Mirror, Mirror: Treading Water
Mirror, Mirror: Treading Water
by Denise
Summary: A year after going rogue, not only does SG-1 discover that it's not all it's cracked up to be, but that danger lurks in the more unlikely places
Category: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama
Episode Related: 307 The Deadmans Switch
Season: Season 4
Pairing: Team
Rating: 13+
Warnings: adult themes, character death
Author's Notes: This is a direct sequal to Miror, Mirror: The Butterfly's Wings and Mirror, Mirror: It's the Little Things
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story was created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 10/11/06
Title- Mirror, Mirror: Treading Water Author- Denise E-mail - sky_diver119@yahoo.com Category- AU, Series, Angst, Adventure, Drama Archive Anywhere but please link to the page on my own site. http://www.jackfic.com/emeraldcity/newstories Season- 5ish Spoilers - Touchstone, Broca Divide, Menace, Deadman's Switch, Small Victories, Nemesis, Fire and Water Content Level - OLDER KIDS Content Warning- Character Death - No, I won't tell you who Summary- A year after leaving Earth and the SGC behind, SG-1 discovers that freedom isn't as fun as they thought it'd be, and that danger comes from the unlikeliest sources Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Sci-fi and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author. This is a direct continuation of Mirror, Mirror: A Butterfly's Wing and Mirror, Mirror: It's the Little Things. Since this is firmly in an Alternate Universe, it will really help to read the first two before reading this. My thanks to Sue for betaing this monster and for her advice to keep me from killing people off before I want them dead.
Mirror, Mirror: Treading Water By Denise
Carter was out of uniform.
Of course, Jack thought as he glanced around at his team, none of them had a uniform anymore.
Carter and Daniel led the way, slowly trekking towards the village off in the distance. They talked softly between themselves and Jack let them, confident in Carter's abilities and Teal'c's perception to guard against any threat.
A lot of things had changed in the year since they'd left Earth, the least of which was their appearances. Carter's hair was a bit longer, the shoulder length strands restrained in a short ponytail while Daniel's hair was cut short, as short as it could get with only a pair of scissors to be used for grooming.
The four of them were dressed similarly, but not alike, their attire a hodge podge of what they'd brought with them from Earth, and what they'd been able to trade for during the past several months.
"What do you know about this market?" Jack asked Teal'c, glancing over to his friend. Teal'c walked silently at his side, his massive arms bare, with only a heavy leather vest covering his chest and heavy leather pants tucked into knee length boots. His right hand gripped his staff weapon while an odd hook like device adorned his maimed left wrist. The combination of hook and eye patch that he wore to protect his empty left eye socket did lend him a rather pirate-ish air...not that Jack would ever say so to his face.
Jack found that Teal'c's combination of size and attire often had the effect of stopping the curious in their tracks. A response that had saved them from confrontations time and again.
"The Sparna Market is neutral territory. Jaffa, regardless of their masters, may trade here."
"Something tells me that neutrality is a relative term," Jack said.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, as Sam and Daniel glanced back, both slowing their pace to let Jack and Teal'c catch up with them. "The illusion of neutrality is maintained by the assertion that no one group of Jaffa wishes to endanger their ability to trade, or to seek retribution from another group."
"Mob rule," Daniel said. "You don't follow the rules because you respect them, but because you're afraid of the fallout."
Teal'c nodded. "A wide variety of merchandise is available at the Sparna Market. Food, weapons, technology from all areas of the known universe."
"We're not interested in a wide variety," Jack said, sighing softly.
"I can take care of the fruit and vegetables," Sam said, staking claim on part of their shopping list.
"I can help her," Daniel said. "You two do better with the arms dealers anyway."
"If you hadn't have lost your gun, we wouldn't need to be scaring up another one," Jack said, indulging himself in a fit of pique. It hadn't taken them long for the stark reality of their situation to set in. In one way, going rogue was fun. There was no paperwork, no orders, no silly missions. They could take a day off whenever they wanted to, wear whatever they wanted to. Daniel could explore ruins to his heart's content and Jack could make up the rules as he went along.
Of course, there was also no medical attention beyond what they knew themselves, no backup if it all hit the fan and, if they lost a weapon or device, there was no store room or armory for replacements.
They also had no support staff. There was no commissary to grab a quick bite; no easy MRE's to pack for food during a mission. There were also no grocery stores, no Wal-Marts and - perhaps worst of all - no pizza delivery.
"Like I did it on purpose," Daniel said, rolling his eyes.
No, he hadn't done it on purpose. He'd been captured and disarmed. And, for some strange reason, they hadn't felt like negotiating with the cannibals to get his Beretta back. The machetes and spears might have had something to do with it.
Jack sighed. "No, you didn't. But we still need to get you another one."
"Or something similar," Sam said. "I kinda doubt Sparna has many Berettas."
"Ya think?" Jack shrugged. "We'll find him one like ours." Jack motioned towards the pistol at his waist.
It hadn't taken him and Carter long to abandon their Earth weapons. First of all, they were obvious as weapons of the Tau'ri. And being obvious was the last thing Jack wanted. Second of all, without bullets, they were just pretty paper weights. As soon as he - they - decided to leave Earth, they had gathered some supplies, the quantity and disposition of which being only limited by time constraints and the need to fly under the radar.
Unfortunately, raiding the armory would not have classified as flying under the radar, so their ammunition had been limited to the various bits and pieces Jack had in his possession, augmented by the odds and ends Carter had taken with her when she'd quit. It hadn't taken them long to realize that their weapons were only good for the short haul. And, it also hadn't taken them long to realize that money would be an issue, unless they wanted to kill someone to steal his weapons, they needed some form of currency to purchase arms.
Exploration was now somewhat of a luxury; a diversion to be sandwiched between hunting for food and maintaining their shelter. And their goals weren't always simple exploration, but a search for valuables to be traded to purchase the necessities of life.
"Maybe I can find a zat," Daniel said, glancing down at Jack's pistol. His and Carter's weapons were energy based, along the line of a zat, but more powerful. The initial stun setting tended to incapacitate a person for several hours. Carter described it like a tazer on steroids. However, just like a tazer, it could be lethal in the right conditions and after enough exposure.
"Do many Jaffa take souvenirs?" Carter asked.
"Some do," Teal'c said. "However the Goa'uld rarely allow their 'magic' to be distributed to the masses. A weapon such as O'Neill's or Major Carter's would be easier to attain."
"Fine," Daniel agreed. "A gun's a gun."
Jack sighed and rolled his eyes. He wasn't even going to bother with the 'you need to be armed' lecture. Daniel had heard it all before and, in a way, Jack kinda envied him. Lately, he considered his sidearm as vital as his pants. He never left 'home' without either of them.
"Is there any chance those Jaffa might have some issues with humans?" Sam asked.
"It is possible," Teal'c said. "We should remain on our guard and limit our contact as much as possible."
They were now close enough to the village that Jack could hear the sounds of the market place. Voices and conversation warred with the sounds of animals and other noises of civilization. The trail had widened as they'd walked and the four of them could now easily walk abreast. The market was located on the outskirts of the village and Jack could see the city walls just beyond.
"It's bigger than I expected," Daniel said. It was larger than Jack thought it would be as well, spanning the equivalent of a city block.
"Don't get more than a week's supply of vegetables," Jack cautioned. "There's not much room in the stasis unit."
They had finally built a cabin of a sort a few months ago, but it was little more than a place to sleep and cook. They still depended on the teltac for their sanitary needs and used its small stasis chamber as a refrigerator - just without the refrigeration.
"Any requests?" Carter asked. He knew that she wasn't fond of her role as chief grocery shopper, but they had to fit into the society's norm. And those norms dictated a rather limited role for a female.
"Whatever you get," Jack said, hoping to make things easy. Food was food and he'd eat anything she bought. They didn't exactly have the resources to be picky. "Meet back here in an hour," Jack said, as they reached the edges of the market.
Carter nodded, then she and Daniel veered off towards the right. Jack glanced at Teal'c, then followed his friend towards the left. Despite the noise and illusion of chaos, there was organization to the market. Booths flanked dirt walkways that were approximately five yards wide. Each of the merchants had his or her own space, some possessing covered lean-tos while others had their wares spread on cloths on the ground.
Jack walked slowly, keeping his hand close - but not too close - to his weapon. He studied the merchants as he walked past them. Most studied him back, their gazes assessing both the threat potential and their likelihood as customers.
"You know, if it wasn't for the tattoos, I'd think I was on Earth," Jack said, shaking his head to discourage a particularly enthusiastic merchant.
"I was not aware that Earth possessed such open air markets," Teal'c said.
"Maybe not as many as in the states, but yeah, we do," Jack said, flashing back to one such place. Tehran, Baghdad or Cairo, where there were people with needs, there were people ready to fulfill them. "Any preferences in arms dealers?" he asked, ceding to Teal'c's greater knowledge.
"Several will offer what we seek, few will be satisfied with what we have to exchange for the weapon," he said.
"Yeah, that's gonna be a problem," Jack said. Neither he, Carter or Daniel were what people would consider poor, however Earth wealth had no real value off world. And it had even less meaning when they hadn't been able to take much with them, their need to be discreet meaning that they couldn't empty out their bank accounts or sell off any assets.
"When we get done here, do you know of any, umm, tell worlds?" Teal'c looked over at him, his good eyebrow raised in question. "Dead worlds," Jack clarified. "Places we can scavenge without stealing from live people."
"I know of a few. However many worlds are telak for a reason. Others have long since been plundered of any remaining valuables."
Jack sighed. "Yeah, I was afraid of that." For the short term, foraging was fine. The planet they'd chosen was a nice one, temperate and fertile. He and Teal'c had been able to hunt on a regular basis so they always had meat. And he'd even been able to get in a little fishing. However, they also needed vegetables and fruits in their diets, items that were harder to forage and that would require them to farm. Which wasn't necessarily impossible, but was definitely time consuming.
"I do know of a few worlds," Teal'c said softly. "Places where Jaffa refuse to visit, or are forbidden to travel. It is possible that other humans will also obey these restrictions and that the wealth of the planet may be largely untouched."
Jack looked over, the tone of his friend's voice setting off alarm bells. The Jaffa sounded reluctant, almost grudging in his revelations. One thing that Jack knew about Teal'c was that he didn't scare easily. And if he was spooked, the rest of them ought to be terrified. "We'll talk about this when we get home," Jack said, curious but well aware that a crowded marketplace was not the best locale to discuss secret places to plunder. "Let's get what we came here for."
Jack slowed, letting Teal'c take the lead. Despite years of experience exploring the universe and a lifetime's experience in the shadier parts of Earth, Jack was well aware that Teal'c knew more than he ever would and that his knowledge was invaluable. Of course, that knowledge came at a price. They were running a risk coming here.
Given that it was a Jaffa market, there was a good chance that Teal'c would be recognized. And an equally good change that someone might feel like taking on the sholva. But it was a risk that Teal'c refused to let control his life.
They approached one stall and Jack stopped, feigning interest in the man's display. He casually picked up a large knife. "That is a fine Marcurian blade," the merchant said, moving towards them. "You have an eye for quality." Jack turned the knife in his hands so that the polished metal glinted in the sun.
"I acquired it just last week," the merchant continued, his dark eyes darting from Jack to Teal'c and back. "It was from the estate of a gentleman here in town. Sadly, he journeyed to Kheb. His wife was forced to sell off his most prized possessions to feed their three small children."
Jack glanced at Teal'c, barely able to contain his amusement at the man's story. The knife was a nice one, but under the shine Jack could see faint pockmarks and pits, a sign of an old and well used metal. A thin strip of leather was wrapped around the hilt, leather that was far newer than the blade. Jack caught sight of a small rust colored fleck and smiled. "You should tell the widow that she missed a spot." He pointed out the stain to the merchant.
The man's face fell for a second before he grinned confidently. "I knew you had an eye for quality," he said, plucking the knife from Jack's hand and sweeping it away. "Are you gentlemen looking for something in particular?" His tone was now business like, calm and appraising.
"We seek a phase pistol," Teal'c said.
The merchant grinned. "Ah, I knew I could help you." He reached behind him and pulled out a box. He opened it with a flourish. "Was there a particular model--"
Jack reached out to pick one up. "None of these will be sufficient," Teal'c declared, his voice stilling Jack's hand. "They are old and quite worn."
Following Teal'c's lead, Jack picked one up and turned it over in his hand. "You know, I think my grandma had one just like this." He made a show of examining it closely. "She'd use it to scare the birds away from her rose garden."
"He is a scavenger," Teal'c said, his voice heavy with disdain.
"Been cleaning up a few battle fields have we?" Jack asked.
"Do not disparage those that do what you will not," the merchant said, the smile falling from his lean face.
"I'm Jack, this is--"
"The sholva," he interrupted. He pointedly studied Teal'c, his eyes lingering on the man's scarred face before settling on the silver hook that replaced Teal'c's left hand. "Some may say that your god has punished you."
"The Goa'uld are false gods," Teal'c replied.
"Those words are heresy--even as they are truthful. I am Arbutus, once loyal servant to Morrigan." Arbutus bowed slightly.
"Once?"
Arbutus took a few steps, revealing an obvious limp. "My queen desired only fit servants."
"They're kinda picky that way," Jack said, his voice now respectful. He knew all too well what it felt like to be deemed 'damaged goods' and set aside. "We do need a phase pistol."
Arbutus nodded and set down the large case, letting the lid fall shut. He reached under his rough hewn table and picked up a small cloth wrapped item. "I acquired this just two weeks ago. It seems to have had only one owner and is in good condition." Jack took the pistol from Arbutus and studied it before handing it over to Teal'c. "You are Tau'ri, are you not?" Arbutus asked.
"My name's Jack," Jack answered, unwilling to confirm the man's suspicions.
The merchant nodded. "It is good that you are not Tau'ri then. Although you may wish to reconsider your choice of companions." Jack raised his eyebrows. "Apophis is not a tolerant man and he has taken the defection of his First Prime most personally."
"Apophis' feelings do not concern me," Teal'c declared, handing the pistol back to Jack.
"Even if his feelings do not, his actions will."
"What do you mean?"
"He has offered a reward for your capture," Arbutus said. "A quite handsome one at that." He looked at Jack. "And for his companions as well. Three members of the Tau'ri, two males and a female."
"Then it's probably a good thing that we're not them," Jack said, refusing to allow his alarm to show on his face. A bounty? What the hell was Apophis doing putting a bounty on their heads? They hadn't even seen the snakehead for over a year.
"Indeed," Arbutus said, smiling wryly. "It would be most unfortunate if you were his companions."
"How much?" Teal'c asked, giving his blessing to the purchase.
"The information is free, the weapon is five measures of naqahdah."
Jack shook his head. "Three," he countered.
"The weapon would sell for eight," Arbutus said.
"It's only worth what someone is willing to pay."
"And I am not the benefactor of a charity," Arbutus retorted.
"Four measures," Teal'c said. "And three gold coins." Teal'c reached into his pocket and pulled out three of the coins they'd found just last week. Jack had no idea whose face was stamped on the coins, or the language. Daniel didn't know either. And, in a perfect world, he'd spend the next few months trying to answer just those questions. But they didn't live in a perfect world and the potential information value of the coins was far less than the practical wealth of the gold.
Arbutus frowned and sighed, reaching out to pick up the pistol. "Should you tire of it, I shall welcome possessing it again," he said, handing over the weapon, accepting their price. "It is a fine weapon." Jack took it and shoved it into the back of his pants while Teal'c handed over the small bars of naqahdah to complete the deal. "I would not linger here," Arbutus warned. "I have no interest in a bounty, but others may be enticed."
Jack nodded. "Thanks for the warning." Teal'c nodded his thanks as well and the two of them turned, leaving Arbutus behind. "This is an unpleasant surprise," Jack said softly, his eyes searching out Carter and Daniel.
"It was not unexpected," Teal'c said.
"You knew he'd put a bounty on your head?"
"Apophis will do much to insure that he can have that which he desires," Teal'c said evenly.
"How spooked should we be?" Jack asked, his mind trying to assess the threat to his people.
"We should not linger here. And when we leave, we should not dial directly home. It would be best if our base remains a secret."
"Sounds good," Jack agreed. As he walked, he studied the other patrons, this time much more seriously than he had before. Every glance seemed to make his hackles rise and he wondered how many of them were merely curious about the two strangers and how many recognized the sholva. "Let's go get Carter and Daniel before they buy the place out."
A year ago, going rogue had sounded attractive and fun. A way to keep doing what they wanted to do while escaping the near constant harassment of those above. It was a way to do what they could to protect Earth, way to escape the confines of their jobs and roles.
It had sounded fun and exciting and adventurous.
But he really missed the one thing they had all surrendered, a safe haven from the dangers of the universe. At this precise moment in time, the real gravity of their choice settled firmly on Jack's shoulder. And he wondered if it'd be too much of a weight to bear.
/////
Sam handed the coin over to the merchant, ignoring Daniel's small moan of protest. She picked up the bag of vegetables and nodded at the merchant.
"Maybe we can go back," she said as they turned away from the stall. She was well aware how he felt about spending the coins. They weren't just alien coins to him, they were artifacts, precious remnants of a lost and dead race.
"Maybe," he said, his tone openly skeptical.
She couldn't blame him, she felt the same way. "Now that the cabin is done, we'll have more free time." Building the cabin certainly hadn't been one of their original plans. It hadn't even been one of their non-original plans, but had sprung up after they realized that, as much as they liked each other, four adults living in a small space ship was a recipe for disaster...or murder.
"Not if we want to lay in some supplies for winter," he said, taking the bag from her. "It took us all day to find a half dozen coins, which obviously aren't worth much. Jack will see it as a waste."
"Thanks. You know, we do have a ship at our disposal," she said. "If winter sucks too much, we'll just head down to the southern hemisphere, or even find another planet."
Two children ran in front of them and they stopped short, sharing amused glances. "Some things never change," Daniel said, watching the pair chase a small puppy.
"Something pretty for your lady?"
Sam turned, tensing until she realized that the man was no real threat - to anything but their wallet. He held up his beefy hands, several necklaces hanging from his grubby fingers.
"A sparkly to augment your natural beauty." He wiggled his hand, making the necklaces glitter in the sun. "Perhaps a reward for some time well spent," he suggested lecherously.
Sam shook her head and walked past him, taking a step to avoid brushing by his stained grey robes. She glanced at the jewelry laid out on the man's table. "Oh, no, we're not umm, she's not my--"
"Are you hers then?" he interrupted. "I have a fine selection of ornaments suited to the masculine - and not so masculine - among us."
Sam chuckled, eager to see how Daniel talked his way out of this one. The merchant had a decent enough selection, but she could see very little on his table that looked like real jewels or even real gold. A small pendant caught her eye and she picked it up, turning it over in her hand. "Yeah, well I'm not the jewelry type. Sam?" Daniel grabbed her arm. "Don't we have a wormhole to catch?"
"Daniel, look at this." She held up the necklace.
"Ah, one of my simpler pieces. But so rare. In fact, I've never seen a pendant quite like it."
Daniel too ignored the merchant and took the chain from Sam. He raised his eyebrows and looked back at her. "Should we tell them this is a Federal offense?"
"It's not just that, Daniel. Look at the date."
Daniel did as she bid, raising the coin to get a better look. He glanced back at her. "It's this year."
"Yeah," she nodded. "That's a state quarter. And I know that those weren't in circulation when we left."
"Come on, kids. Dinner's waiting."
Hearing the Colonel's voice, Sam turned, beckoning him towards her. "Sir, you need to see this."
"I thought we agreed, no souvenirs," he said, reaching her side.
Sam took the quarter from Daniel and handed it over to Jack. "He's selling this," she explained, motioning towards the merchant.
She saw the Colonel frown, his eyes narrowing as he realized what he was holding. "Where did you get this?" he asked.
"I receive a wide variety of items from a--"
"I don't care about your other stuff. I care about this," Jack interrupted.
"O'Neill?"
"That coin is from home," Sam said. "And it wasn't in circulation when we left." Teal'c frowned. "It wasn't readily available," she explained.
"Where did you get this?" Jack repeated, glaring at the merchant.
"My clients--"
"Will no doubt, mourn your passing," Teal'c said, taking a menacing step forward. The merchant gulped, paling visibly.
"I'd tell him if I were you," Daniel said. "He gets grumpy towards the end of the day."
"Falun," the merchant said, his eyes darting over the four of them.
"T?"
"I know of this planet."
Sam glanced around, unable to ignore that they'd captured the attention of several other merchants and patrons. "Sir," she warned.
"We're gonna take this," Jack said, tossing the necklace at Daniel.
"Bastet will not easily surrender her catch," the merchant said, his effacing faade replaced by a look of shrewd speculation. Sam had no doubt that he was calculating just how much ratting them out was worth.
"That's okay. It's really no fun when they do," Jack said. He jerked his head and the four of them closed ranks, carefully making their way out of the market.
"Jack--"
"Later," Jack said tersely. "Let's get in the open first."
Daniel hushed and Teal'c fell back to walk beside Sam, the two of them casting cautious glances to their rear, just to make sure there were no surprises. Once they were a half mile away, he turned back. "Teal'c, what do you know about this Bastet?"
"She is a minor Goa'uld. Her holdings encompass perhaps two solar systems and several thousand Jaffa."
"Several THOUSAND?" Sam asked.
Teal'c looked over at her. "Many of which are spread out amongst her holdings. I would estimate, presuming that she holds her captives in her palace, that we shall encounter perhaps a hundred or less."
"This doesn't make any sense," Daniel said. "The SGC's been shut down for almost an year. There shouldn't be anyone out here."
"Maybe there isn't," Jack said.
"Sir?"
"Option number two. If we don't have humans out here--"
"We could have Goa'uld on Earth," Sam interrupted. Daniel abruptly stopped, forcing Sam to quickly step aside. "Daniel?"
"Just like in the other universe," he said, his face pale.
"Wait," Jack said. "I thought you said that Earth was just afraid of an invasion. That's why they were running rough shod over everyone."
Daniel shook his head. "That was the last alternate universe. I'm talking about the first one." He looked at them. "Where you were the general and Sam was a doctor and Teal'c was evil and--"
"And you clicked your heels three times and came home," Jack interrupted.
"Okay, so it was an alternate alternate universe," Daniel confessed. "The Goa'uld were still there."
"We can't go back to Earth," Sam said. Jack looked over at her. "If the Goa'uld have taken over the whole planet, I don't think a teltac and four people will do much good." She ignored the other reason they couldn't go back, they were all wanted criminals. Although, if Earth had been invaded, that was the least of their problems.
"We're not going back to Earth," Jack said. "We'll go check out this Falcon."
"Falun," Daniel corrected.
"Whatever," he dismissed. "We'll check this place out first, see what we can find out and go from there."
He started to walk towards the gate. "Sir?" He turned back. "Without a MALP, we could be walking right into a trap."
He shrugged. "With the MALP we walked into our fair share of traps," he said. "We'll take the teltac, cloak it and check things out from orbit." He reached into the small of his back and pulled out Daniel's new pistol, handing the weapon over. "They were out of designer colors," he quipped. Daniel took it, turning it over in his hand a couple of times. "It's just like mine or Carter's. Same premise as a zat, just without the disintegrate setting," he explained.
"At least there's that," he said, tucking the gun into his belt.
They reached the DHD and Sam stepped forward, ready to dial. "Don't go straight home," Jack said, his words stilling her hand.
"Sir?"
"Dial up that desert planet we went to last week. We'll go home from there," he instructed.
"Why?" Daniel asked while Sam shrugged, pressing the glyphs to the planet.
"I'll explain later. Let's just say, we're gonna go unlisted."
"Okay," Daniel said slowly as the wormhole opened. "And how does keeping a low profile fit in with raiding a Goa'uld palace?"
"Who said we were keeping a low profile?" he asked, moving past Daniel to climb up the dais. "I just wanna put us on the no call list."
He stepped through the event horizon and Sam turned, grinning at Daniel. "If I'd have known shopping would put him in a good mood, I would have lost my gun last month."
"I do not believe such an action would have had the same result," Teal'c said.
"Let's go," Sam said. "Before he decides to run off and take on Bastet on his own."
/////
"Isn't that sweet? A palace by the sea," Daniel said leaning against the console.
"Better than a grubby old naqahdah mine," Sam said, joining him.
Jack looked over at Teal'c who was piloting the teltac. "Any way we can tell who's down there without going down ourselves?"
"None," Teal'c answered. "I can scan for human life forms, however I cannot distinguish planets of origin."
"But there are humans down there?" Daniel asked.
"Indeed. Several hundred if the readings are correct"
"So they could be from Earth?" Sam said.
"It is possible."
Jack nodded. "Short of randomly ringing people up, I think the only way to find out where that coin came from is to go down there and ask a few questions."
"Teal'c shouldn't go," Sam said. "It might be hard for a Jaffa to blend in."
"There are Jaffa down there, too," Daniel said.
"But not many First Primes of Apophis."
"She does have a point," Jack said, getting up from his seat. "Besides, you're the best pilot amongst us. We may need a fast retreat."
"As you wish," Teal'c said tightly. Daniel knew he wasn't imagining the frustration in the man's voice at being left behind.
"Can you find a deserted place to land?" Jack asked.
"There are no life signs within a mile of that beach." He pointed to an area on the read out.
"If we approach over the water, they might not even hear us," Sam said.
"Do it," Jack ordered. Teal'c steered the ship while Jack ushered Daniel and Sam towards the back of the ship. Sam opened a small storage locker and pulled out three cloaks, distributing them.
"Since it's dark, we should be able to slip in and out without being seen."
"Needless to say, we need to keep a low profile," Jack said. "We'll observe, maybe see if we can grab a local and ask a few questions. Let's avoid engaging anyone if we can."
"That just sucks all the fun out of it," Daniel said, wrapping the cloak around himself and pulling the hood up to cover his head.
Jack glared and Daniel grinned, enjoying pushing his friend's buttons a bit. In truth, things had been so tense between the four of them that it would almost be worth a fire fight just to lighten things up. Daniel knew that Jack was growing more and more frustrated with their situation. The grass definitely wasn't greener on the other side of the wormhole and Daniel knew that they all had found the change to be a bit trying. He knew that Sam missed her lab not to mention the stress of being the only woman on the planet. He wasn't untouched himself. He never realized just how much he took for granted the diversions of Earth. The convenience of a grocery store and the comfort of heating or cooling at the touch of a button.
He thought that it was hardest on Jack. His friend definitely was feeling the stress of the need to take care of all of them. If their food stores ran low, Jack would take the blame, him and Teal'c sometimes hunting for days to keep them from going hungry.
It was something that he and Sam had noticed so they tried to keep any complaining to a minimum, which sometimes frustrated Jack since he seemed to feel that they were hiding things from him.
The ship swooped slightly and landed with a small thud. "I shall attempt to keep the ship here," Teal'c said, joining them.
Jack nodded. "We'll radio if something happens. We'll be back in a couple of hours."
He pressed the controls and opened the door to the outside. Sam and Daniel followed him and Daniel looked back, watching in fascination as the door shut, melting into invisibility.
Jack led them down the beach, making his way towards some fires flickering in the distance. They found a path and followed it into a small gathering of buildings. One of them looked to be some sort of public house and Jack motioned for them to slow, moving so that they could peer in the windows and -hopefully - remain unseen.
Daniel peered in, scanning the room. It was like many other public houses he'd seen in his life. Rough hewn tables were scattered around the room, ringed by a motley assortment of chairs and stools. A young woman served the drinks that a gaunt man drew from one of two barrels. Even from the window, Daniel could smell the sour stench of stale beer. The floor was covered with a thin layer of sawdust, something he remembered that bars on Earth used to use, counting on the absorbent nature of the sawdust to contain the frequent spills.
The dozen patrons were dressed similarly, all wearing roughly woven garments and Daniel pegged them as workers, maybe farmers devoted to feeding the slaves of the palace.
He looked over to Jack and shook his head slightly. These people likely knew nothing. Given their dress, they probably never set foot in the palace. Jack made the signal and the three of them withdrew, melting back into the shadows. "We're not going to find out anything from these folks," he said.
"The palace?" Sam suggested.
Jack nodded. "I think it's the only way. If Bastet does have prisoners here, that's where they'll be." Jack explored a bit and found a well-traveled path. They slowly made their way to the palace, taking care to keep in the shadowy edge of the path.
The palace was several hundred yards from the village and more than lived up to the name. Ornate columns ringed the structure and Daniel could see that they were decorated with the expected feline motif - Bastet being a cat goddess.
The building was at least three stories tall and constructed of a dark stone that seemed to blend in with the night. Flickering torch light shone out the regularly spaced windows, all of which were covered with ornate iron bars.
"I miss my mag strips," Jack whispered.
"Zat?" Sam suggested.
"They're pretty noisy."
Daniel had an idea. He tapped each of their arms and beckoned them to follow him. Walking as quietly as he could, he led them to the back of the palace. A small building stood just next to the palace, close but not attached. "The kitchens," he said.
"You ate on the teltac," Jack reminded.
"I'm not hungry," Daniel said. "Security may be tight by the front door, but no one stops the kitchen maids."
"And they would also know if they were cooking for guests," Sam said.
Daniel nodded. "Probably."
"Okay," Jack said. "I'm betting the people we're looking for are in the dungeons. We'll go in and go down. If we don't recognize anyone, we'll head up and get back to the ship."
"And if they are from Earth?"
Jack looked at Sam. "I doubt they volunteered to be here," he said softly. "We'll cross that bridge."
They watched for several minutes, then, seeing no real activity, they moved forward, keeping to the shadows as long as they could. Jack slowly opened the door and led them inside. They walked into a narrow hallway that had bare stone walls and floors. The three of them pushed back their hoods to improve their vision and crept forward, their weapons held at the ready.
The palace was quiet and still. Daniel thought that he could hear movement in the upper floors, but even they were few and far between, perhaps the bored pacing of a sentry. Jack stopped in front of a door and motioned for them to stop as well. The door was held closed by a heavy sliding bar lock. He shrugged and grabbed it, slowly sliding the lock open as Sam moved to cover his back. Daniel did the same, glancing behind him to make sure that no one had noticed their intrusion.
The door opened with a low creak and Jack stepped in, pulling a flashlight from his belt to light the way. Daniel followed him and Sam brought up the rear, pulling the door closed behind her.
Daniel followed Jack down the stone steps, descending into what could only be a dungeon - if the smell was any indication.
The stairs led them to a narrow corridor. The ceiling was low, so low that Daniel could easily raise his arm and touch it. Torches hung at irregular intervals and the walls were smoke stained, testifying that this dungeon likely saw frequent use.
Jack checked door after door and Daniel hoped that, if they stirred up any of the prisoners, that they kept quiet and didn't alert the guards. Jack peeked in the high window of one door and swept the room with his flashlight, pausing to study something closer. He let out a low, two-tone whistle. And answering whistle came from inside the cell and Jack looked at Daniel. "Found them," he whispered.
"Son of a--O'Neill?" Daniel moved closer to the cell door and could see in. A pale face appeared in the small window and Daniel frowned, trying to recognize who it was.
"Reynolds, right?" Jack said.
"You're a snake head," the Colonel said as he was joined by two other men, presumably members of his team.
"Was," Sam said. "Ba'al's dead."
"Does it matter? Or should we just turn around and leave you to rot?" Jack growled.
"Get us out of here," one of Reynolds's men requested, a note of panic in his voice.
Jack reached out and picked up a heavy padlock. "They couldn't make it easy," he said, turning back to Sam.
"Easy's relative," she said, shoving her pistol into its holster. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small packet of tools. "Gimme five minutes."
Jack stepped aside to give her room. "That's if we're lucky," he said, lowering his flashlight to help her out.
Daniel turned his attention up the hall, doing his best to watch their backs while Sam worked on picking the padlock. "We thought you were dead," Reynolds said.
"Is that what they're saying?" Jack said, sighing softly.
"Among other things."
"I think I look pretty good for a corpse, don't I Daniel?"
"Remarkably good," Daniel said, playing along. He knew what his friend was doing. He was distracting the attention from Sam and giving her room to work. "Although you are a little pale."
"I am?"
"Yeah, just a little."
"I need to work on that. Maybe spend an afternoon fishing."
"You damn well better clean what you catch," Sam said, looking up as she opened the padlock. "And you're gonna bury the fish guts this time. We don't need any more midnight scavenger attacks."
She pulled the door open and smiled, looking at her watch. "Three minutes."
"Don't let it go to your head," Jack chastised, a smile belaying his words. "You need an invitation?" he asked Reynolds as he swung the door wide.
The two men stepped out while Reynolds moved to the back of the cell, returning with what Daniel guessed to be the last member of his team.
"You got him?" Jack asked. Reynolds nodded. "Okay. Carter, get us out of here."
Sam moved to the front of the group, retracing their steps back out of the dungeon. Daniel moved to Reynolds' side and helped him with his man as they climbed the narrow stairs back to the main floor.
They made their way back through the kitchens and into the night, miraculously unopposed, and took refuge in the trees lining the trail. "I hope you're not thinking about using the gate," Reynolds said, panting with the exertion of carrying the other man's weight. "Even if we had a GDO, I doubt our codes are any good."
Sam moved to his side and tried to examine the injured man. "We have better than the gate," Jack said "We have a ship a mile down the beach, can you make it that far?"
"He's in bad shape, sir," she said, looking to Jack.
"He'd rather die escaping than die on this rock," Reynolds said.
Jack nodded. "This trail leads to the beach, but it goes right past a bunch of houses. We're going to keep to the trees and do our best to not engage anyone. If anything happens, Carter and I will hang back and cover your retreat. Daniel, you get them to the ship," he ordered.
Daniel nodded, knowing better than to contradict Jack's words. "Yes, sir," Sam said.
Jack nodded. "Move out."
The small group reassembled themselves, Jack on point and Daniel again helping Reynolds carry his man. The other two men were at their side and Sam brought up the rear. They snuck past the public house, pausing once to wait for a pair of drunk carousers to stagger past them before finding the path to the beach.
The moon was up and it's broad yellow beam reflected off the water, providing more than enough light to guide them. "I hate to be ungrateful here, but I'm not seeing a ship," Reynolds whispered harshly.
"That's because you Marines have no imagination," Jack said. He pulled his radio from his pocket. "T, open sesame." The teltac shimmered into view and Jack turned, grinning. "Let's ship out."
Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head before making her way over to the doorway. "Come on, tide's coming in." Daniel brought up the rear with Jack, waiting until the four captives were on board before entering the ship themselves.
"T," Jack called out. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."
The ship's engines roared to life and the ship effortlessly took off, leaving the planet behind.
/////
Colonel Frank Reynolds sat on the floor of the small ship and watched a ghost tend to Lieutenant Owens. Ok, so she technically wasn't a ghost - she sure as hell looked alive to him - but, as far as the SGC was concerned, she, and the rest of her team, was dead.
"Carter?" O'Neill squatted beside her.
She looked up and shook her head. "He's not doing so good, sir."
"What happened?" O'Neill looked over at him.
"Staff blast, he caught the brunt of it," Reynolds said, moving to Owens' side.
"He was conscious at first," Kessenger said.
"But in a lot of pain," Thompson interjected. "They took our med kits so we didn't have anything to give him."
"The staff blast cauterized the wound, or he'd have bled out by now," Carter said. "But this is infected and I'm willing to bet he's badly dehydrated."
"We gave him what we could but..." Reynolds shrugged. "We didn't have much."
"What happened?" O'Neill asked.
Reynolds looked down at Owens, the bright and clean light of the teltac doing nothing to disguise the ugliness of the man's wound. It was large, bigger than a dinner plate, and crusty with drainage. His jacket was torn and stained and Frank was sure that some of the material was melted into the wound. A fact that, no doubt, only added to the infection that colored the skin around the wound an angry red.
"A normal meet and greet that went disgustingly abnormal," Frank said. "The natives were loyal to this Bass person. Drugged us and turned us in. We tried to run, the Jaffa got Owens and the rest is history."
"What are you guys doing out here?" the one Frank recognized as Daniel Jackson asked. "Last we knew, the SGC was shut down."
"Boss..." Kessenger said softly.
He knew the story about SG-1. Hell, the whole SGC knew about the four rogues and opinions varied from person to person. Depending on who you asked, they were heroes, they were well intentioned fools or they were traitors...and everything in between. Personally, Frank never bought into the whole traitor bit. Over the years, he'd seen SG-1 sacrifice too much too often to write them off so quickly. Of course, he'd also seen both O'Neill and Carter possessed by Goa'ulds, O'Neill spending six months as host to the system lord Ba'al before being rescued. There was a part of him that knew that O'Neill was probably a bit tetched in the head after his experiences, but Frank also knew that, despite all that, he still trusted the man.
Frank looked at his two conscious men, then back at his rescuers. "Three months after you four, ahem, vanished, the President died."
"He's dead?" Carter asked.
"DVT," Frank said.
O'Neill frowned and looked at Carter. "Deep vein thrombosis," she explained. "Basically he had a blood clot. They can break loose and cause a pulmonary embolism or even a stroke."
"That's what happened to him. He stroked out. They had him on life support for a few days but scuttlebutt is the only reason they didn't pull the plug earlier was that they wanted to get the political ducks in a row before the twenty-fifth amendment kicked in."
"So...what, who's the VP?" Jack asked.
"Hayes, isn't it?" Jackson said.
"Henry Hayes," Frank confirmed. "Who just happened to think that shutting down the SGC was the stupidest thing we've ever done. Landry was reinstated and personnel were allowed to transfer back if they wanted. We've been up and running for the past six months."
"Six months," Jack said slowly. Frank saw the three rogues look at each other and, even though no words were spoken, he could guess the message. With the SGC back up and running, it'd be just a matter of time before they were hunted. If for no other reason than to 'prove' that no one thumbed their nose at the US Government and got away with it. "Then it's probably best if we don't drop you off at your front door," Jack finally said, breaking the awkward silence.
"We can't use the stargate, we don't have a GDO," Thompson said.
"We could use Cimmeria," Carter suggested.
"Or the Land of Light," Jackson chimed in.
O'Neill considered their suggestions before turning back to look at Frank. "You guys activate the Alpha Site yet?"
"How do you know about that?"
O'Neill gave him a sharp look. "Who do you think came up with the idea in the first place?"
"Yeah, we have an Alpha Site--"
"That's supposed to be a secret, boss," Kessenger said.
"Rocky or Bullwinkle?" O'Neill asked, ignoring the man.
Frank frowned and shook his head and O'Neill looked over to Carter. "P3X482 or P7Y296," she clarified.
"296," Frank answered.
"Boss--"
"Zip it," Frank ordered. He could appreciate the man's adherence to the regs, but this wasn't the time or place to quibble about revealing secrets that weren't really secrets.
O'Neill shrugged. "Who do you think scouted the planets?" He jerked his thumb at Carter. "She analyzed the soil samples, Daniel made sure we weren't trespassing on anyone's turf. I think Hammond and I ended up flipping a coin to decide between the two."
"We just activated the Alpha Site last month," Frank confirmed.
"So you could gate there," Jackson suggested.
Frank shook his head. "There's an iris on that gate too." He looked over at O'Neill. "A little security measure they instituted after The Attack."
O'Neill nodded. "Orbital defenses?"
Frank shook his head. "Just an early warning satellite."
O'Neill nodded. "I'll go tell Teal'c. We'll go in cloaked and drop you guys off." He met Frank's eyes. "We may need you to call off the guards, are you willing to do that?"
Frank got to his feet and moved over to O'Neill's side so that they could talk without everyone else hearing. "I'll tell them you're friendly but...I can't guarantee what they'll do."
O'Neill nodded. "Fair enough." He moved towards the front of the ship, stopping when Frank spoke again.
"Colonel, I can't lie when they ask me who bailed us out. And I won't ask my men to either."
He shrugged. "That should put those rumors of our deaths to rest." He lightly slapped Frank's arm. "Go take care of your men. We'll get ya back to the Alpha Site."
O'Neill walked up into the pilot's compartment and sat next to Teal'c. They spoke briefly and Frank guessed that he was informing the Jaffa about their destination. He rejoined his men, well aware that, in the opinion of some, he was in the presence of vile traitors and dangerous enemies of Earth. And he knew that he'd never felt safer.
/////
It was a somber group that exited the teltac and hiked the short distance to the cabin. Carter's bag of vegetables hung listlessly from her fingers while Teal'c strode purposefully ahead, his goal - Jack guessed - to get away from them.
Jack glanced over at Daniel and waited for his friend to start talking. Surprisingly, Daniel simply sighed and rolled his eyes. Jack waited until they were in the cabin before he spoke up, well aware that this discussion wasn't going to be a fun - or easy - one. "You guys had to know this could happen," he said, claiming the chair he'd claimed as his. It was a homemade chair, wrought from the branches of a willow like tree that grew nearby. Soft and cushy it wasn't, but it was at least comfortable.
"Yeah well, knowing that it COULD happen and finding out that it DID happen are a little different," Daniel said, claiming a chair across from Jack's. Their cabin wasn't huge, but it did give them some breathing room. It had a large central room with a fire place and four chairs along with a table and four other chairs that they used as a work table or dinner table.
They had a pantry and cooking place also in the main room and each of them had their own small bedroom tacked onto the back of the cabin.
Since there was no electricity or central heating/cooling, Teal'c had helped with the design of the cabin. Strategically placed windows allowed for a cooling breeze to circulate throughout the dwelling and each bedroom had its own charcoal brazier for heat.
"So what do we do now?" Carter asked, setting the bag of vegetables on the table before taking her own seat.
Jack shrugged. "What is there to do?"
"This changes everything," she said.
"You are no longer the only Tau'ri exploring," Teal'c said.
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "And the other Tau'ri, if they don't already have orders to arrest us, will as soon as Reynolds tells them about us."
Jack shrugged. "So we're not the only ones out here," he said. "We'll just keep a lower profile."
"I don't think that'll work, Jack," Daniel said.
"Daniel's right, sir." Jack looked over at her. "It's just a matter of time before they hunt us down."
"We are no threat to them," Teal'c said.
"Strategically, no," she agreed. "But the fact that we are alive and well will not go over well. If nothing else, their egos will demand that they bring us back. Probably to be used as examples in case anyone else decides to defect."
Jack merely shrugged. He couldn't refute her words, largely because he agreed with them. And Carter knew as well as he did that this wouldn't be the first time the SG teams had been given wanted posters.
"Like they wanted to do with the rogues?" Daniel asked, referring to the men who'd been using the second gate to steal tech - like the Touchstone - from other planets. Last Jack knew, new SG team members were still being given photos of the men as part of their orientation.
"Yes," Jack agreed. "Although they'd probably want us back alive rather than dead. More chance for humiliation that way."
"Even if we keep avoiding planets like the Land of Light and others that the SGC had contact with, statistically we can only avoid them for so long," Sam said. "There's only so many non-hostile planets out there." She sighed. "There's even a good chance that they'll come here."
"What do we do when they come?" Daniel asked.
"Bake a cake?" Jack suggested.
"No, Jack. If their orders are to arrest us - which will probably be the case - what are we going to do?"
"I'm not too crazy about firing on our own people," Sam said. Jack didn't know if it was good or bad that none of them seemed to consider that, yes, the SGC would eventually come to this planet. But 'eventually' was a relative term. And, in this case, it could mean next week, next month, fifteen years from now.
"Me neither," Daniel agreed.
"I'm not either," Jack said. "But can tell you this, I will NOT be taken back to be turned into the NID's latest lab rat," he declared. He sighed and pushed his fingers through his hair. "Look, if the worst happens, what to do is a decision everyone will have to make for themselves."
"Perhaps a more productive use of our time could be to prevent such decisions from being necessary," Teal'c said.
"How do you mean?"
"It is unlikely that Earth possesses a ship, therefore all exploration must use the chaapai. Our efforts should focus upon securing the Stargate. Then, even if the SGC discerns our whereabouts, they will be unable to breech the Stargate to take us into custody."
"And while they try, we can just jump into the teltac and fly away," Sam said.
"Carter, what are the chances of you making us an iris?" Jack asked.
She shook her head. "Impossible. Unless you have a state of the art machine shop and a couple tons of trinium handy. Not to mention a power source, super computer and high powered transmitters to act as GDO's."
"Figured that," Jack said, frustrated by their limitations. He was ashamed to say that he'd taken so much for granted on Earth. Not the least of which was to be able to pick up the phone and get pretty much anything he needed.
"Apophis once experimented with a shield," Teal'c said. "It would not prevent matter from reforming, rather it would be used to contain anyone who ventured through until their identities could be confirmed."
"Sam?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know. We've backwards engineered a lot of tech, but never a shield generator."
"We do not need to build this," Teal'c said. "Such devices are easily acquired if one knows where to look."
"I'm betting they're not cheap." Jack said.
"They are not. Nor is the power source required to operate such a device."
"And our wallet is a little empty," Sam said.
Jack looked over at Teal'c. "I think it's time for plan B," he said meaningfully.
"Plan B?" Daniel asked.
Jack glanced at him. "Teal'c and I were talking. He knows of a few planets, abandoned worlds. Plagues or natural disasters that wiped out the population."
"The Jaffa normally leave such worlds untouched. It is deemed 'bad luck' to visit such worlds and to remove items from them."
"That makes sense," Daniel said. "If there was a plague or biological disaster, anyone that visited it could risk bringing the plague home with them. In fact, there's a theory that the curses people would attribute to opening tombs were really folks getting sick after being exposed to viruses that laid dormant for thousands of years."
"So we're gonna go grave robbing?" Sam asked.
"It's not something I'd do as a first choice," Jack said. "But I'm thinking that if we're gonna rig ourselves a shield generator, we need to do a little better than we have."
"The dead have no use for possessions," Teal'c said. "If you were in a battle, would you hesitate to take a weapon from a corpse to defend yourself?"
"There's a difference," Daniel protested.
"Not really," Jack said. "Look, we're not gonna empty the place out. We're just going to take enough to get us a shield generator and power supply. Scavenge us some options."
"Daniel, we really don't have much of a choice," Sam said. "And, like Teal'c said, it's not like they're gonna miss it."
"We'll split up tomorrow," Jack said. "Carter, you and Teal'c take one planet, Daniel and I will take the other. We'll take twelve hours max, then come home and compare notes. If we can't find enough on the first two planets, we'll move down the list." He got to his feet. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. I'm going to go take a walk then I'm calling it a night."
/////
Sam followed Teal'c through the wide street, stepping around one of the many clumps of grass that grew between the cobblestones. Ruins lined the avenue, the stone buildings looked like a petulant child had taken a swing at a pile of blocks. However, these blocks probably weighed several hundred pounds each. The ruins were heavily overgrown, creeping vines climbed up the remnants of walls and trees grew inside many of the foundations.
"This place has been abandoned for a long time," Sam said. She nodded at the ocean just visible in the distance. "I doubt the fishing went bad." The atmosphere reminded her of the Mediterranean, the heat of the bright sun was mitigated - just barely - by the cooling sea breeze.
"A Goa'uld named Apollo once ruled here. It is said that he was destroyed when Poseidon unleashed his wrath."
"There's a Goa'uld named Poseidon?"
"There is not," Teal'c replied.
"Then who trashed the planet?"
"Of that, I am not aware."
Sam sighed softly, giving into her frustration at her friend's recalcitrant attitude. Despite welcoming her to join them and accepting her presence amongst them, his attitude towards her was just as tense as it had been back on Earth. Of course, she told herself, he had every right to blame her. She paused and looked around, studying the ruins. "You know, given that we're just a stone's throw from the ocean, I'd suspect that 'Poseidon's Wrath' was a tsunami." Teal'c frowned at her. "A tsunami is a wall of water, usually created by an earthquake or maybe a meteor strike."
"And this could destroy a civilization?"
"Very much so," Sam said. "Worst case scenario, it'd wipe everything out, literally scour the land clean. If anyone did survive, they'd probably move on. The debris and such would ruin crops and contaminate the water."
"Would it not also damage any technology?"
"Probably," she said. "Unless it was on high ground, of course." She pointed off to the right. "I'm seeing some kind of temple up there."
Teal'c followed her direction, looking towards a building just visible in the distance, perhaps, in a straight line, two miles away. It was perched on an outcropping of rock and was surrounded by trees. "I concur," he agreed.
"It'll take us three, four hours at least to hike around the bay," she said. "But I think we should go check it out." She looked from the temple to the stargate just visible behind them and back, mentally calculating the distance and cringing. "I just hope - if we find something- that it's not too heavy."
/////
"This place needs some serious landscaping," Jack complained, his phase pistol held in his grasp.
"Mother Nature loves to reclaim her own," Daniel said, ducking down and slipping under a low hanging branch. "This was likely a very advanced society."
"It's a very dead society."
"Jack, look at these structures," Daniel said, moving to the left of the path. To him it appeared to be a very large arbor; brushed metal cross bucks supported a fine mesh surface. "From the amount of overgrowth, I'd say that this planet has been abandoned for hundreds of years, but there's no oxidation on this metal. No real degradation either."
Jack moved past him and rapped on one of the beams. Daniel heard a dull thud. "That's because it's not metal."
"What is it?"
Jack shook his head. "That's a question for Carter. But I'll agree with you. This wasn't some simple farming planet."
Daniel stared, slightly taken aback by Jack's statement. Jack merely looked at him. "What's your best guess of finding any valuables?"
Daniel sighed. He hated the thought of turning into tomb robbers, it went against every fiber of his being. "You know, I've spent the past fifteen years of my life learning how to PRESERVE the past."
"Daniel--"
"I'm accepting that we need to do it," he interrupted. "But I still don't like it." Jack simply glared at him. "The big building over there," Daniel finally said.
"The big building it is then," Jack said. He made a grand gesture with his arm and Daniel rolled his eyes, leading the way towards the largest building.
Daniel couldn't pinpoint a specific architectural style on any of the buildings. Most looked to be rather simple and blocky in design. There was very little ornamentation on any of them, a level of simplicity that seemed to juxtapose the ornate nature of the garden.
As he got closer he could see a tall vertical oval cut into the wall. "This is probably the door," he told Jack.
"Think you can open it?"
Daniel stepped closer and it slid open of its own accord, his presence presumably activating some sort of sensor. "Yep, think so," he said, glancing at Jack before he walked forward. Two large stone panels had slid aside leaving an opening to the ceiling that was perhaps five feet wide but also leaving a low threshold to be stepped over.
"I see the ADA isn't popular here," Jack said moving to stand to one side of the door while shining his light inside and scanning the room for any threat.
"A lot of cultures use high thresholds to keep vermin out," Daniel said, peeking inside before stepping over the low ledge.
He ignored Jack's sigh of annoyance and continued into the room. He could appreciate his friend's caution, but Daniel could just feel that the room was empty. Or mostly empty, he mentally corrected as his light revealed what he could only describe as an altar. A U shaped base supported a large stone slab on which laid a body.
He slowly walked forward as Jack did a quick sweep of the room before joining him. "She's remarkably well preserved," Daniel said, studying the woman. Her dark skin was covered with a thick layer of dust and it turned her blue patterned tunic more of a gray color. The tunic was atop long pants that were tucked into low boots and her hands were peacefully positioned on her stomach. Her face was covered with a cloth veil and Jack reached out, pulling it to reveal the features of a young woman.
"Maybe you should kiss her?" Jack suggested. Daniel rolled his eyes and touched the woman, not surprised to find her skin cool and stiff. "Must you touch everything?"
"Must you always be a pain in the ass?" Daniel shot back.
"Unless you're in the mood to check her pockets, there's nothing here," Jack said, recovering the woman's face.
Daniel shrugged. He couldn't argue. The burial chamber was worth studying, but since they lacked both the time and facilities, the body was best left undisturbed. He moved away from the center of the room, shining his flashlight across the dusty walls. Most were bare stone with no ornamentation but a dark corner caught his eye.
"You don't suppose this is like King Tut and there's a room full of gold over there?" Jack asked, joining him.
"Actually, with the exception of the Goa'uld, gold's wealth is very much a perceived wealth," Daniel muttered.
"Perceived?"
"It's only worth what you think it is," Daniel explained, following Jack as they explored the corner, revealing a narrow doorway leading into another room.
As they crossed the threshold, lights came on one by one, each creating a quiet thunking sound. The illumination revealed a room empty of everything but the shattered remains of computers.
"Something tore the hell out of this place," Jack said, kicking one of the six piles of wire that Daniel guessed was all that remained of six computer consoles.
"It doesn't make any sense," Daniel said, surveying the carnage.
"Vandalism usually doesn't."
"No, I mean, they left the body out there alone, but destroyed everything in here."
"Maybe they have some 'don't mess with the dead' taboo," Jack suggested.
Something glinted and caught Daniel's eye. He bent over and picked it up, turning the small block over in his hand. It wasn't square but was a warped rectangular shape. A short horn stood out on each end, giving the block a very irregular shape.
"I wonder if this stuff is worth anything?" Jack said. "It kinda looks like fiber optics. It's too bad it's not metal wire, I know a trader on Devras that would give us a little in trade."
"Wire," Daniel muttered, rubbing his fingers over the metal block. A thought occurred to him and he searched the room, picking up a pile of cable only to toss it aside.
"Daniel?" Daniel ignored him and moved to the next pile and the next. "Daniel? Daniel!" Jack grabbed his arm and spun him around. "What the hell is going on with you?" he demanded.
"Metal."
"Yes, you're acting mental--"
"NO, METAL!" Daniel interrupted, holding up the block. "Do you realize that this is the only piece of metal we've seen on this planet?"
"No it's not."
"Yes, it is. What do you think used to hold this cable?" Daniel asked, picking up a handful of the cable off the floor.
"Daniel..."
"No, Jack, it makes sense. That's why the corpse out there hasn't been touched. Why there are trees and fences and paving stones but devastation like this." He shook the cables.
"So this place was hit by metal scavengers."
"Scavengers would have taken everything," Daniel disagreed.
"What are you saying?"
"I don't know," Daniel confessed. He held up the small metal block. "But I just...somehow I just know that this is important."
/////
Teal'c stood outside the temple, the afternoon sun beating down upon his bare head. He looked behind him and saw that Major Carter was still ascending the path. He glanced around, searching for a threat before propping his staff weapon against the wall so that he could reach for his canteen.
He tucked it between his left arm and his body, holding it so that he could twist off the lid. He drank cautiously, aware that they had a long walk back to the Stargate and only limited supplies. He replaced the cap on the canteen and returned it to his belt before looking at his watch. It had taken them longer than he'd expected to reach the temple and he knew that they would be stretching the limit of O'Neill's deadline.
Major Carter finished her trek and Teal'c picked up the staff weapon, moving to the side as she plopped down on the low step he had been standing on.
"Sorry," she muttered, reaching for her canteen. Her face was shiny with perspiration and her cheeks were flushed from the sun and exertion. "I need to jog some more when we get back."
Teal'c nodded and turned his attention to the ruined village in the valley below. From this vantage point he could see details that had escaped him earlier. The scope of the devastation was now clear. Not a single dwelling remained standing.
"Those that once lived here likely abandoned the village of their own accord," he said. Despite his limited eye sight he could see far flung piles of debris, scattered tree trunks piled in uneven stacks, nearly concealed by centuries of growth.
"Or were all killed," she said.
"That is also possible."
She pushed herself to her feet and slowly walked around the area. Teal'c could see signs of where the ground around the temple used to be cleared. The trees in the immediate vicinity to the temple were significantly smaller than the others. They also grew in a very random pattern, a few dislodging paving stones set to form a walkway.
The temple itself was about half the size of Apophis' own palace on Chulak, and, oddly enough, just as grand even in its state of disrepair. Grasses and weeds poked their way through cracks in the foundation and vines climbed their way towards the clear blue sky. Teal'c could see piles of dead leaves and broken branches, debris that suggested not only a winter season but also some instances of storms or high winds, a phenomenon that the temple's location would make it most vulnerable to.
"If I was a front door, where would I be?" Major Carter muttered, slowly walking away from him.
Teal'c ignored her question. He was familiar enough with the Tau'ri to know when they questioned more to make a statement than as a quest for knowledge. He followed her as she explored the outside of the temple. A low porch ringed the temple, elevating it about three feet from the ground.
"This stone is hand quarried," Major Carter said. She nudged a small impression with the toe of her boot. "You can still see the chisel marks."
"Human labor is far easier to attain than mechanization," Teal'c said.
They walked around a corner of the temple and Teal'c saw the front door. Major Carter looked over her shoulder. "Wanna bet that it's locked?"
He merely glanced at her and remained silent. It did not matter if the door was barred to them. They could gain entrance if they so wished. And, given O'Neill's desire for a shield, Teal'c was sure that Major Carter would do all she could to fully explore the temple. Teal'c stopped by the large doors while Major Carter continued on, peering around the corner before returning. "Nothing over there," she said as she looked up. "Not even a window."
"Then our efforts are best concentrated here," he said. The door was tall and looked to be made of heavy, solid wood. Two sturdy iron rings hung from the door and served as handles. "This was carved from a single tree. It will not be easily torn asunder." The wood was plain, its dark surface marked only by the signs of weather and storms.
She shrugged and reached for the door, trailing her fingers over it. "I'd really hate to blow it up," she said. "I'm all for scavenging, I just don't care for the 'slash and burn' method." The temple itself stood over ten meters high, far too tall for them to gain access to and explore entering from the roof.
"We could continue to explore the foundation and see if we can gain entry through a weakness," he suggested.
She shook her head. "We don't have time for that. Maybe if I'd have walked a little faster. Let's just go for the more direct route." She grabbed the handle and pushed, her hand falling away in surprise when the door swung open. "Ok. This is interesting."
"Indeed."
"Maybe no one had time for souvenirs," she said. She reached for her light and crossed the threshold, entering the temple. Teal'c did the same and studied the room.
It was dark inside the temple, the only light coming from the open door. He swept his light towards the ceiling. It was high and intact, supported by several thick columns spaced evenly in the room. The columns were each carved with a repeating pattern of lines and blocks and the walls were covered with frescos and paintings. The floors were bare and were made of light and dark tiles, arranged in a geometric pattern.
"I'm seeing a lot of nothing," Major Carter said, her voice echoing slightly.
"This chamber does not consist of much," he agreed. "However I do believe that there is another."
"You think so?"
"I do. This chamber is significantly smaller on the interior than it is on the exterior."
"A hidden room?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in expectation.
"I do not know if it is hidden, however, the size of this chamber does not match the dimensions of the outer walls."
She nodded. "Then we better find it." She moved towards the edges of the room and set to exploring the walls, obviously seeking a door or entrance to another chamber.
Teal'c did the same, moving to the far wall. He studied it with his eyes, the need to keep his staff weapon ready prohibiting him from using his hand to feel the wall. He could see no discernable latch or catch or indication of another room.
"Maybe they just have thick walls," Major Carter said, joining him. She stepped down on a tile and Teal'c heard a small click. He tensed, readying his staff weapon as she raised her pistol. A panel of the wall slid open and hung ajar, revealing an opening of just inches.
"Or maybe not," she said softly, moving to the opening. She shined her light inside and whistled softly, her eyes growing wide. She looked back at Teal'c and smiled. "I think we hit the mother lode," she said triumphantly, pushing the door open further.
Her flashlight beam revealed a veritable treasure trove. Gold and silver artifacts were piled upon a table, sparkling merrily in the light. Beside them was a stack of golden plates and bowls.
A large chest sat on the floor and Teal'c could see that it was piled full of golden coins and gemstones of every color. A life-size statue of a man stood in the corner and golden chains hung from his arms.
"This is incredible," she said, stepping into the room. "We could buy half a planet with this."
An odd feeling crept down Teal'c's spine and he frowned, his fingers tightening over his staff weapon. "Major Carter--"
"We'll never get this back on our own," she said, walking further into the room. "Maybe just the coins and the jewels and bring the ship back for the rest. But I don't know if we'll be able to open the door again. Maybe we should see what we could move outside the chamber just in case. It should be safe, right? I mean this planet's been deserted for centuries, what are the chances of someone happening upon it now?" She turned to look at him. "Then again, if we locked the door, it would be safe and, if we can't open the door again, we can use the explosives and get back in."
She moved to pick up some of the coins from the box. Instead of the clank of coins, Teal'c instead heard a warbling hiss punctuated by a sharp outcry of pain from Major Carter. She collapsed to the floor and Teal'c instinctively took a step forward, seeking to aid his fallen comrade.
The door to the chamber fell shut behind him with a heavy thump and the room plunged into darkness. Sighing at his own stupidity he knelt at Major Carter's side, ascertaining that she was only stunned.
As he waited for her to awaken he wondered which fact would peeve O'Neill more. That they would miss their appointed rendezvous time or that the treasure they sought had eluded them.
/////
Jack ambled through the streets of the abandoned city. He kicked a tuft of dry grass, frowning when yet another of the small metal blocks flew out, skittering across the pavement.
He bent down and picked it up, giving it a cursory examination before dropping it into his vest pocket with the others. He turned a slow three-sixty, mentally checking off the buildings as he turned. He reached for his radio. "Daniel?"
"Yeah?" Daniel answered after a few seconds.
"This place is a bust," Jack said, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He'd wanted - needed - this mission to be successful. All in all, Jack wasn't a man prone to panic. If he was, then he'd definitely chosen the wrong profession. But he couldn't deny that the whole 'bounty' business had him more than a little on edge. From the very beginning, he'd known that going rogue had its risks. Freedom never came without a price. But he hadn't dreamed that they'd be hunted. Not without first pissing someone off at the very least.
It had struck him last night as he'd walked, just how vulnerable they were. Their camp, or homestead really, was about a mile from the gate. A distance that - at the beginning - seemed to be a compromise between living on top of the gate while still being close enough to keep an eye on it.
There had been other considerations as well, such as the proximity to water and hunting trails. He knew that Daniel and Carter sometimes found their living conditions trying, especially in the areas of hot water and electricity. But overall, Jack found it rather idyllic. The stream nearby was fast running and clean and the game was plentiful. He was getting a little tired of venison all the time, but it was definitely better than nothing. His biggest regret was leaving his telescope behind.
However, after yesterday's revelations their homestead didn't seem calm and peaceful, rather weak and vulnerable. Even with their weapons and training, they could be easily outnumbered by Jaffa. Or, failing that, a teltac and a couple well-placed bombs could wipe them out in minutes.
"Make my day and tell me you found something," Jack requested.
"Depends on how you define something."
"Daniel--"
"Interesting, yes, valuable no," he clarified.
"Let's head back," Jack said. He glanced at his watch. "Carter and Teal'c are due in a couple of hours anyway."
"Ok," Daniel agreed. A crack of thunder split the air and Jack looked up, squinting into the cloudless sky. "Jack, what was that?"
"I don't--" Jack broke off, staring in horror as he watched clouds billow up from nothing. "Stay where you are and stay under cover!" he ordered, breaking into a run.
"Jack?"
"I think a ship is landing. Stay out of sight!" Jack let go of the radio and tried to run faster, cursing his knee, which ached with every step. He moved closer to one of the buildings, striving to get close to some cover and maybe escape being seen.
He had no idea whose ship it was; just that it could be no coincidence that someone was visiting the place just hours after they'd arrived.
The ship continued to descend, hovering over the building Daniel was in and Jack muttered under his breath, hoping Daniel would stay where he was. At least no one was shooting - yet.
Jack slowly approached the building, ducking from shadow to shadow. It was quiet inside and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his small telescoping mirror, using it to peek around the doorway. He saw no signs of movement so he put the mirror away instead holding his pistol at the ready as he slipped into the room.
Jack cautiously stepped towards the altar, noticing that the body was now missing, only the faint outline of dust testifying to its existence. His stomach sinking, he made his way towards the other room, not quite sure where he'd look next if Daniel was gone. Jack eased his way towards the room, his senses shifting into overdrive. He tried to hear something, anything, which could give him a clue as to what was going on.
Just as he reached the threshold the world flashed white. 'Damnit, a trap!' Jack tensed, forced to shut his eyes. The world shifted and he fell to his knees, hoping to escape the first strike of an impending attack.
"Greetings, O'Neill."
"Jack! Don't shoot!"
Hearing voices, Jack forced his eyes open, blinking furiously. Silvery grey surroundings melted into focus and Jack relaxed, recognizing the familiar lines of an Asgard ship. "Daniel?"
"Yeah. It's okay. The ship was Thor's," his friend confirmed walking towards Jack.
"Thor, buddy," Jack said, forcing a grin on his face. He carefully loosened his grip on his pistol, all too aware of the adrenaline coursing through his system. "I'm a little surprised to see you," he said, holstering his pistol.
"As I am you," the diminutive alien said.
Daniel stretched out his hand, helping Jack to his feet. "It seems that it's not a coincidence that Thor's here," Daniel said.
"I was most pleased to learn that you were not dead," Thor said.
"Kinda made my day too," Jack said. "Even though resurrection is a pain in the ass."
"I do not understand why you have abandoned the planet of your birth."
"Jack was taken by a Goa'uld," Daniel said. "We obviously got him back but there are those amongst our people that don't believe he's free from the Goa'uld." Jack shot Daniel a look, both grateful to his friend for explaining and irritated that he didn't seem to think that he was capable.
"So this mistrust led you to abandon your home planet?" Thor asked, his large eyes blinking slowly.
"Amongst other things," Jack said.
"Before we left they were going to shut down the SGC," Daniel said. "We didn't think that was the right thing to do but they wouldn't listen to us. Jack was also in danger."
"What sort of danger?"
"There are people that want to study him."
"More like dissect," Jack said, tired of being talked about while he was standing right next to them. "We thought they were going to shut down the gate permanently, but they re-opened it a few months later."
"So you will return to Earth?"
Jack shook his head. "We can't. In the eyes of our government we're criminals. We can't go back."
"That is indeed unfortunate," Thor said.
Jack shrugged. "It's not so bad," he said. "We've had to make a few adjustments here and there but nothing we can't live with."
"I do not speak of your personal issues," Thor said.
"Then what are you--"
"I speak of Earth," Thor interrupted.
"What's wrong with Earth?"
"When last I visited, I was informed that you and the rest of SG-1 had perished."
"They probably thought we were dead," Jack said. "We went AWOL." Thor blinked at Jack, cocking his head slightly. "Absent without leave." Jack gestured at Daniel. "We go back and we'll be locked up."
"Same with Teal'c and Sam," Daniel interjected.
"Regardless, the leaders of your world perpetrated a falsehood," Thor said. "I was informed that you had perished, not that you had left."
Jack shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you." It really didn't surprise them that Earth had lied. Saving face was part and parcel of being a politician. And, no doubt, it was easier on the ego to kill him and his team off than to admit that Earth's premiere team had decided to abandon it.
"So you weren't out looking for us?" Daniel asked.
"No," Thor replied simply as Jack looked over at Daniel.
He shrugged. "This planet has been abandoned for hundreds of years, if not thousands, and he shows up just hours after we arrive? This universe is too big for coincidences like that," Daniel explained.
"Doctor Jackson speaks the truth," Thor said. "I was not drawn by circumstance. My sensors detected a very specific energy reading, one that I was required to investigate."
"If this is an Asgard protected planet, we didn't know," Jack said, feeling the need to defend their presence.
"It is not. It is a planet that we deemed of little importance," Thor said. "We were wrong in that determination. In fact, your presence here may be the salvation of the Asgard Race."
/////
Sam slowly opened her eyes, blinking blearily as an unfamiliar grey ceiling came into focus. She stared for a few seconds before her memory returned. She slowly pushed herself to a sitting position, her movement catching Teal'c's attention.
"Major Carter."
"What happened?"
"When you attempted to touch the treasure, you activated some sort of trap," he said. "It rendered you unconscious and activated a locking mechanism which trapped us here."
Sam nodded, vaguely remembering the shocking jolt that had run through her body when she'd attempted to touch the gold. She got to her feet, wavering slightly until she got her balance. Her hand still tingled from the electrical charge and she flexed it, hoping to banish the pins and needles sensation. She made her way across the small room to the table where the piles of sparkling treasure had been. "It wasn't real, was it?"
"I believe it was a hologram."
"I should have thought of that," she muttered.
"Major Carter?"
"There's an old saying. If it looks too good to be true, it usually is," she said, sighing softly. "Okay, first thing we need to do is figure out how to get out of here." She dismissed her own blame, pushing it aside. There'd be time enough for it later.
"Indeed," Teal'c replied.
His droll response irritated her, but she reminded herself that it was her own stupidity that they were in trouble. Reaching for her flashlight, she used it to illuminate the corners of the room. The ceiling was high, arching several feet above their heads. And the walls were made of smooth hewn stone blocks that fit together almost seamlessly, so seamlessly in fact, that she could barely make out the outline of the door.
"The trap activated when I touched the 'treasure'?"
"Indeed. You were knocked unconscious and when I moved to assist you, the door closed."
Sam nodded, chewing on her lip. "It's too bad the hologram turned off or I could try it again." He raised his eyebrow. "It could be like an on/off switch, one springs the trap, twice unsprings it," she clarified.
"Such a phenomenon is unlikely."
She slowly walked towards the center of the chamber and the now empty table. "Somewhere there has to be an emitter for the hologram," she muttered, talking more to herself than to him. "Emitters need power." She searched the ceiling and floor, looking for an image emitting device. "There could be a conduit coming into the room." She looked over at Teal'c and he nodded slowly.
"That is possible," he said. "However I doubt that such a conduit will be large enough to allow us passage."
Sam sighed, her hope fading. "Good point," she conceded. She shrugged. "We may just be stuck here until the Colonel and Daniel can find us."
"We may." Teal'c leaned his staff weapon against the wall and reached into his vest pocket, pulling out one of their last blocks of C4. "Or we can facilitate our own egress from this place."
/////
Daniel blinked, Thor's words catching him off guard. "Salvation?" he asked skeptically.
"Yeah, umm, I'm glad to see you and all but isn't salvation a bit much?" Jack asked.
"You do not fully understand the status of the Asgard Race," Thor said.
"There's a lot of things that I don't quite get," Jack said. "And they're topics I was always told not to ask about."
Daniel bit back a grin. He was pretty sure what Jack was talking about. Given that the Asgard didn't wear clothes, they had very few physiological secrets, many of which were regular topics when Jack was in a bored or ornery mood.
"For many years we attempted to control the Goa'uld by making and enforcing treaties," Thor continued, oblivious to Jack's reference - or ignoring it.
"Most of which were bluffs," Jack said.
"They are," Thor agreed. "The Asgard have been distracted by a much larger enemy. One that is more insidious than the Goa'uld. We call them Replicators."
"Catchy name," Jack said after a few seconds.
"It is an accurate name. The Replicators are a race of intelligent mechanical life forms that exist to fulfill one directive, to replicate."
"Makes sense," Jack shrugged.
"They will do this at all costs," Thor continued.
"Okay, self-replicating robots," Jack said.
"Think army ants," Daniel said, getting a true image of the horror Thor's people were facing.
"They're bugs."
"They're bugs that overwhelm by their sheer number," Daniel insisted.
"He didn't say anything about bugs. He was talking about robots," Jack insisted.
"The analogy is appropriate," Thor interjected. "The Replicators prefer a multi-legged form, much like the insects of Earth."
Jack glared at Daniel for a second. "So, let me get this straight. The greatest enemy of the Asgard is a bunch of mechanical bugs?"
Thor blinked and replied simply. "Yes."
"Okay," Jack said with a shrug. "I still don't get how we're your savior though. Unless you want to see if Carter can whip you up some Raid."
"I do not. For many years the Asgard have sought the origins of the Replicators. We hoped that this knowledge could give us insight into how the Replicators came into existence. You have provided us with this knowledge."
"We have?"
"We did?"
Jack looked at Daniel, then back to Thor. "You're gonna have to refresh my memory."
Thor moved to the other side of the room and stood in front of a short pedestal. He manipulated two teardrop shaped stones and a screen melted out from the wall. On it Daniel could see the image of the body from the planet. She was lying on a smooth table and two Asgard stood around her, small devices held in their hands.
"That's the body from the crypt," Daniel said.
"It is a body, but not in the way that you mean," Thor said. "That is a Replicator."
"Wait a minute, you just said that they were bugs," Jack said.
"They are. However this entity is not organic, it is a machine. And it is emitting power signatures identical to the Replicators."
"So your bugs are now human?"
Thor cocked his head. "Given that the planet below has been abandoned for many centuries, it is most likely that the Replicators evolved here in some form and left the planet."
"The bugs didn't turn into humans, the humans turned into bugs," Daniel said.
Jack reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a handful of small silvery bits. "Does this have something to do with it?"
Thor's eyes narrowed and he took a step back, clearly startled. "Indeed they do. Those are Replicator blocks. Each possesses its own energy source and they can link together to form an endless variety of forms." He paused, moving the stones on the pedestal. "Those blocks, fortunately, are drained of all power and are harmless. Their presence here does, however, confirm my hypothesis. Further study will be needed to see if we can gain insight into the Replicators and discover a way to control and defeat the present generation of Replicators."
"That's great," Jack said, his tone far from enthusiastic. He slipped the pieces back into his pocket.
"We're happy for you, Thor, really we are," Daniel said, feeling the need to speak up. "But, umm..." Daniel trailed off, not quite sure how to phrase his words.
"You're gonna have to forgive us if we're a little selfish at the moment," Jack said. Thor blinked slowly and Jack sighed. He looked at Daniel. "We should go. Carter and Teal'c are probably waiting for us at home." Daniel nodded.
"You have sought refuge on another planet?" Thor asked.
Jack nodded. "Yeah. And if you see anyone from Earth, it's probably best if you don't mention that you've seen us."
Thor nodded. "As you wish." He stepped out from behind the console; one of his stones in his hand. He held it out for Jack. "This communication device will function over a sizable distance. Should you require assistance, simply activate it and I will respond as quickly as I can."
"Thanks," Jack said, taking the opaque white stone from the small alien. Jack stood up. "Can you beam us back down?"
Thor nodded and moved back to the pedestal. In seconds the world flashed white again and Daniel looked around, not surprised to find himself back in the crypt. "Let's go," Jack said. "We're going to be late."
He made his way towards the door and Daniel followed him. "Why didn't you let Thor give us a ride?" Daniel asked as they stepped outside. It was now night time and only the silvery light of the moon lit their way back to the gate.
"The less people that know the better," Jack said, shoving the communication device into his pocket.
"You don't trust Thor?"
"Daniel, right now I don't know who to trust. But I do know that Thor can't tell what he doesn't know." Daniel shrugged, in no mood to argue with his friend.
The pair of them easily navigated the city and returned to the Stargate. "What are you going to tell Sam and Teal'c?" Daniel asked as the gate opened, bathing the clearing in shimmering blue light.
"If we're lucky, the two of them struck it rich and they'll never ask."
/////
Teal'c grasped the edge of the table, awkwardly lifting it to flip it over. The table came off the floor, banging against his shins before settling on its side to serve as a protective barrier. He ignored the pain and turned his attention to Major Carter as she finished placing the charge.
"I wish I remembered how thick this wall is," she said, taking a step back to survey her work. "I placed it to hopefully blow out the door instead of the wall since we don't know if this wall is weight bearing nor not."
"The door is approximately six inches thick," Teal'c remembered.
She nodded, chewing her lip slightly. "That SHOULD do it," she said. She looked over at him. "I just don't want to bring the whole place down on our heads."
"That would be my preference as well," he said, sighing silently at the understatement. If she had just heeded his words earlier it was possible that they could have avoided this trap.
She looked at the door again, mentally calculating the strength of the explosion. "I guess, if it doesn't work and if the Colonel or Daniel are on the planet, maybe they'll hear the explosion and know where to look."
Teal'c refrained from suggesting that O'Neill and Daniel Jackson may not be on the planet. And, even if they were, it was very likely that the sound would not travel as far as she hoped.
"We might as well do it," she said, walking towards the table. Teal'c retrieved his staff weapon and crouched behind the too thin looking barrier. Major Carter knelt beside him, the detonator in her hand. "Ready?"
"I am."
"Here goes nothing," she muttered, ducking her head as she detonated the C4. A loud roar screamed through the small room, bouncing off the walls and assaulting them from all sides.
The force of the concussion drove the table back and pushed it into them. Teal'c lost his balance and fell over. His left hand shot out to steady himself, the hook scraping clumsily along the floor. He felt Major Carter fall towards him and he reached out, seeking to shelter her even as he struggled to breathe.
His ears still ringing painfully, he raised his head, the heavy dust in the air impeding his vision. Something drifted into his eye and he cried out, instinctively raising his hand towards his face. Vaguely he heard Major Carter's voice and felt a hand gasping his own. She pulled him forward and he followed, too blinded to do anything else.
He tripped over a piece of debris and stumbled, pulling Major Carter down with him before she dragged him back to his feet.
They staggered outside and Teal'c coughed harshly, his body seeking to clear his lungs. His eye still watering painfully, Teal'c fell to his knees and felt Major Carter do the same. Raising his arm he swiped at his face, relieved to see the tree dappled clearing swim into view.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice sounding tinny and distant. He nodded, aware that any injuries he possessed were minor ones. He struggled to clear his vision enough to look at her, aware that she did not possess the healing benefits of a primta. If she was injured, he would be most pressed to convey her back to the Stargate.
Her face was streaked with dust and he could see small bits of stone caught in her hair. Shallow scratches seeped blood, however they looked to be but minor injuries. She said something and he struggled to read her lips since his ears were still ringing from the explosion. She left his side and headed back into the temple.
A flash of movement caught his eye and he stared, watching in amazement as a figure walked towards them.
Realizing too late that the person was not an apparition, Teal'c cried out, his hands fumbling for the staff weapon that he did not possess.
Teal'c thought the figure said something before he raised his weapon and fired and Teal'c knew no more.
/////
Jack pushed open the door of the cabin, grateful that the sun hadn't set yet. He tossed the stone onto the table and plopped down in his chair.
"You should take it easy on that thing," Daniel said. "You might break it."
"Carter can fix it," Jack dismissed.
"One of these days, you're going to tell her to fix something and she's going to tell you to piss off," Daniel said, settling down in the other chair.
"She wouldn't say that." Jack met Daniel's gaze. "She'd tell me to go screw myself," he said wryly, acknowledging the aptness of Daniel's words. He did tell her to 'fix it' a lot. Probably too much. But, damnit, that was because she COULD fix it.
"That does sound more like her," Daniel agreed. He glanced around the cabin. "I expected them to beat us back."
"Me too," Jack frowned. He and Daniel were two hours late, which meant that Carter and Teal'c were also two hours late.
"Maybe we should go look for them."
"Maybe they already went looking for us." Jack shook his head. "The RV was here." He looked at his watch. "We'll give them another hour. Then we'll open the gate and give them a call." He sighed. "Let's grab a quick bite to eat first. If they did run into trouble, I'm not in the mood to face it on an empty stomach."
/////
Aris Boch dragged the female out of the temple, quite annoyed that she'd forced him to stun her. Now he would have to wait for her as well as the Jaffa to awake.
He dropped her next to the Jaffa and reached for the pair of manacles at his belt. He secured the pair together, then returned to the temple, retrieving the Jaffa's staff weapon. It was not worth nearly as much as his captives, but it would be a nice bonus, as would the female's phase pistol and knife.
He picked up the hook he'd removed from the Jaffa's hand and studied it curiously. It was an interesting substitute for the man's missing hand. In fact, not as much a substitute as a weapon, which was precisely why he'd removed it.
Today was indeed a lucky day. His little trap had captured a few plunderers in the past. Pillagers that the caretakers of this planet paid well for., but never anyone as valuable as this.
He returned to his captives, pleased to see the Jaffa was beginning to stir. Aris sat down, careful to keep his distance. The Jaffa was relatively helpless since his only hand was chained to the woman, but one could never be too careful. He hadn't survived as long as he had by underestimating his prey.
"Who are you?" the Jaffa demanded, pulling on the manacle.
"You mean you don't recognize me?" Aris asked, taking his canteen from his waist. He opened a dose of roshna and poured it in, quickly downing his daily dose of the drug.
"I do not," the black man said, confirming Aris' opinion that all Jaffa lacked a sense of humor.
"You have been with the Tau'ri too long, Teal'c," he said, taking pleasure from the fleeting expression of alarm that flashed in the Jaffa's eyes. "You're soft." Teal'c refused to answer and Aris grinned, his expression hidden behind the mask that he wore. "I am Aris Boch," he introduced. "I'm the greatest bounty hunter in the universe."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you are one of the greatest secrets of the universe," Teal'c suggested. "As I have never heard your name before."
"Perhaps you've always traveled in the wrong circles," Aris suggested. "Or maybe this is just he first time you've angered Apophis enough that he felt the need to put out a bounty."
"Apophis is a false god," Teal'c snarled.
Aris laughed, amused at the Jaffa's words. "I never said that he wasn't," he said. "I just said that turning you over to him will make me rich."
The woman began to stir, moaning softly. "If the bounty is your goal, let the woman go," Teal'c said.
"Nice try," Aris answered. "And your ploy just might work - if I didn't already know that Teal'c of Chulak has among his companions Captain Carter of the Tau'ri. Who has within her the memories of Jolinar of the Tok'ra." Aris took another drink of the water before returning the canteen to his belt. "She's almost as valuable as you are." Aris got up, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Unless you feel like carrying her, you better get her to her feet. It's a long walk to my ship."
Aris busied himself, gathering the last of the captives' possessions, while he observed them. If he manipulated things correctly he was going to be a very wealthy man.
/////
Sam wavered slightly, the tug of the manacle on her left wrist warning Teal'c. His right hand grabbed her arm, keeping her from falling. "Sorry," she muttered. She didn't know exactly what kind of gun the bounty hunter had shot her with but it had affected her like no other, leaving her feeling weak and shaky.
Teal'c didn't respond and she sighed, her shoulders slumping under his silent censure. This whole mess was her fault. She'd suggested that they investigate the temple. She'd triggered the trap. She'd been caught off-guard and shot. And since it was her fault they were in this situation, she needed to get them out of it.
Of course, that would be a hell of a lot easier to do if the world would stay in focus and she didn't feel like she was going to puke.
"We require a rest," Teal'c said, glancing back at their captor.
"You can rest when we get to my ship."
"Surely we are more valuable to your employer if we are alive?" Teal'c countered, glaring at her to still her automatic protest.
"Only if they do not possess a sarcophagus."
Figuring that Teal'c had a reason to delay, Sam pulled on the chain, leading Teal'c towards a large rock beside the trail. She gracelessly sat down, huffing exaggeratedly. "I have a headache," she announced. Teal'c stood over her and raised his eyebrow, silently questioning her. "I always get headaches when I get shot," she explained.
He nodded slightly and - she guessed - realized that her complaint was simply a way to support his ruse. The bounty hunter stood there, glaring at them. Or Sam guessed that he was glaring since his face was still hidden behind a mask.
Finally he stepped back, taking his own seat a few yards away. Realizing that he'd won the challenge, Teal'c relaxed slightly. Sam scooted over, giving him room to sit on the rock as well.
Aris Boch stared at them for a few seconds then bent over. He grabbed one of the canteens from their stuff and tossed it over towards them. The heavy plastic bounced across the trail, landing about a yard from Sam's feet. She looked at it, then to Teal'c, gauging his reaction. Logically she knew that Boch probably hadn't had time to tamper with it, but she couldn't be sure. And she was thirsty enough not to care, the relentless sun and built up heat of the day exhausting her as much as the hike.
"Like your friend said, you're worth more alive," Boch said. "Course, it's all the better for me if you're a bit sick, so feel free not to drink."
Sam stood up and stepped forward, reaching out with her right hand while her left stretched out behind her, still linked to Teal'c.
She sat back down on the rock and shook the canteen slightly before opening it. She took a deep drink then passed the canteen to Teal'c. "So, you're working for Apophis," she said, less in the mood for conversation than to simply delay their departure as much as possible. The Colonel and Daniel would come. And if she and Teal'c could just delay things long enough they stood a chance of still being here when they did come.
"I work for a lot of Goa'uld."
"They're not gods you know. They're parasitical beings that--"
"Oh spare me the story," Boch interrupted. "I don't care what they are as long as their gold is good."
"So you help them enslave people?"
"I do what I have to to survive," he shot back, the tone of indulgence fading from his voice. He got to his feet and stared at them for a second. "Break's over," he announced. Teal'c glanced over at her, then down to the bottle in his hand. Discerning his silent message, she nodded slightly, readying herself. "Let's go," Aris ordered.
Teal'c tightened his grip on the bottle and threw it at Aris. The man instinctively ducked and they ran, taking advantage of the bounty hunter's few seconds of distraction to make a break for it.
They pounded down the path, Teal'c quickly taking the lead. He pulled her off the path and into the scrubby trees. She fell behind him, realizing that chained as they were, their only hope of navigating the forest was to do so single file.
She could hear Aris following them, shouting and crashing through the forest. The trees flashed past them, the leaves a green blur. Branches slapped back at her, stinging her arms and face as she ran.
Teal'c picked up the pace and she struggled to keep up, his longer legs and Jaffa physiology giving him a distinct advantage over her. She tried to run faster, resisting the urge to peek over her shoulder to see how far back Boch was.
Teal'c suddenly tripped, falling awkwardly to the ground and pulling her down with him. She cried out, his weight twisting her arm painfully. They both struggled to regain their feet, fumbling to free their tangled limbs.
A shadow fell over them and Sam looked up, unsurprised to see Boch standing over them, his weapon held ready. "You are quickly becoming worth more dead than alive," he threatened. "Get up!"
Having no other choice, Sam and Teal'c got to their feet, both of them breathing heavily from their mad dash into the forest. As they stood up, the manacle tugged on Sam's wrist and she gasped, looking down to see the flesh red and irritated. She cradled her left hand with her right, carefully flexing her fingers.
"Move. Now!" Boch ordered, stepping back, his gun still held at the ready. Defeated, they both started walking, slowly retracing their steps back to the trail. Boch allowed no other breaks, pushing them relentlessly the last two miles to a clearing. "You can stop here," he said.
"I thought we were going to your ship," Sam said, using her free hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead.
"We are. Barokna." At his words a teltac shimmered into existence. Boch walked over to it and punched a code into the controls. The door opened and he stepped aside. "After you."
Sam followed Teal'c into the ship, pausing at the threshold to take one last glance around, hoping against hope that she'd see some sign of the Colonel or Daniel. Boch prodded her with his gun and she reluctantly stepped inside. Boch followed her, shutting the door behind him. "Sit," he ordered.
She and Teal'c followed the direction and sat down where he indicated. Boch picked up a length of chain and secured Major Carter's free wrist to the wall. Once they were secure the bounty hunter made his way up to the controls. In just minutes the ship smoothly took off and Sam slumped, realizing that they were totally on their own and that she had absolutely no idea how they'd get out of it.
/////
Daniel watched as Jack paced, fully aware that there wasn't much he could do. He sighed and leaned forward in his chair, taking off his glasses to rub his tired eyes. "We'll go back at first light," he said.
"We should be back there now," Jack retorted predictably.
"And if we could see in the dark, we would be," Daniel replied. Jack glared at him. "All of us were on our last batteries," Daniel explained. "Rigging up some sort of mini power source was on Sam's 'to do' list."
"She should have made it her first priority," Jack complained.
"It was. Until building this cabin became the first priority."
"The teltac!" Jack said. "We'll take it back and use its sensors."
Daniel shook his head. "That planet's a day's flight from here. And if we fly there and Sam and Teal'c call for help, no one will be here to help them."
Jack tensed and Daniel prepared himself, sure that his friend was ready to launch into a tirade. Instead, he sighed. His shoulders slumped and he sank down into his chair. "We never should have split up," he said softly, his words muffled as his hands scrubbed his face.
"We had a lot of territory and a limited amount of time," Daniel said, trying to console Jack, even as he knew that it was pretty much impossible. "Splitting up made sense."
"Not when people are hunting for you. There's safety in numbers."
"We don't even know if something's wrong. Maybe they found a lead and went to check it out."
Jack shook his head. "Not without telling us," he dismissed.
"How? We don't exactly have an answering machine."
"We have radios."
"That have a limited range. What if they called in while we were on Thor's ship?"
"They could have left a note."
"And taped it to the stargate?"
"Yes."
"Did we even bring tape from Earth?"
"Daniel!" Jack growled a warning.
"I'm just saying. We're assuming the worst when, for all we know, they could have explored too far from the gate, got caught by nightfall and are holed up until planetary dawn."
"Or they could be in some Goa'uld's dungeon. Or maybe they got lost or are sick and can't make it back," Jack listed.
"And we'll find out tomorrow. Because, unless you're part cat, all we're going to accomplish by stumbling around in the dark is to get hurt or lost ourselves." Daniel got to his feet. "Not that I think I'm going to sleep, but I am going to lie down. And you should do the same," he advised. "If something's happened and one or both of them are hurt, it'll likely be a hell of a long walk getting them home." Daniel stared at his friend for a few seconds, sighing softly when Jack didn't move.
He shrugged and retreated to his room, quickly shucking his boots and shirt, but otherwise remaining dressed.
Just in case, he told himself, just in case a call for help came he wanted to be ready as quickly as possible.
/////
The manacle tugged at his wrist and Teal'c looked down, not surprised to see Major Carter examining it. The cuff around her wrist was made of a shiny metal and was perhaps a quarter inch thick and two inches wide. It was exactly like the cuff on his wrist, just a bit smaller.
She turned her wrist over, examining the catch. He believed that it was some sort of magnetic lock since he could not see any latching mechanism. As he watched, she pulled on the cuff, trying to slid it over her hand. He could see that the skin of her wrist was abraded and swollen. It had obviously been damaged when he'd fallen. His wrist bore similar marks, but he knew that his primta would heal it. Major Carter did not have the same assistance.
"It will not fit," he said, observing her tugging harder on the cuff.
She looked up at him. "It would if I dislocated my thumb," she said. He raised his eyebrows. "They actually teach you that in survival school. If you dislocate your thumb you can sometimes free your hand. Of course, you also pretty much lose all use of said hand," she shrugged.
"That will not be necessary," he said.
She looked up at him. "If I can get this cuff off, you'll be free. You can overpower him and we can go home."
"I do not believe that plan will be successful."
"Teal'c--"
"The front of the ship is protected by a small shield. Likely there to prevent such plans from being carried out. Our chance for escape lies after we have arrived but before we are sold. It would be best if we were both as well as possible." He looked at her. "Losing the use of one hand is a difficult obstacle to overcome."
A look crossed her face and her eyes fell, darting away from his. He was aware of the guilt that she carried and the blame that she placed upon herself. Yet he did not have time to care about such trivial matters. If they were to escape they would need not only their wits, but luck as well. And they could not afford to be so lost in the past that it compromised their focus on the present.
"You should sleep," he said, focusing on her wan face, barely disguised by a layer of dirt and grime.
She shook her head, her protest cut short by a yawn. "I can take first watch," she offered.
Teal'c shook his head. "We have no need of watches. If Boch wished us dead, we would be."
"Teal'c--"
"I shall kelnoreem and you must sleep," he ordered. Surprisingly, she heeded his words. She maneuvered as much as she could, settling closer and letting her head resting on his arm. He watched until he felt her body relax before he closed his eyes, allowing his body to slip into a light state of meditation.
Kelnoreem would be preferable, however he did not wish to remove so much of his attention from his - their - present state. He had no illusions about their fate. Especially if Apophis was the instigator of the bounty. He would be tortured, likely to death, several times. His torment would be held publicly in order to be as much of an example as possible. After many days, perhaps weeks, he would be permitted to finally die, his head perhaps adorning a pike outside the palace - a rotting warning to any who would think to rebel.
Major Carter's fate would be even darker. If she was lucky, she would merely join Apophis' harem. A fate - while unpleasant - would not be unsurvivable. Teal'c knew that there were many in the harem who rarely, if ever, served time in Apophis' bed chamber.
No, Teal'c thought, remembering his friend's fair coloring and light eyes. She would not go unnoticed. And, even beyond that, she carried the memories of Jolinar within her. Memories buried so deep that the major barely comprehended them. But they would not be buried deep enough put them out of reach of a symbiote.
Apophis would have her blended. He would have a symbiote and he would force it into her and she would spend the rest of her life a prisoner in her own body, forced to commit atrocities and cruelties.
Teal'c could not think of a worse fate.
He opened his eye and glanced down at his slumbering friend. He could kill her. Even handicapped as he was, he could still kill her. Apophis did possess a sarcophagus, or did the last Teal'c knew. It was possible that it could revive her, however, even the magic of the sarcophagus had its limits. And long dead flesh - even a few hours old, did not reanimate well.
If he killed her now, she would likely be beyond the sarcophagus' ability to heal. He carefully raised his hand, moving slowly to lessen the clank of the chain. He possessed no weapon, save the chain that bound them together. He could strangle her with it. However, that method of execution would wake her and she would suffer.
He did not wish that.
If he had both hands, he could easily snap her neck. And perhaps he could with only one hand. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. If he was going to do this, he must do it correctly. He softly caressed her neck, his fingers finding the steady thrum of her heart beat. A small pinch would accomplish the deed. Pressure, if applied correctly to the neck, could suspend the flow of blood, thus suffocating her brain.
If he was careful, she likely would not even awaken. She would simply cross over - perish in her sleep.
Could he do it? Could he kill her, grant her the boon she had denied him - the right to die?
Perhaps it was as fate intended, for her to be denied that which she denied him? Or perhaps he was wrong. She would not want to die. She would want to remain alive, to hold out hope for a rescue that was unlikely to ever come.
O'Neill did not even know that they had been captured, much less by whom. Therefore, he would be unsure of where to start looking. And they no longer possessed the intelligence network of the Tok'ra and Asgard.
Word would eventually spread, Teal'c knew. Apophis would loudly brag when he tortured Teal'c to death, and O'Neill would then be able to discern Major Carter's location, but such intelligence could be delayed by weeks or even months. By then it was doubtful that, even if Major Carter still lived as a host, they would be able to rescue her. Yet, Teal'c knew that she would hold out hope. To her very dying breath, she would hold out hope of a rescue. That was a quirk of the Tau'ri. They would snatch life from death and cherish even the smallest piece.
I just couldn't be alone.
He remembered her words, saw the pain and anguish in her eyes. Pain that he knew somehow had little to do with memories of her mother' death.
She hadn't meant to hurt him, he could see that now. She hadn't meant to deny him his death or consign him to a fate he loathed. She had merely been doing what humans did best, cheating death in favor of life.
He removed his hand, abandoning his intention to deliver mercy. He closed his eyes and again began to meditate. Whatever fate awaited them, they would face it together.
/////
Solek stood, his eyes impatiently scanning the heavens. They were late and he did not like to be kept waiting. He had many duties that demanded his time and every moment spent on this abandoned rock was another moment that his schedule fell behind.
In an effort to ease his frustration, he began to pace, striding purposefully back and forth, never getting too far from the chaapai. His robes flapped annoyingly about his legs, complicated by the thigh high grass through which he walked, doing little to alleviate the frustration that burned in his belly.
The air was hot and heavy and held the promise of coming storms in the large billowing clouds just visible on the horizon. Insects and avians fluttered about and he allowed himself to be distracted for a moment, studying the colorful array of flying creatures. This planet had rich natural resources. Perhaps he would consider creating a dwelling here, a quiet, private place.
His musings were interrupted by the sharp crack of a ship entering the atmosphere. Quickly, Solek returned to the chaapai, seeking both to return to the agreed meeting place and to have access to the safety that escape through the chaapai could bring.
The teltac swept down from the sky, landing with a flourish just yards from the chaapai. Solek prepared himself, his hand drifting down to the pistol he wore on his belt in addition to the ribbon device adorning his hand. It was true that this bounty hunter promised to simply deliver his goods in exchange for his pay, but one could never be too careful. Unless of course, one wished to die before his time.
The door to the teltac opened and Solek stood ready, carefully scrutinizing the bounty hunter as he stepped out of his ship. "You're not Apophis," he said, raising his voice to yell across the fifteen yards between them.
"Apophis has better things to do than cater to the whims of others," Solek said. "I am authorized to act as his agent."
"You're aware of our bargain?"
"Roshna for humans," Solek said, rolling his eyes in distaste. "A bargain that shall be void if they are irreparably damaged."
"The Jaffa was damaged before I captured him, but they're alive," the bounty hunter said.
"Bring them out," Solek said. "I will not confirm a bargain before I can inspect what I am purchasing."
The bounty hunter retreated inside his ship and returned in just a couple of minutes, leading the two humans. Solek could see that they were Tau'ri and were both shackled to each other with thick chains.
Solek could see that they had not been captured easily. The female's face was dirty and her clothing was stained. An oddity caught his eye and Solek squinted, quixotically realizing that the Jaffa was missing a hand and wore a dark patch over one eye. This must have been the 'damage' that the bounty hunter had spoken of.
Seeking a closer look, Solek walked forward, moving within just a couple of yards of the captives. The female looked up and Solek saw an odd expression cross her face as she stared at him.
Angered at her impudence, he raised his left hand and fired off a blast of power, striking the ground at her feet. She cowered, taking a protective step back as dirt and small rocks flew into her face.. "I did not give you permission to look at me!" he said loudly. "You will learn your place, or you shall suffer the wrath of the gods!" He raised his hand, prepared to deliver another disciplining blow.
"They're not yours yet," the bounty hunter said, stepping forward, his hands on what Solek guessed was a weapon at his waist. "You can do what you want with them...after I get my payment."
Solek touched a control on his ribbon weapon, deactivating a cloaking device that hid the man's payment. He turned, visually confirming the four boxes that shimmered into existence. "Take it and go," Solek said. He stepped forward and held out his right hand, taking the chain from the bounty hunter. "Our business is now complete."
The man nodded. "I'd keep an eye on them if I were you. They're up to something," he warned.
Solek smiled. "I am well versed in disciplining humans. And they are no longer your concern."
The bounty hunter shrugged and set himself to retrieving his roshna, efficiently loading the substance into his ship. Within minutes, he was gone, his ship nothing more than a white streak in the cerulean sky.
"You know, kiddo. If you'd have minded me this well when you were growing up, I'd probably have more hair now," Jacob said, abandoning his Goa'uld persona.
Teal'c smiled and Sam finally looked up, her grin about as big as he'd ever seen it. "How the hell did you manage this one?" she asked, stepping forward and allowing him to wrap her in a hug.
"It's a long story." He looked at Teal'c, his eye pointedly lingering on the man's injuries. "And I think you have an even longer one to tell me. Namely why you aren't on Earth anymore and how'd you end up tangling with a piece of garbage like that?"
She sighed. "Like you said, it's a very long story."
"One best discussed in safer surroundings," Teal'c said pointedly.
Sam nodded. "Let's go home."
/////
"We're leaving as soon as you're packed," Jack ordered, hearing the gate snap shut behind him.
"Jack--"
"Daniel, we have a day's flight in front of us. You can catch some sleep then," he interrupted, glancing back to see Daniel catching up with him.
"So can you," Daniel said. "And I wasn't protesting leaving, I WAS going to say that we better make sure we grab the med kit and leave a note just in case they make it back while we're gone."
Jack sighed, biting his lip to keep from saying that there'd be no need to leave a note. The chances of Carter and Teal'c making it back on their own was about as good as Earth calling them up with an engraved invitation to come back home to a ticker tape parade. If Daniel wanted to be positive, let him be positive. One of them needed to be. They'd spent all day searching the planet, walking mile after mile, digging through ruin after ruin, desperately seeking some sign of their friends.
And they'd found nothing. Well, nearly nothing. They had found the temple and definitely found signs of their friends. The newly blown up wall being one clear indication that they'd been there. And he knew that they'd gotten out. And that they hadn't blown themselves up in the process, the lack of icky smears on the walls being a clear indication of their survival.
Then where the hell were they?
Jack thought of Thor's gift and wondered if he should use it. Thor would WANT to help, but could he? If a Goa'uld had them, Thor wouldn't stick his nose in, the council wouldn't allow it.
The Tok'ra would. If he knew how to contact them.
Ever since they'd split from Earth, they'd kept a low profile, avoiding their allies, especially the Tok'ra. And now, knowing that Earth had it in for them, Jack was glad that they'd made a clean break.
But, if it gave him a chance to get his people back, he could definitely risk it. Hell, at the very least he'd think that Jacob...Jack stopped dead at the thought of Sam's father. Jacob. He'd have to tell Jacob what had happened, tell him that he'd lost his daughter.
"Jack?" Jack looked up to see Daniel in front of him and looking back. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Jack said, not in the mood to broach the topic.
Daniel stared at him for a few seconds, then he turned and resumed his trek back to the cabin. Jack followed, unable to deny the nausea that threatened at the thought of telling Jacob what had happened.
"Jack...."
"I'm fine, Daniel," Jack growled.
"Good, did you leave the door open?"
Jack frowned, directing his attention to their cabin, just visible in the distance. The front door was open, and Jack remembered very clearly closing it when they'd left this morning. "I didn't," he said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Daniel said slowly. "They made it back," he said. He hurried forward, stopping only when Jack lunged out, grabbing his arm to hold him back. "Jack?"
"It might not be them."
Daniel sighed. "We were out of sight of the gate for hours. We could easily have missed each other."
"And we were out of sight of this gate all day. There can be anyone in there," Jack said. "We're going to check it out, but we're not going to just walk in."
Daniel nodded, accepting his proclamation. Now alert, they made their way towards the cabin, both moving slowly and cautiously.
Jack studied the cabin, hoping to get some clue as to what was going on. He didn't see any movement around the cabin, so it was possible that, while someone had been in their home, no one was now.
They moved closer and Jack signaled to Daniel to move to the other side of the cabin. He drew his gun and crept towards the cabin. He strained his ears, seeking to hear any voices that could give him a clue.
His eyes caught sight of a flash of movement and he froze, his gaze shooting over to Daniel. Jack held up his fist, signaling for Daniel to freeze even as he crouched down, seeking to present as small a target as possible. Daniel did the same and Jack turned his attention back to the cabin. Someone was in there. Jack could hear the scraping of chairs and the creak of the floorboards. It was possible that they were just facing a simple scavenger, someone like them, searching for supplies and valuables.
"We should take the ship," he heard a woman's raised voice, just audible from inside. "Something had to have happened or they'd be here." Recognizing the voice, Jack smiled, standing upright and motioning for Daniel to join him.
"It is merely possible that O'Neill and Daniel Jackson are exploring the third planet on our list."
Jack stepped across the threshold of the cabin and walked in. "And it's just as possible that we were out looking for you two," he said, lowering the pistol although he didn't holster it.
Much to his relief, his hopes were confirmed. Carter and Teal'c sat at the table, both looking healthy if a bit roughed up. Surprisingly, he also saw Jacob. The man glanced up, obviously occupied treating some injury of Carter's. Jacob held his daughter's arm in his hands and was wrapping it with what Jack knew to be the last of their bandages. Jack saw a length of chain lying on the table, along with two opened cuffs. He glanced at Teal'c, barely catching sight of a patch of abraded skin at the man's wrist. Whatever had delayed the pair, someone else had been involved.
"Colonel."
"O'Neill."
"See, told ya," Jacob said. "These two were about ten minutes from running off to look for you," he reported. "And if it hadn't been for the chains, we'd already be gone."
"Sam. Teal'c." Daniel pushed past Jack to greet them. "You're okay."
"Daniel, we're fine," Sam said.
"Relatively speaking," Jacob corrected.
"What happened?" Jack asked, finally relaxing. He holstered his pistol and sat down, watching with amusement while Daniel busied himself, raiding the larder to set some food down on the table since it was obvious that, in their haste to free themselves, they hadn't gotten around to eating yet.
"Earth's wanted list isn't the only one we're on," Sam said, nodding her thanks to Daniel when he put a loaf of bread in front of her. She awkwardly tore off a chunk with one hand and crammed it into her mouth.
"Apophis has also placed a monetary reward upon our capture," Teal'c said, also helping himself to the food.
"All four of you actually," Jacob said, finishing his work on Sam's arm and claiming his own seat around the table. He too helped himself to the food, sampling not just the bread but some dried meat too. The five of them made short work of the simple meal as Jack gave into the hunger that replaced the sick, queasy feeling that had plagued him for the past day and a half.
"That was why I was kinda glad to see the SGC shut down, once I got over the fact that no one bothered to tell me," Jacob growled pointedly.
"We tried," Jack said. "But we didn't exactly have a lot of time."
"I told you, Dad. We had to cut all ties," Sam said.
Jacob nodded, obviously not fond of the circumstances, but letting it slide for now. "They ran across a bounty hunter named Aris Boch," he explained. "He was going to sell them to Apophis, fortunately Solek got the message instead and intercepted them," Jacob said, gesturing towards himself.
Jack looked at Jacob, making a bit of a show of examining the man's robes. "Solek's got a rather eclectic fashion sense."
Jacob shrugged. "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do."
"Jacob Carter secured our release and returned with us here," Teal'c explained.
"Way to go Solek," Daniel said, finally taking a seat.
"How does that temple we found all blown up fit into this?" Jack asked, seeking to put a couple more puzzle pieces into place.
"We thought we'd found something important, but it was a trap. We had to use the last of the C4 to get out of it, and the bounty hunter was waiting for us just outside," Sam explained.
"This Boch has a bit of a reputation for setting traps," Jacob said. "It's how he makes his living. Usually he just catches small time crooks or little annoyances. I honestly don't think he meant to catch them, they just kinda fell into his lap."
Jack picked up the pair of manacles lying on the table. "Did a little shopping while you were at it?" Carter refused to answer but made a face while Teal'c raised his eyebrow.
"Right," Jack said, accepting the dismissal. He clapped and then rubbed his hands together. "I think we can forget about the whole search thing," he said to Daniel. "And you two look like you could use a good night's sleep. How about we all call it a night and we can hear all about it in the morning," he suggested.
"Aah, Jack," Daniel said. "I'm sorry, Jacob, but we're not exactly set up for guests." Jacob raised his eyebrows.
"He means that we only have four beds," Jack said. "Jacob, you can take mine. I can go crash on the teltac tonight."
"You have a teltac?" Jacob asked.
"Kinda picked it up along the way. We can tell you all about it in the morning." Jack got to his feet, effectively putting an end to the conversation. It took them just minutes to clean up the remnants of their meal and for them to head their separate ways.
Jack quietly slipped outside, pausing a moment to simply enjoy the relief at having his friends back together before walking the short distance to their hidden teltac. He went inside and efficiently made his 'bed' as he acknowledged that it was a euphemistic term at best for a sleeping bag spread out over an air mattress.
Stripping down to his shorts, he laid down, relief and exhaustion allowing him to fall asleep within minutes.
He slept for several hours, his body clock awakening him soon after planetary dawn. He rolled off the mattress and got to his feet, groaning softly as he worked out the normal kinks. He pulled on his pants and shirt. His shaving gear was still in the cabin so he walked barefoot across the small clearing and slipped into the cabin to retrieve it. Jacob was still asleep in his bed, the man snoring softly.
Jack grabbed his kit and went back outside, his destination the stream a short distance from the cabin. Movement caught his eye and he caught sight of Carter sitting on a rock. She had obviously just come from the stream. Her hair was damp and there were dark spots on her shirt "Hey," he called out.
"Morning," she said. She had a habit of waking up earlier than the rest of them and taking the first turn at the stream. If the three of them woke up before she got back, they'd wait, giving her privacy. Then, while she cooked whatever they'd have for breakfast, the three of them would take their turn. It was a pattern they'd reverse in the evening, the three men taking turns cooking.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat beside her. His eyes flitted over the bruises and scrapes on her arms. Bruises and scrapes that had been concealed the evening before.
"Not bad," she said. "Although I'd love a long hot bath." Her wrapped left wrist was cradled in her lap and she rubbed it gently, obviously trying to ease the discomfort of the injury.
Jack nodded, sympathizing. If the bruises he could see were any indication to the others she probably had, then yeah, a soak in a hot bath would go a long ways in loosening up stiff muscles. "I was thinking, we might take a day off."
"A day off?"
"Teal'c and I can go do a little hunting, you and Daniel can chill. Maybe Jacob even knows of some planets we can check out," he suggested.
"So you didn't find anything?" she asked.
"I wouldn't say that." He looked at her. "We ran into Thor."
"Really?"
He nodded and quickly filled her in, telling her about his and Daniel's discoveries, and the fact that they hadn't been able to keep any of it. "So, it was pretty much a bust," he finished.
"But you got the communication stone from Thor," she said. "That's something."
He shrugged. "Better than nothing, but...."
"Not quite what we needed," she finished.
"Yeah."
She shifted and grimaced, her breath hissing between her teeth as she cradled her wrist. Jack reached into his shaving kit and pulled out a small packet of pills. He handed them to her. "Here."
She shook her head. "It's okay."
"Carter, take the pills," he said, holding the small foil packet in front of her.
"We may need them later," she demurred.
"Carter, take the damn pills!" he ordered sharply. She gasped and looked over at him, a flash of fear crossing her face.
#flashback# His fingers dug painfully into her hair, smiling softly at her weak gasp of pain. 'Shall I tell you how much my host hates you? How annoying he finds you? How much your prattle irritates him? Do you know he's fantasized about shutting you up?' She closed her eyes and he growled, releasing her to let her fall back onto the floor.
He got to his feet and paced, stomping over to the table and pouring himself a goblet of wine. Damned irritating female. She refused to give him pleasure.
Jack listened to the snake rail and he smiled, unable to deny the pride he felt as Sam refused to give into Ba'al. But his pride was tempered by fear and disgust.
He struggled to take control, fought to reclaim his body. Ba'al fought back, digging deeper into Jack's mind, forcing his way into the dark corners that Jack did his best to ignore. Corners that Jack was happy to forget and abandon.
Ba'al delved deep, pushing Jack aside as easily as one would bat at a fly. Ba'al laughed, reveling in Jack's pain. 'So much pain. So much darkness. So much wonderful knowledge,' Ba'al gloated, as he dug through Jack's painful memories.
He seized upon one very dark time and chuckled, setting the goblet down. 'So many ways to kill,' Ba'al said, again standing over Sam.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. 'Colonel, fight it,' she said. 'You know you can fight it. Fight him!'
Jack felt himself smile. 'There's nothing left to fight,' he said. 'He's dead.'
'What?'
'He's dead. Ba'al's dead,' Ba'al said, using Jack's own voice. He reached down and offered her a hand up, assisting her to her feet.
'I can still feel him,' she said, looking at him skeptically even as she wavered on her feet.
'And I can feel the leftovers of Jolinar in you. Guess I finally get to join the 'creepy feeling' fan club.' He smiled disarmingly and she relaxed a bit although she still held herself tense.
Jack struggled, fighting to regain control. He yelled and screamed, doing everything he could to warn her. She couldn't trust him. Come on, Sam. Don't trust him. Don't trust me. 'There's no way Daniel let you and Teal'c come alone. Where are they?'
She shook her head. 'I'm not sure.'
'Come on, Carter. You probably have their position calculated down to the last centimeter,' he said.
She frowned and stared at him, her eyes narrowing. 'Are you feeling okay?'
'I'm just fine,' Ba'al said. 'Although my host is having a bit of a bad day.' His hand struck out and wrapped itself around her throat and Ba'al laughed, amused at the terror that crossed her face.
Her hands came up and grasped his, her short fingernails digging into his skin. He could feel her gasping under his hand, her throat pulsing as she struggled to breathe. Her eyes were wide with pain and betrayal.
'Do you know how much my host revels in watching you struggle?' Ba'al said. 'He knows so many ways to kill. So many wonderful methods of eliminating those that he hates. This is a particularly favorite fantasy of his.'
Tears welled up in her eyes and Ba'al released her, throwing her several feet across the room. Jack yelled and cursed, disgust at what he'd become nearly overwhelming him. He heard Sam cough and didn't know if he felt relief or horror that she was still alive.
Ba'al stepped to stand over her and she looked up, struggling to move away from him. Fear mingled with hatred and Jack felt a pain worse than anything Ba'al had done when she cowered from him, feebly trying to get away. 'My host has years of wonderful experience to draw from. And you, my dear Samantha, have no idea how much he will enjoy killing you again and again and again.'
#end flashback#
"Sam," Jack said, softening his voice as he banished the memories. "Take them, please. It's stupid to hoard them until they expire and aren't any good." He couldn't deny the past and he couldn't change it. The most he could hope for was to atone as much as he could.
She reached out and took the packet from him, folding it into her good hand. "Thanks," she said softly. "Dad didn't have his healing stone with him so...."
Jack nodded. "You know, I bet you could go with Jacob, maybe spend some time with the Tok'ra," he suggested.
"What?" She looked over at him.
Jack shrugged, keeping his voice light. "Think of it like a vacation. Log a little time on a friendly planet. They might even have some ideas on that shield we want to build. You could even take Daniel with you. I'll bet he'd jump at the chance for some sort of cultural exchange or something."
"What about you and Teal'c?"
Jack shrugged again. "I can't speak for the big guy but I've never been a big fan of tunnels. We'll stay here. Maybe keep up with our exploring."
She nodded slowly. "So that's it? Dump the dead weight as soon as you can?"
"What?"
"You know, if you didn't want me here, you could have just said so back on Earth. Hell, you could have just ignored that whole goodbye bit and just vanished." She shot to her feet. "I'd have found out eventually of course. Probably when the NID broke down my front door, but you'd have been long gone by then."
"Carter-"
"Don't 'Carter' me!" she interrupted. "Why did you even come and see me if you didn't want me here?"
"What makes you think I don't want you here?"
"You're pretty damn eager to get rid of me. It's probably too bad that Teal'c was with me yesterday or that bounty hunter coulda just sold me to Apophis and you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore!" she ranted.
"God! Stop!" Jack yelled, getting to his feet. "Where the hell do you get the idea that I want you dead?" he demanded, horrified by her words. "I'm not trying to get rid of you, for crying out loud. I'm trying to keep you safe. It was bad enough when we knew that we'd just pissed off a few people but god only knows how many other bounty hunters there are out there hunting us. At least with the Tok'ra you'll have someone to watch your back," he explained.
"What about you and Teal'c? Why won't you come?"
"Because I don't see them welcoming an ex-System Lord and a former First Prime with open arms," Jack said softly. "We'll stay here and work on beefing up security. The two of you can come back once it's safe."
All of a sudden he regretted giving into his impulsive idea. He never should have suggested it to her, rather talked to Jacob. Chances are if Jacob had asked her to come, she never would have questioned it. He could chalk this up to one more thing he screwed up.
She smiled grimly, her earlier anger fading. "With all due respect, Colonel, I know you picked up a lot of knowledge from Ba'al. Probably more than you'll ever admit to. But I really doubt you can build this shield without us. And who the hell is going to watch YOUR back while you do?"
"Carter--"
"Besides, how do we know that Apophis hasn't already infiltrated the Tok'ra?" she asked. "Theoretically, any one of them could turn us in."
"You two are up early." Jack turned around, not surprised to see Daniel and Teal'c joining them.
"No earlier than usual," Jack said.
"At a greater volume than usual," Teal'c said pointedly.
Sam glanced down, her face coloring slightly. "The Colonel and I were having a little discussion."
"Is that what they're calling it now?" Daniel asked.
"He thinks you and I should go with Dad and stay with the Tok'ra," she told Daniel.
"Why?"
"Because we'll be so much safer," she said sarcastically.
"We will?"
"It was my understanding that the Tok'ra live in a constant state of readiness and could be attacked by the System Lords at any time," Teal'c said.
"They do," Sam confirmed, shooting a victorious glance at Jack.
"That doesn't sound safer to me," Daniel said.
"It isn't."
"It's a damn sight safer than here!" Jack said, raising his voice to stop the bickering.
"This planet seems pretty safe to me."
"Me too," Sam agreed with Daniel.
"The gate was unattended for over thirteen hours yesterday," Jack said. "Anybody could have come through and we'd never know. Hell, there could be a whole platoon of Jaffa hiding in the woods and we'd have no idea until they started shooting."
"It is unlikely that a platoon of Jaffa would remain unnoticed for so long," Teal'c said. Jack glared at him. "However, a small patrol could possible accomplish such a feat of stealth.
"SEE!" Jack said, latching onto Teal'c's words.
"And you think throwing down with the Tok'ra is any safer?" Daniel asked.
"It's not," Sam said bitterly. "They're not going to do us any favors." She looked at Jack. "The only reason we found out that you were alive is because my DAD found out that you were alive. And if Korra and Martouf hadn't have recognized you, he never would have known. As it was, my dad went against the council to tell us, they wanted to keep it a secret so that there would be no fallout when they decided to assassinate you. I'd rather stay here and risk being found out than seek refuge in a pit of vipers."
"Me too," Daniel agreed.
"Dal shaka mel," Teal'c said. "I shall die free and with a sun upon my face than cowering in a tunnel like a rodent," he declared.
"We'll still take the day off," Sam said. "You and Teal'c can go hunting or fishing or whatever. Daniel and I will talk with my dad. Maybe he or Selmac know of some planets we can search. If not, we'll just go to number three on the list."
Jack looked at the three of them. He should be angry. He should be railing at their mutiny and Carter just taking over, but he couldn't. He was both heartened and discouraged by their words.
Their loyalty touched him to the core. It was a gift that he no longer deserved. But it terrified him as well. What if he was wrong? What if they were wrong? What if they were denying a chance at safety to put themselves in harm's way? What if their faith in him got them all killed?
Could he live with that? Would he even want to try?
"Sounds like a plan to me," Daniel said, looking at Jack. "Sam, if you're done at the stream, we're gonna go get cleaned up then I think your dad wants to try and cook something."
"He's not?" Sam asked, grimacing.
"Major Carter?"
"You thought my cooking was bad. Who do you think I learned it from?"
"Oh man," Daniel groaned. There was a very real reason that Carter cooked breakfast every morning. There was only so much she could do to toast.
"You," Jack ordered, pointing at her. "Back to the house. Keep him from ruining whatever food stores we have. We'll be there as soon as we can."
/////
He watched them at they stood there, the four of them chatting so casually in the clearing. He could kill them right now if he wished. It would not be difficult. They were only human after all. Human and Jaffa.
No, he would not kill them now. There would be little satisfaction in a quick and painless death.
They would suffer. Suffer long and suffer well. And then they would die. One by one by one.
/////
"You're sure these planets are abandoned?" Daniel asked, looking over the list of addresses lying on the table.
"Very," Jacob said. "The last time some of those planets were occupied was at least three hosts ago."
"And no one's protecting them or anything?" Sam asked.
Jacob shook his head. "Not as far as we know. The Tok'ra sometimes use them as meeting places. Neutral ground for an exchange." He leaned back on the bench he sat on, a glass of water in his hand.
"They could be good places to check out," Sam said, getting to her feet and taking her father's cup from him. She refilled it from the bucket on the edge of their sink and handed it back to him. "Presuming they haven't already been raided and salvaged."
"You know, kiddo, none of this has to happen. You guys could come and stay with the Tok'ra," Jacob offered, taking the cup from her. "I'm sure Garshaw would love to give you refuge."
"Would she?" Sam asked pointedly.
"What Sam means is that, umm, we're not sure if your alliance with Earth could allow you to harbor fugitives," Daniel said.
"That's not quite what she meant," Jacob said, staring at his daughter.
"Quite frankly, Dad, I think the only thing that would motivate Garshaw to give us sanctuary would be the prospect of two future hosts," she said.
Jacob closed his eyes and sighed. "Sam--"
"So," Daniel interrupted. "When would be a good time to check out one of these planets?" he asked, seeking to forestall the impending argument.
Jacob stared at his daughter for a few seconds then shook his head slightly, almost as if he was internally dismissing the argument. "We can go whenever you'd like." He looked over to Daniel. "The planets are abandoned and I don't know of any meetings the Tok'ra have scheduled."
"We should check with the Colonel. See what he wants to do," Sam said.
"Fair enough," Jacob shrugged. He got to his feet, setting down his cup of water. "Since I don't think we're going anywhere today, I might go back to the Tok'ra. I need to check in and let them know about Solek's run in with the bounty hunter." He looked at Sam. "Mind if I come back in the morning and go with you to these planets?" he asked. "If you happen to run into a Tok'ra, we could help smooth things over if it gets too hairy."
"That would be great, Dad, thanks," Sam smiled. It was fairly obvious to Daniel that she was struggling to keep her feelings about the Tok'ra from interfering - too much - with her relationship with her father.
Jacob nodded, seeming to accept the boundaries. "I'll be back in the morning."
Daniel waved as he walked out the door then turned his attention back to Sam. Not surprisingly, she ignored him, getting up from her seat on the bench and carrying their dirty cups over to their sink.
The sink wasn't hooked up to any real plumbing per se, the drain was little more than a pipe that ran out a small hole in the wall and emptied out about fifty feet from their cabin. As such, it meant that they really couldn't use the sink for any real food disposal but it was a quick and easy way to get any clean water out of the building without simply tossing it off the porch.
"You know, if these planets are half as good as Jacob says, we could scavenge enough to keep us going for quite a while," Daniel said, bringing his cup over to the sink.
"If these planets are half as good as he says they are, how come they haven't been scavenged all ready?" she shot back.
"Maybe people were too afraid of pissing off the Tok'ra," he suggested. She glared and took the cup from him, rinsing it out and wiping it off with a rag before setting it aside to dry. "You know," he started carefully. "Jack and Teal'c won't be back for a few more hours." She glanced over at him. "I kinda had a long day yesterday and I know that you and Teal'c did and, you know," he shrugged. "We could, maybe, take a nap."
"And when they come back and find us asleep. We'll never hear the end of it," she said.
"They went hunting," he said, making quote marks. "Do you honestly think they're awake right now?" he retorted.
She smiled softly. "Am I really that grumpy?"
Daniel shrugged. "I am kinda glad you're not armed at the moment," he said.
Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I am tired," she confessed.
"We have at least three or four hours before they come back. Plenty of time to veg out for a little bit."
"That sounds good," she agreed. The pair of them made their way towards their bedrooms, stopping when the front door flew open. Daniel turned back, frowning when he saw Jacob in the doorway.
"That was fast," Daniel said, glancing at his watch.
"Dad? What's going on? I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."
"Neither did I. Until I realized that the Stargate won't work."
/////
Teal'c slid his knife into the creature's flesh and pulled it down, careful to not penetrate the carcass too deeply. He slit the creature open, allowing a portion of its insides to spill out, dangling like a twisted piece of rope.
"With whom are you truly incensed?" he asked O'Neill, sparing the man a glance.
He squatted a short distance away, using his knife to clean the hide of the creature they had just killed. They had no name for the species as of yet. The quadruped herbivores were plentiful here and were a constant and reliable source of meat that tasted more like venison than chicken. "Major Carter for not seeking refuge with the Tok'ra or you for denying yourself the same refuge?"
"Drop it, T," O'Neill said, scraping the membranes off the hide.
"I concur with her feelings about the Tok'ra," Teal'c continued, nonplused by his friend's mood. "Many of them are loyal and earnest fighters. However, as with any rebel group, there are those amongst them that are easily corrupted. While the Tok'ra as a whole may fight for freedom, there are doubtless others with less altruistic intentions."
"I know."
Teal'c reached into the creature's chest cavity and carefully scooped out the internal organs, taking care not to contaminate the meat with the contents of the creature's intestine. He and O'Neill had killed several of the creatures in the year they had lived on the planet and had a system to their harvesting of the meat. They had already drained the creature's blood, hanging it by its hind legs from a high tree branch and slitting its neck. The blood ran down a small embankment and collected at the bottom, drawing many of the planet's insects from the main carcass.
Once he removed the organs, he and O'Neill would bury them and then carry the carcass and hide back to the cabin. They hoped that this practice would limit the attraction to the planet's main predator, a large canine similar to Earth's wolf. They did not need to hunt often. Even if the four of them had meat on a daily basis, a single quadruped would be sufficient for their needs for several weeks. It was also wasteful to obtain more meat than they could consume before it became inedible.
"We should get back," O'Neill said, finishing with the hide. He got to his feet, pulling a few large leaves from a nearby bush to wipe off his knife. "I'd like to get cleaned up before it gets dark."
Teal'c nodded, sharing his friend's desire to cleanse himself of the residue of a hunt. His hands were smeared with blood and fluids and his clothing was dirty, the result of tracking the animal for several miles through the bush.
O'Neill stepped towards him. "I'll go get rid of that," he offered, gesturing towards the pile of entrails. "Seeing as how you need to carry that back."
Teal'c nodded, accepting the man's gesture. O'Neill scooped up the offal, grimacing at the smell. "I miss supermarkets," he muttered, carefully carrying the entrails a short distance away while Teal'c cut down the carcass and laid it on the hide. He would wrap the carcass in the hide, thus providing himself a more comfortable means to carry the carcass back to their homestead.
"Teal'c!"
He heard O'Neill's voice and stood up, the man's tone telling him that this was no simple summons. Teal'c made his way towards O'Neill, finding the man just yards away. "O'Neill?"
"Did we come this way?" he asked.
"I do not believe so."
O'Neill nodded. "Nobody picked up any new shoes at the market did they?"
"No."
"So we're all still wearing the stuff we brought from Earth."
"Footwear wise, yes."
"Then we got trouble." He gestured with his hand and pointed out a shape in a bare patch of dirt.
Teal'c squatted down and examined the foot print more closely. "This was not made by any of us," he proclaimed. "That is an alien shoe, handmade and with a soft sole." He looked up at O'Neill. "This footprint is fresh, one, maybe two days old."
"To hell with the meat," O'Neill said. "Let's get back to the cabin."
Teal'c got to his feet, falling into step behind O'Neill as the man hurried forward, unerringly making his way towards their cabin. Unburdened by their kill, they would be able to cover the distance in a fraction of the time it had taken them to track and kill the creature. Teal'c could only hope that it would be fast enough.
/////
Sam stood in front of the DHD and pressed her fingers down on the glyphs, frowning when there was no expected thunking sound and the glyphs didn't light up.
"It was working fine yesterday," Daniel said.
"Yeah, it was," Sam agreed, slowly walking around the DHD. She looked up at her father. "Dad, does Selmac know anything about DHD's messing up?"
Jacob shook his head. "Not that she can recall. They're actually pretty sturdy."
"They'd have to be to stay outside all the time." She ignored them and squatted down beside the DHD, her fingers seeking out the tiny seam of the access door. She pulled it open and set it aside, squinting to see into the dark interior.
"Maybe we need to do the 'control/alt/delete' thing," Daniel suggested.
"It's not a computer," Jacob said. "In fact the crystalline structure of the DHD is more stable than anything Earth has."
"As long as pieces don't go missing," Sam said, looking up at the pair.
"What?"
"The control crystal is gone," she said.
"Where'd it go?" Daniel asked. He looked around.
"It wouldn't just be lying on the ground," Sam said. "They don't just fall out. They have to be taken out."
"Taken?"
"Taken."
"I thought you said this planet was unoccupied?" Jacob asked.
"It is," Sam confirmed.
"Then Jack--"
"Wouldn't have taken it," Sam interrupted. "Besides, removing the control crystal doesn't keep a gate from forming inbound, it just keeps you from dialing out. That's why Earth's gate works without a DHD attached. You only pull the crystal if you want to keep someone from leaving a planet."
"Sam?"
Sam looked over at her friend, the Colonel's words playing through her brain.
The gate was unattended for over thirteen hours yesterday. Anybody could have come through and we'd never know.
"We need to get back to the cabin," she said. "We're sitting ducks out here in the open."
"Jack and Teal'c?"
"They didn't take their radios. We'll go back to the cabin and secure it and wait for them," she said.
"What if they don't make it back?" Jacob asked.
"They'll make it back," Sam said. "Let's go."
The three of them retraced their steps back to the cabin, their mood a far cry from the concerned curiosity of just a few minutes before. Sam resisted the urge to run, knowing that, if someone was hunting them, speed would only increase their chances of falling into a trap.
The knee high grass that she usually found so appealing now felt claustrophobic as it waved gently in the breeze. Anyone or anything could be hiding in it, lurking, waiting to strike. The shadow of the nearby trees felt chillingly spooky instead of peaceful and serene. She never realized just how many hiding places and ambush sites lurked between the gate and the cabin until now. Every bush could hide a threat, every tree a menace.
She now regretted leaving her weapons behind at the cabin and realized just how vulnerable they were, walking across the large meadow, totally unarmed.
"I think I know where they're at I could go--
"No," she interrupted Daniel. "No one goes off alone."
"There's your teltac," Jacob suggested. "We could take it up, scan for life signs."
Sam shook her head. "I doubt it'd work. There's just enough animal life here that the sensors are pretty useless."
"We should still check it out," Jacob said. "Make sure it hasn't been tampered with."
"It's locked. Voice activation only. Priority one is the cabin and our weapons," she declared. She searched her brain, trying to think of anything odd that she'd noticed in the past day or so. Any odd noises or creepy feelings, anything that would have alerted her to an intruder.
She came up with nothing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or odd; nothing seemed off color or different. Everything seemed normal. "I must be getting rusty," she muttered as the cabin came into view.
She crouched down in the grass and studied the cabin, searching for some sign of movement. Seeing nothing, she sighed. "Okay. We're going to go in the front door, room by room search. We'll start with the bedrooms and secure the weapons. Then we'll lock and bar the doors and windows and secure the perimeter," she briefed.
"Is it safe to all go in at once?" Jacob asked.
"Is it safe to be out here on your own?" she shot back. Jacob merely shrugged, keeping his protests to himself. Sam met Daniel and Jacob's gaze, motioning for them to move out. They crept through the grass, keeping low as they approached the cabin. She crept onto the small stoop, ducking low to peer around the threshold.
Seeing no one, she gestured for Daniel and Jacob to follow her as she made her way back to their bedrooms. The Colonel's was the closest and she ducked in, grabbing his phase pistol off the table beside the bed.
Taking the lead, they checked out Daniel's room next, retrieving his weapon and then Teal'c's spare staff weapon. It took them just a few minutes to finish sweeping the cabin. They secured the doors and windows, sealing themselves in the now too small building.
"This is gonna get real cozy, real fast," Jacob said.
Sam glared at him. "Daniel, inventory the food. Dad, the Colonel and Teal'c should be coming from the north. Keep an eye open for them."
"What are you going to do?" he asked, moving to look out the north facing window.
She grinned. "See what weapons I can scrounge."
She made her way back to the Colonel's room. She knew that he had a few weapons in addition to his phase pistol. He'd have his knife with him and the projectile weapon he used for hunting. Teal'c would have his bow, but they'd scrounged a few other things in the past year that could help in their defense, among them some shock grenades and another bow.
She needed to grab her sidearm too. Even though it was low on ammunition, it could still come in handy. The Colonel's bedroom was just like theirs. Perhaps twelve by twelve feet square. Each of the rooms opened out into a shared hall with two rooms on each side. Each had two windows and a shared wall. Separate rooms probably wasn't the most efficient way to live, it meant that they had to heat five rooms in the winter, but they all agreed that they needed their private space. They each needed somewhere to go and be alone. And Sam had agreed with the Colonel that if they had to share the same space 24/7, well chances are that not all of them would have survived the last winter.
The privacy of their rooms was something that they each respected and it had been months since Sam had even looked into the Colonel's. His room was sparsely furnished like hers, consisting of a bed that was close to twin sized, a trunk for clothes, an open closet and a small table holding a basin and pitcher. His spare pair of boots stood in the corner along with the fishing spear he'd made a few months ago.
Sam's eye caught sight of a box under his bed. She knelt down and pulled it out, the box sliding easily over the plank flooring. It had to be where he kept his small weapons stash. She opened the lid and stared, scarcely believing her eyes. "What the hell is going on?" she muttered, pulling out the control crystal and holding it carefully in her hands.
Was the Colonel playing some kind of sick joke? Was he trying to make some stupid point about her and Daniel not leaving?
'You're a snake head.'
No, Ba'al was dead. He didn't control the Colonel any more than Jolinar controlled her.
'I know you picked up a lot of knowledge from Ba'al, probably more than you'll ever admit to.'
Sam shook her head. Pulling the control crystal was DHD 101. Everyone knew about it, even Daniel. Maybe he just got confused and thought that pulling the crystal would disable the gate totally? Maybe he--
"You always were too damned curious." Sam spun, getting to her feet, the crystal still in her hands. "That's why I went grey so early. I spent too many years chasing you down."
Sam stared, the tone of her father's voice sending shivers down her spine. "Dad, what's going on? I thought you were keeping an eye out for the Colonel and Teal'c." Jacob stepped towards her and Sam caught a glimpse of a knife in his hand. "Dad?"
"You were supposed to be last," he said. "We owed you that much. But I'm afraid someone else will have that honor now."
Sam stared as he advanced towards her, her brain refusing to accept what she'd just heard. This had to be some joke, some game they were playing. Daniel was probably right outside the door and was going to step in and start laughing and--
He got within feet of her and she reacted, tossing the crystal at him. She had to distract him, he was between her and the door and, now that the windows were barred, it was the only way out of the room.
He batted the crystal aside and lunged at her, his hand grabbing her injured wrist. She cried out as the flash of pain disoriented her, making her stumble. Fire tore through her belly and she stared, seeing nothing but hatred and satisfaction glittering in his eyes. He released her and she staggered, her hands going down to her abdomen. Sticky warmth poured over her fingertips and her knees buckled, sending her to the floor.
He knelt over her, pulling her head back to force her to look at him. The knife hovered over her throat, dripping with her own blood. "I wish I had the time to watch you die," he said.
/////
Daniel surveyed the pantry, making a mental note of their supplies. They had a decent amount, but nothing near enough to withstand any sort of siege, especially with five mouths to feed. He guessed they could get by a week, maybe a little more.
"Water's gonna be our big issue," he said, eyeing the half full bucket.
They never kept too much water in the cabin, fearing that if it sat around for too long it would become tainted. They each had a pitcher in their rooms, water that they would use for sponge baths and a couple of buckets in the kitchen for cooking and cleaning.
Water storage was one thing on their 'to do' list, something that had become an issue last winter when they'd nearly been cut off from their water supply by a sudden and heavy snow storm. Fortunately, it hadn't stayed too cold too long and they'd had enough snow to tide them over. But Jack had wanted to build some sort of cistern.
"I wonder what Sam will say about us going down to the stream and getting some water," he asked Jacob. Getting no reply, Daniel turned around, surprised not to see the man at his post by the window. "Jacob?"
He heard Sam cry out and his heart lurched. Snagging his pistol off the table he hurried back towards the bedrooms. They must be under attack. Maybe that was why Jacob had left his post. But why hadn't he said anything?
Jack's bedroom was the only one with an open door and Daniel hurried forward, stopping in horror at what he saw. Sam was lying crumpled on the floor, a spreading stain of blood painting her shirt a garish red. Jacob knelt over her, the fingers of one hand cruelly twisted into her hair while his other hand clutched a knife that he held at her throat.
"I wish I had time to watch you die," he said, moving the knife closer to her skin.
"JACOB!"
The man turned, his eyes narrowing in speculation. Daniel saw his fingers tighten on the knife as he moved it closer to Sam's throat. Reacting on instinct, Daniel fired, the force of the shot driving Jacob away from Sam. He fell backwards, the knife clattering to the floor. No longer held up by Jacob's hand, Sam fell, moaning softly.
Jacob struggled towards her, his fingers fumbling for the knife. He snarled as his hand curled around it. Daniel fired again and this time Jacob collapsed, the knife falling from his limp fingers.
Daniel stared for a few seconds, his hand shaking and his heart pounding. Sam moaned and Daniel dropped the pistol, hurrying over to her. "Sam? Oh god, Sam."
He gently turned her to her back, staring in horror at the ugly crimson stain spreading across her middle. "Daniel," she gasped, her hands weakly moving towards her middle.
"Ssh, ssh," he said, moving her hands aside so that he could see the wound. Blood welled up and poured from the wound. Daniel fumbled for Jack's bed, yanking the sheet off the mattress and balling it up. He pressed it against the wound, wincing as she gasped in pain. "Sorry, sorry," he said, unable to keep the panic from his voice.
Daniel heard the crashing sound of wood splintering. "JACK!" he yelled. "JACK! GET THE HELL BACK HERE!"
Footsteps pounded down the hall and Daniel looked up just as Jack and Teal'c dashed into the room, both stopping as they crossed the threshold. "Daniel?"
"I can't...Jack, I...I can't..." He looked up, his throat clogging with tears. "Help."
/////
Jack sat beside the bed, his gaze riveted on the woman lying in it. She was peaceful right now, asleep or unconscious, he didn't know. And right now he didn't care which it was, just that she didn't appear to be in any pain.
He heard footsteps and glanced over to see Teal'c walking quietly into the room. "What is Major Carter's condition?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The same," Jack said. "Daniel?"
"He is still distraught, but less so than before," Teal'c said. "He offered no theory as to why Jacob Carter would wish to attack Major Carter."
"Yeah," Jack said softly.
"Perhaps Major Carter can shed some light upon recent events when she awakens," Teal'c suggested.
"If we're lucky, she won't wake up," Jack said.
"I agree," Teal'c said, his words surprising Jack. "Among Jaffa, such injuries often are fatal to the primta. Once a Jaffa's pouch is damaged severely enough that he cannot accept a new symbiote his death is simply a matter of time. Often a strong warrior would take many days to journey to Kheb"
Jack nodded, reading between the lines. She was dying. And it would be a slow and painful death as infection slowly ate her body alive. Jacob's knife had penetrated her intestines, irreparably contaminating the wound. Even if they were on Earth, surrounded by Frasier's miracle meds and the latest technology, surviving an injury like this would be touch and go.
Here, in the middle of nowhere, with no antibiotics and torn up bed sheets as bandages? The only miracle they could ask for was that she'd die quickly, preferably without ever regaining consciousness.
"What did you do with Jacob?" Jack asked.
"The body is in the teltac, sealed in one of the escape pods," Teal'c said. "I was unsure how you wished to dispose of it, or if you wished to inform the Tok'ra of his passing."
Jack sighed, not in the mood for another decision. What to do with Jacob? What to do with Carter? How to get the blood stains out of the floor boards?
"O'Neill?"
"I don't know," Jack said. "I don't..." He leaned back in the chair and pushed his fingers through his hair. "We screwed up didn't we?"
"Of what do you speak?"
"We never should have left Earth. Never should have gone rogue, abandoned everything," Jack listed.
"At the time that we made the decision, it was a sound one."
"And since?" Jack asked. "We came out here to help Earth. What have we done to HELP anyone? We're not keeping an eye on threats, we're not running interference for the SGC. Hell, it's all we can do to keep ourselves sheltered and fed. We're not helping anyone. We can't even keep..." He took a breath. "We can't even keep ourselves safe."
"I agree that we have not accomplished many notable feats in the past year," Teal'c said. "Yet we have survived and have acquitted ourselves with honor."
"I'll put that on her tombstone," Jack said bitterly.
"You are fatigued," Teal'c said, laying his hand on O'Neill's shoulder. "Permit me to maintain the vigil," he requested.
Jack sat there for a few seconds, ignoring Teal'c's request. He should stay. It was the least he could do. It was his idea to leave Earth, his idea to tell her. His fault that she'd given up everything to follow him. His fault that she'd spent the last year 'making do'. His fault that she was laying there. His fault that she was dying.
"O'Neill? It would be best if Daniel Jackson was not left alone too long."
Jack took a breath. "Yeah." He got up from his chair and turned to look at Teal'c. "Let me know if something changes."
"Of that you can be certain," Teal'c promised.
Casting one last glance at Sam, Jack left the room and made his way out to the living room. Daniel sat at the table. His hands were no longer blood stained but he hadn't changed his clothes. His shirt and pants were smeared with rust colored stains. A cup of water sat untouched between his hands and he was staring off into the distance, not seeming to even notice Jack's entry into the room.
Jack helped himself to a cup of water and sat beside him. "How is she?" Daniel asked, still looking out the broken in front door.
"The same," Jack said. "The bleeding's under control but..." Jack didn't say that he HOPED the bleeding was under control. Surgery would be about the only way to know for sure and surgery was just a bit out of their league at the moment. He didn't voice the fatalistic thought that, if she was lucky, she was still bleeding inside. At least it'd be quicker that way.
"She's not going to make it, is she?"
Jack paused, contemplating lying to Daniel. "No," he finally said. Lying wasn't going to change anything.
Daniel nodded. "How long?"
Jack shrugged. "Hours, days. On the upside, I think she lost enough blood that she shouldn't regain consciousness."
Daniel nodded again. "I didn't even notice when he left."
"Jacob?"
"I was taking inventory. Jacob was supposed to be keeping an eye out for you. I turned around and he was gone and then Sam screamed and..." He looked at Jack. "He...he was going to slit her throat. If I'd have just paid attention, it never would have happened."
Jack shook his head. "Whatever the hell happened to Jacob, I don't think you could have stopped him."
"We'll never know, will we?" Jack couldn't answer him, largely because he agreed.
They'd never know how things would have played out had he and Teal'c not gone hunting, or if they'd have done any one of a dozen things differently. "What if, what if we dialed Earth?" Daniel suggested.
"Why would we do that? We can't go back."
"We can radio them. Get them to open the iris and send Sam back. Janet can treat her."
Jack shook his head. "Even if they listened to us and opened the iris, the chances of Carter surviving--"
"Are better than her chances of staying here," Daniel interrupted.
"Daniel--"
"Jack, we have to do SOMETHING!" he said, shooting to his feet. "We can't just sit here and wait for her to die."
"What the hell do you suggest we do?" Jack got to his feet as well. "There's not a single planet we've been to that has the medical technology that can help her. About the only thing I can think of would be to call the Tok'ra and stick a snake in her head. And I won't do that to her. I promised that I would never let that happen to her again."
"Not a single planet," Daniel said. He looked at Jack. "Not a single planet we've been to."
He pushed past Jack and dug through the pantry, pawing through the bottles and jars. "Daniel?" Jack stood behind him, afraid that his friend had lost it. He reached out and laid his hand on his shoulder. "Daniel--"
"I told you to put this thing away," Daniel said, triumphantly retrieving the communication stone from Thor. "You didn't. Teal'c and I didn't think it needed to just be lying around so Sam stuck it in here. We can call Thor for help."
"Daniel--"
"Jack, just do it!" Daniel yelled. "Good god, what is it going to hurt? Maybe he can help her? Maybe he knows someone that can help her. We've got to try."
Jack stared at the stone in Daniel's hand for a few seconds, then took it from him. He closed his eyes and squeezed it, relieved when the opaque stone began to glow, hopefully signaling that it was active. "We're gonna try," Jack said. "We're gonna try."
/////
Teal'c wrung the cloth out, the tepid water dribbling down into the bowl. He bathed Major Carter's face and arms, gently wiping the sweat off her skin. Her flesh was hot to the touch, a physical symptom of the fever that burned through her body.
Her lips were dry and cracked and he picked up a clean cloth, dipping it into a glass of water. He carefully dribbled the water between her lips, relieved to see her tongue move to lick the drops.
She moaned softly and he set the cloth aside, laying his hand aside her head. It was a gesture that he learned soothed her when she was restless.
He heard the floorboards creak and he looked up, not surprised to see O'Neill walk into the room. "How is she?"
"The same," Teal'c reported.
O'Neill nodded. "Look, we need food. Why don't you take Daniel out, see what you can scrounge up."'
Teal'c frowned. True, they could use some food, yet their larder was far from empty. And the stream was a far closer food source. He looked at O'Neill, catching sight of a small item in the man's hand. He recognized it. The item was from their medical supplies, an item that he remembered being trained to use, and warned not to abuse.
"O'Neill." He pointedly looked at the man's hand.
"You need to get Daniel out of here," he said.
"He will not forgive this," Teal'c warned.
"Forgive what?" O'Neill said.
Teal'c reached out, taking the man's hand and unfolding his fingers, revealing the morphine pen from their medical kit. O'Neill looked him in the eyes, unapologetic and resigned. "I'm not gonna let her suffer," he said softly.
"When we were on Aris Boch's ship, I contemplated just such an action," Teal'c confessed. "I was aware of the fate that awaited Major Carter and I wished to spare her the degradation of Apophis' harem or the horror of becoming a host." He looked down at the unconscious woman on the bed. "I chose not to because I knew that as long as there was hope, she would not wish such a fate."
"Are you seeing any hope here?" O'Neill asked. "Because I'm not. What I'm seeing is a friend of mine suffering while she waits for help that isn't going to come," O'Neill said.
"You do not believe that Thor will respond to your call?"
"It's been THREE DAYS, Teal'c. The Asgard can make hatak ships vanish into thin air but they can't respond in three days?"
Teal'c closed his eyes, his own desperation mirrored in O'Neill's voice. He did not like to be helpless, and helpless is what they all were. For all their knowledge and skill, abilities and luck, none of them could do anything to assist their friend.
They lacked the medicines to ease her pain, the skill to heal her wound and the ability to do much beyond watching and waiting.
"Perhaps you would wish to take Daniel Jackson hunting," he suggested, well aware of what his words meant.
O'Neill looked at him and smiled slightly. "Thanks but, I need to do this. I owe her that much."
Teal'c nodded solemnly. "Daniel Jackson will not understand," he warned.
"I know," O'Neill said. "Am I a coward for hoping he never asks?"
"You are a friend," Teal'c said, laying his hand on O'Neill's shoulder. "And a true friend can give no greater gift." Teal'c squeezed slightly, then removed his hand. "We shall be gone for several hours."
"Thank you," O'Neill said softly.
Teal'c nodded. He turned back to the bed and knelt down, picking up Sam's slack hand. He clasped it in his own and brought it up to his mouth, closing his eyes. Silently saying a prayer for her soul's swift journey to Kheb, he gently kissed her fingers before returning her hand to the bed. He got to his feet and silently left the room, pausing only for a moment to brush the unwarriorlike tears from his face before he sought out Daniel Jackson.
When the young man discovered his duplicity Teal'c knew that he would be angry but that anger was a burden he was willing to accept. It was a burden that was far smaller than the one O'Neill was about to take on.
/////
Jack sat down in the chair, sitting still as he listened to Daniel and Teal'c out in the living room. They talked a bit, their words not really audible then Jack heard them leave, the newly replaced door shutting behind them.
He waited, not just to be sure that they were gone, but to put this off as long as he could. He looked down at Sam, indulging himself in studying her features. Her hair was tangled and dull, the bits around her face damp from Teal'c's bathing.
She wasn't as pale as he expected, not even three days of fever being enough to remove the tan from her skin, however her cheeks were hollow and her lips were cracked and chapped.
He picked up her hand and held it in his own, his fingers finding the weak pulse in her wrist. "You know, I never did tell you how glad I was to see you, did I?" he said. "All that time Ba'al had me, I kept hoping that someone knew, that someone would come. I'd pretty much given up hope when you showed up. Did I ever tell you how damned stupid that was?" he asked. "Invading a Goa'uld palace practically all by yourself."
Jack closed his eyes, still haunted by the memories of the horrible things Ba'al had said while he'd tortured her. Horrible things that he'd pulled from Jack's own mind to torment her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry he hurt you. I'm sorry he used ME to hurt you. I know you said you understood, and maybe you do, but I never really did apologize did I?"
Jack opened his eyes and took a steadying breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you along. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe. I'm sorry I can't find a better way."
He turned the morphine injector over in his hand, studying the small object. It was tiny, about the size of a ball point pen.
He laid her hand down on the bed and removed the protective cap from the injector. He stared at the needle, turning it so that it glinted in the weak sunlight spilling in the open windows. It was such a tiny thing, compact and efficient. And if you were in pain, there was nothing prettier.
"That appears to be a most inefficient and primitive device."
"When you're in pain you don't give a damn as long as it works," he replied absently. It took him several seconds to realize that he'd actually heard a voice.
He turned around, dropping the injector and nearly falling out of the chair as he saw Thor standing just a few feet away. "You came!"
"I promised that I would. I must apologize for the delay however I am pleased to inform you that, based upon our analysis of the humanoid Replicator, our battle with the Replicators had reached a turning point."
"Great," Jack replied, struggling to muster up some enthusiasm.
Thor stepped forward, moving closer to the bed. "This human is ill?"
"She's not just a human, she's part of my team, and yeah, she's very ill. In fact, she's dying. Can you help her?"
"I do not know," Thor replied. "My medical unit is configured for Asgard physiology only."
"Can you at least try?" Jack asked, not caring that it looked like he was begging. If he thought begging would help, he'd drop right down on his knees and kiss Thor's wrinkled little--
"We can try," Thor said. The world flashed white and Jack found himself on board an Asgard ship. Sam was there too, lying on the deck. The bedding hadn't been transported with her and there was nothing to disguise the bulky and stained bandage that covered the wound in her belly.
"Please place her upon the table," Thor instructed as a door slid open, revealing a chamber just like the one they had used to examine the robot. Jack lifted Sam up in his arms and carried her over to the table, gently lying her down on the metal surface.
Three Asgard technicians appeared and Jack stepped back, watching as they examined his friend using small handheld scanners. "It will take time to determine the extent of the damage and if it is within our power to repair," Thor warned.
Jack nodded. "Just try," he said. "All I ask is that you try."
/////
Daniel hurried back into the cabin, not caring that Teal'c trailed in his wake. He couldn't ignore the feeling of urgency that had tugged at him since they'd left the cabin earlier in the day. That same feeling had distracted him during the short hunting expedition and was one big reason that they'd only caught a couple of rabbits and gathered a few roots and berries.
"Daniel Jackson."
Daniel ignored him, dropping his burden onto the table and hurrying back to Sam's room. He stood in the threshold, staring as Jack stood over Sam's bed. She was lying on the mattress, still and quiet, with no signs of the fever and distress that had plagued her for the past several days.
A bit of color caught his eyes and he bent over, picking up the morphine injector. "You son of a bitch!" he exploded, launching himself across the room at Jack. Jack was caught off guard and the two of them crashed into the wall. They fell to the floor and Daniel scrambled to get on top. He held the injector in front of Jack's face.
"WHY?" he demanded. "Why did you have to kill her?" He raised his fist, prepared to punch Jack.
"CEASE!" Teal'c roared. Daniel looked over at him. "Major Carter lives," the Jaffa said calmly.
Daniel frowned, looking from Sam to Jack and the injector in his hands. "Thor came," Jack said. "Right after you left."
"She's alive?" Daniel scrambled to get off Jack, the injector falling to the floor. He hurried back to the bed.
"She is," Teal'c said.
Daniel took her hand in his; for the first time in days, there was no fever burning her skin, she slept peacefully. "Why isn't she awake?" Daniel asked. He resisted the urge to pull down the blanket and make sure that the horrible wound was gone.
Jack moved closer, his hand massaging his neck. "Thor fixed the wound, but he wasn't so sure about the blood loss." He looked around the room. "Since none of us are the right blood type and he didn't want to risk faking something so.... It's just gonna take some time."
"But she's gonna be okay, right?" Daniel asked.
Jack nodded, looking over at Teal'c. He smiled. The first real smile Daniel had seen in days. "Yeah, she's gonna be all right."
/////
Sam slowly opened her eyes and blinked to clear her vision. She frowned as the familiar rafters of her bedroom came into focus. Idly, she stared as the shadows of the tree branches danced across the ceiling in the soft breeze.
They were the wrong angle, she thought as she laid there. One of her windows faced the east so she always had the early morning sun. And the shadows were always longer and softer, more delicate than they were now.
It had to be late morning. What was she still doing in bed in the middle of the day? Had she stayed up too late last night? She tried to remember and couldn't. Her memories seemed as intangible and elusive as the shadows that danced across the rafters.
She took a deep breath and wondered why her mind felt so muddled and fuzzy. She'd almost say that she was hung over but they didn't have any alcohol in their stores.
"Sam. You're awake."
She turned her head, frowning when she caught sight of Daniel sitting beside her bed. "Daniel? What's going on?" She tried to sit up, fumbling when she encountered unexpected weakness in her muscles.
"You've just been a little sick," he said, bending over to help her sit up.
She started to shrug off his assistance then stopped when the world turned grey at the edges. Instead she clutched at his arm, closing her eyes as she fought off the wave of dizziness that assailed her. "I don't remember getting sick," she muttered, grateful when she felt the steadying presence of a pillow at her back.
"Really?" Daniel pressed a cup into her hands and she opened her eyes, glad to see that the world was again on an even keel. "Drink this," he said. "It should help. You're pretty dehydrated."
Sam took a cautious sip, drinking a bit faster when she realized that he was right, she was thirsty. Once she finished, he took the cup from her and handed her a small chunk of bread. "Your stomach's probably not up to anything else right now," he apologized, pouring some more water from a small carafe.
"Probably not," she agreed, her free hand settling on her stomach. She couldn't fight the feeling that something was wrong. She felt a nagging pain deep in her gut but dismissed it as the result of drinking too much too fast. She deliberately tore off small pieces of the bread, eating it slowly.
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.
She shook her head and looked down at her left wrist, the fading bruises and half healed scrapes triggering her memory. "The bounty hunter," she said. "Where's Teal'c?"
"He's fine," Daniel quickly reassured her. "He's fine. He and Jack are out hunting right now."
"We were on the bounty hunter's ship," she said. "He was taking us to Apophis." She looked over at him. "I don't remember anything else."
"Don't worry about it," he said. "Are you still hungry? I think there might be some fruit left."
She slowly shook her head. "I'm really tired."
"Why don't you take a nap then," he suggested. "When Jack and Teal'c come back, I'll tell them to come in here."
Lacking the energy to push him, Sam simply nodded, taking a sip of the water before she handed him the cup. She settled down and closed her eyes, falling asleep within minutes.
/////
"So she doesn't remember anything?" Jack asked, belatedly lowering his voice in response to Daniel's frantically raised hand.
"She said the last thing she remembers is her and Teal'c on the bounty hunter's ship," Daniel reported.
"Does the human mind not often respond to trauma by ignoring the traumatic experience?" Teal'c said.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"When we encountered the creature Nem, none of us remembered the true events of that day until much later," Teal'c remembered.
"That's because Nem screwed with our brain," Jack said. "But yeah, he has a point. Traumatic amnesia."
"You think that's what's wrong with her?"
"I would say having your father try to gut you like a fish would qualify as traumatic."
Daniel glared, not seeming to appreciate that Jack had lowered his voice to a whisper. "What are we going to do about it?" he asked.
"What can we do?"
"We need to tell her," he insisted.
Jack shook his head. "No we don't."
"O'Neill. Are you suggesting that we keep the true circumstances of her injury from her?" Teal'c asked.
"Not forever," Jack said. "How about we hold off on things for a few days? Maybe until, I dunno, she can get out of bed without passing out."
"She needs to know," Daniel insisted.
"If we give her a day or so, her memory might come back on its own."
"And it might not."
"Daniel, believe it or not, if Frasier was here, she'd say to wait. She'll remember when her mind is ready for her to remember. What difference does it make anyway if she finds out today or tomorrow or next week? What happened, happened, and nothing's gonna change that."
"I concur with O'Neill," Teal'c said. "General Carter's remains are preserved in the stasis pod O'Neill received from Thor. His condition will not change."
"But Sam's will," Daniel said. "What am I supposed to say when she asks me what happened? Lie to her?"
"No," Jack said. "You just tell her that she got hurt after she and Teal'c got away from the bounty hunter. No details. We'll give her a couple of days to remember."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Then I'll tell her," Jack said. "But I'll do it when I think it's right." Jack looked at the two of them, doing his best to ensure that they would follow along with his plans. "T, why don't you go sit with her for a bit. Daniel and I will see what we can do for dinner."
/////
Sam rolled over, listening to the sound of Teal'c puttering in the living room. She heard him put away the dishes from lunch, then walk out the door.
Carefully getting out of bed, she made her way over to the south window and looked out. He strode across the small clearing, his shaving kit in hand. It was obvious that he was going down to the stream to bathe and probably grab a little kelnoreem time.
"Finally," she whispered, slowly making her way to the chest that stood at the foot of the bed. She opened it and pulled out a change of clothes along with her own shower kit. This was the first time in two days that the guys had left her alone and she planned to take full advantage of the situation.
Of course, this was also the first time since she'd woken up that she actually felt decent, so she couldn't quite blame them for their attentiveness. She still couldn't remember getting sick, which is what had to have happened. Other than her wrist, she hadn't found any injuries to explain losing the better part of a week. And being sick would explain the discomfort she sometimes felt in her belly along with a lingering weakness and a nagging headache.
Being sick was nothing new, unfortunately. Living in a world of no refrigeration and untreated water, all of them had experienced an issue or two. Fortunately, up to this point it had never been worse than a little gastrointestinal distress.
She made her way out of the room and down the short hall, her goal not the stream where Teal'c was, but the teltac parked a short distance away. Their teltac had primitive sanitary facilities, among them a rather wimpy but warm shower.
They didn't use the shower very often, it was actually quite a pain to restock the ship's stores of water and none of them were too fond of wasting the ship's power supply on showering when they might need it later for something more important. But right now, after about a week in bed, she needed something better than a quick dip in the stream and was pretty sure that no one would complain too much.
She stepped outside and paused on the small stoop, taking a few deep breaths of fresh air before setting across the clearing towards their teltac. The ship was parked maybe a hundred yards away from the cabin, slightly disguised by a small grove of trees.
She kept her pace slow and cautious, very aware of the weakness that plagued her and also very aware that she'd never hear the end of it if she did something stupid like passing out.
She knew that, if she'd just asked, Teal'c or one of the others would have happily escorted her to and from the teltac but she felt the need to do something on her own. They'd all been great at taking care of her the past few days. And she presumed the days preceding as well. But they all had too much to do to waste their time babying her. Anyway, it seemed kinda odd to ask her male friends to help her take a shower.
It took her a couple of minutes to reach the teltac and she paused outside the door, shaking her head. "Enterprise," she said, sighing at the Colonel's choice of a password. The door opened and she walked inside, making a mental list of what she needed to do to fire up the water heaters.
She set her stuff down next to the bathroom and made her way to the back of the ship. She walked into the cargo hold and stopped short at the sight of a large box sitting against the wall. "Where did you come from?" she asked herself, walking towards it. They hadn't scavenged anything this fancy and the guys certainly hadn't said anything about it.
She studied it, her eyes picking out signs of some very advanced technology. The pod was a silvery color with a matte finish. She could see something that looked like a window and she walked towards it, hoping to get a clue as to what was in it..
A sick feeling settled in her stomach as she got closer and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her pace slowed and a sense of dread almost overwhelmed her. She got close enough to peer in the transparent surface and she stared, her brain refusing to acknowledge what she was seeing. "No," she whispered, her hand reaching out to touch the surface of the pod.
Her knees gave away and she crumpled to the floor burying her head in her hands as memories washed over her.
/////
Jack whistled through his teeth, a large string of fish dangling from his fingertips. They'd had good luck today, catching a half dozen fish in just a couple of hours. Now he figured he'd treat himself to a bit of a siesta then turn his attention to dinner.
He seriously humored the thought of a bonfire or barbeque, maybe roasting the fish over an open flame and trying his hand at grilling some of the vegetables Daniel had found. "Sam seems to be feeling better," Daniel said.
Jack gritted his teeth, well aware of the topic that was about to be broached. The very same topic Daniel had been harping on for the past two days. "Yeah," he said.
"In fact it wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't get bored with staying in bed pretty soon."
"Daniel...."
"Jack, she's gonna figure it out," he said. "Do you have any idea how hard it is not to lie to her?"
"I know," Jack said. The need not to lie was why Teal'c had been spending most of the last day watching over her, the Jaffa's normal silent nature making it easier for him to avoid the conversation that none of them wanted to have.
"You need to tell her," Daniel said.
"I will," Jack promised.
"When?"
"Tonight," he said. "Maybe after dinner." As annoying as Daniel was, he was right, they couldn't keep avoiding the truth. Sam was getting stronger faster than Jack thought she would and without the normal distractions of the infirmary, there wasn't much else for her to do but think. And when she thought about something, she pretty much devoted her whole mind to it.
He could see it in her eyes the last time he'd talked to her, that slightly distracted gaze that told him that her attention was definitely directed elsewhere. That's what he'd do. He'd tell her tonight. Take her aside and break the news.
"Oh my god," Daniel groaned. He stopped and Jack looked over at him, then followed his gaze. Sam was walking across the clearing, her gait slow and deliberate. In an instant Jack knew that he'd waited too long.
Both he and Daniel picked up the pace, almost jogging over to meet up with their friend. "Sam?" Daniel asked.
She ignored him for a second, then stopped walking and looked at him. "Daniel. Can you do me a favor please. Last I knew the Tok'ra were on Revanna, can you contact them. They need to know in case they have someone out looking for him." Her tone was flat and soft, almost hesitant. Daniel looked over at him and Jack nodded.
"Sure," he said. "I can go right now."
She nodded and resumed her walk, totally ignoring Jack. "Sam?" Jack reached out and grabbed her arm. She stopped and glared at him, an emotion he could only describe as hate glittering in her eyes. He dropped his hand and she kept walking, slowly making her way past the cabin.
"Jack?" Daniel asked.
He handed his fish off to Daniel. "I'll go contact Revanna. You go find Teal'c and then keep an eye on her."
Daniel shook his head. "I don't think she wants me anywhere near her right now."
"Give her her space but...just don't leave her alone," Jack instructed.
"Okay," Daniel agreed. He reached out and took the fish from Jack before turning around and returning to the cabin. Jack stood and watched until he saw Daniel emerge from the building and follow Sam before he turned and made his way towards the gate. "Well, you screwed that up," he chastised himself.
As he walked, he wondered just how much better his friends' lives would have been had they simply left him with Ba'al.
/////
Teal'c walked across the clearing and into the small grove of trees. It was dark and still, the deep shade blocking most of the sunlight, even more so now that it was near dusk. He could hear the beginnings of the night music. This planet had several insects similar to those of Earth, including crickets and cicadas, both of which filled the air with a soothing cacophony. He continued down the barely perceptible path, not really needing it to find his destination.
In the past year he had explored the area around their new home and was very familiar with it, including Major Carter's preferred place to bathe. It was a location that they all knew and respected, just as she avoided the segment of the creek she dubbed the 'boys club'.
Which was why he knew he would find her here as soon as Daniel Jackson had returned to the cabin and informed them that he'd been told, in no uncertain terms, that he needed to 'leave her alone'.
Teal'c heard the sound of the stream and he slowed, not wishing to startle her. It was unlikely that she was bathing in the stream, yet he did not wish to violate her privacy. She was seated in her preferred position, on a large rock that stood at the edge of the stream. The branches of the surrounding trees were such that the rock was often in the sunlight and Teal'c knew that she often used it to sunbathe after swimming and as a place to keep her clothes and toiletries.
She was curled up upon herself, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her gaze was directed towards the other bank, but Teal'c knew that she was seeing little.
He walked up behind her, making no effort to minimalize his footsteps. He unfolded the blanket he was carrying and laid it across her shoulders, draping it so that it would not fall off.
He silently sat beside her, indulging himself in a moment of his own introspection. He knew that, of all of them, he perhaps had the least regrets about their choice. Their living situation, while far from what his friends was used to, was not arduous to him. In fact, perhaps the only thing he could wish for was if he could bring Drey'auc and Ry'ac to live with them. Even though their marriage was no longer blessed - he had never addressed the issue of Drey'auc setting the marriage aside - he still found himself longing for companionship beyond that of friendship. He also missed his son.
He knew that Daniel Jackson missed the opportunities that the SGC had given him to study other cultures. And that he regretted that his search for Shau'ri had progressed very little in the past year.
O'Neill's regrets were of a far more personal nature. Teal'c knew that while he enjoyed the freedom from observation and censure, he also felt overwhelmed by the need to care for and keep them all safe.
Major Carter's regrets were perhaps the hardest for Teal'c to understand. In many ways, she seemed content. Yet, at times, he would see a longing in her eyes that had little to do with missing the conveniences of Earth.
If he were to discuss the issue with Master Bra'tac, his mentor would say that her kelma - her soul - was marked.
"The Tok'ra have responded," he said, the fading light telling him that they had been sitting there for some time. "Garshaw and the council send their condolences." She continued to ignore him although he saw her fingers dig into the blanket, pulling it close. "One of their scientists wishes to examine General Carter and Selmac to see if she can determine the cause of his...breakdown."
"No," she said softly.
"You do not wish to understand the cause of the issue?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Major Carter?"
"It doesn't matter why. It's over and it happened and nothing can change it."
He looked at her, the tone of her voice giving him pause. She sounded resigned and far calmer than he would have expected. "O'Neill's decision was motivated solely by his concern for your well being," he said, thinking that perhaps her anger with the man was the root of her melancholy. While the outcome may not have been all that he had hoped for, Teal'c knew that the man's motives were pure.
"He should have told me."
"Her feared for you," Teal'c said. "It is most fortunate that you do not remember the time after you were injured. You suffered greatly, Major Carter and we all witnessed your suffering. It was indeed a miracle that Thor restored you to health. And I speak to you sincerely when I say that none of us wished to do you further harm." She didn't answer but closed her eyes and Teal'c knew that she had heard, even if she was not yet ready to accept his words.
He got to his feet and held out his hand. "Will you come inside?" She ignored him. "Samantha, please." She looked up, caught off guard by his words.
She reached out and he took her hand, helping her to her feet. He led her back to the cabin, pausing a short distance away. "Teal'c?"
"I am very grateful that you are alive. And I wish that you could have been spared the pain of Jacob Carter's actions." Half afraid that she would resist, he pulled her close, indulging himself in the feel of her, warm and alive in his arms.
/////
Sam let herself sink against Teal'c, soaking up the comforting warmth of his presence. She didn't know how long they stood there, and that fact alone prompted her to push away from him. "They're waiting, aren't they?"
"They are," Teal'c confirmed. "Their concern for your well being mirrors mine. And it is just as sincere."
The sun had set and they were surrounded by darkness. The windows of the cabin glowed with a welcoming golden light, guiding her. She nodded and stepped out of his arms, slowly making her way into the cabin. The Colonel and Daniel looked up as she entered, both men getting to their feet.
"Carter."
"Sam." Daniel took a step towards her. "Sam, I just--"
"You did what you had to do," she interrupted, not in the mood to hear the apology that she knew was coming. If he apologized then she would have to forgive him and she just wasn't ready to do that. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
An awkward silence settled over the room, broken only by the soft creak of the floorboards as Teal'c joined them. "I'm tired," she said, latching onto the first excuse that she could to escape.
"We saved you some dinner," the Colonel said, gesturing towards a plate setting on the cabinet, covered by a dish towel.
She shook her head. "I'm not hungry." She took a breath. "There is one thing. Eventually, we're going to need to use the ship and...one of these days we might be able go home and I want to take him with me. Can we find somewhere to keep him safe?" she asked, cursing her own weakness. She couldn't even say his name.
"The caves?" Daniel suggested.
"They're a couple of miles away," the Colonel said. "But they're stable and protected."
Sam nodded. "Those could work."
"I'll go scout them in the morning."
"Thank you." She walked past them, retreating into her own room. She closed the door and sat down on the bed, the blanket still around her shoulders.
Finally alone, she took a shaky breath to calm her bubbling emotions. They were trying. She couldn't blame them for trying. It wasn't their fault that they were in this situation, it was hers.
'Do you know how I breached your iris and invaded your world? Hathor took the information from you and I took it from her. Do not blame me, blame yourself.'
She should leave. Leave them before she caused them more harm. Leave before someone else died because of her, of her weakness.
Fingers knocked gently against her door and it slowly opened. The Colonel stepped in, the covered plate in his hand. "It's a long time until breakfast," he said by way of explanation, setting the plate and a cup of water down on the dresser. He stopped and looked at her. "I'm sorry," he said. "They wanted to tell you sooner but I wouldn't let them. It was a bad call."
"You did what you thought was right," she said, accepting his apology.
He stared at her for a minute, then nodded. "Let us know if you need something," he invited. "Seriously. I normally leave the cheesy stuff to Daniel but--"
"Thank you," she said, interrupting him. "That means a lot."
He nodded again and sighed. "Goodnight." He left the room, closing the door behind him.
Sam curled up on the bed, pulling the blanket around her. She couldn't leave, she decided. To leave would be to run away. And she wasn't going to run away from this. She made this mess, so she was going to fix it. She just needed to figure out how.
~Fin~
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Denise
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Mirror, Mirror: Treading Water
by DeniseStory Bemerkung:
This is a direct sequal to Miror, Mirror: The Butterfly's Wings and Mirror, Mirror: It's the Little ThingsSite Navigation
Support Heliopolis