Chapter 6: One Face
by Jara
Tie my hands behind my back
Put a gag on top of my mouth
But I won't give you up
Till silverware's covered in dust
(Turn and Run - Neil Finn)
Doctor Fraiser takes a deep breath as she looks at the assembly that has gathered around Colonel Jack O'Neill. They're all there, his whole team. Teal'c is standing as a guard at the end of the bed, his impressive posture somehow makes the infirmary feel more safe than it already his. Daniel is standing right beside her, the short movements that he is making are betraying his nervousness. On the other side of the bed is Sam, she's standing close to her former CO and her eyes are focussed on him. Something in her attitude makes her radiate another sense of safety. Not the fierce and protecting kind that Teal'c represents but a safety that comes along with feelings of tenderness and friendship. Ever since Sam turned up in the middle of the night, something seemed to be shifting between the two Colonels.
Janet realises that everyone is waiting for her to continue and clears her throat. "Colonel, I know that this might not be easy..."
"But you want me to tell you what happened." Jack finishes the sentence knowing fully well why his team is standing there as if they just came to tell him he's going to be executed. "I know." He adds with a sigh.
"Colonel O'Neill, we know that this might not be easy for you but... there is a lot that the General needs to know. That we all need to know in order to do our jobs right." Janet tries to appeal to Jack's sense of duty.
"Yes and a lot is at stake. I know the deal, Doc. You don't need to point out the obvious to me." O'Neill answers slightly annoyed.
"Maybe it would be easier to write it down?" Daniel offers but Jack shakes his head.
"Let's just get this over and done with, Danny boy. OK?" The Colonel looks defiantly at each of his friends, daring them to argue.
Somehow Janet just hadn't expected him to want to do this but she figures this is probably just for the best. "Ok, Colonel. Let's get this over with. But if at any moment you need to take a break you should tell us." She insists.
"Won't happen, Doc." Jack assures her confidently.
"Sir, perhaps you would just like to speak to Doctor Fraiser or Daniel?" Sam suggests softly. His head directly turns towards her and the two stare at each other for a while. Each trying to calculate what is going on in the other's mind.
"No, it's alright. It's not like you're not going to find out anyway." Colonel O'Neill replies and with that things seem to be settled. There is some commotion as everyone but Teal'c finds a comfortable spot to sit. Daniel gets out some paper and a pen to take notes about anything that might be useful. Sam pulls up a chair and takes a seat next to her CO. Nothing too obviously close, but not too far away from his side either.
***
"So where do you want me to start?" Jack asks. The sooner he gets this over with, the better. He wants to tell them everything they need to know and then just forget about it all. That's always what he had been best at: deny anything is wrong and just push it in the dark recesses of his soul to let it fester without even being aware of it. Some shrinks might not find that *healthy* but as far as Jack O'Neill is concerned it's the best way to deal with it. What did they know anyway? It's not like they ever went through the same and his method had proven effective... with one exception.
"How about from the start?" Daniel suggests. "Sam told us that you gave her the order to leave and then she heard a zat being fired. We thought you were dead."
Jack swallows. So all this time he kept hoping for them to come to his rescue, they had considered him dead...gone...worm food.
"Especially after Teal'c told us you guys put up explosives all over the ship." Daniel adds.
Galactic worm food.
"No, I wasn't dead. The zat wasn't aimed at me." Jack explains and an uncomfortable silence settles in the infirmary.
"It wasn't?" Sam asks unsure after a while. It's not hard to notice how much this information bothers her.
Jack turns towards her and shakes his head. "No, it was aimed at you. If you had stayed a second longer you would have been hit and we both could have played dead." He wants her to realise that she couldn't have done anything, even if she had known that.
The words don't seem to sink in though as Sam pales. "Oh god." She mumbles and buries her face in her hands.
"Sam, you couldn't have done anything." Janet assures her gently.
"Yeah, listen to the doc." O'Neill agrees and reaches out for her. His fingers wrap around her wrist and he pulls softly, making her look up at him. "You couldn't have done anything."
"Yes, we could! We could have taken a team and headed back through the stargate!" Carter protests, not going to let herself so easily off the hook.
"No, you couldn't!" Jack argues. "As soon as the wormhole disintegrated behind you the Jaffa dialed out. They picked me up and brought me back to the home planet of their snakehead. There was nothing any of you could have done!"
"Do you know what planet that was? Do you have the co-ordinates?" Daniel asks right away, reminding everyone that they're here to learn what happened to Jack O'Neill and not what they could or couldn't have done to prevent it from happening.
"It doesn't matter." Jack answers flatly making the archaeologist look confused.
"What do you mean: 'it doesn't matter'?" Daniel insists.
"Just like I said it: it doesn't matter!" Jack answers testily.
Daniel shakes his head energetically. "Yes, it does! What if they want to come after you or attack earth?!"
"They won't." Jack growls and crosses his arms defensively.
"You don't know that for sure!"
"Yes I do, Daniel." O'Neill glares at Daniel. "You have no idea what you're talking about so believe me when I say that they won't come after us." Jack is clearly getting wound up about this. His eyes are glittering with anger and every muscles in his body seems to be tense and alert, ready to pound his friend if he keeps this line of questioning up.
Janet notices and shoots Daniel, who has his mouth open to argue some more, a warning look to not aggravate the Colonel further. He nods in understanding and skips to his next question. "Ok then, do you know who the goa'uld was that they brought you to?" The archaeologist tries to sound as calm as possible.
Jack seems to relax a bit as Daniel drops his questions about the planet. "Menes, apparently the goa'uld that had taken you and Carter as prisoners was his lackey."
"Menes?" Daniel asks right away, a look of surprise on his face.
Jack nods. "Yeah, Menes."
"Wow, that's amazing. It's believed that Menes - Meni is a fictitious figure."
"Well he sure didn't feel fictitious." Jack shoots a menacing glare at Daniel.
"No, really. In legends and lists he is considered as the first pharaoh of Egypt. Some think he is Marner but it's really not sure. He's more like King Arthur, a figure made up to combine the acts of different other kings." Daniel doesn't notice the annoyed look on Jack's face and continues to babble eagerly.
"Who says King Arthur is made up?" Jack shoots back. It really isn't the comment anyone was expecting.
"Ow come on, Jack. You can't tell me you believe King Arthur existed!" Right away the archaeologist gets into the discussion. He would probably take it even further if it wasn't for the glare he receives from Colonel Samantha Carter.
"What do you know about this Menes?" Sam asks Daniel hoping they'll stop the argument. She knows that the Colonel isn't so much interested in discussing whether or not King Arthur existed. It's just an attempt to keep them away from the more serious questions.
"Well Menes basically made the foundations for Ancient Egypt. He was considered a link between the gods and the human kings. A demigod of some sort. Horus himself gave him the throne of Egypt." Doctor Jackson explains and frowns. "Which probably means that he was a goa'uld."
"Was? Hello! I've been tortured by the guy, that pretty much means he still is!" Jack remarks agitated. His friends immediately look at him as this is the first time he with so many words told them about what really happened. Of course they already figured as much but this seemed to be a step in the right correction.
"Yeah, that's what I mean." Daniel nods and looks at Teal'c. "Have you heard of this goa'uld?"
"I have indeed." Teal'c bows his head slightly. "Menes is the son of Horus."
"Son?" Daniel asks interested as this part isn't in the mythology.
"Yes, he is Harcisis. Horus wanted him to be his follower but then the Tauri revolted and the gods were forced to leave earth. However because Menes is Harcisis, a lot of goa'uld would rather see him dead."
"He's Harcisis?" Everyone's eyes are resting on the Jaffa.
"He is." Teal'c nods.
"Wow, that could mean..." Daniel starts but O'Neill isn't in the mood for it.
"Mean what, Daniel? He's a goa'uld and he's on the run. You're not going to find him!" Jack exclaims. "Now can we get back to the point and get this over and done with?"
Daniel looks confused at Sam who just shrugs. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Sir?" Sam asks softly but right away gets his attention. "You said the goa'uld tortured you?" It's more a statement but Jack none the less nods. "What did they want to know?"
Jack swallows and closes his eyes for a minute. When he opens them again, they are darker than usual. "Everything?"
Carter's look tells him that won't do as an answer. He sighs and continues. "How to get to the Tok'ra, what earth's defences are, which planets have agreed to an alliance, what the Asgard's weaknesses are...You name it, he asked it. Of course there always is the favourite question of every snakehead in the universe: 'how do you open the iris?'"
"Did you...?" Sam seems almost scared to ask the question, reluctance clearly visible in her blue eyes.
"Tell?" Jack asks her but he doesn't wait for an answer. "No, of course not. I didn't give him anything." He shakes his head and a grimace appears on his face.
***
Pain, throbbing, stinging, throbbing, sharp, pounding, searing pain.
He doubted he ever felt this bad in his life before. Somehow he had expected that when every bone and muscle in your body aches that it would eventually numb most of it and concentrate on the one biggest pain. No such luck though, he could feel them all at once and even remembered how they all came to be. Every slap, stab and kick was imprinted in his mind sharply.
"You will beg for mercy, human." The distinct timbre of the goa'uld breaks through the blackness the pain had thrown up around Jack. "You will tell me how to open the shield to your chappai."
"Go to hell." Jack growls, tired of repeating his name and number. There was only so many times you could repeat that, especially with the headache that had been entertaining him for a while now.
It's like he can feel the goa'uld's eyes glowing. "You will beg for mercy soon enough." He assures Jack as the Jaffa twists the knife in his legs around.
"In your dreams." Jack hisses between his teeth. The knife drives deeper into his flesh, sending new waves of pain up his leg.
"Tell me and there will come an end to your suffering. You will die in honour." The goa'uld tries to seduce him.
"You know, I never was the kind of guy to fall for the hero's death." Jack retorts but it almost seems alluring. No more pain, no more snakeheads and their irritating questions.
All of a sudden the Jaffa pulls out the knife from his leg and Jack almost wishes they just had kept it there. Not for long though as soon the knife punctures the skin in his other leg. He curses under his breath and keeps his eyes tightly shut. He will not cry out, he will not cry out, he will not...
A loud scream penetrates the foul and stinking air of the torture room as the Jaffa twists the knife inside the wound.
"Answer!" Comes the demanding voice again.
For a second Jack considers just telling the goa'uld so finally the pain would end. Then he remembers what he is suffering for, the world that lies safely behind the iris. Millions of people, cities, countries, The Simpsons,... but in the end it isn't for any of those that he stays silent. One face, one single face, keeps him from spilling his guts. The memory of her blue eyes, the trust clearly visible in them. The one and only person he never in his life wants to disappoint. He takes in a deep breath and opens his eyes to look at the goa'uld.
"NEVER!"
***
"Not a damn thing." Jack whispers and notices the concerned faces around him as he must have drifted off.
"You alright, Colonel?" Doctor Fraiser asks as she checks his pulse and realises he must be getting tired.
"Just peachy." He mutters and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Maybe you should try and get some sleep?" Janet proposes gently.
Jack opens his eyes and shakes his head. "No, I'm good." He says determined to get through this conversation.
"Ok, then I have a question for you." Fraiser studies the Colonel's face for a hint that he might not really be up to this. As there is none, she continues. "Who tended to your wounds? Did you have a doctor there because there is no way you could have recovered from many of those injuries without the proper care."
"Yani." Jack simply replies.
Of course the answer is not good enough. "Who?" Daniel asks.
"Yani, she was a native. A healer." Although the Colonel might not admit it to anyone else, he's starting to get tired and his words come out slightly slurred with long pauses between them.
"That just doesn't make sense. Why heal you when trying to torture you?" Doctor Jackson ponders. "And why not heal you with a healing device?"
"I was... too important." The words come out strained. "No healing device... pain." Jack shuts his eyes tightly.
"I don't get it. Why not just make him a host and get the information out of him like that?" Daniel mutters to Teal'c. Jack is only vaguely aware of the voices and even less who they belong to but the words stick in his head.
***
A soft click warns Jack O'Neill that the door to his cell has been unlocked. Soon it is followed by a soft screeching sound as someone pushes it further open. Footsteps enter the room but they don't have the distinct sound of the Jaffa's boots. He wishes that he could turn his head and see for sure who is approaching but his neck is too stiff to move.
"Jack?" A hushed voice whispers as he can hear her crouching down beside him.
"Yeah?" A soft hand touches his shoulder.
"We need to get you out of here. Menes is desperate, he wants to make you his host." She whispers.
Jack swallows and tries to sit up but his muscles protest.
***
"Don't move. Just lie still, it will be alright." The hand is still there, accompanying the gently voice. It isn't Yani's but it could easily be her words. "It's going to be alright, Colonel."
Colonel, the rank seems strange and unfamiliar. He vaguely is aware of the duties it carries with it. But still, it seems so far away.
"Just relax." He stops struggling against the hand that his keeping his shoulder down on the bed.
***
"I know but you have to get up. We have to leave now while the guards are distracted."
Jack doesn't know how she did it but suddenly he is sitting up. Yani's arm is tightly wrapped around his waist.
"Ok and now sit up." She urges him and it takes a lot of time and struggling but they make it. In the back of his mind he seems to remember that Carter could have had him up more easily. He tries to concentrate on everything but the pain going through his body but it seems to be an impossible task. Then Jack hears the blasts of a staff weapon and he can hear voices. People are screaming but it's unclear if it's out of anger or terror.
"What's going on?" He asks Yani but she doesn't answer him as she guides him through the corridors, away from the screams.
'Pain,' he realises. Not anger but pain and fear.
"What's going on?" He repeats his question more agitated.
"Shhh, keep your voice down." Yani warns him as she looks before her. "They're cleaning." He can hear how she is trying to sound detached, as if this isn't affecting her or him. But Jack O'Neill knows better, he has tried to live that lie for far too long.
***
"Daniel, Teal'c. I suggest you two leave for now. I'll call you when the Colonel is feeling better again." A woman's voice orders the two man but it's drowned out.
The only thing Jack O'Neill listens to is the other voice, much closer to him. She seems nameless right now but he knows that when he opens his eyes he will find two blue eyes watching over him.
"It's alright, Jack. You're safe here."
He closes his eyes and concentrates on that promise as the sedatives set in and the enticing dark and dreamless sleep takes over his senses.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: I know this has taken longer to update. My apologies but things have been really busy. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Like always reviews are more than welcome.
Thanks to my newly found beta reader Ann.=)