A/N: Sorry it's been ages!!! I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible!!
Chapter Eight
"Whoa…" Daniel muttered as they were led into what looked like some kind of torture chamber.
"I want a refund, this wasn't on the list of things I wanted to do in my retirement…" Jack muttered.
"Bow before your God," the Jaffa behind him said.
"I don't believe in…" he was knocked to his knees.
He winced, ignoring the pain in his right knee. To his left was some kind of spiky bed, Jack cringed and turned to Daniel on his right.
"I think we have company," Daniel muttered.
Jack looked up. Before them was a dark coloured Egyptian teenager, cloaked in black. He had a small, evil grin barely visible on his face. Around his wrist was a hand device of some kind, but it was different to the usual ones. To begin with the metal was no gold but black, and the centre jewel was a crystal blue.
"Hi, my name's Jack O'Neill…retired," he said.
"I know who you are," Atum replied, moving so he was on the other side of Daniel. "The question is, do you know who I am?"
"A...something…"Jack said, frowning.
"Atum," Daniel finished for him.
"Very good, Dr Jackson," the Goa'uld said. "Do you know my purpose here?"
"To kill us?" Jack said.
"That would be close," Atum said, still smiling evilly. "But I was thinking of making you hosts…my only problem is a lack of mature symbiotes, I used the last one on the Tau'ri girl."
"Tau'ri girl?" Daniel repeated.
"The one I used to lure Colonel Carter and Teal'c into the room with," Atum said.
"Great," Daniel said. "There goes that idea."
"And if possible I suggest you warn your friend Jonas that if he tries to re-enter the system he will be blown out of the sky."
"That idea too," Jack muttered.
"Told you it was a trap," Daniel said.
"Now, there is something I need before I can attack your planet…" Atum said.
Jack opened his mouth to make some kind of sarcastic remark but Daniel elbowed him in the ribs. He shut his mouth instantly.
"Which would be what?" Daniel asked.
"A couple of what you call…ZPM's…" Atum said.
"A couple?" Jack asked.
"I believe you know the location of at least one," Atum said.
"Well I believe you're delusional," Jack replied. "Trust me, if we had a store of ZPM's…"
"Silence," Atum said, his eyes flashing for the first time.
He said something in Goa'uld to his Jaffa, who grabbed Jack and pulled him towards one of the torture machines.
"Well that wasn't in the travel brochure."
Sam looked up at the familiar voice. Jack was thrown into the cell, the door slammed down behind him. He groaned as he rolled over onto his back, the distinct lack of movement being a red flag to Sam.
"Sir…are you OK?" she asked, jogging over to him and kneeling down.
"Peachy," Jack muttered, wincing in pain as he talked.
"What did they do?" she asked, helping him sit up.
"Want to know the location of ZPM's," Jack muttered. "Picked the wrong guy…they should be out asking the Atlantis crew…"
Sam watched him. His voice was projecting pain, the fact he kept closing his eyes and breathing in sharp, short breaths confirming that he was in massive amounts of pain.
"Where's Teal'c?" he asked after a few moments.
"Not sure, I woke up here, alone," Sam replied.
"Probably took him too," Jack muttered, trying to stand up.
"Sir…I don't know if you should be doing that," Sam said, placing her hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Carter, help me up," he said. "There's gotta be a way outta here."
"I've tried," she replied.
"Well we'll try again," Jack said.
"Sir…" Sam said.
"Carter, I'm going to find a way to get out of here, blow this ship to hell and get you back to Earth so you can be with your son," Jack replied, standing up and heading to the door.
Her son. She closed her eyes, for a few moments she'd been lost back in the good old days, her life on her forgotten. Not that she would ever forget Jonathan.
"Jack…" she said.
He stopped and turned. "What?" he said quietly.
She looked surprised, she wasn't even sure why she'd said his name. "Nothing."
He seemed to accept that, turning around and looking back at the door.
"You gonna help us get out of here?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," she replied.
She walked over to the door, standing next to the control panel. She ripped it open and looked at the crystals, the design was different to that of any other Goa'uld ship she had observed.
"Sir, I don't know if…" she stopped as she noticed him clutching his chest. "Sir?"
He collapsed on the floor next to her. She fell to his side, feeling for a pulse. Finding one she let out her breath and set about moving him to a more comfortable position.
"Teal'c."
Teal'c looked over to see Daniel had awoken. He'd been thrown into the cell a few hours earlier and had been unconscious, perhaps asleep, for most of that time.
"Are you feeling well DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked.
"No…not…really," Daniel replied, rubbing his head. "Ow…where's Jack and Sam?"
"That is a good question," Teal'c replied.
"Did you, ah, get tortured?" Daniel asked.
"I did not," Teal'c replied.
"Sam?" Daniel asked.
"I do not know," Teal'c said, sounding concerned.
He hoped that Colonel Carter had not been injured by the Goa'uld, as their torture tactics where not considerate even to those with a symbiote to heal them, those without would be in even worse condition.
"We have to do something," Daniel said.
"You are not capable of doing anything at this current point in time," Teal'c stated.
Daniel tried to sit up, but instantly decided that was a bad idea. Lying back down again he nodded slightly.
"Ah, yeah…later," Daniel sighed.
"The Tau'ri are not as capable as you believe them to be Selmak."
Jacob stared back at the Tok'ra High Counsellor Melk'ta. "I made the right decision," spoke Selmak.
"You have been weakened by your Tau'ri host," Melk'ta accused him.
"No, I have just learnt what you have not," Selmak replied. "My host made them promise not to do anything that would interfere with our plans."
"Don't you see? This is what he wanted! The Tau'ri are now his captives, he can torture them for the information he needs which will then allow him to attack Earth, with that many humans he can be ruler of the entire galaxy within a few years…"
"They will find a way out," Selmak defended their decision.
"They had better, because we attack in six hours and if they're still on that ship they will just be unfortunate casualties," Melk'ta replied. "Now please leave us."
Selmak nodded and turned around, leaving the room as quickly as possible.
We did make the right decision, Selmak spoke to Jacob.
We had better have, Jacob replied.
"Headache," Jack mumbled.
Sam looked down at the man who's head rested on her lap. It had been the best way to keep him comfortable without having to move him to far a distance. He opened his eyes and suddenly seemed to realise where he was.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You collapsed," Sam replied. "I've been thinking about the crystals and I don't think there's a way to open the door from the inside…"
"That sucks," Jack replied, sitting up slowly, still rubbing his head.
"You OK?"
He noted the deliberate lack of the word 'sir'. She was asking him as a friend, not a colleague. He nodded in reply and was about to say something when the door snapped open. They turned to see a Goa'uld standing in the doorway.
"I told you, I don't know where the ZPM's are, and I definitely don't know how they work…but you should try the Pegasus galaxy, I hear they're quite the experts…" Jack cringed as he pulled himself into a standing position.
"I am not here to bring you to torture, I am here to free you," came the reply.
"Well that's not…" Jack paused, suddenly realising.
"You're the Tok'ra," Sam beat him to it.
The Tok'ra nodded. "I am Ta'nik of the Tok'ra."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jack of SG-1," Jack replied.
Sam smiled slightly then turned back to the Tok'ra. "Daniel and Teal'c?"
"They are in the cell next to you…" the Tok'ra held out a zat. "You must shoot me with this, I was instructed to bring Colonel Carter for torture, therefore it must appear as if you stole my weapon and shot me before rescuing the others…"
Jack took the zat, "Our stuff?"
"Down the hall two doors past Daniel and Teal'c's holding cell," the Tok'ra said. "Quick, you must hurry…"
Jack shot him mid-sentence and the Tok'ra fell to the ground. "Let's go."
Sam noted the obvious pain as he tried to move quickly, but figured he would want her to pretend she didn't notice it. They moved silently out into the hallway and were within view of Daniel and Teal'c's cell when they heard voices. Jack pulled Sam behind a wall and they both stood there silently.
A Goa'uld walked past, in front of him pushing Daniel.
"Again?" Sam asked quietly.
"He's a knowledgeable man and they know it," Jack muttered a reply. "Come on lets get Teal'c."
They jogged to the cell and Sam quickly figured out how to open the door from the outside. The door slid open to reveal Teal'c sitting alone in the corner.
"T…buddy…we're outta here," Jack said.
Teal'c looked up in surprise. "They have taken DanielJackson…"
"We saw," Jack replied.
"They did not wish to take me for torture," Teal'c replied.
"They're probably saving you for desert," Jack muttered. "Let's go…"
Teal'c nodded and the three of them headed back to where their stuff was. Jack grabbed his pack and P-90 and turned to the others.
"You get Daniel back and head for the fighter bay, there should be a few ships somewhere in there capable of hyperspeed travel," Jack replied.
"Sir…Alex," Sam said.
"Alex?" Jack asked.
"The girl they took from Earth," Sam replied.
"What about her?" Jack asked.
"She's a student in my physics class," Sam said.
"Oh," Jack sounded surprised. "Save her too…"
"What about you O'Neill," Teal'c said, looking concerned.
"I have…other things to do," Jack said, still feeling the naquadah weighing heavily in his pack.
"Then you will meet us at the fighter bay," Teal'c said.
Jack shared a knowing look with Sam, before loading his P-90 and turning around. Teal'c would know.
"O'Neill, there must be another way," Teal'c said.
Jack closed his eyes. "No, there's not…"
"He's right," Sam said, turning to Teal'c.
Jack turned back around and looked at Teal'c, the sadness in his expression was almost overpowering to Jack. He'd never seen such a look on Teal'c's faced. The expression was mirrored in Sam's, although her eyes were shining with developing tears.
He moved closer to his two friends. He reached forward and placed an arm on Teal'c's shoulder.
"Go home to Ishta and Ry'ac," Jack said. "There's still something out there for you…"
Teal'c placed his hand across his chest and bowed his head slightly. "You will be missed O'Neill."
"Hey, who knows, I might be back," Jack said, smiling.
He patted Teal'c's shoulder a couple of times and then turned to Sam. He seemed to search her face for a while, watching her, trying to figure out what he could say, or do.
"Goodbyes are hard enough the first time," she said after a few moments.
"We never said goodbye," Jack stated.
She looked down, knowing it was true. Looking up again she smiled slightly.
"Good luck," she said.
"You too," he said, having distinct de ja vu of earlier events.
Was that it? Were they going to be his last words to her? 'You too'? After everything they'd been through, all the years, all the battles, the messes they'd been in, the feelings they had, and all they could say was 'good luck'?
"Come here," he said, reaching forward and pulling her into a quick hug.
She squeezed him tightly before they stood back again, tears brimming her eyes. "I'll miss you."
"Me too," Jack said. "I'm really not good at this goodbye stuff…"
Sam smiled, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
Teal'c watched his two friends and colleagues before him. He had never truly understood the human need to hide feelings, to deny that things they felt were actually real. He felt tears inside of him, but as a Jaffa, as a warrior, he could not let them rise. As they moved away from their short hug Teal'c felt as thought he was viewing something he should not.
"I'll miss you," he heard Colonel Carter's voice, it was shaking.
"Me too," O'Neill replied, a strange tone to his voice, not one which Teal'c was familiar with. "I'm really not good at this goodbye stuff…"
Teal'c observed as Colonel Carter wiped away tears from her eyes. She paused for a few moments, the two of them seeming to forget Teal'c was there. So many times before, in all their years as SG-1, he had observed moments in which he had guessed the feelings they had for each other were much more than they were meant to be. This was the first confirmation he had had in nine years.
A long time for someone to hide their feelings.
"If…if I could go back, before the end of the war…I would change everything," Colonel Carter said.
"I know," he wiped some of her tears away with his thumb. "Sam…I…"
For the first time ever Teal'c observed conflicting feelings playing on O'Neill's face. Colonel Carter's face was even more ridden with emotions.
"Jack, if you…don't say it," Colonel Carter said, looking away. "We have to go."
O'Neill closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, recollecting himself. "Bye."
"Goodbye," Teal'c said, turning around and making his way out of the room.
"Goodbye…" Colonel Carter said, grabbing her weapon and following Teal'c.
Teal'c turned to see O'Neill take Colonel Carter's arm. She looked at him confused, before he leaned down, kissing her on the lips. She pulled away, shocked and surprised. Without any words she turned and left the room.
Teal'c took one last look back at Jack O'Neill. He was gathering as much explosive as he could and shoving it into his pack. Overwhelmed by sadness for the unavoidable loss of his friend, Teal'c turned and followed Colonel Carter, headed towards where he could rescue Daniel Jackson and the Tau'ri girl.
