Section 28: Escape The Sequel
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"D'argo!" John shouted as his friend crumpled to the ground. One thought clamoring with the sudden rush of adrenaline: brown blood. Brown blood was bad - in fact it topped the list of bad. Brown meant toxins and not blood loss were why the Luxan was out cold. John barely noticed Jack and Teal'c as he and Aeryn crashed to their knees beside them, hands frantically searching for the wound.
"What is that?" asked Aeryn when they found it at the back of his neck.
"Damn!" Jack recoiled. A gray-blue snakelike creature had burrowed through the tonka and torn away the skin of D'argo's neck which was still oozing blood. "That's Nit. She tried to take him over. What happened in there?"
"We don't have time to figure it out," John told him. "Help me roll him over."
"What?"
But Aeryn was already helping him. Ignoring the confused colonel, they got D'argo onto his stomach and with a murmured apology, hit the wound.
"Hey!" Jack wrenched John's arm away, staring at him in shock. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Saving his life!" John tried to shake his arm away from the Colonel but Jack had a solid grip. On his other side, shielded from Jack and Teal'c, Aeryn took over and left him to the explanations. "Unless we keep his blood flowing clear it'll become toxic and kill him. It's probably what killed that thing in his tentacle."
"The Goa'uld," said Teal'c as Jack let him go and watched while Aeryn finally got D'argo's circulation working again.
"He's still out cold," said Aeryn. She glanced around. Daniel had herded the girls into the cell with them while Sam stood guard. "Let's get out of here."
Teal'c gathered D'argo into his arms, staggering only slightly under his weight. Jack took the lead with Sam followed by Teal'c and Daniel then John and Aeryn running sweep.
"Where would they keep our weapons?" asked John once they got underway turning down another matching corridor.
"Forget our weapons," said Jack, glancing over his shoulder. "We cut our losses and get out of here."
"Whoa!" John stopped short. "There's soldiers running around here. We're not going to make it without our guns. And I'm not leaving Winona here."
"Winona?" Jack raised his eyebrows questioningly.
John winced internally. He probably shouldn't have mentioned her name. "My gun. And D'argo needs his Qualta blade so his ship won't kill us," he added.
"You named your gun?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Our stuff is probably in one of the store rooms," Daniel intervened. "Most likely one nearby." Jack gave John another speculative glance before nodding decisively.
"Lead the way, Danny."
They tried four storerooms before they found their weapons. As Daniel had said, it was reasonably close to their cell. Getting there they had easily dodged the one squad of soldiers that tromped by. By the time they left though, the alarm had gone up.
"This way!" Jack whispered as they hurried out. They had all of five seconds of peace before everything went to hell. The sound of running metal footsteps was their only warning before a bunch of soldiers rounded the corner. John dove behind the nearest column and opened fire. It was over in a matter of minutes: the soldiers all lay dead or dying on the floor while the recently escaped prisoners ran as fast as they could out of there.
The fight out was a blur of red energy bolts and machine gun fire. John lost count of the twists and turns and the numbers against them. The noisy soldiers underestimated them at every turn. Nevertheless, they managed to hit Sam in the shoulder, incapacitating her. John helped Teal'c shoulder D'argo so the other man had an arm free to shoot with. But in the end, there were too many. Cornered and tired, Daniel found them an empty room to hole up in.
"So now what?" John asked lowering D'argo to the floor and collapsing next to him.
"Any bright ideas?" Jack asked at large. Outside the door the Jaffa were shouting orders back and forth as they searched for them.
"Explosives?" suggested Aeryn. She leaned against the wall near the door with D'argo's Qualta blade strapped to her back. Grim-faced and grungy, she reminded John of when they had first met. And then she smiled at him. "Worked last time."
"We have enough to do a little damage, but we'd still be overwhelmed," Sam shook her head. "Otherwise we'd have to get to the generators, and seeing as we're trapped here. . ."
"Well, you know what they say, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em,'" said John.
"Join 'em?" asked Daniel confused.
"That never works, John," Aeryn scowled.
"Sure it does."
"Until it backfires."
"Pretend we're Jaffa?" Jack interrupted the brewing argument. He looked dubiously at D'argo and Sam whom Daniel was patching up. "I don't think we'll be able to pull that off."
"Then are we close enough to an outside wall to blow a new door?" asked Aeryn going back to her original idea.
"We may be indeed," said Teal'c thoughtfully. He stood from his crouched position and turned toward the back wall. "It may take three blasts to burst free and I do not know if our explosives are powerful enough to take down the walls. But it is possible. We would have to set each successive detonation quickly for they will draw the Jaffa to us."
"Alright then," said Jack. "Let's break out the toys and do this."
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Twenty minutes later, bloody and bruised from the shrapnel, SG-1, John, and Aeryn with their wounded in tow were running for the forest as if a squad of, well, Jaffa were on their tails. Jack was amazed they had made it out with only minimal damage through the four hallways between them and freedom. It was certainly a new way to escape from a Goa'uld palace and surprisingly effective. All alive and almost at the 'gate. All in a day's work.
The Jaffa were within shooting range by the time they reached the 'gate clearing. Daniel immediately started dialing up the SGC while Jack and their new friends covered their retreat. Finally the comforting sound of the wormhole engaging whooshed out behind them. Running backward, Jack was the last to dive through. He landed heavily on the ramp, barely noticing the impact as he shouted, "Close the iris!" Only when the metal shield spun over the open wormhole did he relax. Two thuds on the other side echoed through the still room as the chasing Jaffa met their fate.
Jack picked himself up and smiled at General Hammond at the bottom of the ramp.
"Welcome back, Colonel," said the General. "You're two days overdue. I was beginning to get worried."
Jack just grinned wider. Trust George to downplay his concern. "You know us, sir," he replied walking down to meet him. "And we picked up some new friends on the way. I'd like to introduce John Crichton and Aeryn Sun and their friend by Teal'c is D'argo."
"Welcome to Earth Mr. Crichton, Ms. Sun," the General shook their hands. Neither John nor Aeryn smiled back; in fact they looked downright suspicious. But as Janet and her medical teams bustled in and took charge, Jack gave it little thought. They were back home, safe, and in relatively good shape. "Colonel, we'll debrief in two hours."
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Finally! Got them out in one piece. Except for Sam and D'argo. (I swear writing makes me evil.) But hey, they're safe on Earth! (He he he . . .)
*
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"D'argo!" John shouted as his friend crumpled to the ground. One thought clamoring with the sudden rush of adrenaline: brown blood. Brown blood was bad - in fact it topped the list of bad. Brown meant toxins and not blood loss were why the Luxan was out cold. John barely noticed Jack and Teal'c as he and Aeryn crashed to their knees beside them, hands frantically searching for the wound.
"What is that?" asked Aeryn when they found it at the back of his neck.
"Damn!" Jack recoiled. A gray-blue snakelike creature had burrowed through the tonka and torn away the skin of D'argo's neck which was still oozing blood. "That's Nit. She tried to take him over. What happened in there?"
"We don't have time to figure it out," John told him. "Help me roll him over."
"What?"
But Aeryn was already helping him. Ignoring the confused colonel, they got D'argo onto his stomach and with a murmured apology, hit the wound.
"Hey!" Jack wrenched John's arm away, staring at him in shock. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Saving his life!" John tried to shake his arm away from the Colonel but Jack had a solid grip. On his other side, shielded from Jack and Teal'c, Aeryn took over and left him to the explanations. "Unless we keep his blood flowing clear it'll become toxic and kill him. It's probably what killed that thing in his tentacle."
"The Goa'uld," said Teal'c as Jack let him go and watched while Aeryn finally got D'argo's circulation working again.
"He's still out cold," said Aeryn. She glanced around. Daniel had herded the girls into the cell with them while Sam stood guard. "Let's get out of here."
Teal'c gathered D'argo into his arms, staggering only slightly under his weight. Jack took the lead with Sam followed by Teal'c and Daniel then John and Aeryn running sweep.
"Where would they keep our weapons?" asked John once they got underway turning down another matching corridor.
"Forget our weapons," said Jack, glancing over his shoulder. "We cut our losses and get out of here."
"Whoa!" John stopped short. "There's soldiers running around here. We're not going to make it without our guns. And I'm not leaving Winona here."
"Winona?" Jack raised his eyebrows questioningly.
John winced internally. He probably shouldn't have mentioned her name. "My gun. And D'argo needs his Qualta blade so his ship won't kill us," he added.
"You named your gun?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Our stuff is probably in one of the store rooms," Daniel intervened. "Most likely one nearby." Jack gave John another speculative glance before nodding decisively.
"Lead the way, Danny."
They tried four storerooms before they found their weapons. As Daniel had said, it was reasonably close to their cell. Getting there they had easily dodged the one squad of soldiers that tromped by. By the time they left though, the alarm had gone up.
"This way!" Jack whispered as they hurried out. They had all of five seconds of peace before everything went to hell. The sound of running metal footsteps was their only warning before a bunch of soldiers rounded the corner. John dove behind the nearest column and opened fire. It was over in a matter of minutes: the soldiers all lay dead or dying on the floor while the recently escaped prisoners ran as fast as they could out of there.
The fight out was a blur of red energy bolts and machine gun fire. John lost count of the twists and turns and the numbers against them. The noisy soldiers underestimated them at every turn. Nevertheless, they managed to hit Sam in the shoulder, incapacitating her. John helped Teal'c shoulder D'argo so the other man had an arm free to shoot with. But in the end, there were too many. Cornered and tired, Daniel found them an empty room to hole up in.
"So now what?" John asked lowering D'argo to the floor and collapsing next to him.
"Any bright ideas?" Jack asked at large. Outside the door the Jaffa were shouting orders back and forth as they searched for them.
"Explosives?" suggested Aeryn. She leaned against the wall near the door with D'argo's Qualta blade strapped to her back. Grim-faced and grungy, she reminded John of when they had first met. And then she smiled at him. "Worked last time."
"We have enough to do a little damage, but we'd still be overwhelmed," Sam shook her head. "Otherwise we'd have to get to the generators, and seeing as we're trapped here. . ."
"Well, you know what they say, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em,'" said John.
"Join 'em?" asked Daniel confused.
"That never works, John," Aeryn scowled.
"Sure it does."
"Until it backfires."
"Pretend we're Jaffa?" Jack interrupted the brewing argument. He looked dubiously at D'argo and Sam whom Daniel was patching up. "I don't think we'll be able to pull that off."
"Then are we close enough to an outside wall to blow a new door?" asked Aeryn going back to her original idea.
"We may be indeed," said Teal'c thoughtfully. He stood from his crouched position and turned toward the back wall. "It may take three blasts to burst free and I do not know if our explosives are powerful enough to take down the walls. But it is possible. We would have to set each successive detonation quickly for they will draw the Jaffa to us."
"Alright then," said Jack. "Let's break out the toys and do this."
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Twenty minutes later, bloody and bruised from the shrapnel, SG-1, John, and Aeryn with their wounded in tow were running for the forest as if a squad of, well, Jaffa were on their tails. Jack was amazed they had made it out with only minimal damage through the four hallways between them and freedom. It was certainly a new way to escape from a Goa'uld palace and surprisingly effective. All alive and almost at the 'gate. All in a day's work.
The Jaffa were within shooting range by the time they reached the 'gate clearing. Daniel immediately started dialing up the SGC while Jack and their new friends covered their retreat. Finally the comforting sound of the wormhole engaging whooshed out behind them. Running backward, Jack was the last to dive through. He landed heavily on the ramp, barely noticing the impact as he shouted, "Close the iris!" Only when the metal shield spun over the open wormhole did he relax. Two thuds on the other side echoed through the still room as the chasing Jaffa met their fate.
Jack picked himself up and smiled at General Hammond at the bottom of the ramp.
"Welcome back, Colonel," said the General. "You're two days overdue. I was beginning to get worried."
Jack just grinned wider. Trust George to downplay his concern. "You know us, sir," he replied walking down to meet him. "And we picked up some new friends on the way. I'd like to introduce John Crichton and Aeryn Sun and their friend by Teal'c is D'argo."
"Welcome to Earth Mr. Crichton, Ms. Sun," the General shook their hands. Neither John nor Aeryn smiled back; in fact they looked downright suspicious. But as Janet and her medical teams bustled in and took charge, Jack gave it little thought. They were back home, safe, and in relatively good shape. "Colonel, we'll debrief in two hours."
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Finally! Got them out in one piece. Except for Sam and D'argo. (I swear writing makes me evil.) But hey, they're safe on Earth! (He he he . . .)
*