Part 2
The first thing Sam noticed was that she was shivering. The second thing she noticed was why. Whoever had moved her had taken, not only her gear, but her clothing as well, replacing it with only a linen shirt and trousers, and she was very cold. Sam looked around groggily, trying to clear her head of the last of the effects of the gas. She sat up carefully, taking stock of her body. Her head was pounding, but that was to be expected. Her shoulder hurt too, probably from falling after she had passed out. She rubbed it, hoping to ease the ache a bit, but only succeeded in deducing that a massage was not what was needed. It felt like some of the tendons were pulled. She held her injured arm close to her body and used the other one to push herself to her feet. Quickly realizing this was not the best of ideas, Sam sat down again, and leaned back against the nearest wall, panting with the effort to not vomit all over herself. Once she got her stomach back under control, she looked around again, this time from the relative safety of the floor.
She was in what looked like a normal barred cage. Sam squinted, trying to see what was beyond. Blackness stared back at her. Sam automatically clamped down on her rising panic with a discipline borne of years of training. This felt a little too close to her dream for comfort. She felt the complete aloneness surrounding her. Her team had no idea where she was, and she had no idea who had taken her or why. She looked around again, then did a double take as she saw movement outside her cell.
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Jack O’Neill stormed through the SGC, swearing and cursing. He was furious with himself for allowing Carter to be taken right from under his nose. It had happened so fast, that he hadn’t had time to react. He had seen her disappear and had yelled for Daniel and Teal’C, who had come running. “She’s gone.” He’d told them, “Carter just got transported off somewhere.”
“Where was she standing?” Daniel had asked, looking around.
“Over there, but don’t get too close, Daniel, I don’t want you off space monkeying around too.”
Daniel had moved carefully over to the area O’Neill had indicated, studying the ground for markings. He saw the black marks that had caught Sam’s eye and circled around to the other side. The previous activation of the rings had disturbed the foliage covering the transport site. Daniel brushed off some of the remaining debris and looked up at O’Neill. “These are Goa’uld writings, Jack, but they’re different from the ones we see today. Older and more archaic. If I’m reading these right, they’re set to transport up, like to a ship in orbit.”
“Great. That’s just peachy. C’mon, boys, let’s get back to the gate and figure out what we’re gonna do to get Carter back.”
Jack shook off the memories, knowing that recalling his failure over and over again was not going to help.
He entered the briefing room, joining the remaining members of his team, and his CO, and flopped down into a seat.
“Alright, gentlemen, you want to tell me what happened?” Hammond asked.
“We had split up, sir, to try and cover as much ground as possible. Carter was with me.” He took a deep breath. “I heard her say she’d found something, I turned around, and she was gone. Transported up to god knows where. Request permission to return to P3X-712 to mount a rescue operation.”
“Um, Jack, going back to the planet through the stargate isn’t going to help us much if she’s on a ship somewhere.” Daniel said carefully. “They may not even be in orbit anymore. But we do know that the rings that were used to transport Sam were of a very old Goa’uld design. Maybe some rebel faction or an offshoot of the Goa’ulds we deal with today.
“Perhaps I may be of assistance, O’Neill” A flash of bright white light made them all jump, as Thor appeared in their midst.
“Thor! Are you a sight for sore eyes! Yes, you can help. Can you take us back to P3X-712 and get us onto the ship where Sam was taken?” Jack took it for granted that Thor already knew what was going on. He always seemed to know.
“That is why I am here.” Thor said. “I am aware of Major Carter’s capture, and will help you get to the place where she is being held. However, I cannot do more than that, as I must return to my own galaxy and continue the fight against the replicators.”
“Great! Let’s go!” Jack jumped up and was about to take off for the gear up room when he remembered something. “Um, that is, if it’s alright with you, sir.” He looked at Hammond.
“You have a go.” Hammond said. “Godspeed.”
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Sam glared out into the darkness at a shape that was barely visible. “Who are you and what do you want?” she called.
The figure moved closer to her cell, finally stepping into the light pooling around the cage from the lamp overhead. What Sam saw made her gasp an scrabble back as far as she could away from the creature in front of her. It was huge, at least 7 feet tall, with thick black leathery skin and glowing yellow eyes. Muscles corded its limbs, which were pocked and marked with yellowed and oozing scars. Its head was enormous, a thick bull snout bisecting its face and gigantic ram’s horns curling up and over the back of its skull. Even in her terrified state, Sam’s mind linked the creature with minotaurs of ancient legend. Half man, half bull, they were said to be fercious fighters and fearless warriors. They were also supposed to be mean as hell.
The creature moved to the door of Sam’s cage and unlocked it. He strode in and grabbed her by the arms, causing her to cry out in pain as it jostled her injury. The beast dragged her out of the cell and down a dark corridor. Sam tried to see where they were going, but her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted, and she was blind. After a few minutes of walking, the minotaur stopped in front of a metal door and opened it with a touch panel mounted on one side.
Looking through the door, Sam caught sight of a large cylidrical room with metal walls. A harsh blue light was emanating from the center of the ceiling. The creature holding her arm dragged her inside, threw her on the floor, and left, shutting the door. Sam immediately got up, and started looking around the room for some other way out. There was none. The walls seemed to be made of one giant sheet of metal, and their was no second door, nor any windows. Sam heard a clank coming out of the ceiling above her and looked up, while automatically ducking down to make her 5’9” frame as small a target as possible. Coming down out of the ceiling were a pair of shackles. The creature who had dragged her into the room returned and approached her. Sam knew this might be her only chance to get away. The door behind the creature was still open. She stayed where she was, emanating terror that was not entirely an act, and waited for the creature to get closer. Then, taking a quick breath, she whipped her foot around, trying to kick its legs out from under it—and just about broke her tibia in the process. She doubled up, clutching her shin and groaning while the creature grinned down at her.
“There is no escape, human. Don’t make me injure you further. My master wants you at full strength so that he may feed upon you for a long time.”
Carter stared up at him. “Who are you?” She asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.
“I am Barok. I serve Sorell, the greatest god to ever live.” Barok then reached down and grabbed Sam by the arms. She cried out as he effortlessly lifted her above his head. He didn’t seem to notice her feet as she drove them as hard as she could into his torso. He began securing her wrists into the cuffs dangling from the ceiling. They were tight, and the metal immediately began to dig into her skin as the chains slowly retracted back into the ceiling Sam was pulled off the ground and left dangling several feet in the air. Barok looked her over, nodded his satisfaction and left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Sam.” Sam looked around, trying to figure out who was calling her name. She shook her head, convinced she was hearing things.
She was left hanging, her injured shoulder sending shooting pain all the way down the side of her body as it was forced to bear her weight. Sam closed her eyes, trying to control the pain and terror coursing through her.
Sam looked up from where she hung, alerted to a presence by the sound of the door opening, and swallowed hard. The creature that walked in looked much like Borak, but was at least half a foot taller, and his physique made Borak look like a prepubescent boy. His horns were huge, curling twice before ending in brutal points. He carried a Guo’old pain stick in his hand.
“I am Sorell.” The creature said. Sam stared in shock, for Sorell spoke in the unmistakable dual tones so distinctive to the Goa’uld.
“Why have you brought me here?”
Sorell sneered at her, “We’ll get to that, little human.” He strode around behind Carter, and dug the pain stick into her spine.
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Jack O’Neill paced his spartan quarters aboard Thor’s ship, impatient with how long it was taking to get to their destination. Sam had been missing for two days now, and it looked like it was going to be hours before they got to P3X-712. Finally, Jack could stand it no longer, and left his room, heading for the bridge. If he kept to himself too long, he knew he’d go insane. He needed to talk to someone.
Thor was on the bridge, monitoring the ship and their progress. He turned as O’Neill entered the broad room. “We are still on course, O’Neill. I assure you we are making excellent time.”
“Yeah. Hey, thanks, Thor. I owe you one.”
“No, O’Neill. You have saved us many times. It is my honor to be able to help you find your…friend.”
Thor’s hesitation made Jack look up quickly, but then he shrugged it off. He must have imagined it. “Um, Thor, if I might ask, how did you know about Carter’s disappearance? And how did you know that we’d need your help to get her back?”
Thor looked at him for a time, blinking his huge black eyes. “I was told by someone we revere very highly that my earth friends needed help, so I left to find out why. The planet you call P3X-712 is en route from my world to yours. While passing by, I detected the presence of a ship in orbit around the planet. It was of an old Gua’old design I had not seen in generations.
“I slowed down long enough to scan the vessel, and detected a single human life form. There were also many other life signs, all non human. I concluded the human life form was that of a Goa’uld host, and moved on, downloading the information into my computer banks for later study. When I arrived on your planet, I began to monitor your radio broadcasts and overheard General Hammond reporting the disappearance of Major Carter from planet P3X-712. Soon after that was when I appeared to you and offered my assistance. When I learned of your situation, I deduced the human life form I had seen may have been Major Carter’s. If indeed it was her, then she is in grave danger, O’Neill. Even if you do find her, you must be prepared to face the worst.
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Sam writhed and twisted in her chains, her mind a blur of pain. When Sorell finally removed the pain stick from her back, she slumped, exhausted and hurting. Her captor circled around to the front of her, and looked into her face. He grunted with satisfaction. “You’re strong, little human. I didn’t think you’d last one day, let alone two. Unfortunately, as effective as these pain sticks usually are, they don’t leave any lasting effects for you to think about later. So, we’ll have to try some, shall we say, more conventional means of breaking you.”
“Why?” Sam whispered. “What do you want?” She had asked this many times in the last days and had never received an answer. She didn’t expect one now, and was surprised when Sorell spoke.
He smiled evilly at her. “It turns out that there is a planet from whence all you pathetic humans originated. I admit this might be old news for some, but my kind have been a bit isolated for the last hundred years or so. Since I heard of it, I’ve been researching this planet, which you call Earth. It turns out there are many myths and legends in your background that haunt the subconscious minds of your people. Monsters and demons and the like.” He leaned closer, his hot stench sending a wave of nausea through her. “Their fear, once properly exploited, will feed and strengthen us for a very long time. All I need from you is the coordinates to your precious little planet.”
Sam looked straight at him. “Fat chance.”
Sorell grinned, then backhanded her across the face. White hot streaks of agony shot through her head and neck as she reeled from the blow. Then, she felt nothing.
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Sam was back in her cell, of that much she was sure. The light causing blinding pain in her head was white, not blue, and she definitely wasn’t hanging by her wrists anymore. Sam opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust and looked down at herself. She was lying on her side on the cold floor of her cell. She tried to remember what had happened in the last two days, but her mind retreated a bit, not wanting to relive the horror. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to think about it, to remember where he had hurt her.
“Sam, let me help you.” That voice again. This was the third or fourth time she had heard it. She looked around wildly, trying to see who was talking to her. She saw no one. She must be hallucinating. It wouldn’t be the first time. She concentrated on what she had been doing.
She knew that most of her injuries would not be visible, so she closed her eyes and did an internal exam. Her temple pounded where Sorell had hit her, her jaw was sore from clenching her teeth against the constant waves of pain breaking over her. Her shoulders ached from being strained in the cuffs, and her wrists were a bloody mess. Breathing hurt, telling her she had some kind of injuries around her ribs, although she didn’t think any had been broken. Her back was sore from the application of the pain stick, and just for good measure, her legs were throbbing too, although she couldn’t remember if he had touched them. Overall, she decided she would live, but not happily. Sorell must have tried to inflict maximum pain with minimum damage, or she would be in much worse shape right now. As Sam completed her self-examination, her mind wandered back to her predicament. She knew she couldn’t handle much more of this before breaking, and black despair began flooding her mind. What was wrong with her? She’d been tortured before, and hadn’t felt this horrible helplessness. But deep down, she knew what it was.
Always in the past she had been able to find a way out of any situation using the considerable power of her intelligence. And if she wasn’t able to help herself, her team always came through to save her life. Somehow she knew that wouldn’t happen this time. She had no idea where she was, and didn’t think they knew either. Had they even found the ring platform that had brought her here? Did Jack see her disappear? Sam buried her face in her hands, fighting the desperation threatening to overwhelm her.
The sound of grating metal made her look up at the door of her cell where Barok had entered. He was holding two bowls, which he dropped carelessly on the floor before turning and leaving again.
Sam groaned aloud as she sat up slowly, not wanting to unnecessarily aggravate anything she didn’t have to. She moved toward the closer bowl, where some form of greasy liquid glistened. Sam picked up the bowl and smelled its contents. And almost gagged. It smelled like Barok had, well, done something unpleasant into the bowl before giving it to her. Sam put it down as far from her as she could reach, and looked into the second bowl. She sniffed it, then sipped cautiously. Water. Nasty rancid water to be sure, but water just the same. Sam sucked the bowl dry before curling up against the frigid wall, knowing she needed rest. Three hours later, Barok returned, hauling her out of her cell and back to the metal room.
Sam screamed and screamed. She screamed until her throat was red and raw, and her voice started to give out. Her mind began to retreat from her body, shutting down rather than be overwhelmed by what she was going through. Before she could black out entirely, however, Sorell pulled the pain stick from her spine. Sam’s body slumped in its shackles, her head hanging, tears sluicing the blood and dirt down her face and into her mouth.
“Please,” she gasped, sobbing. “Please stop this.”
Sorell walked slowly around her hanging form, studying her for a while before speaking. “You know, there’s more to this than just wanting information. Your terror and pain feed me, human. They make me strong. Once I have sufficiently fed, and you are spent, I will kill you, and my brethren and I will go find your planet with or without your help. We have been running from place to place for centuries, trying to elude those who would destroy us. Now, with the resources of Earth available to us, we will finally be able to leave this ship and venture out into a world where the fear we leave in our wake will make us strong again. We will have to stay in the shadows, at first, and bide our time until we are ready. And when we are, we will take over your world and begin, once more, to build our domain. With that much pain and panic to feed us, we will be unstoppable.”
“You’re a fool, Sorell.” Sam spat, panting for breath. “Do you have any idea how many Goa’uld system lords have tried to wipe us out? Do you know how many we’ve killed? What makes you think you can succeed where so many others of your kind have failed?”
“Because”, Sorell whispered, drawing a wicked looking knife from his belt, “I am not like the others.”