On a Slow Ride Through Molasses – part twelve
"It's a long time since I've done that." Colonel O'Neill spat, then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Actually, I don't think I ever did that."
Van's thought involuntarily went back to his first trips through the stargate. He had been sick every time, to the point when he thought he wouldn't be suited for gate travel. Fortunately his stomach had miraculously settled on the fifth journey, to his profound relief.
He helped the colonel stand, giving him a sympathetic smile of understanding.
"Assist Colonel O'Neill to that shade, Lieutenant, and I shall seek help."
Van looked in the direction Teal'c had pointed, nodding as he spotted the tall tree and small mound of rocks. "Yes, sir. How long will you be?"
"I do not know, Lieutenant, but I hope to return in less than two hours." He handed Van the blanket he carried around his waist. "I shall be as quick as possible."
"Don't hurry on my account. Go visit. Sit a while."
Teal'c contented himself with a raised eyebrow in response to the colonel's attempt at humor.
"Be vigilant." The order was delivered with a piercing look to Van. He nodded and watched as the Jaffa gave the colonel's arm a quick squeeze before turning and moving off at a fast pace. He was headed for the low hills Van could see in the distance.
"Sir?" Van didn't quite know what to do next. He could hardly order the colonel to move, so he gave a little tug on his arm, hoping to start him off in the right direction. O'Neill looked around, frowning, as if he wasn't sure where he was, but he began walking. With Van's help he made it to the shade within a few minutes. Van propped him up against the tree, hoping he won't fall, while he cleared a patch of ground of rocks and spread the blanket over it. It didn't take much to get the other man to lie down – he virtually fell onto the blanket as soon as Van indicated he had finished.
Van tucked the blanket around the colonel as much as possible, seeing the way he was shivering. He didn't look good at all. Before long O'Neill's eyes were closed.
Van sat, his back against the tree trunk, the knife ready beside him. He had no idea where Teal'c had gone. To get help he had said. But where?
The sun rose higher in the sky, making the day far too warm for comfort, but the colonel was still shivering, his body twitching occasionally as he slept.
Van was almost drifting off to sleep himself when he saw the first sign of activity from the direction in which Teal'c had gone. It only took a few minutes for the shapes to sharpen into those of several men. Van rose as soon as he spotted them, staying as still as possible, watching as they drew nearer. He glanced down at the colonel and was surprised to see the man was awake and alert, his own knife held ready. Several minutes passed before, squinting his eyes against the glare, he was relieved to make out Teal'c leading the group of around fifteen men, another older man, dressed in distinctive Jaffa armor, beside him. Their pace was fast and they reached the waiting men's position under the tree surprisingly quickly.
"What have you done this time, human?" Van tensed as the Jaffa knelt at the colonel's side, but relaxed a little when he saw the worried expression on the craggy face. "Can you never keep yourself out of trouble?"
"Sorry…I'll try harder…next time."
"See that you do." The Jaffa did not smile as he spoke. He placed a hand on the colonel's forehead, frowning as the man tried to move away, and addressed his next words to Teal'c. "Perhaps it would be best to leave O'Neill here. I do not think he will be of much help to us."
"You're not leaving me anywhere, old man. I'm fine."
Van stepped forward, taking the colonel's arm as he struggled to rise. "You shouldn't…" He had barely begun to speak before he felt O'Neill push against him and straighten.
"Thank you, Lieutenant."
Van decided it was prudent to keep the rest of his thoughts to himself, contenting himself with staying close, ready to catch stubborn superior officers when they fell on their butts.
"So, what's the plan? As I see it we need some other means of getting to Earth given the fact that the SGC is probably compromised. You got a spaceship handy?"
"We are too far from Earth to reach it by spacecraft within the available time, O'Neill. However, Master Bra'tac has a suggestion."
The old Jaffa nodded, indicating a low rock. "Sit with me, human, before you fall." He didn't wait for an answer, gathering his cloak around him and seating himself on the ground in an easy cross-legged pose that belied his age.
Colonel O'Neill shook his head, leaning heavily against the tree. "I'll stand. Go on…your suggestion." Van heard the fatigue returning to the other man's voice.
"We gate to a planet nearer Earth. I know of a ship we can use and it will take us no longer than a few hours to reach your planet. Once there, my men and I will recapture the SGC."
"Ah…" The colonel gave a small gesture with his left hand, his right pressed hard against the trunk. "Don't think so. My government might have some objection to that – space ships landing on Cheyenne Mountain, alien armies attacking a US military base…stuff like that."
A smile flickered across Teal'c's face. "I had already informed Master Bra'tac that you would not be happy with his plan."
Van was sure he heard a slight 'wuff' of indignation from the seated man, but outwardly there was no sign of his displeasure. "You have a better plan, O'Neill?"
Colonel O'Neill nodded. "Perhaps I do."
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"This was a crap plan."
"It is your plan, O'Neill."
"And your point is?"
"I will refrain from reminding you of my reservations as to the feasibility of this part of it."
"Good. Do refrain."
Jack clung to the thin metal rungs of the ladder with one hand, while trying to wipe the moisture off his other onto his trouser leg. Every muscle in his body was quivering with exhaustion and he decided that right this moment a self destruct countdown could begin and he still wouldn't have the energy to move.
"We are two-thirds of the way down."
Jack placed his hand back on the ladder, took a firm grip, and looked at the yawning chasm that stretched beneath his feet.
Whoooo! Head rush.
He felt himself being pressed back against the rungs, his cheek mushed into the hard metal, but didn't complain.
"Thanks, T."
"You are welcome, O'Neill." Teal'c hand remained on the small of his back – something he was thankful for as the wave of vertigo gradually receded. It was several minutes before he felt ready to start climbing again.
"Okay." He tried to give his voice an extra note of certainty, but felt it was sadly lacking, an assumption confirmed by his teammate's next words.
"You are sure, O'Neill?"
"Indeed."
Teal'c gave a small laugh. "Very well." The hand withdrew from his back and the Jaffa began his slow descent once more.
Jack let his mind wander, the process of climbing becoming quickly mechanical again, even after the break he'd just taken.
He was almost surprised everything had gone without a hitch so far and was waiting for the other shoe to drop – in the form of an earthquake perhaps, or some other joke on fate's part to stop the plan in its tracks. Hell, it didn't need an earthquake, the slightest jerk of the ladder would be enough to throw him off and down into the void below. He shivered at the thought and made extra sure of his next grip.
They had ringed onto the top of the mountain, their Jaffa pilot heading back into space to await their signal. Then they had begun the long descent down the access tube that ran parallel to the old missile silo through which the gate had been originally dropped. The sweat beading on his brow and rolling down into his eyes had Jack again questioning his decision not to contact Washington. He wiped the moisture off on his sleeve and kept going. There was no way of knowing what the situation was here on Earth. For all he knew the gate could have been compromised and Cronus could be already on the planet.
No – best to handle it themselves.
He took another step, his eyes now resolutely closed against the dizziness.
Yeap – no problem.
They could handle it.
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George Hammond noticed it first, and fixed his eyes on the puzzling sight. He had been conscious for some time now, and surprisingly pain free, although he knew that should perhaps be a concern rather than a blessing.
His memories of the events leading up to this moment were crystal clear. He had been shot point-blank with some sort of weapon and he appeared to be still where he fell, on his back in a corner of the gateroom. A quick look through his lashes had confirmed what he suspected – no one was aware he had woken, and he decided to keep it that way, given that he couldn't seem to even twitch his little finger, let alone leap up and disarm the small army of men who had invaded his base.
So he was lying on his back, facing up, and in a perfect position to see the small hatch in the ceiling open and his 2IC and resident Jaffa abseil out and straight down into the midst of everything, where they were promptly surrounded by startled and very angry enemies.
He sure hoped there was more to the rescue than there appeared to be, because if there wasn't he was going to give Colonel O'Neill a firm talking to when this was all over.
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