Author's Note: I'm afraid that I might be requiring a new Beta Reader soon and I was wondering if there are any volunteers out there who wouldn't mind in helping out. Please contact me at: Tower@mnsi.net

Any assistance would be deeply appreciated, although experienced Beta Readers would be preferred. It'll be for general tweaking of lines and making sure that the characters are in actual character. :-)

Thank you.



Chapter Eight: Making Plans & Demands…


Where... am I? She thought drowsily as she awoke face down on a hard concrete-like surface.

The next thing that hit her was the awful smell, and the dampness in the air. It felt that she was in the middle of a sewer drain. When she opened her sore eyes, all that greeted her was darkness.

Where the hell I am!?

Samantha Carter, couldn't remember much. She had a migraine sized headache and had to struggle to focus and organize her thoughts.

Wait... Scorpius... He put me in that machine... It ripped into my mind... It tried to get to my memories about... The Stargate... The pain... Oh, God! The horrible pain!

Carter shuddered as she recalled the horrendous experience. She wasn't sure how long she was strapped in the aurora chair, as Scorpius called it. But she might as well had been in it forever, with the sheer agony she endured. Carter fought against it as the machine had seemingly drilled into her mind. Scorpius didn't lie about the pain. The more she fought, the worse it grew, until death would have been more preferable.

However, she could remember that Scorpius was also angry.

Something was wrong. The aurora chair was not working on her.

Then she remembered.

She had blended with a symbiont once. And the machine was useless against the Goa'uld. Something to do with the unique chemical markers left in their body and mind. And now in her mind and body.

"Thank you Jolinar," Carter whispered to herself, grateful that Jolinar had once again helped her. "Although I wish that you were here with me now. I sure could use your healing abilities and strength... Not to mention some of the stimulating company that you could provide."

Unexpectedly Carter giggled to herself. "And your glowing eyes could also help to show where I am in the dark."

Carter burst out laughing in the darkened room. She laughed for several minutes straight before she became too winded to continue in her weakened state. And her head had started to throb in pain again. As she settled down, Carter realized that something was wrong with her. In the way that she was behaving. She was acting like a crazy person.

She held her head, groaning. "God, what's wrong with me?"

Scorpius mentioned something about side effects, that his machine could damage her brain in time. How long had he had her strapped in that chair? Was there a risk of the machine driving her insane?

For all of her adult life, Carter's greatest asset had been her mind. She was a thinker, a problem solver. Rarely was there a situation that she couldn't think her way out of. Now the very idea that her mind was being damaged or destroyed by Scorpius's machine terrified her.

What fear could be greater than the possibly in losing your own mental faculties. It was like facing artificially induced Alzheimer's.

She had to escape!

Her eyes tried to pierce the darkness again. Trying to see anything at all, but all that Carter could see was a blackened void. She sat up carefully and reached out, exploring her surroundings, and touched a brick wall. Standing up now, she felt along the wall, following the hard surface until she reached the heavy steel door to her small cube shaped prison cell.

Carter ran her hands across the cold metal door feeling for a handle or door hinge, but found nothing. It was completely smooth.

She pounded her fists on its unyielding surface, shouting. "Hello? Is anyone out there?"

No one answered.

"Hello?" Despair crept into her voice.

Samantha Carter was strong willed, but Scorpius' aurora chair had drained off some of that independent resolved. To make it worse, she was alone, separated from her team, and trapped on some other world. Probably now left in some cell to die.

"Help me..." Carter begun to sob in the darkness with her hands pressed against the door. She sank down to her knees, crying.

"Please... Help me..."

***

"Scorpius' base is located here, on planet Tobin," Crais pointed out the target world on the huge wall mounted star chart in the Galactica's tactical briefing room. "The fourth planet orbiting a single red dwarf star. My sources tell me that there's only one Command Carrier guarding it. The base itself is shielded by a force dome and possibly guarded by surface frag batteries."

Adama watched Crais' briefing with part of his command staff and the crew from Moya. Crais was indeed a fine military officer and tactician. And, listening to him, Adama had to admit that they could use a few more military minded people like Crais within the fleet. However, he was still cautious about him and this Aeryn Sun, both being Sebaceans, but Lt. Sheba thoroughly trusted them. For now, that was good enough for him.

"I am still curious about this Stargate," Adama said. "If it can do what you suggested and it's the doorway to Earth, can we capture it?"

"It would be very difficult, even with your superior weaponry," Aeryn Sun said. "A base of that size could have as many as three hundred soldiers."

"Try six hundred," Crais corrected. "Does your Battlestar have that many troops, Adama?"

Adama sighed sadly. "No. We could muster perhaps two hundred warriors for a ground assault, but no more."

"Can you even get by that shield protecting the base?" D'Argo asked. "I've heard stories that claim that dome shields are nearly indestructible."

Tigh glanced up at the towering Luxan. "We have armaments on the Galactica that could crack that planet to its molten core if need be. That dome shield won't be a problem."

Crais and the Moya crew stared at Colonel Tigh in surprise.

"You have such weaponry?!" Rygel gasped in amazement. He might have to stop making fun of Crichton's species. Now he'd have to find his entertainment somewhere else.

"It's not called a Battlestar for nothing," Apollo answered before walking up next to Crais, studying the map. "Regardless, we can't do anything until we've actually performed our own recon and see what's really down there. Not that we don't trust your information Crais, but I would like to find out for ourselves."

"Agreed. I hate surprises too, but we're too far out for your Vipers to reach the system. However I can take Talyn in."

Apollo shook his head. "No, your ship is too big, it won't be able to get in close enough to that planet to scan it. I was thinking that if we could squeeze a couple of Vipers into your ship's hangar, you could then get us in close enough to scout the area ourselves. If we should get into trouble, you could back us up, and pick us up once the recon is done."

Crais was pleased. These Colonials had the warrior's instinct. He also continued to be more impressed with the Galactica, as he saw more of it. It had dispatched two Peacekeeper heavy cruisers with little trouble. It easily equalled any Peacekeeper warship, including one of the mighty command carriers. With these Colonials on their side, Scorpius wouldn't stand much of a chance.

"I might be able to fit four of your fighters within Talyn. Who will be going?"

Apollo considered for a moment, the first two choices were obvious. "Myself and Starbuck..."

Sheba stepped forward, holding her hand up. "Count me in."

"That's three." Apollo smiled warmly to the female warrior. "We have room for one more."

"I think we'll be needing someone who has first hand knowledge about Peacekeeper ships and installations." Sheba suggested.

Crais shook his head. "As much as I would like to fly around in your speedy little fighters, I can't leave Talyn for any great length of time."

"Actually," Sheba cast a backward glance to the woman standing next to John Crichton, "I had another Sebacean in mind. Are you up to piloting a Colonial Viper, Aeryn?"

Crichton looked over and he watched as Aeryn's eyes went wide as saucers at Sheba's offer to come and to fly one of the Colonial fighters with them. As much as she loved her Prowler, there was something that attracted Aeryn to the sleek delta wing Colonial Viper. Maybe it had something do with it being the fastest fighter in this corner of the galaxy.

A feline smile now formed across Aeryn's face and Crichton instantly knew. She was going and nothing was going to stop her.

***

Lt. Hailey awoke to an odd humming sound, and a gentle warmth encompassing her body. She opened her eyes and discovered the injuries to her face were now healed over. Standing over her, Hailey saw a woman, dressed in a rather revealing Tok'ra outfit. The Tok'ra had her eyes closed in complete concentration to operate the Goa'uld healing device that she held over the young lieutenant. Surprisingly, even as she laid there, Hailey felt her strength steadily returning.

Hailey then took in her complete surroundings. She was in the SGC medical facility resting on a bed with several machines and wires plugged into her. How badly was she hurt anyway?

Oh, ya. I was shot.

The Tok'ra woman was standing on one side of the bed to her right, and O'Neill and Doc. Frasier were on her left.

O'Neill winked down at Hailey. "I told you that I'd be here when you woke up. I also brought some friends along, hope you don't mind. How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly, better." Hailey breathed in and out, feeling no pain. "Considering that I got shot in the chest and had my face half blown off."

Doc. Fraiser moved closer, checking a monitor that listed all her medical vitals. "Well, just give me a minute to confirm that before you decide to start running around and doing handstands like Teal'c."

"Teal'c is okay?" Hailey asked, worried about her Jaffa comrade.

"I am here, Lt. Hailey." Teal'c stepped into sight at the foot of her bed. "Anise helped to heal the rest of my injuries. Although, despite Doctor Fraisier's claims to the contrary, I never ran about and or did a handstand."

Hailey laughed, then she remembered the Peacekeepers and Scorpius. She looked at O'Neill questioningly. "Major Carter?"

"Still missing," O'Neill admitted sadly. "But we're going to get her back."

Hailey raised her head up in interest. "Are we going after them, sir?"

O'Neill nodded. "That's the plan."

"Then count me in."

"Hold on," Doc. Fraiser interrupted. "You're not going anywhere until I clear you as fit for duty."

Hailey opened her mouth to protest, but O'Neill cut her off. "Listen to the doctor, lieutenant. Nothing is going to happen until tomorrow at the earliest. We'll see about your status then."

"With all due respect, Doctor, Colonel," Hailey stared at them with steely determination, "Nothing short of a court-martial and a firing squad will keep me from going on this mission to help get Major Carter back."

O'Neill knew from her records and Sam's recollections that Hailey could be very bull headed at times, and looking into those angry sky blue eyes of hers, he knew Hailey meant every word she said.

She was going and nothing was going to stop her.