Cats in Armor: Chapter 2
Jack's mind swirled. Opening his eyes there was nothing.
Just….. blackness.
He could tell he was lying on his back, his hands resting on his stomach. With a sudden jerk the last few moments before he fell unconscious came back to him in a rush. Clutching at his chest he could feel the hole in his uniform, but no wound were a wound should have been. Reaching out and then up with his hands he could feel he was surrounded by solid walls.
He knew exactly where he was. "Damned sarcophagus," he whispered angrily. "You'd think the Goa'uld would get bored with this trick."
All he could do now was wait, and wonder what happened to his friend.
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Daniel awoke with a start. Inspecting his surroundings he quickly realized he was chained to a wall in what appeared to be a crude representation of a dungeon cell. The air was foul, carrying on it the odor of urine and feces. Every now and then he could hear muffled coughs and whimpers. The only glint of light came from the door, a foot by foot square opening at the bottom, probably used to slide food in.
"Jack?" he called out, finding it hard to breath in the stench.
"Jack?"
cough cough
"Are you here?"
At first there was nothing, then a shadow passed by the door and Daniel could hear booted footsteps retreating down a corridor. Something was said, and then more than one set of footsteps returned. Stopping in front of the door he could hear the rattling of keys, and the clicks as the tumblers locked in place. In unison, he inhaled as the door sung open.
Standing in the doorway was a silhouetted figure of a Jaffa. He held his staff weapon vertical to his body. Coming in behind and around him was a larger Jaffa, his size reminding him of Teal'c.
"You are Daniel Jackson of SG-1?" It was not a question, but rather a statement of fact.
Daniel raised then lowered his brow, "Ahh yeah, that's me. You wouldn't have happened to ...,"
"You will come with us. She is waiting for you." The Jaffa then stepped up and unlocked the manacles binding his wrists. Before Daniel could rub the soreness out of then he was violently shoved into the Jaffa in the doorway, who proceeded to shove him out into the corridor.
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The sound of stone on stone rumbled in Jack's ears. The sarcophugus opened and he clenched his hands into fists. Suddenly he was blinded by a bright penetrating light and he instinctively threw his hands up to his face blocking it out.
"So much for the surprise spring attack," he thought.
"Rise Colonel O'Neill,"came the voice of the Goa'uld.
Sitting up he saw he was in a room filled with over-stuffed pillows, linen that was hung this way and that, from ceiling to floor, all manner of colors from pinks, to greens to blues. He noticed an apparent favorite color was turquoise. It highlighted many of the fabric borders, and Bastet herself was donned in an elegant gown the covered only what was necessary.
Barely.
Placing a smile on his lips he stood up, his arms outstretched.
"Baaasst! You ole kitty cat, what's up?" he began. "Hey thanks but no thanks for the magic trick there. Been there, done that. Course you being a Goa'uld and all probably already knew that since you know who..."
"Silence!" Bastet said, her eyes penetrating his. "You will give me your iris code, or Daniel Jackson dies.
Jumping out of the sarcophagus and landing perfectly straight, Jack put his hands up in front of him as if to ward off trouble. "There's no need for violence here. Geesh, why do you guys always resort to the doom and gloom?"
"Colonel O'Neill. You are quite well known for your jovial attitude. However, if you do not give me what I want, then Daniel Jackson's death will be on your hands, not mine." Like a cat stalking its prey, she moved up to Jack and whispered in his ear. "We wouldn't want that now would we?"
Suddenly she grabbed him around the back of his neck and pain coursed through his body forcing him to his knees. Through gritting teeth Jack responded, "Go to hell!"
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Daniel was marched down many corridors, turning left, then right, then right again. He noticed the stones along the corridor walls were changing from a rough cut, to stone that was smooth and handled with much more care. The air was no longer nauseous, smelling more now of sandalwood and myrrh. Turning left once more, this corridor ended in huge double doors. They were inlaid with gold and jewels, and a relief of Bastet in her Egyptian Cat form decorated each door.
The larger Jaffa pulled on a lever just beside the doors and it rumbled open. There was a long ramp heading up and to the outside. All along the walls were sconces that held the incense Daniel had been smelling. Moving up the ramp he finally entered a large arena. It looked very much like the Coliseum in Rome, except not as large. Perhaps as many as ten thousand spectators could be seated around the perimeter and in the center of the arena stood a lone pole with manacles. Daniel hesitated to study any exits other than the way he came.
"Move!" yelled one of the Jaffa shoving him forward. Reaching the pole he was cuffed, his arms above his head, and watched as the two Jaffa went back down the ramp out of sight.
"This is just great," Daniel thought to himself, "chained to a pole in the middle of an arena with no one else here."
Daniel figured out he could move all around the pole. The chain was attached to the top, allowing 360 degree movement on the part of the chained person. A sound caught his attention and Daniel looked up and in a blanketed platform he saw Jack being led in by three Jaffa and Bastet.
"Jack!" he called. "You okay?!"
"Fine so far," he called back.
Jack was forced down into a chair and Bastet sat down next to him. Leaning in she whispered, "The iris code Colonel O'Neill."
Jack didn't move or say anything as he clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes on Daniel.
Bastet leaned back and clapped her hands together. One of the Jaffa moved forward and yelled.
"Kree!"
Emerging from the ramp was a huge tiger. Its ears were laid back on its head and it growled in protest as a Jaffa with a lance stabbed at it to move it forward. Spying Daniel, it crouched on all fours, ready to pounce.
Daniel looked at the cat and then back up at Jack confused.
"Jack?! What's going on?!" Daniel cried.
"Hang in there ol' buddy!" he answered back. Turning to Bastet he continued "you know I'm not going to give you the iris code, so why not let him go and have your fun with me if you feel like playing games!"
Bastet nodded her head and yelled, "Attack!"
The tiger sprang at Daniel and he moved around the pole to escape the lunge, but the cat caught the back of his legs digging deep. Crying out in pain, he continued his momentum around the pole, trying to keep it between him and the tiger. Unfortunately, the pole was only a little wider than himself, and the tiger easily took another swipe at him, this time cutting open his left rib cage. Desperately Daniel fought back the attacks, but he was getting tired.
And the ground was getting red.
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