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- Starlad
EIGHT MONTHS AGO – ON THE PLANET 'JUNA'
They had been ambushed on their way back to the gate.
The loud clanking of Jaffa amour echoing in the clearing by the Stargate.
"Daniel! Dial us out of here!" Jack commanded as he let off a volley of shots in the direction of the Jaffa.
The warriors were quick to respond with their own staff weapons firing quickly In succession narrowly missing Jack as a tree branch above his head shattered and smoked as the energy made contact.
He and his comrades continued to lay down cover fire as they made their way closer to the gate.
He could see Carter on the outside of Daniel, covering him with an impressive amount of firepower as he made his way to the DHD. Her bullets found their intended targets with ease and Jack saw three more Jaffa fall, their bodies clumsily hitting one another on the way down.
She however didn't stop to watch, instead she took aim once more and took out the Jaffa who was currently firing at the Colonel and her skill with a firearm was not disappointed.
He realized what she was doing, calculating the Jaffa against the distance they had to travel to reach optimum range for their staff weapons and taking out the ones nearest.
Her sharp shooting abilities aside, Jack had to continue to shoot into the forest at the still-approaching Jaffa. Clearly this was no ordinary patrol. This was a direct attack as the Jaffa numbers were many.
SG1 had little hope of making it to the gate alive. It was either be captured by some masochistic Goa'uld or die trying. Jack knew which one he would pick. Sam however, seemed intended to survive as she continued her volley of shots into the oncoming Jaffa.
She moved her focus to the Jaffa she could see making their way through the trees in direct sight of Teal'c. She fired. Once, twice, three times in quick succession felling the three that were closest while Teal'c took out four more in the other direction.
The three soldiers lay down cover fire for Daniel as he made his way slowly in the direction of the gate, shooting at regular intervals with his hand gun.
And suddenly, in a bright cacophony of energy and sound, Sam went down. Obviously the Jaffa had seen her cover fire as their biggest threat and three men on opposing sides simultaneously took her down.
O'Neill's whole body went numb as he registered the fact that his 2IC had been hit. He heard a strangled cry and it took him a moment to register that the cry had come from his own throat.
The Jaffa who had shot Sam suddenly had the force of three different weapons on him. Teal'c staff, Jack's P90 and Daniels Beretta all fired at once, leaving no hope for the Jaffa. He went down amidst a hail of bullets and energy, each member of SG1 seeking retribution for their fallen comrade.
Once he had been taken care of, Daniel and Teal'c went back to covering Jack as he made his way to Samantha's side.
Please, oh god please.
He begged whatever god or divine deity was listening that she would be okay.
He struggled to breathe as he allowed himself the morbid moment of thinking of life without Carter. It would not be worth living. Thoughts of Charlie and his mind set after his death rolled through his head like flashes from a camera. The hollow tipped bullet, the thought that he could not go on.
He finally reached her side, struggling for breath his eyes filled with dust and dirt from the discharge of weapons around him. She lay on her stomach, the gaping wound clearly apparent at the small of her back. He knelt down over her, once again shooting at the Jaffa in the trees. Knowing that Daniel and Teal'c were continuing to cover him, he dropped his weapon, discarding it carelessly to the side as he reached for her shoulder and flipped her gently.
His brown eyes met her stunning blue ones and for a second he almost believed she was okay. Until he realised that her eyes were glassy, and staring, not at him or anywhere. He struggled to breathe as he reached to feel for a pulse, and finding none, felt a crushing wave of despair that he had never felt before. He had lost people in battle before, good people. Good men doing their jobs, what they had been trained to do and protecting their country, just as Carter had. But no loss had ever his Jack quite so hard. In fact, if it hadn't been for Teal'c, his large hand closing over Jacks shoulder as staff weapon blast continued to whiz by his head, dragging Jack to his feet and propelling him towards the Stargate, he would probably still be sitting there, desolation and grief clutching at his chest.
Teal'c had tried to lift Sam into his arms, but the Jaffa patrol had been joined by more, their numbers doubling suddenly and he was forced to retreat, leaving her body behind as the three grieving men stepped through the gate. the force of the vortex giving the three grieving men cause to want to empty the contents of their stomachs as soon as they hit the metal ramp on the other side.
Once through the other side, Teal'c gave the order to close the iris, blocking any pursuing Jaffa and Staff blasts that may have followed them through. The gate held for a moment, then shut itself off as the three men collapsed at the foot of the metal ramp. Orders were dispersed from the General, his Texan drawl so familiar, yet so foreign, as orders for med teams came through.
It may have only been a few seconds before Janet and her team had come flying through the blast doors, but it may as well have been a lifetime for the remaining members of SG1.
Not knowing who had been injured, or what had occurred, Janet raked her eyes over each of the men and suddenly stopped when she realised that none had sustained any obvious injuries, yet each looked as though they were in disbelief. It was only then that she noticed the absence of one team member. She looked up, startled by the sudden appearance of the General. She could tell by the look on each of the men's faces what had happened, but wouldn't believe it until it was said out-loud.
"Colonel, Report!" the General barked, not noticing the absence as yet, taking a second to digest the sight of his three best men looking as dejected as they did.
"We were ambushed at the Gate, Sir. There were too many of them." Jack's voice waivered as he spoke, standing out of respect to his superior, yet looking as though he might simply keel over again.
"And where is Major Carter?" The General asked, somehow knowing the answer before the question left his lips.
Jack opened his mouth the speak, but faltered, not knowing if he was able to say it out loud. Teal'c was the one who eventually answered, his voice strained, more emotional than the general had ever heard.
"MajorCarter, whist securing our escape, was struck in battle. She did not survive." He lowered his head, out of respect or despair, no-one could tell, as both emotions were clearly displayed in his gesture.
Janet, upon hearing the words leave Teal'cs mouth, struggled to maintain her composure as she continued to look over the three men. Her patients had to come before her anguish.
"Sir, they're in shock. I need to get them to the infirmary." She choked out, her voice sounding tight and strangled as she swallowed her emotions.
She had to be sure that they were okay before she could loose it.
The general nodded his consent, unable to find his voice as the Colonel was led by an EMT towards the blast doors. The fact that he was complying willingly and not commenting about being poked and prodded by the medical staff proving Janet's diagnosis.
The General let out a shaky sigh as he watched his premier team being led away by the medics and cursed inwardly at the unfairness of this seemingly never ending war. Sam had been like family to him. His grief for her loss hit him harder than it would normally have, had she simply been an officer under his command. But as it were, she was more like a surrogate daughter. He knew that many others would feel her loss as deeply as he did. Her team in particular would never be the same.
But he had to go on. The war would bring more heart-ache and desolation until it was over, but for now, he had to contact the Tok'ra. Jacob. How was he to tell him that SG1's luck had finally run out?
PRESENT DAY – 'TYAN'
The two made their way across the outskirts of the forest, keeping their presence concealed as a patrol of Jaffa sauntered past. Their military training made them conscious of keeping low to the ground and to silently edge further in the opposite direction.
Jack had caught up with Sam around twenty minutes ago and since then the two hadn't said a word. The enemy patrols keeping them silent were only part of it.
Sam's outburst before had dealt Jack a blow to both his ego and his heart. He had never seen Carter act with such vehemence with such a disregard for his orders. He knew that the woman and child they were on their way to find were important, as all lives are… but he could tell that these particular lives were of greater significance to Sam. For whatever reason, he trusted that she would not be out here if it wasn't. He trusted her judgement, even if her actions were motivated by purely emotional reasons and she let him follow her without a second glance.
Sam had stopped behind a small section of rocks and low bushes that gave them the advantage of being able to see the Jaffa, not being seen themselves.
"They're headed back to the Stargate." she whispered, leaving Jack wondering if she was simply musing out loud or if she was actually talking to him. He took a shot and responded.
"You think their going home?"
She looked at him for the first time since the cave and Jack could tell by the pallor of her skin and the shade of her eyes that she was scared. Not for herself, not for them or their lives, but for the lives of the people from the village.
"Or going to get reinforcements." she stated quietly. Jack nodded and waited a few seconds before reaching for his radio.
"Teal'c. Come in."
"O'Neill." Teal'cs deep baritone reverberated through the speaker.
"Carter and I have spotted the Jaffa patrols. They look like they are headed back to the Stargate. Can you confirm for us if they are leaving."
"I will endeavour to do so O'Neill." and the radio clicked off.
Sam and Jack stayed where they were for the entire ten minutes it took for Teal'c to reply. No words were spoken, although each was hoping the other would begin.
Sam was sorry she had gone off at him like that, especially in light of her crazy rescue, but knew that it was what she had to do. She knew that the young girl, Bayra would protect the baby by all means possible, but a deeper feeling, a deep instinctual fear told Sam that something was wrong. Jack on the other hand wanted information. He knew that this rescue was an emotionally driven one and knew that Sam would still have a lot of explaining to do when they found this woman and her child, but he couldn't bring himself to ask more.
The two sat silently, conscious of their close proximity to one another, reminding them of their history. Jonah and Thera's history, they quietly reminded themselves but the fact that Jonah and Thera had had all that they could not, made them jealous of the simple lives they had lived on the ice planet. The urge to pull Sam closer to him, just to ensure himself that she was alive was strong, but Jack fought it.
The feeling was entirely mutual as Sam longed to rest her head in the crock of his neck, ensconced in his lap like she had so many times before. So many times Thera had before. The distinction was one that Sam had failed to make so many times simply due to the fact that although their identity's had been fake on the ice planet, their personalities and feelings had been one hundred percent Jack and Sam. Feelings that had been forbidden for so long had been allowed on the ice planet and no rules and regulations restricting their actions had come into play. Their physical and emotional intimacy had been raw and filled with such passion and tenderness that neither had ever felt from a lover before, so much so that the memories of their time filled their hearts with such longing and heartache.
Finally, just when Jack didn't believe he could take it any more and knew that the barriers were breaking down around them Teal'cs voice resonated from the radio positioned near his left ear.
"O'Neill."
Both Jack and Sam jumped slightly, each knowing that the other had just been about to say or do something.
"Yeah, Teal'c?" Jack breathed, conscious of the fact that Sam had also just been about to speak.
"I have spotted the Jaffa. They made their way to the Stargate and exited the planet through it. I believe they are all gone, but I would caution you to move quietly in case there are more."
"Did you by any chance get a look at where they went."
"Indeed O'Neill. It is not coordinates that I know."
"Alright, T. Get back to the caves and continue helping Daniel with the wounded. O'Neill – Out." The Colonel clicked his radio to standby and met Sam's eyes with his own.
"We seem to be in the clear for now, but let's continue in these trees until we are sure." Sam nodded briefly before standing and moving on.
They made their way slowly through the edge of the trees still not speaking, their carefully honed survival skills listening out for any noises that were out of place.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, aside from general devastation and smoke billowing from the once standing village, the two made their way to where Jack presumed Sam had been living for the past few months. That fact was still one that had bothered Jack. Two months. Sam had been here in this primitive society for TWO WHOLE MONTHS. God only knew why. Why hadn't she come home… or at least contacted the SGC?
Standard Operating Procedure for victims of capture by off-world hostiles was that the person had to gate to Cimmeria, find Gairwyn who had a GDO with a specific code for captive SG teams that would allow passage to the Alpha Site for medical examination and debrief before being allowed back on earth. Sure it was a lengthy process, but every SG member knew the procedure. HELL Carter… Sam… had been one of the ones who had actually devised the procedure so Jack was curious to know exactly what it was that had kept her from following protocol.
His musings were stopped when a soft sound came from Sam's mouth. A sound of anguish, horror and unbelieving. He ended his train of thought as he looked up at the site of devastation before the two of them.
TBC…
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