HORUS' MOTHERSHIP
SAME TIME
The king and queen sat in their royal thrones; servants constantly circled, obeying every demand that was asked of them. Horus had one of the women hand-feeding him; each grape was followed by a series of giggling from each of them. Sam slumped down further into the tall, gold throne that belonged to her. Today the servants had dressed her in a fitted, gold, backless dress. Again the top half draped dangerously low in the front making Sam very uncomfortable, she longed for her black leather jacket to throw over the top of the revealing outfit. The tiara remained poised on top of her head, the symbol of her allegiance to her husband, Horus.
"Your blending will be performed earlier this evening, I have found you a worthy Goa'uld in which you can share your body." Horus enlightened Sam, taking a short break from being hand fed. She shuddered at the thought of being inhabited by a Goa'uld again. Before she could answer him, the door to the throne room slid open and a Jaffa Guard entered, bowed before the king and queen before speaking.
"Kalta has arrived as you have requested my lord." He informed them. Horus waved his hand flippedly, indicating that the guard was to proceed. The System Lord turned to Sam,
"Retrieve the crown from my quarters, I am inspecting the mining operation later in the day." He demanded. Sam smiled fakily, and nodded obediently, as she always did when he addressed her, stepping down from her chair and exiting via the "back door".
"Enter." Horus called to supervisor waiting outside the room. The door slid open and Jack stumbled into the Throne Room, Kalta walking close behind him with his staff weapon still positioned only an inch away from Jack's body. The god stepped down from his royal throne; his cape swaying behind him as he walked into the centre of the room. His judging eyes never left Jack's, studying him like an insect that he would thoroughly enjoyed squashing. The supervisor jabbed Jack in the back with the end of the staff weapon, pushing him further into the centre of the room, forcing him to turn and face Horus. Jack pulled at his chains in a vain attempt to find a weakness; he caught the glance of the Goa'uld staring at him pretentiously. Meeting his stare he decided to open the channel of conversation.
"Horus right? Luke Skywalker, I got separated from my droid, R2D2, small, shiny fellow, beeps a lot." Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Kalta swung the staff weapon brutally into the back of Jack's legs, the prisoner cried out in pain as he landed heavily on his knees.
"Kalta, release the prisoner from his chains and leave." Horus ordered sternly, not taking his eyes off Jack. Kalta bowed unquestioningly, unlocking the chains and leaving the two men alone in the room. Jack looked up from the ground to meet the god's eyes; there was no way he was going to bow before the false god and be submissive towards him. He had not seen Sam yet, which again gave him the mixed feelings of relief and worry. Horus took a several steps forward before he spoke.
"O'Neill of the Tauri yes?" He acknowledged the prisoner's identity.
"Nice to have a fan." Jack replied flatly.
"Your exploits are well known among all Goa'uld System Lords, it will give me great pleasure to be the one to end your life. I will become well respected within the System Lords for capturing the leader of the group that has killed many a Goa'uld in the past." Horus anticipated, a smile of glee coming to his face at the thought of torturing and killing his prisoner. Horus stalked closer towards Jack; his arm disappeared behind his cloak making Jack strain to see what Horus was reaching for. Slowly, the Goa'uld pulled out a hand device, slipping it onto his arm and hand, each finger slipping into its correct slot. Jack cringed at the sight of the device, being all too intimate with the pain it could inflict. Seeing Jack's discomfort only fuelled Horus' growing feeling of power over the mere human, his mouth twisting into an evil grin, his eyes flashed dangerously as he stepped closer towards Jack. Jack tried to stand in a bid to get as far away from Horus as possible but the hit he had taken to the legs had partially dislocated his knee, he could feel it. Raising his hand out towards the prisoner, the device began to glow; a ray of distorted light extending from Horus' hand hit Jack in the middle of his forehead. Jack collapsed back down to the floor as he felt a sudden burst of unbearable pain strike him down; it felt like a drill being forced through his skull on it's way to make scrambled eggs of his brain, and if he didn't stop soon, it would.
Sam had the crown in her hand and was walking back towards the throne room, as she neared the door, cries of pain could be heard coming from inside. She instantly stopped mid step and listened, when the cry came again only seconds later Sam instantly recognised the voice. She hit the button on the wall frantically and the door slid open. Sam stood in horror as she saw the beam from a Goa'uld hand device hitting Jack who was collapsing backwards under the immense pain. Following the line of the beam she saw Horus on the other end, a malicious smile covered his face, his eyes flashed as he pushed his arm out further towards Jack in a bid to inflict more excruciating pain.
"Stop it!" she yelled, the crown fell from her hands as she ran over to Jack, dropping to her knees in front of him. Horus, startled by Sam's sudden intrusion, pulled his hand away hurriedly to avoid hitting her with the lethal weapon. Sam put her arms around Jack and pulled him towards her; supporting his back with her right arm she reached up and checked his pulse. Jack groaned loudly,
"Eh God! I hate those things." He muttered, opening his eyes slowly. When he saw Sam kneeling in front of him, her concerned face only inches away, his face lit up like a Christmas tree in the middle of Madison Square Garden.
"Carter, thank god you're alive," he whispered, in the heat of the moment he pulled her closer towards him, to feel her heart beating on his chest was an unexplainable feeling of raw emotion. An overwhelming sense of joy sent Sam gratefully into Jack's warm embrace, his powerful arms around her gave her the security she had been longing and praying for since she had been take captive. A single tear rolled down her face as she closed her eyes and silently thanked whoever had been listening to her prayers. Reluctantly Jack pulled away from Sam, checking to make sure she wasn't injured.
"Are you alright?" He asked concerned, his hands rested gently on either side of her face. Sam smiled and nodded, Jack could see the stunning sparkling blue in her eyes through the tears of happiness that had begun to form, he wiped them away tenderly from her cheeks.
"What is the meaning of this!? You belong to me!" Horus roared, infuriated by her obvious affection towards the prisoner. Their "moment" interrupted, Jack and Sam were brought firmly back to reality. Sam stood from the ground; taking Jack's arm and pulling it around her neck, she helped him to his feet; the hand device had momentarily drained so much of his energy that he could barely stand. Sam turned to face the Goa'uld, bravely.
"I belong to no one." She declared firmly, pulling the tiara from her hair and throwing at Horus' feet. The god straightened his body rigidly, as if to retrieve the pride he had just lost through that single act of Sam's.
"Is this why you dare show your face? To challenge me for the hand of my queen?" Horus asked Jack directly, becoming angrier. He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye; she was staring at him with an expression of curiosity, waiting for his response. A smile covered Jack's face; his cheeks began to turn pink in embarrassment.
"Yep." He replied frankly. Sam inhaled sharply in astonishment; she didn't know how to react. Jack was going to fight a Goa'uld even with a significant physical disadvantage, for her. Horus chest swelled with pride, his adrenalin levels began to rise as his challenge was met.
"So be it. It will be a fight to the death, no weapons." Horus laid out the rules, taking off the hand device and throwing to the ground a few feet away. Jack nodded in agreement, ignoring the agonizing pain from his knees and legs; he removed his arm from around Sam's neck and tentatively put his weight on both legs. Jack buckled slightly and was again supported by Sam, who had her arms around his chest.
"You can't fight sir, you're very badly injured." Sam maintained, helping him back onto his feet. Jack grimaced,
"It's only my knee, I've been worse." He reminded her. Sam shook her head,
'Sir, you can't do this, in your condition he'll kill you." Sam acknowledged the painful truth of their situation. Jack had been subjected to a large amount of exposure from the Goa'uld hand device and added to it, the injury to his knee; his chances against a Goa'uld in perfect health were not good, they both knew it. Jack smiled to himself.
""Can't" major? I don't believe that word appears in the English dictionary." Sam smiled briefly before she opened her mouth to argue with him but Jack cut her off before she could say a word.
"Just promise me something." He mumbled, as if he didn't really want to say it.
"Don't you dare say it, you're not going to die!" Sam yelled as tears stung her eyes, not tears of happiness this time, but tears of despair and sorrow. Jack rested his hand on her cheek, her tears rolling over it like it was part of her face.
"Promise me you'll keep making fun of Daniel for me and take Teal'c to a baseball game, I've been promising to take him to one for ages." Jack joked, he never knew quite how to handle emotional confrontations and he had learnt to compensate for it with jokes and sarcasm. Sam smiled through her tears; he smiled back at her reassuringly.
"Hey, that's the smile I like to see." He whispered softly. Turning away from Sam he looked towards Horus.
"Let her go and I'll fight you." Jack stated definitely on the spur of the moment.
"What? No!" Sam cried out in protest. Horus raised his hand to silence her. He stood still for a moment, thinking about Jack's demand. If the Goa'uld System Lords heard of him defeating the great O'Neill of SG1 without any weapons it would most surely secure his position among them but looking at the woman he was reluctant to release her, such a rare beauty, unlike any woman he had ever seen. His was torn between two great rewards.
"So be it." Horus reluctantly agreed. Sam stared back at Jack in disbelief,
"You can't, I won't leave here without you!" Sam vowed, the tears continuing to flow down her cheeks like a never-ending stream of pain.
"Jaffa Kree!" Horus shouted, the door to the room slid open and the guard that had spoken to them only minutes before, entered.
"My Lord." He addressed him, bowing before his god.
"Kelra, take the queen to her quarters, gather her things then escort to the Chappai." Horus ordered without a second thought. A look of confusion spread over the Jaffa's face.
"My lord?" he questioned, not understanding why Horus was asking this of him, his newly crowned Queen being sent through the Chappai before the blending.
"Do what I say or you shall die!" Horus roared. The guard cowered slightly under the god's ferocity.
"Yes my lord." He responded obediently. The guard walked over to where Sam stood, her arms still around Jack's chest.
"I am not leaving without you." Sam whispered, gazing into his eyes.
"Sam, just go." Jack murmured softly, unable to look into those beautiful eyes filled with tears of sorrow that cut through to the very heart of Jack O'Neill. It was the first time in a very long time he had called her "Sam"; a name he had only used a handful of times before and only in near life threatening circumstances. But Sam did not move, she couldn't will herself to let go of him. Jack could feel she wasn't going anywhere, summoning up all his courage he finally looked into her eyes once more.
"Sam, please, just go." He pleaded with her, a tear inevitably slipping out from the corner of his eye; it was the only time Sam could remember seeing Jack cry, in that moment she realised how hard a decision this was for him. Horus was getting tired of Sam and Jack's lengthy goodbye; all he wanted was to have the pleasure of killing O'Neill of SG1.
"Leave now or I will have you both killed!" He threatened, nodding at the guard the Jaffa raised his staff weapon and pointed at Jack and Sam, the weapon arming as the sound of electricity crackled through the mounting tension in the room. Sam closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, she analysed her situation. She had a staff weapon pointed at her back, Jack, injured in her arms ordering her to leave him behind and fight a Goa'uld System Lord with a physical disadvantage for her. She had only two options, stay with Jack and they would both be killed or go through the Stargate back home and leave Jack to fight Horus with a slim chance of him surviving. Her heart was telling her to stay but her head said to go, it was an internal struggle that was ripping Sam apart. She opened her eyes slowly and stared into Jack's deep brown eyes, she could see inner turmoil in his soul as well, a whirlwind of conflicting emotions spiralling towards her inevitable choice, stay or go. Sam pulled Jack closer her, Jack's silver hair brushing against her face and his head rested gently on her shoulder.
"I'll go." Sam whispered in his ear. Jack tightened his arms around her in relief and gratitude, he realised it would probably be the last time he would ever see her.
"Take care Sam, give my love to Cassie."
"Goodbye Jack." Sam murmured, dropping her arms from around his chest she stepped away from him and immediately to face the exit, knowing if she looked back at him it would only make it harder for her to leave. Horus nodded at the guard; he lowered his staff weapon and led the way towards the door, Sam followed behind him and soon disappeared as the door slid closed behind her for what seemed like forever.
"Goodbye Sam." Jack murmured to himself, he knew he needed to make abundantly clear to himself that he would probably never see her again if he was ever going to have a chance of living through a fight with a Goa'uld. Leaning heavily on his left leg Jack reached down to the knee on his right, he saw that it was still slightly dislocated from its usual resting place. Taking a deep breath, readying himself for the immense pain, he grasped his kneecap firmly between his hands and thrust it sideways back into its socket. Swallowing the urge to cry out, Jack held his knee still for a moment to make sure it stayed in place but he knew all too well that if the ligaments in his knee were torn as he suspected, the knee would not stay in that position long. Thinking quickly, Jack pulled of his jacket, ignoring the looks of indignation from Horus, pulled his under shirt over his head and began ripping into one long piece of material. Grasping his right leg firmly in one hand Jack took one end of the bandage and placed it under the material as he wound it around the top of his knee once. Crossing it over the right hand side of his knee, Jack guided it underneath his leg and then around to the front and across the left side of the knee, tying the two ends together to make a very makeshift splint. Standing up straight again, Jack attempted to placed weight on his bad leg, relieved to feel only minor pain. Jack finally looked at Horus with the most confident face he could manage under the circumstances.
"Alright let do this thing." Jack declared, indicating his was ready to fight.
Sam walked in gloomy silence while Kelra led her along the hallway towards the back of the ship, unable to get her mind away from thinking about Jack, her imagination on overdrive as she imagined Jack being severely beaten by the Goa'uld that had taken her captive. The guard turned left down a dark hallway only a few metres in length. Sam could see a door at the end with Goa'uld symbols inscribed in the metal; even with her knowledge of Goa'uld these symbols were foreign to her. When they reached the door the Jaffa pulled out a small, circular device, waving his hand over the red crystal in the centre, the door abruptly slid open. Sam raised her eyebrows in interest; she had never seen anything like it.
*Maybe some sort of Goa'uld security device to avoid other Jaffa and visitors accessing whatever is inside* she thought to herself, intrigued at the technology.
"Remain here." Kelra ordered her sternly, stepping through the doorway a light turned on above him and illuminated the contents of the room. Sam peered curiously inside; it was like a small version of the Armoury back at the SGC, a number of staff weapons and zat guns were stack against the back wall along with Goa'uld Ribbon Devices, Healing Devices and at the very front of the shelves, her BDU's and remote transmitter. Sam's head began to tick over as she realised what a discovery this was, a room full of Goa'uld weaponry as well as healing devices, it was the perfect opportunity to gather reinforcements. Kelra handed her belongings, then turned back and took a square shaped device that looked similar to Jack's Game boy from the bottom shelf. Sam could see the device had two small buttons indented into the metal, a single, distinctive symbol on each.
"What is that?" she asked with enthusiasm and curiosity. The guard shot her a look of anger at her insolence.
"It controls the platforms around the Stargate." He answered her briefly. Sam looked at him thoroughly confused; she had not seen any platforms when she and Daniel had come through from Earth.
"Platforms?" she queried.
"To avoid killed by the soil that surrounds the Stargate. The inhabitants of this planet before Horus conquered it had placed the soil in front of the Stargate to try and stop enemies from reaching their settlement. When they wished to use the Stargate they raised indestructive platforms consisting of Naquadah to access the Stargate safely." Kelra explained, pushing Sam back out of the entrance to the storage room and locking the door behind them. Once again leading Sam down the hallways of the mothership, they reached the Ring Transporter room. Two guards stood on either side of the ring platform; Kelra nodded towards the Jaffa standing at the Ring Controls, Sam noticed out of the corner of her eyes Kelra pressed one of the buttons on the controller in his hand. Stepping onto the platform, the rings dropped down from above them and a flash of light transported Sam and Kelra from the mothership, across the desert landscape of the planet to a similar platform right next to the Stargate. When the light had cleared Sam looked down at the raised area of Naquadah she was standing on.
"Amazing." She whispered to herself, she knew Daniel would find it fascinating that the former inhabitants of the planet used such an ingenious method to protect themselves from unwelcomed visitors; they probably never even considered the enemy would come in great ships to enslave their people. Sam looked out around her and was surprised when she saw no patrols or Jaffa protecting the Stargate. Stepping of the Ring platform, the Jaffa guard marched directly to DHD, standing beside it with his staff weapon at his side.
"Dial the co ordinates to your planet." He barked. Sam did what she was told; slowly entering the seven symbols of Earth into the DHD and soon the event horizon shot out from the Stargate and then retracted to form the blue, semi permeable wall they would pass through. Lifting up her wrist with the GTO transmitter on it Sam pointed it towards the Stargate, already formulating a plan of escape in her mind, Sam inputted an incorrect code. Kelra watched her carefully, trying to assess whether or not she was trying to deceive him but Sam kept a completely straight face the whole time.
SGC
"Unauthorised Off world Activation!" A voice came over the base speakers. General Hammond rushed into the Control Room from his office.
"Have we got a signal?" he asked. The officer at the Stargate Controls looked at the computer screen.
"Receiving a GTO signal..." he began, waiting for the identification of whoever was coming through the Stargate. Seconds later the Stargate beeped loudly.
"It's an unknown signal sir." He reported. General Hammond nodded vehemently,
"Keep the iris sealed." He ordered, airmen filled the embarkation room below as they waited to see if anything would come through.
P6Z 435
As Kelra stepped towards the Stargate to make sure the Queen went through, Sam made her move, kicking the Jaffa's legs from under him. As he fell to the ground, Sam snatched the staff weapon from his hand, charged the weapon and fired it, hitting the guard in the stomach causing him to cry out in pain. Shooting Kelra again in the stomach where his Goa'uld lay in the pouch, Sam watched as the Jaffa slowly died in front of her eyes. Moving quickly to avoid begin seen, Sam bent down and stole the door control to the supply closet she had seen previously and the controls to the Naquadah platforms. Dragging the guard towards the Stargate, Sam pushed him into the event horizon as a precaution to avoid anyone being alerted to her escape.
SGC
A thump could be heard as an object hit the pure titanium shield over the Stargate, moments later the bluish wall behind it vanished.
"Wormhole disengaged." The officer replied. General Hammond sighed in relief.
"Stand down." he ordered to the officers below. The General turned to return to his office before the officer at the computer stopped him.
"Excuse me sir. The off world activation came from P6Z 435." He informed his superior officer, knowing it would be important to the General since that was where SG1 was allegedly on mission. Hammond looked up at the Stargate in concern, the thought of one of his people begin squashed and killed against the iris suddenly popped into his mind, making his heart sink in dread and uncertainty.
P6Z 435
The Ring Transporter inside the mothership activated, alerting the Jaffa to what they believed to be the return of Kelra from escorting the queen to the Chappai. They were taken aback when the rings retracted and they were met with a staff blast to the chest from Sam, falling to the ground dead just as Kelra had. Running stealthily down the hallways of the mothership, Sam dodged passing Jaffa patrols as she found her way back to the Supply Room. Closing the door behind her, Sam quickly changed into her BDU's, grateful for the khaki green material that covered her body much more than the gold dress had. Grabbing a zat gun, healing device and ribbon device, storing the ribbon device and healing device in her pockets Sam opened the supply room door cautiously, scanning the hallway in front of her before making her way back towards the throne room.
Jack heard the sickening thud as his head slammed against the throne room wall. Shaking away the dizziness he saw Horus running closer towards him, his fist raised to strike him down again. Narrowly dodging the punch, Jack kneed Horus in the stomach, causing the Goa'uld to crouch over momentarily in pain. Taking the opportunity, Jack braced himself against the wall and thrusted his left knee into his opponents' head then kicked Horus in the stomach with unmatched force, sending him flying backwards and into a table covered in bowls of fruit, grapes and apples falling on the Goa'uld. Jack marched over as fast as his knee would allow to where Horus was lying on the ground with his eyes closed looking to be in great pain. Jack knew he had to take advantage of the Goa'uld on the ground, raising his right leg to kick Horus in head again, the System Lords' eyes suddenly snapped opened, his arms grabbing Jack's leg and swiftly twisting it to the right, causing Jack to be flipped onto his back, hitting the ground hard as the familiar pain shot up his leg from a new dislocation. Horus got to his feet and instantly placed his foot on Jack's neck, applying direct pressure to Jack's throat, a sneer growing on his face with the sheer enjoyment of the suffering of others. With his airways being cut off, Jack attempted to twist out from under Horus but as he did, the Goa'uld only pushed his foot further onto his victim's neck. Jack was quickly running out of oxygen, he could feel himself begin to pass out, his eyes fluttering closed as he lost consciousness.
Sam ran into the throne room and saw Horus standing over Jack menacingly. Not taking a second thought Sam raised the Zat Gun, took aim at Horus, and shot him, hitting him squarely in the chest. The Goa'uld's body convulsed as the shock flowed through his body. Sam stepped closer, her eyes filled with hatred, she took another shot, and the Goa'uld System Lord fell to the floor motionless, his body sprawled against the wall like a rag doll that had been crudely discarded. Sam ran carefully across to where Jack was lying unconscious, keeping a close eye on Horus in case, by some miracle, he managed to survive being hit by two zat blasts. Reaching down Sam touched Jack's neck and was relieved when she felt a weak pulse, weak, but a pulse nonetheless. Hastily pulling the Healing Device from her pocket, Sam slipped it over the palm over her hand and positioned it over Jack's chest. Closing her eyes and focussing all her energy into the device, seconds later it began to glow as it rapidly began to restore Jack's health. After a minute her so, she heard Jack groan, dropping the Healing Device to her side she placed her hand on his neck and was now greeted with a steady pulse. Jack opened his eyes slowly, blinking several times he felt someone beside him and turn his head slightly to see Sam looking down at him.
"Carter?" he croaked.
"I'm here sir." Sam comforted him; she didn't even notice Jack had changed back to calling her "Carter" rather than "Sam".
"What? Horus..." Jack began to ask. He thought he was dead; the last thing he remembered was being suffocated, the Goa'uld looming over him with an evil sneer on his face as the image he would take to the heaven.
"He's dead, we've got to get out of here before Jaffa show up, come on sir." Sam told him, helping Jack to sit up and pulling him to his feet. Jack automatically leant heavily on his left leg but suddenly realised there was no pain his damage knee, looking down at his leg, his makeshift bandage was hanging off it. Sam held up the Hand Device in front of Jack's face indicating how his knee had been repaired so quickly.
"Well at least the snakeheads are good for something." He commented rolling his eyes, he tentatively put weight on both legs, and was extremely pleased to be able to do so without extreme pain.
"Alright Major, I'm ready to go, lead the way." He declared. Sam handed Jack the staff weapon she was stole from Kelra and gestured to the door she had used previously.
They made their way silently down the hallways of the mothership, surprisingly meeting little resistance considering Sam had just killed the people's god and another Jaffa, entering the Ring Transporter Room five minutes later.
"The rings should take us directly to the Stargate." Sam reported to the Colonel who was scouting around to make sure the area was clear of hostiles.
"Correct me if I'm wrong Major, but one thing I do remember quite clearly is something about toxic soil and DECS?" he enquired.
"The people who first inhabited this planet used the toxic soil to stop the Goa'uld and other unwanted visitors from coming to the planet. When they needed to use the Stargate they would raise platforms made of Naquadah and use them to access the Stargate safely." Sam clarified. Jack turned back and walked towards Sam.
"And I'm assuming that you have the controls to these platforms?" He guessed hopefully. Sam pointed at the device in her hand.
"The platforms were already raised but I don't know how long or even if the platform would remained raised. In any case I stole the control from the guard that escorted me to the Stargate."
"Nicely done Major." Jack commented. Sam smiled and looked back down at the device. Examining it carefully, the button on the left of the device had an obscure U shape carved into it while the other was a U shape also but upside down.
"Alright, I think I've figured out how to raise the platforms." Sam thought out loud to herself.
"You think?" Jack repeated.
"Well I've never seen anything like this before sir." Sam defended.
"And if you're wrong?" Jack enquired out of curiosity. Sam shrugged her shoulders,
"If I'm wrong, we step onto the toxic soil, it will eat through our clothes and dissolve all the living tissues in our body." She stated as fact. Jack nodded his head,
"Is that it?" He asked sarcastically. Sam smiled and took a deep breath before pressing the button that had the U up the right way.
"Alright, that should do it, let's go." Sam stepped over to the wall where the control panel sat. Hitting the activation button she quickly jogged back to her position and stood with her Zat at the ready, Jack stood beside her with staff weapon in hand, the rings dropped from the ceiling and a bright light soon engulfed them both.
When the rings had ascended back up and the light had cleared, Sam and Jack dropped onto the safe Naquadah platforms. Seeing no guards or Jaffa patrols in their line of sight Sam and Jack stepped from the Ring Platform and over to where the DHD stood. Jack turned around briefly to survey the scenery behind them but his ears pricked suddenly at the familiar sound of Gliders coming from just over the horizon.
"Anytime your ready Carter." He mumbled over his shoulder.
"What sir?" Sam called back not hearing him. Jack spun her around to face his direction and pointed over a large sand dune to the northeast as a Glider appeared in the sky. Sam turned back to the DHD and quickly dialled the coordinates to Earth for the second time that day. Jack could hear the whoosh of the event horizon escaping from the Stargate.
"Time to go!" He ordered, as the Gliders swiftly flew towards them, their weapons ready to fire. Inputting the correct signal into her transmitter, Sam sprinted towards the Stargate; a soft pop could be heard as she disappeared through it. Jack turned and jumped into the active Stargate after her just as the Gliders began to fire on them.
SGC
The familiar voice came once again over the base speakers. General Hammond groaned as he quickly scribbled his signature on a meaningless piece of paperwork and left his office once again to see who was coming through the Stargate. Without even having to ask the officer at the controls answered his question.
"Receiving GTO transmission...it's SG1." He reported.
"Open the iris!" he barked, the shield retracting away as the blue from the Stargate illuminated the Gate Room. Moments later Sam came through and landed heavily on the platform, rolling down the bottom. Getting to her feet she turned and looked back at the Stargate in waiting and soon Jack jumped from the Stargate and into the familiar surroundings of the SGC.
"Close the iris!" Sam yelled to the technicians in the Control Room, the scraping of the pure titanium shield could be heard as the wormhole behind it disappeared.
"Wormhole disengaged!" General Hammond looked down at his two senior officers with a frown. Of course he was greatly relieved that they were home safely, thanking God that it wasn't one of them that had been crushed before hand but his orders were what stopped a smile forming on his face. Reaching down to the microphone, the General hit the call button.
"Air men, arrest Colonel O'Neill and escort him to my office immediately." He ordered solemnly. Sam watched in confusion and disbelief as men rushed over to Jack, pulled his arms behind his back and placed cuffs on his wrists, Jack didn't resist, letting himself be arrested as his previous actions spontaneously returned to haunt him
"What's going on?" she pulled at one of the airmen's arm frantically, the officer turning around and faced her.
"I don't know mam, just following orders." He replied before following his fellow officers out of the Gate Room. Janet pushed her way through the procession and ran over to where Sam stood in shock.
"Hey Sam, I'm so glad you're back. I've got to get you to the infirmary and run some tests." Janet said quickly, taking Sam's arm.
"What's going on? Why are they putting the Colonel under arrest?" She demanded answers. Janet sighed to herself; she was part of the reason Jack was being discharged and the guilt cut through her like a scalpel in the midst of surgery. Deciding she would break the news to Sam after the examination, Janet tried to reassure her friend.
"Come on let's get you checked out." She encouraged, practically having to pull Sam towards the infirmary.
INFIRMARY
"Well all your test results are normal which means the Docter gives you a clean bill of health and orders to go home and relax for the night." Janet reported with a smile, standing beside the bed that Sam was sitting on, she was staring at Janet with a stale expression.
"You never answered my question, why did the General order the Colonel arrested?" Sam repeated her earlier question firmly. Janet dropped her clipboard defeatedly onto the table beside her, making a large clanging sound as it hit the steel tray underneath it.
"Colonel O'Neill broke regulations by going through the Stargate without authorisation." Janet answered simply, hoping that it would be explanation enough for Sam, she was wrong. Sam could see her best friend wasn't telling her the whole truth.
"Janet..." she warned, her tone becoming harsh and serious. Janet sighed audibly, running her hands through her dishevelled hair.
"The Colonel and Teal'c were trapped in another time loop Sam. You and Daniel were on the planet and it was outside the subspace bubble." Janet began slowly, not wanting to miss anything important.
"That's why Daniel and I couldn't use the Gate." Sam remembered, Janet nodded and continued.
"The Colonel asked for permission to take the rest of the team through the Stargate to one of the Goa'uld planets in the loop, borrow a ship and fly to the planet to rescue you and Daniel." At the mention of Daniel's name Sam looked around the room as if to see him when she hadn't before hand.
"Where is Daniel?" Sam asked.
"General Hammond just told me that Colonel O'Neill said he flew back with Teal'c in the cargo ship they stole." Janet responded. Sam nodded at let her friend continue.
"General Hammond refused so Jack and Teal'c came to me and asked for my help in creating a false medical emergency, evacuate the whole of the SGC so they could go through the Gate. Colonel Simmons visited the General after the Colonel went through and told him that the Pentagon had ordered Colonel O'Neill to be dishonourably discharged for disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming of an Air Force officer." Janet finished, studying Sam's face for a reaction.
GENERAL HAMMOND'S OFFICE
Jack stood in the middle of the room; his hands still behind his back but the handcuffs had been removed by the airmen before he entered the office. Jack watched the General paced the floor behind his desk in frustration. Finally he stopped and turned to face Jack.
"What were you thinking Colonel?" he asked in anger. Jack stood tall, not embarrassed or regretful of his actions.
"Two of my team members were trapped on an alien planet with no food or water, that's what I was thinking sir." He answered frankly.
"I received a visit from Colonel Simmons earlier, the Pentagon had ordered me to dishonourably discharge you for disobeying a direct order, violating regulations and conduct unbecoming of an Air Force officer. Do you understand what this means Colonel?" he continued the plaque of questions.
"Yes sir, it's a consequence I'm willing to take for my actions." Jack replied, he had no excuses, no eleventh hour plea; he broke the regulations that he had sworn he would uphold and now he was being reprimanded for it. General Hammond stared at Jack, shook his head and sat down heavily in his chair, a small stack of paperwork sitting in front of him. Pushing them towards Jack he laid a pen across them.
"These are your discharge papers. You'll need to sign them, collect your belongings from your quarters and office and then be escorted from the base where all your identification will be surrendered as well as any other items that could present a security risk to the base." General Hammond informed Jack in a deflated and defeated voice. Jack knew the General didn't want him to go any more than Jack wanted to go himself but orders were orders, you break them that's when you get disciplined. Jack stood at attention and raised his arm in a salute to his superior officer, a sign of respect for the man that had given him so much.
"It's been an honour serve under you sir." General Hammond returned the salute,
"Good luck Jack." He replied softly. Jack took the papers from the desk and turned and left the room, an airman leading him towards the infirmary for his last ever check in the SGC.
Sam ran to the General office, she received smiles and "welcome back" from many officers but she just ignored them and anyone else walking by her. Opening the door without knocking she barged into the room breathless, General Hammond sat in his chair with a sad expression on his face.
"Major, have you forgotten how to knock?" he asked tonelessly.
"Why is the Colonel being discharged? He saved my life and Daniel's." Sam declared preparing for the inevitable argument. '
"Colonel O'Neill directly disobeyed a direct order and used the Stargate without authorisation. I have no choice to abide by the Pentagon's decision to discharge him." The General replied flatly.
"But sir..." Sam began before she was cut off.
"Major, I don't want him discharged as much as you do but I have to follow orders just as every other military officer has to. Now I want to go home for the evening, I don't want to see you here until the morning, and that's an order." General Hammond affirmed. Sam opened her mouth to argue but was again stopped.
"Dismissed!"
TBC
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The king and queen sat in their royal thrones; servants constantly circled, obeying every demand that was asked of them. Horus had one of the women hand-feeding him; each grape was followed by a series of giggling from each of them. Sam slumped down further into the tall, gold throne that belonged to her. Today the servants had dressed her in a fitted, gold, backless dress. Again the top half draped dangerously low in the front making Sam very uncomfortable, she longed for her black leather jacket to throw over the top of the revealing outfit. The tiara remained poised on top of her head, the symbol of her allegiance to her husband, Horus.
"Your blending will be performed earlier this evening, I have found you a worthy Goa'uld in which you can share your body." Horus enlightened Sam, taking a short break from being hand fed. She shuddered at the thought of being inhabited by a Goa'uld again. Before she could answer him, the door to the throne room slid open and a Jaffa Guard entered, bowed before the king and queen before speaking.
"Kalta has arrived as you have requested my lord." He informed them. Horus waved his hand flippedly, indicating that the guard was to proceed. The System Lord turned to Sam,
"Retrieve the crown from my quarters, I am inspecting the mining operation later in the day." He demanded. Sam smiled fakily, and nodded obediently, as she always did when he addressed her, stepping down from her chair and exiting via the "back door".
"Enter." Horus called to supervisor waiting outside the room. The door slid open and Jack stumbled into the Throne Room, Kalta walking close behind him with his staff weapon still positioned only an inch away from Jack's body. The god stepped down from his royal throne; his cape swaying behind him as he walked into the centre of the room. His judging eyes never left Jack's, studying him like an insect that he would thoroughly enjoyed squashing. The supervisor jabbed Jack in the back with the end of the staff weapon, pushing him further into the centre of the room, forcing him to turn and face Horus. Jack pulled at his chains in a vain attempt to find a weakness; he caught the glance of the Goa'uld staring at him pretentiously. Meeting his stare he decided to open the channel of conversation.
"Horus right? Luke Skywalker, I got separated from my droid, R2D2, small, shiny fellow, beeps a lot." Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Kalta swung the staff weapon brutally into the back of Jack's legs, the prisoner cried out in pain as he landed heavily on his knees.
"Kalta, release the prisoner from his chains and leave." Horus ordered sternly, not taking his eyes off Jack. Kalta bowed unquestioningly, unlocking the chains and leaving the two men alone in the room. Jack looked up from the ground to meet the god's eyes; there was no way he was going to bow before the false god and be submissive towards him. He had not seen Sam yet, which again gave him the mixed feelings of relief and worry. Horus took a several steps forward before he spoke.
"O'Neill of the Tauri yes?" He acknowledged the prisoner's identity.
"Nice to have a fan." Jack replied flatly.
"Your exploits are well known among all Goa'uld System Lords, it will give me great pleasure to be the one to end your life. I will become well respected within the System Lords for capturing the leader of the group that has killed many a Goa'uld in the past." Horus anticipated, a smile of glee coming to his face at the thought of torturing and killing his prisoner. Horus stalked closer towards Jack; his arm disappeared behind his cloak making Jack strain to see what Horus was reaching for. Slowly, the Goa'uld pulled out a hand device, slipping it onto his arm and hand, each finger slipping into its correct slot. Jack cringed at the sight of the device, being all too intimate with the pain it could inflict. Seeing Jack's discomfort only fuelled Horus' growing feeling of power over the mere human, his mouth twisting into an evil grin, his eyes flashed dangerously as he stepped closer towards Jack. Jack tried to stand in a bid to get as far away from Horus as possible but the hit he had taken to the legs had partially dislocated his knee, he could feel it. Raising his hand out towards the prisoner, the device began to glow; a ray of distorted light extending from Horus' hand hit Jack in the middle of his forehead. Jack collapsed back down to the floor as he felt a sudden burst of unbearable pain strike him down; it felt like a drill being forced through his skull on it's way to make scrambled eggs of his brain, and if he didn't stop soon, it would.
Sam had the crown in her hand and was walking back towards the throne room, as she neared the door, cries of pain could be heard coming from inside. She instantly stopped mid step and listened, when the cry came again only seconds later Sam instantly recognised the voice. She hit the button on the wall frantically and the door slid open. Sam stood in horror as she saw the beam from a Goa'uld hand device hitting Jack who was collapsing backwards under the immense pain. Following the line of the beam she saw Horus on the other end, a malicious smile covered his face, his eyes flashed as he pushed his arm out further towards Jack in a bid to inflict more excruciating pain.
"Stop it!" she yelled, the crown fell from her hands as she ran over to Jack, dropping to her knees in front of him. Horus, startled by Sam's sudden intrusion, pulled his hand away hurriedly to avoid hitting her with the lethal weapon. Sam put her arms around Jack and pulled him towards her; supporting his back with her right arm she reached up and checked his pulse. Jack groaned loudly,
"Eh God! I hate those things." He muttered, opening his eyes slowly. When he saw Sam kneeling in front of him, her concerned face only inches away, his face lit up like a Christmas tree in the middle of Madison Square Garden.
"Carter, thank god you're alive," he whispered, in the heat of the moment he pulled her closer towards him, to feel her heart beating on his chest was an unexplainable feeling of raw emotion. An overwhelming sense of joy sent Sam gratefully into Jack's warm embrace, his powerful arms around her gave her the security she had been longing and praying for since she had been take captive. A single tear rolled down her face as she closed her eyes and silently thanked whoever had been listening to her prayers. Reluctantly Jack pulled away from Sam, checking to make sure she wasn't injured.
"Are you alright?" He asked concerned, his hands rested gently on either side of her face. Sam smiled and nodded, Jack could see the stunning sparkling blue in her eyes through the tears of happiness that had begun to form, he wiped them away tenderly from her cheeks.
"What is the meaning of this!? You belong to me!" Horus roared, infuriated by her obvious affection towards the prisoner. Their "moment" interrupted, Jack and Sam were brought firmly back to reality. Sam stood from the ground; taking Jack's arm and pulling it around her neck, she helped him to his feet; the hand device had momentarily drained so much of his energy that he could barely stand. Sam turned to face the Goa'uld, bravely.
"I belong to no one." She declared firmly, pulling the tiara from her hair and throwing at Horus' feet. The god straightened his body rigidly, as if to retrieve the pride he had just lost through that single act of Sam's.
"Is this why you dare show your face? To challenge me for the hand of my queen?" Horus asked Jack directly, becoming angrier. He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye; she was staring at him with an expression of curiosity, waiting for his response. A smile covered Jack's face; his cheeks began to turn pink in embarrassment.
"Yep." He replied frankly. Sam inhaled sharply in astonishment; she didn't know how to react. Jack was going to fight a Goa'uld even with a significant physical disadvantage, for her. Horus chest swelled with pride, his adrenalin levels began to rise as his challenge was met.
"So be it. It will be a fight to the death, no weapons." Horus laid out the rules, taking off the hand device and throwing to the ground a few feet away. Jack nodded in agreement, ignoring the agonizing pain from his knees and legs; he removed his arm from around Sam's neck and tentatively put his weight on both legs. Jack buckled slightly and was again supported by Sam, who had her arms around his chest.
"You can't fight sir, you're very badly injured." Sam maintained, helping him back onto his feet. Jack grimaced,
"It's only my knee, I've been worse." He reminded her. Sam shook her head,
'Sir, you can't do this, in your condition he'll kill you." Sam acknowledged the painful truth of their situation. Jack had been subjected to a large amount of exposure from the Goa'uld hand device and added to it, the injury to his knee; his chances against a Goa'uld in perfect health were not good, they both knew it. Jack smiled to himself.
""Can't" major? I don't believe that word appears in the English dictionary." Sam smiled briefly before she opened her mouth to argue with him but Jack cut her off before she could say a word.
"Just promise me something." He mumbled, as if he didn't really want to say it.
"Don't you dare say it, you're not going to die!" Sam yelled as tears stung her eyes, not tears of happiness this time, but tears of despair and sorrow. Jack rested his hand on her cheek, her tears rolling over it like it was part of her face.
"Promise me you'll keep making fun of Daniel for me and take Teal'c to a baseball game, I've been promising to take him to one for ages." Jack joked, he never knew quite how to handle emotional confrontations and he had learnt to compensate for it with jokes and sarcasm. Sam smiled through her tears; he smiled back at her reassuringly.
"Hey, that's the smile I like to see." He whispered softly. Turning away from Sam he looked towards Horus.
"Let her go and I'll fight you." Jack stated definitely on the spur of the moment.
"What? No!" Sam cried out in protest. Horus raised his hand to silence her. He stood still for a moment, thinking about Jack's demand. If the Goa'uld System Lords heard of him defeating the great O'Neill of SG1 without any weapons it would most surely secure his position among them but looking at the woman he was reluctant to release her, such a rare beauty, unlike any woman he had ever seen. His was torn between two great rewards.
"So be it." Horus reluctantly agreed. Sam stared back at Jack in disbelief,
"You can't, I won't leave here without you!" Sam vowed, the tears continuing to flow down her cheeks like a never-ending stream of pain.
"Jaffa Kree!" Horus shouted, the door to the room slid open and the guard that had spoken to them only minutes before, entered.
"My Lord." He addressed him, bowing before his god.
"Kelra, take the queen to her quarters, gather her things then escort to the Chappai." Horus ordered without a second thought. A look of confusion spread over the Jaffa's face.
"My lord?" he questioned, not understanding why Horus was asking this of him, his newly crowned Queen being sent through the Chappai before the blending.
"Do what I say or you shall die!" Horus roared. The guard cowered slightly under the god's ferocity.
"Yes my lord." He responded obediently. The guard walked over to where Sam stood, her arms still around Jack's chest.
"I am not leaving without you." Sam whispered, gazing into his eyes.
"Sam, just go." Jack murmured softly, unable to look into those beautiful eyes filled with tears of sorrow that cut through to the very heart of Jack O'Neill. It was the first time in a very long time he had called her "Sam"; a name he had only used a handful of times before and only in near life threatening circumstances. But Sam did not move, she couldn't will herself to let go of him. Jack could feel she wasn't going anywhere, summoning up all his courage he finally looked into her eyes once more.
"Sam, please, just go." He pleaded with her, a tear inevitably slipping out from the corner of his eye; it was the only time Sam could remember seeing Jack cry, in that moment she realised how hard a decision this was for him. Horus was getting tired of Sam and Jack's lengthy goodbye; all he wanted was to have the pleasure of killing O'Neill of SG1.
"Leave now or I will have you both killed!" He threatened, nodding at the guard the Jaffa raised his staff weapon and pointed at Jack and Sam, the weapon arming as the sound of electricity crackled through the mounting tension in the room. Sam closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath, she analysed her situation. She had a staff weapon pointed at her back, Jack, injured in her arms ordering her to leave him behind and fight a Goa'uld System Lord with a physical disadvantage for her. She had only two options, stay with Jack and they would both be killed or go through the Stargate back home and leave Jack to fight Horus with a slim chance of him surviving. Her heart was telling her to stay but her head said to go, it was an internal struggle that was ripping Sam apart. She opened her eyes slowly and stared into Jack's deep brown eyes, she could see inner turmoil in his soul as well, a whirlwind of conflicting emotions spiralling towards her inevitable choice, stay or go. Sam pulled Jack closer her, Jack's silver hair brushing against her face and his head rested gently on her shoulder.
"I'll go." Sam whispered in his ear. Jack tightened his arms around her in relief and gratitude, he realised it would probably be the last time he would ever see her.
"Take care Sam, give my love to Cassie."
"Goodbye Jack." Sam murmured, dropping her arms from around his chest she stepped away from him and immediately to face the exit, knowing if she looked back at him it would only make it harder for her to leave. Horus nodded at the guard; he lowered his staff weapon and led the way towards the door, Sam followed behind him and soon disappeared as the door slid closed behind her for what seemed like forever.
"Goodbye Sam." Jack murmured to himself, he knew he needed to make abundantly clear to himself that he would probably never see her again if he was ever going to have a chance of living through a fight with a Goa'uld. Leaning heavily on his left leg Jack reached down to the knee on his right, he saw that it was still slightly dislocated from its usual resting place. Taking a deep breath, readying himself for the immense pain, he grasped his kneecap firmly between his hands and thrust it sideways back into its socket. Swallowing the urge to cry out, Jack held his knee still for a moment to make sure it stayed in place but he knew all too well that if the ligaments in his knee were torn as he suspected, the knee would not stay in that position long. Thinking quickly, Jack pulled of his jacket, ignoring the looks of indignation from Horus, pulled his under shirt over his head and began ripping into one long piece of material. Grasping his right leg firmly in one hand Jack took one end of the bandage and placed it under the material as he wound it around the top of his knee once. Crossing it over the right hand side of his knee, Jack guided it underneath his leg and then around to the front and across the left side of the knee, tying the two ends together to make a very makeshift splint. Standing up straight again, Jack attempted to placed weight on his bad leg, relieved to feel only minor pain. Jack finally looked at Horus with the most confident face he could manage under the circumstances.
"Alright let do this thing." Jack declared, indicating his was ready to fight.
Sam walked in gloomy silence while Kelra led her along the hallway towards the back of the ship, unable to get her mind away from thinking about Jack, her imagination on overdrive as she imagined Jack being severely beaten by the Goa'uld that had taken her captive. The guard turned left down a dark hallway only a few metres in length. Sam could see a door at the end with Goa'uld symbols inscribed in the metal; even with her knowledge of Goa'uld these symbols were foreign to her. When they reached the door the Jaffa pulled out a small, circular device, waving his hand over the red crystal in the centre, the door abruptly slid open. Sam raised her eyebrows in interest; she had never seen anything like it.
*Maybe some sort of Goa'uld security device to avoid other Jaffa and visitors accessing whatever is inside* she thought to herself, intrigued at the technology.
"Remain here." Kelra ordered her sternly, stepping through the doorway a light turned on above him and illuminated the contents of the room. Sam peered curiously inside; it was like a small version of the Armoury back at the SGC, a number of staff weapons and zat guns were stack against the back wall along with Goa'uld Ribbon Devices, Healing Devices and at the very front of the shelves, her BDU's and remote transmitter. Sam's head began to tick over as she realised what a discovery this was, a room full of Goa'uld weaponry as well as healing devices, it was the perfect opportunity to gather reinforcements. Kelra handed her belongings, then turned back and took a square shaped device that looked similar to Jack's Game boy from the bottom shelf. Sam could see the device had two small buttons indented into the metal, a single, distinctive symbol on each.
"What is that?" she asked with enthusiasm and curiosity. The guard shot her a look of anger at her insolence.
"It controls the platforms around the Stargate." He answered her briefly. Sam looked at him thoroughly confused; she had not seen any platforms when she and Daniel had come through from Earth.
"Platforms?" she queried.
"To avoid killed by the soil that surrounds the Stargate. The inhabitants of this planet before Horus conquered it had placed the soil in front of the Stargate to try and stop enemies from reaching their settlement. When they wished to use the Stargate they raised indestructive platforms consisting of Naquadah to access the Stargate safely." Kelra explained, pushing Sam back out of the entrance to the storage room and locking the door behind them. Once again leading Sam down the hallways of the mothership, they reached the Ring Transporter room. Two guards stood on either side of the ring platform; Kelra nodded towards the Jaffa standing at the Ring Controls, Sam noticed out of the corner of her eyes Kelra pressed one of the buttons on the controller in his hand. Stepping onto the platform, the rings dropped down from above them and a flash of light transported Sam and Kelra from the mothership, across the desert landscape of the planet to a similar platform right next to the Stargate. When the light had cleared Sam looked down at the raised area of Naquadah she was standing on.
"Amazing." She whispered to herself, she knew Daniel would find it fascinating that the former inhabitants of the planet used such an ingenious method to protect themselves from unwelcomed visitors; they probably never even considered the enemy would come in great ships to enslave their people. Sam looked out around her and was surprised when she saw no patrols or Jaffa protecting the Stargate. Stepping of the Ring platform, the Jaffa guard marched directly to DHD, standing beside it with his staff weapon at his side.
"Dial the co ordinates to your planet." He barked. Sam did what she was told; slowly entering the seven symbols of Earth into the DHD and soon the event horizon shot out from the Stargate and then retracted to form the blue, semi permeable wall they would pass through. Lifting up her wrist with the GTO transmitter on it Sam pointed it towards the Stargate, already formulating a plan of escape in her mind, Sam inputted an incorrect code. Kelra watched her carefully, trying to assess whether or not she was trying to deceive him but Sam kept a completely straight face the whole time.
SGC
"Unauthorised Off world Activation!" A voice came over the base speakers. General Hammond rushed into the Control Room from his office.
"Have we got a signal?" he asked. The officer at the Stargate Controls looked at the computer screen.
"Receiving a GTO signal..." he began, waiting for the identification of whoever was coming through the Stargate. Seconds later the Stargate beeped loudly.
"It's an unknown signal sir." He reported. General Hammond nodded vehemently,
"Keep the iris sealed." He ordered, airmen filled the embarkation room below as they waited to see if anything would come through.
P6Z 435
As Kelra stepped towards the Stargate to make sure the Queen went through, Sam made her move, kicking the Jaffa's legs from under him. As he fell to the ground, Sam snatched the staff weapon from his hand, charged the weapon and fired it, hitting the guard in the stomach causing him to cry out in pain. Shooting Kelra again in the stomach where his Goa'uld lay in the pouch, Sam watched as the Jaffa slowly died in front of her eyes. Moving quickly to avoid begin seen, Sam bent down and stole the door control to the supply closet she had seen previously and the controls to the Naquadah platforms. Dragging the guard towards the Stargate, Sam pushed him into the event horizon as a precaution to avoid anyone being alerted to her escape.
SGC
A thump could be heard as an object hit the pure titanium shield over the Stargate, moments later the bluish wall behind it vanished.
"Wormhole disengaged." The officer replied. General Hammond sighed in relief.
"Stand down." he ordered to the officers below. The General turned to return to his office before the officer at the computer stopped him.
"Excuse me sir. The off world activation came from P6Z 435." He informed his superior officer, knowing it would be important to the General since that was where SG1 was allegedly on mission. Hammond looked up at the Stargate in concern, the thought of one of his people begin squashed and killed against the iris suddenly popped into his mind, making his heart sink in dread and uncertainty.
P6Z 435
The Ring Transporter inside the mothership activated, alerting the Jaffa to what they believed to be the return of Kelra from escorting the queen to the Chappai. They were taken aback when the rings retracted and they were met with a staff blast to the chest from Sam, falling to the ground dead just as Kelra had. Running stealthily down the hallways of the mothership, Sam dodged passing Jaffa patrols as she found her way back to the Supply Room. Closing the door behind her, Sam quickly changed into her BDU's, grateful for the khaki green material that covered her body much more than the gold dress had. Grabbing a zat gun, healing device and ribbon device, storing the ribbon device and healing device in her pockets Sam opened the supply room door cautiously, scanning the hallway in front of her before making her way back towards the throne room.
Jack heard the sickening thud as his head slammed against the throne room wall. Shaking away the dizziness he saw Horus running closer towards him, his fist raised to strike him down again. Narrowly dodging the punch, Jack kneed Horus in the stomach, causing the Goa'uld to crouch over momentarily in pain. Taking the opportunity, Jack braced himself against the wall and thrusted his left knee into his opponents' head then kicked Horus in the stomach with unmatched force, sending him flying backwards and into a table covered in bowls of fruit, grapes and apples falling on the Goa'uld. Jack marched over as fast as his knee would allow to where Horus was lying on the ground with his eyes closed looking to be in great pain. Jack knew he had to take advantage of the Goa'uld on the ground, raising his right leg to kick Horus in head again, the System Lords' eyes suddenly snapped opened, his arms grabbing Jack's leg and swiftly twisting it to the right, causing Jack to be flipped onto his back, hitting the ground hard as the familiar pain shot up his leg from a new dislocation. Horus got to his feet and instantly placed his foot on Jack's neck, applying direct pressure to Jack's throat, a sneer growing on his face with the sheer enjoyment of the suffering of others. With his airways being cut off, Jack attempted to twist out from under Horus but as he did, the Goa'uld only pushed his foot further onto his victim's neck. Jack was quickly running out of oxygen, he could feel himself begin to pass out, his eyes fluttering closed as he lost consciousness.
Sam ran into the throne room and saw Horus standing over Jack menacingly. Not taking a second thought Sam raised the Zat Gun, took aim at Horus, and shot him, hitting him squarely in the chest. The Goa'uld's body convulsed as the shock flowed through his body. Sam stepped closer, her eyes filled with hatred, she took another shot, and the Goa'uld System Lord fell to the floor motionless, his body sprawled against the wall like a rag doll that had been crudely discarded. Sam ran carefully across to where Jack was lying unconscious, keeping a close eye on Horus in case, by some miracle, he managed to survive being hit by two zat blasts. Reaching down Sam touched Jack's neck and was relieved when she felt a weak pulse, weak, but a pulse nonetheless. Hastily pulling the Healing Device from her pocket, Sam slipped it over the palm over her hand and positioned it over Jack's chest. Closing her eyes and focussing all her energy into the device, seconds later it began to glow as it rapidly began to restore Jack's health. After a minute her so, she heard Jack groan, dropping the Healing Device to her side she placed her hand on his neck and was now greeted with a steady pulse. Jack opened his eyes slowly, blinking several times he felt someone beside him and turn his head slightly to see Sam looking down at him.
"Carter?" he croaked.
"I'm here sir." Sam comforted him; she didn't even notice Jack had changed back to calling her "Carter" rather than "Sam".
"What? Horus..." Jack began to ask. He thought he was dead; the last thing he remembered was being suffocated, the Goa'uld looming over him with an evil sneer on his face as the image he would take to the heaven.
"He's dead, we've got to get out of here before Jaffa show up, come on sir." Sam told him, helping Jack to sit up and pulling him to his feet. Jack automatically leant heavily on his left leg but suddenly realised there was no pain his damage knee, looking down at his leg, his makeshift bandage was hanging off it. Sam held up the Hand Device in front of Jack's face indicating how his knee had been repaired so quickly.
"Well at least the snakeheads are good for something." He commented rolling his eyes, he tentatively put weight on both legs, and was extremely pleased to be able to do so without extreme pain.
"Alright Major, I'm ready to go, lead the way." He declared. Sam handed Jack the staff weapon she was stole from Kelra and gestured to the door she had used previously.
They made their way silently down the hallways of the mothership, surprisingly meeting little resistance considering Sam had just killed the people's god and another Jaffa, entering the Ring Transporter Room five minutes later.
"The rings should take us directly to the Stargate." Sam reported to the Colonel who was scouting around to make sure the area was clear of hostiles.
"Correct me if I'm wrong Major, but one thing I do remember quite clearly is something about toxic soil and DECS?" he enquired.
"The people who first inhabited this planet used the toxic soil to stop the Goa'uld and other unwanted visitors from coming to the planet. When they needed to use the Stargate they would raise platforms made of Naquadah and use them to access the Stargate safely." Sam clarified. Jack turned back and walked towards Sam.
"And I'm assuming that you have the controls to these platforms?" He guessed hopefully. Sam pointed at the device in her hand.
"The platforms were already raised but I don't know how long or even if the platform would remained raised. In any case I stole the control from the guard that escorted me to the Stargate."
"Nicely done Major." Jack commented. Sam smiled and looked back down at the device. Examining it carefully, the button on the left of the device had an obscure U shape carved into it while the other was a U shape also but upside down.
"Alright, I think I've figured out how to raise the platforms." Sam thought out loud to herself.
"You think?" Jack repeated.
"Well I've never seen anything like this before sir." Sam defended.
"And if you're wrong?" Jack enquired out of curiosity. Sam shrugged her shoulders,
"If I'm wrong, we step onto the toxic soil, it will eat through our clothes and dissolve all the living tissues in our body." She stated as fact. Jack nodded his head,
"Is that it?" He asked sarcastically. Sam smiled and took a deep breath before pressing the button that had the U up the right way.
"Alright, that should do it, let's go." Sam stepped over to the wall where the control panel sat. Hitting the activation button she quickly jogged back to her position and stood with her Zat at the ready, Jack stood beside her with staff weapon in hand, the rings dropped from the ceiling and a bright light soon engulfed them both.
When the rings had ascended back up and the light had cleared, Sam and Jack dropped onto the safe Naquadah platforms. Seeing no guards or Jaffa patrols in their line of sight Sam and Jack stepped from the Ring Platform and over to where the DHD stood. Jack turned around briefly to survey the scenery behind them but his ears pricked suddenly at the familiar sound of Gliders coming from just over the horizon.
"Anytime your ready Carter." He mumbled over his shoulder.
"What sir?" Sam called back not hearing him. Jack spun her around to face his direction and pointed over a large sand dune to the northeast as a Glider appeared in the sky. Sam turned back to the DHD and quickly dialled the coordinates to Earth for the second time that day. Jack could hear the whoosh of the event horizon escaping from the Stargate.
"Time to go!" He ordered, as the Gliders swiftly flew towards them, their weapons ready to fire. Inputting the correct signal into her transmitter, Sam sprinted towards the Stargate; a soft pop could be heard as she disappeared through it. Jack turned and jumped into the active Stargate after her just as the Gliders began to fire on them.
SGC
The familiar voice came once again over the base speakers. General Hammond groaned as he quickly scribbled his signature on a meaningless piece of paperwork and left his office once again to see who was coming through the Stargate. Without even having to ask the officer at the controls answered his question.
"Receiving GTO transmission...it's SG1." He reported.
"Open the iris!" he barked, the shield retracting away as the blue from the Stargate illuminated the Gate Room. Moments later Sam came through and landed heavily on the platform, rolling down the bottom. Getting to her feet she turned and looked back at the Stargate in waiting and soon Jack jumped from the Stargate and into the familiar surroundings of the SGC.
"Close the iris!" Sam yelled to the technicians in the Control Room, the scraping of the pure titanium shield could be heard as the wormhole behind it disappeared.
"Wormhole disengaged!" General Hammond looked down at his two senior officers with a frown. Of course he was greatly relieved that they were home safely, thanking God that it wasn't one of them that had been crushed before hand but his orders were what stopped a smile forming on his face. Reaching down to the microphone, the General hit the call button.
"Air men, arrest Colonel O'Neill and escort him to my office immediately." He ordered solemnly. Sam watched in confusion and disbelief as men rushed over to Jack, pulled his arms behind his back and placed cuffs on his wrists, Jack didn't resist, letting himself be arrested as his previous actions spontaneously returned to haunt him
"What's going on?" she pulled at one of the airmen's arm frantically, the officer turning around and faced her.
"I don't know mam, just following orders." He replied before following his fellow officers out of the Gate Room. Janet pushed her way through the procession and ran over to where Sam stood in shock.
"Hey Sam, I'm so glad you're back. I've got to get you to the infirmary and run some tests." Janet said quickly, taking Sam's arm.
"What's going on? Why are they putting the Colonel under arrest?" She demanded answers. Janet sighed to herself; she was part of the reason Jack was being discharged and the guilt cut through her like a scalpel in the midst of surgery. Deciding she would break the news to Sam after the examination, Janet tried to reassure her friend.
"Come on let's get you checked out." She encouraged, practically having to pull Sam towards the infirmary.
INFIRMARY
"Well all your test results are normal which means the Docter gives you a clean bill of health and orders to go home and relax for the night." Janet reported with a smile, standing beside the bed that Sam was sitting on, she was staring at Janet with a stale expression.
"You never answered my question, why did the General order the Colonel arrested?" Sam repeated her earlier question firmly. Janet dropped her clipboard defeatedly onto the table beside her, making a large clanging sound as it hit the steel tray underneath it.
"Colonel O'Neill broke regulations by going through the Stargate without authorisation." Janet answered simply, hoping that it would be explanation enough for Sam, she was wrong. Sam could see her best friend wasn't telling her the whole truth.
"Janet..." she warned, her tone becoming harsh and serious. Janet sighed audibly, running her hands through her dishevelled hair.
"The Colonel and Teal'c were trapped in another time loop Sam. You and Daniel were on the planet and it was outside the subspace bubble." Janet began slowly, not wanting to miss anything important.
"That's why Daniel and I couldn't use the Gate." Sam remembered, Janet nodded and continued.
"The Colonel asked for permission to take the rest of the team through the Stargate to one of the Goa'uld planets in the loop, borrow a ship and fly to the planet to rescue you and Daniel." At the mention of Daniel's name Sam looked around the room as if to see him when she hadn't before hand.
"Where is Daniel?" Sam asked.
"General Hammond just told me that Colonel O'Neill said he flew back with Teal'c in the cargo ship they stole." Janet responded. Sam nodded at let her friend continue.
"General Hammond refused so Jack and Teal'c came to me and asked for my help in creating a false medical emergency, evacuate the whole of the SGC so they could go through the Gate. Colonel Simmons visited the General after the Colonel went through and told him that the Pentagon had ordered Colonel O'Neill to be dishonourably discharged for disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming of an Air Force officer." Janet finished, studying Sam's face for a reaction.
GENERAL HAMMOND'S OFFICE
Jack stood in the middle of the room; his hands still behind his back but the handcuffs had been removed by the airmen before he entered the office. Jack watched the General paced the floor behind his desk in frustration. Finally he stopped and turned to face Jack.
"What were you thinking Colonel?" he asked in anger. Jack stood tall, not embarrassed or regretful of his actions.
"Two of my team members were trapped on an alien planet with no food or water, that's what I was thinking sir." He answered frankly.
"I received a visit from Colonel Simmons earlier, the Pentagon had ordered me to dishonourably discharge you for disobeying a direct order, violating regulations and conduct unbecoming of an Air Force officer. Do you understand what this means Colonel?" he continued the plaque of questions.
"Yes sir, it's a consequence I'm willing to take for my actions." Jack replied, he had no excuses, no eleventh hour plea; he broke the regulations that he had sworn he would uphold and now he was being reprimanded for it. General Hammond stared at Jack, shook his head and sat down heavily in his chair, a small stack of paperwork sitting in front of him. Pushing them towards Jack he laid a pen across them.
"These are your discharge papers. You'll need to sign them, collect your belongings from your quarters and office and then be escorted from the base where all your identification will be surrendered as well as any other items that could present a security risk to the base." General Hammond informed Jack in a deflated and defeated voice. Jack knew the General didn't want him to go any more than Jack wanted to go himself but orders were orders, you break them that's when you get disciplined. Jack stood at attention and raised his arm in a salute to his superior officer, a sign of respect for the man that had given him so much.
"It's been an honour serve under you sir." General Hammond returned the salute,
"Good luck Jack." He replied softly. Jack took the papers from the desk and turned and left the room, an airman leading him towards the infirmary for his last ever check in the SGC.
Sam ran to the General office, she received smiles and "welcome back" from many officers but she just ignored them and anyone else walking by her. Opening the door without knocking she barged into the room breathless, General Hammond sat in his chair with a sad expression on his face.
"Major, have you forgotten how to knock?" he asked tonelessly.
"Why is the Colonel being discharged? He saved my life and Daniel's." Sam declared preparing for the inevitable argument. '
"Colonel O'Neill directly disobeyed a direct order and used the Stargate without authorisation. I have no choice to abide by the Pentagon's decision to discharge him." The General replied flatly.
"But sir..." Sam began before she was cut off.
"Major, I don't want him discharged as much as you do but I have to follow orders just as every other military officer has to. Now I want to go home for the evening, I don't want to see you here until the morning, and that's an order." General Hammond affirmed. Sam opened her mouth to argue but was again stopped.
"Dismissed!"
TBC
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