Disclaimer: I own diddly and I ain't getting any money. All for the love of it eh ?
Spoilers Too many to mention (random up to season 9)
A/N My apologies for the short break in transmission due to technical errors. Still haven't got my beta issues quite ironed out yet, so anyone who canand who'd like to drop me a line pleaasse ! All and every error is mine only . enjoy and review if you want any more it is addictive eh ?
Chapter 6
Within a second, the ring transporter returned Major Carter and Jonas Quinn to the cargo bay. Sam unclipped her P-90 and headed towards the forward control room. Colonel O'Neill, her father and Teal'c had remained on the planet's surface, to attempt to locate the child lost in the recent skirmish with the enemy jaffa. She had returned to assist Kiran, the Tok'ra who had piloted the ship. The Major's orders were to begin a sensor sweep of the area, looking for life signs, with the intention of pinpointing the child's hiding place.
Sam stiffened slightly as she approached the doorway, her nerves jangled, something felt 'off'. It was way too quiet and so far Kiran, had not appeared or offered any greeting.
"Kiran?" Sam called tentatively into the room, extending her arm to prevent Jonas continuing through the opening.
The only sound was her heart thumping in her throat. Looking at Jonas, she tried to gauge whether he had similar misgivings. Sam gestured for him to cover her as she approached the doorway to the room. Sliding up to the opening she drew her zat and glanced quickly round the door.
To the side of the control panel, Kiran lay motionless on the floor. His head was thrown back and his lower limbs were bent awkwardly beneath him. Beyond his terrible stillness, his body bore no outward signs of serious injury.
"Clear," she stated to her companion as she made her way across to the fallen man. Jonas, his Zat drawn and cocked ready to fire, covered the room. His eyes roved left and right in order to secure the area while the major worked.
"Is he?" The question hung in the air whilst Sam anxiously felt for a pulse.
"Dead?" she enquired. "Yep."
Switching seamlessly into military mode she reached for her radio tucked in the pocket of her vest.
"Colonel, respond." The major sounded anxious, even to her own ears.
"Carter? Whatcha got?" O'Neill was obviously, non too patiently waiting for results.
"A situation here. Sir. Kiran is Dead." Sam stated the facts succinctly.
"Carter, secure the rings, we're on our way." His stilted vocals indicated they were already running back in the direction of the clearing.
"Controls secured, Sir," she returned. "I'd say he was hit by a couple of Zat blasts."
Sam turned towards the doorway and indicated to Jonas that she was going to return to the cargo bay. She knew there was a high probability that Kiran's killer was still on the ship and she didn't want to give them any indication of their game plan as they began a security sweep of the ship.
"Jonas, ring them up on the colonel's signal." She murmured as she passed behind her new team member and headed across the adjoining space. In the cargo hold she could see the stowed heaps of discarded equipment and metal storage containers they had brought with them on the mission.
The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, she whipped round expecting to see someone right behind her, but the doorway was empty. Across the hall, Jonas raised his eyebrows in a silent enquiry.
Sam shrugged, her frown deepening as she surveyed the room.
'There is someone here, I can feel it,' Sam thought eyes narrowing, as she scanned the rear cargo hold.
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From her position, concealed behind the cold metal boxes, the child had watched the two arrive via the' rings' and enter the room where she had killed the 'man'. She coolly observed the woman place her long fingers at the man's throat but the knowledge that he could not give her away did nothing to ease her disquiet.
The respite gained when she killed the man had ended with the intruder's arrival on the ship. Once again the spasms of irritation that seemed to emanate from every cell of her body had begun to consume her. Although the sensations did not seem as acute this time, she still felt as though she wanted to scratch all her skin off. The child shuddered involuntarily and gave herself a mental shake; she knew the revulsion would dissipate in time.
Within the 'Master's' presence she had learned quickly to hide her horrified reaction to his initial proximity, as retribution was always very swift and terribly painful. She had quickly developed the ability to school her features into a mask of studied indifference.
The Jaffa, who had been assigned to guard her, had called her 'tiny warrior' and had patiently answered her many questions regarding their weapons and equipment. As a result she understood the mechanics clearly enough to fire a staff weapon, though she was a little too weak to lift it, and was fairly, no extremely, lethal with a zat. The 'Master' had insisted she be able to defend herself, and she had made him proud.
Stiffening, she was jolted from her reverie by the sensation of her skin prickling all over. She attempted to manoeuvre further around the far side of the stack before she was discovered, but it was just too late.
The woman called out, "Ok, move real slow and throw out your weapon or we will fire." Although she couldn't comprehend the words she deduced from the tone that the game was up. The child hid the hand containing the weapon she carried within the folds of her robe.
She dropped to her knees, deferentially lowering her eyes; she decided to play to her strengths.
Major Carter had her weapon trained on the near side of the awkwardly arranged stack of boxes. As she carefully circled around the edge of the cargo bay she watched for signs of retaliation from behind the makeshift defence.
Sam realised that over the head of her Zat, she was staring into the deep blue eyes of a tiny girl. Pale gold hair framed her face and the white of the robe she wore was somehow only slightly paler than her skin. The sapphire eyes, huge and solemn were slowly filling with tears. Sam gently lowered her weapon and smiled encouragingly.
"Hey there, sweetie," she remarked quietly, "Don't be afraid, we aren't going to hurt you." The major took a step towards her, holding out a hand. As the girl raised herself to her feet, her hands remained enveloped in the white robe she wore.
Jonas, responding to the colonel's signal activated the ring device. Metal rings rose from the floor seemingly suspended in mid air. The major's gaze flicked to the reintegrating forms of her teammates. She glanced back, just in time to see the child's lips curve into a cold, cruel smile as she squeezed the trigger on the zat clutched in her hand.
"No!" Jonas and the colonel shouted together. The child looked down dispassionately at the immobilized form of Sam on the floor of the cargo bay and raised the zat to administer a second deadly shot.
In the same split second while time purported to stand still, Teal'c advanced a single pace, raised his zat and fired. The little girl crumpled to the ground with a wordless cry, her weapon falling uselessly to the ground beside her.
"Sammie?" Jacob uttered a single strangled cry, but as they darted forward, it was to the child the tok'ra dashed, scooping her up in his arms. He looked searchingly at her small face, which was distorted by the excruciating pain the zat had delivered. A series of emotions flashed across his face until his expression seemed to settle upon bemused and he wordlessly handed her limp, immobile form to Teal'c. The Jaffa had watched his seemingly unaccountable behaviour silently, his eyebrow slowly escalating his forehead. Jacob strode quickly to where Jack was kneeling beside the unconscious form of his daughter.
"Carter?" Jack reached for her hand.
"Carter, come on, wake up, dammit," Jack rubbed her hand, held tenderly between his own. He stretched the fingers of his other hand towards her face, smoothing hair from her brow but swiftly withdrew it as her eyes began to flutter open. The colonel expelled a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding, and rocked back on to his heels.
"Hey Dorothy, back in Kansas?" Jack enquired.
"Oh crap, I hate those things." She croaked wearily.
"Sam, are you ok?" Her father frowned as he looked over Jack's shoulder.
"Fine, Dad," she stated confidently, as she began to rise.
"Oh no you don't, Major!" Her superior officer interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder and summarily ended all movement.
"Just you stay there a minute and catch your breath."
"But, I'm," she began irritably.
"Ah!" He raised his hand, cutting her off mid flow. "You know better than to but me, Major! Rest up a couple of minutes. That's an order." He raised himself to his feet, his knees creaking, never taking his eyes of his subordinates face. A face, currently wearing an extremely insubordinate expression.
Sam wrestled momentarily with the idea of defying him. However, something of her mental battle must have shown in her expressive blue eyes because she noticed her superior officer's expression darken slightly, as he steadily locked her within his gaze.
Jacob was irked. These conversations, devoid of words, but rich in unspoken communication and non-verbal subtext, wore him out. He was aware many things were currently being said between the colonel and his daughter. He was also aware he was not privy to any of it.
Sam broke the tension. Lowering her gaze she muttered, "Yes, sir," mutinously.
"Thank you, Major," he replied caustically turning away.
As the colonel completed the turn to face him, Jacob observed a trace of a smile hovering on the younger man's lips, and then Jack actually winked.
Smothering a grin, before his daughter spotted him. Jacob realised O'Neill knew exactly how to handle her. For her own good, she needed to take a minute, but her sense of duty, coupled with an intense dislike of appearing weak forced her to push her body, sometimes beyond the limits of its endurance. Jack, it appeared, had discovered that usually a direct order, which she could not in a military sense refuse, would do the trick.
However, as Jacob commented inwardly to Selmac, he hoped the colonel would not be afraid to back those orders up with action should the need arise.
Jack was keenly aware that his tough colonel act was not going to cut it indefinitely and that one of these days she would call his bluff. Precisely what he would do at that point… Well he would cross that bridge when he got to it. You can't exactly make an air force major take a timeout now, can you?
He smirked. He could and he would …if he must.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c's voice called his attention back to the present. "There is something here you should see."
He headed for the tel'tac's crew quarters, where his friend's voice had originated. The room was situated towards the rear of the ship. Around the room were spaced grey metal bunks, which jutted out from the wall. Jack strode up to the bunk on which the jaffa had laid the little girl.
"So do you think this is the munchkin or do you think there's more of them out there?" Jack enquired crouching down beside the still unconscious child. Eyes closed, her teeth were tightly clenched and muscles still twitched spasmodically as the effects of zat blast wore off.
"I believe this is indeed the child we encountered on the surface." Teal'c replied stoically, his eyes never leaving her face. A muscle twitched slightly in his jaw, the only sign that he felt any regret at her current condition.
"There was no other choice, T," Jack said, correctly anticipating his friend's darkened mood
Teal'c nodded imperceptibly, recognizing Jack's attempt to mollify him, before he continued. "This child has not been treated well, O'Neill. It appears she bears the mark of the Tau'ri upon her." He paused to gently raise the child's arm. As the folds of the robe fell back, a red, angry, but totally recognisable mark was revealed. The Earth's point of origin branded on her skin.
"Baal!" The colonel hissed. The colonel rose angrily, his deep brown eyes blazing, "only a sick son of a bitch would do that to a little kid!"
"Indeed!" The warrior said ominously the twitching in his facial muscles intensified.
Beside them the girl began to whimper in distress.
"Noc, Dis'tra, ne'nai." (No, master, don't) She mumbled brokenly, still breathing heavily.
"What?" O'Neill looked at his friend puzzled.
"I believe that 'No Master Don't', is a literal translation, it is a Goa'uld dialect. I regret that this may not be a new experience, O'Neill."
A tear leaked from under her eyelid and shuddering breaths shook her slight frame.
Instinctively, Jack reached out to brush the moisture from her cheek. The child's head turned sharply and the colonel found himself staring into brilliant blue eyes. Shocked by the unexpected intensity of the scrutiny to which he was subjected, O'Neill jerked his hand back as though burnt.
The child's eyes narrowed and then flicked over his shoulder, to the Jaffa behind him. She scrambled to her feet, stepping back along the bunk and flattening herself against the wall.
"Kree Jaffa!" The child screamed, her eyes scanning the room for the closest means of escape. Tears began to stream down her face, as the effort of the sudden exertions to its toll.
"Hey, take it easy! We're not gonna hurt you." Jack reached forward to gingerly place his hand upon her arm.
"Ne'nai! Ne'nai!" (Don't! Don't!) The girl, took another rapid step back along the wall, and found herself standing at the edge of the bunk Her eyes had locked on to the jaffa's immobile face. O'Neill realised that his warrior friend was the source of the child's escalating terror. Anxious not to frighten her any further, he motioned for Teal'c to step back towards the door, before he attempted to approach her again.
Her eyes were wildly searching around. The colonel realised belatedly that the child was about to make a break for the door. He lunged forwards, one knee braced on the bed, as she started to jump, and caught her by the wrist. The little girl began to scream hysterically. The colonel enveloped her in his arms, turning her inwards and pulled her in close to his body. Thrashing her limbs aimlessly, she screamed and sobbed out a torrent of words in a language he couldn't understand, beating her small fists ineffectively against his chest. Jack turned and seated himself on the edge of the metal bunk. Calmly and methodically, he began to fold the errant limbs within the safety of his embrace, all the while speaking softly, uttering soothing words.
Before long, the child was completely immobilized upon his lap and although initially this served only to enrage her more, the struggling eventually stilled only to be replaced by noisy sobs.
Jack shifted the child slightly on his knee and pulled her face in tighter towards his shoulder, he stroked her hair absent-mindedly, gently rocking her to bring comfort.
Gathered safely in the arms of this man, the child felt the tension she felt begin to ebb away. The soothing movement of his body and the soft words that rumbled into her ear through the wall of his broad chest worked upon her in new and unknown ways. She was still very frightened but even as her tears were soaking the man's shoulder, she also drew strength from him. He would save her from her master's enemies and take her home. She could trust him.
In the back of his mind, a memory was struggling to surface; it had begun to niggle away at him. He squashed it down in case his emotions betrayed him. The child sighed deeply, and then yawned. Her tear stained face turned towards him and the blue eyes slid closed. Jack felt all her taut muscles shudder, then finally relax and as she began to breathe more deeply, he realised she had fallen asleep.
The colonel glanced upwards to find that an audience had silently assembled within the crew quarters.
His mind traitorously produced the image he had denied space and suddenly he was back in his house with a tantrummed out Charlie asleep on his knee, sipping a beer and watching the game on television.
Jack's arms tightened slightly and his eyes glazed in response to the unbidden thought, the child drew in a great shuddering breath and hiccoughed, and the memory film played on almost indistinguishable from the present.
"Jack, Jonas has got something." Jacob's voice cut through the images assailing him.
"Colonel, the documents we retrieved are a type of logbook detailing the progress of Baal's experimentation with Tau'ri genetic material. It seems he was attempting to engineer a stronger host, probably for his mate, One better predisposed to tolerate a symbiote. It appears that…"
"Worst case scenario?" The colonel impatiently enquired.
"It is sleeping in your arms, O'Neill," Teal'c nodded towards his friend.
"She's the DNA sample?" He croaked in a strangled voice. The colonel had made the logical mental leaps swiftly, the pieces assembling like a mental jigsaw. The colour drained from his features. He glanced down at the child sleeping safely in his embrace.
Lost in the throes of his translation, Jonas failed to see the colonel's face exhibiting a host of different emotions before he regained control of his errant features.
Jack turned and placed her gently on the bed, he looked at her features, relaxed in sleep and drawing a cover over her, searched there momentarily for his son. He stiffened as images of Charlie's face white, cold and drained of life assaulted his thoughts. Pain clouded his mind as he lived in the terrible memory momentarily.
'No,' he thought savagely. 'I will never be ready to do this again' and drawing down steel shutters in his heart to keep everything within he turned away from the bunk containing the girl and headed for the door.
From the doorway, Sam had watched the scene play out before her. She had known, from his posture, the vicious nature of the demons he fought in his mind. Her eyes met his as he turned and she almost gasped at the cold anger she saw there. She planned to step towards him but his eyes, almost black drilled into her. She shivered imperceptibly and remained stationary, unable to console him. He walked past them all, without so much as a second glance. The major sighed and shook her head wearily.
Over his shoulder Jack called, "Teal'c ya wanna take us back to…er. Where ever we came from?"