Author's Notes: I want to thank everyone for reading this and sticking with me for so long, as well as the wonderful words of encouragement that prompted me to write faster. I am almost done, only one more chapter to go and I hope to have that up within the next week.
The forest was quiet, too quiet for Sam's sense of well-being. She kept expecting something to jump out at her, which is why she had a tight grip on her gun as she followed Teal'c down the path. She glanced back to see if Colonel O'Neill was feeling the same thing that she was experiencing, her eyes scanning the perimeter as she did so. The Colonel nodded at her, his eyes briefly looking into hers before going back to scanning their surroundings. Apparently, his instincts were screaming at him as well.
Something was wrong. Too many years of being in dangerous situations had taught her to listen to her intuition. She stopped and crouched down behind the brush when Teal'c indicated that she do so, giving Daniel a small smile when he crouched down next to her. They were in trouble, as seemed to be the norm lately, and Sam wondered what they were facing this time.
The silence around her seemed to be complete. She tried to get past the silence to concentrate on her current predicament, but silence in a forest usually meant something bad was hanging around. Sam crouched, listening hard for anything out of the ordinary, but the only ominous sound was the silence. No birds chirping, or insects buzzing. Nothing. This was so not good, and she was almost relieved when the Colonel pointed at her, then signaled for her to take Daniel and move off toward the left. Doing something, anything, was better than letting the silence wear on her nerves.
She nodded and immediately got up to do what she was told, leading Daniel to a copse of trees that gave her a different view of the area. She was now able to see down a narrow path that led deeper into the forest, and she cursed silently to herself when she saw a group of Jaffa heading down that path and straight toward the hiding place Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had stayed in.
"Jaffa heading your way," she said into her radio, her voice a mere whisper.
"Keep alert," the Colonel replied back, which was a given, as far as Sam was concerned. She wasn't about to relax with the enemy lurking about. She did get comfortable, however, as she lay down on her stomach and aimed her weapon toward the Jaffa who were marching onward.
Daniel was right next to her, his gun primed and ready to do as much damage as he could inflict. He had come a long way since that conversation in her living room a couple of months ago when he'd admitted his fear of the evil lurking inside him - the killer that was glad his tormentor was dead by his hands. He had come to terms with his guilt and was back in the saddle again; ready to help rid the galaxy of an enemy intent on destroying mankind.
Sam shook away the thoughts that were creeping up on her, determined to concentrate on the approaching enemy. The Jaffa marched past the Colonel's hiding place, clanking noisily as they passed, while Sam kept her eyes on the enemy, waiting for them to pass by, fervently hoping that there wouldn't be a confrontation.
Her hopes were dashed when she heard a sound that sent an extra rush of adrenalin racing through her veins. More Jaffa were approaching from behind her, their boots thudding with each step. She lay there, pressing her face down to the ground, hoping to blend in, while the musty smell of dirt invaded her senses. The members of SG-1 were trapped and outnumbered, and Sam silently prayed for deliverance from the inevitable.
"Jaffa!" shouted an enemy leader. The others stopped in their tracks, as the leader tried to see past the trees that lined the path. He spat out some orders in Goa'uld, and Daniel emitted a small groan next to her. Sam could relate, as she watched Daniel get a better grip on his gun. Trouble had definitely found them again.
She debated on the wisdom of fighting her way to freedom, but her debate was short lived when she heard several Jaffa moving toward her hide out. She was trapped, with nowhere to run and being outnumbered put a kink in any plans of shooting her way out. She stiffened considerably when a staff weapon was jabbed into her back, and she immediately let go of her gun to hold her hands up and away from her body.
"Get up!" the Jaffa who owned the staff weapon demanded. Sam and Daniel did what they were told, their hands held up high when they got to their feet. More doom crashed over her when she realized that the Colonel and Teal'c were both standing in the path, having been forced to relinquish their own guns in an act of surrender. No help was going to come from them.
This was the first mission SG-1 had undertaken since going to that planet where Sam had been raped by her teammates. She had spent the last few months working with Dr. Mackenzie and her friends, learning to deal with her guilt and self-hatred, as well as her anger at her teammates. She had also spent a great deal of time working on a naquadah enhanced weapon, hoping to facilitate an efficient energy source that would generate a more powerful blast with minimal aftershocks. Between sessions with Mackenzie, long talks with her friends, and her work, Sam had progressed to the point where she and Mackenzie both felt that she was ready to go back out there with her team.
It figures they would run into trouble the first time out.
The cell they had been left in was cold and damp, and Sam couldn't help but compare it to the last cold cell she had visited. She wasn't chained to a wall this time around, but she was stuck in the same cell as her teammates, which didn't help matters a whole lot, as far as she was concerned.
She sat quietly on one of the bunks in the cell, watching as Colonel O'Neill paced back and forth in front of the door. He stopped occasionally to rattle the bars of the cell and yell out to anyone who happened to be listening that he wanted out, then went back to pacing when no one responded. Sam smiled to herself as she watched her commanding officer. He hated being locked up, but then again, so did the rest of his team.
Teal'c stood next to the bars, calmly ignoring the Colonel. Sam often wondered how Teal'c did it. There were many times when she had wanted to hit her commanding officer in the head with something, but Teal'c always seemed to be able to contain any impatience he had, hiding it behind his quiet demeanor. She supposed it had something to do with his training, but Sam still marveled at his infallible calm.
"That's not going to help, Jack," Daniel said, from his perch on the other bunk. The Colonel didn't respond and Sam smiled at Daniel when he sighed and shook his head. He smiled back at her then, both knowing that Colonel O'Neill would settle down in a few minutes. He always did.
Sure enough, he suddenly came over and sat down heavily on the bunk beside her, leaning back to glare at the ceiling. Sam no longer tensed up or flinched when they made sudden movements like that, and she still felt some pride that she had overcome that weakness. She was slowly, but surely getting better, and every little improvement was something for her to cheer about, even if she did cheer quietly to herself.
"Any idea who owns this joint?" the Colonel asked, as he looked back over at the door.
"I did not recognize them," Teal'c responded stoically. They had come to rely on Teal'c's knowledge of the Goa'uld a lot over the years, and Sam was grateful that he had defected over to their cause. He nodded at her when he noticed her staring at him, and she smiled back. Teal'c had expressed his confidence in her abilities, verbally telling her that he was proud of her strength and warrior skills and Sam still felt a thrill of pride race through her whenever she remembered that talk. All that hard work she'd put in to prove to her superiors that she was just as capable as a man had been worth it.
"The least they could do is turn up the heat," Colonel O'Neill grumbled, as he glared at the door of the cell. Same old Jack O'Neill, Sam thought, as she nodded her head in agreement. They were in deep shit, but typical O'Neill, he just went on as if this were a minor inconvenience and not a life-threatening situation.
Footsteps clanking toward them stopped any further talk and all four members of SG-1 went on alert, ready and willing to fight their way out, if they had to. Sam, Daniel and Colonel O'Neill stood up just as three Jaffa stopped just outside the cell door, the one in the middle glaring back at his captives. "You will come with me," he demanded, as he pointed at Sam.
"Now just a minute there, my friend," the Colonel spoke up, making his customary attempt to protect her. He never failed to try, and almost always lost out, but she supposed that maybe this time he would win, just this once. Sam didn't even want to think about what they had in store for her.
"I am not your friend," the Jaffa snarled menacingly.
"We could be," the Colonel shot back, his grin belying the anger simmering in his eyes. "You just need to loosen up a little, maybe…"
"Silence!" the Jaffa demanded, not fooled for even a second. "Bring the woman," he ordered.
Both the Colonel and Teal'c stepped in front of her in an attempt to reason with the Jaffa, but a staff weapon being primed stopped them from getting physical. "I'll be all right sir," Sam told her commanding officer as she stepped up to keep her friends from being killed. She laid her hand on his arm to enforce her belief and he stared into her eyes for a moment, trying to see past her bravado. It was hard to hide her fears and concerns, but all she had to do was to remember everything he had taught her over the years, and this helped in convincing him that she was strong enough. She gave him a small smile and a nod hoping to tell him she appreciated the effort before turning to join the Jaffa outside the cell.
They tied her hands behind her back, while Sam turned to look back at her teammates. All three of them were standing there with concern in their eyes, but it was the familiar look in the Colonel's eyes that made Sam more determined than ever that she was going to survive this. His eyes were telling her that he had faith in her, just as they did all those months ago, and this thought had her nodding at him. She was not going to let him down.
The Jaffa led her out of the holding area and into a hall that was lined with the familiar gold walls the Goa'uld were so fond of having. She followed them down the hall, taking into account the little details and landmarks that would help her find her teammates if she got the opportunity to escape, then steeled her emotions when the Jaffa stopped just outside a door.
Sam was pushed into the room by the Jaffa and she waited quietly, facing the man she was destined to talk to. He was sitting on a chair at the base of a dais, while a young woman sat next to him on one of the steps.
"My Lord," the leader of the Jaffa said, as he got down to his knees as a show of respect. Sam grunted in pain when the Jaffa's arm snaked out to hit her in the back of the knees, forcing her to kneel as well. She stayed on her knees when the others stood up, having learned the rules a long time ago. The Goa'uld stood up then, and walked over to them, his eyes flashing with the strange eerie light that illuminated his anger.
"Stand up," he ordered, when he was standing in front of her. Sam did as she was told, hoping that compliance on her part would mean less pain in the very near future. She wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but whatever it was, she would face it with dignity. So she stood up, squaring her shoulders and lifting her head in defiance as she stared back at the Goa'uld. "Beautiful," the Goa'uld said, as he reached out to trace his finger down the side of her face.
This was not a good sign, considering what happened on the last mission she was on. Sam didn't respond, she just stood there glaring at the Goa'uld, hoping that her worst fears were not going to come to pass.
The Goa'uld stared at her for a moment longer, then backed up as he commanded, "Leave us." The Jaffa immediately turned to leave and Sam watched as the young woman came up to lay her hand on the Goa'uld's arm and to look into his face. The Goa'uld nodded sharply at her, then indicated with his head that she should leave as well. With a final look at Sam, the young woman left the room, closing the door behind her.
Sam stood there facing the man, terror moving in to take up residence in her mind. She hardened her features though, determined to show him that she wasn't afraid. The Goa'uld didn't seem to care one way or the other, he just continued to admire his "prize", making Sam extremely uncomfortable.
"We only came here as explorers," Sam told him, hoping to forestall any forms of torture. She wasn't sure if he would believe her, but it was worth a try. "We have no wish to harm you."
The Goa'uld didn't stop what he was doing, in fact her words seemed to spur him on. His palm moved up to cup her cheek and Sam couldn't help but jerk her head away from it. He grinned at her then, an evil grin, but stepped back and stared at her for a moment, before saying, "I am Omer. You are of the Tau'ri, enemy of the Goa'uld."
So much for trying for the innocent act, Sam thought, as she tried to figure out a way to get out of that one.
"If I am not mistaken, you are Samantha Carter," the Goa'uld went on to say, as Sam continued to glare at him with contempt. "I had heard that you were beautiful." His smile dimmed as he stepped back, although he continued to watch her, "I am not disappointed."
"How is it that you know of me," Sam asked, hoping to keep him talking. Omer didn't respond. Instead he turned to walk over to the chair he had vacated earlier, stopping to pick up something that was sitting on the arm of it. He looked at it for a moment, then looked over at Sam, his smile was positively evil and Sam tensed up to keep her fear bottled up tightly inside her mind.
"I've made it my business to learn the identity of everyone who might want to destroy me," Omer said, as he walked back toward her. Sam lifted her head up once more, stubbornly refusing to give into her terror. Omer grinned at that, seeming to find her defiance amusing. "There are those among my Jaffa who spy on me even now, as we speak." Confusion clouded Sam's brain momentarily as she stared at the man in front of her. There was no one else in the room. But her confusion turned into fear once more as the Goa'uld reached out to touch her face again. Sam wished her hands were free. She would dearly love to place a well-aimed punch into the sneering face, just for the hell of it. She jerked her head back instead, wondering what he would do if she settled for a well-placed kick instead. The ribbon device in the palm of his other hand gave her a good idea, which had her settling for glaring at the man.
"Why did you come here?" Omer asked, as he pulled his hand back. Whatever he was holding in his hand was small enough to be hidden from her view, but Sam knew from experience that even the most innocent looking device could be deadly. "What did you hope to find?"
Sam just stood there, stubbornly refusing to answer. He probably wouldn't believe her anyway. He held up his hand in front of her and opened it up to show her what he had been hiding. It was a small, round object with what looked like spidery legs wriggling around the sides of it. Sam stared at it for a moment, then looked up to see the Goa'uld grinning at her again. "It is a device that would cause you extreme agony if it is activated," Omer told her simply. "Extreme agony," he repeated, closing his fingers around the object again.
Oh God, Sam thought, as she stared at the man in front of her. He was watching her expectantly, and Sam knew he would do what he threatened. She had debated for only a few seconds on what she should do, when a memory of Colonel O'Neill's voice echoed in her mind. "But I didn't tell them everything," he had said that day in her kitchen. "Only the stuff that they could have found out if they would have asked me nicely."
"We came here to find evidence of human population," Sam told the Goa'uld, hoping and praying that it would be enough. "We were also hoping to find any traces of naquadah in the soil."
"Very good," the Goa'uld said, helping Sam to relax a little. Maybe this would work out to her advantage after all. "I would have expected nothing else from the Tau'ri," he said, causing confusion to work its way back into Sam's mind. What was this guy's problem?
"You and your friend's were found on the path leading toward my Ha'tak," he said. Sam tried to look surprised, but the Goa'uld knew better. "What were your intentions?"
"We were looking for other humans," Sam tried again. She really did not like the look in Omer's eyes. They were dark and foreboding, yet she detected flashes of worry, which had her wondering what was going on. The Goa'uld were normally too arrogant to worry about anything.
"Did you find any?" he asked, as he once again reached for her face. Sam jerked her head back again, letting him know she was not going to willingly participate in this interrogation. He grinned at her defiance, not in the least bit put off by her stubbornness. It seemed that Mr. Arrogance was back.
"Not yet," she told him, defiantly. He was playing with her, she realized. He knew very well that there were no people on that path. He just wanted to terrify her to death, to use his power over her as a weapon. The unfortunate part of this whole mess was that he was succeeding. She watched as Omer transferred the foreign object to the hand that was adorned with the ribbon device, then raised the free hand up, palm facing her. Sam's eyes widened when a knife appeared in the Goa'uld's grasp. He must have had a hidden sheath that concealed the weapon until it was needed.
She was in deep trouble now, and Sam couldn't stop the tremors that ran through her body. He laid the blade of the knife against her cheek, then brought it down to slice through the fabric of her T-shirt, starting from her collar to the edge of her bra. She knew what he was going to do now, and she cursed the fates that brought her to this end, forcing her to endure the pain and agony of being violated once again.
Life was so unfair, she thought angrily. The Goa'uld watched her as she glared at him, determined to let him know that she was not going to go out without a fight. He just smiled at her as he sheathed the knife, picked up the object and clenched it in his fist again.
"Why did you come here?" he asked her again.
Sam didn't even bother to answer. She couldn't tell him the real reason, and she knew he wouldn't believe her lies. So she stood there, hoping he wouldn't follow through with his threat.
"You would do well to answer me," he said, as he caressed her cheek with the back of his fist. "Of course, I could let this device do what it was designed to do, then see how quickly you tell me what I want to know."
"We came here to find naquadah…," she started to say, knowing that it was all she could say.
"Enough of your lies!" Omer shouted, as he leaned closer to her. His hand moved to her chest and he dropped the object into her bra, as he brought his mouth to her ear. He whispered something, but Sam was in a state of panic, frantically trying to draw away from the wriggling "legs" of the object, too terrified at the threat the object represented to pay attention. The words drifted into her mind though, somehow calming her, and she stared at the man, as he stepped back to grin evilly at her again. "Jaffa!" he shouted, as he returned Sam's stare.
His Jaffa showed up immediately and were ordered to take her back to her cell to wait for the agony to begin. Sam trembled in fear, desperately trying to ignore the feel of the object as it moved against her breasts. She tugged at the restraints, hoping to free her hands, but the Jaffa had their orders, and one of them grabbed her arm to pull her along with him.
She followed them willingly, knowing that her teammates would help her. But the object moved with each step, and the slender strands wriggling inside her bra had her skin crawling. Sam alternately squirmed and tightened her arms to her body, hoping for some relief from the tickling sensation, as well as keeping the object from doing its job.
The trip back to the cell seemed to take forever, and Sam could have kissed the bars when they finally made it to her prison. For the first time in her life, she was actually happy to be put in a jail cell. The Jaffa unlocked the cell door and pushed her inside, not even bothering to unbind her hands, and Sam turned to watch them as they sneered at her before turning to leave her to her fate.
"You okay?" the Colonel asked, as he came over to her. His eyes raked over her, looking for obvious signs of abuse, and they lingered on the tear in her shirt. "Carter?" he asked, with concern.
"I'm fine," she said, as she nodded her head. "Untie me, please!" she begged, squirming and twisting, trying desperately to get at the object of her misery. "Please?"
Teal'c quickly moved to do the honors, while Sam squirmed with fear. "Hurry Teal'c," she said, as she twisted to see what he was doing. The Colonel grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her and to allow Teal'c to get at the binds, while Sam saw another opportunity to get rid of that damned device. "Colonel, please get it out, please."
"What Carter?" the Colonel asked, as he went back to looking for possible dangers. "Get what out?"
"He dropped a device into my bra," she told him, too worried about what would happen if he didn't help her, to care about her choice of words. "He said it would cause me extreme agony… Oh God, Colonel, help me!"
"Okay," he said soothingly, leaning in for a peek into her bra. He pulled back when he realized what he was doing, grinning at her apologetically when he saw that she had caught him taking that peek.
"Colonel, please!" she cried, exasperation moving in. The man could be so frustrating. "Teal'c! What are you doing?"
"I am attempting to untie you," Teal'c responded calmly. Sam just wanted to scream in frustration.
"All right, already," Colonel O'Neill replied, almost at the same time. He was looking a little uncomfortable with the task at hand, but Sam didn't care about protocol. She wanted to get rid of that thing. "Just hold still," he added, as he moved in for the kill.
"Hurry," she demanded, while Daniel came up to see what he could do to help. He and the Colonel both leaned in to see what she was talking about, then grinned at each other guiltily before the Colonel reached in and grasped the offending object to pull it out, then hastily dropped it on the floor. Sam was silently fuming by this time, angry that they took this in stride while she was on the verge of sheer panic. She tried to calm herself with the knowledge that she had just forced her commanding officer to not only stare at her breasts, but to reach into her bra and he had to be extremely uncomfortable with this. Daniel smiled encouragingly at her when she glanced over at him, and she knew he was probably experiencing the same awkward feelings when he'd reacted without thinking, which was just one of his traits.
The Colonel stooped down to prod the object, then stood up and raised his foot with the obvious intent of stomping on it, but Sam couldn't let him. Not yet. Teal'c had finally released her binds and she stepped forward to stop the Colonel. "Wait!" she exclaimed, as she touched his arm. "Let me look at it."
"What's to look at?" Colonel O'Neill asked incredulously. "It's a goddamn bug!"
"I just want to check it out," she said, her attention solely on the device. She reached down to pick it up, mindful to do so carefully, and she laid it on her palm as she had seen Omer do. The device was a metallic object, small and round, that had fine strands sprouting out from it. The strands were what she mistook for legs and had caused her extreme terror as they scraped against her skin. She stared at it intently, as the words Omer whispered to her came into focus. "Martouf was right about your beauty," he had told her.
Omer was Tok'ra. Sam knew this now, and everything that happened to her in that room made sense as she thought about the worry in his eyes, the words of conviction when he spoke of possible betrayal among his Jaffa, and the fact that he really didn't hurt her. The device was not an object of torture; it was probably some sort of communication device meant for Omer's comrades.
"What is it?" Daniel asked, as she turned it over in her hands. She was looking for a way to activate it, then thought that it might be better if she didn't. The Tok'ra would not just hand over their secrets to the Tau'ri and the device may be designed to do some major damage if tampered with.
"The Goa'uld is a Tok'ra," she told them quietly. She was not going to be the one to destroy his cover if she could help it, and she was mindful of who could be listening in.
"And you know this how?" Colonel O'Neill asked skeptically. Sam knew of his distrust of anyone with a "snake" in their head, whether they be Goa'uld or Tok'ra. There were times when Sam wondered if he really ever trusted her father once he had blended with the Tok'ra, Selmac.
"He told me," she said, then realized that sounded way too lame to even acknowledge. "Well, he didn't actually tell me that," she hastened to add, when even Teal'c raised an eyebrow at her response. "I didn't even realize until he… Look, I can explain this later," she said, as she heard footsteps heading their way. "Just trust me on this, okay?"
Daniel smiled, while the Colonel reluctantly nodded his head. Teal'c was already standing next to the door of the cell, waiting for his chance to make an escape attempt. Sam stood next to Daniel, then thought better of it and went over to the bed to lie down, hoping to convince her jailers that she was having problems. If her suspicions were correct, she didn't want to expose Omer as a fraud. Daniel came over to sit down on the floor next to her when he realized what she was doing, and smiled encouragingly at her. All four of them were ready for a fight, and Sam hoped it would be over quickly.
It was, surprisingly enough. The Jaffa had come for Daniel, but Colonel O'Neill had other ideas. He stepped up to the door, then raised his hands in surrender when one of the Jaffa threatened him with a staff weapon. This was all a ruse, as the Colonel made to turn away, but then suddenly lurched for the door, ramming it into the second Jaffa, while at the same time ducking to avoid getting hit with the staff weapon blast. Teal'c then made his move and tackled the Jaffa who was doing the shooting, effectively grabbing onto the Jaffa's staff weapon and twisting it up and around until he had the weapon held firmly against the Jaffa's throat. He twisted the weapon once more, snapping the Jaffa's neck, then swiftly aimed the weapon at the other Jaffa, who was back on his feet and aiming his weapon at Colonel O'Neill. Teal'c fired first, effectively winning the battle.
"Thanks, old buddy," Colonel O'Neill said to Teal'c, as he reached down to grab the dead Jaffa's staff weapon. "Let's get out of here."
Sam was more than ready. She and Daniel joined their teammates and they found their way to freedom by sneaking through the corridors and avoiding the Jaffa who patrolled the area.
She led the way, as they made their way toward the Stargate, treading softly and as ready as she could ever be to defend herself and her teammates. They were on their way home, their mission scrubbed for the time being, but they still had the device Omer gave to her. Sam was looking forward to getting it back to the SGC for further study, and to give it to the Tok'ra, if they were interested. She figured they would be. A vague, distant memory was nagging at her – a thin strand of the legacy that Jolinar had left behind. It was the memory of a face that was remarkably similar to the one who had dropped a device into Sam's bra.
Sam was confident that the Tok'ra would be interested.
TBC
