SG1-25 Hostile Ground(97)

The third Amam was back on his feet, but Teal’c took aim and blasted the stunner from its hand and then fired again into its chest. This time, he did not think the creature would rise.

“Teal’c!” O’Neill yelled, and he looked over to see that the commander and the remaining Amam were closing on O’Neill. He was backing up, the child cowering behind him.

Taking aim, Teal’c fired again into the Amam and he dropped to his knees, back arching in pain. O’Neill finished him off, loosing a burst of gunfire into the creature’s head that sent a spray of black blood up into the air.

That left only the commander. Teal’c advanced slowly and, realizing it was now vulnerable, the commander backed up, trying to watch both him and O’Neill. Then his hand moved toward the device on his other wrist, a gesture Teal’c remembered from the Amam who had healed Daniel Jackson. He had done the same to summon the fighter that had snared them with its transporter beam.

He opened fire on the creature’s arm at the same moment as O’Neill. The creature’s hand flailed, burned and came away from his arm. The Amam roared in pain and Teal’c fired at its head, twice, until it fell silent on the ground.

The grizzly business was done, and over the prone corpse, he met O’Neill’s grim gaze.

“That was fun,” he said.

Teal’c lifted an eyebrow but did not comment.

From behind O’Neill, the boy emerged and it was only when Teal’c took in his ashen face that he realized dawn had crept upon them.

“Hey,” O’Neill said to the kid, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” The boy just stared and O’Neill ruffled his hand through his hair. “You’ll be fine.” He looked over at Teal’c. “Where’s the girl?”

Looking back to where she was hiding, Teal’c lifted his hand and beckoned. She was running toward them in an instant and, when the boy saw her, he started running too until they collided together in a tangle of hugs and tears.

O’Neill cleared his throat, sniffed, then glared at Teal’c — daring him to comment. He did not dare.

“Hey,” O’Neill called over to the children. “You two got a home to go to?”

The girl looked up over her brother’s head. “We live in the Way Back.”

“Parents?”

She shook her head. “Just me and Bryn.”

“Then get outa here,” he said. “They might send back-up.”

With a nod, she took her brother’s hand, but before she led him away she turned to Teal’c. “You’re him, aren’t you?” she said, gesturing toward his forehead. “You’re Dix.”

He exchanged a look with O’Neill who just lifted his eyebrows and left it to Teal’c to answer. He chose to let the girl draw her own conclusions and simply bowed his head in silence.

She gave a short bark of laughter. “I knew it,” she said, bending down to talk in her brother’s ear. “Dix saved you, Bryn. How about that?”

The boy looked up at him, his tear-swollen eyes going wide as the girl, Jem, pulled him away.

“You kids take care,” O’Neill called after them, his voice tight with frustration. Teal’c understood his feelings; they could not protect these children, nor any of the thousands who lived here. The next night, perhaps, the Amam would come again and they would be taken — or the night after that.

O’Neill shook his head and stared down at the bodies at their feet. All around them Teal’c sensed people emerging with the morning light, staring in shock and fear at the fallen Amam.

“I’m not sure we did these people any favors,” O’Neill said, looking about with obvious unease. “Someone’s gonna come looking for these guys.”

Teal’c followed his gaze, but alongside the fear, he saw something else in the faces watching from the shadows. It was not exactly hope, but perhaps it was something that could turn to hope.

“It will do these people no harm,” he decided, “to learn that the Amam can die at their hands.”

“They’ve got no weapons, Teal’c.”

“Not yet,” he said. “But if they value their freedom they must learn how to fight for it.” He lifted an eyebrow and fixed his friend with a serious look. “This is not our battle to win, O’Neill.”

He gave a tight nod, accepting the point even if he did not like it, and then slapped Teal’c on the arm. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get back. The sooner we get off this rock, the better.”



Hunter was right and the flood of people washed past them. Daniel watched, sickened, through a gap in the canvas as three Amam stalked after their prey — driving the panicked population ahead like frightened sheep.