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.

Sorry folks…lots of angst to come before we can think of any fluff.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed. Glad you're still enjoying this.

Village-Mystic – This is where the story really begins, the previous chapters were just the build up. The main thing is that Jack is reliving the past and its effect on him. And as you will see, his near future. Jumping ahead to the next day now!

Ilovesg1 – How did you guess? More like a heavy boot if you ask me!

Let the fun begin!

Title: Unity.

Author: LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

He cursed himself for letting this assignment get to him, so much so that it had almost driven a wedge between him and Daniel. He could see that now and it was time to call a halt. His friendship with the young man and his sanity wasn't worth losing over this.

Chapter 9

"I don't believe this!" Jack exclaimed angrily when he'd gone to give his latest reports to the General. "Why me? I was supposed to be going home!"

General Kelly sat back in his chair, looking up at the Colonel's furious face. His patience was not limitless and he had heard all about this officer's habit of speaking his mind freely regardless of whom he was addressing. Insubordination was something he had been warned about as far as Jack was concerned. He could now see why.

"Your orders are not subject to question Colonel. They come from the Joint Chiefs," he said, stretching the truth, hoping to get Jack to back down. The orders hadn't specified that Jack was to lead the mission, just that the General needed to get a team together to implement a rescue, and he needed someone with a lot of special ops experience.

Jack fitted the bill perfectly.

"I don't give a damn who they come from. I'm not here to..."

"Colonel O'Neill! The orders stand." General Kelly snapped, still trying to keep a tight rein on his temper. "You will present yourself and your colleague, Dr. Jackson, to the designated area at 01:00hrs. Is that understood?" He wasn't used to soldiers questioning his command.

Jack snapped to attention, giving a text-book salute.

"Sir, yes sir!" he ground out with venom. With that, he about turned and strode irately from the room, his own temper barely concealed.

Daniel met him outside the General's office. He had to practically run to keep up with Jack's long angry strides as he hurried away from the office.

"Jack? It's true?"

Jack stopped and abruptly turned to face his friend.

"Yeah it's true Daniel. Both of us have to report as ordered."

"But..."

"I know, I know. We shouldn't have to do this but the order came from the Joint Chiefs. There's nothing I can do about it. You of course don't have to go. You can defy the order and stay behind or go home as planned. You're a civilian for cryin' out loud. They know that. They can't court-martial you for refusing to go. I on the other hand have no choice; at least, not if I want my career left in tact. Go home Danny. Take that ticket and get the hell outta here."

"No!" Daniel replied adamantly.

"No?"

"I'm not leaving you Jack. I'm not going to let you do this on your own. I going out there with you."

"You don't have to do this!" Jack sighed, closing his eyes against the rush of emotions filling him. He opened them again to see Daniel looking him in the eye with such intensity that Jack was momentarily floored.

"Yes I do,"

"No!"

"Yes Jack."

"No you don't."

"I'm going with you."

"No you're not."

"Yes. I. Am," Daniel enunciated slowly and resolutely. "I'll be right there to watch your back Jack. I don't 'trust' anyone else to do it. We stick together Jack. You and me. We're friends. Team-mates."

"Daniel!"

"Jack!"

Jack looked him straight back and saw determination in those blue eyes; as well as anger. Anger that they had been ordered to take on the rescue mission and anger that Jack was willing to leave him behind.

The prisoner had finally revealed the whereabouts of the hostages and a hastily put together rescue plan had been put into action. Tomorrow or any day after that would be too late; they were due to move on in order to try and avoid detection that very next day. Never staying in one place too long to arouse suspicion.

The General had lost his own 2IC - the only other high ranking officer on the base at that time with the right qualifications - and several others, in a suicide bombing in the city just the day before, now he needed another senior officer to take on the mission to release the kidnapped victims from a hideout nearly 50 miles away. Jack was the only other officer readily available, and his black ops experience would come in handy. The plans were hurried and Jack wasn't sure they would work, but his hands were tied, and he couldn't pull out without risking his career. He'd prefer it if Daniel got the hell out of Dodge, but the man was refusing to leave; offering to stay by his side no matter what.

Jack slumped his shoulders, placing a hand round the back of Daniel's neck in resignation and relief. If there was anyone whom he would prefer to have looking after his six, it was Daniel. He trusted him with his life.

"You sure about this? It may not be pretty," he argued wagging his index finger at his friend. "Some really serious shit could go down here."

Daniel nodded, placing his hand onto Jack's shoulder.

"I'm not leaving you Jack. We're friends, and just because there might be a battle, I'm not scared," he said dropping his voice, "I've faced the Goa'uld remember." He paused briefly looking Jack straight in the eye before adding, "Friends stick together. We're part of the same team Jack, so get used to the fact I'm gonna be right behind you every step of the way."

Jack patted the man on his shoulder and then dropped his hand, turning away so that Daniel couldn't see how much his words had affected him.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. It was all he could manage to say without his voice breaking. He walked on then, knowing Daniel would follow. He only hoped that Daniel wasn't about to follow him to his death, or worse; imprisonment if they were captured.

OoOoOoOoO

The streets around the warehouse were deserted. The hazy moon, hidden behind thin high clouds gave just enough light so that they didn't require the night-vision goggles. They kept to the shadows, disappearing from sight as they moved slowly forward towards their goal.

Jack, using hand signs, signalled his men to sweep round the back of the building, moving in only when he gave them the signal; two clicks on the radio.

He crept from the shadows as the guard walked past. The man never knew anything; his death coming silently and swiftly. Jack dragged the body away and hid it among the ruins of what was once an office block; the computer equipment broken, lying among the debris of desks and chairs.

Daniel stuck to him like glue, watching his back as he'd promised as they moved quickly and quietly, into position.

As silent as the night the Colonel, Daniel and two more soldiers, moved in, taking out three more guards in the process.

Getting into the place had been easier than they thought, and soon they were searching the derelict offices for the hostages.

Opening a door, they discovered the prisoners, tired, battered and filthy; their hands tied behind their backs, their mouths covered with dirty rags. The smell of squalor almost overpowering.

Jack ignored the pungent odour. It was nothing which he himself hadn't experienced during his own captivity years before. He watched from one side of the door; Daniel from the other. The other two soldiers with them released the six men from their bonds and organised them into helping each other to escape.

They got as far as the outer doors before they were discovered. That's when Jack clicked his radio and the enemy was taken by surprise when they found they were surrounded. Jack hurried his little band from the warehouse and along the street to where they were to rendezvous with the chopper, beyond the edge of town.

The faint pink light of dawn tinged the sky behind him, and Jack knew that time was running out. It had taken them longer than expected. With the light of daybreak silhouetting them against the sky, they would be sitting ducks out there waiting for their pick up.

Dodging bullets, they all ran to the nearest shelter. Both Daniel and Jack hiding behind the broken down walls of a house nearby. The Colonel made sure that those he had rescued stayed hidden in the shadows well out of line of sight. They were relieved to be free but Jack warned them they had yet to be picked up and anything could happen while they waited.

He then ordered them to move on once more as the enemy had regrouped and were systematically checking all the houses and offices along the road towards them. What had happened to the other men he'd brought along he didn't know. He'd heard nothing from them despite his frantic whispered calls over the radio.

He could see the enemy clearly now as the sun climbed higher, it's fiery orange crown rising steadily above the distant sandy horizon.

The enemy were too close to ignore any longer, he had to move his people out.

Jack and Daniel fired endless streams of bullets, waiting until he heard his man shout that they were okay. Jack turned and sprinted for the next available cover. Sliding to a halt behind the corner of the wall he turned back to the enemy and opened fire again. Bullets strafed the wall above his head, sending a shower of hard splinters and dust from the concrete down over him.

The covering fire from his men was sporadic at best, he could see some of the enemy rebels falling, yet still they came in droves. Where the hell had they all come from? There were more now than before. He swung round and poked his head up, firing constantly so that Daniel could move back towards him, covering his six.

The battle was intense, and their positions hard-won. A close call had left Jack with a trickle of blood down his temple from a sharp concrete shard when a bullet ricocheted in his face off the wall. It stung, but he ignored it, concentrating instead on shooting back.

He could hear the helicopter now above the roaring of the battle in his ears. It was coming in to land. The dust at his feet beginning to swirl around him under the swooping of the rotor blades. He ducked back away from sight of the enemy and watched gratefully as the helicopter swept down to hover a few inches above the ground, hidden from the enemy by the buildings. The rush of sand blinded him for a moment so much that he had to turn his head away, and spit out the dust.

"Go. Go. Go!" he yelled into his radio, ordering the team and the former hostages to high tail it out of there. He spun round again and fired his P90 guarding his team's backs.

He glanced back to his friend who was copying his actions.

"Daniel! Go. Now! I've got your six!"

Daniel sprinted towards the helicopter, and Jack waited until he was almost there before following him. Bullets danced in the dirt beneath his feet as he ran.

Daniel had already reached the safety of the chopper but turned at the last minute, anxiously awaiting Jack's arrival. He were almost there; just a few metres more. He yelled encouragement at his friend.

"Jack! Come on!"

It was then Jack faltered.

Daniel looked on in horror as Jack was struck down in a hail of bullets. Daniel would never forget the look of utter shock on Jack's face, giving rise to near panic as he realised the helicopter was getting ready to lift off, leaving him behind. Again.

Pain had exploded in Jack's thigh as he ran, and he fell heavily onto the hard dusty ground. Another bullet scraped his arm as he collapsed. He looked up to see Daniel in the helicopter's open doorway being held back by the others as the chopper began to take off.

He closed his eyes in defeat and gave up all hope of going home, knowing his capture was imminent, and he might not survive it this time; at least, not in his right mind.

He might have broken down there and then if he'd been a weaker man, and he knew he was close to losing it. With a sudden rush, he realised that he could stop it from happening all over again. There was at least one way out of this. With a last look at his friend as the only escape left the ground, seeing him struggling against the others holding him back; he said goodbye.

Daniel snapped out of his shock that Jack was hurt and in real danger of becoming a prisoner again. There was no way he was going to leave Jack behind. He fought off the hands that were holding him and jumped the short distance back to the ground, gasping from pain as the landing jarred his whole body. The helicopter didn't hang around but swooped away behind him, leaving them in a cloud of swirling dust.

When he could see again, he saw Jack go for his pistol, and without another thought, he ran the few metres towards him. He couldn't let Jack take his own life, no matter what was in store for them, because there was no way either of them were escaping now. He would be with him throughout it this time.

Just as Jack drew the 9mm level to his own temple, he found his aim impeded. He fought off the hand holding his wrist. He just needed to end it all; unwilling and unable to face another tortuous imprisonment.

"Jack! No. Don't do this. It's me. It's Daniel. Jack stop!"

Daniel wrestled him, leaning over him, pinning the hand with the pistol to the ground.

Jack halted his struggling as the tug of weary pain pulled at his consciousness in defeat. He was beaten; unable to recognise the voice of command through the blinding haze of pain and fear. He gazed upwards, expecting to face his enemy, only to look into the startling wide blue eyes of his friend.

"It's me Jack, Daniel. You're not alone in this. This time I'll be with you."

Daniel took the gun from Jack's hand and threw it away in relief.

"No Danny. Go!" he mumbled weakly.

"No way Jack! Not this time."

Daniel looked down at Jack's wounded thigh; he was losing a lot of blood. He saw two ragged holes there, but didn't know if the bullets had gone straight through or not; whatever state his leg was in didn't matter, Jack would be seriously weakened and helpless against the enemy; perhaps even dying after all and he'd be on his own.

Jack sucked in a ragged breath of relief tempered with frustration just as darkness flooded his mind and he slipped thankfully into oblivion, knowing Daniel was there to catch him.

Daniel hugged his wounded friend to him just as the terrorists surrounded them.

TBC