DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this took so long, I was trying to get it right. However, chapter 11 is halfway written and will be posted as soon as I can get the end bit right. :) Note for regular readers - as pointed out by Sirius7, Ferretti being under Sam's command would kill his career, so all previous chapters have been edited, so Sam thinks her other team member is Lieutenant Simmons instead. (I figured it might make it more interesting - considering his 'crush' on her.)
***********
"The door's guarded." Jack muttered, quietly getting up and moving away from the door, where he had been peering through the crack at the bottom.
"How many?" Sam asked, pressing her ear against the cold metal, listening for something, anything that might be a sign of a rescue.
"One, at least. I can't be sure if there are any more." Jack sat back down tiredly, shaking his head slightly in defeat. "Any ideas, Carter?" he asked, looking over to where she had moved to sit against the opposite wall.
She shook her head. "No Sir."
Jack sighed. "No easy way out. Nothing we can use as a weapon. Probably no hope of a rescue as we have no idea where we are." He began to idly trace patterns in the dirt with the toe of his boot as he thought. "I'm all out of ideas."
They lapsed into silence. Faint sounds filtered in from beyond the door, although they were indistinguishable, too faint to mean anything.
"We need every advantage we can get, if we have any hope of escaping." Sam spoke eventually, breaking the silence once more. Jack nodded slowly.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked.
"Nothing concrete. I was just thinking about what she said." Jack didn't need to ask whom she meant. The slight tone of disgust and anger gave it away. "She said she'd deal with us later. And from my previous experience of Goa'uld, that would mean she wants something from us." She paused. "Which means…"
"Torture." Jack finished for her, his voice grim, and his jaw set, yet his face strangely devoid of any emotion.
"Yeah." Sam replied softly. She sighed, before continuing. "My only suggestion is that we pretend to be weaker than we really are. That shouldn't be a problem to make believable, you took a hell of a beating from the Jaffa already."
Jack grimaced. "Don't remind me." He groaned, rubbing his tender ribs slightly. He studied her for a moment as he considered her proposal. "So then we can take them by surprise?"
Sam nodded as he caught onto her idea. "It's all we can do, for now."
For a moment, Jack said nothing as he weighed up the idea. After a while, he nodded. "It's all we can do."
*****
It was probably about two hours before the Jaffa returned, but Jack couldn't be certain of the actual length of time. At some point between being zatted and arriving in the throne room, his watch had been smashed against something and wasn't working. The conversation had petered out a long while before. After making their 'plan', the pair had lapsed into silence, quietly reflecting on the situation, or thinking of home.
They were each sitting against opposite sides of the cell when the door was flung open with a crash and harsh bright light filled the cell from the corridor beyond, chasing the comfortable darkness away. It left Sam and Jack with their eyes screwed shut against the brightness, arms half raised, trying to protect eyes that were unused to the light.
Peering out from under half closed lids, Jack could just about make out the dark figures of two or three Jaffa standing in the doorway.
"Bring them." A voice commanded. One of the Jaffa strode to Jack's side and grabbed his shoulder, yanking him upright. Jack allowed himself to sag and then fall, making himself appear to have no strength. The Jaffa scowled at him.
"These Tau'ri truly are weak." He scoffed. "They will be easy to break." The cell was filled with the cruel laughs from the other Jaffa. Jack was pulled to his feet again, and another Jaffa appeared at his other side. Together, the two guards pushed him out of the cell, their arms hooked under his shoulders as they dragged him down the corridor.
From the sounds that came from behind, he guessed that Sam was being treated in a similar way.
****
Once again, they were thrown to the floor of a small chamber. However, this time, Jack made no move to sit up, instead just lying there, playing the part to seem far weaker than he was. Seconds after he hit the floor, Sam followed him, falling at his side. She lay unmoving, following his lead. The First Prime stared at them in contempt and turned to speak to the other guards. Jack took the opportunity of the Jaffa's distraction to offer Sam an encouraging smile. Feebly, she returned it, a trace of fear in her eyes.
"You. Guard the door." The First Prime pointed to two of the Jaffa, who bowed and moved to stand just outside the doorway, staff weapons in hand. He dismissed the others with a wave of his hand. "Leave me with them. They are too weak to fight back."
The Jaffa nodded their compliance and left the room. After they had left, the door closed, leaving Sam and Jack alone in the room with the First Prime.
He crossed the room in three strides and hauled Jack to his knees. Jack allowed himself to reel slightly, and almost fell again before the Jaffa steadied him slightly. From his new vantage point, Jack could now get a better look at the room that they were in.
The chamber was small, and completely bare except for a long table across the opposite end. Upon it, Jack noticed with growing unease, were the weapons and provisions that they had been stripped of after they had first been captured. Among their own weaponry, a couple of more traditional Goa'uld torture weapons lay. The first prime lifted up a knife and studied it with great interest.
"I have never before seen these Tau'ri weapons. Or used them." He turned towards Jack, a leer spread across his face. He advanced towards him, the knife raised slightly. Subconsciously, Jack shuffled backwards a few centimetres, in a failed attempt to escape as his eyes widened slightly in comprehension. The Jaffa was going to torture them with their own weapons.
****
For the fourth time since they had arrived, they were thrown to the floor and the door slammed shut behind them, the sound echoing around the cell, reverberating in the air.
In an instant, Jack was at Sam's side.
"Carter, are you alright?" He lightly brushed her arm and she hissed in pain. She rolled over onto her back, allowing Jack to see her injuries. He gave an involuntary wince if sympathy and a pang of guilt hit him. Thinking that she would be easier to break due to the fact that she was a woman, the Jaffa had concentrated most of his efforts on Sam. Ironic really, he mused. Considering that he was the one with the damaged ribs, and therefore, in his current state was probably weaker than her. (Admittedly, the injuries weren't as bad as they could have been but this was due to their acting skills.)
As a result of the beatings, she had a large gash on her upper arm, which had been inflicted by a knife and was bleeding persistently. There was also some nasty bruising on her face, inflicted by various punches. Of course, these were only the injuries Jack could see.
"Geez Carter." He sucked in his breath as he recognised the extent of her wounds. He sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, sir." Sam rasped, before coughing and wincing in pain.
"I should have tried harder to stop him!" Jack cursed himself inwardly. He helped Sam into a sitting position, leaning her against the wall. Gently this time, he lifted her arm, trying to see how bad it was.
"You couldn't have done that," Sam closed her eyes briefly, biting her lip as Jack's fingers brushed a sore spot. "He was too strong."
Jack merely grunted in response. "Let me fix up your arm." Removing his outer jacket, he proceeded to rip the sleeves off his T-shirt. Turning back to her, he used the strips of material to bind up the wound tightly. "We'd better not get any more injuries. I'm running out of shirt material." He joked, trying to raise a smile. Sam smiled weakly, not replying.
"There." Jack sat back to admire his handiwork. After a moment, however, his face turned serious. "We can't take much more of this." He muttered. "We've got to get out of here."
Sam nodded slowly, slightly despondently. As if realising something, she visibly brightened and smiled. "I think I might be able to help."
Jack gave her a quizzical look. "How?"
Reaching slightly awkwardly into her jacket, Sam withdrew one of their military issue knives. "This." She said, grinning.
Jack stared in disbelief. "How did you get that?"
**~Flashback~**
"Ooof!" Sam was thrown forwards against the table, scattering its contents wildly. Winded, she looked over her shoulder to see the Jaffa advancing towards her again. She clutched at her upper arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Behind the Jaffa, Jack struggled to his feet. Hearing the noise, the Jaffa whirled around to face him, before advancing on him instead.
Grateful for his distraction, Sam sagged slightly. As much as he thought that they were weaker than they were, the first prime was still managing to inflict wounds on them. As she caught her breath, Sam's gaze fell on the second knife lying nearby on the table. Glancing around, she noted that their tormentor was still concentrating his efforts on Jack for the time being. Quickly, she grabbed the knife and slipped it beneath her jacket, before returning to her original position, hoping that their captor wouldn't notice the missing weapon.
**~End Flashback~**
Jack grinned, his face lighting up for the first time since they'd been captured, the workings of an escape plan already forming in his mind. "This could be it." He whispered. "The chance we needed." He paused, thoughtful. "It'll need a bit more work, but this is how we'll do it…"
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this took so long, I was trying to get it right. However, chapter 11 is halfway written and will be posted as soon as I can get the end bit right. :) Note for regular readers - as pointed out by Sirius7, Ferretti being under Sam's command would kill his career, so all previous chapters have been edited, so Sam thinks her other team member is Lieutenant Simmons instead. (I figured it might make it more interesting - considering his 'crush' on her.)
***********
"The door's guarded." Jack muttered, quietly getting up and moving away from the door, where he had been peering through the crack at the bottom.
"How many?" Sam asked, pressing her ear against the cold metal, listening for something, anything that might be a sign of a rescue.
"One, at least. I can't be sure if there are any more." Jack sat back down tiredly, shaking his head slightly in defeat. "Any ideas, Carter?" he asked, looking over to where she had moved to sit against the opposite wall.
She shook her head. "No Sir."
Jack sighed. "No easy way out. Nothing we can use as a weapon. Probably no hope of a rescue as we have no idea where we are." He began to idly trace patterns in the dirt with the toe of his boot as he thought. "I'm all out of ideas."
They lapsed into silence. Faint sounds filtered in from beyond the door, although they were indistinguishable, too faint to mean anything.
"We need every advantage we can get, if we have any hope of escaping." Sam spoke eventually, breaking the silence once more. Jack nodded slowly.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked.
"Nothing concrete. I was just thinking about what she said." Jack didn't need to ask whom she meant. The slight tone of disgust and anger gave it away. "She said she'd deal with us later. And from my previous experience of Goa'uld, that would mean she wants something from us." She paused. "Which means…"
"Torture." Jack finished for her, his voice grim, and his jaw set, yet his face strangely devoid of any emotion.
"Yeah." Sam replied softly. She sighed, before continuing. "My only suggestion is that we pretend to be weaker than we really are. That shouldn't be a problem to make believable, you took a hell of a beating from the Jaffa already."
Jack grimaced. "Don't remind me." He groaned, rubbing his tender ribs slightly. He studied her for a moment as he considered her proposal. "So then we can take them by surprise?"
Sam nodded as he caught onto her idea. "It's all we can do, for now."
For a moment, Jack said nothing as he weighed up the idea. After a while, he nodded. "It's all we can do."
*****
It was probably about two hours before the Jaffa returned, but Jack couldn't be certain of the actual length of time. At some point between being zatted and arriving in the throne room, his watch had been smashed against something and wasn't working. The conversation had petered out a long while before. After making their 'plan', the pair had lapsed into silence, quietly reflecting on the situation, or thinking of home.
They were each sitting against opposite sides of the cell when the door was flung open with a crash and harsh bright light filled the cell from the corridor beyond, chasing the comfortable darkness away. It left Sam and Jack with their eyes screwed shut against the brightness, arms half raised, trying to protect eyes that were unused to the light.
Peering out from under half closed lids, Jack could just about make out the dark figures of two or three Jaffa standing in the doorway.
"Bring them." A voice commanded. One of the Jaffa strode to Jack's side and grabbed his shoulder, yanking him upright. Jack allowed himself to sag and then fall, making himself appear to have no strength. The Jaffa scowled at him.
"These Tau'ri truly are weak." He scoffed. "They will be easy to break." The cell was filled with the cruel laughs from the other Jaffa. Jack was pulled to his feet again, and another Jaffa appeared at his other side. Together, the two guards pushed him out of the cell, their arms hooked under his shoulders as they dragged him down the corridor.
From the sounds that came from behind, he guessed that Sam was being treated in a similar way.
****
Once again, they were thrown to the floor of a small chamber. However, this time, Jack made no move to sit up, instead just lying there, playing the part to seem far weaker than he was. Seconds after he hit the floor, Sam followed him, falling at his side. She lay unmoving, following his lead. The First Prime stared at them in contempt and turned to speak to the other guards. Jack took the opportunity of the Jaffa's distraction to offer Sam an encouraging smile. Feebly, she returned it, a trace of fear in her eyes.
"You. Guard the door." The First Prime pointed to two of the Jaffa, who bowed and moved to stand just outside the doorway, staff weapons in hand. He dismissed the others with a wave of his hand. "Leave me with them. They are too weak to fight back."
The Jaffa nodded their compliance and left the room. After they had left, the door closed, leaving Sam and Jack alone in the room with the First Prime.
He crossed the room in three strides and hauled Jack to his knees. Jack allowed himself to reel slightly, and almost fell again before the Jaffa steadied him slightly. From his new vantage point, Jack could now get a better look at the room that they were in.
The chamber was small, and completely bare except for a long table across the opposite end. Upon it, Jack noticed with growing unease, were the weapons and provisions that they had been stripped of after they had first been captured. Among their own weaponry, a couple of more traditional Goa'uld torture weapons lay. The first prime lifted up a knife and studied it with great interest.
"I have never before seen these Tau'ri weapons. Or used them." He turned towards Jack, a leer spread across his face. He advanced towards him, the knife raised slightly. Subconsciously, Jack shuffled backwards a few centimetres, in a failed attempt to escape as his eyes widened slightly in comprehension. The Jaffa was going to torture them with their own weapons.
****
For the fourth time since they had arrived, they were thrown to the floor and the door slammed shut behind them, the sound echoing around the cell, reverberating in the air.
In an instant, Jack was at Sam's side.
"Carter, are you alright?" He lightly brushed her arm and she hissed in pain. She rolled over onto her back, allowing Jack to see her injuries. He gave an involuntary wince if sympathy and a pang of guilt hit him. Thinking that she would be easier to break due to the fact that she was a woman, the Jaffa had concentrated most of his efforts on Sam. Ironic really, he mused. Considering that he was the one with the damaged ribs, and therefore, in his current state was probably weaker than her. (Admittedly, the injuries weren't as bad as they could have been but this was due to their acting skills.)
As a result of the beatings, she had a large gash on her upper arm, which had been inflicted by a knife and was bleeding persistently. There was also some nasty bruising on her face, inflicted by various punches. Of course, these were only the injuries Jack could see.
"Geez Carter." He sucked in his breath as he recognised the extent of her wounds. He sighed. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, sir." Sam rasped, before coughing and wincing in pain.
"I should have tried harder to stop him!" Jack cursed himself inwardly. He helped Sam into a sitting position, leaning her against the wall. Gently this time, he lifted her arm, trying to see how bad it was.
"You couldn't have done that," Sam closed her eyes briefly, biting her lip as Jack's fingers brushed a sore spot. "He was too strong."
Jack merely grunted in response. "Let me fix up your arm." Removing his outer jacket, he proceeded to rip the sleeves off his T-shirt. Turning back to her, he used the strips of material to bind up the wound tightly. "We'd better not get any more injuries. I'm running out of shirt material." He joked, trying to raise a smile. Sam smiled weakly, not replying.
"There." Jack sat back to admire his handiwork. After a moment, however, his face turned serious. "We can't take much more of this." He muttered. "We've got to get out of here."
Sam nodded slowly, slightly despondently. As if realising something, she visibly brightened and smiled. "I think I might be able to help."
Jack gave her a quizzical look. "How?"
Reaching slightly awkwardly into her jacket, Sam withdrew one of their military issue knives. "This." She said, grinning.
Jack stared in disbelief. "How did you get that?"
**~Flashback~**
"Ooof!" Sam was thrown forwards against the table, scattering its contents wildly. Winded, she looked over her shoulder to see the Jaffa advancing towards her again. She clutched at her upper arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Behind the Jaffa, Jack struggled to his feet. Hearing the noise, the Jaffa whirled around to face him, before advancing on him instead.
Grateful for his distraction, Sam sagged slightly. As much as he thought that they were weaker than they were, the first prime was still managing to inflict wounds on them. As she caught her breath, Sam's gaze fell on the second knife lying nearby on the table. Glancing around, she noted that their tormentor was still concentrating his efforts on Jack for the time being. Quickly, she grabbed the knife and slipped it beneath her jacket, before returning to her original position, hoping that their captor wouldn't notice the missing weapon.
**~End Flashback~**
Jack grinned, his face lighting up for the first time since they'd been captured, the workings of an escape plan already forming in his mind. "This could be it." He whispered. "The chance we needed." He paused, thoughtful. "It'll need a bit more work, but this is how we'll do it…"