Lost - part 36

Here's chapter 36! Sorry it took so long, the bonnie hills of Scotland and the beautiful island of Iona kept me away . . . but now I'm back and the next chapter should hopefully be up in the next week or so as well.

Sam pulled at her fingers nervously, pacing from machine to machine

Sam pulled at her fingers nervously, pacing from machine to machine. She looked at Daniel sharply; he was standing facing away from her, his attention obviously elsewhere.

"There must be something we can do." Sam said at last, frustrated. Daniel didn't respond.

"Daniel!"

He turned to her with a sigh. "There is, but I . . ." he'd never felt so caged, so helpless. He felt like kicking something for the unfairness of it all. "I'm sorry, Sam. You have to find it for yourself. I can't tell you."

Sam whirled to him angrily. "So you're just going to let Nirrti attack, and either kill us, enslave us, or use us for her little science projects? That doesn't sound like the Daniel I know."

Daniel's blue eyes settled on her sadly, tears pricking. "I wish I could help you. But the truth is I'm coming dangerously close to crossing the line as it is. The others . . . they won't let me do any more."

An alarm went off. Sam rushed to it. "It's a proximity alert." She looked at Daniel, who once again appeared to be concentrating, staring at something she couldn't see.

"The electro-magnetic field will stop her from coming down here, right?" Sam asked. No response. She went to stand directly in front of him. "Daniel. She can't land while the field is in place. Is that correct?"

Daniel looked strained. "Sam, I need to go tell Jack that Nirrti is here. If she does find a way down, they need to be ready and prepared for it."

Sam sighed, and nodded in resignation. "Okay, go." He lifted his hand to her shoulder, as if to squeeze it had he been solid, then he was gone and Sam was alone.

She moved around the room, searching for something, anything, that would keep Nirrti from reaching the surface. In theory, she knew that the electro-magnetic field should prevent any ships from breaching the atmosphere of the planet without crashing. However, she also knew that the Goa'uld had been here before, and escaped in a ship, so there was no guarantee that it would or could hold Nirrti off forever.

"Jack!" Daniel appeared in the council chamber, making the three occupants jump.

"Daniel, would it kill you to enter a room through a door like a normal person?" Jack groused.

"Sorry." Daniel apologized distractedly. "Nirrti has arrived."

Makeen and Kollen visibly flinched. "What do we do?" Makeen asked quietly.

Jack shot a look at Daniel. "How much time do we have?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It's possible that she won't be able to get through the electro-magnetic field. But, on the other hand, this is Nirrti. We can't underestimate her."

Jack scowled. "Fantastic, Daniel. You've been a great help." He said sarcastically.

"We need to tell the people." Kollen said. "Makeen, call the village together." Makeen hesitated, and then got up and left.

Jack looked back at Daniel to ask a question, but stopped when he saw the look on his old friend's face.

"Oh no." Daniel whispered, with a look of horror that chilled Jack to the bone.

"Daniel?" Daniel looked at Jack.

"The rings. She's using the rings to get down here. Jack . . . . Sam's down there."

And suddenly the look of horror was mirrored in Jack's face. Daniel was gone as suddenly as he'd appeared, and Jack was running, running . . .

The activation of the rings made Sam jump, and her eyes widened with terror as she saw who was being transported down. She leapt down behind the throne-like Ancient chair as the four armored jaffa released from the rings.

"Jaffa! Shatak! Kree!" One yelled. They fanned out, and one was getting dangerously close to Sam, approaching the Ancient chair.

"Hey guys!" Daniel's voice suddenly called from the other side of the room. The jaffa spun round, their backs now to Sam.

They fired at Daniel, but the blasts traveled straight through his ascended form. Sam saw her chance, and took it. The distracted jaffa didn't notice her rise from behind the chair, and were taken unawares when she skillfully swept one jaffa's legs from under him. There was confusion, as the other three turned on her, and the room was a mass of warring bodies, Daniel's cry of 'Sam! No!' coming too late to stop her from beginning a fight she couldn't win.

Eventually, inevitably, they had her pinned face down to the cold hard floor, one nursing a broken arm and another's face bloody from Sam's brutal right hook. Sam hissed as the jaffa pinning her twisted her arm up around her back.

"Let her go. You don't need her." Daniel pleaded with them. Sam scowled at him from her position on the floor. The jaffa had tried to capture him too, but on finding the task impossible, had let him be.

"The Great and Powerful Nirrti will destroy you, spirit." One jaffa spat at him. "I suggest you leave this place, and never return."

They lifted Sam roughly, and dragged her to the rings, leaving Daniel to watch in anguish as the four jaffa and Sam disappeared.

Dunh dunh duuuuuuunh! What did you think? Please review! please please please review! puppy dog eyes!

Beka :-P