Section 23: Prisoners Again
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On the inside, Jack was seething. Of all the dumb, rotten luck, Crichton had to miss the SGC and pick a planet that was guarded by twenty Jaffa. This was exactly what they didn't need right now. "So guys, what's going on?" Jack poured on the sarcasm to the metal head closest to him. "Having fun subjugating the lesser peoples?" He got his feet knocked out from under him for his trouble. Following his lead, the other Jaffa cut the rest of his team down to their knees as well.
"Silence, Taur'i scum!" Jack's Jaffa barked at him.
"Just asking how you were doing," Jack replied defensively, quickly looking away before his mouth got him knocked unconscious.
"Sir," Carter reprimanded him quietly, obviously thinking the same thing.
A snarl from the left and the subsequent whine of five staff weapons being activated stopped Jack from biting out another snarky reply.
"D'argo don't! That's a loaded gun in your face!" said John. The enraged Luxan snarled again but refrained from anything else. But he sure did look pissed.
"Silence!" the Jaffa yelled again, and this time he got it. He glared at them coldly. "My mistress will be most pleased to see what we have caught today."
"But we're harmless. Really," Jack protested even as other Jaffa began stripping them of their weapons.
"And who might your mistress be?" asked Daniel. The symbol of their lady that was emblazoned onto the foreheads of the Jaffa was of two arrows crossed over a circle. Jack had never seen it before in their travels. Probably some small fish - or rather snake - trying to make a play.
"Silence, scum!" the Jaffa repeated. "Bring them!" he ordered the others who none too gently carried them out by yanking Jack, his team, and the other three, to their feet. From there it was a forced march away from the gate and into the ubiquitous trees.
"Let me guess, we're headed for the dungeon," Aeryn muttered from her place in line behind Jack. The Colonel just nodded.
"Welcome to our life."
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Honestly, John wasn't all that surprised by their turn of bad fortune. It was them after all. Stuff like this always seemed to happen to them. What was worrying him was how bad it could get. Because it always got worse before it got better. Plus, they didn't know the first thing about the politics in this corner of Wonderland. And now they were meeting the Queen of Hearts.
"Come now, John," Harvey peeked around a cartoon hedge in the side of his head. "We'll be able to catch the hedgehogs. Or it's off with our head!" he shouted, jumping out in a hideous black and red cartoon dress. Squelching the thoughts around him, John ignored Harvey and instead concentrated on not tripping over any roots.
After about an hour of woods, the trees gave way to scrubland dominated by a huge black pyramid. "Holy crap!" were the only words that sprang to mind. He didn't even notice the town built around its base until they were almost upon it. In contrast to the grandeur of the pyramid, the town was shabby. Rickety houses made of wood, mud, and waddle leaned against each other like the slums of a commerce planet or third world country. But what struck him the most was the people. As they trooped by behind their captors, the people, human in appearance, stopped what they were doing and groveled on the ground. Not one head was raised.
John glanced at their captors but none of them were paying attention. Jack and Teal'c ahead of him however most certainly were, and were very unhappy about it. Both of them had the hard, closed off look of people holding back intense anger. Unable to ask, John could only wonder what was going on.
As they drew closer to the pyramid, the houses grew thinner, stopping about a hundred meters away from the gate. The road continued to the gate where more soldiers stood guard and scurrying townspeople carted goods in and out. All movement stopped as they passed. Muttered whispers of 'sholva' and 'tauri' dripped with contempt from the soldiers' lips as every eye except those of the bowing townspeople turned upon them.
After conversing with the head soldier, their own guard led them inside through golden, columnated halls to a dusty cell that hadn't seen a mop in at least a decade.
"Nice," John glanced around as the heavy cell doors slid closed behind them. D'argo just glared at him as SG-1 settled in on the floor. "What?"
"I knew this was a bad idea."
"Oh, don't start with the I-told-you-so's," John returned. "We knew it was a risk and that's why I didn't want you to come."
"Looks like you need me now."
"To what? Hold my hand? This is my second cell this week."
"Needed me then too. Why didn't you take us to their planet?"
"There weren't exactly road signs, D'argo."
"I knew you would frell this up," the Luxan threw up his hands in disgust.
"Will you two shut the frell up?!" Aeryn shouted at them.
"He started it!" John and D'argo chorused, each one pointing at the other.
From his seat on the floor, Jack rolled his eyes. "What are you, twelve?" he asked.
"I hate being a prisoner," D'argo groused, glancing apologetically towards John. The human nodded understanding. "So where are we? And who did we piss off?"
"Well, we don't know where we are in terms of space, but as long as we can get to the stargate, we can get back to Earth," said Daniel. "As for who we pissed off, that would be the Goa'uld that rules this world, though I still don't know which one. We," he waved a hand a his teammates, "are, uh . . .rather well known."
"For what?" John asked flatly, cause he didn't think it was for their fried chicken.
"Oh, you know, killing as many as we can," Jack blithely replied with a smile.
"What does the Goa'uld look like?" asked Aeryn.
"A human," Sam answered. "The Goa'uld are parasites about this big," she held her hands a foot apart. "They burrow into the neck of their human host and take over the person's mind and body, using it as their own. You can tell it's them by their voice and glowing eyes."
"Take over their mind?" John felt cold. "Are they still alive?"
"The host remains aware, yes," Sam answered tightly.
"It's why we were jumpy about those microbe things," said Jack quietly. John couldn't blame them.
"So why are the humans here?" asked D'argo. "You have spaceflight?"
"We don't, the Goa'uld do," said Daniel. "Actually, the humans were probably brought through the stargate from Earth thousands of years ago as slaves. From the looks of it, they are still slaves here."
"And there's only one Goa'uld thing?" said Aeryn surprised. "Couldn't they rebel?"
"They believe that the Goa'uld is their god," said Teal'c. "As do the Jaffa who serve her."
"How did you get out?" asked John, glancing at the snake tattoo on the man's forehead.
"I long had my doubts as the true nature of Apophis, the Goa'uld whom I served. When I encountered Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson I finally saw people who could end our slavery to the Goa'uld. I helped them escaped and joined the SGC in the war against the false gods."
"So these things - "
"Snakeheads," Jack provided.
" - want to kill us?" asked Aeryn.
"Pretty much. They'll be all snooty about it," said Jack. "Since this bitch looks like a low level Goa'uld, she might try to trade us for something."
"Hopefully," said Daniel. Off everyone's look he added, "I don't like dying."
"Nobody's dying, Daniel," said Jack with a look that defied destiny. "We've had enough of that."
"You've died before?" asked Aeryn sharply. John almost missed the look she shot his way.
All of SG-1 except for Teal'c looked uncomfortable. Finally, Daniel answered ruefully. "Yeah, all of us at one time or another."
"Killed by these parasites?" asked D'argo.
Daniel nodded. D'argo looked at John, then Aeryn, all of them sharing the same thought. "Frell."
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On the inside, Jack was seething. Of all the dumb, rotten luck, Crichton had to miss the SGC and pick a planet that was guarded by twenty Jaffa. This was exactly what they didn't need right now. "So guys, what's going on?" Jack poured on the sarcasm to the metal head closest to him. "Having fun subjugating the lesser peoples?" He got his feet knocked out from under him for his trouble. Following his lead, the other Jaffa cut the rest of his team down to their knees as well.
"Silence, Taur'i scum!" Jack's Jaffa barked at him.
"Just asking how you were doing," Jack replied defensively, quickly looking away before his mouth got him knocked unconscious.
"Sir," Carter reprimanded him quietly, obviously thinking the same thing.
A snarl from the left and the subsequent whine of five staff weapons being activated stopped Jack from biting out another snarky reply.
"D'argo don't! That's a loaded gun in your face!" said John. The enraged Luxan snarled again but refrained from anything else. But he sure did look pissed.
"Silence!" the Jaffa yelled again, and this time he got it. He glared at them coldly. "My mistress will be most pleased to see what we have caught today."
"But we're harmless. Really," Jack protested even as other Jaffa began stripping them of their weapons.
"And who might your mistress be?" asked Daniel. The symbol of their lady that was emblazoned onto the foreheads of the Jaffa was of two arrows crossed over a circle. Jack had never seen it before in their travels. Probably some small fish - or rather snake - trying to make a play.
"Silence, scum!" the Jaffa repeated. "Bring them!" he ordered the others who none too gently carried them out by yanking Jack, his team, and the other three, to their feet. From there it was a forced march away from the gate and into the ubiquitous trees.
"Let me guess, we're headed for the dungeon," Aeryn muttered from her place in line behind Jack. The Colonel just nodded.
"Welcome to our life."
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Honestly, John wasn't all that surprised by their turn of bad fortune. It was them after all. Stuff like this always seemed to happen to them. What was worrying him was how bad it could get. Because it always got worse before it got better. Plus, they didn't know the first thing about the politics in this corner of Wonderland. And now they were meeting the Queen of Hearts.
"Come now, John," Harvey peeked around a cartoon hedge in the side of his head. "We'll be able to catch the hedgehogs. Or it's off with our head!" he shouted, jumping out in a hideous black and red cartoon dress. Squelching the thoughts around him, John ignored Harvey and instead concentrated on not tripping over any roots.
After about an hour of woods, the trees gave way to scrubland dominated by a huge black pyramid. "Holy crap!" were the only words that sprang to mind. He didn't even notice the town built around its base until they were almost upon it. In contrast to the grandeur of the pyramid, the town was shabby. Rickety houses made of wood, mud, and waddle leaned against each other like the slums of a commerce planet or third world country. But what struck him the most was the people. As they trooped by behind their captors, the people, human in appearance, stopped what they were doing and groveled on the ground. Not one head was raised.
John glanced at their captors but none of them were paying attention. Jack and Teal'c ahead of him however most certainly were, and were very unhappy about it. Both of them had the hard, closed off look of people holding back intense anger. Unable to ask, John could only wonder what was going on.
As they drew closer to the pyramid, the houses grew thinner, stopping about a hundred meters away from the gate. The road continued to the gate where more soldiers stood guard and scurrying townspeople carted goods in and out. All movement stopped as they passed. Muttered whispers of 'sholva' and 'tauri' dripped with contempt from the soldiers' lips as every eye except those of the bowing townspeople turned upon them.
After conversing with the head soldier, their own guard led them inside through golden, columnated halls to a dusty cell that hadn't seen a mop in at least a decade.
"Nice," John glanced around as the heavy cell doors slid closed behind them. D'argo just glared at him as SG-1 settled in on the floor. "What?"
"I knew this was a bad idea."
"Oh, don't start with the I-told-you-so's," John returned. "We knew it was a risk and that's why I didn't want you to come."
"Looks like you need me now."
"To what? Hold my hand? This is my second cell this week."
"Needed me then too. Why didn't you take us to their planet?"
"There weren't exactly road signs, D'argo."
"I knew you would frell this up," the Luxan threw up his hands in disgust.
"Will you two shut the frell up?!" Aeryn shouted at them.
"He started it!" John and D'argo chorused, each one pointing at the other.
From his seat on the floor, Jack rolled his eyes. "What are you, twelve?" he asked.
"I hate being a prisoner," D'argo groused, glancing apologetically towards John. The human nodded understanding. "So where are we? And who did we piss off?"
"Well, we don't know where we are in terms of space, but as long as we can get to the stargate, we can get back to Earth," said Daniel. "As for who we pissed off, that would be the Goa'uld that rules this world, though I still don't know which one. We," he waved a hand a his teammates, "are, uh . . .rather well known."
"For what?" John asked flatly, cause he didn't think it was for their fried chicken.
"Oh, you know, killing as many as we can," Jack blithely replied with a smile.
"What does the Goa'uld look like?" asked Aeryn.
"A human," Sam answered. "The Goa'uld are parasites about this big," she held her hands a foot apart. "They burrow into the neck of their human host and take over the person's mind and body, using it as their own. You can tell it's them by their voice and glowing eyes."
"Take over their mind?" John felt cold. "Are they still alive?"
"The host remains aware, yes," Sam answered tightly.
"It's why we were jumpy about those microbe things," said Jack quietly. John couldn't blame them.
"So why are the humans here?" asked D'argo. "You have spaceflight?"
"We don't, the Goa'uld do," said Daniel. "Actually, the humans were probably brought through the stargate from Earth thousands of years ago as slaves. From the looks of it, they are still slaves here."
"And there's only one Goa'uld thing?" said Aeryn surprised. "Couldn't they rebel?"
"They believe that the Goa'uld is their god," said Teal'c. "As do the Jaffa who serve her."
"How did you get out?" asked John, glancing at the snake tattoo on the man's forehead.
"I long had my doubts as the true nature of Apophis, the Goa'uld whom I served. When I encountered Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson I finally saw people who could end our slavery to the Goa'uld. I helped them escaped and joined the SGC in the war against the false gods."
"So these things - "
"Snakeheads," Jack provided.
" - want to kill us?" asked Aeryn.
"Pretty much. They'll be all snooty about it," said Jack. "Since this bitch looks like a low level Goa'uld, she might try to trade us for something."
"Hopefully," said Daniel. Off everyone's look he added, "I don't like dying."
"Nobody's dying, Daniel," said Jack with a look that defied destiny. "We've had enough of that."
"You've died before?" asked Aeryn sharply. John almost missed the look she shot his way.
All of SG-1 except for Teal'c looked uncomfortable. Finally, Daniel answered ruefully. "Yeah, all of us at one time or another."
"Killed by these parasites?" asked D'argo.
Daniel nodded. D'argo looked at John, then Aeryn, all of them sharing the same thought. "Frell."
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