Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, but hopefully it'll make up for the wait. And please review, review, review!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Stargate. If I did Sam and Jack would be together, living happily ever after!
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Darkness was slow to fall as Sam and Jack sat waiting. They were silent, not saying a word to each other, as Jack absentmindedly played with a small rock and Sam's eyes watched it pass from one hand to another, transfixed.
"How much time left?" Jack asked suddenly, causing Sam to jump, and quickly look at her watch.
"Fifteen minutes, sir," she replied.
Jack nodded, before turning to look at her.
"Ya know, you can call me Jack instead of sir," he said.
"Yes, sir," she replied automatically. "I — I mean, uh, no, I don't think I really could…Colonel."
"Why not?" Jack asked.
"It would make me uncomfortable," Sam said.
"You call Daniel by his name," Jack said.
"He's not my CO, sir, and he's not military" Sam pointed out.
Jack nodded and there was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.
"How much time left?" Jack asked again, reminding her of a young child endlessly uttering 'Are we there yet?' on a long trip.
"Thirteen minutes, sir," she replied with a smile.
Jack went back to playing with the rock and Sam turned her head to look around.
"Why would it make you uncomfortable?" he asked suddenly.
Sam was silent for a minute, avoiding eye contact, but could feel his eyes watching her.
"It's a little too…" Sam struggled for the right word, "intimate to be on a first name basis with your commanding officer," she said.
"Intimate?" he questioned.
"Not….romantically intimate, sir," Sam replied blushing and bowing her head so he couldn't see her face.
"Right, of course not," Jack said shaking his head. "We wouldn't want to be romantically involved."
"No, we wouldn't," Sam agreed.
"Really?" Jack asked after a minute.
"Sir?" she asked confused.
"I mean, if things were different…." he trailed off.
"If there weren't fraternization regulations…."Sam started.
"Yeah…would there be a chance? For us, I mean," Jack said awkwardly.
"I…." Sam began but was cut off by the sound of Daniel's voice blaring out of Jack's radio.
"Uhhh….Sam, Jack, you there?" he said.
Jack groaned and Sam bit her lip.
"WHAT!" Jack asked annoyed.
"Umm….you said to stay in radio contact. Are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"We're fine, Daniel," Sam said in a considerably friendlier tone.
"Ohh…okay," Daniel said, sounding rather confused. "Daniel out then,"
"He has the worst timing," Jack said.
"Perhaps he has the best," Sam said.
Jack nodded, watching her closely. Sam cast her eyes down, embarrassed. Sighing, he began to look through his pack for his dark clothing. Taking the hint, Sam did the same.
"I gotta change…" he said.
"Me too," Sam replied.
"I'll stay in radio contact," Jack said.
"Yes, sir," she answered.
Jack disappeared into the darkness of the forest and Sam radioed Daniel, her father and Teal'c to start getting ready, before changing herself.
A couple minutes later her radio blared and Jack asked her if she was decent. After answering in the affirmative, he appeared out of the darkness and stood watching her.
"What's the plan sir?" she asked.
After crouching down, they crawled over to the edge of the hill to look down at the labor camp. Sam held out the binoculars, which Jack took and began scanning for Rya'c. After spotting him going into a barracks tent, he radioed the others to confirm the location for his rescue.
"Alright, let's go," he said to Sam and radioed the others that it was time to move out. He and Sam crept down towards the tent when they bumped into something — the staff weapon of a Jaffa guard.
"Aray kree!" he shouted, pointing his weapon at them.
"Yeah, whatever," Jack said. "You know," he added, placing a finger on the Jaffa's breastplate, "you've got something on your armor." The Jaffa looked down and Jack poked him in the nose.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Jaffa asked sternly.
"Oh, nothing," Jack said, "it's just to distract you until my friends come by to save us." Right after he spoke, the Jaffa was hit by the energy from a zat — a zat being held by Teal'c.
"Thanks, Teal'c!" he said. "Perfect timing, unlike some people," he added, giving Daniel a look. Daniel looked like he was about to say something, but he apparently changed his mind.
"You are welcome, O'Neill," Teal'c said as he lowered his weapon. With that, the five of them continued down to the tent where they found Rya'c, about to go to sleep.
"Father!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. "I knew you would manage to rescue us."
"I did not share your confidence," Teal'c answered. "In fact, I am still uncertain of the success of this mission."
"How many Jaffa does Anubis have guarding the camp?" asked Selmack.
"Nine," Rya'c replied simply.
"Nine?" Jack asked incredulously. "There are hundreds of Jaffa imprisoned here and they have nine guards."
"They have weapons and we do not," Rya'c explained.
"Okay, well, we have weapons and we already took one out," Jack said. "That should leave eight."
"I only shot the guard once," Teal'c said matter-of-factly. SG-1 turned around to see the guard had gotten up and was heading right at them. Jack shot him twice, disintegrating him.
"Okay, eight now," Jack said. "Now, let's get the rest of them."
SG-1, Jacob and Rya'c quickly took out the other eight Jaffa, as Rya'c knew where they were standing guard. Soon, they and all the Jaffa from the labor camp were heading back to the gate.
"Jack, don't you think this was a little too easy?" Daniel asked him.
"Too easy?" Jack asked.
"Well, yeah," Daniel explained. "I mean, anyone with a zat could take out nine Jaffa and there are no Jaffa guarding the gate."
"I just thought we were that good," Jack said dismissively.
"Jack, I'm serious," Daniel insisted. "I think this is some kind of a set-up."
"Sir, I think he's right," Sam interjected. "It's possible one of these Jaffa is an agent for Anubis or something."
"Well, what d'you want me to do?" Jack asked. "Leave them here?"
"Well, no," Daniel said immediately, "I—I just thought that…we should think about it."
"Okay, Daniel, I'll think about it," Jack said as they reached the gate, "now dial us home."
Daniel reached forward to press in the symbol for the constellation Auriga on the DHD, but the symbol didn't light up and the corresponding chevron didn't engage. He pushed the symbol again several times, but nothing happened.
"The gate's not working," he told the others.
"What d'you mean it's not working?" Jack asked him. "It has to work."
"Well, it's not," Daniel said simply.
"Let me take a look at that," Sam said, stepping forward to look at the devise. "Well, there's no evident damage — it should work."
"Don't you say that I didn't tell you so," Daniel told Jack out of the corner of his mouth.
"Yeah," Jack agreed, "and don't you say that you told me so…whatever that means."
Sam, meanwhile, had begun taken apart the DHD.
"There's no control crystal," she said suddenly. Jack turned to look at Jacob.
"And the Tok'ra didn't think this was worthy of mention?" he asked incredulously.
"I assure you the Tok'ra had no knowledge of this," Jacob informed them. "If it had been damaged while we were here, we would not have been able to return to our base."
"Oh, right," Jack said.
"Anubis must have had the control crystal removed so we wouldn't be able to dial home," Sam explained. "That would explain why there are no Jaffa guarding the gate."
"So what are we gonna do?" Daniel asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Sam said. "The MALP showed the DHD to be intact, so I didn't bring along a naquadah generator."
"Okay, can we always bring a naquadah generator from now on?" Jack asked her.
"Yes, sir," Sam agreed promptly, "if we get out of here."
"If?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Well, sir, we have to face the possibilty that we may not be able to get back," Sam replied briskly. "I mean, every time we step through the Stargate there's a chance we won't return in one —"
Sam was cut off when five rings shot out of the ground right in front of the DHD. When they disappeared back into the ground, five Anubis guards, armed with staff weapons, were standing before them. From behind a nearby hill, hundreds of Jaffa appeared — they were hopelessly outnumbered.
"Put down your weapons, Colonel!" one of the Anubis guards that had ringed down said in a vaguely familiar voice. SG-1 relucantly complied. The helmet of the guard retracted to reveal a face they had last seen in a Kelownan bunker.
"Colonel O'Neill," Herak said darkly, "Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, the Tok'ra Selmack and the shol'va Teal'c."
"Yes, that's us!" Jack said proudly. "It's so nice that you remember who we are so well. Pity I keep forgetting who you are — I guess you're just not as important as we are."
"I am Herak," Herak said coldly, "First Prime to Lord Anubis. It's a position many Jaffa would kill for."
"Yes, well, I want to kill you and it has nothing to do with that," Jack told him. "I just don't like you — no, wait, I take that back — I hate you." Herak smiled smugly.
"I take it you are here to rescue these Jaffa from certain death," he said.
"Yes, we are," Jack told him. "I take it you're here to kill us."
Herak's smile widened.
"Death would be a pleasant fate compared to what awaits you aboard Anubis' vessel," he said nastily.
