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Shannon was quietly seething when she stepped through the gate. She knew Beatrice was too, as was Mary. Well, in Mary's case, it wasn't all that quiet. The choice words she had uttered, even in the presence of the general, though she had done her best to hold herself back, still not wanting to be court-martialed, had been quite impressive. Even to Shannon, who was used to Mary's colorful language, after all, they knew each other for nearly fifteen years now.
But this situation was so unfair and infuriating, that Shannon very much understood why Mary had been that angry. After all, Shannon herself was angry too. To be told that there was nothing they could do to save Lilith, that she didn't have the same rights as a human from Earth would have, that she was simply a war criminal that got her just punishments had cut very deeply.
They might not have known her for very long, only about a year, but that didn't mean that they hadn't already developed a deep friendship, a bond that was only strengthened by the fact that Lilith had betrayed the person she had thought of as a god, had given up the only life she had ever known just to help them save people. To right the injustice that Adriel and the other Goa'uld were bringing to every planet they visited.
To listen to all of Lilith's good deeds laid out by Shannon herself, Mary, Beatrice and Yasmine had only strengthened Shannon's resolve to save her. Unfortunately, it had done nothing to convince the kid that was accusing Lilith of having killed his father of her innocence. Which, yes, Lilith had done that, but there had been mitigating circumstances in Shannon's opinion. Except Lilith didn't see it that way and had willingly surrendered to the Byrsa's demand that she be executed at midday today.
Shannon had gone back to Earth with Mary and Beatrice to get another team ready, to make sure that the Byrsa knew they were not willing to let them just kill Lilith. She was hoping there wouldn't be any bloodshed, that the Byrsa would see that their efforts to keep Lilith would be pointless when confronted with superior firepower. But unfortunately, the president had been against it and as much as General Superion was on Lilith's side, she had no recourse than to go with her orders.
Which meant that they had to respect the Byrsa's wishes, that Lilith had to stand trial and face the punishment for what she had done. And it wasn't like Shannon didn't understand that it was what Lilith wanted and why, the passionate speech Lilith had given her about listening to a child cry after you had just executed their father still ringing in her ears, but that wouldn't stop her from wanting to save her friend.
Even when she also understood the Byrsa, got that they were just trying to survive with the terror of the Goa'uld coming through the gate and taking people to be made into hosts or be killed on some far away planet. That they had been forced into hiding as soon as the symbols on the gate appeared, that often, groups would not make it into their hiding places and would be either taken or killed.
Lilith had been ordered to kill one of them as an example to the rest. Part of Shannon was impressed that even back then, when she was fully under Adriel's influence, Lilith had tried to do good in some small aspects, had chosen Hanno's father because he had been the one who was the slowest among his family, with only one leg. Of course Lilith had known that the others would never leave him behind, that this was why they had been caught in the first place.
Hanno had not cared about that explanation, of course. Even when he was technically an adult now, in a way he was still a kid that had lost his father. Shannon felt for him, but the fact that Lilith had tried to do the right thing even then, that she had only acted on Adriel's orders and that since she had defied him and joined SG-1, he had only ever done good, protecting people, weighed more for her than one kid's lust for revenge.
Stepping out of the gate, Shannon looked around and was instantly taken out of her musings by what she saw. She took her weapon in hand, seeing Beatrice and Mary do the same next to her. This was not how they left the planet. At all. There were small fires everywhere, carts were upturned in the middle of the square, things lying strewn about on the ground.
Immediately in defensive mode, Shannon gestured to Mary and Beatrice to hide behind the nearest walls. They all did and it turned out to be a good thing, as immediately after, a group of Jaffa came out of one of the buildings, herding terrified people into the direction of the main hall. The place where Lilith and Yasmine most likely were, or rather, under it, since that was where the Byrsa had incarcerated Lilith. Shannon's heart clenched at the thought of what could have happened to the two of them, but there wasn't time for that right now.
She gestured again to Mary and Beatrice, who both acknowledged her and together they managed to launch a surprise attack against the four Jaffa, incapacitating all of them. Telling the people to go hide, Shannon and the others made their way into the main hall, immediately going down to the dungeon, checking the cell Lilith had been held in. It was empty, the door wide open.
"Maybe the Byrsa took her with them," Beatrice mused and Shannon nodded, immediately turning around. If the Byrsa took Lilith, they would be going into their tunnels, the Hiding, but the Jaffa were bound to have taken the villagers they had captured into the main hall and as much as Shannon wanted to only rescue Yasmine and Lilith, their mandate was to protect everyone, so they needed to make sure they got rid of the Jaffa first. Rushing towards the main hall, Beatrice mused further. "Or maybe Yasmine freed her."
Shannon looked over her shoulder at Beatrice, giving her a grateful smile, appreciating that she kept her spirit up. Mary scoffed by her side, but also nodded towards Beatrice.
"Keep those positive thoughts coming, captain," Mary said, her tone only a little sarcastic and mostly thankful.
They made their way towards the main hall, their weapons at the ready. Hearing shouting and crying, Shannon again gestured to the other two that they needed to approach carefully, making sure they got the element of surprise against the Jaffa. Looking into the main hall briefly, making sure she was seen as little as possible, Shannon was just in time to see Lilith kill the Jaffa who had replaced her as Adriel's Prime and then take his staff weapons and aim it at the other Jaffa, who unfortunately were taking villagers as human shield.
Shannon was relieved to see that Yasmine was among the Byrsa who were running into safety at the back of the main hall. Not wanting to let Lilith fend for herself, she nodded towards the room, Mary and Beatrice having gotten into position on the other side of the door and also having watched what happened inside. Before they could attack, Lilith made her move, jumping on one of the Jaffa, taking him out of the equation, but also getting shot by a staff weapon in the progress. Thankfully it didn't seem like it had been hitting her full on, but rather in the side, but still, it made Shannon's heart stop for a second.
Not willing to wait any longer, Shannon advanced into the room, immediately starting to shoot at the Jaffa, careful not to hit any of the Byrsa. Behind her, Beatrice and Mary were doing the same and in just a few moments, they managed to defeat all the Jaffa in the main hall, the Byrsa who had been cowering in the back coming back hesitantly. Yasmine was among them, nodding thankfully towards Shannon and the others and then hurrying towards Lilith to check on her.
Shannon was just about to walk towards Yasmine and to tell her they should get the hell out of here when Lilith got up, with Yasmine and Beatrice's help, the latter having rushed to her side too once there was no more threat from the Jaffa. Except, instead of going with them to the exit, Lilith picked up a staff weapon and limped over to Hanno, who was making sure that his people were alright. Shannon felt her heart fall when Lilith held out the staff weapon.
"It is midday. I am ready to face my punishment," Lilith said, in a matter of fact tone. Shannon shared a look with Mary, who shrugged dramatically, even holding her hands up.
Deciding that Lilith needed this, that she needed to see this through, Shannon shook her head infinitesimally to Mary and Beatrice and just waited, hoping Hanno had come to his senses after seeing real Jaffa in action. It didn't seem like he had, taking the staff weapon from Lilith eagerly. Shannon gripped her weapon tight, ready to interfere if it was necessary. For now, Lilith just stepped back onto the stand she had spent the last day on, and stood there, stoically, even when it was clear she was in a lot of pain from the wound on her side.
Hanno contemplated the staff weapon for a long moment and then stepped forward, close to Lilith. Too close for it to be firing range with a staff weapon, which made some hope flare up in Shannon's chest.
"You could leave. We are in no condition to keep you. Why stay?" Hanno asked, less of the anger that had always been present in his voice now and more confusion, curiosity. Lilith shook her head.
"I have been sentenced fairly. I accept the path before me," Lilith said, making Shannon sigh and Mary roll her eyes. Hanno frowned, looking at her.
"You could have escaped the Jaffa. Saved yourself. Instead, you risked your life to save those who wished to kill you. Why?" Hanno asked, with that same confusion.
"Because I would rather die than stand by and watch those who are innocent be hurt ever again. I have vowed to protect as many as I can and I will stand by that vow until I draw my last breath," Lilith stated, her tone neutral but the passion behind the words clear. They made Shannon's heart bleed for her. She knew this, of course, but to hear it from Lilith herself, in this circumstance was a whole other story.
Hanno stayed silent for a long moment, looking down on the staff weapon and then up at Lilith, who still stood stoically, her hands behind her back. Shannon was surprised to see tears in Hanno's eyes. Finally, he shook his head.
"I was mistaken. My memory was faulty. You are not the Jaffa who killed my father," Hanno said, many emotions clear in his voice. Shannon had to suppress a gasp, her eyes going wide, sharing a surprised look with Mary. Lilith shook her head.
"I am the one," she said, with conviction. Mary looked like she was about to clubber her over the head while Shannon felt a very inappropriate chuckle rise in her, because, yes, she could understand Lilith, she could, but this amount of stubbornness was really something. Thankfully, Hanno smiled now, softly and shook his head.
"No. That Jaffa is dead. You killed her," Hanno said, holding out the staff weapon towards Lilith, who looked at it with confusion, but after a long moment, she took it, regarding it like a wondrous gift, a look of confusion and wonder on her face. Hannon nodded and turned around towards Shannon. "We have our own wounded to take care of. I suggest you take your," he paused, looking back at Lilith with something akin to awe even though there was still confusion, before he continued, "friend home."
Shannon smiled at him and nodded towards Beatrice and Yasmine, who immediately went to Lilith's side, steadying her. Stepping closer towards Hanno, Shannon bowed her head.
"Thank you. We can help you with your defenses. Make sure you're better prepared next time the Goa'uld come," Shannon said, feeling a lot more generous and positive towards Hanno and the Byrsa in general now that Lilith was in no danger of being executed. Hanno smiled warmly, relief in his eyes.
"I would appreciate that."
With that, they parted ways, Shannon and Mary leading the way to the gate, eager to get Lilith back home and to the infirmary. Shannon was glad that they had been able to save Lilith even without the extra forces the president had been unwilling to authorize. It would be a relief for General Superion too, who saw Lilith as one of her people and had hated denying her help. But that was in the past. Now, Lilith was fine and would have many more opportunities to make up for what she had done in the past, which was all that mattered.