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 Family Feud

Chapter 10

Vanshu watched as Yu’s ships moved away slowly. It appeared that they would not be going after the dozen or so that had simply deserted the old Goa’uld.

"Will you allow him to go?" Bra’tac asked. "We can still destroy him."

Casey shook her head. "He’s old, and he’s tired. And he knows this is the end of the Goa’uld Empire. I doubt we’ll hear anything from him...or even about him…unless someone decides to let us know when he dies."

Daniel frowned. "You’re sure about that?"

"Sure about what?" she asked, looking around at the faces that studied her, her own expression one of confusion.

"I’m sure now," Daniel snickered.

"Great. Sure about what?" she demanded to know.

Daniel repeated what she had told Vanshu and Bra’tac.

"He didn’t even make an attempt to stop those ships from leaving?" Jack asked, when Teal’c relayed what had occurred.

"Not that we are aware of," Teal’c replied.

Amaterasu and Kali had fled, with what ships hadn’t been destroyed. Morgan, Tuoni, Pelops, and Keku had fled as well, while attention had been on the other two.

"They don’t have much, and they’re going to have ships abandoning them as well," Casey predicted. "This little civil war opened the eyes of a lot of Jaffa. They may not join the Rebel Jaffa...not immediately...but they aren’t going to hang around and take orders from the Goa’uld, either."

"It is becoming well known that the Rebel Jaffa have a way to live without being slaves to prim’ta. I am certain that when the need arises, those Jaffa will seek us out," Bra’tac said sagely.

"And will you help them?" Daniel asked.

Bra’tac smiled. "Of course. They will be welcome in our growing towns and villages."

Vanshu took a deep breath. "You said Ba’al escaped?" he asked Casey.

"Yes. I think he’s on that planet," the seer replied.

"Let us decide which ships will be taken by whom, and then we will take up the matter of what to do about Ba’al," the Tok’ra suggested.

Bra’tac nodded. "There are enough ships that we will all be better protected."

"I doubt that any of the Goa’uld are going to be much of a problem," Daniel said.

"There are two who yet may be," Bra’tac reminded the younger man.

"Zeus and Nergal," the archaeologist said flatly.

"Word will reach them of the devastation that occurred here to today. They will also learn that the Jaffa in this galaxy are grasping at freedom as quickly as they can. They will hesitate to return…afraid their armies will be influenced by so many free Jaffa here," Bra’tac predicted.

"It’s possible there are already a few rebels among those who serve Zeus," Daniel said quietly. What those Jaffa had witnessed when he, Jack, and Casey had been prisoners surely had filled some of them with questions about their ‘god’.

The old Jaffa smiled. "Then it was folly that he returned here, was it not? If his Jaffa have been influenced, those of Nergal will not escape hearing about the Shakka."

"So, they could be looking at having Jaffa taking ships and deserting them," Daniel mused. "Can’t be the most powerful when your ships and Jaffa are disappearing."

"No, you cannot. But that is a problem to be dealt with on another day," Bra’tac said quietly.

The battle was over. There had been surprises…at least they’d been of the good kind. SG-1 and their allies were gathered in the large dining hall, eating a meal prepared by the wives and daughters of the Jaffa who served as the crew on the ha’tak.

"If Ba’al is sitting on that planet, what happens if we just sit here and wait him out?" Jack asked.

Vanshu frowned. "No doubt he has at least one ship. With that his sensors will be able to detect our presence."

"Is there any chance that the others might come back? If they convince themselves that joining together would get rid of Apophis, they might attack," Casey said.

Bra’tac frowned as well. "There is the chance that they will contact one another. They will do what Goa’uld always do. Boast of their triumph over Ba’al, boast of the number of ships and Jaffa that remained in their fleets after such an intense battle – while ignoring the fact that it was Apophis who destroyed so many afterwards – and then they will discuss an alliance."

"I doubt there will be any boasting," Karinda said, shaking her head slightly. "It will be their losses that will spark their outrage. And it will be that anger that will bring them together against Apophis."

Teal’c nodded. "I agree. While it is advisable that we wait – in order to destroy Ba’al – we must also send at least half of this fleet to Chulak, in order to protect those who live there."

"Teal’c has a point…those Goa’uld are going to strike at Chulak as soon as they’ve changed their underwear," Jack said. "Ba’al can’t have much down there, we can move closer and do a scan or two."

Casey snorted. "They’re probably gonna need a bath, too."

In spite of the gravity of the conversation, the young seer’s comment had the group laughing boisterously. Once the laughter died down, faces became serious once again.

"Then it is decided. We will leave two of the ha’tak and their gliders here. Certainly they will be able to destroy anything that Ba’al might have. The rest of the fleet must return to Chulak," Vanshu said. "For the newly defeated System Lords to take Chulak would be a blow to Apophis that would be difficult to recover from. To lose the planet and Jaffa that have remained loyal to him would not bode well for his perceived power."

"Wouldn’t Kali or Amaterasu be more willing to stand beside Apophis? He knocked them down to size…they can’t take him on, even with the help of the others," Daniel argued.

"A defeated foe, even one shown mercy – such as it was – would never rise up in defense of their adversary," Bra’tac asserted. "We could have – rather, Apophis could have – totally destroyed both Kali and Amaterasu. He did not. It was a demonstration of mercy. But that ‘mercy’ will never see either of those Goa’uld fighting with him. That will never happen again."

Daniel gave a slow nod. "I suppose you’re right," he sighed. "So it’s up to us to make certain Apophis remains the strongest Goa’uld in the neighborhood."

"It is," Bra’tac agreed.

How many times will SG-1 have to play the parts we started today? How many times will Casey have to pretend to be the broken woman the other Goa’uld believe she is? Daniel thought irritably. Damned snakes should just do the universe a favor and drop dead.

"I don’t think it will take long," Casey said, just before she took a sip of water. When she realized that all eyes were on her, she shrugged self-consciously. "So many Jaffa just up and quit today…I mean, we never expected that to happen. We knew the Free Jaffa would jump ship…but…" she shrugged again. "That will affect the servants. How many died on those ships today…servants and slaves?" she asked. No one had an answer for her. "The servants on the surviving ships are well aware that a large number of Jaffa deserted their ‘god’. What will stop the servants from leaving? The Jaffa who are left? I doubt it. How long before all of the Jaffa leave? Even the slaves will rise up and rebel. Not one of those System Lords…such as they are…will be able to stop all-out rebellion against them."

Bra’tac frowned slightly. "You make a valid point," he admitted.

"Yes, she does," Vanshu said. "We must protect Apophis until we know there is no danger from any of the System Lords who remain. As Casey said, ‘such as they are’. But how long before they are alone…their temples empty of priests and priestesses, their palaces devoid of slaves and servants? The villages that support those temples and palaces will likely revolt as well, when they learn that the ‘god’ who has been demanding tribute from them has nothing with which to threaten them."

"It is almost certain that all Jaffa will walk away," M’zel said quietly. "How many are already weary of the…atrocities…which are demanded of them? Many Free Jaffa have become so because of the pain, the weariness of bearing the burden of their actions."

Teal’c nodded his understanding. "Indeed. The Jaffa who witnessed the events of this day, who witnessed so many of their brethren break ranks with them, will no doubt search their souls in the coming days and weeks."

"We did what we set out to do," Vanshu said, his voice low. "We brought the Goa’uld Empire not only to its knees, but thrust a sword into its heart. It is dying, and I do not believe anything can, or will, save it."

"So, we keep up the charade until…when?" Daniel asked.

"Until it is no longer necessary," Vanshu replied. He wasn’t unaware of the archaeologist’s apprehension. "I do not believe it will be necessary for more than a few months, at most."

A few months? Oh, hell no! This shit will give Casey nightmares for more than just a ‘few months’! Daniel was barely able to hide the disquiet of his thoughts; he managed to remain silent by taking a long drink of water.

"What if Zeus or Nergal show up? What do we do then?" Sam asked, toying with her napkin, a sure sign of her own unease.

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," Jack said, folding his fingers around hers. He turned his attention to Vanshu. "I don’t like the idea of SG-1 being prisoner for the foreseeable future. I don’t like open-ended missions."

Vanshu smiled. "Well, I have it on good authority that no Goa’uld has held SG-1 for longer than a few days. Apophis might actually succeed in holding them for a few days, but I believe those of the SGC will see to it that they are freed from their imprisonment."

Sam grinned. "I hadn’t thought about that," she admitted. "Whenever any of our people are captured by Goa’uld, we mount an immediate rescue mission. Why should Apophis be any different?"

"Of course, holding us that long will convince any Goa’uld left out there that he’s someone they should just leave alone," Casey giggled.

"I believe that the Goa’uld who were in battle today will return to their palaces. And there they will stay," Karinda said firmly. "As Casey has pointed out, there is a high probability that more Jaffa will defect from the ranks of these System Lords, and that the servants and slaves will rebel as well. With no way to counter these desertions, the Goa’uld will be forced to remain in seclusion…it will be a matter of self-preservation."

"Seclusion. I can deal with them doing that," Daniel admitted. The knot that had been growing in his stomach at the thought of an extended mission, one that would no doubt haunt Casey, began to ease.

"Me, too," Casey said, reaching for his hand.

"Is it possible that such a defeat as has been seen today…and then the inevitable destruction of Apophis…will cause Zeus and Nergal to hesitate to return to our stars?" Adal asked.

Vanshu rubbed his chin with one hand. "I believe it to be very possible. To learn of the mass desertion of the Jaffa serving all of the System Lords...that will cause concern to them, even as powerful as they are. To return to this galaxy would put them at risk of having their armies discover very quickly the growing number of Jaffa who are free of the yoke of slavery to false gods. They will most certainly want to prevent their own Jaffa from learning about what has happened to the Goa’uld Empire this day."

"The only way to prevent their Jaffa from knowing anything would be to stay as far away as possible," Sam mused. "They might believe they’re too powerful to be defeated...but I don’t think either of those two Goa’uld will take the chance...no Goa’uld believed their Empire could ever be destroyed...but it’s gone now."

Daniel nodded. "It’s one thing to use smoke and mirrors to terrify simple villagers into believing you’re a god. It’s another thing all together to know that one wrong step can bring you down. You know that Zeus especially will suspect us...the Tok’ra and the Tau’ri...of having something to do with the fact that the Jaffa decided they weren’t going to stick around and be cannon fodder for Goa’uld egos. But neither he nor Nergal are going to be willing to risk losing their own armies to come here to find out for certain what happened."

All three of the Tok’ra nodded their agreement. "I believe that once word has reached them about the battle today, and the results, neither Zeus nor Nergal will be willing to leave their own territories," Karinda said. "Even if they do suspect that we were involved, they won’t dare risk the same thing happening among their own Jaffa. Without their armies of enslaved Jaffa, they are nothing...and I do not believe either of those Goa’uld are unaware of that fact."

"Well, one thing is for certain," Jack said. "There are a lot more Jaffa out there who aren’t working for any Goa’uld."

Bra’tac started, then grinned. "Indeed. Thanks to the Tau’ri...and the Tok’ra...the Jaffa are slaves to the Goa’uld no longer. Some of them just haven’t realized it yet!"

Jack put his napkin beside his plate, and pushed away from the table. "I think we’ve covered everything that needs to be covered. SG-1 will be sprung from Apophis in the next few days. The pretend snake will be killed in the next few weeks. And the System Lords will continue to lose Jaffa…and start losing servants and slaves. Hopefully we’ll have scared the bejeezus out of Zeus and Nergal." Laughter met his declarations. He rose to his feet. "I’d like to send a report to General Hammond. He’ll want to know what we’ve accomplished, what we suspect might happen now, and what our plans are."

"Of course," Vanshu replied. "And please thank him for sending SG-1. I believe it was because of their ‘capture’ that the System Lords hesitated…even feared…to make a move against Apophis."

"I’ll do that," Jack promised, offering a smile.

The klaxons began to wail as the sensors detected an open wormhole. Everyone in the control room braced themselves, not knowing whether it was a simple message coming through, or if one of the teams...none of which were due for check-in...were in trouble, and possibly coming in ‘hot’.

General Hammond hurried into the room. "What have we got?" he asked.

Walter scanned the monitors, then grinned. "Message from General O’Neill, sir."

"Let’s hear it," Hammond replied.

"...O’Neill to SGC. Not sure how long this will take to reach you, we’re on the edge of the friggin’ galaxy, it seems. Sam…er…Colonel Carter...believes it will be at least ninety minutes. Maybe longer," Jack’s voice announced.

Hammond smiled.

Ferretti had raced into the control room as soon as the klaxons had started. He grinned from ear to ear as he listened. "That had to have shaken Balls up," he chortled.

"No doubt," the general chuckled.

"Vanshu…he’s Pedram’s Tok’ra…and Bra’tac decided that beating on the two ‘biggest’ System Lords would be a good lesson in humility, so ‘Apophis’ attacked Kali and Amaterasu. The others didn’t have enough to bother with. Those two have even less now," Jack continued.

"We did it," Ferretti said softly. "We really did it!"

"So it would seem, Major," Hammond agreed.

"We’re gonna have a couple of ha’taks hang around here a bit. Radar says Balls made it to the planet. Whatever he has won’t be much, and we can take care of him when he sticks his head up. Consensus is the other System Lords will lick their wounds for a day or so, and then try to attack Chulak because they’ll believe it’s an easy target. We’re going to take the rest of this fleet there to wait for them," Jack reported.

"Reasonable," Hammond nodded approvingly.

Hammond’s lips twitched.

"The President is going to be thrilled to hear about this," Hammond predicted.

Ferretti frowned. "Ya know, now that the threat of the Goa’uld is pretty much gone…that ‘Stargate Alliance’ that the G8 formed isn’t gonna have much to do, is it?"

"Major, that is a side benefit I hadn’t even thought about," the general responded. Then he sighed. "No doubt they will insist on access to the Stargate for ‘exploration’."

"Yeah, exploration and exploitation. We should tell ‘em that the ‘gate costs too much to operate for just lookin’ around."

The general chuckled. "I’ll mention that to the President."

The frown became deeper on Ferretti’s weathered face. "This won’t mean the end of the SGC, will it, sir?"

"No, Major," Hammond replied. "We might have knocked the Goa’uld down to size…at least in our solar system. There are still two very powerful Goa’uld out there. And we don’t know for certain that there aren’t still others out there, as powerful as Zeus and Nergal. Not to mention any other civilizations we have yet to meet, who would rather be our enemy than our ally."

"That’s simultaneously reassuring and depressing as hell," Ferretti declared.

"I totally agree," Hammond sighed.

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