Wow. Can you believe it's been almost ten years since I've posted anything for Stargate SG-1? I can't. Where has the time gone. More importantly, where was I? I was, um.., distracted by shiny objects. Yeah. That's it. Ohhh. Shiny object. Wait, sorry. Where was I?
I will always be thankful for Stargate SG-1. Not only was it an amazing show, and it still is in my opinion, but it first introduced me to the magical world of fanfiction. At first by lurking and reading everything I could, then by getting brave enough to write my own adventure and post it for everybody to read. It also opened my eyes to other fandoms, and while I lurked there, I never thought I would be good enough to write for more than one fandom, my muse had other ideas.
After posting 'Traditions' my muse wandered over to a little show called 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. I admit I have been playing in that sandbox for the last few years, even though my muse has wandered ever further since then.
I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to work my way back to Stargate. I'll admit, I have several stories that I've started writing for the Stargate SG-1 fandom in various states of completion, plus several more that I really want to get on paper and out of my imagination. Earlier this year, when I started rewatching Stargate SG-1 from the first episode, I went back and reviewed my stories that were in progress. This one jumped out at me.
It was the one I was planning on posting next, I just had to finish the third act and it would be ready. It was sitting at about sixty pages, about eighty percent complete. And I even had the ending all mapped out in my head. My muse was firmly on board again and I figured it would be easy to finish the last act and get it posted. I sat down at my laptop to do just that when I realized why I abandoned it in the first place. My idea for the third act sucked.
I also realized my writing had improved quite a bit since I started. It had changed so much that I couldn't just add the third act on to what I had started writing ten years ago. Instead I chose to rewrite the entire thing. I used my original draft as a template and rewrote every word and as I did the third act came to me. My muse was cooperating again.
Be warned, this story deals with torture, nothing too graphic, but more importantly the psychological aftereffects of torture. It is definitely the darkest thing I've ever written for Stargate, I might say the darkest thing I've ever written but I think my Buffy series is a bit darker. There is a lot more emotional whumping in this one than physical, though they do get their fair share of owies. I have no experience in the medical field, nor in the psychological field. I researched what I could, made up what I couldn't, and painted the whole thing liberally with artistic vision.
As always, this story is complete. It is sitting at approximately 150 pages, about twenty chapters. I will post a couple chapters every few days until it is fully available. This story is set during Stargate SG-1's third year. Between 'Urgo' and 'A Hundred Days'. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1. I have no idea who owns them now. I'm just borrowing them and I'll put them back when I'm done.
Colonel Jack O'Neill groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. "I am really starting to hate those things," he mumbled as the familiar pain of a zat blast echoed through his body. He slowly opened his eyes, hoping that small action wouldn't cause any more pain. He knew it would only be a few minutes before the effect of the zat wore off, but those few minutes would be spent in agony. "Carter? Daniel? Teal'c?"
"I am here O'Neill," Teal'c stated immediately from his left.
"I'm here too, Jack," Daniel answered from his right. His words were sluggish. Jack knew he was also feeling the effect of the zat.
"Same," Sam slurred from further away. Hearing all of his teammates eased one of his worries, although he kinda wished at least one of them managed to escape and go back for help. But if they were all captured, at least they were all accounted for. Jack let his eyes slide closed.
"Teal'c. Report."
"We have been captured O'Neill," Teal'c relayed in a calm tone. Jack cracked an eye open, shifting his head just enough to glare at the Jaffa.
"Really," he said sarcastically. "You mean this isn't part of the mission?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow as he turned to regard his leader.
"The last thing I remember was walking along the path," Daniel added. His voice sounded much stronger, but not quite up to scratch yet. He still needed a bit more time for the effects to fade completely. They all did.
"Teal'c?" he groused again. They had all been captured enough times to know the order they would recover from zat blasts. Thanks to Junior, Teal'c would always come around first, followed by Daniel then himself. Carter would always recover last, a fact that she commiserated on more than once.
"We are not in a typical Goa'uld prison cell," Teal'c reported, "although at the present I do not think that fact will aid in our escape."
"What?" Jack asked, pulling himself upright as soon as he was able. "Cages? What? Do they think we are some sort of wild animals?"
"Roar," Daniel said, already examining his cage.
"The containment devices are well constructed," Teal'c continued his report. "I have yet to discover a flaw in their construction. Also, the room is secure. There are no windows and only one door."
"Which is sure to be locked," Jack finished as he gingerly examined his cage. It was barely big enough to sit upright and he had to bend his knees to get his long legs to fit unless he wanted his feet to dangle out of the cage. He tapped the cage with his big toe, happy when no force field zapped him. He thoroughly studied every inch of the cage he could. "Any idea who took us?"
"I don't remember seeing anyone," Sam said weakly. "They must have hit us fast." She pulled herself upright before pulling her knees to her chest and laying her head on her knees. Jack glanced at her in sympathy but knew that this was her normal reaction to the zat blast. He glanced at Daniel and saw the same hurt in his eyes that he was sure was in his own. The hardest thing they ever had to endure was to watch a team member in pain and not be able to help.
"The cages are pretty secure, but there's some space between the bars. We might be able to slip through." He glanced over at Sam. "Care to give it a try Major?" He looked over at her with a big smile on his face. Sam raised her head.
"Just how small do you think I am Sir?" she responded professionally, but Jack could hear the smile in her voice.
"Just a thought," Jack countered. Sam let her head fall back as Jack finished examining the cage. With one last tug on the unmoving bars, he switched to examining the room. It was fairly large and totally empty save for the cages in each of the four corners. Teal'c and Daniel were his neighbors, with Carter across from him in the far corner.
"They didn't leave us anything to work with," Daniel complained, eying the room as thoroughly as Jack did. "We can't even reach the Jaffa through the bars when they come to take us away."
"Inconsiderate," Jack mumbled, abandoning the room and instead focusing on himself. Nothing but the clothes on his back. They even took the small pocketknife that he kept in his boot. Not that it would do him much good since they took his boots too. "They took my chocolate bar," he grumbled as he checked every pocket he had.
"They must be punished," Teal'c deadpanned. Jack grinned as he finished his self-exploration. He could hear Daniel doing the same thing and knew Teal'c had already finished his. Finding nothing he could use, he got as comfortable as he could and watched his team. Daniel finished his own assessment, shaking his head to show he didn't find anything either. A minute later Sam recovered enough to start her examinations, but she too found nothing they could use. With nothing else to do, the team made themselves as comfortable as they could and waited.
"Makes me kinda wish we weren't so well known," Jack mused.
"Sir?" Sam asked from across the room. Jack shrugged.
"A couple dead snakes ago it would have all been different," he said. "They would have thrown us in a room with half our gear still on. Carter would have pulled out a doohickey and had the door open in half a second, Daniel would have sweet talked the natives to look the other way, and Teal'c would have led us back to the Stargate in time for 'The Simpsons'. But we kill a few Gods and suddenly everybody knows who we are."
"You believe our captors are aware of our identity?" Teal'c asked.
"Yep," Jack agreed. "And the snake is gonna try to use us to further their own position in the snake club."
"That's assuming we have been captured by a Goa'uld," Sam pointed out. She pointed around the room. "Nothing here really looks Goa'uldish."
"Zats, Carter," Jack argued. "They had zats. I know I didn't see any, but I sure felt them."
"We have zats," Daniel countered. "Does that automatically mean we are Goa'uld?" Jack rolled his eyes. "There were no signs of Goa'uld inhabitation near the Stargate. No signs of any civilization in fact. We don't know for sure if the Goa'uld are even involved." Jack opened his mouth to respond but closed it quickly when they heard the sound of marching getting closer. He stared accusingly at the archeologist as the sounds quickly morphed into a very familiar and uncomfortable sound.
"Jaffa," Teal'c stated.
"Jaffa," Daniel agreed, sighing loudly as the door opened and over a dozen Jaffa marched into the room.
"A bit of an overkill," Jack commented as four Jaffa went to each cage. The team put up a token resistance, but they knew they were totally outmanned right now, and the struggling was more for show than any real attempt at escape. They were led down the main hallway and into the throne room, the Jaffa forcing them to their knees before the dais.
"Ah, the infamous SG-1," the Goa'uld spoke to them, her eyes glowing with power. Jack glanced up at the deity of the week. His first thought was of a gladiator. She had on a short tunic under a sturdy looking breastplate. Armored leggings and bracers protected her limbs while a chain mail choker protected her neck, and a gold circlet adorned her head. She even had a short sword attached to her hip to complete the image. "What an honor it will be to break you."
"Now that's an original line," Jack quipped, earning him a quick jab from a staff weapon. "You know we won't tell you squat."
"Don't be so sure Colonel O'Neill." The Goa'uld rose slowly before descending from her throne. She approached Jack, threading her fingers in his hair to force him to look up at her. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging for me to kill you." She released him and began pacing before the team, stopping to examine each one of them carefully before returning to Jack. "Of course, I can be persuaded not to hurt the members of your team if you tell me what I wish to know."
"Go to Hell," Jack started only to stop himself. "Oh right. We already destroyed Hell. Just like we'll destroy you." The Goa'uld's eyes flared in anger. She activated her ribbon device and threw Teal'c across the room so hard Jack could feel the vibrations of him hitting the wall in his bones. The Goa'uld took a deep breath and turned to Jack again, plastering on a seductive smile.
"Oh, come now Colonel. All I want to know is the iris code. The safety of your team for one little number." Jack glared at her. She drew her sword and struck Daniel with the pommel before Jack could blink. He went sprawling on the floor behind him, a vicious red mark starting to show on his cheekbone. "Or do you like seeing your friends in pain?" the Goa'uld asked as she sheathed her sword.
"Fuck you!" Jack screamed at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to escape the iron grip of the Jaffa. The Goa'uld calmly watched the enraged Colonel before moving in front of Sam. The Jaffa holding her roughly pushed her forward, causing her to fall at the feet of the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld glanced once more at Jack before activating the hand device. The ribbon of energy locked onto Sam, her face contorting in silent agony.
"One word from you and all their pain can stop," the Goa'uld tempted. "I can promise they will never be harmed again." She locked eyes with Jack. "Or I can promise them pain like they have never before imagined. Pain they never believed possible. Pain that will follow them throughout their lives, invade their thoughts, turn dreams into nightmares. Pain that will make them question their own sanity." As she talked, she gradually increased the power of the hand device until Sam began to whimper. She continued to increase the power until Sam's screams were echoing throughout the throne room. The entire time her eyes never left Jack's. "One little code to stop all of this."
"No!" Jack forced out over the lump in his throat. He knew he was condemning his team to more pain and hated himself for it, but he couldn't let the Goa'uld win. The Goa'uld held his stare until Sam's screams suddenly stopped as she passed out.
"You have the power to stop this," she said, still staring at Jack. "You and your team can live out the rest of your lives like a King. You will never want for anything. You will have all the power you can dream of. Women throwing themselves at your feet. Slaves bowing in humbled respect. Enemies cowering in fear. I can give you all you ever dreamed of, and much, much more. All I need from you is a small token of your allegiance. The iris code." She finally stopped her assault with the hand device. Sam's body flopped to the floor. She followed Jack's eyes to the lifeless lump before her. "What do you say?"
"Go to Hell!" Jack shouted, anger burning in his eyes. The Goa'uld smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that," she gloated. "I would be very disappointed if you gave in that easily." She grinned maliciously. "Let the fun begin." She returned to her throne before motioning to her Jaffa. "Take them." The Jaffa nodded and pulled the group from the throne room. She sat back, admiring her work. She could taste victory.