Paradise Reborn–Chapter Sixteen

Hahai

(Chase)

"So, Sam."

"Yeah, Daniel?" His hand on her arm had slowed her a little, pulling her back from her position directly behind the Colonel.

He leaned in to speak in a loud whisper. "What's with the glow?"

The glow. She knew precisely what he meant, of course. But the fact that O'Neill hadn't offered up that little complication meant that he hadn't wanted her talking about it, either. Still—there was really no other option, was there? "The glow is a problem, Daniel. A big one."

"Oh?"

"Nirrti was trying to destroy the palace and the village, I think. Before she left the palace, she rigged Colonel O'Neill up with a bomb that's actually wired into his vitals. She placed him next to the generator in a lower part of the building where two large volcanic tubes led out to this side of the island. If the bomb blew, the secondary blast of the generator would have been focused through those tunnels and possibly annihilated this entire side of the island."

"What the hell?"

"It's a disc-shaped dome. Very low profile. It's strapped to his chest with leather thongs, but there are thin wire probes that appear to penetrate his skin. Somehow, the detonator is rigged to his life-force, or whatever else you'd call it. Once he dies, the thing will explode."

"Holy crap." Daniel's eyes were huge behind the lenses of his glasses. "How'd you figure all that out?"

"I'm guessing about most of it." Sam shook her head a little. "Without being able to study the thing in the proper setting—"

"Okay." Straddling a felled log, Daniel offered her a hand so that she could get over the obstacle more easily. "So, what have you surmised about this device based on what you've seen?"

"There are lights on it. Fourteen bars. As his energy and will to live surge, the lights change from orange to green. As he wanes, they shift back to orange. Once all the lights are orange—"

"Boom."

"He's a little touchy about the whole thing."

Daniel didn't answer immediately. They walked together for several minutes before he let out a strangled sort of sigh. "Understandable. It certainly adds a whole new dimension of ugly to our predicament."

"It does." Sam watched as the Colonel strode through the rough undergrowth. "He's doing pretty well right now, though."

"But something tells me that you've had to pull him back from the brink."

"I need you, Jack." Desperation. Hands seeking and finding. Pleasure even within the fear and pain. "Me too, Sam." Despair. Exultation. Intense relief.

Sam pressed her lips together firmly, breathing through her memories. When she spoke again, she prayed her voice was steady. "A few times. I was very glad when you two found us. I think it's helping to keep him positive."

"To be honest, I'm a little shocked that he's alive." Daniel lowered his voice even further. "After what he went through in the Palace. They weren't gentle when they took him away."

"I know." A chill shot through her—from her toes straight through to her gut. Sam had to force away the fear that had been constantly threatening to overtake her. "I could tell."

They were walking downward, again, following the tracks that Nirrti's Jaffa had made. Away from the stairs, and towards the beach, but wending wide to the south. Rather than taking a straight shot down, it felt like they'd been making easy, circling switchbacks down the mountain. The path made absolutely no sense in light of Nirrti's apparent deSire to flee the planet.

But then, she was a Goa'uld.

"How bad is it? I mean—other than the bomb."

"Lots of bruises." Sam paused to tally things up. Ahead of her, the Colonel wobbled a little stepping over a particularly large tree trunk. She frowned. "Probable concussion. His head has taken a beating. Swollen eye and forehead, split lip. Likely bruised and - or - broken ribs. He twisted his ankle up there at one point, and his right hand is damaged. Probably at least one broken finger. My guess is that he tried to fight his way out."

"Sounds like him."

"The biggest problem is the bomb." Her voice made her sound ridiculously clinical, even though she felt anything but. "It can't be comfortable. And it had to have been torturous getting it attached to him."

"Obviously." Daniel sighed—again. "How close have you gotten?"

"Two greens. Twelve orange."

"Do you know how close he has to be before it explodes?"

Sam turned that one over in her brain for a minute. "How close? You mean—to death?"

Daniel's expression told her how distasteful he found the need to ask the question—let alone how horrible the question was on its own merit.

"I don't know." She used the machete to move some large fronds out of their way. "Close. In that fugue state, you know?"

For several long moments, they just walked, trying to keep pace with Teal'c and the Colonel as well as scan the area for possible threats. The Jaffa hadn't felt it necessary to try to ambush them yet, but that didn't mean that it wasn't going to happen. They still needed to be on guard.

"So, honestly." When he spoke again, Daniel made no attempt to hide the fact that he was studying her, taking her measure. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Daniel."

"You're tired."

"So are you." She countered. "I'm good."

"And yet you're waving that gigantic knife around with your left hand."

Damn. Rolling her eyes, Sam shook her head a little before answering. "I fell down a mountain. Wrenched my shoulder."

"And?"

"Hit my head a few times."

"And?"

"And that's all, Daniel." She summoned up what could have kindly been termed a smile. "I promise."

**O**O**O**O**O**O**

"So, we have my gun, Teal'c's staff weapon, and your big knife."

He was being positively chatty. Ever since they'd set off through the forest after Nirrti and her guards, the Colonel had scarcely shut up. Sam knew he wasn't really taking inventory of their assets, though. He was trying to take his mind off of the realities of their situation. She'd long ago learned that he had to process things in his own way. One of his ways was this: forced positivity within what seemed like impossible odds.

Although they had been thrown a few proverbial bones in the past half hour.

For one, Nirrti hadn't even tried to hide her trail. Neither had the Jaffa who had remained with her. Teal'c numbered them at four—five when you counted the snake herself. In the damp undergrowth of the forest, their footprints had practically screamed to be followed. And follow they had, although the trail had felt like they'd been going in circles the entire time. Maybe that had been the point—Nirrti being the maniacally evil hosebeast that she was. Perhaps she was trying to confuse them in the darkness, lose them in the sheer density of the jungle itself. Or, maybe she was just trying to wear them down to make them easier to kill.

It didn't help that, of the four of them, only two were really in decent condition to begin with. Teal'c and Daniel were no worse for the wear. Sam, on the other hand— well, she'd already had this conversation with Daniel. Her shoulder still hurt. She'd been trying to massage it, work it a little, keep the joint mobile, but she knew that she was losing that battle. Dollars to donuts, she'd have a massive bruise there once they got home and she could take a look at it. She amended herself: at best she'd have a bruise. At worst—well, it could be very much worse once Janet had a chance to check her out once they got home.

If they got home. But it didn't do to dwell, did it?

And besides—she was hunky-dory compared to the Colonel. The bruises on his face had blossomed, as had the cut on his lip. Every once in a while, he'd lift a hand to wipe at his mouth—and Sam could tell that he wasn't dabbing away sweat or saliva. He was still bleeding. He had to be working his way through massive amounts of pain, as well. Debilitating at best, life-threatening at worst.

As often as she could, she'd peek at the lights on his chest. At least he hadn't lost any more green. At last count, he'd gained a few bars. So, that positive point could be put amongst the other assets the Colonel was listing; Jack O'Neill being too stubborn to die.

At least, that was Carter's fervent hope.

As a team, they'd been doing everything possible to ease the Colonel's way through the jungle. She'd had to tell Teal'c about the bomb—she'd had no choice once Daniel had pointedly remarked upon the odd glow emanating from Jack's chest through his zipped jacket. The Colonel had reverted to form, refusing to even acknowledge the bomb's existence, but Sam had shut that down easily enough. She'd asked Teal'c to take a closer look on the off-chance that he'd seen the technology before. The Jaffa had leaned close to peer at the device to see whether he could disarm it, but the technology had been beyond anything he'd ever experienced.

"Anything else that I've missed?"

It took a moment for Sam to register that the Colonel had spoken again. "I think Daniel has a Zat, too, Sir." Glancing through the trees at the long stretch of gilded pink just visible above the horizon, she continued. "And since we're near daybreak, that should help our situation."

"Well, all right then. We also have an impending dawn." O'Neill hesitated briefly before pushing through a thick bunch of waxy-leaved plants. He was tiring again, but doggedly determined not to fall behind. "So, we'll also have light soon. That's a bonus."

"Yep." Sam suspected that her forced optimism was wearing thin, but nobody seemed capable of caring enough to tell her so yet. "Light is a good thing."

O'Neill snorted. "This conversation kinda reminds me of that movie."

Sam worked at that for a moment before she asked, "What movie?"

"That one with the swords. Precocious kid. And the little guy and the giant. Cute blonde girl and a pretty pirate dude. Y'know. That movie. This right now is just like that."

Daniel stopped short, turning to stare over his shoulder at Jack. "What are you talking about?"

"'Your strength, my brains, and his sword—'" The Colonel waved a hand briefly in the air. "You know—that movie. 'Hello. My name is WhateverTheHell. You killed my father. You're dead meat.'"

"The Princess Bride." Teal'c stopped next to the Colonel and inclined his head, a slight smile on his face. "A fine film."

"Yeah. That one." O'Neill made an odd one-shouldered shrug towards the Jaffa. "It's like that part with the giant and the Armageddon poncho."

"Fezzig and The Holocaust Cloak." Teal'c's smile widened by a degree. "The characters are upon a wall. The Dread Pirate Roberts has not yet recovered from being 'mostly dead'. They are trying to rescue Princess Buttercup before she weds Prince Humperdinck."

"A fan, are you?" O'Neill's amused expression was evident even in the low pre-dawn light.

"I am. The film is both entertaining and educational." Teal'c gestured with his staff weapon in the direction they'd been heading before they'd paused. "And now it is time to continue on."

"Right." Daniel adjusted the handkerchief he'd tied around his head, then looked around. "Does anyone have any idea of exactly where we are yet?"

"It seems like we're still slightly above the village, but veering southward towards the beach again." Sam started walking, and the rest of the team fell into a well-versed formation.

"But the 'Gate is so far north. I don't understand why Nirrti would head this way."

"It makes no sense." Sam stifled a curse. "Maybe she has another boat tied up on the beach that will take her to 'Gate."

"But why go that way when she'd rigged Jack up to explode?" Daniel touched O'Neill's shoulder gently. "No offense, Jack."

The Colonel shook his head. "None taken. You're right. If she's truly trying to get off this planet, why not just go with the larger contingent of Jaffa to the 'Gate? It's faster that way, and she wouldn't be as exposed."

"It's still flooded." Sam reached out and touched a large leaf on a plant next to her. Her fingers came away wet with dew, which she used to moisten her lips as she continued. "They'd need a larger boat. Or more boats. Or something."

"Unless she has an alternate way to get to the 'Gate." Daniel spoke from his position behind the Colonel. His hands flew upwards in the universal expression of exasperation. "I mean—there's more than one way to skin a cat."

Alternate ways—Sam stopped in her tracks, Daniel's words echoing through her core. Alternate ways. Skinned cats. Options. Damn, Damn, Damn. Why hadn't she thought of that earlier?

Pivoting for the best positioning, she looked upwards through the heavy canopy of the trees until she found a clear view. The sky had cleared, and still-visible through the early-morning haze were the planet's twin moons. With a muttered curse, she picked her way makai—towards the ocean—until she had a clearer idea of their location.

The treelines made all the difference. A large, thick windbreak ran east to west from the bay up towards the mountains. Intersecting with that treeline was another one—shorter, with larger trees in a narrower line. It had struck her that first night, when she'd been sated with fish and taro and watching the villagers in their hula kahiko, how remarkable it was that trees knew how to grow in lines. Maybe she'd had too much kava— orderly trees were the thoughts of a woozy Sam.

Anyway. Moving on.

North of the bay, sandy beaches stretched for miles towards the 'Gate, punctuated by large washes where rainwater flowed from the upper reaches of the mountains into the sea. She was achingly familiar with that part of the island's topography. She'd never ventured southward, however. The bay was hemmed to the north by a few rockier outcroppings which gave way to a wide swath of soft sand. But incongruously the sand suddenly stopped, and up from the bay rose a steep, black cliff. Sam had surmised that the peninsula was simply evidence of an ancient volcanic event, but Kawehi had explained that it had been provided by the Gods as protection for the harbor. The locals called the site Laniloa, and past Kumu had erected a heiau, or temple, there to worship Lono as well as pay tribute to the ancestors.

The clearing sat on a rise just west of the peninsula, protected by the treeline just at the base of the mountains, but ending abruptly with a towering cliff on the eastern-most side. As beautiful as the clearing was, it was a difficult place to protect—which is why the village hadn't spilled over into it. And why they'd landed it there.

"Son of a bitch."

"Carter?" Somehow, the Colonel had appeared at her side, peering through the foliage downwards, towards the ocean. "Whatcha got?"

"Alternate ways, Sir. Like Daniel said. Alternate ways." She ran her fingers through her already-disheveled hair, talking more to herself than her team. "We've been too focused on the 'Gate."

Daniel stopped just shy of her left shoulder, peering upwards towards the sky before budgeting her elbow. "What do you mean, Sam?"

Teal'c planted his staff weapon in the soft ground as he stopped next to the Colonel. "How else will they flee this planet if not through the Chappa'ai?"

Turning, Sam looked at each of her team in turn. "Think, guys. How did we get off the volcano?"

She didn't think she'd need to elaborate. Surely they all remembered the hellacious flight away from Kamapua'a's palace in their stolen Al'Kesh. She, at least, would never forget dangling from the doorway by her fingertips, her struggle to keep hold even while Ku threatened to drag her into the raging abyss below. She felt like she was being pulled in half with the Goa'uld hanging from her feet while her team grabbed her and tried to leverage her into the Al'Kesh.

"Trust me." The Colonel had spoken directly into her ear as he'd aimed his weapon directly along her body and then fired. He'd comforted her later, staying by her side in the infirmary until she'd been able to make it on her own.

She still dreamed about it at times, although she hated to admit it. There were perks to living alone—nobody else had to hear her sobs.

But this, her team simply had to remember.

Daniel got there first, his brows flying high. "The Al'Kesh."

"They parked it in that big clearing on the other side of the treeline. Next to the village." Jack gestured randomly in the general direction. "I thought they were going to destroy it."

Sam shrugged with her good shoulder. "They chose not to. Aki told me that they thought that the ship might make intruders think that they had more advanced technology. It just sits there looking scary. And Nirrti is going there rather than to the 'Gate because she has this other ship—this—what was it?"

"Kesh Kal Mah." Teal'c provided the name immediately. "Her sanctuary ship. It must be in a low orbit, and equipped with a ring transportation device."

"Right. She's going to use the rings to get back on her ship and disappear." Daniel waved off into the distance, his movements angry and terse. "And we're thirty minutes or more behind her."

"Why not just take all the Jaffa through the rings? Why send them back to the 'Gate?" O'Neill took a few tentative steps downwards, gauging the incline down towards the flatlands. "Why lead us on this stupid chase?"

"She is carrying a baby. She won't have the ease of movement that we do." Sam sighed heavily. "She had to know pretty quickly that you didn't die, and she figured she had time to travel more carefully. She didn't want to endanger the safety of her new host."

O'Neill's dark eyes grew even darker, his brows dipped low. It took him a moment for him to unclench his jaw to answer her. "I really, really hate that woman."

Bile rose up in Sam's throat. "Me too, Sir."

"I can see the bay from here, Sam." Daniel pointed at a flash of blue shining between the myriad trees in the forest. "See? Down at around ten o'clock from us. So, twelve o'clock would be the outer edge of the bay that juts into the ocean, and that stand of trees there should be the windbreak between the clearing and the populated areas."

"I concur, Daniel Jackson." Using his staff weapon for stability, Teal'c made a careful foray past the Colonel and down the steep hill they'd been walking along. "This area appears to be passable."

"Barring any difficulties, we could make it to the Al'Kesh in half the time that Nirrti's current path will take." Sam glanced at the Colonel, somewhat surprised that he was looking at her and not at the challenge before them. She caught his eye meaningfully. "But it's going to be a tough hike."

"Yeah. I got that." O'Neill nodded. His lip had started bleeding again, and he dabbed at the drop with a single knuckle before wiping away the evidence on his thigh. Reaching out, he braced himself against a handy tree and motioned to his team. "Teal'c, be a friend. Spot me."