A/N: Another WordFic Challenge. Write a fic using the letters from - Janet, Our Napoleonic Powermonger, as the first letter of each paragraph. This is the last of these, I hope you enjoyed them!
Janet waited anxiously at the foot of the ramp, her bag clutched in her hand. Glancing at the marines waiting beside her, she was envious to find them calm and seemingly ready for anything. Her own palms were sweaty and her heart was beating a wild tattoo inside her chest. It should have made her feel better to have them standing next to her, somehow it didn't. Nothing about the situation felt right. No one knew what they were walking into exactly, just that they had received an aborted message from Colonel O'Neill indicating their need for help – stat. With SG-1 that could mean almost anything, that was why she accompanied the contingent of marines that made up the search and rescue team.
As the first contact team, SG-1 encountered new things and people every day – things and people that weren't always friendly and it was Janet's job to put them back together again when they came home in less than perfect shape. She'd never told anyone, but it was her worst fear that someday she wasn't going to be able to do that. She would wake in the middle of the night in a cold sweat from nightmares where the bodies of her friends lay in front of her, broken and bleeding, and she had forgotten how to stitch them back together.
Now she just needed to get through the gate and find out what had happened so she could do something about it. She bounced on the balls of her feet as the gate dialed. It seemed to take forever for the chevrons to click and the gate to circle around again, but at last the seventh chevron locked into place and the gate whooshed open. She glanced up behind her at the control room where the General stood. His jaw was clenched tight and even from where she stood she could see the worry in his eyes. He nodded at her and he didn't have to speak for her to know her orders, 'Bring them home alive.' That was her intention.
Exiting the gate on PV9-433, Janet surveyed the planet. It was sunny and green, the MALP sat innocently beside the gate, waiting for SG-1's return. There was no sign of whatever catastrophe had befallen SG-1. She sighed, it would just be too easy for them to find a note from Jack O'Neill waiting for them, 'please turn right at tall oak to find the remains of SG-1.' No, they were going to have to do it the hard way.
Trying not to tap her foot in impatience, Janet stood idly by while the marines scouted the site for any sign of which direction SG-1 had gone. The marines were good at their jobs, Janet knew that, they would find their missing comrades; then her job would begin. She worked hard to not let her imagination get away from her, it was no use speculating on what might have happened to her friends. That would use up energy she was going to need all too soon. She had a sixth sense where SG-1 was concerned and it was telling her that it was bad this time.
"Over here," one of the marines called softly. Martins was his name, she remembered. She'd just done his yearly exam. He was a nice man with brown eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Right now his eyes reflected grim determination as he called out for them to follow him. Several of their company started up the trail, following the footprints in the dirt that Martins had found. Janet fell in with the rest of the company surrounding her. The marines were alert and at the ready for whatever might be waiting for them.
Unsure where they were going or what was waiting for them, the company moved slowly, stopping often to scout the area, looking for hidden dangers. Janet chaffed at the restriction, even knowing it was necessary. She imagined all the things that could be happening to SG-1. Time was of the essence, it could be the difference between bringing them home alive or just retrieving their bodies for burial.
Refusing to even think of the possibility, Janet marched stolidly along. One mile and then two were gone and they found so sign of the team. She wondered what SG-1 had found to interest them in the seemingly peaceful planet? Of course Daniel was interested in every new planet they discovered and would explore with no more encouragement than the sheer love of exploration, but the colonel would have to have something more tangible to bring them so far from the gate. The initial mission report showed extremely high Naquadah content in the soil which would excite Sam, but it also increased the chances that there would be Jaffa in the area. It was a mystery they weren't likely to solve until they found the missing SG-1.
Nudging her elbow with one hand, Martins held up the other to stop their company. "Captain Carter took soil samples here," he told them, squatting to inspect the smudged dirt more closely. Janet studied the spot and imagined she could see the indention in the earth where the sample case had rested, dusty impressions where Sam had knelt to do her work. The scuffs around her would be the colonel and Teal'c as they kept watch while she worked. The clear boot prints in the dust next to where the case had sat could only be Daniel as he assisted Sam in her task. It was such a mundane scene Janet pictured in her head. How did it lead to the message they had received, "We need back up and a med team stat!" Her thoughts were scattered when Martens stood, running his boot through the dust, obliterating the traces that SG-1 had left. With a curt nod he gestured them onward.
Ahead of them the land was starting to rise into gently rolling hills that was dotted with trees that grew tall and broad. Gradually the trees thickened into a forest and they could no longer see what lay beyond the path they walked or what lay ahead of them. SG-1 could be over the next rise, or they could find the same fate that had befallen SG-1. The marines slowed their pace even more, waiting until a scout returned with the all clear before they would start up the next rise. Janet felt totally useless as she kept pace with the soldiers, frowning whenever they slowed or paused for any reason.
Praying was the only thing she could do for SG-1. It seemed strange to her that even though their business was exposing the Goa'uld as false gods, she still prayed whenever there was a crisis. She'd seen too many things in her years as a doctor that couldn't be explained by science and were only covered by faith. So she prayed. She prayed that they would get to SG-1 in time, that one more time they would have a miraculous escape from certain death, that her skills as a physician wouldn't fail her or her friends who depended on her.
One of their scouts appeared over the ridge. He went straight to Martens. She couldn't hear what he said from where she was standing but Janet could see that he was agitated. He spoke quietly to Martins, who cast a quick glance in her direction. She moved to their side.
"Leevy, tell the Doc what you saw," Martens ordered.
Everyone's eyes were on them now. The man, Leevy, took a deep breath and spoke, "I found SG-1. They're just over the rise, ma'am." Janet started to speak, but he hurried on, answering her unspoken question, "It's bad, ma'am. They're down and there's lots of blood." Janet blanched, but he continued as if he had to get it all out quickly. "The natives have them pinned down inside a circle of rocks. I can't really tell how badly injured they are or even if they're all still alive. We've got to get them out quick, sir, that's all I know." Around her, the soldiers stood, ready for orders, their bodies fairly thrumming with the need to move, to act, to do.
Only a lifetime spent in the discipline of the Air Force kept Janet from running over the hill to the aid of her friends. From what Leevy had just said, she knew they needed her. She had to do something, yet she knew that running headlong into the situation that had endangered them, wouldn't help SG-1. It would probably just get her killed, too.
No, not killed. They couldn't be dead. SG-1 couldn't die, it was a legend at the SGC that SG-1 would always return. There was a time or two in the beginning when hope had been lost, but now they had returned from impossible circumstances so many times that there was a betting pool whenever they disappeared as to how long it would take them to make it home and what shape they'd been in when they came.
Impossible situations seemed to be what SG-1 thrived on. Janet just hoped that this one would have a happy ending. She watched unhappily as Martens dispersed his men. They crept away over the hill, scouting the situation and finding out what intel they could. Finally he gave a nod to her and she followed as he stepped off the path to disappear among the trees.
Creeping behind Martens, Janet was aware of every snapping twig underfoot and every bird calling overhead. Everything around her was preternaturally quiet and hours seemed to go by as she followed the marine, his back ever in front of her. Finally they stopped and he allowed her to look, pointing out SG-1's position. She couldn't believe what she saw. Only a feet from where she stood she could see where SG-1 lay inside a circle of stones. She could see them clearly, the colonel was even laying with his face in their direction, one arm tucked under him, the other stretched out, almost as if he was reaching out to them. They were all four there, even Teal'c lying absolutely still, face down in the dirt. The ground beneath them was soaked, with blood she suspected, although she saw no visible wounds on their bodies. Her stomach twisted and she took a step from the shelter of the huge tree trunk. A shot rang out and pinged off the bark next to her cheek, sending little splinters of wood flying.
Pulling her back, Martens pushed her down angrily, "What are you trying to do? Get yourself killed? You won't be any good to them that way," he hissed in her ear. Janet pressed a hand to her cheek where a splinter of bark had hit her, the blood trickling down her chin. The small spot stung, telling her she was lucky it wasn't much worse. She blinked at the marine and couldn't explain why she'd done what she'd done. The doctor in her cried out that she had to get to her patients, they needed her and there was no time to waste.
Only there was no way she could get to them. Whatever had happened here, the natives were definitely not friendly and they weren't going to let a rescue team get near. She risked another glance around the tree keeping her head low. She found the colonel's eyes open and boring into hers. He was still alive at least, that was good to know. He mouthed something at her, but she couldn't decide what. His eyes were terrible, she could see the pain and the anger reflected there.
Whatever had happened, it was up to her to help her friends. This time she moved quickly so Martens wouldn't have time to stop her. She stepped away from the safety of the tree, her hands held high. There was a warning shot that pinged off the tree, but she didn't let it deter her. She took one step, then another, each step bringing her closer to her patients. Behind her she heard Martens curse then step away from the tree, she heard as the rest of the marines left the safety of their own positions to protect her. She saw the natives of the planet as they left their own positions. Most of them had their weapons trained on SG-1, but there was enough of them trained on herself and the marines. If this turned into a blood bath it was going to be her fault.
"Everyone just calm down," she called out in her best professional voice, the one she used with stubborn colonels and reluctant archeologists. All eyes were now on her and she knew that this was it. They were all going to live or die in this moment. "These people are my patients," she indicated SG-1, "and I will not just stand by and watch them die. Shoot me now if you're going to, otherwise, I'm going to treat these people."
Risking another step, she was inside the circle of stones and still no more shots had rang out. She fell to her knees at the colonel's side, but he shook his head. She checked his pulse anyway and was reassured to find it steady and strong. She moved to Carter's side next and was horrified at what she found. She had a gun shot wound in the shoulder, she'd lost a lot of blood and her blood pressure was dangerously low. Then Martens was at her side, helping her take care of Carter. She glanced over at Daniel and found that one of the other marines was at his side, turning him over assessing his condition. There was a bloody wound on the side of his head, but his eyes were open. She followed the track of where he was looking to find that they were now ringed by a circle of natives. While they were still holding their weapons, they were lowered. One of them, the leader she supposed, beckoned to Janet.
Making no quick moves, she stood. Her heart hammered wildly, she wondered if the man could hear it. She didn't want to leave Sam, but she had a feeling that this moment would determine all of their fate. She stood as tall as she could manage as he circled round to inspect her. The man was massive, larger than Teal'c, he towered over her. She felt like a child under his hostile gaze, but she refused to cower to him. She met his gaze levelly until at last he nodded.
"Only one of great courage and heart would come here as you have done to aid these." She thought she heard the colonel hiss, 'or an idiot,' but she wasn't sure as the man continued on, "They have trespassed in our holy place and we had intended to see them die," she started to protest but he stopped her with an upturned hand. "Your courage has saved them. Take them and do not return." He turned and left then, his people following behind him. Janet watched them a moment more, unable to believe that it was all over just like that as they disappeared into the trees. She wished that she had some time to process what had just happened, but knew that she had to take care of her friends. She turned back to find Jack and Daniel and the marines of SG-2 staring at her openmouthed in amazement.
"Now I've told you to never doubt the power I wield," she muttered to them as she dropped to her knees again at Sam's side. Around her, the rest of the team was taken care of. Teal'c had been hit, but his symbiote was seeing to his injury and Jack had only been grazed, he just hadn't been able to move without fear of being hit again. The natives had effectively pinned the team down, refusing to let them move or help their injured teammates. Quickly Carter and Daniel were loaded onto gurneys for the trip back to the SGC and they were heading back to the Stargate and home.
Groggy and wounded as he was, Daniel still insisted that he was fine and be allowed to go to his own quarters on base to rest. Janet had to suppress a smile as the sentiment was echoed by the colonel and the jaffa both of whom were resting on beds on either side of him. She knew that Sam would be singing the same tune if she were conscious to do so. While the captain's injury was severe, she was responding to treatment well and would be fine, Janet was sure of it. It was reassuring to have everything back to normal in her infirmary.
"Ever hear the one about the archaeologist who refused to listen to his doctor?" she asked pleasantly. "He spent a week in the infirmary instead of the three days she was inclined to give him." She leveled her gaze on all three men and for once they subsided and lay back obediently against their pillows. Maybe there was something to that whole power of medicine thing after all. Then, as she moved away, she heard a barely audible 'napoleonic power monger.'
Refusing to even look back, she clicked the lights in the infirmary off. She'd get her revenge, but not tonight. Tonight everyone was alive and well and where they should be. She was going to enjoy it while it lasted.