~#~ (Chapter 53)

Quickly but quietly Lou recounted everything he knew, watched the whole time by Sam who studied his every move from her resting place on Jack's chest. Some of the story Jack knew from Hammond's report but other parts, such as the death of Jimmy Sands and the subsequent torture of Mickey Davies were filled in, in greater detail than he previously knew.

Jack started slightly when Lou told him of Osiris's temporary loss of control to Sarah Gardner. Every member of the SGC knew that the host survived the blending with their symbiote but it was virtually unheard of for a Goa'uld to allow the host to surface one he/she had taken control. Unlike the Tok'ra who willingly allowed their hosts to live, love and thrive in a truly symbiotic relationship, the Goa'uld purely used and discarded their hosts whenever they felt it suitable.

The late Doctor Jackson had spoken with Apophis's host for a short while once the Goa'uld within him had died but due to the biological age of the Egyptian Scribe he had succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards. Daniel had also managed to speak a last few words to his wife Sha're as both she and the Goa'uld Queen, Amonet, lay dying on P8X-873. Both these incidents proved that the Goa'uld did no physical damage to the host while repressing them, just that the Goa'uld symbiotes retained a much stronger mental hold over the host than the Tok'ra ones usually did. Jack knew from bitter experience that the Tok'ra were more than capable of taking control over a host body if they so wished it, it was just that most of the Tok'ra would never willingly do such a thing.

Shuddering slightly as some of his repressed memories snuck to the front of his mind, Jack became aware that Sam was grasping at his T-shirt and was trying to push herself up. Carefully he wrapped his hands around both her forearms and lifted her to a sitting position.

"You OK?" he asked, concerned by Sam's continued silence.

Sam bobbed her head in reply. "Sure," she whispered. Looking up at Jack, and leaning heavily on his arm she continued in a quiet voice, "Did…I guess…did…did Davies make it back to the SGC? My God, Jack, they made him carry Jimmy Sands' body all the way from the control room. Did they get back?" As her mind kicked into gear and she started speaking, Sam's words came in a rush and suddenly she sat bolt upright with a wild look in her eyes.

"Sam. Sam, calm down. They made it back," Jack replied softly, stroking up and down her arm with calm, soothing movements. "They made it back," he repeated.

Sam nodded and wearily settled back against his arm.

"Davies was OK…physically at least," Jack told her quietly. "He managed to get over where you were and, kinda, what was going on. Fraiser stuck him on the happy juice as soon as he hit the SGC and I don't think he's been awake since then."

Sam grimaced. "That's probably for the best right now. He barely looked like he was holding it together when we left the pel'tak. Sands must have been at least 30lbs heavier than him and poor Mickey had him slung across his shoulders even though he was shaking so much he could barely stay on his own two feet."

"Yeah, Janet reckons she's gonna be keeping him out of it for a fair while. The guy clearly wasn't ready to deal with what Osiris did in front of him; no-one should have to cope with that in their first few months out. He was in my first training group so I know exactly how long he's been on active duty. For Christ's sake the guy's barely more than a kid."

"Sands was married. He had kids." Tears welled up in Sam's eyes and a lone one rolled down her cheek before she managed to stop it. "Oh, those poor little girls will be growing up without a father."

Jack tenderly wiped the tear-streak away with his thumb. "Hammond's going to be contacting Alice sometime today. He'll make sure they're looked after, Sam. I know it's not the same but it's all we can do - to try and make it easier for those left behind."

Jack leant his forehead against Sam's for a moment, knowing how hard this mission was to everyone in the room. Jimmy Sands was a man under Lou Ferretti's command and friend and team-mate to both Greg Bell and Sam. Mickey Davies was Reynolds's newest recruit and had been one of the youngest serving members of an SG-team. At this point no-one knew whether the young man would even fully recover from his ordeal at the hands of Osiris, let alone whether he would ever work at the SGC again.

~#~

The quiet moment was broken by a quiet rhythmic beeping from deep within one of Jack's pockets. The silver haired Colonel fished out the timer which announced they had reached 'zero hour'. This was the moment that Osiris had designated as the time that Jack and Teal'c should present themselves to him.

As one everyone looked towards the door. From the depths of the ship loud guttural voices were heard, followed by a burst of gunfire that was unmistakably from a P-90.

There was a long pause and then several loud pops were heard. A woman's drawn-out scream reverberated through the corridors and then suddenly everything fell silent.

What the heck was going on?