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UNITED WE STAND

By Lingren.

Previously:

"I...I'm sorry Sir. I...er...I don't know what came over me."

"I'll stay with him Colonel," Jonas volunteered. Jack nodded his assent and they set off again.

Chapter 6

The quartet reached the ruins after several hours, and Jonas got to work studying the ancient pictograms decorating the inner walls of all that was left of a large building.

Jack took a look round, and kept the newest member of the team with him. It was clear the kid was scared stiff. He'd have to have a word with the General; this youngster was no good to him like this. It was obvious that he wasn't suited to gate travel. They guy was jumping at his own shadow.

Teal'c had stayed with Jonas, while Jack made his rounds, having realised these ruins were quite extensive. He and Friedman picked their way over them, dismissing most of the deserted rooms from their minds. That is until they entered a dark shadowy room. Jack flicked on his flashlight, illuminating an altar in the centre of one wall. Made from a huge slab of stone, it sat cold and forbidding. Jack shivered slightly, but Friedman dropped to the floor cowering. He seemed to shudder and then screamed. A piercing yell echoed round the room, and it seared through Jack's brain like a knife. Friedman stopped just as suddenly, then curled up on the floor, sobbing.

"Friedman? What the hell...?" Jack walked towards him to see what was wrong, but when Friedman raised his head to look up at him, Jack stopped. There was something in his eyes that caused Jack to take a step backwards, then another. "Friedman?" he asked warily, bringing up his P-90 for protection.

Friedman laughed manically and slowly rose to his feet. Jack didn't like where this was going. He tried to reach the man inside this apparent stranger.

"Lieutenant!" he yelled, but whatever had appeared to possess the man, had completely taken over his actions. He stepped menacingly towards Jack, who retreated again keeping his P-90 ready, and toggling his radio at the same time.

"Teal'c! I think we may have a problem; you'd better get over here. We're at the far end of the main path, about 800 metres to the north of your position."

"Understood!" Teal'c acknowledged, signing off, instinctively realising that something was wrong by the tone of his CO's voice.

Jack stood still, his back now pressed up against the solid stone wall, so he began to edge his way round it towards the doorway. Before he knew what had hit him, his P-90 was ripped from him and he was flying through the air to land in a crumpled heap on the other side of the room. He couldn't believe that the shorter man could do that to him; he had at least 30 pounds over his smaller frame. He clambered painfully to his feet watching intently as the possessed Friedman stalked over to him.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, winded and perplexed. "What the hell have you done to the Lieutenant?"

"I have long awaited this moment," The entity spat, his voice hard and rasping, almost snake like and so unlike Friedman's. "Finally this is my chance to escape this world. I was banished here, millennia ago, to exist alone on this forgotten worthless rock. Now I shall go free," it hissed.

Jack groaned, of all the damn luck, they had to step onto a planet inhabited by an invisible nut case.

"Sorry...can't let you keep the Lieutenant's body. He needs it back right now."

"Never! It's mine to keep. I have form at last."

"Not gonna keep it for long though!"

The being lunged at Jack before he could open fire with the 9mm he always carried with him. He didn't really want to shoot the young man but he deemed it necessary the way things were going.

Jack's hand was knocked sideways, the gun flying from his stunned hand, then felt the cloying hand of the entity dig deep into his chest. It almost felt like it had passed right through his skin, to virtually clutch at his heart. He cried out in agony, gasping for air at the intrusion, the fiery pain sweeping away his breath in response. He was barely conscious when the entity grew tired of his resistance and picked him up from the floor, throwing him hard against the far wall. Fresh pain exploded in Jack's head and shoulders, where he fell to the floor, crumpled and already lost in oblivion.

Just at that point Teal'c, followed by Jonas, entered and watched in horror as Friedman hurled their CO across the room. Teal'c wasted no time, questions would come later. He fired his Zat at the young man who crumpled, writhing, to the floor in shock. A piercing scream rent the air and a dark shadow fled from his body and disappeared through the floor, leaving the youngster to collapse and join Jack in unconsciousness. Teal'c lowered his Zatnikatel and knew he had been spared from taking the young man's life. Whatever it was that had possessed him had fled, and he fervently hoped it wouldn't return.

Jonas ran over to Jack and felt for a pulse, while Teal'c checked the young man's state. Jonas let out his breath in a long sigh and turned to face a worried Teal'c.

"His pulse is fast, too fast and erratic, and I think he'll have one hell of a headache when he wakes up. There doesn't appear to be any other injuries though."

"We must return to the SGC at once. I will carry O'Neill."

Jonas nodded, knowing he could probably manage the smaller man.

OoOoOoOoO

Sam hurried to the control room and took her place behind the console.

"Have we received an iris code yet?" Hammond asked as the iris slid across the open event horizon, blocking any unauthorised travellers.

"Nothing yet Sir," the technician replied.

Time stood still for those watching closely until the IDC came through just moments later.

"It's SG-1 Sir."

"Open the iris!"

"Yes Sir."

Sam's eyes tracked the General as he moved towards the stairs. She wanted to follow him, but knew she had a job to complete first. She looked out through the window onto the gate room below, and her heart dropped into her boots when Teal'c appeared, the Colonel's limp form draped over his shoulders, obviously injured in some way as he was unconscious.

Sam gasped at the sight in horror, which only increased when Jonas staggered through with his burden too.

Hammond's voice floated up towards her, yelling for a medical team, even as Teal'c gently lowered his CO to the ramp. Hammond helped him, demanding an explanation. Sam palmed the scanner which activated the iris to close with a snap, and then she shot from her chair, taking the stairs at a run in order to reach her friends quickly.

"Lieutenant Friedman appeared to be possessed by an alien entity and attacked O'Neill. He inherited great strength from its presence." Sam heard Teal'c explaining to the General when she'd reached his side. "I was compelled to fire my Zatn'kitel at him. The entity then wisely fled his body. Lieutenant Friedman has yet to awaken."

Teal'c paused while Hammond digested the information.

"General Hammond, Lt. Friedman was not in control of his actions and I do not believe O'Neill would seek punishment for this unfortunate occurrence. As to what passed between the entity and O'Neill up to that point we were not privy to. Both Jonas Quinn and I were several hundred metres away, until summoned by O'Neill for assistance. When we arrived on the scene, he had already hurled O'Neill across the room."

Sam couldn't help utter a gasp at this news. She summoned up all her military discipline not to kneel down and take Jack in her arms to comfort him. She stood slightly behind the General and her eyes firmly fixed on Jack's recumbent form. As she watched him uneasily, he began to stir.

Janet and her team burst through the doors and she was kneeling down beside him in an instant. Seeing he was coming to, she ordered him not to move yet, until she was satisfied he'd suffered nothing worse than a few bruises and a concussion.

Jack was surprised to find himself lying on the ramp in the gate room. The last clear recollection he could remember was walking along with Friedman through the ruins.

"What the…?" he gasped, trying to gather the fleeting images in his mind to make sense of his current situation.

"Colonel, can you tell me what hurts?" Janet Frasier had asked, valiantly attempting to still the struggling officer.

"Uh…shoulders," Jack ground out as pain radiated through his abused body. "Chest… head." He gave up the struggle to right himself, and collapsed back onto the metal ramp beneath him with a groan, wincing at the contact, holding onto his gasp to quell the agony. He felt like he'd been run down by a semi-truck.

TBC