Chapter 11
Jack was irritated and frustrated. It's my own damned fault. I should have known Daniel wasn't up to this. Shit! He glanced around the underground holding cell looking for any way out other than the opening in the center of the ten-foot high ceiling. Nothing. Slick, solid rock.
Daniel was confused and frustrated. How could I have been so wrong about the intentions of these people? I'm usually pretty good at picking up on conflicting messages.
Sam was unconscious. After she'd been dropped into the cell, she had rolled hard to the side and hit her head on the rocky cell wall. Teal'c squatted down beside her to check her vital signs. He turned to O'Neill, "She appears to be unconscious, but her vital signs are good. I believe she will recover soon."
Jack dropped down next to the Jaffa and confirmed the opinion for himself. When Teal'c rose to check for an escape route, Jack gently caressed Sam's cheek with his fingertips. With a sigh of resignation, he stood and walked over to join Teal'c.
"Jack…."
"Daniel!" Jack interrupted, "I'm really, really not in any mood for your crap right now. Just shut up."
Teal'c watched as his friend Daniel shrank away from Jack's sharp reprimand. He turned back to O'Neill. "Colonel O'Neill, perhaps if you stand on my shoulders you wlll be able to see something from the opening above."
"Good idea, Teal'c." Jack stepped into Teal'c's clasped hands and hoisted himself up onto the larger man's shoulders. Balancing himself, he slowly stood and found that his nose just cleared the uncovered opening. Turning his head quickly in all directions, he realized that they were in an underground pit at the edge of the clearing, about three meters from the cover of trees. He had not seen any sign of guards around.
Dropping back down, Jack turned to Teal'c and Daniel. "OK, look. We have to wait for Carter to come to and recover a bit, but it should be fairly easy to get out of this pit. We need to find our stuff and get Raphaella. It's about noon now, so we'll wait until dark."
Daniel nodded in acknowledgment and sat next to Sam, running his fingers gently over her forehead in an attempt to awaken her. Her eyelids fluttered briefly, before she opened her eyes. Jack, hearing movement from her, came over and knelt down next to Daniel.
"Sam, can you hear me?"
"Yes, sir," came the soft reply. "I'll be OK in a few minutes. Where are we?" By this time a bit of color had returned to her face. Daniel helped her sit up, leaning her up against the wall behind them.
"We're in a holding pit at the edge of the clearing, near some trees. Teal'c and I have worked out a plan of escape, but we're waiting until dark."
"OK, sir. I should be fine by then."
Daniel reached into his pants pocket and took out a packet of aspirin. Handing it to Sam, he apologized for the lack of water to wash them down with. She nodded gratefully and dry swallowed the tablets, leaning her head back against the wall to wait for the medication to kick in.
"OK, people. I suggest we all try to rest while we have the chance." Jack leaned on the wall next to Sam, pulled her head onto his shoulder, and closed his eyes. Daniel gave Teal'c a questioning look, while Teal'c simply raised his eyebrows in response. Both men settled in for what was sure to be a long afternoon.
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An hour after the rest of her team had been taken at sword-point, Raphaella was still being forced to kneel. There were two armed men in the room - one seemed to be guarding the door and the other continued to hold his sword at her throat, threatening to slice across her delicate skin if she moved.
Just as she began to sway from the effort of keeping still for so long, the door slid open again and Daimyo entered. He strode over to her and tilted her head up with his finger. His eyes were narrowed in thought as he stared at her. When she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, he back-handed her across the face.
"Never look your superior in the eyes. You are beneath me and have no right to look upon my face," Daimyo hissed at her
He pushed her head back down, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing in a small circle around her. When he'd walked around her several times, he again stopped in front of her and looked down at her.
"I know of your ability to read other people's minds. You will work for me and I will become second only to Lord Yu. Rise and follow me."
Raphaella's muscles were so stiff from remaining in the kneeling position that one of the guards had to haul her to a standing position. The guard supported her weight as he dragged her after Daimyo. She was finally able to walk under her own power, finding the movement a relief to her legs. She was taken to a small hut, given a few sips of water to drink, and once again forced to kneel before Daimyo.
"You will live here. If you cooperate, then you will be allowed some measure of comfort. Until then you will be given only rice to eat and water to drink. You will have no blankets for warmth at night. If you refuse to work for me, I will allow my men to do with you as they see fit."
"Why do you believe I have the ability to read minds? I come from a simple world," she protested.
Daimyo nodded to one of the guards, who then slapped her across the back with the flat side of his sword. The impact knocked her onto the ground.
"You will not speak unless instructed to by me. You will not look at my men or me. You are lower than a dog and will be treated as such." Daimyo clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heals as if in thought. "I know about your people because my Lord Yu was the one who attacked your planet. He took eight of your people to work for him, but he did not know of your existence. Your people failed him and were put to death for their insolence. You will work for me. You will not fail me and I will rise in my Lord's eyes until he will choose me to become his next host. Then I will become Lord Yu." His eyes flashed with ambition and arrogance. He turned and left the hut followed by his men, who remained to guard the only door, securing their master's hope for success.
Raphaella could sense the madness in this man and knew that he would do as he said. She had no G.D.O., so even if she managed to escape, she'd have no way to gate home. She could only wait and hope that SG1 would be able to escape and rescue her.
She wandered around the hut, exploring her new home. Solid wooden walls with no windows. Dirt floor. She could possibly dig under the walls, but then where would she go? A chamber pot in one corner – that's good to know – and a clay jug of water near the door. Well, not much to work with. I'll just have to see what happens next. Raphaella lay down next to a wall to try and sleep. If SG1 could help her, she would need to be alert and well rested.
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As dusk approached, Jack awakened from a light sleep. He looked around to see his team in various poses - Sam still sleeping, Teal'c in a light level of kel-no-reem, and Daniel sitting cross legged with his elbows on his knees and his head propped up on his hands, thinking.
Daniel lifted his head when he heard Jack's movements. He sat up straight and looked over Sam to his CO.
"Jack."
"Daniel."
"Shouldn't we be getting ready?"
"Yeah. You get Teal'c and I'll get Carter. I need to check her out and make sure she's OK before we leave."
Several minutes later, the four were standing and ready to finalize their plans. "Teal'c will be our anchor man. Carter, you go first and check the surrounding area for guards. Daniel, you'll go next, then me, and we'll haul Teal'c out. Once we're out we'll need to look for our equipment and Raphaella. Got it?" All three nodded their understanding.
A few minutes later, the team was out of the pit and crawling quickly toward the relative safety of the trees. Once behind the cover of the trees they stood, surveying the area.
"I can't believe there aren't any guards posted anywhere." Sam's head still ached, but the fresh air was helping to clear it.
"Arrogant bunch of SOBs." Jack's opinion was cryptic and accurate.
"Colonel O'Neill, I believe our equipment may still be in the house of tea, behind the temple."
"Tea House. OK, we'll check there first. Carter, you're first, Daniel, Teal'c, and I'm on your six."
Sam crouched down and headed out, ducking behind buildings and bushes until she reached the Tea House. The other three quickly followed reaching their goal with ease.
"Anybody else worried about how easy that was?" Daniel looked around, sure there was a trap.
Jack put his ear up to the paper wall, listening for signs that anyone was inside. He signed to Sam and Teal'c to enter and for Daniel to keep a watch out.
They entered and found their equipment where it had been piled that morning. Quickly checking, they found everything there except their weapons. Sam and Teal'c grabbed their stuff and headed back to the Colonel and Daniel.
"OK. Good work. Any suggestions on finding Raphaella?" Jack whispered.
"O'Neill, it is possible that she is in the temple. However, that may prove to be difficult to breach as we have no weapons."
"We'll search the buildings around the perimeter first. If we don't find her there, then we'll try the central buildings. We'll split in two parties to cover ground quicker." Jack paused and turned to the rest of his team. "Carter, you and Daniel start in the center and go right. Teal'c and I will go left and we'll meet near the ravine. If you find her, don't attempt a rescue." Jack looked pointedly at Daniel. "Go to the meeting site and wait for us." Jack signaled for everyone to head out for their assignments.
Sam and Daniel searched several buildings before he noticed the small hut almost hidden in the trees, spotting two men guarding the door. Daniel signaled to Sam and she nodded. They dropped to their bellies and crawled to the trees. Darting from tree to tree, they covered the distance quickly to the area behind the hut. Sam signaled to Daniel that she would take the guard on the right while he would take out the other guard. On her mark they crept from behind the hut to surprise the guards.
Sam jumped up and elbowed her guard in the face, breaking his nose. As he fell, she kicked him on the back of his neck, knocking him out. Daniel used a flying round-kick to the head to take out his guy in one move. They rushed into the hut to look for Raphaella. The hut was empty, except for the headscarf that Daniel found in the center of the room. Her headscarf. Daniel stuffed the scarf into his pocket.
Sam noticed that Daniel had paled when he found the scarf, but no Raphaella. She moved over to her friend, threw an arm around his shoulder, and gave him a quick hug.
"God, Sam. What if we can't find her? What if she's gone too, like Sha're?" Daniel's eyes flashed with fear, his voice barely audible.
Sam squeezed his hand and nodded toward the door, signaling that they should leave. They headed for the meeting place with O'Neill and Teal'c.
A/N: Many, many thanks to my new beta, Verb, for suggestions and commas. ; ) Thanks to all of you who read and review. I'm really enjoying my first writing experience.