell me the gate is still open?”

“We’ve got less than eight minutes until it shuts down.  Did you say the east?”

“Yes.”

“And exactly how far east would that be?”

“Far enough that I don’t like our chances of making the gate before it shuts down.”

“Cameron!”

“Kal’toc and Grogan should be coming up on your six any moment now.  Kal’toc has the Jaffa priest with him.  I don’t care what you have to do but those symbiotes have to make it through the gate, are we clear?”

“Yes, but-”

“Vala, I need you onboard here!”

“I’m clear, okay… I get it.”

“Good.  Look, if the beam hasn’t cleared the city by the time the gate shuts down and there are still people to get through, then dial it up again, but don’t wait for me.  And I want you through to the other side—no holding the door open on my account.”

“Good to know your delusions of heroship are still healthy.”

“That’s a word?”

“Would it make you run faster if I made it one?”

“Not with the load I’m carrying, no.  You’ve got your orders.”

“Cameron?”

“What?”

“What happened to not leaving anyone behind?”

“Doesn’t always work that way in practice.  I thought being around Jackson would have taught you that by now.”

“Ha,” she laughed nervously. “Yes, you would think so.”

“Besides, if it looks too close, I’ll call the Hammond for a beam out.  Deal?”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

~oOo~

The broadcast ended as a brilliant white light shot out from the underbelly of the ship, striking the ground just beyond the village.  And then it began to move.
      
Teal’c lunged towards the two Renolii.  “Those are my people you are murdering!”  As quickly as he’d moved into action, he came to an abrupt stop; the Renolii had activated a containment field around him.  He continued to strain, the muscles in his neck pulling taut like rubber bands about to snap.  His body seethed with hatred even as it was held fast.
      
“You will not interfere,” Gray stated. His voice carried no emotion, but his eyes blazed with blue fire, the warning clear. 

“You expect us to stand by while you kill everyone on that planet?” Jack’s heated words carried him forward, but Daniel put out a hand in warning.
      
“Careful, Jack.”
      
“Daniel—”
      
“Please.”  He gently pressed his palm to Jack’s chest, and said in the calmest voice he could muster, “Trust me.”
      
“I do,” Jack replied without hesitation.  “But I trust them about as far as I can throw ‘em.”
      
~oOo~

“Engineering reports port thrusters are online, Colonel, and…” Kaplan pressed down on her earpiece, frowning as though she was having a hard time hearing the person talking on the other end.  A moment later, and with a satisfied smile tugging at her lips, she reported, “Sublights are showing green across the board.”

“And about time,” Womack muttered under her breath.  Truth be told, she had nothing but praise for the timely efforts of her crew, but watching the scene play out before her on the viewscreen was eating at her emotional reserves.  “Shields?”

“Eighty percent and holding,” Kaplan reported.  “Engineering has asked that we not bump into anything large as the paint is still wet on the shield emitters.”  It was a joke, but Womack recognized the underlying message.  Eighty percent was probably the most her engineers could coax out of the ship’s beleaguered systems until they returned to Earth for more repairs. 

“I’ll take eighty percent worth of Asgard shields any day.  Inform maintenance to have the cargo bays prepared to receive refugees.”

“We’ll be beaming them up from the surface, ma’am?”

“Is there any other way?”

“No, but the lock I’ve kept on SG-13’s subcutaneous transmitters has degraded significantly since the Renolii activated their beam.  It might not be possible to pinpoint their location accurately.”

“Can the Asgard sensors still detect life signs on the surface?”

“We are picking up readings from further outside the city and towards the gate.  Nothing inside the city itself.”

“Which could mean SG-13 managed to evacuate the villagers through the Stargate, and the life signs we’re detecting are the stragglers.”

“Or the interference from the Renolii beam is preventing us from detecting anything within the general area of its location.”

“Thank you for that,” Womack mumbled, sourly. “We’re wasting time here.  Helm, set a course that takes us between the Renolii vessel and the surface.”

“Course laid in,” Haines reported.

“Ahead one quarter sublight.”

The thrum of the Hammond’s massive engines played like music through the floor plating as the ship thrust forward toward the planet.

~oOo~

“Who are you?”

Gray focused his icy blue eyes on Daniel and tilted his head as though trying to understand the question. 

Welcome to my world.  Jack was used to Daniel’s abrupt changes in direction, but even he was wondering what that question was all about.

“This we have explained,” Gray stated coolly. “We are Renolii, descendants of the Furlings.”

“Are you—really?  ‘Cause I’ve gotta tell ya, I’m finding it hard to believe.”

Ah, oh.  Jack briefly considered warning the aliens just what they were in for, but kept quiet, deciding they deserved the full wrath of Dr. Daniel Jackson.

Before either Renolii had a chance to respond, Daniel let loose.  “The Furlings were part of the alliance of four races who joined together to try and understand each other, to find a way to work together to the benefit of all races.

“But here you are, trekking from planet to planet, leaving a path of destruction in your wake, murdering thousands of innocent people you know nothing about just to reclaim a piece of dirt that once belonged to your ancestors.”

Eyes blazing, voice rising in intensity, Daniel stepped forward until he was inches away from the two aliens.  They remained silent and Jack figured they were too stunned to respond.  At this point, he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

Daniel didn’t wait for them to speak, instead focusing intently on the pair as he continued his diatribe.  “I would be proud to be a member of a race like the Furlings, but I want no part of one that cares more for a piece of land than the people who live on it; who put their own interests above all else.” 

Red took a half step closer to Daniel, and for the first time, Jack saw emotion in his features.  Eyes narrowing and jaw clenching, the alien responded, his voice tight with anger, his words obviously a challenge.  “You would disavow your own people?”

Daniel’s body stiffened and he grabbed his head as he plunged to his knees.  “What are you doing?” he ground out, voice rough with pain.

Jack rushed to his side, wrapping his hand around Daniel’s arm, while Carter hovered on his other side.  “What’s wrong, Daniel?” 

Jack could feel Daniel’s muscles tensing under his hand, while his breathing slowed.  Taking a deep breath, Daniel stood, dropping his hands to his sides, and faced the Renolii. 

Both of the aliens grimaced in pain, grabbing their own heads as a keening sound pierced the air.  As quickly as it began, it stopped, leaving the two Renolii staring at Daniel in shock. 

“Good try, but I’ve had my mind played with by the best.” 

“What just happened here?” Jack had an idea but wanted to hear it from Daniel.

“They didn’t appreciate my comments and decided to use their own brand of punishment.”

“And?”  Jack waved his hand at the Renolii.

“They didn’t expect me to be able to reciprocate.”

Turning back to the Renolii, Daniel’s voice shifted to the calm, resigned one Jack knew signalled his total commitment to his position.  “I would renounce any people who show no regard for living beings.  Have you even considered that you might be killing your own people?”

Red’s face flinched as his anger shifted to confusion.  “We would not destroy our own people.  The beam will not affect those who are truly Furling.”

“What about me?  I’m mostly human; would it have killed me?”

Red and Gray looked at each other and Jack wondered if this was the first time they’d considered the possibility. 

“We are unsure,” Gray admitted. 

“Well, I think it’s pretty short-sighted, not to mention arrogant, of you to assume your ancestors wouldn’t mix with other races,” Daniel pushed, his voice rising in frustration.  “For all you know, the people on the planets you’re ‘reclaiming’ could be descendants of the Furlings, just like me.  I didn’t understand your language and couldn’t communicate with you telepathically until you ‘fixed’ my gene.  It’s pretty unlikely they would be able to either.”

“And there’s no way for you to know for sure unless you scan them, like you did with Daniel,” Sam interjected.     

The two Renolii again appeared to be considering the argument.  Meanwhile, on the viewscreen, the beam was moving through the village below. 

“Could you at least stop the beam while you’re mulling things over?”  Jack waved his hand at the screen just as the beam completed its sweep across the village.

Both aliens turned their attention to the viewscreen.  Seconds ticked by agonizingly before the beam suddenly stopped. 

“Thank you,” Daniel said, and Jack caught the mix of relief and concern in his voice.

How many had made it off the planet?  How many had been disintegrated by the beam as it swept through their village?  Jack pushed those thoughts aside; there wasn't time to dwell on events he couldn't control.  Right now they had to concentrate on getting the Renolii to back off completely, giving them time to warn or move any other populations the aliens had their sights set on. 

~oOo~

“Run!”

It wasn’t like the woman next to Cameron needed his less than motivational tone to increase her speed.  With every step that propelled them closer to the gate, he regretted not being able to carry her.  Her perfectly rounded bump was slung low around her midriff, a sure sign that she didn’t have long to go before giving birth, and despite her slender frame, the one effort Cam had made to carry her had slowed them down even more. 

She looked across at him now; her face a flushed and sweaty mask of grim determination. Chest heaving, she stumbled for a few steps, and Cam reached out to catch her arm and pull her upright.

“Leave me!” she pleaded, and not for the first time.

“Yeah, ever heard of a cold day in hell?” he returned, knowing that she’d likely never heard of the phrase, but hoping his intent was clear.  His final check of the eastern part of the city had turned up a group of women fleeing from a house he was sure he’d already cleared.  Stumbling out onto the dusty street, they eyed him with suspicion, before raising their gazes to the sky, and the dark belly of the Renolii vessel. 

Wordlessly, they gathered their belongings and ran in the direction of the Stargate, leaving Varessna behind.  The woman had needed no encouragement to run, and the fear in her eyes clearly fuelled her forward, but pregnancy and running for your life weren’t meant to be taken in the same action.

“Hammond, this is Mitchell,” he called breathlessly into his radio, as he dragged her along heedlessly.  “Hammond, come in?”  His hails were met with static.  Either the crew had repaired the ship and retreated beyond radio range or SG-1 had failed completely and the Renolii had taken her out.  “Vala, you there?”  He ripped the radio out of its vest pouch and held it up to his mouth.  “Mitchell to any SG personnel, do you read?”

Behind them a chorus of wails filled the air.  Varessna stumbled again, this time going down on her knees and then falling forward, only to be stopped when Cam grabbed the fabric at the back of her neck and pulled her back.

“Get up!” he yelled hoarsely.  “We have got to move!”

The beam was catching them, disintegrating anything living in its path.  The screams of dying Jaffa were intermingled with those of pets and livestock as the Renolii pushed forward with their plans to cleanse the planet of all life.

Ahead in the distance, Cam could just make out the blue haze of the open Stargate.  It was too far though.  With every step forward, the beam drew even closer, and he could tell without a doubt that they wouldn’t make it.  For a fleeting moment, he thought about tracking off at an angle away from the gate, figuring that the Renolii would follow the same method they used last time and sweep the beam all the way up to the dais.  He chanced a look in both directions but for as far as he could see there was nothing but a wall of white, steadily chasing them.

This time when Varessna stumbled, there was no getting her up.  The woman collapsed at Cam’s feet, her gaze meeting his briefly before she lost consciousness. 

Silence descended and in a moment he knew it was over.  The cries of those caught by the Renolii beam, those who had lagged even further behind than he had, was the last thing he heard as the insidious weapon swept over the last few feet and enveloped him.

~oOo~

“Report!” Womack gripped her command seat arm rests and held on tight.  The closer the Hammond got to the planet, the more interference they caught from the Renolii beam.  Vibrations rattled the ship from stem to stern.  Relays sparked like fireworks around the bridge as the crew struggled to contain an outbreak of electrical fires.

Kaplan, sitting to Womack’s far right, was having as much trouble staying in her chair as she was.  The young lieutenant was nursing a cut above her left eye where her head connected with her console when the Hammond grazed the outer edge of the beam.  “Shields are down to thirty percent,” she reported.  “Engineering is reporting blown power relays ship-wide and the gravity in the fighter bays is out again.  Multiple casualties!”

“What about the cargo bays?”

“Sergeant Markin reports survivors being beamed into Bay One.  The Asgard beam is having trouble cutting through the interference generated by the Renolii weapon.”

“SG-13?”

“Negative, but the gate is still active.”

“So, they could still be trying to get people through to the Zeta Site.” 

“Colonel!”  Captain Haines, sitting at the con, spun to face her.  “The Renolii beam has shut down!” No sooner had the words left his mouth then the Hammond stopped lurching and Haines brought the ship to a full stop. 

“Engines!” Womack snapped.

“Back to thrusters only,” said Haines.  “Navigational control is offline, we’re flying blind.”

Womack pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered, “Can this day get any worse? What’s the position of the Renolii vessel?”

Haines checked his console readout. “Unchanged.”

“I have the cargo bay for you, ma’am,” Kaplan said, nodding towards the controls on Womack’s chair.  “Colonel Mitchell.”

“Mitchell?” Womack flicked the comm switch.  “Cam?”

“In the flesh.  Hey, it’s all in the timing, right?”

She smiled, despite the weariness she could hear in his voice. “So they say.”

“Well, I love yours.”

“Close call?”

“You have no idea.”