“SG-one-niner, do you copy?” Jacob boosted the signal and adjusted the orbit of the cargo ship. Most of his attention was taken up by the approaching ha’tak, which he’d been watching with growing dismay. His ship was cloaked, not that it mattered; his tel’tak was indistinguishable from the other Goa’uld vessels drifting in orbit. The arrival of a second mothership here couldn’t be a good sign, not with Sebek’s ha’tak already on the planet, and this second one rotating into firing position, batteries aimed at the planet’s surface. Chatter from the ship in orbit told him that the newcomer belonged to Yu, and Yu was undoubtedly on board. Chatter from the ground told him the remaining city on the planet was in the throes of some sort of rebellion, which meant that, if SG-1 was really down there, they had either caused it or were trapped in it.
With the signal boosters on his ship, Jacob was pretty sure he should’ve been able to get through to them by now, if they had access to their radios. It was a gamble, but he had nothing else to go on.
He got up and stretched, restless, frustrated. There wasn’t much left for him to do here. Either they’d hear him, or they wouldn’t; either they were in the middle of chaos, or they were already dead. It could be they’d never come to this planet at all, but there was a part of Jacob that wasn’t ready to admit it could be true. It would mean he had no leads, no way to find Sam. This option was better than no option at all.
The display of the planet’s surface showed plumes of smoke rising into the atmosphere, circling up from large explosions below.
If there is a way to escape, they will find it, Selmak reminded him, ever practical. Jacob was having trouble believing it at that moment, and although he knew Selmak was troubled by his pessimism, he reached for the radio yet again.
“I could put the ship down and take a look around down there,” he said, only to be met with Selmak’s violent objection.
You are Tok’ra. In the eyes of half the galaxy, you are no better than a Goa’uld. These people have risen against their masters. Do you wish to kill us both?
With a sigh, Jacob said, “SG-one-niner, come in. SG-1, do you read me? This is Jacob Carter.”
As before, there was nothing but silence. Jacob stared at the ceiling. He’d have to keep hailing. They’d have no idea he was there.
The ship’s automatic beacon squawked at him, the proximity warning triggered by the nearest ship. He leaned forward to get a better view. This wasn’t exactly a fine specimen of a mothership, by any stretch. A vast section of the outer ring was actually open to vacuum. Maybe it explained why Yu had come to mop up the planet himself. Jacob was vectoring his cargo ship away when a tel’tak disengaged from the traffic around the ha’tak and blasted across Jacob’s bow, laying a heavy pattern of fire against the underbelly of the ha’tak, where many of the vital systems were. Then the tel’tak swooped around in an elegant turn to finish with a volley of shots directly into the open decks of the ring. The results were immediate and spectacular. Debris blossomed silently as the ha’tak started to yaw, the outer ring breaking up, separating in jagged sections. The mothership started to spin away, propelled by the force of the explosions, irreparably disabled.
Jacob double-timed it out of there and looped back above the plane of destruction to watch as Yu’s ship changed course in an attempt to avoid the expanding cloud of debris. Too slow, the mothership couldn’t avoid a section of the destroyed outer ring that collided with it in a glancing blow, raking and skipping along its underside before tumbling away. The explosions that erupted from the impact proved that Yu’s shields weren’t up, and, Jacob hoped, with that damage, they wouldn’t be. The mystery tel’tak emerged from behind one of the largest drifting sections, squeezing between it and the scarred angle of the ha’tak’s damaged central pyramid, and headed for Yu’s mothership.
“Son of a bitch,” Jacob breathed. There was a wordless stirring inside him. Selmak agreed.
The tel’tak rose up, gracefully slipping past two death gliders that turned to challenge it, and circled around to the sloped side facing the planet. A moment later, the ship’s navigational array was reduced to spark and cinder. Precision shooting, Jacob noticed, and precision flying. This was no local native who’d managed to grab a ship and take the fight to the air.
This was someone who knew how to fly.
The ha’tak returned fire, striking the ship’s thrusters and sending the little craft spinning for a moment before the pilot righted her, and then ducked to evade the gliders giving chase. Jacob leaned forward and switched the com signal over.
“Unidentified vessel, do you read me? This is Jacob Carter. Come in.”
A moment’s silence, and then, behind a burst of static, a familiar voice: “Jacob? Jacob, what the hell are you doing here?”
Jacob grinned, and Selmak mirrored his elation. “Jack! I could ask you the same question. Is Sam there with you?”
“I’m here, Dad.” At the sound of her voice, the tension Jacob had been carrying released, like a knot unwinding from the base of his spine, and he took a deep breath. “Your timing couldn’t be better,” Sam said.
“We’ve got damage, Jacob.” Jack was all business. “And we’ve got wounded.”
“Stand by to ring over. I’ll de-cloak.”
“No, wait,” Jack said. There was a period of silence, then Jack came back online. “Teal’c’s going to ram this thing right down Yu’s throat. Can you grab us out of here in time?”
“You bet.”
He watched Teal’c take out one of the gliders, then lined up behind him until the second glider had been blown out of space. Teal’c had probably never met a death glider he hadn’t dreamed of destroying. Jacob matched their speed and got into position below the other ship. It was a tricky maneuver, and he immediately ceded control to Selmak, who had the experience to get it right the first and only chance they’d have.
“Stand by,” Selmak told them, and then Jacob was up and moving, toward the ring controls. A press of a few buttons and the rings activated. No time to spare to make sure he had them all. He caught sight of people within the rings and ran back to the pilot’s seat to cloak and move away.
The tel’tak above accelerated suddenly as the autopilot kicked in, headed straight for the command bridge of Yu’s ship. Selmak handed Jacob back control as he sped away, putting safe distance between them and the imminent collision.
Jack’s hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed hard. “I don’t know how you knew we were here, but I’m damned glad you showed up,” he said, and Jacob grinned.
“You should be glad. I saved your ass. What the hell were you thinking, attacking a mothership?”
“It was his idea,” Jack said, jerking a thumb at Teal’c, who was claiming the navigator’s seat as his own. “Thinks he’s invincible.”
“Unlike the rest of us,” Sam said. She leaned forward to kiss Jacob’s cheek. He raised an arm and hugged her, pulling her closer.
“It’s good to see you, kid,” he said softly, taking in the dirt and blood all over her. She shook her head, answering his unspoken question.
“You too,” she said, with a smile that told him she knew exactly why he was here.
“Carter,” Jack said, calling her attention forward and Jacob’s with it. The tel’tak-turned-missile slammed into Yu’s ship, creating a spectacular light show that died within moments, only to reveal Yu’s ship mostly intact, although there was a satisfyingly ugly scar on the pyramid below the command decks. Still, he’d hoped for better. “Crap,” Jack said.
“Considerable damage has been done,” Teal’c reported. “All weapons systems are non-operational. Yu’s shields are down.”
“He’ll retreat now,” Jacob said.
“It’s enough to give them a fighting chance, sir,” Sam said.
“Well, that’s nice,” Jack said, and his sarcasm alone told Jacob there was a long story behind it. “Glad we were there to help.” Jack crouched behind Daniel, who was unconscious on the floor. His face and arms were covered in fresh and dried blood. “I think it’s time we took care of our own now.”
“The closest planet is Relos,” Jacob said, and Jack’s head snapped up. The score he planned to settle was written all over his face, but Daniel stirred, and Jacob could see Jack setting that account aside for now. “I have a GDO. We can gate in from there. George’ll be anxious to see you.”
“It’ll be good to be home,” Sam said, taking Jacob’s hand.