A Single Man of Courage – Part five
The afternoon passed in much the same fashion as the morning, but there seemed to be more questions from the Council. They showed much interest in the Stargate and what weapons were available on Earth. SG-1 declined to answer much, and politely gave only the basic information they usually did until they came to know the other race.
By early evening Jack felt like throwing his 'cards' on the table and shouting, 'Just what the hell do you want?' but he fought down the urge until the meeting was adjourned for the day.
Daniel and Sam cast looks at each other as they made their way back to their quarters. The Colonel strode out in double time, further conveying his bad mood. When they reached the doors to their wing Jack stopped suddenly.
"You kids go ahead. I'm going to see Major Dawson."
Not giving anyone a chance to object, he abruptly marched off in the direction he'd been taken previously to see the Major. The guard who'd followed them back to their quarters was taken by surprise and had to do a quick run to catch up with the disappearing Colonel.
The others again found a meal waiting for them and they settled down to eat, not knowing how long the Colonel would be.
It was barely half an hour before he joined them, his face unreadable. Ignoring the food he poured himself coffee and sat down, still not speaking.
"Not hungry?" enquired Daniel, trying to gauge his mood.
Jack shook his head distractedly.
"How was Major Dawson, Sir?" asked Sam, bravely risking wrath.
"Still drugged. Didn't make any more sense than yesterday. Still no word on the rest of his team." He answered briefly and resumed sipping his coffee. After a short time he sat up straighter, seeming to have reached a decision. "Tomorrow," he said, gaining their attention, "Daniel, you and Carter can join the Council. Teal'c and I can do a little nosing around."
"Do you think that's wise? It may jeopardize any agreement," queried Daniel, choosing his words carefully, mindful of the Colonel's mood.
"For crying' out loud, we won't be sneaking around. I'm gonna ask for a tour, that's all," spat Jack.
"Oh." Daniel looked relieved.
"Besides, I don't think trade is high on their agenda somehow. If you can get an agreement out of them, I'll eat my cap."
"You'll be sorry you said that. How do you like your cap served?"
Jack gave Daniel a cold smile. "Don't plan any recipes yet Doctor Jackson – unfortunately!"
"Unfortunately?" queried Daniel.
"Yeah, cause if I'm right we're in big trouble."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then you get to say 'I told you so and here's your cap,'" he shrugged, the humor distinctly absent from his face.
They finished up their meal. Jack, Daniel and Sam both noticed, didn't eat anything at all. He seemed content with just coffee.
"You should eat something, Sir."
"Not hungry, Carter. I'll make up for it in the morning." With that he excused himself and retired to his room.
Sam stared at his retreating back with a worried frown.
"Do you think he's okay?" she asked no one in particular.
"O'Neill is worried things are not as they should be," intoned Teal'c.
"Okay, I admit things are a bit 'off,' but Jack wasn't himself before we got here. I think it's making him see things a bit …" Daniel searched for a word … "A bit 'different' that's all."
"Are you saying that O'Neill's instincts are biased?"
Daniel thought for a moment. "Well perhaps I am. Trade agreements are never easy. Maybe they're holding out because they want bigger things, seeing as we're much more advanced."
"Like us with the Tollan?" asked Sam.
"If you like. An ion cannon isn't a trinket is it? We'd love to get our hands on their technology so we can hardly be suspicious of the Mosems for wanting the same, can we?"
"Put like that, I suppose not," sighed Sam "So you think the Colonel is over reacting?"
Daniel nodded slowly. "Yes I think his past is clouding his judgment."
"What about Major Dawson and SG-6?"
"They did set everything up. Maybe Kissain's medicine man is a bit heavy handed, think how behind they are in regards to medical matters, and SG-6 could just be out checking the surveys again. Perhaps they're looking for bigger deposits or something."
Teal'c listened quietly to Major Carter and Daniel Jackson. Part of him knew their words made sense, but a bigger part of him put his trust in his brother in arms. He trusted O'Neill's judgment. The man's instincts were those of a true warrior and Teal'c would follow O'Neill no matter what. He had every faith O'Neill would not have to partake in the strange Tau'ri ritual of 'eating his cap'.
They eventually all retired to their rooms, quite tired after the day's talks.
xoxoxoxoxo
Jack lay waiting for everyone to retire and then gave it another hour before climbing through his window and up onto the roof. Using all his years of experience, he silently made his way across the rooftops, easily avoiding the few guards that were posted.
From the journeys to and from the council chambers and his trips to visit Major Dawson, he had a fairly good idea of the layout of the palace and he was heading for the wing where Major Dawson was. He wanted to visit the Major, but his aim was to also search the wing and surroundings for any sign of SG-6.
He found his way easily enough and entered each of the several rooms. He found no trace that SG-6 had ever been there. As he entered the room where the Major lay, he heard the wing's doors opening. Quickly he chose the huge clothes cupboard to hide in, which gave him a good view of the bed, and calmed his breathing as he waited.
Before long Samels came into the room, along with two others he didn't recognize.
They spoke quietly in their own language. "Wake him," ordered Samels, his voice no longer the submissive scraping one he presented to SG-1.
One of the men put something into a goblet of water and forced the liquid down the sleeping man.
"Do you think he will speak? The others gave us nothing we could use," commented the other man.
"They will give up their secrets eventually," replied his companion.
"Enough," said Samels. He leaned over the Major as he stirred. "Take him to be with the others."
"What if the Colonel insists on seeing him again?"
"He will have to wait until we are ready this time."
"I'll get the guards to carry him. He won't be out of this for a while yet," said one and left the room to return shortly with the two guards.
They dragged the Major up and all left the wing together.
Jack gave them a couple of minutes and then cautiously moved out after them. Satisfied that the way was clear, he followed the party just out of sight but within earshot of them. The corridors were very dimly lit with just the odd lamp, so it was easy for him to keep to the shadows.
The party headed in a new direction he was unfamiliar with, followed by a long descent down some narrow stone stairs. Jack took a deep breath before following them down and uttered a quick prayer that he didn't meet anyone coming up – there was nowhere to hide.
The 'scenery' changed dramatically as he left the stairs; bare stone walls, dank and dark gave the chilling appearance of a dungeon. Jack rounded a corner stealthily to find a guard sitting half asleep. No doubt he'd just been disturbed by the party entering and he was mumbling to himself, complaining at the activity.
As the guard settled down again, closing his eyes, Jack took the chance and silently passed him.
The stench from the place got stronger as Jack worked his way deeper into the dungeons. The soft moaning he'd heard as he entered got louder and the smell grew stronger, the further he went. Jack leaned back against a wall, his head connecting with the stone painfully, his eyes closed for a moment. The sounds and smell took him back, the bad memories crawling from the deep recess he'd placed them in.
He took a deep breath and swallowed harshly against the rising nausea.
'Come on, not there. Focus,' he chided himself as he tried to tear his mind away from the past and into the present. The sweat ran freely down his face. His stomach still threatened to rebel and he was ever thankful he'd not eaten recently. It took a couple of minutes more before he was able to move on.
He passed some empty cells and stopped quickly when he saw the party standing together whilst a guard unlocked a cell door.
He risked moving a little closer, darting into another empty cell and hiding in the shadows. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he didn't dare risk moving any closer for now.
Presently the guards, Samels and the other two passed him, but no Major. Jack waited a few minutes then crept silently to the cell he'd seen them at.
Most of the cells were bars set from floor to ceiling, with no windows and no light, except for the flickering oil lights outside the cells.
Jack stood for a moment swallowing bile down, forcing bad memories away, before focusing on the inhabitants. Tom Dawson was lying on the dirty straw on the floor with two figures bending over him. It took Jack a moment to recognize who the two were underneath the filth, blood and bruises on them.
"Masters? Parker?" he called in a low voice.
They both jumped at the sound and for a few seconds they both just looked at him as though he was a ghost. Dave Masters was the first to recover and walked slowly and painfully over to the bars.
His voice was a dry whisper. "Colonel? Colonel O'Neill?"
Jack could see the man's face more clearly now and could see the damage inflicted on him. Taking another breath he spoke. "In the flesh, Dave," he whispered back.
"Blunt and Worther are dead, Sir," said the man, standing up straighter as he made his report.
Parker had now joined them at the bars. "You've got to get us out, Sir," he called, his voice rising with panic.
"Shush," whispered Jack, looking down the corridor quickly. "Take it easy. I can't do anything right now. Tell me what's going on."
Dave Masters took a breath. "They want weapons and how to use the Stargate. They want to know about Earth, all about it."
"Why like this? What about the trade?"
"Because Sir, our second survey revealed the minerals were limited, very limited - not worth the effort and expense it would take to get them."
"They found out we discovered it, but they said they will take what they want instead," added Parker.
Jack sucked in a breath. "So it's all a scam. Why did Dawson let it go so far? Why all the trade 'rigmarole?'"
Masters shook his head. "I dunno, Sir. We hadn't seen him since we set out to do the second survey. Maybe he instigated it on the initial findings and what they told him."
"We haven't given them anything they can use, Colonel. They've taken our gear and weapons … but I don't know how much longer we can ..." Parker's voice broke as he spoke.
"Blunt and Worther were tortured to death, Sir. I don't know what was got from them and they haven't really started on us yet." Dave Master's face pleaded silently with Jack.
Jack regarded them solemnly. His urge was to free them now, but he couldn't. He had to find a way out of the city, a way through the desert and back to the Stargate, for them all first.
Parker saw Jack steeling himself. "Please, don't leave us here Sir, please. What they did to …." He broke down with a muffled sob, sliding down the bars to the floor.
"Airman, you've got to hang in there just a little longer." hissed Jack firmly. He hated himself as he spoke; he knew only too well what these men were suffering. "If I spring you now it'll do no good and it'll sign all our death warrants. I need to find a way out of the city, not just from these cells." He grasped the bars with both hands. "Just hang on. I'll be back, I swear. Take care of Tom. If they start on you give them old info, old codes. Frighten them with tales of the Goa'uld. Tell them you don't rank high enough – anything, just stay alive!"
Jack looked into their faces once more and then wrenched himself away to disappear into the shadows.
Feeling wretched at leaving them, he retraced his steps. The guard was sound asleep as he crept past and then climbed the stairs. He carefully traversed the roof tops, only stopping for breath once he was safely inside his room and then he closed the shutters before lighting the lamp to chase away the shadows.
He debated long and hard about telling his team of the events, but in the end he decided against it. Daniel was just not a good enough actor to go through a whole day's negotiation knowing the full situation. Deciding to leave things as they were for the moment and to use the time for himself and Teal'c to find an escape from the city, he forced himself to lie down and try and sleep.
Jack spent the next couple of hours in a fitful sleep. The nightmares surfaced, taking him back to the small cell he'd survived in for months of hell.
Sitting up with a start, shaking and sweating, he groggily made his way to the bathroom where he was violently sick. Eventually he calmed down enough to wash and shave and made himself presentable. The stink from the cells and his nightmares stayed with him though, no matter how much he pushed it down, making his stomach heave and his hands shake once more.
He made his way to the dining room and found the continuously supplied coffee, hot and welcoming. He poured a cup and gulped at it greedily to try and steady himself. By the end of the second cup his hands were steadier and he felt a little better. A tap at the door brought the girls in with breakfast. The smell of the food threatened his stomach once more and he quickly strode to the shutters throwing them open to stare out across the still gray courtyard. Taking deep breaths he forced his stomach to settle down. Within a few minutes the girls had finished laying out the dishes and left without disturbing him.
He was aware a short while later of the door quietly opening and someone coming into the room.
"You did not sleep well, O'Neill," stated Teal'c with concern.
"Ya think, buddy." scowled Jack and taking a deep breath he turned around, moving to the table to pour another coffee, and willing himself not to watch as Teal'c helped himself to a large breakfast. He sat down opposite Teal'c, but not looking at the Jaffa.
"You should eat. You did not eat last night."
Jack shrugged. "Not hungry." His stomach was still churning and he avidly avoided the sight of the food.
Daniel and Sam came in yawning and stretching. Calling a greeting out to the Colonel and Teal'c, they each took a plate and helped themselves to food.
Jack's stomach couldn't take any more and he got up quickly. Slapping the coffee cup down he hurried out of the room. He just made it in time to the bathroom where he threw up again.
xoxoxoxoxo