AUTHOR'S NOTES: You know. after a while you really begin to wonder what to
write in these AN's. So this is short. Hugs to all who read and send
feedback, and a chocolate colonel (or danny for suds *vbg*) for those who
ask!!
sharim
Chapter Five
"Any sign yet?"
Daniel watched as Ferretti responded to Hammond's radio call. Two days Ferretti's team had been searching and digging on this god-forsaken planet. Two days of sifting through mud and red soil, hoping for a hint as to what had happened to Sam and Jack.
Daniel felt guilty, but he would rather hope they were dead than in the hands of the Goa'uld.
"They do not appear to be here, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c commented quietly, standing next to Daniel.
Daniel's eyes burnt and his vision blurred. "They have to be," he whispered desperately, his hands clenching into fists.
"Major, Sir!" A young soldier raced into the shelter that had been erected.
"What is it, Gibson?"
"We've found something that looks like an old building buried beneath the rubble on the south side, Sir."
Daniel pricked his ears.
"Any sign of Major Carter or Colonel O'Neill?"
"No, Sir. But if they managed to get to it before the rocks fell. there's a good chance that they could be in there, and alive, Sir!" Gibson remarked excitedly. "The others are busy removing the rocks now!"
Daniel stood up, turning to follow Teal'c out of the tent towards the area Gibson was talking about.
"Daniel, Teal'c!" Ferretti halted them, his face tired and concerned. "You've been digging all day, despite my orders. You will stay here and rest for now, understood? My men and I will get the temple open and then we'll come and get you."
"I can be of assistance, I have already completely my required Kel'no'reem," Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
"I am helping, Ferretti," Daniel stated calmly.
"I can't let you, Dr. Jackson. I've got orders from Dr. Fraiser, and if you won't obey them then I'll be forced to send you back to Earth."
Daniel froze, staring in disbelief at Ferretti. "But. This is Sam and Jack, we're talking about Ferretti!"
"I know. And if we're forced to look after you as well as them because you don't know when to stop it's just going to slow us down," Ferretti pointed out calmly.
"Perhaps it would be wise if you remain here, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel glared at Teal'c. "I don't."
"Dr. Jackson," Ferretti warned, his tone reminding Daniel painfully of Jack who used the same tone on a number of occasions. Ferretti must have learnt if from him.
He glared at the men in the tent once more before storming off to his and Teal'c's assigned tent, the effect somewhat ruined by his heavy limp.
~o0o~
She hurt.
A moan escaped from between her lips, the pain increasing as the air left her lungs and her abdomen moved.
She hurt.
Fire.
Her whole body was on fire. Every breath just added fresh air so that the fire burnt hotter and more painfully.
"Keep still."
Sam frowned. The voice was foreign and musical, the words strangely accented and rolling through the air like chocolate. It was a nice voice. Sam wanted whoever it was to talk again.
"You must keep still, Tau'ri."
Tau'ri.
Where was she?
"No." she whispered, opening her eyes and gazing around wildly.
The Colonel. She remembered waking up and seeing the Colonel. Where was he?
"Soon the pain will go, but you must lie still."
The hands that pushed down on her shoulders to keep her still weren't rough, but the firm movements lacked a gentleness and there was no care in the touch.
"The more you move the more it will hurt. Lie still," the woman instructed again, an edge of impatience creeping into her voice.
Sam looked up at the dark woman, her long ebony hair hanging over a scantily clad shoulder in an impressive braid. If this woman were blond she could have been Rapunzel.
Sam smiled insanely, and a look of concern crossed the dark features. "She is delirious," the woman stated, looking at someone behind Sam. Who was behind her? Sam struggled desperately, but the woman refused to let go of her shoulders.
The burning got worse.
It hurt.
A sob tore through Sam's throat, burning up the inside of her neck.
It hurt.
"Shhh." Smooth hands brushed her forehead. They were warm. She was so cold. The fire was so hot.
Colonel. Where was he?
*
Cal'ma stared down at the beautiful woman before her. The Tau'ri was growing weaker, a cold fever raging through her stricken body.
Cal'ma knew that if Nut did not heal her before long, the Tau'ri would die.
This Tau'ri woman - Carter - was a warrior; Cal'ma had seen it in her eyes. Eyes that were the colour of the blue jewels that Nut loved.
Touching her hand to Carter's forehead, Cal'ma pursed her lips. She was cold. Much too cold.
Cal'ma did not care if the woman died.
But Nut did. And if Cal'ma did not tell Nut that the woman was dying. Cal'ma herself would be dying before long.
Sighing, Cal'ma rose to her feet. To face Nut with news such as this. Cal'ma steadied herself. Nut would not punish her, would she? It was a risk, Cal'ma knew, presenting the Queen with news such as this, but not as much of a risk as simply not telling the goddess.
She would tell Nut, and Nut would heal Carter.
And then what?
Cal'ma scowled.
~o0o~
They were close now.
Closer than they had ever been.
He could feel the blood in his veins moving faster, his breath coming in excited little gasps at the prospect of being free.
Free.
Free to complete his mission.
Long since had the noise of rocks being pulled away ended. He knew the prison had been found, the sounds he heard were not as muffled or distance as they had been before.
They just had to find him now. They just had to release him from his imprisonment.
They were close now.
Beneath him he could feel the faintest tremours through the ground as they approached, their many feet whispering along the dusty stone floor. Soon. His fingers itched in anticipation, the palm of his hand imprinted with the pattern of the small device he was gripping so hard it was almost embedded into his hand.
Soon.
"I do not believe O'Neill or Major Carte are here, Major Ferretti," a smooth, baritone voice sounded just outside his prison.
His eyes widened; he recognised that form of speech. A Jaffa.
"No, this place is empty," another voice agreed. "Either they're still buried or the Goa'uld got them."
He sucked in his breath. These were not Goa'uld. What was a Jaffa doing, serving those not Goa'uld?
"There looks like there's something behind this wall!"
He forgot his concerns with the Jaffa as another human banged on the wall.
Close. So close.
His breath was coming in laboured gasps, anticipation settling over him like a cloud.
"Can you read what's on the wall?"
"No Sir, this is Dr. Jackson's specialty, not mine. Should I go get him?"
"No, don't wake him up. We can come back tomorrow, it's almost dark out anyway."
He hissed in frustration. No! So close. so close. and yet he was still imprisoned.
"Shouldn't we open it now, so that he can just come in first thing tomorrow without having to wait for us?"
Yes! Yes!
His lungs craved fresh air; his nose sick of smelling the same dusty air filtered down through long, narrow channels covered in slime and dirt.
"Alright. Teal'c, do you have any idea how to open this?"
"I do," the Jaffa - Teal'c - answered.
He frowned, his curiosity pricked by this odd alliance of human and Jaffa. Perhaps he would kill the Shol'va as punishment for betraying his god.
He smiled. Yes. That is what he would do.
"Well, then?"
He heard large hands smoothing over the wall, the soft sound of rough flesh whispering over stone.
He held his breath.
A click echoed in his mind; the door unlocked.
He crouched in the shadows, knowing his eyes would be hurt by the light and that his prey would have difficulty seeing the dark.
A crack of light sliced through the darkness, and he squinted towards it.
Freedom was so close. so close.
Stone grated over stone as the doorway was moved, his prison for so long thrown into light.
A gasp of surprise echoed through his cell.
"Sir! That looks like a sarcophagus!" a human exclaimed.
"Is there anyone in it, Sir?"
"How should I know?"
His eyes were getting used to the light, his pupils still aching it destroyed the sensitive pigments.
There was movement into his cell, and he saw their forms stepping into the room that had imprisoned him for so long, silhouetted against the light streaming in from the doorway in the distance.
He held his breath, his muscles tensed and ready for the kill.
"Teal'c, get your-"
The man never finished speaking, knocked to the ground by his momentum. He raised his hand, searching through the brightness to try and find the Jaffa, the Shol'va.
There!
His satisfaction evaporated; the Shol'va was armed.
He looked and jumped to the left, narrowly missing a bolt from the zat gun. "Insolence!" he screeched, his voice still as powerful and pure as it had always been. "You will pay for this insolence!"
Raising his hand he threw the Jaffa backwards carelessly; he could not afford the time to plan his movements for the kill.
With the doorway empty he made his escape, his pale legs carrying him jerkily up the stairs and towards the light. the bright light burning his eyes with an imprint of freedom.
It was sunset, he realised with delight as he broke through to the surface. Sunset. darkness was soon to follow. He would hide in the darkness. hide on this planet until they gave up the search for him.
Then he would serve his god. He would rectify his failure.
He would regain favour.
With a smile he disappeared over the small rise and headed towards the forest beyond the rocky red hills.
~o0o~
Curiouser and curiouset. *G* There is more coming, I promise!! Ta for the feedback, as usual! Reviews also. (
Chapter Five
"Any sign yet?"
Daniel watched as Ferretti responded to Hammond's radio call. Two days Ferretti's team had been searching and digging on this god-forsaken planet. Two days of sifting through mud and red soil, hoping for a hint as to what had happened to Sam and Jack.
Daniel felt guilty, but he would rather hope they were dead than in the hands of the Goa'uld.
"They do not appear to be here, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c commented quietly, standing next to Daniel.
Daniel's eyes burnt and his vision blurred. "They have to be," he whispered desperately, his hands clenching into fists.
"Major, Sir!" A young soldier raced into the shelter that had been erected.
"What is it, Gibson?"
"We've found something that looks like an old building buried beneath the rubble on the south side, Sir."
Daniel pricked his ears.
"Any sign of Major Carter or Colonel O'Neill?"
"No, Sir. But if they managed to get to it before the rocks fell. there's a good chance that they could be in there, and alive, Sir!" Gibson remarked excitedly. "The others are busy removing the rocks now!"
Daniel stood up, turning to follow Teal'c out of the tent towards the area Gibson was talking about.
"Daniel, Teal'c!" Ferretti halted them, his face tired and concerned. "You've been digging all day, despite my orders. You will stay here and rest for now, understood? My men and I will get the temple open and then we'll come and get you."
"I can be of assistance, I have already completely my required Kel'no'reem," Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
"I am helping, Ferretti," Daniel stated calmly.
"I can't let you, Dr. Jackson. I've got orders from Dr. Fraiser, and if you won't obey them then I'll be forced to send you back to Earth."
Daniel froze, staring in disbelief at Ferretti. "But. This is Sam and Jack, we're talking about Ferretti!"
"I know. And if we're forced to look after you as well as them because you don't know when to stop it's just going to slow us down," Ferretti pointed out calmly.
"Perhaps it would be wise if you remain here, Daniel Jackson."
Daniel glared at Teal'c. "I don't."
"Dr. Jackson," Ferretti warned, his tone reminding Daniel painfully of Jack who used the same tone on a number of occasions. Ferretti must have learnt if from him.
He glared at the men in the tent once more before storming off to his and Teal'c's assigned tent, the effect somewhat ruined by his heavy limp.
~o0o~
She hurt.
A moan escaped from between her lips, the pain increasing as the air left her lungs and her abdomen moved.
She hurt.
Fire.
Her whole body was on fire. Every breath just added fresh air so that the fire burnt hotter and more painfully.
"Keep still."
Sam frowned. The voice was foreign and musical, the words strangely accented and rolling through the air like chocolate. It was a nice voice. Sam wanted whoever it was to talk again.
"You must keep still, Tau'ri."
Tau'ri.
Where was she?
"No." she whispered, opening her eyes and gazing around wildly.
The Colonel. She remembered waking up and seeing the Colonel. Where was he?
"Soon the pain will go, but you must lie still."
The hands that pushed down on her shoulders to keep her still weren't rough, but the firm movements lacked a gentleness and there was no care in the touch.
"The more you move the more it will hurt. Lie still," the woman instructed again, an edge of impatience creeping into her voice.
Sam looked up at the dark woman, her long ebony hair hanging over a scantily clad shoulder in an impressive braid. If this woman were blond she could have been Rapunzel.
Sam smiled insanely, and a look of concern crossed the dark features. "She is delirious," the woman stated, looking at someone behind Sam. Who was behind her? Sam struggled desperately, but the woman refused to let go of her shoulders.
The burning got worse.
It hurt.
A sob tore through Sam's throat, burning up the inside of her neck.
It hurt.
"Shhh." Smooth hands brushed her forehead. They were warm. She was so cold. The fire was so hot.
Colonel. Where was he?
*
Cal'ma stared down at the beautiful woman before her. The Tau'ri was growing weaker, a cold fever raging through her stricken body.
Cal'ma knew that if Nut did not heal her before long, the Tau'ri would die.
This Tau'ri woman - Carter - was a warrior; Cal'ma had seen it in her eyes. Eyes that were the colour of the blue jewels that Nut loved.
Touching her hand to Carter's forehead, Cal'ma pursed her lips. She was cold. Much too cold.
Cal'ma did not care if the woman died.
But Nut did. And if Cal'ma did not tell Nut that the woman was dying. Cal'ma herself would be dying before long.
Sighing, Cal'ma rose to her feet. To face Nut with news such as this. Cal'ma steadied herself. Nut would not punish her, would she? It was a risk, Cal'ma knew, presenting the Queen with news such as this, but not as much of a risk as simply not telling the goddess.
She would tell Nut, and Nut would heal Carter.
And then what?
Cal'ma scowled.
~o0o~
They were close now.
Closer than they had ever been.
He could feel the blood in his veins moving faster, his breath coming in excited little gasps at the prospect of being free.
Free.
Free to complete his mission.
Long since had the noise of rocks being pulled away ended. He knew the prison had been found, the sounds he heard were not as muffled or distance as they had been before.
They just had to find him now. They just had to release him from his imprisonment.
They were close now.
Beneath him he could feel the faintest tremours through the ground as they approached, their many feet whispering along the dusty stone floor. Soon. His fingers itched in anticipation, the palm of his hand imprinted with the pattern of the small device he was gripping so hard it was almost embedded into his hand.
Soon.
"I do not believe O'Neill or Major Carte are here, Major Ferretti," a smooth, baritone voice sounded just outside his prison.
His eyes widened; he recognised that form of speech. A Jaffa.
"No, this place is empty," another voice agreed. "Either they're still buried or the Goa'uld got them."
He sucked in his breath. These were not Goa'uld. What was a Jaffa doing, serving those not Goa'uld?
"There looks like there's something behind this wall!"
He forgot his concerns with the Jaffa as another human banged on the wall.
Close. So close.
His breath was coming in laboured gasps, anticipation settling over him like a cloud.
"Can you read what's on the wall?"
"No Sir, this is Dr. Jackson's specialty, not mine. Should I go get him?"
"No, don't wake him up. We can come back tomorrow, it's almost dark out anyway."
He hissed in frustration. No! So close. so close. and yet he was still imprisoned.
"Shouldn't we open it now, so that he can just come in first thing tomorrow without having to wait for us?"
Yes! Yes!
His lungs craved fresh air; his nose sick of smelling the same dusty air filtered down through long, narrow channels covered in slime and dirt.
"Alright. Teal'c, do you have any idea how to open this?"
"I do," the Jaffa - Teal'c - answered.
He frowned, his curiosity pricked by this odd alliance of human and Jaffa. Perhaps he would kill the Shol'va as punishment for betraying his god.
He smiled. Yes. That is what he would do.
"Well, then?"
He heard large hands smoothing over the wall, the soft sound of rough flesh whispering over stone.
He held his breath.
A click echoed in his mind; the door unlocked.
He crouched in the shadows, knowing his eyes would be hurt by the light and that his prey would have difficulty seeing the dark.
A crack of light sliced through the darkness, and he squinted towards it.
Freedom was so close. so close.
Stone grated over stone as the doorway was moved, his prison for so long thrown into light.
A gasp of surprise echoed through his cell.
"Sir! That looks like a sarcophagus!" a human exclaimed.
"Is there anyone in it, Sir?"
"How should I know?"
His eyes were getting used to the light, his pupils still aching it destroyed the sensitive pigments.
There was movement into his cell, and he saw their forms stepping into the room that had imprisoned him for so long, silhouetted against the light streaming in from the doorway in the distance.
He held his breath, his muscles tensed and ready for the kill.
"Teal'c, get your-"
The man never finished speaking, knocked to the ground by his momentum. He raised his hand, searching through the brightness to try and find the Jaffa, the Shol'va.
There!
His satisfaction evaporated; the Shol'va was armed.
He looked and jumped to the left, narrowly missing a bolt from the zat gun. "Insolence!" he screeched, his voice still as powerful and pure as it had always been. "You will pay for this insolence!"
Raising his hand he threw the Jaffa backwards carelessly; he could not afford the time to plan his movements for the kill.
With the doorway empty he made his escape, his pale legs carrying him jerkily up the stairs and towards the light. the bright light burning his eyes with an imprint of freedom.
It was sunset, he realised with delight as he broke through to the surface. Sunset. darkness was soon to follow. He would hide in the darkness. hide on this planet until they gave up the search for him.
Then he would serve his god. He would rectify his failure.
He would regain favour.
With a smile he disappeared over the small rise and headed towards the forest beyond the rocky red hills.
~o0o~
Curiouser and curiouset. *G* There is more coming, I promise!! Ta for the feedback, as usual! Reviews also. (