Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on this chapter—life got super busy for a bit there!
Tiny sparks launched into the air as Sam tried to hot-wire the force-shield. She was surprised to find that this civilization relied on electricity—all the other races they'd encountered with shield technology used crystals. Another time, she would've liked to study the panel she was fiddling with. Now, though, all she wanted was to find out where her friends were being held and how to get out of this place.
Every once in a while she paused in her work to listen for footsteps, but so far she remained undisturbed. With a definite task to focus on, she was also feeling less light-headed.
Sam pulled out a second set of wires and examined the exposed ends. She wondered what would happen if she put them in contact with the other wires. She turned her face away from the panel and touched the exposed ends of the two sets of wires to each other. The lights dimmed and flickered. A shock of pain stabbed at Sam and she dropped the wires, pulling her hands away.
The panel burst into flames and the hall went dark, the power cut. Sam caught her breath in the blackness and ginned despite the multiple levels of pain in her hands. That was certainly one way to disable a force-shield.
The sudden darkness did not find Teal'c unprepared. The moment the lights began to flicker, he'd grabbed his captive's arms behind his back.
Now that they were situated in one of the cells, the door propped carefully open, Teal'c had been standing guard while Daniel Jackson tried to talk to their prisoner and O'Neil tried to talk to the little girl. With the power out, though, Teal'c wasn't taking any chances - his prisoner would not escape.
He heard Daniel Jackson groan in frustration—he'd been attempting to draw a Stargate in the air to see if their prisoner knew where it was. Teal'c felt the archeologist's frustration. He, too, was discouraged by this new turn of events.
The alien began to struggle. Teal'c pushed him roughly to the ground and pressed his alien weapon to the back of his head, demanding to know where the Stargate was. The alien simply blubbered incoherently. Teal'c knocked him out in disgust. They did not have time for this.
Daniel moved along slowly and silently behind Teal'c, one hand in front of him in case Teal'c stopped, one out to the side to help him keep his balance in the darkness. He didn't know how Teal'c could see well enough to walk confidently in front, but apparently 'Junior', was good for more than just a super-immune system and ridiculous strength.
Daniel heard soft scuffles behind him that indicated Jack and the young girl were still following. Daniel wondered why the child had been imprisoned here. She seemed to have figured out that they were friends, not foes, because despite her initial fear, she accompanied them quite willingly when they left the cell. Daniel worried about what would happen to her if they didn't make it out.
He dismissed the notion immediately, determined to keep a positive mindset despite the crippling darkness. Of course they would make it out. They'd find Sam, they'd find the Stargate, and they'd get out of this place. Daniel shook his head, angry with himself for not figuring out how to communicate with the alien they'd left behind. They might have everything they needed to get home already if he had.
The little girl clutched at Jack's hand like a life-line, and no wonder. He could really wring someone's neck for keeping her in such an awful place. He didn't think he'd gotten through to the kid until the lights had suddenly gone off and he'd felt a tiny hand grab onto his shirt. Now they moved cautiously down the hallway, Jack's alien weapon in his free hand, following the sound of Daniel and Teal'c's footsteps in the dark.
They hadn't met up with many more guards, and those they had come across had, as usual, been easy work.
Jack grimaced as he bumped into the wall to his right and resolutely kept moving forward. All they had to do was keep moving. Eventually, they'd find the Stargate or some kind of exit to the planet's surface, where they could regroup and gate to the Alpha Site. Jack had dismissed the idea of gating directly to the SGC when the lights went out. Searching for their gear would be a waste of time in this dark—it would be a miracle to find Carter, let alone their GDOs.
He pushed thoughts of his second-in-command to the background and focused on the immediate goal of finding an exit. They'd have to come back for Carter with night vision goggles. He just hoped she would be alright in the meantime.