Chapter 8: Will Not Go Back

You know the drill, the disclaimer/rating/everything's at the start.

Author's Note// I'm completely blaming my muse for this one… she couldn't let go of this fanfic just yet.

Thanks for all the kind words in the review. *g*

-S

And just because it's been stuck in my head…

'You give your hand to me,

And then you say hello,

And I can hardly speak,

My heart is beating so,

And anyone can tell,

You think you know me well,

But you don't know me.'

-You don't Know Me, Jann Arden

***

"Daniel, Jaffa. We'll see you at the gate. O'Neill out."

Doctor Daniel Jackson grinned at his two companions. "They're going to meet us at the gate," the doctor informed them.

"Colonel O'Neill has located Major Carter?" asked Lateef. He was the only one who had witnessed simply half of the radio conversation.

"Yeah," confirmed Daniel. Sam is alive! It was amazing, incredible news. Daniel would ask Teal'c to pinch him, if he wasn't worried that his alien friend might misunderstand the comment.

"It is good news to hear that Major Carter is alive," Teal'c said, "But we should return to the Stargate."

They had been standing in the jail cell for nearly ten minutes. Teal'c had a good point.

So the three men began their retreat to the Stargate to meet up with the Colonel and Major. The mission would have a happy ending, with no unsuspected surprises or problems, decided Daniel.

They arrived at the Stargate with five minutes to spare before Jack's "distraction" was set to go off.

"Why did we need a distraction anyway?" muttered Daniel.

"O'Neill said that he 'really felt like blowing something up' and mentioned that it would be a farewell gift for the Goa'uld," Teal'c informed him.

Well that would be Typical Jack. Daniel decided not to mention to Teal'c that it was a rhetorical question.

"Lateef," continued the Jaffa, "Are you aware of where the device is which controls the Stargate?"

Damn, the DHD, thought Daniel. He knew there was something they'd forgotten about!

The Tok'ra seemed confused at Teal'c's inquiry.

Confused. That wasn't good.

"When I arrived, it was standing a few paces away from Doctor Jackson's right…" Lateef moved towards the location to investigate. Teal'c and Daniel were right on his heals.

There was grass. Grass and a small rock. Great.

'So, now what?' All of them thought in one form or another.

"Perhaps it has been moved to another location?" suggested Teal'c. Well, that was obvious, but what could they do about it? Nephthys' palace was going to be in an uproar in a little under two minutes. There was only one solution for the short run. They would have to diffuse the bomb. Thankfully Jack could solve that problem with a flick of a switch. Where were Jack and Sam anyway?

One problem at a time, Daniel, he told himself. Daniel spoke into in his radio, "Jack? We can't let that bomb go off. Lateef has no clue where the DHD is, so we're sorta screwed…" Daniel trailed off, waiting for the inevitable string of curses.

He waited ten seconds. No response.

He radioed Jack again. No response.

Teal'c tried his radio. No response.

The Colonel's last words had been that a group of Jaffa were approaching where he and Sam were hiding. Daniel had assumed that everything would be fine and dandy, like a naïve idiot. Daniel saw the bleak expressions of his comrades. There were thirty seconds until everyone on the planet would be awake.

What could they do?

Daniel vented some of his frustration by kicking the small rock where the DHD was supposed to be.

Nothing…

***

Sam Carter felt that familiar sick feeling in her stomach.

"Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump."

The guards were heading down the hall towards them. Sam was frightened, but she didn't freeze. She caught the man's eyes and tried to quiet him. He was talking to himself, about her, she suspected. No, he wasn't talking to himself, Sam realized, he was listening to someone… or something through an earpiece. He was talking on a radio. Sam pushed the straying thoughts from her mind. The guards will still coming. Grabbing his arm, Sam pulled him into a branching corridor.

"Daniel, Jaffa. We'll see you at the gate. O'Neill out."

They sneaked behind some of the stone deities decorating the hallway, taking refuge in the shadows. The footsteps increased in volume, like the slow crescendo of a drum. The man, her link to her memories, squeezed her hand lightly. Sam felt safe with her fingers linked with his. Safer than she'd ever been.

Who was he, this Colonel? He had the answers she was searching for.

The Jaffa turned down the corridor where they were hiding. Sam had to resist the urge to shut her eyes tightly. Instead, she stared at the oncoming party, trembling. Her brain slowly processed what she was seeing.

Runihura was leading the guards. This wasn't the just the regular rounds that the Jaffa made; it was a search party and they were looking for them.

"Jaffa! Kree!" And found them.

Sam Carter and Jack O'Neill looked up from their crouched position and saw the deadly ends of six staff weapons

"Hey guys! We were playing hide and go seek, looks like you won…" the Colonel's let his remark trail off, his posture tensed and his face filled with hatred.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill," said Runihura with a smirk of triumph.

"Damn, son of a bitch," replied Jack.

They know each other? Sam felt tingles of shock come over her body and for a while, she wasn't angry with this stranger that claimed to be her husband.

"Kamilah, my sweet." Too bad the feeling didn't last for long. "When you weren't in our bed, I was worried." The comment seemed more directed towards the Colonel than to Sam. Jack flinched at the man's words. Runihura is gloating, realized Sam. That's what she was to him… a prize!

Sam's hand flew through the air and a second later she heard a satisfying grunt of pain.

The Jaffa's weapons hissed menacingly and Jack grinned in approval; the Major had broken Runihura's nose.

"My name is Major Sam Carter." She spoke the words confidently, "You lied to me," she spat the words at Runihura, "Everything… it was just lies!"

The Major wouldn't allow him to take her memories away again. My mind might be filled with useless jargon, but it's something! She couldn't stand the idea of losing these precious scrambled images. Sam couldn't be Kamilah again.

Sam Carter felt nothing but disgust for Kamilah's husband; his face was red and blotchy, blood running from his nose. Sam stood, she couldn't remember standing up, and glared at Runihura, taking in the pathetic sight.

Runihura gave them both vicious looks. He nodded his head slightly towards a Jaffa on his left. The trigger-happy warrior fired two shots from his zat; the two air force officers collapsed onto the floor.

"Take them to the holding cell," Runihura ordered, his face passive and voice dead.

The sound of rushed footsteps echoed down the hall. Turning towards the noise, Runihura caught sight of a servant rushing towards him.

"High Minister?" addressed the man; he was slightly taken back by Runihura's bloody appearance. The servant's eyes flickered to Carter and O'Neill, who were still unconscious on the floor.

"Yes?" growled Runihura.

"There are reports that there were two other intruders."

Two more? Thought Runihura, boiling with rage, Of course, the other members of the group. Runihura could not recall their names, only vague faces.

But where have they hidden? How did they get to Abayomous? …The Gateway!

Runihura turned to a nameless guard next to him, "Get as many as you can and go to the Gateway of Eternity. It is likely that the intruders are going to retreat there."

Four Jaffa and the servant left quickly. The remaining two guards continued removing weapons and other technology from the lifeless bodies of Sam Carter and Jack O'Neill.

The High Minister had lost his wife, the Tok'ra was missing, and there were several dead Jaffa guards to be taken care of.

This wasn't the sort of thing he could cover up. There were simply too many witnesses.

Nephthys would not be pleased.

Runihura could only hope that the capture of Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill would be enough to save him.

It was while the guards were carrying the unconscious bodies of O'Neill and Carter that Jack's infamous distraction went off. The building shook, like an earthquake, as fire engulfed the third floor.

TBC

***

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-S