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Summary: Sg1 travel to a seemingly deserted planet, only to be confronted with an old enemy.
Category: Future Story
Season: After season 4 but before 6.
Pairing: None
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Violence
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s). Archived on: 05/30/03
---
In years to come, Jack O'Neill would never know how Sg1 managed to return home alive. In fact, he wouldn't know how the events previous to their return happened, or why it happened. In fact, just thinking about the incident would bring him out in a cold sweat. Both Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson stubbornly refused to talk about it, only talking simply and emotionlessly about the events in debriefings and so forth. Teal'c spoke only to admit he should have realised what unfolded sooner, and that he wished for the team's forgiveness.
So alone, Jack O'Neill would think, and remember the horrifying mission to P4X WYC…
---
"My lord," The first prime bowed low, his eyes directed towards the ground. He hoped he would be spared for the news he brought was great. His god was still angry about his defeat at the hands of Sokar, and many Jaffa thought of the punishment the first prime would receive.
"Rise." Yu snapped, glancing at his first Prime in annoyance. "What news do you bring? I shall not stand for bad news. Be warned, the bringer's punishment will not be…" He smirked. "pleasant."
"I bring forth knowledge of the Tau'ri my lord." The Jaffa said quickly, hoping his master would be pleased. Yu smiled, and brought up one arm, allowing the robes to flow freely across it, as though water. Waiting for his master to signal him to carry on, the Jaffa waited nervously. He was rewarded by a nod, and without hesitation, he continued. "You were aware of our capture of the team of 4 Tau'ri, captured on a world once belonging to Apophis, my lord?"
Yu smiled - the victory of Apophis had been quick and seriously damaged Apophis's forces, the Jaffa that joined Yu's battle were not spared. They were executed - A Jaffa should never betray his god, albeit one that Yu didn't agree with or like. Their screams could be heard throughout the palace, their deaths long and painful. At least the Jaffa who refused to join Yu died quickly. "Yes."
"They revealed that one of their teams, the one designated Sg1 shall be visiting the planet of our Jaffa training camp soon my lord. Perhaps within a day. It would be a perfect way to extract information the other Tau'ri were not told of. The team, they assured us, knew more, my lord." The Jaffa risked glancing at his god, before his eyes trailed swiftly back to the ground.
Yu glanced at a manicured nail before looking back at his first prime. "The Tau'ri are hard to break. They would not reveal valued information even with torture."
The Jaffa smiled and looked directly at his god. "Our Jaffa have found a more … persuasive method, my lord."
Yu smiled and stood up, the crimson robes flowing around him and pooling around his feet. The robe was made of crimson silk, with golden threading. The robe arms flowed down his arms and collected at his fingertips in a trail of violet silk. His hair was pulled back off his face, jet black hair cascading down his back.
"Take a troop and wait for this team. Bring them to me. Station a troop around the Chap'pai when you leave, the Tau'ri are still searching for their other Tau'ri." Yu paused and smirked. "I'm afraid they'll be searching for a long time. You informed me the last Tau'ri was dead, correct?"
With a chill to his voice that suggested all too clearly that his death was not painless, the Jaffa replied, "Indeed my lord."
---
As Daniel stepped through the gate, stumbling slightly, he heard Sam mutter, "Area secured sir." He never understood military types - always full of technical terms and hand signals he didn't understand. Despite working for the Military for almost 4 years now, Daniel still preferred civilians. The closest thing to that was Teal'c, but he was more military than Civilian. So Daniel took to Sam, the cross between Daniel, the dreamer and intelligence, and the Colonel, the military tactician.Jack watched Teal'c nod to concur with Sam's statement. "Ok team, move out."
With that, the team slowly moved forward, all still keeping watch. It was something about this planet Jack didn't like, and he could tell by the way Sam strained for every sound, and the grip Teal'c held his staff weapon that neither of them were happy.
"See anything Major?" Jack asked Sam, moving closer to her. She shook her head dolefully, glancing at the bush.
"The preliminary tests of P4X WYC showed to have a Naquadah in the soil, which is one of the reasons we visited here, but I just get the feeling something's off." She muttered. "Maybe its that…" She trailed off, the doubt in her voice obvious as the lie of her statement. She knew it was something else that was causing her concern, but demanding to return home because something felt off was hardly a good excuse. The Naquadah in the soil alone could prove beneficial, and Sam was one of very few scientists that was qualified both to go offworld and take samples.
"Yeah," Jack agreed with her unspoken statement. "It's kinda off here. I think even Teal'c's freaked."
"Maybe." Sam replied. Suddenly, Teal'c spoke from up front, in an edgy, worried tone.
"O'Neill." He called. With a last look at Sam, Jack jogged up to Teal'c. Teal'c had stopped and was spinning his Staff round in wide circles, as though trying to spot something.
"Teal'c?" Jack asked.
"We are not alone." Teal'c mumbled. Immediately, Jack pulled his weapon up, taking off the safety catch in one smooth moving. Jack heard a click from behind, and knew Sam had taken off her safety as well. Daniel had pulled out a zat, and Jack heard the slight whirring as he armed it. For a moment, nobody moved, until a small black sphere was lobbed at them.
"O'Neill we must cover our…" Teal'c said in a panicked tone before a bright flash of light engulfed them. Pain sprung between each eye as Jack fell to the floor. He heard a soft gasp as Daniel landed and tried desperately to stay conscious. He heard the clang of metal boots and a head retract, as a gloved hand with chain mail slipping down the arm picked up the sphere. Then with a rush of blackness, Jack passed out.
---
"Jack…Jack…" A sing song voice whispered. He felt someone tug at his shoulder, and his reflexes brought his arm up swiftly to grab the arm. A sharp intake and a yelped "Jack" brought him back to reality with a sharp blow.
"Jesus Daniel!" Jack gasped, bolting upright. The offending archaeologist grinned apologetically, holding his abused wrist in his lap. Jack could see a bruise starting to form on his cheek, which he knew hadn't been there before he …
"Carter? Teal'c?" Jack glanced around, trying to gain his bearings. The ground titled dangerously as Jack closed his eyes.
"Er…They took Teal'c…about quarter of an hour ago. We haven't seen Sam." Daniel murmured. He flinched as Jack touched the rapidly darkening bruise. Daniel shrugged off his concerned glare. "They…ah, didn't appreciate my efforts to stop them taking Teal'c." Daniel offered as an explanation. Jack grinned in the darkness - Daniel had taken on the Jaffa as a way of defending Teal'c, and had received the complimentary 'piss of the guards and get a punch' treatment.
Taken a moment to get used to his surroundings, Jack realised that this cell was like the others. Straw mixed with earth covered the floor, with stone walls effectively blocking their way. A large oak door, at least 5 inches thick, with a small, barred window, faced them. Jack could only just make out a dark, torch lit passage, with stone walls and floor. The ceiling was made of another material, which Jack couldn't make out in the dark.
One barred window stood, barely a slit, against one wall, directly below the ceiling. The slit was so small, Jack doubted Carter, the smallest of their team, could fit through it. It looked big enough to allow a small adult to fit through it, perhaps someone of Doctor Fraiser's size easily. The bars blocked their escape effectively.
"Daniel…did they say anything about Carter?" Jack asked.
"Why d'you think my wrist hurts?" Daniel asked, showing Jack his swollen wrist. It looked like someone had twisted it anti-clockwise, the swollen wrist and hand marks obvious against his pale skin. Jack sighed - 'it should have been me getting the crap,' He thought, 'Not Daniel and Teal'c. Some leader I turned out to be…'
---
Meanwhile, Sam was slowly rising back to the land of living. Her head pounded, but she was lying on something soft and downy. She was back in her bed, trying to remember what planet she was scheduled to depart to. P4X WYC, a small planet with no apparent life and Naquadah rich soil…Hang on, she had gone there…and something had knocked her out.
With a brief moment of panic, Sam shot upright and leapt out of the bed, relieved to see she was still in the assembled uniform, albeit without a jacket and disarmed. With a sigh of disappointment, Sam realised they'd searched her, for her knife in her boot was gone. Which meant whoever caught them were paying attention to details. She decided to study her room, trying to remember as much detail as possible.
It was quite easy. The room was simply a small square room, with crimson walls and ceiling and violet carpet. A large bed was in the center, with simple white pillows and quilt, with crimson drapes. A small sofa was pressed against one wall, barely enough room for two adults to sit down comfortably. It was made of wood, with two white cushions on it, covering the hard wooden seat.
The door was closed, and Sam could hear breathing on the other side, interrupted by the odd command barked in Goa'uld. Great. She was stuck in an unknown Goa'uld complex, without her team.
For perhaps the third time during her short career with the SGC, Sam felt a jolt of overwhelming panic. The first had been when her father told her he was dying of cancer and the second when she had realised she was a prisoner of her own body.
With a large clang, Sam heard the doors being opened. She brought her hands up to a fighting stance. They might have unarmed her, but Sam wasn't giving up without a fight. Two Jaffa walked into the room with heavy, direct steps, holding Staff weapons pointed at her. A third walked behind them, walking swiftly towards Sam. She took a step backwards, still holding her fists in front of her. As the third Jaffa went to grab her, she struck.
With a heavy blow, she threw all her weight and strength into her punch, hitting the Jaffa in the place she assumed his pouch was. What she had forgotten was the metal plate covering it. Not allowing the pain to reach her brain, she struck again, kicking the Jaffa in the, unguarded, kneecaps. What was a smug laughter turned to anger as she broke his kneecap. The other two Jaffa, who had been unsure on how to react, now decided to react to her.
The first one lunged forward, almost avoiding a punch to his delicate parts. Almost. With a grunt of satisfaction, Sam watched him crumple to the floor in pain, like any person struck in his delicate parts would. 2 down, one to go. Only problem was, that one had a zat gun.
With a whirr, it hit Sam directly and she fell to the floor, fighting the effects. The Jaffa quickly pulled her to her feet roughly, making sure to kick her as she struggled up. The second Jaffa, recovering, stood up and grabbed her other arm.
A fourth Jaffa entered, barking in Goa'uld. Sam was trapped, held in place by two Jaffa's, with a third smiling sadistically at her. Not for the first time, Sam wished that her team was with her. Hell, she'd settle for Maybourne. Anyone else.
Her stomach jolted as she sensed a Goa'uld heading into the room. The Fourth Jaffa barked out, in an important voice,
"Kneel before your god…." The first Jaffa, although in pain, leant down on his uninjured leg, ignoring the screaming pain in his broken knee cap. It could be fixed. The fourth kneeled, glancing at Sam. She stood, with an expression of utter unimpression, with no intention of kneeling.
A swift, sharp pain in the back of her knees sent her flying to her knees, with a grunt. She'd been hit with the staff weapon in the soft flesh behind her kneecaps, the immediate effect sending her to her knees.
The fourth cleared his voice as the Goa'uld entered in a wave of Crimson and gold. "…Lord Yu."
---
An hour later, and Jack was teetering between complete Panic and total Annoyance. Teal'c still hadn't returned, and Jack was sure he wasn't being held to drink tea and catch up on the gossip with whoever was holding them. Jack couldn't believe they had allowed themselves to be caught, especially not with the same trick twice.
"Apparently what ever they used was a lot stronger," Daniel told him in a last ditch effort to draw some hope to Jack. "The sort of thing they use to capture wild animals. They obviously thought we'd pack a punch." He said with a small grin.
"Also means that we were out longer." Jack sighed, glaring at the door as though sheer will power would open in. "Which in turns mean we could be on another planet."
Daniel couldn't think of an answer, and they fell into silence again.
---
"How am I granted access to your Stargate?" Yu bellowed, releasing Sam from his grip of the ribbon device. Sam stared at him with an equally angry glare.
"Stargate? Sorry, never heard of it." Sam replied as sarcastically as possible. She found that faced between bravado and mindless, terrifying quivering, bravado was preferred. And so with every question, Yu was faced with a sarcastic answer.
The orange stone lighted in the center of his palm, and with a bang of energy, threw her across the room. Sam hit the wall with a sickening crunch, falling to the floor in a heap. Still, she slowly, carefully stood up, refusing to stay down. Immediately, two Jaffa grabbed her and dragged her back to where she had been all but held up for the last half an hour. Slowly, the ribbon device fried what remained of her brain.
"You annoy me Tau'ri. Just tell me what I want and I will allow you and your friends passage to my Chap'pai and Earth." Yu taunted. Sam knew he was lying. He knew she knew he was lying.
"Go to hell." Sam said with all the remaining strength she could muster. As she slid down the wall, she found she couldn't stand up, lacking the energy or will. To her surprise, no arms roughly grabbed her, instead, she heard the clanking as the Jaffa exited the room. She heard the doors being shut and then an unusual silence over took the room.
"Come on Sam, think." She murmured, slowly pulling herself into something that resembled sitting, wincing as her ribs protested. She didn't think she'd broken any, just bruised them. Of course, her thinking was slightly biased, never say die, her father had always told her. "Just bruised." She winced. Ignoring the pounding in her head, she starting to crawl around the room.
Slowly, methodically, she worked her way around the room, searching ever corner and crevice in the room. Surely there was something she could use to her advantage. Her answer came when she noticed a place where the walls were slightly off coloured, as though the wall had been replaced. Tapping it, she was surprised to find it was hollow. The basic formation of a plan pushed past the pain and wormed into her mind. It couldn't be…
---
"My lord demands the grey haired one comes with us." The Jaffa announced, staring at the two remaining members of Sg1 with a look that plainly said 'try anything and you'll live to regret it'.
"Grey haired one?" Jack repeated.
"Try no." Daniel smirked.
"Not until you bring back my missing team mate." Jack demanded, standing up. He was almost knocked over by the body of Teal'c, bruised and bloodied. Jack winced.
"What the hell have you done to him?" He yelled, before a large hand flew into his reign of vision. Stars danced in front of eyes as two Jaffa roughly pulled him from the cell. Daniel, torn between checking Teal'c and protesting had his decision made for him when the door slammed shut, narrowly missing his nose.
"HEY!" He yelled. "Watch out with that door!"
"Daniel Jackson." A weak voice slurred.
"Teal'c!" Daniel practically flew to Teal'c side, wishing feverently that they had water. They had neither been given food or water during their captivity, and quite frankly, Daniel was getting thirsty.
"I told them…nothing." Teal'c said weakly, clutching to the remains of consciousness.
"Teal'c, try and rest." Daniel murmured. With a sigh of regret, Teal'c eyes slid shut and his body relaxed. Daniel tried to take in the full extent of his injuries.
Teal'c face was bruised, one eye already beginning to swell shut and his lip was split and swollen. His chest was bare, and his pouch was red raw and sore, which meant whatever they had done, it had involved his symbiote. There were several cuts across his chest and upper arms. From waist down, from what Daniel could see, he was relatively unharmed. With a chill, Daniel thought of Jack.
"Oh god Jack. Be careful." He whispered.
---
Whilst Daniel was out of his mind with worry, Jack was just plain pissed off. After being dragged unceremoniously from his cell, the guards had pulled Jack down the corridor, passing several cells similar to theirs. The only difference was no one occupied them.
'At least not anything alive' Jack thought desperately.
Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor. A large, golden door barred the exit. Slowly, the Jaffa walked over to a small panel next to it, and punched a symbol. Jack tried to remember which one it was. The second over from the left, fifth one down. It was a Bird of some sort, very ornate and decorative - perhaps mythical.
Then Jack was dragged out into a second corridor, this one more ornate and spectacular than the rough stone walls of the other corridor. The carpet was a soft, velvet red and the walls were gold, with Goa'uld writing heading the top. Jack made a mental note to ask Daniel what it said if they got out of there.
'When' Jack corrected himself. 'When they got out.'
Slowly, Jack was dragged to a large door, solid gold with a black frame. Black snakes, Goa'ulds framed the golden door in a horrific nightmarish way. Jack shuddered. He really hoped he wasn't going to become a host, sharing his brain and body with a parasite. He'd rather spend eternity with Maybourne in a cell made for one that have a Goa'uld. Or perhaps there wasn't that much difference between the two…
Pulling himself out of his daze, Jack tried to concentrate on looking for clues, anything that could give away the name of the Goa'uld. His answer was all too obvious as the Goa'uld entered in a sweeping blaze of crimson and gold.
"The protected planets treaty prevents me from attacking you on your planet Tau'ri," His voice resonated, humour obvious. "But we are not on your planet."
Jack suppressed a groan. "Nice to see you again … Yu."
---
"Ok, so the plan needed a bit of fine tuning," Sam muttered, throwing her weight against the hollowed wall again. Her shoulder throbbed from the amount of times she'd hit it and, despite throwing her weight repeatedly against the wall, it wouldn't budge.
Defeated, she slid down against the wall. Perhaps she'd be lucky and the Jaffa would think she was going insane. At least then she wouldn't get another visit. Suddenly, she felt the wall give way and she fell through the gap, backwards. It was a hollowed section, but what Sam hadn't considered was the lack of a floor.
Groping in the dark, she tried to grab something to slow her decent. Gaining speed, she knew she wasn't far off the ground. With a last desperate lunge, she grabbed at the walls…
---
"Your friends were most forecoming." Yu taunted Jack, tracing the outline of his cheek with the gloved hand. Jack shrugged the hand off with an annoying smirk.
"Friends?" He questioned.
"Major Carter's screams were quite … pleasurable," Yu hinted, a perverted grin apparent on his face. Jack tried to stay unfocussed, trying to ignore the taunts of Yu - it was what he wanted, Jack thought reasonably, a reaction. "Indeed, her screams echoed throughout the palace…" Jack couldn't help himself to reply with a comment.
"YOU BASTARD!" He spat.
Lord Yu smirked, before bringing up his gloved hand. Jack watched in morbid fascination as the orange stone lit up and Lord Yu descended the hand towards his forehead. Bracing himself for the pain, Jack was surprised to hear a voice yell;
"My lord." The guard seemed to quiver as he walked towards his lord. Stooping to a bow, he waited to the acceptance from his lord.
"What is it?" Lord Yu snapped impatiently.
The guard stood up and mumbled something in Lord Yu's ear. Lord Yu seemed to be displeased, for his next words showed anger clearly.
"How did she escape?" He snapped. "Find her at once, and when you do, kill her." Sparing a moment to glare at Jack, he added, "Take him back…"
The Jaffa pulled Jack upright and he stumbled from the room, confused. But a tiny spark of hope had entered his heart - could Carter have escaped? He thought widely before being unceremoniously chucked back into his cell.
---
Her fingers grabbed a small rock, stopping her decent. Looking down, the floor was still some 15 foot off, but her decent had slowed down considerably. Dropping from here, Sam calculated, would be easy.
However, she had planned to drop at her on time, not when the ground felt like it. The rock had not been secure, and finally gave way, dropping her to the ground. Landing with an audible thud, Sam hit the ground…
---
"Jack?" Daniel asked immediately, crawling forward towards him. Jack sat up, his face a mask of confusion and anger.
"Daniel?" He looked at Daniel and then at Teal'c, who seemed to be kel-nor-ree-ing.
"Jack, he's not too good." Daniel said in a low tone, following Jack's concerned glance to Teal'c. "He is doing kel-nor-ree, but I don't think it's helped too much. He's got a fever and his symbiote is hurt. He can't repair his injuries before that. If we get out, Teal'c's gonna be slow."
"When." Jack corrected. "When we get out." He looked at Teal'c again. "Carter got free."
"What?" Daniel replied. "How?"
"The Goa'uld we're being held by is Yu. He was about to start on me with … with the hand devise, when this Jaffa came in. He said something to Yu - he didn't seem to happy." Daniel nodded, his face contorted by worry. "He said, 'how did she escape?' And if you haven't noticed, Carter's a she."
"She might have got out…" Daniel said hopefully. He looked at Teal'c again. "I Just hope she goes back to Earth."
---
Dirt was under her hands. That was the first thing she noticed. It was cold, she was shivering in the cold, damp room. An acute stabbing told her that the bruised ribs were now definitely broken, and her shoulder was throbbing with each heart beat. But then, her shoulder had a tendency to do that, especially since the failed alliance with the Achen.
"Oooh," Sam groaned and rolled over, immediately regretting it. She coughed, thankful that no blood accompanied this. She sat up, feeling the immediate twinges of old and new bruises. Her ribs throbbed painfully.
Slowly, methodically, she considered her options. "I have no GDO," She said outloud in a hushed tone. "Jaffa are everywhere, and the rest of the team is captured, judging by the fact no one has attempted a rescue. Hopefully, they've already escaped. Best bet is to get away from the … whatever this is."
Shaking, she stood up and started to stumble down the tunnel, stopping every so often to breathe. The boys so owed her for this.
Part 2 coming late June/July, depending on feedback.
