A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Yes. Another record breaking hiatus I placed myself into. And I will apologize in advance for what is going to be a really long author's note. Partially blame it on The Sims 3. Anyways, here's another chapter that brings this story closer to its end. (Yay!). And yes, Kandy, I have every intention of finishing this no matter what. Speaking of which, I've been writing fics since as far back as the 4th grade but I've only come to realize this one weird habit that I've acquired through the years. I find that I write better during the night. I mean better because the night seem to calm me down and words and thoughts just flow naturally whereas I blunder to find the right words during the day. Maybe because when I look out my window there's nothing to distract me much (since it is dark) and activities somewhat die down a bit, creating a more relaxed atmosphere making me think more clearly and get 'em creative juices flowing.
Alright, on with the story.
Oh and one more thing, this story is a work in progress. Meaning I will revise chapters already posted. Since English isn't my native language I made a lot of glaring mistakes and I intend to correct them as much as I can.
Chapter Spoiler: Fail Safe
"Cheer up, the worst is yet to come."
36
The first two shock waves completely took out their shields. Those that immediately followed took out their main and auxiliary systems and engines with ease.
The force of the explosion expanded outward in waves upon waves of destructive kinetic energy. It mercilessly pummeled the huge ship again and again rocking it violently back and forth. Its crew could actually hear the ship groaning and straining from the extreme stress it was being dealt with, like a boat caught in a massive storm out on open water.
The pel'tak was a hive of activity. Unlike that on a ha'tak mothership, the bridge that doubled as a throne room had 3 consoles that, each one manned by a Jaffa, were grouped together to form a loosely wide arc in front of a rhomboidal viewport. The throne was elevated, encircled by a ring-like naquadah about two feet from the throne. It was cut at both sides and at the back, the gap wide enough to let one person through.
The inner part of the ring was smooth and a solid gray-black mass, very different from the outer part which was inlaid with gold, a trademark of Goa'uld architecture. It was slightly curved with its base jutting towards the throne a few inches more while the outer part was curved outwards, creating an inverted C.
While the men tried to regain control of the smau'Tep, their master silently sat on his throne, listening to the reports coming in from all over the ship: Shields non-existent. The main system was totally unresponsive while the auxiliary barely hanging on. Primary and secondary engines were both offline. Internal communications were down in most areas. Life support nearly gone. Hull breaches were detected all over the ship. Some areas were automatically sealed for security purposes, unoccupied or otherwise.
The blast was powerful enough that even at this distance it wrought tremendous damage on a ship that massive, rendering them completely immobile and defenseless.
"Locating the al'kesh shall be our priority, master."
"No need." the Goa'uld System Lord countered, staring out at the fiery red planet. "I do not believe a ship that small can survive such an explosion. Bring life support back and attend to the hull breaches first. The safety of the crew and this ship is our priority."
- - - o 0 o - - -
"…er. Major Carter."
Sam's eyes snapped open at the sound of her name. She started at the sight of a familiar face looming close to hers, one side covered with thin streaks of blood running freely down his face.
She bolted straight up but almost instantly fell back down on the deck as pain on her side made its presence felt along with the shooting pains on the back of her head, not to mention her world making a slow clockwise spin. A soft groan then escaped her lips, her eyes shut tight. She fought back the overwhelming nausea that came soon after threatening to spill this morning's breakfast all over the deck.
"Are you conscious, Major Carter?" The nameless man gently inquired.
"You're injured," was her weak answer.
"This is nothing." He said, trying to reassure her. "It will heal in a few moments."
She said nothing as she tried putting a name to the face. She knew he was Tok'Ra from his clothing and the unmistakable "double voice" – a trait they shared with the Goa'ulds – not to mention they were onboard a tel'tak.
As soon as she finished this train of thought, everything suddenly fell into place with lightning speed. Anise, the female Tok'Ra scientist with them on this mission, came to SGC and asked Maj. Carter to accompany them to this place-of course that also meant that the rest of SG-1 was coming with them with the exclusion of Daniel Jackson. Anise's companions were Inares and Banos, the man she was talking to right now.
She again tried to rise, more carefully this time. Banos was quick to assist her, a thing she was grateful for, and led her to the closest bulkhead to keep her upright.
The major made a mental examination of her body. Nothing seemed to be broken or displaced but she definitely ached all over and grimaced when her hand came into contact with a large lump at the back of her head. She momentarily cracked open an eye but immediately closed it when everything started spinning.
"The light," she blurted out.
"It is coming from the planet we are currently orbiting." Banos answered from somewhere nearby.
Planet? Orbiting? She sat there unmoving for some time. She could hear the Tok'Ra moving about nearby and was grateful for leaving her alone so she could get her bearings back.
Once she was sure that her sight was functioning somewhat normally, the major took her first long look around. Everywhere she turned the red orange light shining through the ship's viewport was everywhere giving everything it touched an eerie unnatural glow.
The air seemed a bit chiller around her but she didn't mind. The silence was bliss, she thought, any kind of noise wouldn't be good for her head at the moment. It was good. She immediately stopped short. No. It was bad.
Sam cocked her head to one side trying to listen and laid a hand palm down on the deck. "We're not moving." Sam said a few moments later, noting the lack of vibration from running engines.
"You are correct."
She whipped her head around look at him. That was her mistake. Everything started swirling again. She quickly shut her eyes from it. "The others…"
"I, too, have only come around." Banos explained. "The two of you were the first ones I saw."
Her eyes were automatically drawn to an unconscious figure lying near her, eyes as wide as saucer plates. "Is he-"
"Inares is fine," he reassured her, glancing at the unconscious man. "However, the host suffered internal injuries and is treating him as we speak. It is best we leave them to it for now."
She nodded in acquiescence. Although, she'd been host to Jolinar for only a very short time, Sam knew enough that the symbiotes could heal most injuries and diseases its host could be afflicted with but there were instances that were life threatening not only to the host but to the symbiote as well so there was still a possibility that one or both of them could die in the process.
The look Banos gave the other Tok'Ra was not lost to her. Worry was clearly written on his face. She knew exactly how it felt seeing a friend in obvious pain and there was nothing you could do but watch over them and hoped for the best.
The wound on Inares' chest looked nasty. A thin film of sweat covered his upper lip. His breathing was shallow and rapid, his face pallid. His eyelids fluttered constantly while the eyes behind closed lids moved erratically.
"The least we could do is make them comfortable," Sam suggested. "We have a first aid kit in the cargo h-"
A nearby sound startled the two of them. She looked across the room and saw a figure rising unsteadily to his feet. "Teal'c."
The huge Jaffa turned at the sound of his name. Her relief turned to horror when she noticed a long cut just under his right eye and the way his right arm hung limply on his side. He quickly went towards them. "Are you all right, Major Carter?"
"I should be the one to ask you that," she said, concerned at the sight of the torn blood-soaked right sleeve of his uniform.
"This is nothing," Teal'c said, looking at the bloody gash on his bicep dispassionately. He looked more imposing in the red orange light. "It will heal soon." He took off his coat, rolled it, made sure that the bloodied sleeve was tucked away, and created a makeshift pillow which he placed under Inares' head.
She wearily leaned her head against the bulkhead. "What happened?"
"Our ship was hit as we were leaving the system." Banos replied.
Sam frowned. "What hit us?"
"We are uncertain." Banos haltingly said. "Whatever it was originated from somewhere behind us. It was powerful enough to knock out our systems."
"Then why aren't we spinning?" It was the last thing she remembered before blacking out-their ship careening out of control as they were hit by something pretty hard.
"Inares took us out of it." The Tok'Ra explained, casting another concerned glance down at his comrade. "They are both excellent pilots. They did the best they could but the ship couldn't handle the enormous strain and… there was an explosion." He drew a long ragged breath at the end of his sentence.
Sam looked sympathetic. Things could've been a lot worse for all of them if the colonel hadn't insisted-
"The colonel," Sam bolted upright. It was only then did she realized there was no sign of her commanding officer anywhere and began to frantically look for him. If memory served her right, he was standing by the central console when they got blindsided by a powerful something.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c joined in.
She started to rise, of a mind to search for him, but Teal'c wouldn't let her, pinning her down effectively with one large hand over her shoulder. She was about to protest when they heard a cough from somewhere. They froze.
"Colonel?"
Everyone strained to listen. A few more seconds they heard another series of coughing followed by a grunt.
The pressure on her shoulder lessened and she took this as an opportunity free herself from Teal'c's grasp. The sound seemed to be coming from the rear section of the cargo ship. The force of the impact must've thrown him all the way back there. She called out to him again, louder this time, flashing her light through the open bulkhead.
The light revealed the state the hold was in. It was chaos inside. Gears, equipment, crates and containers were strewn all over the small room. Some were upended; others were lying on their sides, a few popped open spilling their contents on the deck.
At the very back of the cargo hold movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she quickly swung her flashlight there. A raised arm came into view as her light hit the colonel's face who was just starting to come around. He grunted as the light's intensity hits his eyes but Sam was too taken aback to realize it.
The female Tok'Ra Anise was there lying right on top of him!
Jack O'Neill seemed equally surprised when he felt something warm and squirming pinning him down the deck and was even more surprised when that something turned out to be Anise lying right on top of him.
Jack threw an innocent look at Sam before looking back at Anise who was starting to come around and quickly but carefully helped her up.
Sam silently watched this tableau with an inscrutable look on her face. She stood there for a good two seconds before the sound of approaching footsteps pulled her back to reality. She quickly swung the light away from the couple and, together with her eyes, began looking everywhere but at them.
"First aid," she suddenly mumbled, chanting the words over and over again, flashing her light this way and that as Teal'c appeared right behind her.
"O'Neill?" The Jaffa's low voice boomed into the cargo hold. He was about to step into the hold but stopped just in time before he collided with Sam who was on her way out, the first aid kit slung on her shoulder. She mumbled an apology at which Teal'c gave her a deliberate nod and took a step back to let her pass.
The major pushed the image of them at the back of her mind rummaging through the kit to clean Inares' wounds with. Banos who was examining the different ship controls quickly came near and they both set to work.
She half listened to the conversation going on around her, concentrating on the Tok'Ra's wound. They were clearly in discomfort so she made her movements quick and light. As she reached for the roll of bandage in the bag, Anise's hands closed around hers. Sam looked up surprised.
"Let me do it." Anise said, in hushed tones. "You are needed elsewhere, major."
They both glanced at the men standing by the flight controls, their backs to them. Sam nodded in understanding and left the woman to look after Inares. It was only after she found herself standing in front of the viewport that Sam was able to look outside-and saw nothing but the burning planet below.
The impact must've caused them to fall into orbit with the planet they were trying to get away from. It really wasn't that bad considering the strength of the explosion could've pushed them careening into space instead with little hope of regaining control of the ship or what was left of it.
The hologram console that nestled between the pilot and co-pilot chairs which mostly displayed sensor scans was now just a blackened piece of burnt metal. This must be the one Banos was referring to that exploded and injured Inares a while ago.
What caused that explosion exactly and where did it came from? From the planet, the al'kesh or that mothership Teal'c called a smau'Tep? They couldn't know for sure.
Jack experimentally placed both hands on the red globular device equivalent to a yoke on a plane and waited. Nothing. Not even a flicker of light radiated from within the device. He grimaced. "No way for us to steer around, see where we are in relation to those ships?"
The Tok'Ra shook his head no. Another grimace.
There was cause for worry. For one thing, their ship was facing the wrong direction. Somewhere out there was a Goa'uld mid-range bomber and a mothership, the likes of which Sam had never seen nor heard of before.
Jack began pressing buttons here and there. Nothing. He turned to Banos. "How long do you think it'll take you to get everything back up again?"
And as if to emphasize the direness of their situation they all heard a soft pop-hiss from somewhere overhead. They all looked up and then at one another.
"That doesn't sound good." Jack commented, voicing out what was on everyone's mind.
"I will see to it now." Banos replied, leaving with a quick nod of the head.
Sam was not far behind. "I'll go and help them."
Jack ran back into the cargo hold and emerged a few moments later with a mini blowtorch and a stick of charcoal in hand. A small blue flame licked one end of the stick and they all watched as a thin trail of smoke rose sideways towards the ship's starboard side.
The sense of urgency was further heightened by this new and immediate threat. If they couldn't find a way to stop their ship from venting air into space, the Goa'uld detecting their presence there would be inconsequential in a matter of minutes.
"Yes." Jack said distractedly. "Now would be good."
- - - o 0 o - - -
The Goa'uld stood by one of the tall windows in the main throne room staring down at the planet where he lost one of his most loyal servants. One or all of the mesh'tyws the al'kesh was carrying exploded prematurely causing a series of simultaneous explosions that took out the bomber and its passengers in an instant, the shock wave it created efficiently crippled the smau'Tep in seconds.
Something made him turn his head to look over his shoulder just as the door opened.
"I hope you are the bearer of good tidings."
"Master." It was one of the Jaffa in the pel'tak. "We managed to successfully restore half of our systems the rest is still being repaired as we speak."
He continued staring at the planet. "Casualties?"
"A good handful were injured but no life lost except for-" the Jaffa stopped midsentence.
"That is good to hear. Any chances of restoring all systems back online?"
"Yes, master, but it may take some time."
He sighed. There was no helping it. Kalen was going to be very unhappy once he hears about this. "Very well. Do what you must."
He dismissed the Jaffa with a casual wave of an elegant hand. "Also," he finally turned around to look at him. "Inform everyone that I commend them for a job well done."
When the Jaffa left he found himself alone once again in the throne room. He stood there unmoving, looking out the viewport, lost in his own thoughts. His head suddenly turned a notch to the right again, looking over his shoulder just as he did before the Jaffa entered the room earlier but, of course, no one was there.
Maya…
"Yes," he whispered in the darkness. "Be patient a little while longer. Soon we will come and take you home."
Maya…
- - o 0 o - - -
By now, the cargo ship was on the dark side of the planet, completely hidden from the smau'Tep's view.
"So far, we got main power back online at sixty percent, auxiliary at forty-eight, life support, lighting, hull breach already taken care of and twenty-two percent sublight enough for minimum steering." Sam stated, hunched over an open access panel located at the right side of the helm. Those alone took them a good hour and forty minutes with life support at the top of their list-that took them a little less than 2 minutes. "Banos said hyperdrive appears to be fine."
"Can we use sublight now? I wanna steer this ship around."
Sam made a face as she shook her head in uncertainty. "I wouldn't advise it, colonel. We might have need for it later."
"What of navigation?" Teal'c inquired.
Banos' head, a snowy white bandage now wound around his forehead, appeared from behind the central console. "The crystal was damaged. We are now searching for a suitable replacement."
"Got no spare lying around for that?" Jack asked from his position at the helm.
"We do not carry that much with us." Anise said apologetically.
"We used all that we could, sir. The crystal Banos needed was used to replace the one for life support. If we take that out-"
"Alright, major. I get it." Jack cuts in. He sighed. "Cloak. What about cloak?"
Sam turned to look at the Tok'Ra who shook his head. "Sorry, sir." Jack twisted his upper body around to look directly at his 2IC. She knew the look he gave her. "Look, if the Goa'ulds already found us out we wouldn't even be here."
"Major Carter is correct," Teal'c said in agreement. "Due to our close proximity to the explosion it is conceivable that the smau'Tep may be having trouble detecting us."
"Good. We already got problems of our own to worry about them." A short pause. "Any way to crank up that percentage on sublight?"
"We're working on it."
"Shields?"
Sam shook her head.
Jack winced. "Weapons? Please tell me we at least got weapons."
"All crystals were burned," was Banos' reply.
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, exhaling loudly. This day just got better and better. "Great. No cloak. No shields. No weapons. Steering's basically useless. We're naked as a newborn. We're sitting ducks out here!"
"The explosion." Anise said to no one in particular as she carefully shifted Inares' head to comfortably rest on her lap. "Do you think it came from the planet?"
"No." Jack tossed the answer over his shoulder in a casual manner. "Whatever it was came from that bomber."
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Teal'c turned to him, one brow raised. "You seem certain of this, O'Neill."
"Indeed." Anise seconded. "You were also certain we were in danger earlier and were adamant that we leave this system immediately."
Jack's right eye twitched like it always did whenever he found himself in a tight spot. He glanced surreptitiously at the Jaffa as he started pressing buttons on a very dead console in front of him. "A little birdie told me." No one said anything as they waited for him to continue. Jack gave in eventually. "Jonas."
"Jonas?" Sam echoed in disbelief. Jack grunted. There was that twitch again. "How could he have known about this?"
The colonel shrugged. "Beats me. It never really made sense to me at the time until we started making a beeline for the al'kesh."
"When did this happen?" Sam couldn't help asking.
"At the infirmary just before Anise and the Tok'Ra arrived." Jack caught them exchanging glances. "Look, I don't know how the kid knew. We can ask him ourselves once we get back to SGC. Now, can we please get this thing to work? There's a badass mother of all motherships just a couple of hundred klicks from us out there. This Mao-thing-"
"Smau'Tep." Teal'c interjected.
"Whatever." Jack barked, irritated at being cut off. A light on the navigation console suddenly blinked beside Teal'c eliciting a hearty shout from the colonel. "Now we're talking!" He rubbed his hands gleefully as he turned his head to look over his shoulder. "Keep 'em coming, people. The sooner we get out of here the better."
- - - o 0 o - - -
Jaffa guards flanked him left and right. They spread out as soon as they entered the pel'tak. He sat on the chair at the center of the room.
"We are able to restore an adequate amount of power to the hyperdrive systems. Shields are at maximum. Navigation is functioning flawlessly." One of the three Jaffa by the controls reported as soon as they felt his presence in the pel'tak. The repairs took long as they had expected. "If there is nothing more his lordship wishes to do here we can immediately set course for-"
"We are detecting another ship," another Jaffa controller announced. "A smaller vessel on the dark side of the planet."
"The al'kesh?" one of the Jaffa inquired.
"Unable to identify. Our long range scanner is only working at half capacity plus there is strong interference coming from the planet."
The lead controller turned to the Goa'uld. "Shall we deploy a henu'sek to see what it is, my lord? It might be our missing al'kesh."
The System Lord nodded. "Make it a squadron, Jaffa, for I do not believe that to be one of ours." He left his chair and strolled towards the viewport, once again looking down at the bright orange planet. "It would certainly be interesting to see what it is."
- - - o 0 o - - -
Sam was hard at the work on the access panel by the right side of the helm that she failed to notice Anise's approach behind her.
"Water, Major Carter?" She offered. The woman gladly accepted the canister and thanked her with a smile. Anise sat down beside her and leaned against the bulkhead. "Any progress?"
The major shook her head. "Couldn't get the shields online. Even if we do have hyperdrive capability it's as good as nothing if we can't get the shields up."
Between her and Banos, they managed to push the sublight to a hundred percent, main power up another twenty, the auxiliary to almost fifty percent but they still had no weapons, no shields and cloak. They managed to get communications online but chose to shut it off since it was a waste of power and they had no need for it. Navigation was the latest one they were able to bring back up, albeit, its short range scanners only.
The al'kesh was nowhere to be found much to their puzzlement but in its place they detected high amounts of radiation. It was plausible that the bomber was destroyed in the explosion.
Meanwhile, Jack and Teal'c made themselves useful by fixing the rare compartment. They placed all their gears and equipment near the bulkhead door and continued stacking the rest of the containers upright.
Sam drank some of the water from the container. "How's Inares?"
Anise looked across the cockpit to where the young man lay unconscious. His wounds were cleaned and dressed but showed no signs of waking up. He had been like that for more than three hours now. "They developed a slight fever but they seem to be more comfortable now thanks to your first aid kit, major."
The Tau'ri noticed Banos pause from what he was doing long enough to look at the inert form of their helmsman. "They must be very good friends." She commented. "Banos wouldn't leave his side if he could help it."
"Of course Banos would not under normal circumstances." The Tok'ra said looking at her before shifting her gaze at her companions. "Inares is their mate." Anise stood up, leaving a dumbstruck Maj. Carter staring after her.
A series of soft blips echoed throughout the cargo ship. Jack and Teal'c ran towards the controls to see what it was. They stared at the navigation screen for a moment as if they weren't sure what they were seeing was real. Jack swore.
"Carter, you might want to pick up the pace back there." Jack said as he powered up the helm. "We got company."