On a Slow Ride Through Molasses - Part seven
Lou wasn't having a good day - hell, none of them were. They had been locked up in this house for more than a week now, relying on the local resistance for everything, and tempers were beginning to fray.
It didn't help that they were all worried about the colonel. One minute he was acting like himself-taking charge, questioning, and issuing orders. The next. . . It was almost as if he was drunk. Lou had seen him in deep conversation with Teal'c just before lunch, and he had gone over to join in, only to find Jack discussing the merits of hotdogs over hamburgers. Teal'c had looked as bewildered as Lou had felt when the colonel suddenly stopped dead halfway through a sentence, glanced around and then asked, in all seriousness, why there were so many people in his lounge room.
His erratic behaviour was beginning to cause problems with Jaahn as well. O'Neill was suspicious of every move the locals made, insisting they were hiding something. Lou and Sam couldn't get a straight answer out of him as to why this was, except for some fairly incoherent mutterings about them understanding more than they let on. Jaahn had been remarkably patient, considering the last time he had attempted to talk to the colonel, O'Neill told him in pretty graphic terms to stay the hell away from him.
Lou took a sip of the thick liquid that was the local equivalent of coffee and looked over at the corner they had set up as the colonel's bedroom, the floor piled high with cushions and blankets in an effort to make him as comfortable as possible. Daniel was with him this time, taking his "Jack-watching" shift. Sam had warned them that the injured man should be kept as still and quiet as possible. The only explanation she could come up with for his irrational behavior was a more serious head injury than they first suspected.
Of course, keeping Jack O'Neill still was hard enough at the best of times, let alone while he was acting this way. He had already tried to get up earlier today when Steffen was checking his head wound, pushing the local medic over in the process. Even now, the only mattress the resistance had been able to smuggle in was soaked with water and completely unusable.
Lou sighed. It was obvious the colonel wasn't in his right mind, but it was becoming increasingly harder to placate him without insulting the very people they were relying on to help them get home.
He walked slowly towards Jack's corner, going over in his mind what he was about to say. However he phrased it, he knew how the colonel would react.
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Jack was barely listening to Daniel's words, letting the low murmur waft over him, relaxing for the first time in days. His teammate had a remarkable repertoire of memorized poems and passages from literature, ranging from Shakespeare and Homer to modern comedy. Jack had no idea what it was Daniel was quoting to him now, he wasn't really listening - he just knew it was soothing.
It took Jack a few moments to realize Daniel's words had ceased and he opened his eyes, looking up inquiringly. The answer wasn't hard to discover as the sound of approaching footsteps on the hard wooden floor had him shifting on the cushions, his back twinging slightly in protest.
"Hey, sir. How are you feeling?"
"Better." And it was true. Today was the first time in quite a while that he felt almost normal.
"That's good." For some reason Lou looked almost disappointed in his answer. He paused and Jack took a quick look around, seeing that for once they were alone.
"Where is everyone?" he asked, before Lou could continue.
"Teal'c and Nguyen are on guard duty and Carter, Rutledge, and Jones are helping Jaahn and the others with preparations for the attack on the gate.
"About that. . . " Jack pushed himself up on his elbows, pulling at the cushions to pile them behind his back and looking up at the other officer. "I still. . ."
To his surprise, instead of kneeling beside him, Lou straightened, his hands clasped behind his back. "Jack, I'm sorry, but I'm relieving you of command. It's important that there be no question in anyone's mind whose orders should be followed during this operation, and SG-1 naturally looks to you. Given your recent injury, it isn't appropriate for you to be taking part in the decision making process involved in the assault on the gate."
Daniel unfolded his legs and stood, facing Ferretti, looking distressed. "Surely this isn't necessary?"
Lou nodded. "Yes, it is. I have to know I have everyone's full support and that isn't going to happen if they're conflicted about who is in command."
"You're not doing this!" Jack pushed himself up, using the wall to support his shaky legs, and towered over Ferretti, his anger growing as his headache reestablished itself. He ignoring Daniel's frantic motions to lie back down. "I'm fine. The only problem I have is that I don't believe every word our so-called allies have said."
Lou raised his arms in exasperation, his voice rising. "I'm basing my trust in them on the fact they rescued us, hid us, fed us, and are prepared to leave everything they know behind because they trust us as well. Just what are you basing your suspicions on? Dreams and feelings?"
"It's more than a feeling, Lou. I know we shouldn't trust Jaahn and his men, I just can't prove it." He saw Ferretti's face harden, his lips thinning to a grim line and knew he wasn't getting through. "You've always trusted me, Lou. What's so different about this time? Think about it. Jaahn's been lying to you from the first moment you met him. If you go along with his plans you'll be leading our people into a trap."
"A trap, Colonel O'Neill?"
Jack twisted to face the speaker, finding the resistance leader standing, arms folded, as he leaned against the doorframe, his face expressionless. Jack could make out the shapes of several other people clustered behind him in the narrow hallway.
"You heard me." He pushed off the wall, taking two long strides towards the other man, shrugging off Daniel's restraining arm. "It's all been so very convenient, hasn't it? You just happen to overhear the Governor's plans for us. You have a man in every important meeting and seem to know exactly what Cronus's movements are. Your group is incredibly well organized, and yet you can't even spare us, the only experienced soldiers in the whole equation, a few weapons. Care to explain that?"
"Ah. . . actually, sir . . ." Carter pushed her way through the watching men. Jack's eyes fixed on the shape in her hand, knowing exactly what she was going to say. "Jaahn has provided four of their handguns."
Jack raised a hand, rubbing it across his eyes. "Well, isn't that just special, Major? Four? I don't suppose one of those is for me?"
"No, Colonel O'Neill, we only arm people we trust." Jaahn's words were spat out as he stepped further into the room. "I have no reason to trust you either, Colonel. You've shown us nothing but contempt, for no reason that has any basis in fact."
The large figure of Steffen separated from the group behind their leader. He came to stand beside him, speaking quickly in the guttural native language. Jaahn nodded, then turned back to Jack.
"Steffen has reminded me that you are not in your right mind and suggests I be patient." Daniel began to speak, but Jaahn ignored him, carrying straight on. "However, my patience is not inexhaustible. I am beginning to question why we should risk everything for people who do not trust us. Perhaps we shouldn't. I will have to think on this."
And with that, he turned and left, his men swiftly following.
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