Author's Note: Thanks for bearing with me on this! I got super busy at work, and finished this the other day, before my Atlantis fic, but couldn't get this to post. I got the Atlantis fic to post but this one was under a cloud of bad luck and wouldn't upload for me.
Chapter Ten
On A Mission
Carter, Teal'c and Boch were slipping through the streets, making their way quietly back to the ring zone. Teal'c had the wrist device ready, and Carter had her pack full of C4.
"Major Carter." Boch called, his voice low.
Carter glanced back, "What?"
"You've got enough of that C4 stuff, right?"
Carter smiled, "I think so." She assured him, coming to a stop as Teal'c drew up alongside her. He pulled his sleeve back and waited while they joined him in a circle. They were standing close, Carter a little uncomfortable at being forced into proximity to Boch, who didn't seem bothered by it at all.
Boch grinned, "Here we go."
Once aboard the Mother ship, Carter and Teal'c spread out, one to Boch's left and the other to his right. "Where's the phase generator?" Carter asked; her senses attuned to any activity around them.
Boch was all ready walking away from her. Carter rolled her eyes, and didn't press him farther, following behind, with Teal'c bringing up the rear. The path was clear to the generator, something that made Carter distinctly uneasy. She set the pack of C4 on the floor, and started pulling out packs to place. Teal'c stood guard and Boch watched her every move.
"Do you have to do that?"
Boch grinned again, another slow smile, "Do what?"
"That."
"I appreciate the fine things in life." He said.
Carter gave him a dirty look, not wanting to admit she was somewhat flattered...maybe. She started placing the explosive in a triangular pattern around the generator. Boch reached over to grab a pack. Carter slapped his hand, "Don't touch."
Boch pulled his hand back, slightly bemused, "Sorry."
She finished, and wiping her hands on her pants, set the timer for twenty-minutes. She looked up at Teal'c and nodded.
"That's it?" Boch asked, surprised.
"Yes, that's it." Carter said.
Teal'c led the way out, retracing their path. They had gone about halfway when the sound of approaching Jaffa sent them scurrying to defensive positions on other side of the walls, peering around the corner.
Carter's nerves were twanging. Something was wrong. Where were the Jaffa? They should've showed by now. She was getting ready to call to Teal'c when they heard noise behind them.
"Tau'ri!"
Oh no. Carter quickly turned, thrusting her hands behind her, and tucking the timer down her waist, hoping they wouldn't find it until it was too late. They were disarmed, six very pissed looking Jaffa jabbed staff weapons, prodding them forward.
It wasn't long before they found themselves in the throne room of the Mother ship. The Jaffa took up guard positions behind and to their side, while one walked out a door and uttered the announcement of the captured prisoners to Queen Snake herself.
Nertti swept into the room, looking at the group with disdain. A Jaffa behind the three instructed them to kneel, his voice harsh and unfeeling. Carter looked at Teal'c, who inclined his head slightly, his message clear; it would be unwise to fight...yet.
They knelt, staring up at Nertti as she came closer, "Why did you come here?"
"We heard the food was good?" Carter said, false bravado and O'Neill influence kicking in.
Boch snorted, "Good one Major."
A guard slammed the butt end of the staff into his shoulder, sending the bounty hunter to the floor. Boch grunted, "Easy boy, don't damage the traitor...not yet, at least."
Nertti pulled her lips up in an amused smile, full of arrogance and self-importance, "Boch. I would say I'm surprised...but I'm not."
"Good." He had righted himself, and stared at her, his eyes flinty cold, all trace of humor evaporated. It sent shivers down Carter's spine. The man kneeling before her was capable of the bounty hunter they knew him to be, not the man who let them go instead of turning them over to the System Lords.
Nertti circled the three, walking behind them slowly, trailing a hand down Teal'c's shoulder, murmuring with contempt, "Shol'va."
Teal'c stiffened but gave no other outward indication of his anger. Carter did it for him, "You're going to die." She said, matter-of-fact, and with little emotion.
Nertti seemed amused, "You overestimate your abilities."
"And you underestimate them...every time." A new voice spoke from the door. All the occupants of the room looked up, surprised, to see Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson standing, weapons raised.
The room was filled with the sharp report of gunfire. Teal'c lunged at the nearest guard, as did Boch. Carter rolled out of the fire, catching the gun that Daniel tossed her way. She came up on one knee and started firing. In seconds it was over, the Jaffa lying dead on the floor, and Nertti standing tense in the middle of the carnage, five weapons pointed at her heart.
She hesitated, a hand ready to move. Jack looked at her, "I wouldn't."
She dropped her hand by her side, "I see you are not as ill as I believed."
"Sorry to disappoint you." Jack drawled, then paused, "Actually no, I'm not."
"Colonel...we need to go." Carter had pulled out the device from her backside, and was reading the display.
Jack looked at Carter, "Was that...?"
Carter blushed, "Yes Sir. I had to hide it."
Jack raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further, "Let's go kids...and Boch, I told you..."
Boch shook his head, smiling, "Sorry Colonel." He interrupted. "What about her?"
Jack looked over at the Goa'uld, "What about her?"
Boch seemed surprised at the brutality of the implied action, but figured it didn't matter to him. He nodded, and grabbed a Zat from the nearest guard, falling into position with the rest of the group, as they backed out of the room; he zatted the door, leaving Nertti trapped, and a countdown at five minutes.
The rings deposited them in the U'Tak'an alley, and they quickly left the circle, all five faces turned up to watch the Mother ship hovering. Carter checked the display, "5...4...3...2...1..." and the ship seemed to shake imperceptibly, then harder. Flames erupted outwards, engulfing the ship's pyramidal shape, and a tremendous flash. Debris started raining on the city.
"Run!" Carter hollered.
Jack and Daniel had fought to stay on their feet, and now wavered, but struggled to dive for cover in the nearest building. They just made it, as bits of warped metal fell in the streets. They leaned against the wall, breathing heavy from the exertion. Carter and Teal'c were looking at them, concern for their condition apparent.
Before they could voice their worry, the ground shook, similar to when their ordeal had begun, and the Stargate had disappeared. Carter smiled, a look of victory, "The phase effect, it's gone!"
Jack figured as much. The shaking came to a stop, and they left their refuge, walking back into the U'Tak'an street filled with smoldering debris.
"We need to get back to Fraiser." Jack said, feeling like he was ten days overdue for sleep.
"Did you not say you would stay in bed O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, staring at his friend evenly.
Jack was going to reply when Daniel intervened, "He did. We were attacked after you left by a group of Jaffa. They knew you were coming."
"Indeed."
Jack's legs were turning to jelly, "We can play catch-up later. Right now, I'd really like to get home."
"Do you require assistance O'Neill?"
Jack hated being weak, "Not yet." He said tiredly. "Let's get Fraiser and go. She can send a fresh crew to work on this...disease." He left it unsaid that soon it would be to late for him and Daniel, but maybe Carter and the others could be saved.
They headed for their temporary headquarters, when Ka'ta and the council came flooding out of a building, "Colonel O'Neill!"
Jack didn't break pace, "Not now."
Ka'ta colored, "I'm sorry Colonel!" He called, standing awkwardly in the street, "We had no choice."
Jack stayed silent; knowing now wasn't the time to respond. If he did, there would be no hope of a treaty. He wasn't feeling generous right now. Daniel had been watching him out of the corner of his eyes, and seemed relieved at his unusual restraint.
As they approached the building, Fraiser had come out to meet them, glaring for all her worth, "I see you made it back."
Jack grinned, "Nice to see you too."
"Bed. Now."
Jack's grin dropped slightly, "Doc..."
"No. No Doc...get in bed, now, and Daniel, don't you dare say it." She snapped, then turned back and marched into the building, leaving a stunned group.
Boch whistled low, "Wow."
"You don't know the half of it." Jack sighed, "Let's go Daniel, before she finds the extra large needles."
"The rate of decay seems to have halted General." Janet was sitting across from General Hammond in his office. The team had made the trek to the Gate, which had stood back in its original position, looking as if it had never gone anywhere at all, which really, it hadn't.
She had insisted Jack and Daniel be carried back to the Gate on stretchers, something the Colonel had protested vehemently, but as Chief Medical Officer, she had threatened him to within an inch of a court martial if he didn't cooperate. He had, albeit with a great deal of reluctance, but had turned around and slept the entire trip home.
They had gotten him and Daniel settled in an isolation room, and with the benefit of the SGC's medical staff, gotten both men feeling more comfortable than they had in a couple of days. The latest test results were promising but Janet wasn't sure how the disease was going to progress. She was secretly hoping for a spontaneous cure, because otherwise, she wasn't sure there was anything they could do for them, and even herself, Major Carter and the other SGC members who had been phased.
Hammond nodded, "Keep me updated Doctor Fraiser."
Janet stood, "I will Sir. I'm heading down to check on them and run another set of tests."
"How are you and Major Carter holding up?"
"Good. The vitamin cocktail on a regular basis kept us from falling as ill as the Colonel and Daniel. Our cellular decay has also halted, as it has in everyone who was affected." She paused, "It is good news General. It means we might be able to stop this thing."
Hammond nodded again, "Good luck Doctor."
She smiled back, luck wasn't something she usually banked on, but when it came to SG-1, she'd had to call on it more times than she was comfortable admitting, "Thank you Sir."
"Sam...look at this!"
Carter looked up from the computer display she was studying, "What is it?"
"Look." Janet pointed at the microscope.
Carter headed over and peered in the eyepiece, "What am I looking at?"
"What do you think?" Janet asked.
"A blood sample?"
"Do you notice anything unusual?"
Carter shook her head, "No...it looks like a normal blood sample?"
"Exactly." Janet said, pleased.
"Do you mean..." Carter began.
"Yes!" Janet was positively beaming now, "That's the recent sample from Daniel."
"No!" Carter exclaimed, afraid to believe what she was hearing. "Really?"
"Sam...the disease, it's clearing up on it's own. It makes sense, I can't believe I didn't consider this before."
Carter was thinking, following Janet's train of thought, "Of course! The body has the remarkable ability to heal itself...diseased cells die out and are replaced with healthy ones."
"Exactly. On the planet, the rate of decay was faster than the rate of replenishment; therefore, they continued to get worse, as did all of us. Now that we are removed from the phase effect, the healthy cells are replacing the diseased ones."
"This means..."
"The Colonel and Daniel are going to be just fine!" Janet finished, excitement transmitted into her stance.
"We should go tell them."
"You go ahead, I want to run a few more tests, and see if the same holds true for the U'Tak'ans, though I'm certain it will." Janet said.
Carter was all ready gone.
Epilogue
Jack was staring at the IV line running into his arm, following it back up to the bag of nutrients and other stuff the Doc had ordered them on. Carter had brought the good news, beaming and full of excitement. He hadn't been that surprised, something that deflated Carter's enthusiasm, but he had noticed a distinct improvement of his fatigue within a day of gating home. Instead of feeling like he had been up for ten days straight, it felt more like two or three.
After Carter had left, Jack had thought they could go, and he wasn't pleased to find out that wasn't the case. Doc wanted to treat them an extra day since their case had gotten so severe compared to the rest of the off-world members. He had grouched, bitched and generally whined and gotten no-where.
"Staring at it won't make it go away."
"I know that." Jack looked away from the tubing and found Daniel watching him with barely concealed amusement.
"Have a good nap?"
Jack had fallen asleep after Carter had left. Not intentionally, he'd wanted to stay awake, just to prove he wasn't feeling any of the aftereffects of the attack of the mutant cells, but stubbornness alone couldn't parlay the tiredness he had still felt. He did feel better, "I'm not five Daniel. I stopped taking naps a long time ago." He said instead.
Daniel didn't say anything, but settled back against his pillow, a ghost of a smile flickering across his face.
"You can stop that."
Daniel continued to look at the ceiling, "Stop what?"
"That."
"Maybe you should take another nap?" Daniel said.
"Daniel..."
THE END