I'd like to make it clear that although this story involves incidents in Iraq, I have no affiliations with any political group or any other concerned in that country whatsoever and anything contained in these pages is purely fictional, coming entirely from my imagination. I mean no disrespect to any organisation or people herein.

Thanks for the reviews – Redheadedkitten; Froggy0319 and Ilovesg1. I don't know what I'd do without your support.

Title: Unity.

Author: LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

Jack nodded in silence then walked out of the door, and Daniel had a feeling his real work wasn't contained on his lap top at all, but rather in keeping his friend on the right path, steering him away from overloading his seemingly fragile psyche that this assignment had brought on. He sighed, staring at the closed door for long minutes before mentally chastising himself for sitting around doing nothing. He had things to do, having brought plenty of translations to work on whilst he was here.

Chapter 6

Jack followed the SF down the passageway of the base hospital where he was supposed to be interviewing an Air Force Captain in ten minutes time. The officer had been shot down and captured earlier during the present conflict. He had been released a week ago and needed to be debriefed. That was Jack's job. His orders were to debrief these fragile creatures left over from the constant torture and brutality that was all part of imprisonment under the old regime.

The security guard opened the door and stepped inside the room, taking up a position just inside, guarding the exit.

Jack followed him in and stopped to look round the room. Taking in the layout of the room, he turned round and stalked out again, heading straight to the CMO's office. The young guard following in his wake with a surprised expression on his face, but didn't dare argue with the angry looking senior officer.

Jack marched right into the Major's room and interrupted his telephone conversation by pressing a finger down on the rest button. His face looking thunderous.

"What part of imprisonment do you not understand?" Jack demanded angrily in a raised voice, before the unfortunate Major had a chance to utter his astonishment at such action.

"Colonel sir?" Doctor Major Glenn Sanders didn't understand the problem.

"That...room! It has bars at the windows for cryin' out loud!" Jack barked in disgust. The room was small; had bars on the windows, one desk and two hard backed uncomfortable looking chairs, and Jack was having nothing to do with it. The ex-prisoners didn't need to feel they were being interrogated or intimidated by such a place.

Still the Major failed to see the point of the Colonel's ranting.

Jack sighed in frustration, and tried to explain as if he was talking to a child.

"They were 'prisoners' Major. Do bars on the windows ring any bells here? We're on supposedly friendly soil, so why are they still being treated as prisoners?"

"Ahh! No sir they're not. It's just the bars are there for their own safety Colonel. Some of the patients can become quite violent..."

"I know that Major, but I will not subject them to a room with bars. Get rid of the bars as well as that desk and those chairs or get me another room!" Jack demanded furiously.

"Sir, I must..."

"Another room Major! Now! I refuse to interview anyone until you move your ass and find me somewhere else to debrief them. Is that understood Major?"

"Yes sir. Perfectly," the Major snapped to attention, then reached for the phone.

After a minute or two, while Jack had stood hovering over him glowering, the CMO returned the phone to its cradle and referred him to another room further down the corridor.

Once again the SF led him along the passage to a different room. This time Jack was happy to see that the windows overlooked the barracks. He noted that it was a much pleasanter room all round.

There was a picture of the President on one wall, and a nameless landscape of green fields on another. Whoever the room belonged to had added homely touches to it which gave it an air of calm. Just right for former prisoners starved of contact with decent caring humanity. There were two easy chairs facing each other over a coffee table to one side of the room; it was just what he had needed. There would be no formality here. This wasn't an extension of a cell like the other room had appeared to be, nor was it a parade ground. Had he been debriefed in such a room after his own imprisonment, then perhaps he would have talked more openly with someone who at least had tried to understand his needs.

"Thank you airman. Dismissed!"

"Ah. I can't do that sir. My orders are to..."

"Get the hell out of here! Those are my orders son!"

"But sir. It's for your own..."

"No! I will only debrief these men in private soldier. Is that understood?"

"Y...yes sir!" the young man saluted sharply and spun on his heels in an about turn and marched stiffly from the room while Jack watched him go. These men didn't need an audience; it was going to be hard enough as it was to relate everything they had undergone, and just as hard for him to hear them.

He slipped his jacket off and settled himself on the chair, taking the one with his back to the window, thereby giving the ex-prisoner a view of freedom; making it feel more like they really had been released from hell.

Not for the first time, ironically, did he wish that the setting of the camp had more trees around it, and at least a little grass or something covering the desert sand. Anything though would have been nice; then these boys would at least feel a little like they were nearly home. Once you had seen mile upon mile of desert sand or four blank walls, a little green here and there is more than welcome. He had managed to change the location of the room, but there was nothing he could do about the landscape outside the window.

Pulling his notes from the briefcase he took a good look at the first case. Opening the folder, he came face to face with the brutal, naked truth of captivity in the battered face of the officer he would soon get to meet. He read the brief notes quickly, summing up personal details that might help to bridge that initial gap.

There was a knock at the door and Jack stuffed the notes back into the case, tucking it down by side of his chair.

"Come!" he ordered and stood up to meet with his first challenge.

The young officer that stepped into the room was emaciated, haggard and angry.

Jack stepped forward; hand outstretched in greeting. No saluting; no ranks. His order of the day. Two ships that pass in the night; strangers on a train journey. Friendly, amiable even, but low key at all costs.

It hadn't slipped Jack's awareness that the young SF was standing guard outside the room instead of inside as he had been ordered. Obviously he didn't trust these poor souls as far as he could throw them. Jack let it rest for now and ignored him, turning instead to the man in front of him, who hesitantly dropped the salute in favour of the outstretched hand.

"Hi, Scott Devlin I presume. My name's Jack O'Neill. USAF. I'm here to discuss what happened during your captivity, as I expect you have been briefed."

"Yes sir." The weary but wary answer came, as Jack invited him to sit with a wave of his hand.

"Drop the 'sir'. It's just Jack. Understood?"

The man gaped for a moment then nodded feeling uncomfortable calling what was evidently a superior officer by his Christian name.

They sat facing each other. Then silence descended like an oppressive cloud.

Scott Devlin sat in silence wishing he was home, but they said he needed to be debriefed first. 'Well if this 'shrink' thinks he can get anything out of me he's got another thing coming. I can't talk about this, it's too hard,' he grumbled internally, giving Jack an evil glare.

Jack, however, sat patiently waiting for an opening, knowing that perhaps he would have to make the first move after all.

"I'm not a shrink Scott. I'm here purely to listen to what happened during your imprisonment, and maybe offer a little help if I can."

Scott's head shot up guiltily wondering how Jack could possibly know what he had been thinking.

"I just want to help you out here. The quicker you let me in, the quicker I can recommend you go home," Jack assured him.

Scott still maintained his silent summing up of the man in front of him.

"I'm just an ordinary guy like you, who happens to be in the Air Force. None of this is your fault ya know. Believe me I know!" Jack said with feeling.

The sneer of disbelief was something Jack had expected, so he dragged his briefcase back onto his knee and shuffled the papers inside, drawing out a photograph and handing it to Scott.

"Yeah right!" Scott scoffed before he glance down at the picture.

A battered emaciated face stared right back at him. It could have been his own reflection except he recognised the identity of his interviewer under the bruising; the dark haunted eyes staring into the camera told their own tale of horrors endured.

"You were...?" he stuttered, pointing to the picture. "This was you?"

Jack nodded, uncomfortable with showing him evidence of his own torture, but he needed to assure the younger man that he knew what he had gone through. It was a way to reach through the mental barriers erected by the former 'guests' of the enemy. He'd never shown anyone that terrible picture. The only people to his knowledge that knew anything of that time among his colleagues at his present tour of duty, was General Hammond and Dr. Frasier, and even they didn't know it all.

"Four stinkin' months of my life I spent in that hell hole. Could yours be any worse?" he asked gently, knowing that the officer had only been in captivity for a relatively short while in comparison.

Scott looked away, fighting his own instincts. Here was someone who knew what they were like; knew what they could do to you; knew how they tortured you. Maybe it was okay to talk to this guy.

Jack watched as tears welled in the man's eyes and sat passively waiting as Scott held his emotions in check, fighting to stay in command of his thoughts and feelings.

"Take it easy...start at the beginning Scott. The Helicopter you were in was shot down...and…?"

TBC