AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here's more. just like I promised. BIG thanks to Uly and a
wave to Hoodat! (what would I do without you? LOL)
sharim
Chapter Seven
The scent of hot wax was a familiar assault on his senses, the occasional drip as the scalding liquid splashed against the floor was a comforting sound.
He opened his eyes, Kel'no'reem complete, and sat for a minute on the soft mat. "Do you require my assistance, Daniel Jackson?" he asked softly, not turning to face the man he knew was seated somewhere behind him.
"No. Well. finish up first."
"I have completely Kel'no'reem."
There was a creak as Daniel Jackson rose to his feet, a resounding click as the bones and joints worked out their stiffness. Teal'c rose to his feet silently, and turned to face the archaeologist.
"The Tok'ra contacted us."
Teal'c remained silent, waiting for Daniel Jackson to continue.
"The High Council is sending Jacob and Selmac."
Teal'c nodded, watching as Daniel Jackson headed towards the door. "Do you believed they know which Goa'uld has captured O'Neill and Major Carter?"
Daniel Jackson hesitated, his hand grasping tightly at the doorhandle. "I don't know, Teal'c. But they've got spies in the ranks of every Goa'uld we've ever come across. Hopefully this won't be any different."
Teal'c nodded his head in agreement; the Tok'ra did indeed have infiltrators everywhere.
~o0o~
Jacob paused before he stepped through the Stargate, a niggling fear jostling the back of his mind.
What are you afraid of, Jacob?
Jacob sighed. What was he afraid of? Sam not being there when he stepped through the gate, something happening to Mark or his family.
There has been nothing to indicate there is trouble, Selmac pointed out gently. Now, must I take us through or will you?
Jacob rolled his eyes. Just his luck to be stuck with a demanding snake.
A demanding snake with a great sense of humour.
He grinned and stepped through the gate. Sam wasn't in the gate room.
She could be on a mission, Jacob.
"Jacob, good to see you," George appeared, his round face strained with concern.
Jacob looked around the gate room. No sign of Teal'c, Dr. Jackson or O'Neill either. Something inside him relaxed slightly.
"Good to see you too, George. Where's Sam?"
George stopped, and Jacob's insides clenched. Oh. He closed his eyes.
Slow down, Jacob. You do not know for certain.
"We have a problem, Jacob."
Jacob opened his eyes, the words 'ya think' hovering on his lips. But he didn't vocalise them. He allowed himself and Selmac to be led to one of the briefing rooms, peering around for a glimpse of any SG-1 members.
He found both Dr. Jackson and Teal'c in the briefing room.
"Jacob," Dr. Jackson greeted, but his face was pale as Jacob sat down on a seat next to him.
"What happened?" he demanded, cutting to the point.
"We think Sam and Jack have been captured by a Goa'uld."
Jacob frowned. "Impossible. We'd know about it."
"The only other possibility is that they're buried on another planet," George admitted reluctantly.
"Buried?" Jacob frowned. Either buried or captured?
"SG-1 was exploring P2Y 684 when they came across a Goa'uld and several Jaffa. Teal'c, perhaps you'd care to explain what happened?"
Teal'c nodded his head in agreement. "P2Y 684 is a planet comprising of sparse forests and red mud hills. During the course of the morning we had proceeded to the edge of the hills and were about to start exploring them. In the distance we could make out what appeared to be a ruined city, and O'Neill gave the order that we were to approach it cautiously.
We had gotten approximately halfway to the city, when we unexpectedly came upon the Goa'uld. The ship was a small craft, and the Jaffa were Horus Guard. Their party was taken by surprise, as were we, and O'Neill ordered a retreat. However, the unidentified Goa'uld ordered and attack, and they pursued us.
It was heading towards evening, and we knew it would not be long until it was dark, so O'Neill ordered us to set up an ambush. Major Carter and O'Neill hid amongst the rocks in an area of the trail, and Daniel Jackson and I were to proceed further along before setting off a decoy. The Jaffa would run past Major Carter and O'Neill, who could then attack them from behind while Daniel Jackson and myself attacked from the front."
Teal'c stopped then, glancing over at Daniel to see if the archaeologist agreed with him.
"Continue," George ordered.
Daniel continued. "It would have worked too, only there must have been a fault line where we put the C4, and instead of just a small rockslide the whole hill nearly collapsed. Neither Sam not Jack responded to radio contact, and there was no trace of the Jaffa either. We tried to make our way back to where we knew they were hiding, but we couldn't even get a few metres across the landslide because it was too unstable.
Eventually we decided to head back to the Stargate for help, and we were almost at the forest again when we saw the Goa'uld ship take off in the distance."
Daniel sighed, looking up at Jacob.
What did the Goa'uld look like? Selmac asked, frowning.
"I don't know, I only got a glimpse of the Goa'uld and it was completely covered with clothing," Daniel admitted.
"It has a very small host," Teal'c added.
"There is also something else, Jacob," George interrupted.
Jacob raised his eyebrows. More?
"We weren't sure if Sam or Colonel O'Neill were captured by the Goa'uld, so we sent a few SG teams to dig through the rubble."
"And?"
"We didn't find either of them, but Major Ferretti's team did uncover what looked like a buried tomb. They went in to explore, thinking that maybe Sam or the Colonel had found refuge from the landslide, but there was no trace of them."
Selmac's mind was working furiously, and Jacob felt his brow wrinkle in thought. "What did you find?"
"Another Goa'uld," Daniel said softly. "We don't know who this one is either, but it must have been trapped in there for a very long time."
"It almost killed several members of my teams," George added darkly.
"Where is it now?"
"We don't know," George shot him a glance. "The Goa'uld escaped just after they released it, and then the weather turned so nasty that it was a risk to my teams, keeping them there."
May we see the Stargate symbols for the planet this occurred on? Selmac asked carefully.
"We thought you might want to ask that," Daniel stated, pushing a piece of paper across the tables towards them.
Jacob felt his heart rate quicken. "Oh, this is bad. This is very bad."
~o0o~
The water pounded relentlessly into his back, stinging his tender flesh beneath his worn robes.
But he didn't move. He was free now, and the stinging fury of the heaven's beating drove the thought sharply into his mind.
Free.
The ground swirled around him in a muddle rivulet of red ooze.
It looked like blood.
The earthy smell washed over him, and he stared at the pooling mud on his hand.
Blood. It had been so long since he'd tasted blood. Since he'd seen blood.
Slowly he lifted his hand towards his mouth, remembering the sight of his long, pale fingers glistening thickly with the sticky sweetness of blood.
By the time he placed his fingers in his eager mouth, the rain had washed them clean.
He felt a momentary pang of disappointment, but it was soon quelled as he remembered that the mud wasn't blood.
Soon he would taste blood.
He would watch the flowing currents ebb out of the hapless bodies that would fall victim to him.
He would gain his god's favour.
He would become powerful.
He smiled and let his fingers run through the thick mud, marvelling at its rough consistency and vibrant colour. Around him the water still fell from the sky, soaking his pale flesh until it was soft and wrinkled.
He was free.
~o0o~
They were sleeping when Cal'ma entered the room, the man's arms holding the woman gently while she shuddered in her sleep.
"You must wake," she stated loudly, marching towards the bed. The Jaffa accompanying her waited silently by the door, ready to protect her.
The Tau'ri male stirred on the bed, his fingers tightening around the woman. Carter.
"Wake!" she ordered, stopping at the base of the luxurious bed. Jealousy warred within Cal'ma: these Tau'ri, these prisoners had been given better accommodations than she had, and Cal'ma had served Nut loyally for her entire life!
She watched silently as his eyes opened and he pressed an unsteady hand to his forehead before grunting and turning to look at Cal'ma.
"You must bathe," she stated.
He raised his eyebrow again, a gesture she was learning to dislike intensely, along with the expression on his features. "And Carter?"
"I will take care of her," her voice sounded hostile and reluctant, just as her mind was hostile and reluctant.
"I don't trust you."
"You would rather do it yourself?" Cal'ma questioned, suddenly hopeful that she could worm her way out of the chore and please the Tau'ri, thus pleasing her goddess.
"Ye- uh."
She watched as the man looked down at the woman sleeping next to him, his face turning a red hue before he glanced back up at Cal'ma.
"There are private chambers," Cal'ma offered, realising that perhaps the Tau'ri required more privacy than Jaffa.
"I."
"Escort them to the bathing chambers and have Le'lak take them suitable clothing."
Without looking back, Cal'ma strode out of the room feeling strangely pleased with herself.
*
Jack's gaze followed the retreating Jaffa priestess, his mouth hanging open slackly with surprise and bewilderment. Bathe Carter?
He snorted.
"Kree!"
His gaze flicked back to the Jaffa standing impatiently in the doorway.
"Kree all you want, Carter is still sleeping."
"Kree tal'ma shi kra mel."
"Ye-ah," Jack nodded his head slowly. "Just give me a minute, okay?" He turned to Carter who was shifting painfully in her sleep. "Hey, Carter. Carter, wakey wakey. Come on Carter."
She moaned softly, and opened her eyes.
"Good girl. Feel like taking a walk?" he asked hopefully.
She blinked, her eyes still fuzzy and confused as she gazed up at him.
"Fine, I'll carry you. But you can bath yourself."
By the time he had her in his arms and was half stumbling to the door, she seemed to be more focused. "Sir?"
"I'll explain when we get there."
She nodded, leaning back into his hold and closing her eyes. Why was she still so weak? She could barely stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time.
Come to think of it, Jack didn't feel to crash hot either.
They finally reached the 'bathing chamber', and not a minute too soon. Jack's arms were nearly falling off. Motioning them inside, the guards stationed themselves at the doorway, watching as Jack carried Sam awkwardly into the room.
"Carter, open your eyes again," he ordered, trying to sit her up on a bench. Maybe he should have let Cal'ma do this.
"Sir?"
"Uh. You've got to have a bath," Jack stated, looking down at her. Yes, a bath would be wonderful. She was still wearing those BDU's, and the smell. well. bad just wasn't adequate.
"Don't want too," she whispered in protest, her head leaning tiredly against the wall.
"Well I'm not bathing you!" he exclaimed indignantly.
"I'm tired, Sir." Oh he hated it when she was so weak and he forced her to do things.
"You will take a bath, Major, and that is an order!"
He knew that it was only due to her training that her back straightened and her eyes flicked open, studying him blandly. "Yes, Sir."
"Good."
He stepped away, looking around. A female Jaffa entered the chamber, and placed down a bundle of cloth before looking curiously at the two humans and exiting silently.
Hoping Carter would be able to stay upright, Jack scooted across to where the bundle was lying and plucked something resembling a towel from the pile. He looked at Carter: her head was resting against the wall again and her eyes were closed. She obviously wasn't going to be able to take a bath by herself. Damn.
Jack's fingers were trembling slightly as he fumbled with the buttons on her BDU's.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, trying to bat his hand away.
"You have to bath, Carter."
"Why?"
"You stink."
She tried to glare at him, he could tell, but her face collapsed in a mask of exhaustion. "I don't want you to.." she trailed off, forcing her eyes open and gazing at him with embarrassed eyes.
He swallowed. "I'm sorry, Carter. It was either me or the Jaffa."
She closed her eyes, letting her head fall forwards to rest against his chest.
"I. I won't look and I won't take your underwear off, okay? I'll turn my back."
He felt her giggle weakly against him, a half-hearted attempt that warmed his heart. This was still Carter. This was still his dependable second who would face any difficult situation head on, and sometimes giggle about it. He hugged her quickly and carefully, mindful of her body that was still recovering from its ordeal.
She continued to lean against him as he pulled off her jacket, black shirt and the small tank top she wore underneath, lifting her arms as much as possible to assist him.
She undid her trousers by herself, leaning against the wall for support while he pulled off her boots and socks. He pulled her carefully to her feet, helping her balance while she awkwardly kicked her trousers off, and then he carried her to the warm pool in the centre of the room.
~o0o~
Daniel stared hard at Jacob, willing the Tok'ra to explain why that particular planet was bad.
"Have you heard of Anhur?" Jacob asked eventually, looking specifically at Daniel.
Daniel frowned. Anhur. Anhur. "The Hunter?"
"Yes."
Teal'c's face showed a momentary glimpse of realisation.
"Dr. Jackson?" Hammond enquired.
"An Egyptian god, Sir. Known as the Hunter or Huntsman." Daniel frowned. "I don't understand what's so bad about that, other than the usual Goa'uld pretending to be a god thing."
"Anhur wasn't just the god of the Hunters, he was a Hunter," Jacob said slowly. "An Ashrack."
Daniel's mouth dropped open. "So.what was an Ashrack doing on P2Y 684?"
"It's probably not written down in Earth mythology because it didn't happen all that long ago by Goa'uld standard, but Anhur was imprisoned by Ra for failing to kill a Goa'uld. Do you know the story, Teal'c?"
"It is spoken of among Jaffa," Teal'c nodded his head.
"Okay, the way it goes is that Ra and Tefenet had two children, Nut and Geb. Nut and Geb were very much in love, even in the womb which translates to a Goa'uld thing completely different. anyway, Ra didn't like the fact that these two Goa'uld were more loyal to one another than to him, so he separated them."
"I know about this!" Daniel exclaimed.
"No, you just know the Ancient Egyptian version. Nut and Geb were not happy about being split up, so they set their forces onto the ones of Ra guarding them and managed to escape to get together.
Ra was incredibly annoyed about this and took over both Nut and Geb's worlds which he had given to them at the start when they first began the whole impersonation of the gods. Obviously, Geb wasn't too happy about that so he took his and Nut's combined forces and launched an assault on Ra, which failed miserably. Ra captured Geb and imprisoned him somewhere-"
"So the Goa'uld we released was Geb?" Daniel interrupted.
"No. The Goa'uld you released was Anhur. After Ra imprisoned Geb he turned his attention to Nut. But Nut was one Goa'uld in one mother ship with barely any Jaffa to protect her, and he couldn't find her. So he ordered Anhur to locate her, and Anhur failed so Ra punished him by imprisoning him as well."
"So where is Nut now?" General Hammond frowned.
"I don't know."
"You don't know? You don't have a spy in her ranks?" Daniel asked incredulously.
Jacob sighed, allowing Selmac to take over. Nut's forces are so small she knows them all personally I would wager. Added to that, she would know if someone is a spy.
"How?" Daniel asked curiously.
The host Nut possess is a Nox.
~o0o~
*G* Thanks for the feedback and reviews. They really encourage a person to write. *hint hint*
sharim
Chapter Seven
The scent of hot wax was a familiar assault on his senses, the occasional drip as the scalding liquid splashed against the floor was a comforting sound.
He opened his eyes, Kel'no'reem complete, and sat for a minute on the soft mat. "Do you require my assistance, Daniel Jackson?" he asked softly, not turning to face the man he knew was seated somewhere behind him.
"No. Well. finish up first."
"I have completely Kel'no'reem."
There was a creak as Daniel Jackson rose to his feet, a resounding click as the bones and joints worked out their stiffness. Teal'c rose to his feet silently, and turned to face the archaeologist.
"The Tok'ra contacted us."
Teal'c remained silent, waiting for Daniel Jackson to continue.
"The High Council is sending Jacob and Selmac."
Teal'c nodded, watching as Daniel Jackson headed towards the door. "Do you believed they know which Goa'uld has captured O'Neill and Major Carter?"
Daniel Jackson hesitated, his hand grasping tightly at the doorhandle. "I don't know, Teal'c. But they've got spies in the ranks of every Goa'uld we've ever come across. Hopefully this won't be any different."
Teal'c nodded his head in agreement; the Tok'ra did indeed have infiltrators everywhere.
~o0o~
Jacob paused before he stepped through the Stargate, a niggling fear jostling the back of his mind.
What are you afraid of, Jacob?
Jacob sighed. What was he afraid of? Sam not being there when he stepped through the gate, something happening to Mark or his family.
There has been nothing to indicate there is trouble, Selmac pointed out gently. Now, must I take us through or will you?
Jacob rolled his eyes. Just his luck to be stuck with a demanding snake.
A demanding snake with a great sense of humour.
He grinned and stepped through the gate. Sam wasn't in the gate room.
She could be on a mission, Jacob.
"Jacob, good to see you," George appeared, his round face strained with concern.
Jacob looked around the gate room. No sign of Teal'c, Dr. Jackson or O'Neill either. Something inside him relaxed slightly.
"Good to see you too, George. Where's Sam?"
George stopped, and Jacob's insides clenched. Oh. He closed his eyes.
Slow down, Jacob. You do not know for certain.
"We have a problem, Jacob."
Jacob opened his eyes, the words 'ya think' hovering on his lips. But he didn't vocalise them. He allowed himself and Selmac to be led to one of the briefing rooms, peering around for a glimpse of any SG-1 members.
He found both Dr. Jackson and Teal'c in the briefing room.
"Jacob," Dr. Jackson greeted, but his face was pale as Jacob sat down on a seat next to him.
"What happened?" he demanded, cutting to the point.
"We think Sam and Jack have been captured by a Goa'uld."
Jacob frowned. "Impossible. We'd know about it."
"The only other possibility is that they're buried on another planet," George admitted reluctantly.
"Buried?" Jacob frowned. Either buried or captured?
"SG-1 was exploring P2Y 684 when they came across a Goa'uld and several Jaffa. Teal'c, perhaps you'd care to explain what happened?"
Teal'c nodded his head in agreement. "P2Y 684 is a planet comprising of sparse forests and red mud hills. During the course of the morning we had proceeded to the edge of the hills and were about to start exploring them. In the distance we could make out what appeared to be a ruined city, and O'Neill gave the order that we were to approach it cautiously.
We had gotten approximately halfway to the city, when we unexpectedly came upon the Goa'uld. The ship was a small craft, and the Jaffa were Horus Guard. Their party was taken by surprise, as were we, and O'Neill ordered a retreat. However, the unidentified Goa'uld ordered and attack, and they pursued us.
It was heading towards evening, and we knew it would not be long until it was dark, so O'Neill ordered us to set up an ambush. Major Carter and O'Neill hid amongst the rocks in an area of the trail, and Daniel Jackson and I were to proceed further along before setting off a decoy. The Jaffa would run past Major Carter and O'Neill, who could then attack them from behind while Daniel Jackson and myself attacked from the front."
Teal'c stopped then, glancing over at Daniel to see if the archaeologist agreed with him.
"Continue," George ordered.
Daniel continued. "It would have worked too, only there must have been a fault line where we put the C4, and instead of just a small rockslide the whole hill nearly collapsed. Neither Sam not Jack responded to radio contact, and there was no trace of the Jaffa either. We tried to make our way back to where we knew they were hiding, but we couldn't even get a few metres across the landslide because it was too unstable.
Eventually we decided to head back to the Stargate for help, and we were almost at the forest again when we saw the Goa'uld ship take off in the distance."
Daniel sighed, looking up at Jacob.
What did the Goa'uld look like? Selmac asked, frowning.
"I don't know, I only got a glimpse of the Goa'uld and it was completely covered with clothing," Daniel admitted.
"It has a very small host," Teal'c added.
"There is also something else, Jacob," George interrupted.
Jacob raised his eyebrows. More?
"We weren't sure if Sam or Colonel O'Neill were captured by the Goa'uld, so we sent a few SG teams to dig through the rubble."
"And?"
"We didn't find either of them, but Major Ferretti's team did uncover what looked like a buried tomb. They went in to explore, thinking that maybe Sam or the Colonel had found refuge from the landslide, but there was no trace of them."
Selmac's mind was working furiously, and Jacob felt his brow wrinkle in thought. "What did you find?"
"Another Goa'uld," Daniel said softly. "We don't know who this one is either, but it must have been trapped in there for a very long time."
"It almost killed several members of my teams," George added darkly.
"Where is it now?"
"We don't know," George shot him a glance. "The Goa'uld escaped just after they released it, and then the weather turned so nasty that it was a risk to my teams, keeping them there."
May we see the Stargate symbols for the planet this occurred on? Selmac asked carefully.
"We thought you might want to ask that," Daniel stated, pushing a piece of paper across the tables towards them.
Jacob felt his heart rate quicken. "Oh, this is bad. This is very bad."
~o0o~
The water pounded relentlessly into his back, stinging his tender flesh beneath his worn robes.
But he didn't move. He was free now, and the stinging fury of the heaven's beating drove the thought sharply into his mind.
Free.
The ground swirled around him in a muddle rivulet of red ooze.
It looked like blood.
The earthy smell washed over him, and he stared at the pooling mud on his hand.
Blood. It had been so long since he'd tasted blood. Since he'd seen blood.
Slowly he lifted his hand towards his mouth, remembering the sight of his long, pale fingers glistening thickly with the sticky sweetness of blood.
By the time he placed his fingers in his eager mouth, the rain had washed them clean.
He felt a momentary pang of disappointment, but it was soon quelled as he remembered that the mud wasn't blood.
Soon he would taste blood.
He would watch the flowing currents ebb out of the hapless bodies that would fall victim to him.
He would gain his god's favour.
He would become powerful.
He smiled and let his fingers run through the thick mud, marvelling at its rough consistency and vibrant colour. Around him the water still fell from the sky, soaking his pale flesh until it was soft and wrinkled.
He was free.
~o0o~
They were sleeping when Cal'ma entered the room, the man's arms holding the woman gently while she shuddered in her sleep.
"You must wake," she stated loudly, marching towards the bed. The Jaffa accompanying her waited silently by the door, ready to protect her.
The Tau'ri male stirred on the bed, his fingers tightening around the woman. Carter.
"Wake!" she ordered, stopping at the base of the luxurious bed. Jealousy warred within Cal'ma: these Tau'ri, these prisoners had been given better accommodations than she had, and Cal'ma had served Nut loyally for her entire life!
She watched silently as his eyes opened and he pressed an unsteady hand to his forehead before grunting and turning to look at Cal'ma.
"You must bathe," she stated.
He raised his eyebrow again, a gesture she was learning to dislike intensely, along with the expression on his features. "And Carter?"
"I will take care of her," her voice sounded hostile and reluctant, just as her mind was hostile and reluctant.
"I don't trust you."
"You would rather do it yourself?" Cal'ma questioned, suddenly hopeful that she could worm her way out of the chore and please the Tau'ri, thus pleasing her goddess.
"Ye- uh."
She watched as the man looked down at the woman sleeping next to him, his face turning a red hue before he glanced back up at Cal'ma.
"There are private chambers," Cal'ma offered, realising that perhaps the Tau'ri required more privacy than Jaffa.
"I."
"Escort them to the bathing chambers and have Le'lak take them suitable clothing."
Without looking back, Cal'ma strode out of the room feeling strangely pleased with herself.
*
Jack's gaze followed the retreating Jaffa priestess, his mouth hanging open slackly with surprise and bewilderment. Bathe Carter?
He snorted.
"Kree!"
His gaze flicked back to the Jaffa standing impatiently in the doorway.
"Kree all you want, Carter is still sleeping."
"Kree tal'ma shi kra mel."
"Ye-ah," Jack nodded his head slowly. "Just give me a minute, okay?" He turned to Carter who was shifting painfully in her sleep. "Hey, Carter. Carter, wakey wakey. Come on Carter."
She moaned softly, and opened her eyes.
"Good girl. Feel like taking a walk?" he asked hopefully.
She blinked, her eyes still fuzzy and confused as she gazed up at him.
"Fine, I'll carry you. But you can bath yourself."
By the time he had her in his arms and was half stumbling to the door, she seemed to be more focused. "Sir?"
"I'll explain when we get there."
She nodded, leaning back into his hold and closing her eyes. Why was she still so weak? She could barely stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time.
Come to think of it, Jack didn't feel to crash hot either.
They finally reached the 'bathing chamber', and not a minute too soon. Jack's arms were nearly falling off. Motioning them inside, the guards stationed themselves at the doorway, watching as Jack carried Sam awkwardly into the room.
"Carter, open your eyes again," he ordered, trying to sit her up on a bench. Maybe he should have let Cal'ma do this.
"Sir?"
"Uh. You've got to have a bath," Jack stated, looking down at her. Yes, a bath would be wonderful. She was still wearing those BDU's, and the smell. well. bad just wasn't adequate.
"Don't want too," she whispered in protest, her head leaning tiredly against the wall.
"Well I'm not bathing you!" he exclaimed indignantly.
"I'm tired, Sir." Oh he hated it when she was so weak and he forced her to do things.
"You will take a bath, Major, and that is an order!"
He knew that it was only due to her training that her back straightened and her eyes flicked open, studying him blandly. "Yes, Sir."
"Good."
He stepped away, looking around. A female Jaffa entered the chamber, and placed down a bundle of cloth before looking curiously at the two humans and exiting silently.
Hoping Carter would be able to stay upright, Jack scooted across to where the bundle was lying and plucked something resembling a towel from the pile. He looked at Carter: her head was resting against the wall again and her eyes were closed. She obviously wasn't going to be able to take a bath by herself. Damn.
Jack's fingers were trembling slightly as he fumbled with the buttons on her BDU's.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, trying to bat his hand away.
"You have to bath, Carter."
"Why?"
"You stink."
She tried to glare at him, he could tell, but her face collapsed in a mask of exhaustion. "I don't want you to.." she trailed off, forcing her eyes open and gazing at him with embarrassed eyes.
He swallowed. "I'm sorry, Carter. It was either me or the Jaffa."
She closed her eyes, letting her head fall forwards to rest against his chest.
"I. I won't look and I won't take your underwear off, okay? I'll turn my back."
He felt her giggle weakly against him, a half-hearted attempt that warmed his heart. This was still Carter. This was still his dependable second who would face any difficult situation head on, and sometimes giggle about it. He hugged her quickly and carefully, mindful of her body that was still recovering from its ordeal.
She continued to lean against him as he pulled off her jacket, black shirt and the small tank top she wore underneath, lifting her arms as much as possible to assist him.
She undid her trousers by herself, leaning against the wall for support while he pulled off her boots and socks. He pulled her carefully to her feet, helping her balance while she awkwardly kicked her trousers off, and then he carried her to the warm pool in the centre of the room.
~o0o~
Daniel stared hard at Jacob, willing the Tok'ra to explain why that particular planet was bad.
"Have you heard of Anhur?" Jacob asked eventually, looking specifically at Daniel.
Daniel frowned. Anhur. Anhur. "The Hunter?"
"Yes."
Teal'c's face showed a momentary glimpse of realisation.
"Dr. Jackson?" Hammond enquired.
"An Egyptian god, Sir. Known as the Hunter or Huntsman." Daniel frowned. "I don't understand what's so bad about that, other than the usual Goa'uld pretending to be a god thing."
"Anhur wasn't just the god of the Hunters, he was a Hunter," Jacob said slowly. "An Ashrack."
Daniel's mouth dropped open. "So.what was an Ashrack doing on P2Y 684?"
"It's probably not written down in Earth mythology because it didn't happen all that long ago by Goa'uld standard, but Anhur was imprisoned by Ra for failing to kill a Goa'uld. Do you know the story, Teal'c?"
"It is spoken of among Jaffa," Teal'c nodded his head.
"Okay, the way it goes is that Ra and Tefenet had two children, Nut and Geb. Nut and Geb were very much in love, even in the womb which translates to a Goa'uld thing completely different. anyway, Ra didn't like the fact that these two Goa'uld were more loyal to one another than to him, so he separated them."
"I know about this!" Daniel exclaimed.
"No, you just know the Ancient Egyptian version. Nut and Geb were not happy about being split up, so they set their forces onto the ones of Ra guarding them and managed to escape to get together.
Ra was incredibly annoyed about this and took over both Nut and Geb's worlds which he had given to them at the start when they first began the whole impersonation of the gods. Obviously, Geb wasn't too happy about that so he took his and Nut's combined forces and launched an assault on Ra, which failed miserably. Ra captured Geb and imprisoned him somewhere-"
"So the Goa'uld we released was Geb?" Daniel interrupted.
"No. The Goa'uld you released was Anhur. After Ra imprisoned Geb he turned his attention to Nut. But Nut was one Goa'uld in one mother ship with barely any Jaffa to protect her, and he couldn't find her. So he ordered Anhur to locate her, and Anhur failed so Ra punished him by imprisoning him as well."
"So where is Nut now?" General Hammond frowned.
"I don't know."
"You don't know? You don't have a spy in her ranks?" Daniel asked incredulously.
Jacob sighed, allowing Selmac to take over. Nut's forces are so small she knows them all personally I would wager. Added to that, she would know if someone is a spy.
"How?" Daniel asked curiously.
The host Nut possess is a Nox.
~o0o~
*G* Thanks for the feedback and reviews. They really encourage a person to write. *hint hint*