STARGATE SG-1 29 Hall of the Two Truths Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tok’ra too.”
    Her brow furrowed. “What about you, sir?”
    “Just do as I say, Major. That’s an order.”
    Throwing him a look of belligerent resignation, she radioed the message to Daniel and Teal’c. The big guy had finally taken cover near the center portion of the ruins, crouching behind his own pile of stones and brambles. His head snapped up sharply and he frowned at Jack when Carter’s message came through, but finally he nodded and acknowledged the order.
    Good. He didn’t need last minute heroics from any of them.
    Jack picked his destination. There was a small cluster of pines maybe a hundred yards from his position. It wouldn’t be much cover, even if he made it, but it was at a right angle from the flight path of the gliders. They’d have to bank sharply to follow him, and that would take both their time and attention. Carter and the others could escape to the tree line in the opposite direction and, if he were lucky, he’d make cover before the pilots actually got him in their sites. Throw in the fact that the run of the mill Jaffa was usually a lousy shot, and he might just survive this.
    Emphasis on might.
    Spotting a better location from which to launch his sprint, Jack scrambled to a nearby mound of rubble. Amidst the screech of the oncoming gliders, he heard what sounded like a zat, but that didn’t make any sense.
    Unless they were being flanked by ground troops as well.
    If that were the case, then they really were screwed.
    Jack hesitated. There was no point in running decoy if he was just as likely to get a staff blast in the back for his troubles. He clicked on his radio.
    “Carter, did you —?”
    There was no need to finish. He heard the zat fire again. Grasping his weapon, Jack leaned around the pile of stones just in time to see a blue arc strike Carter from behind. His brain registered a motionless form where Teal’c had been and no longer any sign of the top of Daniel’s head. Crap.
    Jack heard it before he felt it, even as the strafing from the death gliders started spattering the ground again. His body half-tensed in anticipation a split-second before the zat blast set his nerves on fire. There was a jolt of acute pain paired with a flash of self-loathing, and then Jack’s vision faded to black.
     

Chapter Two
    “WE’D LIKE to go back, sir.” The determination in Colonel Reynolds’ voice belied how weary he and the rest of SG-16 appeared. “And I’d like to request a UAV. SG-1 might just be out of radio range.”
    “I’ve already authorized the UAV, but, for now, I’m suspending any further search and rescue.” It was the last thing Hammond wanted to do, but based on the evidence of a Goa’uld attack, he wasn’t about to put another team in harm’s way. Not until he had a better idea of what had gone wrong on P4C-679. “Get some rest, Colonel. All of you.” He dismissed them with a nod.
    Back in his office, Hammond watched SG-16 slowly file out of the conference room. He understood their frustration. He shared it. This was supposed to have been an easy, no-stress mission for SG-1. Something that would ease them back into the saddle after the debacle on K’tau. He’d meant it as more of a team-building exercise than anything else.
    So what the hell had happened?
    To make matters worse, he also had a missing Tok’ra. Hammond didn’t relish making that call to the High Council, although maybe they would be able to shed a bit more light on why they’d proposed the mission to ‘679 in the first place. Jenmar had presented it as an opportunity to explore newly discovered Ancient ruins, but maybe Jack had been right, and there was more to it than that. Considering his people had been missing for nearly eighteen hours now, Hammond was inclined to think so.
    “The UAV is ready to deploy, sir.” Sergeant Harriman was standing in the doorway, waiting expectantly.
    Hammond nodded. “I’ll be there in a moment, Sergeant.” He supposed it was too much to hope