Many, many, many moons ago, my friend Adi and I were Iming and I was watching a re-run of Hathor. We noticed a point in the show where Hathor again had total control and an excellent opportunity for a 'fork in the road' fic.
That was the easy part. The hard part is, no matter how much fun it can be, whumping for the sake of whumping is kinda boring. So the story idea just sat there for months, a neat idea but sort of pointless to write without a plot. Then low and behold a miracle occurred…a plot presented itself. Two weeks later a story was taking shape, a lovely, and at times not so lovely, AU story about 'What if Hathor had taken Sam with her when she left the SGC'.
My thanks to Adi for her plotting and help, and to the wonderful ladies at the transcript list. Their hard work makes my self-appointed job so much easier since it saves me hours watching and scribbling notes.
From Perdition's Flame
By
Denise
She didn't remember a lot of her past, not much beyond the beginning of her time here. Scattered images, footsteps pounding in subterranean halls, echoing commands over a loudspeaker, the feel of smooth, oiled metal under her fingers, the rasp of metal zippers in coarse cloth.
Things were different there, colder, impersonal, yet she remembered being safer there than in her gilded cage. Here things were soft, cloyingly warm and quiet, bare feet that made imperceptible sounds on the stone floor, hushed voices that spoke in soft, hurried whispers, thin, delicate clothing that covered, yet didn't conceal.
She remembered a leader, short, round, gruff, yet kind. So different from her leader now. No kindness colored Her soul; cruelty lurked beneath her silky façade. Her mood would change with the suddenness of a summer storm, swinging from benign to vicious and back often faster than she could comprehend.
She used to try to figure it out, try to keep track of Her moods. She didn't do that any more. It didn't matter any more. She used to cling to the fantasy of a rescue, lulling herself to sleep with the images of green-clad warriors coming to save her, to take her back where she belonged. She didn't do that any more either.
Rescue was a fallacy, a pipe dream, as unattainable as the stars from this isolated planet. They were alone here, cut off and abandoned. The Stargate was gone, only an overgrown clearing testifying to its one-time presence. A ship orbited their gilded cage, watching, patrolling the skies, monitoring them from afar.
They were alone here, her, Hathor and two servants, all female, all alone, and all subject to Hathor's whims.
She didn't remember much of her past, but she did recall her last day, the last time she had felt cool steel in her hands, the last time someone had treated her like an equal and not a toy.
"Now what?" Sam asked, following Colonel O'Neill down the hall.
"Now, you and I go for that Goa'uld," he said.
"Well, how? She's guarded by our own men. We can't exactly go in shooting," she said, not bothering to hide her irritation.
"We can with tranquillizer guns."
"I thought of that, sir, but there weren't any in the armory."
"This is the military, Captain. We always have more than we need. There's a supply in lockup C," he said.
"Be nice if someone told me that," she said, frustrated with the whole situation. If she'd known about the tranquilizer guns hours ago things would probably be different now.
"Your tax dollars at work," he quipped. She followed him, rolling her eyes behind his back. This whole mess was all their fault, she thought, chiding herself for her selfishness even as she thought it. If Doctor Fraiser was right, they couldn't help it; Hathor's pheromones would have been impossible for any red-blooded male to resist.
They arrived at the armory and quickly grabbed the tranquilizer guns, each stuffing extra rounds into their pockets. "Where do you think she's at?" O'Neill asked.
"She seems to have commandeered the locker room," Sam said. "Her offspring need a water environment and that's the closest place to get it."
"Ok," he said, leading her from the room. "Primary objective is to take her down. We'll try to avoid hitting any of our folks, but if they get in the way, shoot them."
"Yes, sir," she said, following him back down the hall and towards the stairs. It took them only a few minutes to reach the locker room. Sam could hear the faint bubbling of the water and the echo of voices. Sam recognized one of them as Hathor's and she thought the other was Daniel.
The colonel signaled and she went to one of the doors, leaving him to the other. At his sign, she made her way into the room, her eyes studying the situation.
Hathor was in the large tub, her features blurred by the steam rising from the bubbling water, Daniel kneeling at her side. They were surrounded by four members of the SGC.
"She deserves no mercy from us. She will make amends with her death." Sam heard Hathor say.
Having no doubt whom the Goa'uld was talking about, she looked to O'Neill. He nodded and she raised her gun, quickly shooting the men with the tranquilizer darts.
"I don't think so," Sam said, unable to resist a quip as the Goa'uld was left alone, Daniel her only ally. Before she could react, Hathor raised her hand and a force struck Sam in the chest, throwing her back against the wall.
The whine of the rings shattered the silence and she curled herself up tighter, trying to make herself invisible in her little corner of the room. This was wrong. It wasn't time for anyone to visit. No one ever visited…not since him, the dark man clad in heavy gold and brocade. He'd visited once, but only once and only months ago.
Boots cracked on marble floors and she felt her heart lurch. Jaffa. It was never good when the Jaffa came. They made Her mad, and when She was mad She took it out on her. She'd yell at her, hurt her, lock her away again.
She sat in her corner and listened as the deep male voice echoed off the walls, broken occasionally by Hathor's strident tones. Their words were foreign and guttural, the language she'd learned to hate. Even after all these months, she could decipher only some of it, Apophis, Chulak, presence. She was being summoned.
This was good. It was good if She left. If She wasn't here, then She couldn't hurt her. Maybe She wouldn't come back? That would be good. It would be peaceful then. The slaves would go, the slaves always went with her and then she'd be alone here. All alone. Alone was safe, alone was good.
A pair of boots appeared before her and she froze. No. He wasn't supposed to see her, wasn't supposed to know she was here. How could he leave her behind if he knew she was here? "Tau'ri," a voice growled as a strong hand grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet.
Desperately afraid, she didn't meet his eyes, her gaze firmly fixed on the floor. "A complication I did not need," he muttered, shaking her slightly. He pushed her forward, not caring when she stumbled. "Go to your mistress. You shall serve her on her journey."
Not wanting to go, but too afraid to protest, she staggered forward, steeling herself as she walked into the same room as Hathor. "What is the meaning of this?" the Goa'uld demanded.
"Apophis summons her as well," the Jaffa said, following her into the room.
"Apophis has no rights to her-- she is mine," Hathor declared.
"Apophis is your god, and you shall do his bidding," the Jaffa said. "I am charged with taking you to him, he did not say how," he threatened, raising his arm and aiming some sort of weapon at her.
Hathor bristled, her eyes glowing angrily then she stepped forward, standing in the middle of the ring pattern on the floor. Desperately hoping that they'd somehow forget about her, Sam stayed still, only moving when the Jaffa grabbed her arm and dragged her within the circle as well. A bright light shot from the ceiling and she closed her eyes, not caring where it was taking her. She was with Hathor; she would have no peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bra'tac escorted the two women to their chambers, ignoring the Goa'uld's loud protests. It was nothing he did not expect her to say; Hathor had been well known for her domineering ways even before she vanished.
It was the other woman that concerned him. He knew her, knew of her. Although he had not been on Chulak when Hathor had brought the Tau'ri to Apophis, he heard of her, the fiery woman who yelled and cursed, silenced only by Apophis' hand.
When he'd heard that the prisoner had hair of gold, he'd wondered if it'd been the one he'd met before, the friend of Teal'c, but she'd been whisked away before he'd been able to see her and ascertain who she was. Flaxen hair seemed to be common among Tau'ri women, and once she'd been out of his grasp, he had not thought about her, until today.
It was her, yet it was not. He recognized her features even if he had yet to look her in the eyes. She looked no one in the eyes and he could feel her fear thrumming under his hand. He saw nothing of the proud warrior that had laughed at her friends and dared to defile the temple. That part of her was gone, and he did not know if it was gone forever or just suppressed, hiding somewhere deep inside.
They reached Hathor's chambers and he made a decision, defying his 'god' yet another time. Barking quick orders, the Goa'uld was shut into her room, her prisoner still outside. "Tek'mate?" Jah'ron questioned, frowning at him. "How is the slave to service her god if she is not with her?"
"The slave is to service me," Bra'tac said, pulling the woman close. "She will be returned to her god when I am finished."
Jah'ron frowned, clearly not anticipating such behavior from Bra'tac. He did not blame him; in his one hundred and thirty-three years he had never partaken of a female captive. "As you wish," he said. "Perhaps when you are finished…."
"Perhaps," Bra'tac said, stepping around his man. He strode down the corridor, ignoring the gasps from the woman he pulled behind him. He went down one level, making his way to his quarters. Being First Prime meant that he was allowed the luxury of private quarters instead of the barracks the rest of the Jaffa had.
Opening the door, he pushed her into the room. She stumbled, half-falling over the narrow cot that was the sole furnishing in the room. His quarters were private, yes, luxurious, no.
Much to his surprise, she pushed herself off the bed, standing with her back against the wall, as far away from him as she could get. "No," she whispered, her voice trembling in time with her hand, her eyes still fixated on the floor in front of her.
"Do not attempt to leave here," he warned, picking up a rough blanket and throwing it at her. It landed in a pool at her feet and she jumped, still not looking at him. "Sleep, Tau'ri. For we have a long journey and I fear it will not be an easy one."
He turned and left his quarters, taking care to lock the door behind him. She was safe, for a little while. Now he just needed to find a way to keep them both alive.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
He returned several hours later, a satchel of food clutched in his hands. He was indeed most fortunate that he had convinced Apophis to trust him. The Goa'uld had sent him on this mission basically alone, in command of the hatak ship. Which meant that there was no one to contradict or question his orders to keep the Tau'ri for himself, other than Hathor, and Bra'tac was not overly concerned with her. The last he had seen, she was availing herself of the young Jaffa upon the ship. He believed that she would be occupied for quite some time.
The Goa'uld queen's situation was a most perilous one, her status as a breeding queen the only thing that kept Apophis from killing her on sight. If the rumors were accurate, his present queen, Amaunet, was most unforgiving of Hathor's presence. He did not know if this was the reason that the woman had vanished or if it was just a coincidence.
It was not at all uncommon for a system lord to have multiple wives, especially if his queen was not capable of breeding. Unfortunately, along with arrogance, the Goa'uld also suffered from jealousy. Sometimes that jealousy could be used; other times it was an impediment. He feared this could be one of those times.
He entered his quarters, his eyes narrowing when he found the cot empty. A quick glance revealed the woman curled up in the corner of the small room, wrapped in the blanket he'd given her, but as far away from the bed as she could get. He had hoped that she would sleep, but it looked like she hadn't. He saw her tense as he stepped in front of her, pulling the blanket tighter. "You must eat," he said, setting the food down at her feet.
He saw her eyes skitter over the food before moving away, staring at his feet. With a sigh, he knelt down, picking up the food. He held it towards her. "Eat," he said softer. He could feel her fear growing; see the quickening of her pulse in her neck. He grabbed her chin and tilted her face up, frowning when she averted her eyes. "Look at me," he ordered. "Look!" he said, shaking her head slightly.
Her eyes darted up to his and finally met his gaze. They were the same blue he remembered, but different from last time, her humor and confidence supplanted by fear. He saw them narrow slightly, focusing as she blinked slowly. "Do you have nothing to say, friend of Teal'c?"
"B…Bra'tac?" she breathed.
"So you are still in there," he said, releasing her chin and leaning back. He shoved the food into her hands and got to his feet, sitting on the edge of the cot. As he watched, she clutched the food to her, the bag disappearing under her blanket. "How did you come to be with Hathor? Where did you find her?" he asked.
"Earth," she whispered.
"She has been missing for many hundreds of years," he said, keeping his voice low and calm, hoping to draw her out.
"Sarcophagus."
"Yes," he said. "That would explain it. Various system lords have been searching for Hathor for many centuries. Breeding queens are becoming more and more rare. That is why Apophis seeks to control her."
"I want to go home," she said softly as she started to look at him, then averted her eyes.
"I have been thinking how to do that," he said. "I still have the device Teal'c gave to me to gain entry through your iris, however, it is on Chulak. It is too dangerous for me to have it with me. We are going to Chulak. I will retrieve the device and return you to Earth."
"She won't let me go."
"She will not have a choice," he said, getting to his feet. "I must not remain here long. Do not leave this room; you are safe in here." He walked to the door, turning back. "I will do all I can to get you home, friend of Teal'c." He stepped out into the hall and closed the door, locking it securely.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
His footsteps faded down the hall and she waited until she could hear them no more before pulling the satchel of food from under her blanket and tearing it open. It was a simple fare, bread, meat and a small container of water, but in the past few months, she'd gotten less and less picky about what she ate.
Forcing herself to chew slowly, she stared at the far wall, remembering the Jaffa's words. She remembered him, she thought.
"They are friends," Teal'c said. "Colonel O'Neill. Captain Carter. Daniel Jackson. Warriors of great skill and cunning."
"Oh, Teal'c, that's.…" Sam said, touched by the praise.
"My first teacher, Bra'tac. The greatest Jaffa master I have ever known," Teal'c introduced, ignoring her interruption.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir," O'Neill said politely, frowning a bit as the alien walked past him and towards her and Daniel.
"You, you are among the warriors who defeated the palace guard at Chulak? A human woman?"
"Hey," she protested. "I'll have you know I kicked my…."
"And you? A warrior of great skill and cunning? I could snap you like kindling! How could you bring these hashack with you?" he continued, picking up Daniel's wrist.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Who you calling a hassock? What's a hassock?"
"You challenge me, hashack?" the man bristled.
"Ah, no. I don't think we came to fight you," O'Neill said, backing down.
"A shame." Before she could react, she saw the older man strike out with his staff weapon, knocking Jack to the ground. Just as quickly, her CO retaliated, quickly gaining the upper hand.
"We're here on a mission. If you don't want to be a part of it, just say so," he said, Bra'tac's staff weapon held unerringly at its owner's throat.
Much to her surprise the warrior only laughed. "You choose your friends well, Teal'c. Though were I a hundred years younger, it might not have been quite so easy."
Was he telling the truth or was he waiting to betray her? Could she trust him? Could she trust any of them? They'd betrayed her, ignored her when she tried to warn them. No. She couldn't trust him. He'd abandon her eventually, send her back to Her. She'd be angry, She'd hurt her, lock her in the room. No, she wouldn't go back. She'd never go back.
Setting aside her food, she crawled across the floor and pulled his small pack of belongings out from under the cot. Her ears attuned for any sound, she dug through it, unable to hide a small smile when her fingers closed over a familiar shape. She drew out the small dagger, pulling the blade from its plain leather sheath.
Slowly she drew the blade across her inner arm, watching the drops of blood well up from the shallow cut. "Never," she whispered as the crimson fluid dripped from the wound. No one would ever hurt her again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hathor rested upon the divan, lazily looking over the proffered food. It was edible, barely. Not that she was hungry in any way—she ate more from boredom than a need for sustenance. Eating was a way to occupy her hands and disguise where her mind truly was.
Why was Apophis summoning her now? He'd made it abundantly clear before that he planned to visit her only often enough to provide the code, and to take custody of her children, bearing them back to Chulak to be given to Jaffa to care for.
That had not been a part of their original bargain, something she knew she could blame his present queen for.
What a simpleton she was. Common and ordinary, and infertile as well. A defective creature like her should have been destroyed as soon as her shortcomings had been discovered. Instead he kept her, cosseted her. She was weak, perhaps, however, a weak spot that could be exploited.
Her mind on weak creatures, she gave half a thought to her pet. She had not seen the woman since the Jaffa had taken her away, presumably for his bed sport.
Maybe he was drawing more entertainment from her than Hathor had been in recent weeks. At first, the woman had been amusing, her fire and drive something Hathor was not accustomed to. It was rare for anyone to dare challenge a queen, much less to do so openly.
She'd enjoyed her at first, thinking up ways to break her had occupied much of her time. Physical pain was the easiest to mete out, yet lacking a ribbon weapon or a healing stone, there was only so much she could do to the Tau'ri woman, especially since she'd been damaged somehow during her capture. She knew that unblended humans were fragile and she did not wish to kill the woman, which would end her enjoyment far too soon. If only she'd had a sarcophagus…
In the end, it had not taken much; in fact, it'd been far easier than she'd expected. The Tau'ri was now biddable, a cowering creature who scurried away from her. This was why she did not care much if the Jaffa played with her toy. Maybe his ministrations would interject some life into the woman. Or if he killed her, she could just acquire another one.
Taking another delicacy from the tray, she sighed, idly watching the distortion of hyperspace through the viewing port. Whatever his reasons were, Apophis had summoned her…and she would not meekly return to her exile.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bra'tac respectfully stood to the side as the rings swept up from the floor, delivering his master to him. "My lord," he said, kneeling before the young man.
Klorel stared at him, then nodded curtly. "See to my belongings," he ordered, sweeping out of the room.
"As you wish," Bra'tac said, hiding his scorn behind a well practiced mask. The door closed and he turned to Jah'ron. "Insure that Master Klorel's belongings are delivered to his quarters," he ordered, moving to the controls for the rings.
"Bra'tac?" the man questioned.
"I must journey to the surface and retrieve something before we depart. I shall not be long."
"But you did not ask permission to leave the ship," Jah'ron protested.
"I shall return within the hour," Bra'tac said, ignoring the protest and interjecting just the right amount of derision into his voice. The man showed promise; however, he also had ambition…and that could make him dangerous.
Wishing that he had an ally, yet used to guarding his own back, he ringed down to the surface. The best he could do was to complete his task as quickly as possible and return to the ship, hopefully before his absence was even noticed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam tossed fitfully on the hard cot, the noises from out in the hall preventing her from truly sleeping. Then again, most everything kept her from sleeping. If you slept, you were unaware, and if you were unaware, people could sneak up on you, and that was never a good thing.
She guessed that many of the ship's crew was quartered on this level and it seemed to be commonplace for them to pass by the door several times a day. But even that ordinary pattern didn't soothe her nerves.
She believed they were now in orbit, a guess made from scattered words that she heard through the locked door, and the difference in tone of the constant shuddering of the deck plates. She wondered where Bra'tac was. Would he come for her…if he would come for her.
Had he been telling the truth or were his promises just a ploy to keep her quiet? Teal'c had seemed to trust him, but she also knew that his judgment was likely clouded by years of hero worship and the devotion of student to mentor.
Right now, the only thing that kept her from leaving her sanctuary was the twin fear that she would be returned to Hathor and that maybe Bra'tac was telling the truth, he was going to help her get home and if he couldn't find her, she would miss her chance.
Pulling the blanket tighter, she closed her eyes, willing her headache to go away. She knew it wouldn't, not for several hours at least. Her headaches had become a near-constant part of her life since she'd been dragged through the gate by Hathor.
She heard a sound at the door and she quickly got off the cot, scurrying to the corner of the room, out of sight from the hall. After a few seconds the door opened and she relaxed a bit, seeing a familiar pair of boots. She followed the boots up and felt her heart lurch as they led to a different body than she was expecting. She struggled to her feet as he came towards her. "So Bra'tac's toy is still alive," he said.
"Go away," she said, trying to back herself into the corner. He ignored her, walking towards her. Her eyes darted past him and she knew she could never evade him in the small room. He reached out and grabbed her arms in a bruising grip. "No!" she cried, reacting faster than she could think.
She raised her knee and ground it into his groin. He cried out and released her arms. Pushing him aside, she dashed out into the hall and ran, her mind going no further than thoughts of escape.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Klorel stalked down the corridors, his rage bubbling through him. How dare he? What was the meaning of this? What was that creature doing on his ship? Apophis had charged him with coordinating the attack upon Earth, not to ferry his harlot to him. Unable to question his lord at this time, he sought the most available source. "Where is Bra'tac?" he demanded, spying a Jaffa standing guard at the end of the corridor.
"My lord?"
"Where is Bra'tac!" he repeated.
"I…I do not know, my lord," the man stuttered.
Klorel raised his hand, fighting the urge to kill the man on the spot. A force crashed into his side and knocked him to the ground, a heavy weight landing on top of him. He barely had time to register the fact that it was a woman who'd assaulted him before a startled cry filled his ears.
"No!" she screamed, pushing away from him.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, struggling to get to his feet and regain his dignity.
"I do not know, my lord," the Jaffa said, finally snapping out of his inaction.
He stood over the woman, an inkling from his host making him turn his awareness inward, ripping the memory from the man's mind. "Tau'ri," he growled, pulling her up so he could see her more clearly. "You defied my lord once," he bit out, remembering scattered images of a dark cell, frightened people, three warriors in green, friends of O'Neill. "What are you doing here?"
She didn't respond, instead whimpering softly as she tried to pull away from him. "Tell me!" he yelled, flaring his host's eyes.
"No!" she screamed yet again and he felt a sharp sting in his gut. He released her and looked down, surprised to see a crimson stain spreading on his robes. "No!" she cried, falling on him like a dog would fall upon a discarded bone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bra'tac ran down the hall, not quite able to believe what he saw. "Halt!" he yelled, pulling his zat'nik'atel from its holster. At his words, Jah'ron stayed his hand, his fist raised high. The Tau'ri woman was huddled on the floor beside the bloody, sprawled body of Klorel. A second Jaffa, Breka, stood back, a bloody knife grasped in his hand. "What has happened?"
"Your slut attacked our lord Klorel," Jah'ron said.
"Breka?"
"It is as Jah'ron says. The woman was fleeing and she attacked Klorel, with this." He held up the knife, one Bra'tac recognized as his own.
Bra'tac surveyed the men before him, noting how Jah'ron failed to meet his gaze. The Tau'ri would not have left the safety of his quarters, of that he was certain. And Jah'ron was the only one on the hatak who knew of her location. In a flash he knew what had transpired. Unlike him, Jah'ron had partaken of female prisoners before, and he knew he would do so again. He fired his zat'nik'atel, quickly killing both men. He stepped over the bodies, plucking the knife from Breka's hand. Offering a silent apology to the man who'd had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, he shot Breka a third time, the body vanishing.
Knowing that he did not have much time, he placed the knife in Jah'ron's slack hand, setting up the scenario he proposed to pass off as the truth. He scooped up the woman, sliding a hand over her mouth as she moaned softly. Sparing no time for gentleness, he quickly returned to his quarters, frowning as he found the lock broken, confirming his suspicision.
Seeking another refuge, he opened the door to a small supply room and laid her on the floor in the corner. Pulling up his chain mail, he tore a strip of cloth off his shirt, using it to bind her hands. He placed a gag over her mouth and piled a few crates in front of her, shielding her from easy view. Unable to spare more time, he left her, locking the room.
He dashed back to where he'd left the bodies and picked up the limp form of Klorel. Yelling loudly, he summoned help, carefully schooling his face into a mask of outrage and grief.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Hammond's given up, they're going to bury the gate, day after tomorrow," Jack said, looking around at the sheet shrouded consoles in the control room.
"Then I must return through the gate as soon as possible," Teal'c said, confirming what Jack already knew, that he wanted to go home…or at least not spend the rest of his days marooned on Earth.
"Guess we all should go through the gate as soon as possible," Daniel said, defeat and depression plain in his voice, something Jack had gotten used to in the past couple of days since his friend's little trip into the alternate universe.
"Go where?" Jack demanded, knowing what he was going to say.
"The coordinates I got in the other reality."
"Daniel! Damn it!"
"Jack, it was real!"
"Look, even if it was, how do we know that, that address is the same in this reality?"
"Well, there's only one way to find out, now isn't there," he demanded, exhibiting the usual Jackson stubbornness.
"We should enter the coordinates, and attempt to open the gate," Teal'c said calmly.
"Jack, if we don't go through, what I saw in the other reality could happen here. This whole planet could be wiped out. Now in the other reality, by the time I left, you were dead, Sara was dead, hell I was dead, everyone was dead!"
"Daniel, I got it!"
"Okay, well don't you think we should see if we can stop the same slaughter from happening here? Let me ask you something Jack, if we don't go through now, and the Goa'uld do attack later...how are you going to feel?"
Jack sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He so did not need this. It was bad enough that the SGC was being shut down, but now Daniel wanted them to openly and deliberately flout orders and go off half-cocked to some planet that might or might not exist to stop an invasion that might or might not happen.
He turned, looking through the window at the shrouded gate. It sucked. It sucked in so many ways. That piece of alien technology held the keys to Earth's future, he just knew it. Sure, it came at a high price, maybe too high in some aspects, he thought, remembering the growing list of names, people who lost their lives pursuing that knowledge--his second in command among them.
He missed the captain, and felt more than a little guilt over what had happened. His memory of those couple of days was hazy at best, but he still remembered just standing there while Hathor dragged Carter with her through the gate, to a still unknown fate.
If she was lucky, she was dead. If not, even to this day he dreaded the thought that they'd come across a Goa'uld some day with a familiar face, that Carter had been condemned to spend eternity imprisoned in her own body.
She didn't deserve that, Hell, no one deserved that.
"If the coordinates are of a Goa'uld world, which is not on the Abydos cartouche, the Goa'uld will most likely not expect us. I believe a medical attack could be successful," Teal'c said.
"Surgical attack, Teal'c. It's called a surgical attack," Jack said. "And I would feel like an idiot."
"O'Neill?"
"If we don't do something now, and they do attack later, I would feel like an idiot. We go," he decided.
"I, too, will go," Teal'c agreed.
"What about Keller?" Daniel asked, referring to their latest member, Captain Martin Keller, Carter's replacement.
Jack shook his head. "No. He's too green. Besides, his wife's due to pop any time now," he said, gladly using the man's impending fatherhood as a good excuse to keep him from the mission and to preserve his career. One thing he knew Daniel hadn't thought about was the simple fact that the second they got back-- if they got back-- Jack would be court-martialed in about eight point three seconds.
Oh well, if they survived, maybe saving the world would be enough to buy him retirement instead of Leavenworth.
He looked at his watch. "We'll have shift change in two hours-- we'll go then," he decided. "Last chance to back out." Both of them met his gaze steadily and he nodded. "Okay then, let's do it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You are certain that the hataka who attacked my son is dead?" Apophis asked.
"Yes, my lord," Bra'tac said. "Jah'ron was most ambitious. I beg your forgiveness for not noticing it earlier." He interjected what he hoped was the right amount of humility and remorse into his voice. He was indeed lucky that Apophis was currently busy on another planet and not physically present. Right now the Goa'uld needed him, and that bought him some time.
"Indeed, Bra'tac. I fear your skills may be dulling with age. Perhaps I was in error to have gifted you with my trust for this mission." Bra'tac nodded, accepting the censure. "My son is in the sarcophagus?"
"Yes, my lord. He should revive in a few hours."
"And Hathor?"
"She was unharmed, my lord. She awaits your arrival."
"Notify me when Klorel awakes," Apophis said. "And if he does not, your life will be forfeit."
"As you wish, my lord."
The screen faded to black and Bra'tac relaxed slightly, grateful that his subterfuge had succeeded. Fortunately, assassination attempts were not unknown among the Goa'uld, and Apophis, and by extension Klorel had many enemies.
Leaving the peltac, he quickly made his way through the halls. As he walked, he was passed by other Jaffa, all boarding the hatak. This was another added complication he had not expected. He'd been under the impression that he was merely to retrieve Hathor and convey her to Apophis, not participate in an attack upon the Tau'ri home world. The presence of more troops would make his task even more difficult, and would make it harder to keep the presence of the Tau'ri woman unknown.
Arriving at the storeroom, he was grateful to find it undisturbed, showing him that her presence had gone unnoticed. Ascertaining that he was unobserved, he entered the room. He made his way over to the corner, watching as she cowered from him, struggling with bound hands to crawl into a corner.
Her eyes were wide with fear and he could see bruises upon her arms and face, testifying to her rough treatment at the hands of Jah'ron. "I will not harm you," he said softly, kneeling before her. "You must remain silent," he said, reaching out to pull the gag from her mouth. He could feel her trembling under his hands, her breath coming in short gasps. "I apologize for binding you, but I could not risk your presence drawing further attention."
She didn't respond beyond looking away from him, her pain at his perceived betrayal plain upon her face. "Jah'ron is dead," he said. "He has paid the price for his transgression. No one save Hathor has knowledge of your presence upon this ship, and she shall soon believe that you have perished. Tau'ri." He reached out and grasped her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "I pledged to return you to your home and I shall. Upon this, you have my word."
Still getting no response, he got to his feet. "I shall bring you sustenance when I am able." He left the room, taking care to secure the door behind him.
Listening to the door slide shut, Sam looked up, her eyes narrowing with hate. Liar. He was no different than the rest, a coward who would betray her to save his own skin. She couldn't trust him, couldn't trust any of them.
Fueled by her anger, she got to her feet, ignoring the aches from various bruises, and made her way over to the ventilation shaft. Prying off the grille, she crawled inside, pulling the grille into place behind her. She didn't need him, didn't need any of them.
She would find her own way off this ship, or die trying.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jack stepped up behind Teal'c, staring at the shimmering blue vista through the window. "Teal'c, why didn't you tell us we were on a ship?"
"I was not sure. I have never been aboard a Goa'uld vessel such as this. Most accelerate very differently. Most do not contain Stargate," he said. If Jack didn't know better, he'd swear the man did this on purpose just to annoy him.
"Kel-to-nak!"
Hearing the voice, Jack spun, grateful to see that Daniel and Teal'c had both managed to secret themselves out of sight. "Hey! How you doing? Uh...seen a bathroom around here?" He saw the Jaffa's fingers tense and he ducked, hoping to avoid the incoming fire. An odd zinging sound cut through the air and he looked up as the Jaffa was enveloped in blue lightening. The man jerked and shuddered, falling to the floor. Teal'c stepped forward, firing a third time and Jack watched the man shimmer into nothingness. "Okay, one shot hurts him, two shots kills him, the third shot.…" he asked, adrenaline shooting through his veins.
"Disintegrates him."
"Oh, great. You didn't feel this worth of mention, I take it."
"I suggest we relocate to another chamber as soon as possible. The royal sarcophagi, are rarely left unattended for long," Teal'c said, referring to the large golden box they discovered upon entering the room. He moved towards the door to the chamber. Unable to do anything else, Jack and Daniel followed him into the halls, ducking out of sight as a troop of Jaffa marched past them. They slipped into a room and Jack turned, keeping watch as another phalanx of heavy booted Jaffa marched by. Damn, there were way too many troops here.
"Jack? It's happening." He turned to look past Daniel, seeing for the first time a near-endless bay of fighter ships. "We're on a attack ship, headed to Earth." Daniel said.
"Okay. Well, we've got some problems then," he shot over his shoulder, using the blade of his knife to keep the door from closing totally and allowing him to keep the hall in view.
"Mol Jaffa. Tim lokeem rel moccom ai." A booming voice cut through the air and Jack looked to Daniel for translation.
"They're being summoned to some sort of gathering."
"Okay, let's go," Jack said.
"Wait a minute? Go where?"
"Wherever they are going," Jack said, not in the mood to argue. He nodded towards Teal'c, who manipulated a button, and the door opened. They followed the parade through the halls, returning to the room with the sarcophagus. Moving silently, Jack ducked behind a large pillar. He watched the golden ball hanging in the center of the gate flare into life, the all-too-familiar face of Apophis come to life.
"Chel hol, Jaffa. The end of a dark moment in Goa'uld history approaches. Soon we will wipe out the scourge that plagues us. I will rejoin you as we come out of the shadows. Until then, you are to follow all orders of my son...as if they were my own." Jack glanced back at Daniel as the Sarcophagus opened, the people in the room moving to get a good view. "Bow down now, show your reverence to my son. The mighty warrior, Klorel."
Jack's heart lurched as he watched Skaara stand up in the sarcophagus, spreading his hands out wide. "Tel kol, Jaffa. Kel, Apophis. Re nek...Klorel."
"Re nek, Klorel," Apophis said, looking down benevolently. The glowing ball went dark and Jack watched the entire group file from the room, Klorel going with them.
"He called him his son! That's sick," Jack complained.
"The Goa'uld inside Skaara is probably the son of Apophis," Daniel explained.
"Thank you, Daniel, that's encouraging."
"I'm just trying to help."
"O'Neill, what is our plan of attack?"
"Were gonna set the C-4, put it on a timer…then we're gonna go get Skaara."
"Jack, are you sure? It would be like trying to take Apophis!"
"They do not know we are on board. We would likely encounter limited opposition," Teal'c said.
"You know, if we capture him, Jack, maybe we can get through to the old Skaara. Kendra said that she could fight her Goa'uld when it was still inside her."
"Let's go," Jack said, refusing to buy into Daniel's optimism.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam crawled through the narrow air shafts, feeling herself relax slightly as she realized that for the first time in a long time, she was alone. Completely and totally alone. Oh, she'd been alone before; that was Hathor's favorite way of punishing her, to lock her into a room, in the dark for days, weeks at a time.
That was before. Then she was alone because Hathor wanted her to be alone. Now, she was here because she wanted to be here, it was her choice, her doing. It felt strange to once again have control. It felt good.
That was when the voices would come, memories and feelings. The colonel's sardonic laugh, Daniel's hesitating voice, Teal'c's calm presence. She remembered the general's twinkling eyes as she briefed him, the colonel and Kawalsky arguing in the background.
The flatness of their voices as they ignored her, ignored her warnings, dismissed her worries. The dead look in their eyes as they stood by Hathor, shielding her with their own bodies. The way they stood there, not seeming to care as she was dragged up the ramp, ignoring her as she called out for help.
She passed by an open grate and paused, looking down into the room below. Skaara? What was he doing alive? She looked at her hands, rust-colored stains under the dust and dirt. She'd killed him. She remembered killing him. Why was he still alive?
A flash of movement caught her eye and she turned, feeling her heart lurch as she saw three familiar figures charge into the room, quickly dispatching the Jaffa guarding Skaara.
"Chel nok, makor," Skaara spat, struggling as Teal'c snuck up behind him, grabbing his right hand and rendering the device there worthless.
SG-1. What were they doing here? How did they get on a Goa'uld spaceship?
"Rin nok! You dare to do this to Klorel? You will die a painful death."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jack dismissed, not impressed by the man's blustering.
"There's a raised hieroglyphs on the wall next to the door. It resembles a coiled serpent, push then turn it." She watched Daniel move, following Teal'c's instructions. "Stand aside."
Daniel stepped away, cringing slightly as Teal'c fired a strange weapon in his hand. Blue fire shot across the room and burned into the wall.
She saw Daniel repeat the procedure at the next door. "They will not be able to access this room
for some time," Teal'c said.
Jack walked over to Skaara, standing before him. "Hey, Skaara. Long time no see." The Goa'uld sneered, not saying a word. "Come on, Skaara, think. Try to remember me, I'm Jack O'Neill, this is Teal'c!"
"Ah, Teal'c! The traitor, I will take great pleasure, in delivering his head to my father."
"He is not your father!" Jack said.
"He is my father. He seeded the queen mother. He chose the host where I will live out eternity. Apophis gave me life."
"All right, I'm not talking to that thing in your head. I'm talking to Skaara."
"Nothing of the host survives."
"That's bullshit! Now let him talk to me."
"Your friend had a feeble mind, it suffered greatly. And gave in easily." He laughed and she jumped as Jack punched him in the face. She heard a thudding sound and the familiar guttural tones of Jaffa. They were going to get caught. She knew they were going to get caught.
What if…they could come with her. The shafts were safe. She could help them. Help them escape.
"Come on, Skaara, look at me, try!" Jack said, his tone getting desperate.
"Perhaps I will not kill you. Perhaps you will make a good host yourself."
"All right, promise me this thing won't kill him," Jack said, looking Teal'c in the eyes.
"Two shots will. One shot will only cause him great pain."
"So here's the deal, Let him out, let him talk to me, or you get the whole load," Jack threatened, his voice going cold.
"You will only hurt your friend," Skaara boasted.
"He's a tough kid."
"Your friend is to afraid to come forward. He enjoys my protection. He really does not wish to speak to you."
"I don't think so," Daniel said. "Skaara's stronger than you think.
"Is that right? Let him go, Teal'c. Let him go!" Teal'c stepped back and she saw the colonel fire the weapon. Skaara collapsed to the floor.
"Shau'ri! Dan'ele!" he cried, his voice high and frightened.
"Skaara! Hey there!" Jack said, his voice softening as he spoke to the young man.
"O'Neer, it hurts!" Skaara complained, his face twisting.
"I know, kid, I'm sorry."
"O'Neer, are you still my friend?" Skaara asked, his tone making Sam's heart lurch.
"Yes, I am," Jack said sincerely.
"Can you forgive me...for what we are about to do?"
"What are you about to do? Skaara! Skaara, what are you about to do?" Jack demanded, his face paling a bit.
"Please forgive us," Skaara begged.
"Hang in there, kid, come on, hang on! What are you about to do?"
His face and voice changed as Sam watched the Goa'uld come back into control. "Jaffa! Nok kree tol!" He screamed, struggling in Teal'c's grasp.
She heard a loud crash and the door was flung open, Jaffa pouring into the room. "Drop the weapon! Release Klorel, now!"
"Come on, Skaara, help us," the colonel pleaded.
"Release him. Or we will kill the human," the Jaffa threatened, aiming his staff at Daniel.
"If you kill the human, then I will kill Klorel," Teal'c shot back.
"And the host in which he resides?" Sam saw Jack nod, then all three of them lowered their weapons, surrendering to the Jaffa. She felt her heart lurch as the Jaffa readied their staff weapons, preparing to execute them.
"Jaffa, nok!" Skaara, no, Klorel, that's his name, Klorel said. "The traitor and his recruiter, my
father will be pleased."
Still secure in her hiding place, Sam watched helplessly as the three men were led from the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jack let the Jaffa push him into the gate room, not protesting as they surrounded him, Daniel and Teal'c. Stupid. He'd been so damned stupid. Why? Why the hell had he even entertained the thought of getting Skaara. Like, where in the hell were they going to go anyway? He hadn't thought that far ahead.
"Shen'tel, Klorel," Apophis said, the ball once again shimmering into life.
"Father, I wish to present to you a great gift. The traitor, Teal'c, and I present the human that recruited him."
Noting that they ignored Daniel, Jack shook his head slightly, stepping forward. "Hey pops!"
"Silence! Klorel, where did they come from?"
"We do not know. We found them after departure."
"How many more came with you?"
"Thousands! We brought a whole army!" Jack bluffed.
"I assure you, father, there could be no more."
"You have made me proud, my son."
"Do you wish that I keep them until our rejoining?"
"No, Teal'c must suffer the most painful death a Jaffa can know. Removal of his Primta. Let his new master watch him suffer and die."
"What about the humans?"
"You may choose their methods of death. But do it soon. It is almost time for remoc."
"Yes, father."
"I look forward to seeing you at our destination. Lek tol."
Apophis disappeared and Jack stood there, watching as the Jaffa made Teal'c turn around, two more Jaffa moving to stand beside Daniel. A priest walked into the room, standing before Teal'c as he pulled a knife from a sheath with deliberate slowness, making sure that Teal'c could see what was coming.
"Skaara, don't let this happen. Don't let them do this," Jack pleaded.
"Na-nay!" The priest halted and looked to Skaara, obviously questioning but not wanting to verbally voice his concerns. "Take them to the Peltac."
"Jack?" Daniel asked softly.
He shook his head, silently telling his friend to shut up. He didn't know how much time they'd just bought, but had a feeling that it wasn't going to be enough.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hathor stalked down the corridor, ignoring the looks of the Jaffa she passed. This was unacceptable. She was no mere underling to be summoned and forgotten. She was a goddess and deserved to be treated as such.
"I demand to know what the delay is," she declared, storming onto the peltac. She stopped short, staring in shock at the group of people gathered there. "What is the meaning of this?"
Klorel turned, his eyes flaring in anger. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to discover why I am not being conveyed to Apophis," she said, slowly walking into the room. She smiled, enjoying the look upon her beloved's face. "This is even better than I hoped," she drawled, running her hand down his chest. "Why did no one tell me that we had such distinguished guests with us?"
"You need to start hanging around with a higher class of people, Skaara," O'Neill said.
"Silence!" Hathor said loudly.
"This does not concern you," Klorel said.
"Oh, I think it does," she said, abandoning the Tau'ri and making her way to the viewing screen. "Apophis has grown most bold," she said. "Attacking the Tau'ri home world."
"What?" O'Neill said, pulling free from the Jaffa and walking forward.
She turned, watching his face pale as he caught sight of the planets visible through the viewing barrier. "Oh my god."
"You will get to see your home, one last time. Before you, and everyone on your planet, are destroyed. And your kind will disturb the Goa'uld no more," Klorel said.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam stared from her hiding place in the ventilation shaft. Like the one in the storeroom, the grate was low, close to the floor. Looking up she could barely see the faces of her friends as they seemed to tower over her.
"The humans we can use," Hathor said. She walked over to Jack. "We were most distressed when you spurned our child last time. You shall not have that opportunity again."
"At any time during your little visit to Earth, did you pick up on the phrase 'bite me,'?" Jack asked.
Hathor snarled, striking him. He staggered, only Teal'c's quick reflexes keeping him from falling to his knees. "You shall make an excellent host for one of my new children."
"Enough," Skaara said. "Take them to the cells," he ordered.
She was going to do it again. Hathor would do it again. She'd control them, use them to destroy Earth. She'd make the colonel into a Jaffa, use Daniel, probably kill Teal'c.
Not again. She wouldn't do it again.
Quickly and quietly backing away, Sam crawled down the ventilation shaft. No. Not again. She couldn't let it happen again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bra'tac stalked down the corridors, muttering curses under his breath. These Tau'ri were quickly becoming more trouble than they were worth. He could not conceive what benefits Teal'c saw in allying himself with such inept people.
The woman…the woman he held no blame for; she had been taken from her home world, but these others…these others would likely result in all their deaths.
If he were a wise man, he would leave them be and let them suffer whatever fate Hathor, Apophis and Klorel had in store for them. Yet he knew he could not. The only reason he could think of for Apophis to summon Hathor was to use her to conquer the planet. He knew that it would only take her weeks to produce enough larvae to create a whole army of Jaffa, even if the strain would likely result in her death. If that happened, Earth would fall. And with it, what could perhaps be the last chance of the Goa'uld being overthrown.
Arriving outside the cell, he dismissed the guard and entered the room, sensing the presence of two people flanking the door.
"Bra'tac?" O'Neill said.
Acting on impulse, he struck, hitting the man in the face. Fool. His unwise tongue would get them all killed.
"Oh, God!" the human leader groaned as he sank back against the wall.
"Fools! Hashack! You doom yourselves. It is all I can do to keep you alive. Do you know all I have done to regain the trust of Apophis? Hmm? Hmm?" he ranted.
"Tek mate, Bra'tac."
"Hello again, old friend," he said, his ire fading at the sight of his protégé. "Your son grows strong. One day, he will be a great warrior. But you should not have come."
"I stand by my friends. I believe this world may be our only hope in one day overcoming the false gods."
"Yes. As pathetic as that might seem at the moment, I agree."
"You do?" the young man asked.
"I may have even been able to save this world had you not interfered."
"Hey! What do you think we've been trying to do?" O'Neill protested, getting to his feet. "It is our world you're talking about."
"Enough, human! This is not the place to talk of these things. It is merely a matter of time until Hathor and Klorel determine your fates, and a cell is not the best place to be."
He motioned for them to follow him and he led the way out of the cell, quickly slipping behind the false walls. It took them only minutes to make their way into the armory. Securing the door and trusting one of his men to watch it, Bra'tac opened a crate, revealing the weapons that had been taken away from the Tau'ri. "Here are your weapons. You will need them."
"Um, Bra'tac, you mentioned something about saving the world. Care to elaborate on that?" O'Neill asked.
"Apophis plans to attack your world from space, then use Hathor to create a Jaffa army to be under his thrall. Destroying this ship will prevent that."
"How did you plan to achieve that goal?" Teal'c asked.
"Among the Goa'uld, a pharaoh's power is more often challenged by their sons than by their enemies. Once we had joined battle with your world, I was prepared to lead my wing against Apophis, in Hathor's and Klorel's names."
"Apophis would assume the attack is a joint challenge between Hathor and Klorel and reciprocate. A daring plan," Teal'c intuited.
"I had hoped to drive a stake of mistrust between them. Klorel has little love for Hathor. Now, however, I fear they will bond against their common enemy."
"We can still pull this off," O'Neill said.
"How?"
"We rigged this ship with explosives," the Tau'ri said.
"And the other?" Bra'tac asked.
"We didn't know there was another until half an hour ago," O'Neill said. "Is there any way you can get us over there?"
Bra'tac looked to Teal'c and nodded. "I can."
"If you can get us over there, we can take that one out too," O'Neill said.
"I shall do as you wish," Bra'tac agreed. "But first we must retrieve someone."
"What?"
"When I last saw you, you were in the presence of a female."
"Captain Carter," Teal'c supplied.
"She's here?" the young Tau'ri asked.
"Carter's here? Is she okay?" O'Neill asked.
"She will survive," Bra'tac said. "Taking the time to retrieve her puts the success of your plan at risk," he warned.
"I don't give a damn, she's coming with us," O'Neill said.
Pleased with his response, Bra'tac nodded. "Follow me."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam silently slipped out of the air shaft, casting a wary eye at the figure reclining upon a divan across the room. Klorel had done just what she'd expected him to do, had Hathor escorted back to her quarters. It was a good thing that those two hated each other. This was going to be much easier now that Hathor was alone, or as close to alone as the female Goa'uld ever got.
There were two slaves in the room, but Sam knew from experience that they'd stay out of her way. Waiting until the slaves turned their backs, she padded across the room, picking up a small statue, smiling at the reassuring weight in her hand. It probably wasn't enough to kill the host, but she didn't need to do that. One good blow to the back of the neck was all she needed. Just enough to kill the symbiote within the woman.
She crept to within feet of her, close enough to hear the Goa'uld breathing. Hathor was reclining on her side, the back of her neck shielded by nothing more than hair. Raising the statue, she heard a gasp, turning her head to meet the shocked gaze of one of the slaves. In a flash, Hathor turned, striking out and knocking Sam off her feet.
She landed hard, the statue skittering out of her hands and across the floor. "So, my pet does still live," she said, getting to her feet. She grabbed Sam's arm, pulling her to her feet. "The fates do shine upon me today. I regain not only my beloved, but my pet as well."
"No," Sam said, trying to break free.
"You will experience the benevolence of your god," she said, tightening her grip. "I shall gift you with one of my children. You and the rest of your friends shall serve me for all eternity."
"They'll die first."
"If need be," she said, dragging Sam across the room. "Perhaps you would like to join them?"
She pulled her out into the corridor, using her symbiote-enhanced strength to make Sam follow her. She walked quickly, forcing Sam to almost run to keep from being literally dragged along behind the woman.
She rounded a corner and stopped short. "Sholva!" Hathor called out. Before Sam could even look up, blue fire arced over her and she fell, her nerves screaming with pain.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Daniel stared in shock as the two women fell in a tangle of limbs, the zat blast being enough to knock them off their feet. Teal'c hurried forward, pulling Hathor away from the other one. He didn't think she was a Goa'uld, not given the way she was dressed in simple leggings and an overshirt. "Son of a bitch," he heard Jack mutter.
"Oh, god," Daniel said, seeing what Jack had seen. "Sam."
He barely recognized his friend; her face was smeared with dust and dirt, and her hair was longer than the last time he'd seen it, ragged and tangled. He could see that she was thinner, bruises visible beneath the grime. She was unconscious, obviously stunned by the zat.
"Hathor has kept her prisoner for many months," Bra'tac explained.
"Teal'c," Jack said, standing up. Teal'c obliged, moving from Hathor to pick Sam up. "We gotta move," Jack said. "This ship's gonna blow in less than an hour."
"What about Hathor?" Teal'c asked, easily managing Sam's limp weight.
Acting on impulse, Daniel raised his zat, shooting her a second and third time, taking no small measure of satisfaction as she shimmered into nothingness.
"Daniel?" Jack asked.
"Maybe they'll be so busy looking for her they won't notice the ship blowing up," he said, not regretting his actions in the slightest.
"We must gain access to the peltac. The rings are there," Bra'tac said.
Jack shot him a look and rolled his eyes. "Let's go," he ordered.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bra'tac led them through the corridors, drawing up on all his skill to avoid the patrols. Within moments, they were outside the peltac.
"All right, here's what we do…" O'Neill started.
"I will lead. You will follow," Bra'tac interrupted.
"Right." He motioned to Teal'c who laid his burden down, positioning her behind a false wall, out of sight.
"You will know when it is time," Bra'tac said confidently.
"Whoa. You're just gonna walk in there alone?' the young Tau'ri protested.
"I am Klorel's loyal servant," Bra'tac said, turning with a flourish. He strode onto the peltac, coming to a halt a short distance behind Klorel.
"Bra'tac," he acknowledged, barely glancing at him.
"My lord, Klorel."
"Come. Witness the power of your god," Klorel invited magnanimous.
"I cannot," Bra'tac said.
Klorel turned slowly, disdain on his face. "Why do you defy me?"
"Because you are not a god. You are a parasite within a child and I despise you," Bra'tac said, taking no small measure of satisfaction in finally being able to speak his mind.
"Jaffa, kree tai! I am your god!" he raged, raising his ribbon weapon. "And you will feel my wrath!"
Seeing the ribbon weapon flare into life, Bra'tac braced himself, yet still found himself unprepared as pain like he had never felt lanced through his skull. "I… die….free!" Bra'tac choked out.
Weapons fire filled the room and Klorel broke off the attack, distracted by the noise. Teal'c appeared in his vision, roughly grabbing Klorel's arm, rendering him harmless.
"Jaffa, tal shak!" the Goa'uld raged.
He heard the sound of Tau'ri weapons in the corridor and O'Neill reacted, hurrying from the room as Bra'tac's loyal Jaffa eliminated the others in the room. He returned a few minutes later, the still unconscious form of the Tau'ri female in his arms, the younger male painfully absent.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, struggling slightly as he sought to restrain Klorel.
"Daniel's….staying behind," he said, the grief on his face telling Bra'tac all he needed to know.
"Come," he said, moving to the controls for the rings. He waited until they were ready, then activated the system, sending them to Apophis' ship.
"Kree, Jaffa!" Apophis said, his eyes narrowing in anger at the invasion of his ship.
"Come. Come. Come!" Bra'tac urged.
"If you fire upon us, I will kill Klorel!" Teal'c threatened.
"Bra'tac, how dare you betray me?" Apophis asked.
"I have spent one hundred and thirty-three years worshipping false gods. No more!" he said, raising his staff weapon and firing upon the control console of the ship. The small group fled the peltac, Teal'c still struggling with Klorel before striking the Goa'uld on the head, subduing him. Bra'tac quickly disabled the mechanism for the door, sealing Apophis in, for a short time at least.
"How do we blow this ship?" O'Neill asked, slightly distracted by the female, who was starting to rouse.
"When we were on Klorel's vessel, I directed it closer to this one," Bra'tac said.
"If we destroy the shield generator of this vessel, both will be destroyed in the explosion. Two birds with but one stone," Teal'c said.
Bra'tac nodded. That had been his thought as well. "This way." He led them to a large shaft that ran the length of the ship. "The shield generators are far below. There, in the very bowels of the ship. We must climb down several decks, through the length of the ship. The taking our weapons, we must…"
O'Neill held up his hand, carefully propping Sam against the wall and supporting her for a second as she slid down to sit on the floor. He pulled open the vest he wore and pulled out two small items. As Bra'tac watched, he pulled a pin from each of them and let them drop, smiling grimly when twin explosions rocked the ship. "Grenades," he said, tossing the pins into the hole.
"This vessel is no longer protected by an energy field," Teal'c said. "When Klorel's ship explodes, this one shall as well."
"So what now?" O'Neill asked.
"Now we die," Bra'tac said, satisfied that he had saved the Tau'ri world, but saddened that he would be unable to fulfill his promise to the Tau'ri woman. She would never see her home, but at least her death would come among her friends.
"Well, that's a bad plan. Where are the glider bays from here?" O'Neill asked.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam let Jack pull her to her feet, swaying slightly. "Hang in there, Carter," he said softly, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Colonel," she muttered, trying to process what had happened. Where did they come from? "Hathor," she said.
"She's not an issue anymore," he reassured. "You just hang on. We'll have you home in no time."
She let him pull her along, concentrating more on staying on her feet than where they were going. Home. Could she really be going home? It didn't seem real. She'd long since given up on ever getting home again.
They stopped, Jack pushing Sam to lean against the wall. "I'll go in first…never mind."
"Observe," she heard Bra'tac say. He pulled a small ball from a pouch at his belt and stepped to the doorway, rolling it into the room. "Cover!" Sam felt Jack lean over her, shielding her as a high-pitched whine filled the air. "Now that was a grenade!" Bra'tac crowed. "Come!"
She followed Jack, Bra'tac, Teal'c and Klorel into the room, staring for a moment at the seemingly endless rows of death gliders. Bra'tac and Teal'c led the way, pushing buttons on consoles to make the bottom of the fuselage slide down, revealing a pair of seats.
Sam looked to her companions, the stark simplicity of their situation setting in. There wasn't room. She met Jack's gaze and saw that he'd realized the same thing. "Skaara and I will…"
"No," she interrupted. "You go."
"Carter—"
"Colonel…I'm already dead," she said, turning and running back out into the corridor.
"Carter!" she heard him yell, and it only made her run faster.
"O'Neill." Bra'tac held out a restraining hand. "We must go."
Jack shook it off. "I gotta go get her," Jack said, shaking off the Jaffa's hand. He pounded out into the hall, quickly catching sight of the fleeing Carter. She tried to run around a corner too fast and slipped, crashing into the wall. Jack easily caught her, grabbing one flailing arm.
"No!" she cried.
"Goddamn it, Carter," he said, the sudden lurch of the ship telling him that he was out of time. Balling his fist, he clipped her on the jaw, stunning her into submission. Tossing her over his shoulder, he ran back to the glider bay, grateful to see that Bra'tac and Teal'c had waited for him. He climbed into the back seat, struggling with the dead weight of Sam, awkwardly balancing her on his lap. This was definitely gonna be a cozy ride.
He caught a flash of movement and cursed as he saw Jaffa starting to pour into the room. "Our time is up. We have got to go," he said, cringing as the men readied their staff weapons.
With a gut-wrenching motion, the ship dropped through the force field decking of the hatak, swooping out into the relative safety of space.
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General Hammond walked into the infirmary, waving his hand to keep the people from getting to their feet as protocol demanded. "Doctor?" he said, spying the petite woman.
"They're all fine, General," she reported. "Everyone has cleared medical and their MRI's." She walked over to him. "I believe Colonel O'Neill said something about a shower, a request I was in no mood to argue with," she finished with a smile.
"And Captain Carter?" he asked softly.
"Presently, she's fine. Some cuts and bruises, a little malnourished."
"But?" he asked, following the doctor into her office.
"She complained of headaches, the few times she really talked. I did some tests and found signs of an old injury, a hairline skull fracture, probably sustained when she was taken. It's well on its way to healing, but I'd imagine she'll deal with migraines for a while, or longer. General, considering all she's been through, she's in better physical shape than I'd expect."
"I'm wondering about her mental state," he asked, slowly, regretting the necessity of having to ask such a question.
She shook her head. "I'm no psychologist, sir."
"Your best guess," he pressed. He was no psychologist either, but he knew trauma when he saw it.
"I think it could do her good to participate in things around here," she said.
"Doctor?"
"Sir, she doesn't have anything else," Janet said softly. "If I remember correctly, her team closed up her apartment, she doesn't even have anywhere to live. Standard procedure would be to send her to her family, but…." She finished with a shrug, sighing as she closed the folder in front of her. George knew what it said, he'd given the doctor the information himself, feeling the odd need to update her next of kin information even though she'd been listed as MIA at the time. That was one of his greatest regrets, that his best friend and that friend's daughter had never reconciled, that Jacob had gone to his death never knowing all that she'd accomplished.
"Does she know?" he asked.
The doctor shook her head. "Colonel O'Neill said she was relatively unresponsive during the flight back to Earth. And she's done nothing more than to answer direct questions when I've tried to talk to her. I think she's definitely in shock but…to tell you the truth, sir, I'm afraid to tell her. Her mental state is fragile at best."
George sighed; this was what he'd been expecting to hear since getting the first communiqué from Jack, briefing him on both Doctor Jackson's apparent demise and the unexpected rescue of the captain. Fortunately, Doctor Jackson's situation had been quickly resolved, but he knew there would be no quick fixes for Captain Carter. No one survived months of captivity unscathed, and he knew Jack knew that most of all.
"I have a briefing with the rest of SG-1 in an hour. We'll discuss Captain Carter's immediate future then. If need be, I'll take her home myself."
"Sir?"
"I owe Jacob that much," he said, not saying that he owed Sam that much too. He still felt shame at his behavior, at not just letting his hormones do the thinking, but standing there, shielding an enemy with his own body. Vaguely, he remembered her protests, protests he had ignored. If he'd just listened to her, things would be so different now. He was as responsible for her present condition as Hathor was.
"Yes, sir," Fraiser said.
"Keep me updated," he requested, getting to his feet.
"I will, sir," she answered. Janet watched him leave, sighing softly to herself. Maybe if she felt like it, she'd take Sam home for the weekend. It would surely do the woman some good to get out of the mountain and into some fresh air, and maybe she'd like to meet Cassie as well.
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