The moment the beam appeared in front of Jack and Daniel, Teal'c sprung into action. With speed and agility that seemed to defy the largeness of his body, Teal'c managed to leap into the beam moments before the first of the transport rings came down around him.
The last Jack and Daniel saw of Teal'c before he was swept up to the ship was his satisfied look that was akin to a smile. Jack and Daniel were both cheering on the inside; the first major hurdle of this mission had gone better than expected. They could only hope the rest of this mission would go as smoothly. Not that either of them were foolish enough to think that it actually would.
As Teal'c was whisked away, others were deposited in his place. Daniel immediately recognized the female in the middle as being the Goa'uld Morrigan. Once again, he silently hoped she would not recognize him from the time he had went undercover as Yu's lo'taur. She hadn't changed much since he'd seen her two years ago. Red hair, trim figure, and cold eyes.
Daniel grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him towards the ground, knowing the older man was much too stubborn to bow of his own initiative. Thankfully, Jack seemed to recognize that being defiant right now would only cause them problems. Too much was at stake to blow the mission because of mere pride.
Morrigan seemed pleased with their act of submission, and with a nod to her accompanying Jaffa, Jack and Daniel were roughly helped back up to their feet.
Ever playing the part, Daniel obediently kept his head bowed down. Jack followed suit to some extent, albeit with less enthusiasm than Daniel displayed. The things they had to do to stay alive…
After a long moment, Morrigan finally spoke. "No doubt you have come here to seek appeasement."
"We have, my Queen." Daniel replied, his eyes still cast downward.
"Your people have been treacherous from the very beginning. Perhaps I should just allow the disease to run its course and rid myself of your rebellious nature once and for all."
"Please, my lady, I beg you to hear us and grant our people mercy."
"Do you deny that foreigners came in amongst you through the portal? And that you gave to them the offering of ore that was rightfully mine?"
"It is true, people of another world came to us."
"So, you admit your sin?"
"We told the strangers of your greatness, and they said that they too wished to serve at your pleasure. They asked to be included in the ceremony at the portal, but they deceived us. Those ones took the offering for themselves, and left through the portal before we were able to stop them."
'Man, can Daniel ever spin a line of bull when he needed to. Hmmm…' Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jack began to wonder about all the times Daniel had begged out of going fishing for some reason or another.
"Please, my Queen," Daniel was saying. "We will do whatever is necessary to appease you."
'Appendicitis this, Goulded ex-girlfriend that…'
"You well know that the price of such appeasement is nothing short of a proper sacrifice to prove your loyalty to your Goddess."
'In seven years, the only person who ever actually went fishing with me was Teal'c…'
"Would you consider sparing the lives of the village women if we were to offer you twice the amount of ore each month?"
'Ah, Daniel's finally managed to get down to the good part.'
"You have been holding back from me?" Morrigan replied, her eyes flashing in anger.
"No, my lady. But, we have just discovered another mining site nearby. We will now be able to get the offering from two separate mines. We are more than willing to work harder in your name, if only you'd spare our women from the Croa'tan disease."
Morrigan seemed to consider his words for a moment.
"You forget, slave. I own you, the mines, this planet, and your people. I am your Goddess. And you will do as I say whether I decide to spare the women of your pathetic village or not."
"What more can we offer you?"
A cold smile crept across her face as Morrigan turned her attention back to her jaffa. "Jaffa! Sha'lokma'kor kree Ha'tak!"
Jack didn't speak Goa'uld, but he knew instinctively that the worst-case scenario version of their plan was about to become a reality.
Figures.
Nothing is ever as easy as it should be.
Jack sighed as he sat himself down on the bench inside the holding cell they had just been deposited in. Jack sighed, no matter which way you slice it, imprisonment sucks. But on the bright side, Teal'c wasn't here waiting for them. And Morrigan hadn't ordered them to be searched, so they still had their gear on them. At least some things were going in their favor.
Jack watched as Daniel leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. It never failed to amaze him how much guilt Daniel could heap upon himself for any given situation.
"Daniel?"
"Yeah?"
"It's not your fault."
"Yeah."
"Hey, we knew this would probably happen. We still have the advantage here."
"I hope it's enough of one…for Janet and Sam's sake."
"Hey, leave the cynicism to me, okay? Besides, we've been in worse situations before."
Daniel raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
Jack walked over and clapped his friend on the shoulder, "That's the spirit." He opened his mouth to say more, but a loud noise outside their cell caught his attention. Jack immediately recognized the sound of approaching Jaffa.
A few seconds later the cell door slid open, revealing Morrigan's first prime and another lower-ranking Jaffa. Without a word one of them grabbed Daniel by the arm and began leading him towards the door. The second Jaffa did likewise to Jack.
"Whoa, hey!" Jack objected. "Where are you taking us?"
Daniel shot him a sharp look. They were still playing the part of being villagers, and Morrigan's loyal subjects. Now was not the time for Jack to fly off the handle at her Jaffa.
Jack let out a frustrated sigh as the Jaffa silently began marching them down the hallway. This day just kept getting better and better.
Daniel had been captured by Goa'uld often enough to know where he was being taken. Though, at the moment, that fact didn't give him much comfort. On the bright side, Teal'c apparently had not yet been discovered on board Morrigan's ship. Maybe their plan would work after all. Daniel just hoped they could force Morrigan's hand without too much trouble. What little time they had was running out quickly.
Morrigan's throne room was much like that of any other Goa'uld: open, spacious, and gaudy. The Jaffa roughly brought Daniel and Jack to a halt before the empty throne and forced them to kneel.
"This bit never gets old, does it?" Jack grunted under his breath as his knees protested against their mistreatment.
"Guess not." Daniel replied absently as they waited for Morrigan to make her appearance.
Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Soon the echoing of the footsteps could be heard, signaling Morrigan's approach. The sound continued to increase until there she was, filling the open doorway with her presence.
"My Queen," Daniel said, bowing his head as she entered the room and sat upon her throne. "May I ask why you have brought us here?"
"I have chosen you for a special purpose." Morrigan replied coolly. "Since the very beginning, your people have proven to be rebellious and insolent by nature. Throughout the generations I've punished many for their treachery, as I will punish you."
"I don't understand."
"You claim to be in my service, yet you lie boldly to my face. It is obvious to me that your people cannot be taught respect for their one true Goddess, and my patience has run out."
"Please…"
"Therefore," Morrigan continued, "the two of you have been chosen as the device to spread a new form of Croa'tan. Let the men and the women suffer the affliction together."
"But the mines…"
"I have many faithful servants elsewhere who will gladly do my bidding." Morrigan rose from her place and walked over to Daniel. "All this could have been avoided, if only your people had recognized the power and greatness of their Goddess…"
Jack had finally reached the point where he could not take it anymore. It was just too hard to stomach all that galactic arrogance in one sitting. "Oh please! Spare us the power trip will ya?"
Morrigan's eyes flashed with anger. "You shall pay for your insolence, human." At that she raised her left arm, preparing to strike them with her ribbon device.
With a slight nod from Jack, both he and Daniel dove out of the way. Grabbing the hidden zat gun from his thigh, Daniel managed to shoot one of the Jaffa guards that were standing by. Jack too produced his weapon and quickly took out the other guard. Both Jaffa had been decommissioned before either knew what had happened.
Daniel and Jack next trained their weapons on Morrigan. She narrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Jack's Beretta. "You are humans of the Tau'ri. I might have known."
"Surprise." Jack said wryly.
"You cannot kill me." Morrigan said, turning the back of her left hand towards them. "I'm sure you've seen the defensive capabilities of a ribbon device."
"Listen, lady, we've got a busy day planned, so here's the deal. You cure the women suffering from this cretin thing you gave them, and you get to keep your sweet little naquadah mine on the planet."
Morrigan's eyes hardened. "And if I refuse?"
"Well, then, we blow it up. And along with it goes any chance you ever had of defeating Anubis' army."
"You lie."
"Who me?"
As they spoke, Daniel eyes were drawn past the ribbon device on Morrigan's left arm. In sharp contrast to the gold that encased her hand, he caught a glimpse of shiny sliver.
'A ring.' Daniel's mind registered. 'A claddagh ring.' Daniel's eyes widened at the implication.
"Elizabeth?" Daniel cut in, deciding to take the chance.
Jack's eyes narrowed in confusion as Morrigan turned sharply towards Daniel.
"How do you know this name?" She demanded.
"Then it's true…" Daniel said hushed tone.
"What's true?" Jack asked.
"How do you know this name!" Morrigan repeated impatiently.
"She told me." Daniel stated simply.
"Who told you what?" Jack asked again.
But Daniel was too focused on the Goa'uld to answer. Morrigan's demeanor had changed. She frowned slightly, then her cold eyes narrowed as her forehand winkled in concentration, and her hands were now clenched at her side.
'Elizabeth is fighting her.' Daniel realized. Not wasting a moment of the Goa'uld's obvious distraction, Daniel quickly fired his zat gun and watched as Morrigan crumpled to the floor.