A/N: I'm so glad people are being positive about this fic! Thank you all so much. I'm glad that you seem to be understanding my characterisation of Togar and Urgo… Thanks especially to Natters – I'm glad you like my attempts at bits of humour! It's just a pity I've got them "emoting" now so I can't have as many quips as I would like!
Thanks also to Bekki for your encouragement, I'm trying really hard to channel the characters… oh, and yay Australia!
Also, it turns out my parents are fine. They were meant to be in London on the day but had been to Cambridge for a day trip the day before and decided to stay there… very lucky. Thanks to all for their concerns.
And now for the next instalment!
Togar monitored the two captives in their created environment with earnest concentration. Trying to ignore the twitterings of Urgo, who seemed beside himself with excitement, he programmed the stimuli necessary to elicit the reactions he sought from his test subjects. Then, ensuring the data recording devices were functioning within their expected parameters, he turned to face the eerily silent man suspended behind him in the homeostasis pod.
"He does actually talk, doesn't he Urgo?" Togar failed to notice the Jaffa react – almost imperceptibly – with a flinch of the jaw as he spoke.
"Oh yes! He's just very boring… not nearly as fun as Jack." Urgo pouted pathetically, "Can't we get him back in here… he knows how to have fun!"
"You try my patience." With a bored flick of a switch on his wrist, Togar deactivated Urgo before walking towards the pod where Teal'c still managed to look stoic, despite being immobilised from the neck down. He circled the pod, in deep thought, while Teal'c merely fixed his eyes straight ahead, not moving a muscle. Togar tried to startle him, creating small jabs of pain in his immobilised legs, but still got no response.
"Are you not intrigued by the memory I showed you?" Togar was standing mere millimetres away from the pod, looking up at Teal'c. "Do you not… what's the word… care?"
Teal'c remained motionless, so Togar changed tactic. Sliding his hand over a portion of the wall to Teal'c's left, he revealed a control panel that seemed to materialise from nothing in the centre of the room. Manipulating the controls quickly and efficiently, he programmed the clear glass screen that was lowering from the ceiling at the same time.
Teal'c's eyes followed Togar wherever he went, but he remained silent, determined not the cede to the interrogation. He did, however, find the alien's methods quite strange, and failed to see the benefit Togar could hope to gain from asking such questions concerning the emotional ties binding the members of SG1. A familiar sound suddenly filled the room, and Teal'c trained his eyes on the images appearing on the pane of glass now suspended from the ceiling. He saw Tanith, the murderous Goa'uld spy, standing before him in the Tok'ra caves, expressing false condolences. Teal'c forced himself to keep his mouth closed, but he felt his jaw shaking with the rage welling up inside.
"Yes," Togar seemed satisfied with Teal'c reaction. "Now I see you are as they are… you are ruled by your emotions, difficult as that may be to perceive. I was concerned that maybe you could not help me with my study."
"I will help you with no study." Teal'c voice was even, but his eyes remained riveted on the screen above his head. "I am here because you have prevented me and my friends from departing." Teal'c returned his eyes to the space in front of him, looking at nothing in particular, clearly indicating to Togar that the conversation was over in his opinion.
Togar nodded as if these words spoke volumes, and with a quick adjustment to the control panel, the image on the screen disappeared. "I'm not here to ask you the same questions I will pose to your friends. You represent an interesting case – perhaps a bridge between my culture and that of the others." Togar had been pacing up and down in the room, but stopped suddenly directly in front of Teal'c. "You feel, but you rarely display these feelings."
Teal'c remained silent and immobile in front of Togar, although the glare in his eyes seemed to challenge the alien inquisitor.
"I will have to work on a completely different set of stimuli for you." Togar transported Teal'c back to a pod in the main chamber, before adding quietly to himself: "but at least I am certain now that you can be broken."
Sam was huddled at her end of the couch, exhausted by the ordeal of experiencing – yet again – those moments on Apophis' ship where she had thought all was lost. Togar had now bombarded them the memory so many times she had lost count. She felt as if one more experience would cause her to collapse completely. It had been bad enough remembering the event under the gaze of Anise/Freya the year before, but something about the advanced technology Togar was using meant that she was actually there again. It was no longer a memory, but a complete living experience. Although the images were now gone, all the feelings of hopelessness and despair remained. She looked up under her hair, which was tousled in front of her eyes, to see Jack looking just as disoriented and pained as she. She saw him raise his shaking hands to rub against his face before he met her eye.
"God I HATE these superior races and their god-awful technology!" he growled, trying to bring himself back into reality, but still unable to chase the feelings of utter devastation at the prospect of having to leave Sam behind, to her death. Unable to sort his thoughts out, his heart wrenched yet again as he saw Sam curled into the couch, obviously trying to retain control herself.
"Carter?" she hadn't reacted to his quip, but her eyes were fixed on him, her expression that of complete anguish. The vision of her face contorted in grief caused him to break again, reliving the exact feeling of seeing her behind that forceshield. He closed his eyes, trying to chase the emotion away, but it all seemed so hopeless. She had no way of escaping… when the bomb went off she would be killed… there wasn't enough time. The last ounce of his conscious mind screamed at him, trying to bring him back to reality, to remind him that they had escaped the shift intact. He listened to his consciousness, and determinedly opened his eyes to see Sam there, right in front of him, thankfully no forceshield between them.
Without thinking he slid halfway across the couch and pulled her towards him in his arms, burying his head in her shoulder, his body shaking with relief. He felt her undergo the same realisation as she went from being listless to suddenly clinging onto him for dear life.
"Oh god…" he rasped, unable to collect his thoughts. "I really thought you were…" he felt hot tears prick at his eyes. "I'll never forget how scared I was." He whispered before pulling away and looking Sam straight in the eyes. "I nearly lost you." He pulled her close again and, forgetting his insecurities, held her there, simply relieved that the bombardment of memories had momentarily abated.
Sam held onto Jack as tightly as she could, her head buried in his shoulder, breathing the familiar scent that so often served to calm her. She could feel the unbridled fear dissipating slowly from his muscles as he realised she was there, with him, and safe. Shifting her head slightly so her ear was pressed against his collarbone, she tested her voice carefully.
"I couldn't believe you were going to sacrifice yourself," she was surprised to hear her voice so clear, although it was definitely throaty with emotion. "I was so torn. I wanted you to escape but…" he breath hitched in her throat. "I didn't want to you leave me." The last few words were hardly louder than the air around them as Sam struggled to admit her feelings.
Jack held her close and leaned back into his corner of the couch so they were essentially lying down together, both exhausted by the emotional torture they had been subjected to. He felt hope rise within his heart at her last words… coupled with everything that had happened in the last few hours, he was at least reasonably sure that his feelings for her were not completely fruitless. The same realisation made him hold her even tighter, realising how much she must have suffered on the other side of that forceshield, seeing him refuse to leave.
They both lay together for almost an hour, struggling to recover from Togar's onslaught of memories. At the very least, it appeared as if they were doing what the heartless alien wanted, considering he hadn't subjected them to the memory in that time. Both were incredibly grateful, although they a certain anxiety that they were about to be thrown back into their past remained.
"Hey, Carter?" Jack was now almost completely spread out on the couch, eyes closed, with a comfortable, warm Sam nestled between his arms.
"Hmmm?" Sam didn't move, despite their compromising position. She needed to keep physical contact with him, to make sure he was still there and not back on Apophis' ship.
"Why did he choose that memory?" Jack realised he had been thinking in the time lying on the couch, and the situation was making less and less sense.
"Well, I suppose he thought it would elicit the best reaction out of the both of us." She lifted her head slightly but still couldn't bear to move away from Jack. "Let's face it – I think he was right."
Jack tried to accept it, but a nagging thought plagued the back of his mind. "But he already knew our feelings about that mission…"
Sam looked up at Jack sharply, before shifting her position to sit up next to him, still pressed against his side for support, her legs curled up on the couch. She considered his point and realised he was right – they were forced to reveal their feelings during the za'tarc test… Togar should already have the data he wanted.
"Well," she always found it easier to solve a problem by thinking out loud. "Togar said he wanted to understand our culture, with specific reference to the part emotion plays in our lives." She realised suddenly how much they usually relied on Daniel when interpreting the actions of the people they encountered on their travels. "When we refused to really talk about the… the…"
"Let's just call it the time-loop." Jack cringed at Sam's hesitancy to talk about their essentially one-way kiss. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and cradled his head between his hands.
Sam didn't seem to notice Jack's interruption, but took his suggestion anyway. "So when we refused to discuss the time-loop he said that he couldn't analyse his data without the requisite knowledge…" Realisation suddenly dawned on her face. She looked to Jack who merely raised his eyebrows helplessly. "It's so simple," she breathed, the excitement of understanding revitalising her, "if he's essentially been monitoring us like in some experiment, he needs a control for comparison." Before the words were out of her mouth she shrank back into the couch, a second realisation dawning on her.
Jack sensed the swift changes in Sam, from optimistic enthusiasm to apparent defeated desolation. He touched her shoulder slightly, trying to bring her out of the shell she had so rapidly shrunk into. "What is it?"
"Sir," Sam had now reverted to protocol in her apprehensive state. "What we just experienced was a control situation – he wanted to gauge our reaction to a circumstance he already knew about in detail. He's probably comparing our actions of the past hour to what happened during the za'tarc testing."
"So…?"
"So," Sam pressed her palms against her forehead, dreading what was to come. "By now he'll have a way to measure or quantify our reactions. From here, he can make us re-experience anything from the past two years and measure our reactions according to what just happened."
"The hell he is!" Jack sat up from the couch, the anger rising within him. "TOGAR!" he roared to the ceiling. "You get your fat ass in here RIGHT NOW! I will NOT let you subject us-"
Sam didn't hear the rest of Jack's outburst. In a flash of white light, he simply disappeared from the room, leaving her sitting alone on the couch.
Jack found himself in the mock-dentists' chair again, although this time when he looked beside him he saw Daniel sitting there, looking just as perplexed by the instantaneous transport.
"Daniel." he nodded warily.
"Jack." Daniel was still trying to figure out if Jack really was sitting next to him or not.
"So what's up?" Jack had returned to his light-hearted tone of voice, despite the dangerous glint in his eyes that Daniel knew could cause him explode at any moment.
"Uh.. well… I don't actually know." Daniel looked around him, taking the room in. "How about you?"
"Pssht, you know, once you've been held prisoner on the first planet, it's all the same." He paused momentarily. "I think this guy would rival anyone else we've met in the ego stakes though."
"I am merely aware of my own superior intellect with respect to your own, Colonel O'Neill." Togar appeared in front of them and addressed Jack without looking at him, his attention directed to the control panel.
"See what I mean?" Jack glanced at Daniel. "Not vain at all…" Turning his attention to Togar, he dropped the ironic tone of voice abruptly and let his true feelings show. "You're going to stop this, Togar." He hissed, ignoring the surprised gasp coming from Daniel. "What you're doing is horrible, and we're not going to stand for it."
"And what choice to you have, Colonel?" Togar still wasn't looking at him, as if the man didn't warrant his attention.
"Um, excuse me?" Daniel interjected before Jack could explode. "Someone want to fill me in?"
"He's using the things in our heads to trigger specific memories, like those Tok'ra/Goa'uld things…" he stopped, struggling to retain his composure. "Only worse."
"But-" Daniel began, only to be cut off by Jack
"Carter reckons it's to learn about our emotions, and that he wants to see our true feelings come out when we remember traumatic events – or just events involving a high level of emotion – from the past two years."
Daniel digested what Jack had told him and realised with horror what that could entail exactly. The pain and suffering they had all experienced over the past two years… it would be torture to live through them again. He looked angrily towards Togar, appalled on behalf of his friends. With a jolt, he realised that Sam and Jack must have been detained differently to him and Teal'c.
"Um, Jack? Where's Sam?" Daniel didn't want to pry too much, remembering the images Urgo and Togar had showed him of the two kissing at the SGC.
"Togar's had us holed up in a weird replica of an SGC guest room…" he stopped suddenly and turned to Togar, who had been ignoring them again. "Why did you bring me out?" The blood drained from his face as numerous worst-case-scenarios flashed across his mind. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER!" he roared, straining to move his limbs but remembering with consternation that he was completely immobilised.
Togar seemed to complete whatever he had been doing on the control panel and looked up calmly. "I am doing nothing Colonel, I merely exited you from the holding cell so that I may try to understand your reactions. Dr Jackson is here to assist, as his understanding of my study is somewhat greater than your own."
"You've been helping this guy?" Jack looked to Daniel, betrayed.
"I'd hardly call it that!" Daniel protested, his eyes wide. "I seem to remember saying that none of us could help!" Daniel eyed Togar suspiciously, wondering what the purported 'scholar' was on about.
"Indeed Dr Jackson is speaking the truth, but I have very little patience remaining." Togar snapped at them both. "This is why you are here." Togar made a now familiar-looking screen descend from the ceiling to show the last couple of minutes of Sam and Jack's conversation.
Jack felt his teeth clench together, but said nothing, more intent on gauging Daniel's reaction.
Daniel watched the scene unwillingly, aware that he was in a sense spying on his friends. Taking in their words, however, it suddenly dawned on him why Togar was so confused. "You really don't understand us at all do you?" he asked incredulously. Daniel turned to Jack, who was making noises of protest. "To Togar, this is all just a controlled experiment – like Sam said." His eyes flitted to the screen as another pang of guilt washed over him for eavesdropping on their conversation. "But even worse, he doesn't understand the pain that it causes us to relive some of our memories." Daniel turned to Togar. "That's the whole purpose of your study isn't it? To understand our emotions, our pain?"
Jack looked from Daniel to Togar, horrified. It was one thing to be subjected to torture, but if the torturer wasn't even aware of the pain he was inflicting…
"Togar, I don't even understand our emotions or the pain they cause us!" he protested, at a loss as to how he was going to get his team out of their predicament. "How do you think you're going to understand them?"
"You are underestimating the resources at my disposal, Colonel." Togar was staring intently at Daniel, seemingly contemplating the archaeologist's words. "So you are familiar with the concepts of experimentation, Dr Jackson, but you do not consider this particular study to be viable?"
Daniel let out a long breath, trying to collect his thoughts. "It's definitely different. For us, the emotional pain you are causing is like a great amount of real, physical pain. Do you understand how such a study could be torture for the subjects?" Daniel was trying to keep his language scientific, to best communicate with the alien.
Togar paused, for the first time seemingly unsure of himself. "You're lying." He stated simply. "I have noticed the propensity for emotion-laden species to misconstrue the truth."
"Dammit Togar he's telling the TRUTH!" Jack was fed up with the situation. "You saw how me and Carter were completely drained by your so-called experiment. Haven't you seen-"
Yet again, Jack didn't get the opportunity to finish his sentence. Togar had again activated the transport device and he disappeared from the room. Togar turned to Daniel, who remained in the room. "That one is tiresome," he stated simply, before continuing. "If you help me with this small procedure of the experiment, I will reconsider your words of protest."
TBC
A/N : So there we go. Another chapter down… Sam and Jack edging closer (hey, we had significant physical contact!). We're not far off what most of you are waiting for – I promise!
Let me know what you think…I'm trying to avoid the cheese-factor when it comes to Sam and Jack but it's hard! At least with that massive hug I was kinda taking my cue from the season 3 ep "Into the Fire"... what must that Tok'ra operative have thought!