A/N: OK, folks, here's a long one. And now I start to beg: PLEASE read and review! I see this story has had a few hits, but no reviews yet! Should I keep going? Should I remove this? Should I stand on my head and cluck like a chicken? Let me know!
And on that note...
While Melody was settling in to her new surroundings, General Hammond was sharing with SG-1 and Janet, who had since joined them, the warning Bra'tac left with him.
Dr. Fraiser opened the file in front of her. "Yes, well, about that 'not easy' thing. From what you told me Melody was supposedly a scholar, but she had some bruises on her arms that I couldn't fathom being normal for a scholar on any world. She told me she had trained with Master Bra'tac to become a warrior for Fayum, but that her last combat session had been months ago. Those bruises couldn't have been more than three or four days old."
"Could she have hurt herself dancing?" Teal'c asked. O'Neill turned a questioning gaze on him. "When we entered she was performing a traditional dance known by many Jaffa. It is performed at celebrations and is often used for entertainment."
"You dance?" Jack asked with a grin, picturing the stoic man sitting next to him twirling around like a top. Other than one raised eyebrow, his comment was completely ignored.
"No, none of those injuries were consistent with anything like a slip and fall. Unless she repeatedly rammed her arms into a barre or some other hard object, these injuries probably aren't innocent." Dr. Fraiser turned from Teal'c to General Hammond. "Sir, I'd like permission to give Ms. Favale a more thorough examination."
"I'll allow it if she'll agree to it. You can ask her first thing in the morning. Let her rest for now." Dr. Fraiser nodded her thanks and retreated from the room, returning to her paperwork and the few patients awaiting her in the infirmary. The General turned to Colonel O'Neill, who had unfortunately resumed his pen clicking. "Colonel? Do you have something to add?"
"No, Sir, just one really bad feeling."
Daniel nodded his agreement. "They seemed to be very easy going people, but most societies aren't very accepting of newcomers. At least, not as accepting as Melody would lead us to believe."
Jack practically snorted. "Even I got that. Did you notice the dirty looks they were giving us? You'd think our eyes were glowing or something."
"So, Daniel, what are you saying?" Captain Carter asked, confused.
"I'm saying that for her to be so totally integrated into this society would most likely either take a very, very long time being ostracized by the locals or some sort of initiation into their culture. She has no obvious cut marks on her face or forearms that would be consistent with initiation into many African cultures or any other marks of membership that I could see, but each different society has its own unique way for someone to gain acceptance."
"Daniel, any idea what that would be for these people?" Jack asked.
"Well," he started, searching for something intelligent to say. He finally gave up. "No. Melody is the only one who could tell us that, unless we return to ask the locals."
"Sir, why don't we speak with her tomorrow? We should probably speak to her before Janet gets to her, so maybe over breakfast?" Sam offered to Jack.
"All right, SG-1, we'll report for duty tomorrow to have breakfast with a teenager," Jack agreed, wondering why that sounded more odd to him than going to a dinner party on another planet.
"That's fine, but I want you to remember that she has trained with Bra'tac. I don't want any of you pushing any buttons that might set her off."
"I do not believe we should be worried, General Hammond. Any training she would have received from him would have also stressed that she should not use it unless she is in serious danger," Teal'c explained.
"All the same, just make sure you're all there before you push any buttons. Dismissed." General Hammond walked briskly out of the room.
"Well, I guess I'll see you all in the morning." Jack picked up his note pad, now covered with random dots from tapping his pen on it, and headed for the lockers.
"Oh, seven o'clock is way too early in the morning to have to come in to work," Daniel complained the next day as he plopped down in the cafeteria across from to Sam. He'd only stopped on his way over for a cup of coffee, which he was trying to muster up the energy to bring to his lips to drink.
Sam smiled at his disheveled appearance. "You seemed to have no problem with it yesterday."
"Yeah, but that was for a mission, not to sit here and psychoanalyze someone." He put his head on his arm, hoping he wouldn't fall asleep right there.
He lost all fear of dozing off when he heard a tray plop down dangerously close to his head. "Good morning, kids!" Jack dug into his greasy home fries hungrily. "Daniel, eat something," he said authoritatively. "We need you to interrogate our new friend."
"Once my stomach wakes up," he agreed, rubbing his eyes once more.
Teal'c soon joined the rest of them at the small table, crowding himself and Melody into what was usually a four-person table by seating her next to Sam and himself at the head of the table, between Jack and Melody. "See, even the new girl has an appetite," Jack teased Daniel. He shot the colonel an exasperated look before getting up for something solid to eat.
It was quiet as the five ate together, something rare for SG-1. Melody was markedly uncomfortable among the strangers. It was a feeling she was used to; she'd been the new girl on another planet, so being the new girl on just a base was a relative breeze. She felt the eyes of SG-1 appraising her over the table. She was glad she had worn her hair out today, something she hadn't been able to do in years. It was earning her appreciative glances from the young airmen, but it did nothing to break the tension at the table.
Not surprisingly, Jack was the first to break the silence. "So, Melody, you're from Jersey, huh? Know any mobsters?"
She was confused until she saw the grin on his face and heard the snickers coming from Sam and Daniel. "Not as far as I know, Sir, no," she answered honestly and with a smile. "Although the guy from next door did leave the country rather abruptly right around the time some detectives came asking questions. Speaking of, I was wondering…" She paused before continuing, and when she began speaking she had slipped back into the formal pattern of speech that had become second nature to her over the years. "I do not wish to be too forward, but will it be possible for me to contact any members of my family?" She lowered her eyes as she finished, afraid of the answer she would get.
Jack looked back and forth from Daniel to Sam, who were both looking at him expectantly. He silently mouthed, "Me?", then shook his head, motioning to Sam to take the question.
Sam tried to shake her head and pass the buck, but Jack and Daniel looked away, suddenly intrigued by their plates and forks. "Well, that gets kind of sticky," she relented, her eyes shooting daggers at her coworkers. "See, the Stargate Program and everything that goes on in this mountain is classified. Very few people outside of those who work here have any idea that stargates even exist. It'd be kind of hard to explain to your parents how you disappeared into a mountain and we just now found you."
Melody nodded in understanding, looking only mildly disappointed. Her discomfort over, she relaxed her speech. "I understand. I thought you might say that, I just hoped I could see them again soon."
"Well, once we come up with a good reason why you could have disappeared, right under the nose of the US military, for ten years and then been found in the same place, still under the nose of the US military, then we might be able to get you in touch with your family. Until then, …" Daniel let his voice trail off, motioning around him at the mountain that would be her temporary home.
"I've thought about that," Melody said timidly, "and I may have a suggestion." She knew she shouldn't be afraid to speak up, not here where she had rights, but she still couldn't bring herself to look at the others at the table. She had spent too much time living in fear for her to let go of it now.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow, somewhat unsure of how good an idea this girl could have come up with on her own that would fly with the military.
"Oh, you have, have you?" Jack put down his fork and gestured toward her with his hand. "Please share."
"Well, you guys are going to have to clear up some of the details if we're going to use this plan." She still sounded insecure as she pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of the BDUs she'd been issued. "When I was here ten years ago, there was a small hole in the fence around the base, somewhere around here." She pointed to an area about 20 yards east of the entrance to the ground level. "We could say I wandered off, looking for a bathroom, and I wound up outside. Someone called me over from outside the hole in the fence, saying he knew where to find a Port-A-Potty, and kidnapped me from there."
"And he managed to keep you for ten years?" Jack knew he'd said it harshly, but if he didn't pick apart her plan now someone else would later.
"Well, yes, that's one of the details I needed you guys to help me clean up. I'm thinking we could say he managed to keep me locked up in his basement for a year or two, but after that…"
Sam piped up. "Well, there is a psychological phenomenon known to occur in hostages who have been held in captivity for long periods of time. They eventually believe that there is no way to escape from captivity, even to the point that their captor can leave them alone for hours or days at a time and they will never once try to set foot out of their boundaries; sometimes their hostages get to the point where they see nothing wrong with their captivity or their captor."
"Stockholm syndrome," Jack blurted, ignoring the surprised looks. "But again, for ten years?"
"Yeah, that'll be a problem," Daniel agreed, his face revealing that he was deep in thought. Jack looked at him expectantly. "I've got nothing."
"There is a tactic used by the Goa'uld," Teal'c supplied, speaking up for the first time. "They convince their slaves that their spies are everywhere and there is no escape. It takes years and is sometimes very difficult, but most will eventually believe it. If they do not, they convince the slaves that there is nothing for them outside of captivity, that they have completely destroyed all existence as they knew it. They eventually come to believe that they have no family, no home, and no friends left to return to. In their depression they will submit to their captivity. Often they are slaves for life."
"Yes, Teal'c, but we can't exactly tell people that the Goa'uld had her. Kinda messes up the 'classified' thing." Jack looked over to Melody, who was being very quiet. "We'll figure it out. Eventually. Hey, speaking of figuring things out," Melody looked confused at his abrupt change in subject, "I believe Daniel had a few questions for you about this culture you came into. Daniel?"
Subtle, Jack, real subtle, Daniel thought sarcastically. "Well, yes," he tried to recover some hint of discretion, "umh, I was wondering how you came to be so … integrated into the new society. Was there some sort of initiation or trial phase?" He tried to phrase it as delicately as possible without coming out and asking if she had been brainwashed or otherwise abused to gain her status.
Melody grew more uncomfortable as her mind raced for a good explanation. "When I came through the gate, I was greeted by the children of the city. Apparently meeting newcomers at the gate has been a pastime of the children for generations. I, however, didn't have the advantage of being with a friend of the city as you did. They were afraid and ran for the woods, hiding behind the trees and peeking out to see what I would do. They eventually got bored with watching me push random buttons on the … what did you call it?" She drew a picture in the air with her hands.
"A DHD," Sam supplied.
"Yes, the DHD," she repeated. "Well, I couldn't get the darn thing to turn on, and trust me I spent hours trying to get it to work. I lived in the woods for a few days, eating berries and leaves and drinking the water from a small stream. I got pretty sick."
Jack cringed slightly. "Find some poison berries?" he asked.
"No. You know the saying 'don't drink the water'?" She received three knowing grimaces and one confused Jaffa look.
"I am unfamiliar with that expression."
Sam drew his attention. "The microbes in the water. Every water supply has its own unique assortment. If you're not used to them they'll make you sick even if the locals can tolerate it." Teal'c nodded in understanding, turning to Melody as she continued.
"I went back to the gate and tried to activate it again, but it didn't work. While I was working on the … DHD," she pulled out triumphantly, "an older couple came along to harvest some berries from the bushes near the gate. The man wanted to take me to the guard house, but the woman realized I was sick and took pity on me. Come to think of it, she surprised me when I was able to understand her. I thought maybe I was in some remote part of England or something. She and her husband collected the berries then offered to take me to their home."
"So that was More' and Jor'a?" Daniel was probably the only one at the table who remembered the odd names of the couple.
Melody nodded. "More' is a healer. She took care of me until my stomach could handle drinking the water, then told me where I was. I didn't believe her until I saw some Jaffa come through the gate a few weeks after I did. No offense, but those tattoos really freaked me out."
"It is a common reaction," Teal'c assured her.
"But that wasn't half as bad as when Apophis came through. Glowing eyes, deep voice…" She shivered at the memory. "What was with him, anyway? He looked like a human, but then he didn't."
"We can explain that later. Why don't you continue?" Daniel was hoping she'd eventually get to where she was accepted into the society.
"Yes, sir." Jack snickered at her respectful tone. "Apophis never came through for more than a few hours, only stopping to get a head count and occasionally taking one or two people from the village. Jor'a just barely tolerated me in his house at first, muttering to More' about the weak little girl who did nothing but drink their water and eat their food. He eventually got used to me, I guess, and started talking to me. He stopped threatening to turn me over to the guards, but their neighbors had other ideas. More' and Jor'a kept me hidden as long as they could, but one of their neighbors dropped by unexpectedly one day. He saw me and dragged me out to the guard house. I spent, oh, I don't know, a few months in a jail cell there until they were certain I had wasn't a threat to them. They trained me in their culture and released me to live with More' and Jor'a. Jor'a is a teacher there, so he committed me to become a scholar. More' saw my books and decided to train me in her 'art' as she called it as well. I learned all Jor'a had to teach within a few years. After that I took a test and was admitted into their culture as a second-class citizen."
"What does that mean to them? A slave?" Daniel asked.
"No, no, nothing like that. At least, not to my parents. It's a law that when there is any large celebration all the second-class citizens have to provide their services for serving, cooking, cleaning, and whatever else they need to be done; they also take care of various odd jobs around town, which is how we explained my performances in the theater. My parents had no choice but allow them to make me work, but they treated me well. They kept me as a daughter in their home and let me study what I wanted. Bra'tac was an old friend of Fayum, and he trained me as a warrior. He also spoke to the director of the theater, who trained me in dance to keep up my skills in between Bra'tac's visits. I wanted to join the guard, but I was an outsider and a girl. I wasn't allowed. I still trained hard and Bra'tac said I would qualify for the Jaffa guard, but it wasn't exactly something he suggested I should do." She shared a knowing look with Teal'c. Bra'tac had told her of the service Teal'c had provided for Apophis before he helped the Tau'ri.
"Indeed."
"I eventually learned a little about the herbs and plants used for medicine on their planet, but it was so confusing for me. I hadn't grown up there. More' was disappointed that I couldn't master what she had done for years, what she'd hoped to teach the daughter she never had, but she understood my difficulty. I guess it was my knowledge that eventually made them allow me into their society."
Daniel noticed her use of "allow" instead of "accept". He figured he'd press her a little further. "So, that was it? They kept you as a prisoner for a few months and then just let you go?"
Melody lowered her eyes. I'll have to tell them eventually, she figured. She took a deep breath and spoke freely for the first time in ten years. "The guard swore the neighbor to secrecy and kept me imprisoned in a small cell in the basement." Daniel noticed she once again slipped into the formal speech pattern, figuring it was to mask some discomfort. Jack noticed the guise, too; he did something similar to that himself, except her tone got more respectful and his… well, didn't. "They interrogated me daily, asking me to share my knowledge of the chapa'ai and what purpose I had in their world. They finally decided I was not a threat nor did I understand the gate technology, so they left me for several days until they could find someone to take me. More' and Jor'a are considered some of the more respectable elders of the city, and the guard assumed they would be able to control me. They permitted me to go with them to be their servant girl, and they agreed to the arrangement but allowed me more freedom than they should."
"More than they should?" Jack shouted indignantly. "You were effectively sold into slavery for cryin' out loud. That's a heck of a lot less freedom than you deserved."
"I did not have a choice, Colonel." She looked at him, her eyes beginning to tear up. "It was either that or remain imprisoned with the guard until I either died of starvation or of illness. So, yes, in their eyes allowing me to study and learn the art of war was more freedom than I deserved. There were many in the city who made that opinion quite clear."
Sam had long finished her food and was grateful for that, anticipating the answer to her next question. "How exactly did they express their opinion?"
"I did not understand their vernacular at first, but apparently they expressed some choice words for me whenever I walked through the village behind More' or Jor'a." She lowered her head, clearly debating whether to say more.
Daniel urged her on. "And when you weren't with them?"
She took a deep breath, wondering how far to go. "There were… beatings. That is why Master Bra'tac desired to train me. He wished to protect me from them 'keeping the slave in line', as they called it."
"And that was all they did? Beat you at first? For how long?" Jack was growing more angry by the minute. So she was kidnapped, beaten, sold into slavery, and then beaten some more, he thought. How could anyone treat a child so harshly?
Carter caught Jack's eye, hoping he'd get the silent "take it easy!" she was sending him. He settled down to a slow simmer and let the conversation continue. "How long did it take you to get past the initiation phase?" Sam asked gently.
Melody continued to stare at the tray her eyes hadn't left for quite some time. "It did not end." Jack actually bit his fist in anger, leaving the rest of the team glad she couldn't see his reaction as long as she kept looking down. She continued quietly, determined to keep her emotions at bay. "The beatings became more regular. Once I learned to defend myself the boys began to attack me in groups of five or more, waiting for me to leave the theater or remove the garbage from our home at night. They would…" She cut off the unsteady stream of words, taking a deep breath to renew the strong mask she'd determined to keep up.
Jack was seething in his seat, but he had one more thing he had to know. Being the cynic of the group he knew he'd be the one who would have to ask. "Melody," he choked out. He consciously evened out his voice. "Melody, you said it was always groups of boys. I can't help but wonder … was it just beatings? Or was there more?"
Everyone knew what was on Jack's mind, including Melody, so she just nodded. "It began as beatings, but when I became older and the boys grew to be men …" She didn't need to finish the sentence. She still hadn't lifted her eyes from her half-eaten plate of watery scrambled eggs and burned bacon.
Teal'c was the only one whose face didn't register horror, but even his eyebrow was raised at the cryptic admission. They allowed her several moments to push the memory from her mind, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, Teal'c piped up. "What of More' and Jor'a? Would they not have protected you?"
"Yes, they would have," she assured him, grateful for the change of subject. She relaxed figuring the worst part was over. "But I couldn't do that to them. People already started whispering behind their backs at how they allowed the outsider to 'live without the discipline she needed'." She finally raised her eyes from her tray, but picked a spot on the wall above Daniel's head to stare at. "They're not stupid. They suspected that I had difficulties with the others, but there was nothing they could do. They would have lost their stature in the society, and there that is ultimately suicide. Without your stature you have no way of supporting yourself or your family. I couldn't ask it of them, either; they had already done more for me than I could have hoped. It would've done no good for any of us for them to be outcast."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me understand this. They knew?" Jack spat.
"Colonel," she made eye contact for the first time since she'd begun. "Don't blame them. I don't. They did all they could. Jor'a tried to help me a few times, but he was taken to trial for allegedly attacking a few teens. He was lucky to escape that charge with his life. I couldn't ask him to do it again."
A silence settled over the table. Their questions had been answered, but it didn't make any of them feel any better. Jack couldn't sit still any longer; he slammed his hands down on the table, picked up his tray, and stormed off away from the cafeteria. No one else at the table said a word until Janet tracked Melody down to bring her in for a more complete physical. Noting the odd mood, she made brief eye contact with Captain Carter before she announced her presence. She didn't like what that look conveyed. "Ms. Favale?" she greeted uncertainly.
"Dr. Fraiser!" she exclaimed, startled. "It's good to see you again. And please, it's Melody. Would you like to join us for breakfast?" She motioned ruefully to the empty chair next to Daniel.
"No, actually I was hoping to run some more tests. Yesterday was just the preliminary physical."
"Why? Did something come up?" Melody asked.
"No, but you've been living on another planet for better than half of your life. We just want to make sure that hasn't had a negative impact on you physically."
Melody nodded her head and excused herself from the table. She placed her tray in the little window marked "tray return" and followed Doctor Fraiser back through the hallways until she was once again sure she was lost. "It's going to take me a while to learn my way around this place," she confessed as she changed into a hospital gown behind a curtain.
"You want to know the truth?" Janet asked rhetorically. "Sometimes I still get a little turned around in this place."
"Oh, that's encouraging," Melody joked sarcastically. She was fully at ease with the doctor, which was a good thing since she'd be spending lots of time with her today. "So, what's up first?" she asked as she emerged in the gown and her pants.
"Well, the first thing is that we're going to take a DNA sample." Janet waved a cotton swab in front of her.
"Oh, yuck!" She opened wide and let her take the sample. "That was pretty gross. Anything else you're gonna shove in my mouth, you might as well do it now."
"No, that was it." The doctor ran a few more simple tests, including testing her reflexes and taking her blood pressure again. "Next I'm going to hook you up to a couple of electrodes and have you run on a treadmill for a little while. That's to evaluate your cardiovascular function."
Melody nodded her understanding. "I've been trapped on an alien planet for ten years with almost nothing but a PDR. Trust me, I understand." She took up her position on the belt and started walking as Janet slowly added speed. She kept up easily as the speed increased. "Do you have a rubber band?"
"What?"
"My hair. It's a little out of control." Janet laughed when she got a look at Melody's face; her long, waist-length hair was tangling and sticking to the sheen of sweat forming on her face. Melody tied her hair back in a very messy pony tail and continued running. "So, how long do I have to do this?"
Janet smiled. "Just a few more minutes." She continued to watch the monitor as Melody ran, making notes in the file in her hand. "Annnnnd, done." Janet tore the printout free and returned to the cot Melody had been sitting on before. "All right, next I'm going to run an abdominal ultrasound to make sure there are no imminent problems with your vital organs."
Melody nodded uncomfortably and laid back on the cot, settling in for what was sure to be a slimy adventure. Her discomfort grew when Janet pulled her gown up to reveal her stomach and gasped. Melody knew she had some bruising - when didn't she? - but she didn't think it was that bad. "What is it, Doctor?"
"Melody, when did this happen to you?"
Melody shrugged. "Honestly, I don't remember. Umh, maybe three nights ago, when I was leaving the theater."
"How could you not remember something like this?" Janet asked incredulously. She only got another shrug in response followed by stony silence. She figured she'd pushed it far enough, so she continued on quietly with the test. "Just let me know if I hit a tender spot, OK?"
About halfway through the test Jack walked in and, as usual, didn't bother knocking. "Yikes! Sorry!" he yelled as he ducked back to the other side of the curtain. Still, he hadn't retreated fast enough. He saw the ugly bruises on her abdomen and the firm set of her jaw as Janet worked the little whatever it was over the bruises. He thought he had calmed down before he came back in, but that just set him off again. He stormed away from the infirmary and headed straight for General Hammond's office.
General Hammond had gotten used to Colonel O'Neill not bothering to knock before he entered his superior's office. He came to expect the casual and often insubordinate tone the leader of his best team took with him. He wasn't expecting him to come in red-faced, trying and barely succeeding to conceal … what? Rage? "Colonel O'Neill, what is going on?"
"What's going on, Sir, is that we have a young woman down in the infirmary right now who was severely abused on another planet since she was a child, and I vote we do something about it!"
"Colonel, I suggest you take a few deep breaths and then explain yourself."
"Yes, Sir. I-" Jack was cut off by a knock on the door.
General Hammond held up one finger to Jack. "Come!" he called. He was mildly surprised to see Captain Samantha Carter come through the door.
"Sir, I need to speak with you - oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she amended quickly when she saw her immediate superior sitting in his own superior's office.
"What did you want to talk about?" the General asked patiently.
"Umh, I'm a bit concerned about Melody, Sir."
"Well, come on in! Have a seat. That party was just getting started." Jack waved an arm toward the empty seat on his right. He had just opened his mouth to speak again when there was another knock on the door.
"Come!" the general called again. The man on the other side of the door was none other than Dr. Daniel Jackson. "Dr. Jackson. What can I do for you?"
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything … I just felt the need to discuss some observations I've made -"
"About Melody?" Jack interrupted impatiently. When Daniel nodded, Jack stood up and vacated a chair for him, waving him into it.
Jack was just about to begin again when there was another knock on the door. "Oh, for cryin' out loud!" He turned and opened the door he had been leaning on to reveal Teal'c on the other side. "T?"
"O'Neill. I came to speak with General Hammond."
"Yeah, who didn't. Come on in," he invited, not even waiting for the General's response. He looked up and down the hallway before he closed the door to begin again. "Sir, as I was saying, I vote we go back to that planet and kick some tail."
"I can't authorize a revenge mission to a planet we've only observed for a few hours for no good reason. Why on earth would you want to go back there?" he asked, not noting the irony of his word choice.
"Sir," Sam squeezed in before Jack could go off again, "Melody told us this morning that she was effectively a slave and punching bag on that planet."
"And, unfortunately, that is not the worst part of her treatment there." Teal'c moved his arms from behind his back to cross them over his chest.
"She seemed just fine to me. She didn't seem like she had been tortured."
"Well, Sir, you also saw her wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a long skirt. I, uh, accidentally walked in on one of her tests, and she's got some serious bruising that you haven't seen. I'm sure there's more that I haven't seen. Sir, if I had bruises like that I'd be bent over double, and by their rules it was all perfectly legal." Jack stopped talking to reign himself in.
"Her behavior in public on that planet was similar to the behavior of those who have been beaten into submission." She wasn't sure, but Sam thought she heard a note of anger in the usually neutral Jaffa's voice.
"You're telling me that she was abused on this planet. I get that, but what could we possibly do about it? You said yourself there were no laws broken." General Hammond didn't like it any more than anyone else did, but diplomatically they couldn't just barge in and attack because a few people had mistreated one of their own.
"Just because it was legal doesn't make it right," Daniel argued. "There has to be something we can do here."
Jack was about to interject when he was again cut off by a knock on the door. He turned and opened it. "Dr. Fraiser, come on in if you can find the room."
She was surprised to find the whole team of SG-1 in General Hammond's office, well, at least all at once. She actually did have to squeeze herself into the corner between the desk and the wall in order for Jack to close the door again. "Sir, I wanted to discuss the results of some of the tests I ran on Melody." She looked around the room pointedly.
"It's all right, Doctor. You can discuss it in front of them. SG-1 was just in here expressing some concern over her physical condition."
"I hate to say it, but they have good reason. I ran a few tests on her, and from what I can tell she has quite a bit of scar tissue from things like tears in her spleen. She's had several limbs broken several times, more than a few concussions, and a few broken ribs over the years. The broken arms and legs healed up just fine, apparently thanks to More', but the medicine woman apparently didn't have any solution for the ribs to heal properly. She currently has some internal bleeding, which she says is nothing new, and I'm concerned about some marks I found on her back." Janet pulled out a digital camera and showed General Hammond the marks she was referring to.
Jack snatched the camera and his body went numb. His voice was so low it worried his teammates. "Whip marks." It was something he knew from experience.
Janet shook her head sadly. "She wouldn't tell me what made the marks, but she said it happened three nights ago after her dance partner forgot his cue during a performance, causing her to slip and sprain her ankle. She was punished for her mistake afterwards."
Jack practically threw the camera on the desk when he was finally able to tear his eyes away. "You want your reason to go back and raise a little hell? Well, there it is." With that he stormed out of the office, no clear destination in mind.
Everyone watched the door after it closed (or more accurately slammed), but no one was particularly surprised. Jack had always been very protective of his men and even more of helpless children, especially since Charlie died. They knew that he wasn't picturing the men of the city brutalizing the woman they all saw, a strong adult who had been trained as a warrior, but in his mind he was seeing the little girl from the pictures in the newspaper articles the General had dug up, small, defenseless, and innocent. None of them thought she deserved that treatment, Jack was just less afraid to show it.
One by one the others filed out of General Hammond's office until only Teal'c remained. "They should pay their due," he said simply, gripping his hands behind his back again before he left the General to his thoughts.
And for the first time since he'd met him, General Hammond understood why so many feared Teal'c.
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