Name: Better Ways To Self Destruct (aka 'Politics...Oy')
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Summary: Getting closer.
Notes: Thanks to helent for the amazing support with this.
Feedback: Please keep reviewing, especially on this chapter! Kind of straying into unknown territory with some of this. Besides, you know I love hearing from you all.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG1 and the characters are the property of MGM. There is no infringement intended and no profit made.
-Part 9-
War-Tainted
She almost went undetected but for the gas.
Curling out from the vents, drifting into her throat, constricting her airways… Sam tried to resist the reflexive urge to cough but the rising vapours were too strong. Forced to break cover in order to breathe, she spluttered and gasped for air.
"Who's there?"
Carter didn't have the breath to respond. Instead she scrambled down as quickly as she could, only to find steady, supporting hands guide her to the ground. Leaning against the wall, she gasped her thanks. Cain didn't respond; he simply waited patiently for her to recover.
At last she straightened up and opened her mouth to offer an explanation; he shook his head and she fell silent.
"You shouldn't be here," he stated flatly. "Come, this way. You will be apprehended if they find you here."
Sam had no choice but to follow him. He strode quickly ahead, startlingly so for such a weary-looking old man. He neglected to speak though, and his sober air intensified the volume of the alarm bells that were already ringing loudly in her mind.
She decided to break the silence.
"Cain."
They were following a narrow, partially sheltered alleyway that steadily upward. Cain stopped beneath one of the arches and turned to face her.
"Major Carter," he acknowledged, but when she tried to speak again he held up his hand. "Do not incriminate yourself with words."
"I… wasn't going to," Sam replied, "but thanks." He began to walk again and she moved quickly to walk beside him. "You're not going to turn me in," she observed after a moment; he nodded so she asked: "Why not?"
"There are some things I refuse to cover up," Cain responded shortly.
"They're poisoning the land by the Stargate, aren't they?" Sam asked. "To make sure no-one has survived the war."
Cain answered: "They have attacked the plains with deadly gases for three decades. They know no-one has survived."
"Three decades…?"
"It was how they won the war. Now they are making the land of the Dueteri a toxic wasteland; they cannot bear even to leave their souls to peace."
"Surely there are others who want to stop the pollution?" Sam asked, frowning at the despair engraved onto his face.
"Others?" Cain echoed. "No… the officials see the propaganda as a precious tool of their influence. They guided our people through the war and insist there is still a threat. The people believe them."
"But if you told them the truth…" Carter began. Cain shook his head and once again his sorrow silenced her.
They didn't speak again until they had reached the entrance of a small, sturdy building. It hung precariously over the roads below, only partly embedded in the mountain rock.
"I will be back shortly with news of how soon you may leave. Colonel O'Neill is resting in there," Cain told her, indicating; "I left Gale to see to him."
"I bet the Colonel's loving that," Sam remarked with irony as he left. She turned, and made her way into the building.
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"I think we should make sure Sarai is okay," Daniel said to Teal'c. They had just finished their scanty meal and people were dispersing to go about their evening chores. There had been no sign of Sarai since they had arrived back here at the caves.
Teal'c made to reply but was interrupted by the bright, enthusiastic tones of Yosef, who called, "Teal'c! Doctor Jackson!"
Daniel glanced at Teal'c and they stood as Yosef and his companions approached.
"The council have agreed to hear you," he reported triumphantly. "You will come, of course?"
"Now?" Daniel asked.
"Yes," Yosef replied, his smile faltering at Daniel's apparent reluctance. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he added a second later, smile reinstated, "I haven't introduced you! This is Hoshea and Caleb. They are brothers. Hoshea, Caleb, this is Doctor Daniel Jackson and Teal'c."
"We know, thank you, Yosef," Hoshea smiled. Caleb made no such effort to disguise his impatience, saying,
"They are waiting. Are you going to come or not?"
Teal'c saw his bluntness and raised it. "I am not," he said.
"Uh, Teal'c?" asked Daniel, anxious not to arouse ill feeling before they had even entered the council chamber.
"I believe I may better spend my time here," Teal'c responded evenly. "I shall enquire upon the wellbeing of Sarai."
"Well, sure, okay," Daniel replied. "See you later, Teal'c."
Teal'c bowed his head and Daniel allowed Yosef, Hoshea and Caleb to lead him to the council.
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Jack was asleep. Vivid images ran around his mind in full stereo, making up for the lack of real-life scenes during the day. He sat upright, back against the smoothly plastered wall, long legs stretched out in front of him and arms loosely folded across his chest. His head had lolled sideways slightly, his hat tugged down at an angle.
When the door opened his subconscious quietly woke him. Instinct kept him still, though later he would assign his lack of movement to a non-existent headache. It would be his attempt to displace the blame, because he should have shifted sooner, let her know he was awake.
She didn't speak and from the purposely light footfalls, she was taking care not to disturb him. She crossed the room and stopped. There was a pause in which O'Neill wondered what she was doing… but then she was moving closer to him, kneeling down in front of him.
He had almost made up his mind to speak when he felt a cool liquid touch on his eyelid; relief quelled his burning nerves. A gentle finger smoothed the ointment over his closed eye and he found himself relaxing again as warm, calloused hands came carefully up to his cheek. She seemed even closer to him as she reached for his other eye, governed by precise, controlled movements even he had to admire.
And then – holy crap – her hand was on his thigh, exerting an electric pressure as the whole of her upper body moved in for closer contact. His face, his body suddenly felt hot again, even as she pressed a cool piece of material against his forehead. He could smell her. Jeez, he was sharing the same air as her, they were that close. An earthy scent, undeniably feminine but uncompromising, war-tainted, familiar…
He jerked when he realised it was Carter.
She moved back, startled, hand instantly removed from his thigh. It left behind a shameful tingle that he forced himself to ignore as his eyes flew open to meet hers. Light assaulted him but he stared it out until he found Sam's face in the blur.
"Colonel – sir, did I wake you?"
He could hear her embarrassment as she quickly stood, taking a step back to put some distance between them, allow the air to clear.
"Sorta, yeah," Jack answered, sarcasm forming a razor edge. He rubbed his eyes vigorously. They were beginning to hurt, just like his head. "Jeez, Carter – don't go around waking old men up like that, you'll give us all heart attacks!"
"Sorry sir."
And, despite it all, he really wished he could see her well enough to catch sight of that blush.
"Couldn't you have waited until I was awake?"
"Sorry sir," she said again, fiddling unnecessarily with the tube of ointment. In an attempt to explain herself she continued: "But I read the label of the medication. It only works with regular application and I didn't know when you'd last had treatment. I figured it would be best to administer the ointment ASAP."
His answer to that was instantaneous. "Okay, couldn't you have woken me?"
She didn't reply and an awkward silence fell. Mentally, Sam was caught between resenting his ungratefulness and scolding herself for taking inappropriate action. She reminded herself firmly that it had been necessary; she had a responsibility towards him, one that surpassed military guidelines. With a vast sinking feeling, she realised that he knew it too - and it made him uncomfortable. She made him uncomfortable.
Jack sighed and eventually spoke.
"You startled me, that's all. You know me and surprises, Carter – though you'd have thought I'd get used to them by now, all those dealings with the Tok'ra. I swear, they've started making up new complications with the galaxy, just to surprise me."
At that, Sam put herself back in line. He was comfortable enough to joke with her; she had just got too close, that was all, pushed it a little far. She was just relieved he wasn't going to dwell.
"Yes sir."
Jack noticed the touch of a smile that accompanied her response.
Probably thinking of Martouf.
He was startled by the flash of jealousy that accompanied that thought. This was too much. His 2IC had leaned a little too near and he was suddenly feeling jealous? What right did he have to feel jealous? Sheesh, what next? An encounter with a green-eyed monster? He'd be seeing red anytime now. Darn clichés.
He pushed on with the conversation. "Talking of surprises, what have you got for me?"
Sam looked over at him, unsure of his tone. "Sir?"
"You said something about these people being responsible for those gases by the Gate? I'd say that was a pretty nasty surprise." His explanation was level and calmly he added: "And now I get the feeling you have more nasty surprises. Feel inclined to share the information you've no doubt uncovered?"
"Well," she began, "it looks like I was right, sir."
"Oh, well, no surprises there, then," O'Neill remarked with a grin. Carter figured it was best to let that slip.
"The toxins originate from this city," she went on. "They've been pumping out gases since the war ended – according to Cain, that was thirty years ago."
"Thirty years ago?" Jack repeated. "Major, those people couldn't have been dead for more than a month."
"I thought that too, sir, but it's possible that something in the atmosphere is preserving the corpses. It could be something in these gases or even something in the chamber itself."
"Alright, so they've been dead thirty years. Why keep on poisoning?"
"To make a point," Carter answered grimly. "It sounds as though the Triyan government want to ensure that no-one forgets that their enemies deserve to die."
"Nice." He sighed. "What does this mean for us?"
"Well, sir," Sam replied, "I suppose it puts us in a moral dilemma. If those gases were used to exterminate the people who lived in that city, we're dealing with perpetrators of a genocide. If that's not the case, we're at least looking at a people who are doing a great deal to pollute a significant amount of their planet's ozone layer." Another silence threatened. Unwilling to risk it, she added: "Colonel, there's another concern."
"What is it, Carter?"
"I overheard Cain arguing with one of the government officials. He was trying to get the plant shut down for good; the official denied the request. I got the impression that Cain had been arguing his corner ever since the war."
"We've found someone who's not a xenophobic mass murderer," Jack replied, unappreciative of her apparent pessimism. "How is that a concern?"
"One of the points of his argument was that the winds are about to change, bringing the toxins down onto the plains around the Stargate. I can only guess at the amount of damage that could cause; there is absolutely no cover down there."
Jack groaned, tilting his head back against the wall as he deciphered the gravity of her tone. "Daniel and Teal'c."
"Yes, sir," Sam confirmed.
"Alright, we know that they have access to the Gate, right?"
"We assume so, sir, yes."
"Right," said Jack, ignoring the fact it was only an assumption, "so all we have to do is let them know that they gotta get out of there."
"Uh, Colonel… we don't have any way of doing that."
"I know that, Carter," O'Neill replied, attempting to disguise his impatience, "I want you to find one."
"Yes, sir."
"Go and talk to the scientists here, pretend to be interested in their cause. If there's any way we can get back to the Gate quicker, grab it, but we have to make sure Daniel and Teal'c are safe."
"Yessir," Sam answered, taking that as her cue to depart. As she moved towards the door, she informed him: "Cain said he'd be back to ask some questions. He's not on their side, sir. Maybe he can help."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jack nodded. "Keep in radio contact and do me a favour, will you?"
She turned back from the doorway. "Sir?"
"If I'm asleep when you get back, wake me up before ya start playin' Doctors and Nurses."
She attempted to gauge the subtext behind his words but his expression was impossible to read. She lingered with a "yes, sir," but he took no notice, settling back down with his legs stretched out, his arms loosely folded and his eyelids firmly closed.
Sam hesitated for a few seconds longer, debating a response. She considered him, then hastily disregarded the notions of handsome grace that crossed her consciousness. Sam looked away, forcing her thoughts back within the boundaries she had drawn herself.
Then she turned, and quickly headed off to carry out his orders.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this part! I certainly did. I hope everyone's having a good holiday. Part 10 soon...