Camp Go'auld

Part two

Teal'c froze in his tracks, one hand raised to bring the rest of SG1 to a halt behind him. Immediately they concealed themselves away from the track they were on as the sounds of someone running, and being pursued, came to their ears.

They had arrived at Whitefish that morning, and after checking out the arrangements put in place for them, Jack had led the SG teams to the area near the compound of the suspected go'auld. SG3 and SG9 along with Jacob were scouting in other parts of the wood, Jack opting to take the area closest to the compound for his own team. Now it seemed that something was afoot.

Signalling rapidly to the rest of his team, Jack slipped away from them, allowing them to deal with whoever was in pursuit. Moving silently, his path through the bushes mirrored that of the person being followed, easily keeping up while maintaining his concealed position. Taking in the harrowed look on the victims face, the desperate glances behind which hadn't yet registered that the pursuit had ceased, Jack acted, dropping behind the victim as he simultaneously grasped her around the waist pinning her arms to her side and placed his free hand over her mouth to stop her calling out and alerting the pursuit as to their location.

The victim struggled, trying to break free of the strong grasp in which she was held, but unable to do so until at last she stopped fighting him but remained tense while Jack murmured in her ear.

'I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill of the US air force. I'm here to help. I need you to keep quiet while the rest of my team deal with whoever was after you.'

Nodding to indicate she understood, she allowed Jack to move her off the trail and conceal them both, to ensure anyone escaping the rest of his team would not stumble across them. Jack loosened the hand he had over her mouth, instantly regretting his decision as sharp teeth clamped down on the fleshy part of his hand and an elbow dug into his stomach and she was free, taking off down the path.

Cursing under his breath, Jack moved to follow but was overtaken by a swiftly moving figure which could only be Teal'c, running a lot faster than a normal human could. Pausing just long enough to check Jonas and Carter were following, Jack caught up to where Teal'c had the woman in a secure grip. The woman was struggling and attempting to kick Teal'c, but Teal'c remained unperturbed, maintaining his hold on the woman having witnessed what had happened when Jack had let his guard down.

'We're on your side, we're here to help,' Jack said, trying to convince her they were the good guys. 'What's your name?'

The woman stared at him, distrust evident in her eyes as she watched him, trying to figure out whether she could trust these people or not. The situation seemed destined to remain at stalemate until Jonas stepped forward.

'I'm Jonas. It's true what the Colonel says - we heard there was something going on up here and we came to investigate. That's when we came across those guys chasing you.' Jonas smiled at her reassuringly, his open features encouraging the woman to trust him. 'You don't have to worry, we took care of them. Some of our colleagues are dealing with them now.' Jonas paused, then continued. 'This is Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Major Carter.'

The woman looked at him, hesitated and then spoke for the first time. 'There are more of them. There's something weird going on back there. I…I managed to get away when I figured out that something was wrong. I guess they found out though. We have to get away, they'll send more after me, I know they will.' Her voice had an edge of panic to it.

'You come from there?' Jack asked her, receiving a nod in reply. 'Can you tell us anything else? How many are there? Are they armed? What's the set up?' The woman looked at him in confusion, not sure how to respond.

'I'm Kerry,' she said instead, then fell silent, looking warily at the faces watching her.

'Sir, I think we need to get further away,' Sam advised Jack. 'Find out what we can then come back with reinforcements if necessary. Kerry,' Sam turned to the woman, 'How long has it been since you got away?' Guessing it had been a while since she had slept or ate.

'Two nights ago. They made the women work in the kitchens and I found some medicine in one of the cupboards so I added it to the evening meal. Once they were asleep, I got away but they started after me early the next morning. There seemed to be something odd though,' Kerry looked thoughtful, focussing on her memories, seeming to forget where she was or who she was with. 'I hid under a bush a little way from the path, but although they searched to either side of the path, they didn't look very far. They didn't seem able to think for themselves.'

'That was indeed the case when we captured the pursuers.' Teal'c informed Jack. 'They attempted to fight, but they were poorly trained although they were using some rudimentary Jaffa combat techniques and we were able to anticipate their movements.'

'Kerry, is there anything else…' Jack was interrupted by Jonas.

'Colonel, I think we need to get away from here and give Kerry the chance to get some rest and something to eat.' Jonas had picked up on Sam's concerns. 'If she's right, more men will be sent out once those we captured don't return, hopefully that won't be until morning.'

Jack looked at Kerry appraisingly, then responded with 'Ok. Teal'c, you're up front, I'll watch our six. Jonas, you're with Kerry.'

*************

'Hey, Teal'c,' Jack caught up with Teal'c. Teal'c turned to him, raising an eyebrow questioningly. 'I think this is far enough, we should set up camp here,' Jack instructed. He'd been keeping an eye on Kerry and could see she was flagging. She had kept going, placing one foot in front of the other, but it was easy to see that she was running on adrenaline alone and if she didn't stop soon, she would probably fall over.

'Very well.' Teal'c acknowledged the instruction and proceeded to lower his pack to the ground. The others followed his lead and soon all except Jonas were busy setting up camp for the night. Jonas helped Kerry to sit down with her back against a tree before he too removed his pack, took his water bottle out and sat next to Kerry, handing the bottle to her. She took it gratefully and drank deeply before handing it back, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

'So…how are you doing?' Jonas asked.

'I'm ok,' Kerry spoke quietly. 'Just a bit tired.'

'Well, we're stopping here for the night. Teal'c and Major Carter will soon have dinner ready - it might not be anything fancy, but I'm sure you would appreciate a hot meal.' Jonas smiled at her.

Kerry returned the smile, then turned her gaze to where the others were setting up camp, trying to conceal a shiver as she felt the coolness of the evening air now she was no longer active. Jonas was aware at once and stood up to fetch a sleeping bag from his pack.

'How is she?' Jack asked him as he saw what Jonas was doing.

'Tired, cold and hungry but I think she's going to be fine.' Jonas assured the Colonel.

Jack nodded his understanding, then said 'Keep an eye on her will you. She seems to trust you and I don't want to risk her getting away again - she's our best hope of getting in there and carrying out our mission successfully.' Jack patted Jonas on the shoulder, then turned back to keep an eye on the area surrounding their camp.

Jonas had only been gone for a couple of minutes but by the time he returned, he could see Kerry's tiredness must have been greater than he realised. Once she had stopped, the adrenaline on which she had been running had drained away and now she was asleep, curled up by the tree she'd been leaning against. Jonas rolled her gently into the sleeping bag, removing her shoes as he did so and then left her.