Devil's Hotline

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing

The constant hum of energy filled the cell, soft and low and barely noticeable unless one actively sought it out. The source of the hum was coming from the odd bars of energy that covered the only entrance to the prison, and the bars glowed a soft yellow that would have been easy on the eyes had it not been for the fact that everything else around it shared a similar yellow hue to it. Instead it became something of an eyesore-perhaps a psychological tactic to drive a prisoner insane over a long period of time.

Or perhaps the interior decorator simply had a thing for yellow.

Hopefully, for SG-1's sake, they wouldn't be locked up long enough to find out.

The team had been half-lead, half-dragged off the path where the small battle had taken place, the jaffa that had captured them leading them down another, almost invisible trail and around a large rock face. They'd been greeted with the sight of a rather large Ha'tak, much to the surprise of several members of SG-1. Perhaps they'd expected something smaller then the large Goa'uld mothership, such as an Al'kash, or maybe even the smaller Death Gliders.

Jack had remarked on how Sg-1 must have gained celebrity status to have a Ha'tak actually land for his team to be taken prisoner on, and had gained a rather large bump on the head for his comment. Odd, considering that, by all appearances, none of the jaffa leading them spoke a word of English. Maybe the jaffa who'd whacked Jack with the butt end of his staff had simply wanted the colonel to shut up. After all, Jack had taken to whistling a rather annoying, catchy tune that seemed to lodge itself in the brains of all who'd heard it. Carter had even caught one or two of their guards humming along to the repetitive melody, much to the major's surprise.

Jack had originally done it simply as a small way to bug their guards. No one had expected the jaffa to be so ill trained as to have some actually join him in his quest to drive everyone present insane. The lead jaffa had then taken notice. And a whack to the head had silenced the silver haired man. And the two jaffa who'd joined him.

They'd been lead to a pair of transportation rings under the large ship, something that had surprised Mara. It seemed the demon had never been beamed up into a ship using several rings before, and the woman had yelped when the transportation rings had descended upon the large group. And then they were inside the ship, passing down hallways left and right and taking so many turns that it was almost impossible to keep track of where they were going. It didn't help that all the corridors were identical to one another, without so much as a scratch on the walls to distinguish one hall from another.

Not that it mattered for the group in custody. And soon enough, Sg-1 found themselves in their current predicament: locked up in an eyesore of a prison cell that felt too small for the six people locked up within.

The jaffa had departed soon after throwing the team into the cell, trusting the humming bars of energy to keep the group within its confines. Jack, having long grown used to being locked up in alien cells, had made a sweep of the room with Carter and Daniel, searching for anything in the room that he and his team might be able to use to their advantage. As to be expected, the trio had found nothing, and so Jack had then ordered them to 'make themselves comfy'.

Currently, Jack sat propped up against the wall to the left of the exit, Daniel at his left and Carter at his right, the trio going over various plans and strategies that might work for getting out of the cell. Bra'tac and Teal'c stood off to one side, listening silently and offering input every now and then when asked, though most of their attention was focused on the corridors outside the cell. Mara, the odd one out, sat with her legs crossed, an elbow resting on a knee, her head propped up on a hand as she moodily glared out the bars of their cell.

"So, who do you think is in charge here, Daniel?" Jack asked, fidgeting slightly as he fought to find a comfortable position against the hard metal of the wall.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, rubbing the bridge of his nose and pushing his glasses back to their original position. Jaffa were not known for being gentle when it came to such objects, and when the stun of the zat that had hit him had worn off, he'd found his glasses had decided they'd rather slide down his nose then sit still. Another pair that would need to be fixed when the team returned home.

"I'm not sure Jack. The six pointed star is usually associated with the Star of David, but somehow I'm getting the feeling that the Goa'uld in charge has little to do with Judaism."

Across from him, Sam nodded. "That's true. We've never really come across any jaffa who were being lead under a Goa'uld using any sort of Jewish references before." The major looked over at Teal'c and Bra'tac, both of which had moved into a guard-like stance, on the look out for any jaffa coming to 'chat'. "Teal'c? Bra'tac? What about you?" She asked, tipping her head slightly to one side as blue eyed woman stared at the jaffa in curiosity.

It was Bra'tac who responded, turning to regard the trio with a small frown. "We have never come across any jaffa bearing such a symbol before. Nor have we heard of any false god using such a symbol as their own. It may be as I initially thought. A new System Lord rising to power." His voice was grave, matching the serious expression on his face.

Jack sighed dramatically, his head falling back against the wall with a dull 'thump'. "Wonderful. Guess we'll just have to wait and see who our 'mystery host' is then." He grumbled, a scowl on his face as he looked out into the corridor. Lazily, brown eyes drifted from the bars of the cell to Mara, who'd been unusually quiet since the team had been captured. Even now, she seemed to be lost in another world, her gaze distant, as though the demon was deep in thought or perhaps trying to recall something of importance.

"Hey, Lieutenant." He called out, watching as the woman's head snapped up in sudden attention, the woman shifting her gaze to his with annoyed mahogany eyes. "Penny for your thoughts?"

The woman frowned at the phrase, perhaps unfamiliar with the saying, if the confusion on her face was any evidence. "What?" She asked, her brows furrowing together in confusion.

"'Penny for your thoughts.' It means, 'What are you thinking about?'" Jack said, a small hint of amusement in his voice as he explained the meaning of the phrase, a small smirk on his face.

The frown turned into a scowl, and Mara looked away. "Nothing you'd understand." She muttered, turning and gazing once more through the bars.

She ignored the raised eyebrow that appeared on Jack's face, as well as the questioning looks Sam and Daniel directed her way. She ignored the suspicious glance Bra'tac cast her way, and the dark hand that was placed on the elder warrior's shoulder as Teal'c shared a look with his old master. No. All of her attention was to the corridor outside their current prison.

And the young girl who stood outside, gazing in with curious violet eyes.

Mara was unsure of when the child had appeared-she'd been too distracted with the going-ons around her to bother paying too much attention to one thing-but she did know that the little girl with the white hair had been observing them for a while. The child had been slow in her observations, eyes lazily drifting from one member of SG-1 to the next with all the speed of a turtle, but Mara found herself inclined not to care.

After all, there were some things that simply weren't done, and rushing the Leader of Demons was one such thing.

Well, no, scratch that. The child in front of the bars of the prison cell was not the Daimakaicho, per say. Rather, the little girl was an Avatar: something of a vassal that contained 1/1000's of Daimakaicho Hild's power. After all, Hild was a very busy woman. She simply didn't have the time or patience needed to give her full and undivided attention to any one contract. There were probably dozens of such Avatars located throughout the universe, even more locked up in various dimensions.

The child's eyes landed on her, and Mara stiffened. Violet eyes lit up and danced in amusement, and Hild grinned, showing off pearly white teeth that contrasted greatly with her dark skin. The girl was dressed in an open vest a shade of royal purple, the garment clinging to her thin frame despite the fact that the vest was long enough to fall to her knees, where the material spread out in a manner that eerily resembled wings-like those found on a bat or a dragon. Gloves long enough to extend past her elbows covered her arms, and a matching pair of shorts and overly large boots adorned her lower torso.

Her hair, an odd shade of white not normally found on any child so young, was done up in two pigtails, each of which ended with one long tress of hair that seemed out of place with the shorter, spikier locks. Long bangs framed a round face, where a red, six pointed star adorned her forehead, two similar five pointed stars under each eye. A pair of equally long locks fell in front or her like two overly long sideburns.

"Maa-chan, what a surprise. So this is where you've been hiding." Despite the fact that Hild's mouth moved, no words reached Mara's ears. Instead, the words seemed to form in her mind, reverberating with a power unique to the Daimakaicho. And she was using that god-awful nickname from Japan, too.

Mara opened her mouth to respond, forgetting at that moment that she was not alone, and that, out of all of SG-1, she seemed to be the only one who had taken notice of Hild's presence. Hild brought a finger to her lips though, and Mara's mouth slammed shut with a barely audible 'click'. Teal'c and Bra'tac were the only ones to take notice. "Now, now. There will be plenty of time for you to explain yourself later. You don't want to alert your friends to the fact that something is amiss, am I correct?" Hild's avatar wagged one finger, as though scolding Mara for such rude behavior.

Mara, having learned the consequences of questioning the Daimakaicho first-hand, wisely remained silent, instead staring one with wide, questioning eyes.

"And such interesting company you keep with you, too." The girl's gaze flickered from Mara to Bra'tac and Teal'c, to Jack, Sam, and Daniel. "You never struck me as the kind of demon to strike deals with such a large group." Mara followed her boss's gaze, and as though sensing the attention, Jack looked over at her.

"Hey Jotun, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." The colonel frowned, a flash of concern racing across his face and disappearing before Mara even had time to register it as an emotion, curiosity quickly replacing it.

The demon in disguise shook her head, releasing a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "It…it's nothing Sir." She stammered, turning to look back through the bars once more. But she might have well naught have bothered. Hild was gone. "No…nothing at all…"

Jack's frown deepened, but the man didn't comment, instead turning to Carter and Daniel, who shared a look with him. Daniel shrugged his shoulders, as though saying beats me, while Carter took to shaking her head, her expression slightly puzzled.

"Maybe being locked up in an alien jail cell has her spooked, Sir?" She suggested, the major's voice soft as she glanced over at the demon before looking back over at Jack.

The older man shrugged. "Who knows? Do demons even spook that easily?" No answer, be it from Carter or Daniel, came to him. But then, he hadn't really expected one.

"Colonel O'Neil." The trio looked up. Teal'c and Bra'tac had grown tense, and from where she sat, Mara watched the two jaffa with a small amount of curiosity. Sensing their gazes, Teal'c spoke up. "Several jaffa are approaching. It may be in our best interests to be on guard."

Jack nodded, slowly rising to his feet, grimacing slightly as his knee protested. Damn, the Doc was going to have a field day with him when they got back to base. "You heard him kids. Time to greet the bandwagon." Already, he could hear the oh-so-familiar sound of metal booted feet marching towards them, and as Carter and Daniel moved to stand by his side, the jaffa in question came into Jack's line of vision.

There were five of them, three of which were armed with zats, two armed with staff weapons, and as they stood outside the bars of the cell, one of the men wielding a zat spoke up in goa'uld, before pointing to Sam and Mara. As the leader pointed towards the two female members of SG-1, the rest of those present in the jail cell grew tense as well.

"He said he wants the two women to go with him." Daniel said, his voice low as he translated the jaffa's words. "He says Sam and Mara-Marla are to approach the cell bars, and that we are to stand against the far wall."

Jack nodded, his attention focused on the head jaffa. "Well that's all fine and dandy and all, but you see, I just don't think I can let that happen. Carter and Jotun here," He pointed to each woman respectably, gaining a curious glance from Mara and a defiant look from Carter, who turned it on the group of jaffa outside the cell. "Are under my command, and I can't let my kids go running off with a bunch of strangers."

The lead jaffa narrowed his eyes angrily at Jack. Despite the fact that he probably hadn't understood a word of what Jack had said, Jack's tone of voice was more then enough of a 'no'. The man spoke again, this time waving his weapon in a threatening manner.

Once again, Daniel's voice followed. "He says that if we don't do as he orders, he'll shoot us and take Sam and Marla by force." As he spoke, the small pods on the two staff weapons activated, a small wail sounding as a bright glow appeared. It was a warning, and Daniel eyed the staff weapons wearily.

"Sir, as much as I hate to say it, we might want to do what they say." Carter muttered, her expression all but compliant as she glared heatedly at the man in charge, her eyes glittering sapphires as she stood ridged at the colonel's side. The colonel sent her a look, and she held his gaze. "If anything else, I might be able to convince Mara to use her magic. She might be able to create some sort of distraction that we can use to our advantage." The look became dubious, and the major sighed. "It's better then having one of us get shot, Sir."

Jack scowled. Now why did this sound so familiar? "Fine, fine. We'll do it your way." He looked over at Mara, who was still sitting, leaning up against the wall. Her gaze flickered from the jaffa outside to the various team members locked inside, and as he caught her eyes, he motioned for her to come to his side. The woman raised an eyebrow in question, but none the less moved to stand, walking over to Jack, Sam, and Daniel with a small frown on her face.

"Lieutenant, see the nice men staring at us from behind the bars?" He gestured towards the group of jaffa. "They want to take you and the major here on a little trip. We, being the guests of honor, are going to comply with their wishes. Do you know what that means?" There was that sarcasm again. Mara wasn't sure if it was purposely directed at her or if the current circumstances were getting to him.

"No Sir. I don't have a clue as to what it means for me." And, of course, she directed the sarcasm right back at him.

The man grunted, his brown eyes bright with something that could have been annoyance, or just as easily been mistaken for amusement. "It means you and Major Carter are going to be leaving this cell. So by all means, when you're taking a tour of the incredible grand interior, feel free to use those special abilities of yours to ditch your 'tour guides'. I don't want to find out you're all talk and no show, after all. You're a demon, right? Time to prove it." The last part came out as a soft growl, as though daring Mara to go back on all the claims she'd made since meeting Jack and the rest of SG-1.

This time it was Mara's turn to scowl, and, insulted, she sent him a dark look before muttering, "Yes Sir." Fine. She'd take out her frustration of the jaffa, then.

Jack nodded, ignoring the dark glare before moving to stand against the back wall. "Alright, Kids. Lets all do as the nice man says and move against the wall." Daniel, a soft frown on his face, moved to stand next to Jack, casting a worried glance to Sam and Mara, who were moving to the entrance of the cell block. Teal'c, after a moment's hesitation, moved to join the two men, and after scowling angrily at the jaffa in front of him, Bra'tac moved to do the same.

A tense moment passed, and then the glowing bars to the cell dissipated. The jaffa with the staff weapons aimed their weapons at the men while those with the zats quickly pointed them towards Sam and Mara, further warning against either woman trying anything funny. The two did a remarkable job of appearing unruffled in the face of the weapons, and confidently strode out into the corridor beyond. Then the bars to the cell appeared once more, and the group of jaffa moved to surround the human and the demon, an armed escort preparing to lead a part of Jack's team off into parts unknown, most likely for interrogation or torture or worse.

Jack glared at the retreating group even after they had disappeared around a corner. "Please, for the love of all that's holy, let them come back alive." He muttered softly. "And for crying out loud Mara, take my orders to heart and do something." The colonel sighed in frustration, angry over the fact that he'd allowed a part of his team to be lead off without a fight. Wheeling around, he slammed his fist into the wall, a small part of him taking comfort in the pain that resulted from the move.

"Damn it all…"

Next to him, Daniel placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving the man a comforting smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure that between the two of them, Sam and Mara will be able to find a way to escape. After all, Sam had never been one to take things lying down, and I'm sure that with a little direction, Mara will be more then happy to lend a hand to whatever plan Sam comes up with."

Rubbing his sore hand, Jack returned the smile, somewhat comforted by the thought. It came out as a grimace, though. "I sure as hell hope so. After all, what good is a demon on your side when you can't even get her to help out in times of need?"

It was Daniel's turn to grimace. "Good question."

"Colonel O'Neil."

Jack looked over to Bra'tac, who was regarding himself and Daniel with a deep frown. "What's up, Bra'tac?"

"I believe it is time you told me just who and what 'Lt. Marla Jotun' is."

Jack frowned, looking over at Daniel who stared back in alarm. He turned back to Bra'tac. "What are you talking about? She's human."

Bra'tac shook his head though, and Jack felt a knot tighten in his gut. "I do not believe so." He said, staring at Jack with hard, dark eyes. "I have born witness to several events that lead me to believe differently. What's more, I believe you to know it as well." His gaze drifted from Jack to Daniel and back again. "I believe you know what she is, and that you have your reasons for hiding it from me, but I ask you, if not as an ally of the Tau'ri, then as a friend: Please, tell me, who, what is Lieutenant Marla Jotun?"

Jack grimaced, averting his eyes from Bra'tac's, instead moving them to Teal'c, who stood impassively behind his old mentor. As Jack's eyes met his, Teal'c sent him a look, one that clearly stated, if you don't tell him, I will, and Jack sighed once more.

Sliding down onto the floor, his back pressed against the wall once more, Jack looked up at the old warrior. "Alright. But you might as well get comfy. The story's long, and I still have a bit of trouble believing it myself, to be honest with you. See, the whole thing started with a floating CD…"

As Jack began his tale, Daniel slid down next to him, content to listen to the story from Jack's perspective as Bra'tac kneeled down across from them. Teal'c, ever one to remain on guard, positioned himself in front of the bars to the cell, a sentry waiting for any signs of returning enemies.

Or comrades.

~*~

A/N: So I didn't get as far as I'd originally hoped in this chapter. Damn. But I needed a good stopping place, or it would have taken me forever to put up the next chapter. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, despite the fact that it seems to be more of a filler then anything else. Things should become a little more entertaining in the next chapter, though, so hang in there.