Jackie had heard SG1's conversation after she was taken captive. Thank God for Teal'c and Daniel. They could not afford to blow this mission, too much was at stake. That had been 10 minutes ago. She hadn't been taken to a cell like she thought she would have, instead she was taken directly to what – on Earth at least – would be considered an office.
For someone who had spent countless centuries claiming to be a god, Ba'al had sure taken a fancy to the lifestyle of Earth – a planet where he had to be careful about claiming to be a god. Jackie smirked; boy was he about to get a surprise. Jack had been right, the Goa'uld did indeed have a weakness – they were too sure of themselves.
Jackie's reflection was cut short by Ba'al walking in. She knew she should probably wipe the smirk off her face, but wasn't too successful. He stopped right in front of her and his eyes glowed momentarily, apparently trying to freak her out. He obviously had no clue who she was.
"Bow before your god." Ba'al commanded, his voice resonating with the Goa'uld brusqueness.
"You are not my god." Jackie retorted. "You can drop the act Ba'al. I know who, or what, you are."
"Oh? What am I then?"
"You are nothing more than an overstuffed, overdressed, pompous parasite."
In a flash of movement, Ba'al slapped Jackie across the face. She didn't flinch, refusing to give him any satisfaction. Slowly she turned her head back and stared at him. He was quick, she'd give him that, very few people – on or off earth – could get the drop on her, but then again, she had been spouting off.
"You've spent too much time with Jack." Daniel's quiet voice came through Jackie's earpiece. "Would it kill you to try a little diplomacy?"
Jackie smirked.
"Tell me Ba'al, does it make you feel more like a man to beat up a woman who is currently unable to defend herself?"
Jackie could hear Daniel groan at her comment. Yeah, she could be diplomatic, but sometimes it was just more fun not to be.
"I shall wipe that insolent smirk off your face before I am done with you. But first," Ba'al turned and pressed a couple buttons on the 'desk' behind him. Suddenly the chains around Jackie's wrists began to rise up, pulling her to her feet. "What are you doing on my ship?"
"I admit…I'm a little lost." Ba'al smacked her.
"Do not lie to me!"
"Fine you want the truth?"
Sam, Daniel, and Cameron all shared a worried look. They had only known Jackie for two weeks – one of which she had spent gallivanting across the galaxy; they really hadn't known how she would handle interrogation by Ba'al. They sat in silence, waiting for her to finish her comment. Sam's hand hovered over the beaming device ready to beam both Jackie and Teal'c aboard if everything went to hell.
Ba'al smirked. This had been too easy.
"Do you remember that explosion earlier, the one out in the middle of the meteors? That was my ship. The engines blew and were about to take the rest of my ship out in a grand explosion. But when you sent your gliders out, you gave me a chance at survival, I was able to beam aboard your ship in the brief seconds that your shields were down."
"My jaffa never detected the rest of your ship."
"That's because of the gravitational and EM fields generated by some of the meteors…screwed up the sensors on your gliders."
"There was no residual explosion."
"That's because my ship probably fell to the planet below with the rest of the meteors and either burned up in the atmosphere or crashed into the planet."
Ba'al stared at her, maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. Then again, at least he would get some pleasure out of torturing her. He pressed another button and the chains stretched up even higher.
There was an audible sigh of relief from the three occupants of the jumper. Jackie had once again surprised them.
"That was a load of bull." Cameron sighed.
Sam and Daniel chuckled.
Even though the mood in the jumper had lightened since Jackie's 'confession' to Ba'al, there was still a layer of tension. None of them knew what Ba'al would do next. Silently they all hoped that Teal'c would finish quickly.
Teal'c resumed his movements down the halls of the mothership. He too had heard what was going on between Ba'al and Jackie. When she had asked if Ba'al wanted the truth Teal'c had paused. Teal'c had a sixth sense about people, leading him to openly trust, or mistrust, those he met. He had trusted Jackie from the start – partly because O'Neill trusted her, but partly because of the sense of honor he got from her. He hadn't really thought that she would give away the truth – but he had been wrong before.
Moving down the hall, Teal'c picked up his pace. Whether or not Ba'al believed what Jackie had said, he would still torture her. Teal'c had to get the rest of the charges placed so that Colonel Carter could beam them both back to the jumper. That was Jackie's only chance at survival.
"I have only one charge left to place Jacquelyn Nielson."
Jackie smiled inwardly. Outwardly she was just too damn tired. It had been 20 minutes since she had given Ba'al her 'explanation' for being on his ship. In that time he had enjoyed himself immensely at her expense. Everything hurt. From her head to her feet there wasn't an inch of her that wasn't screaming.
"I'll ask you one more time." Ba'al smirked as he stood before her, holding yet another torture device. "What planet are you from and why are you here?"
Jackie looked up at Ba'al for the first time in several minutes. Her blue eyes were suddenly the color of the ocean during a storm – they flashed in anger and spite. A smirk rested on her lips.
"I travel around a lot, don't really stay in one place for too long." She paused, trying to catch her breath. Between the anger and the pain her breathing was not what it should be. "As for why I'm here? That's simple. I'm here to avenge the death of a man who was like a father to me."
"Here we go." Daniel groaned.
The members of SG1 who remained on the puddle jumper had been forced to listen to Ba'al torturing Jackie. Each one of them was itching to beam over there and beat the crap out of him. But they also knew that Teal'c needed time to finish laying the charges. The moment that Teal'c had said he was almost done, the three had shared a look, wondering what this information would lead Jackie to do.
They didn't have to wait long for their answer.
"Colonel Carter I am ready to beam back to the jumper."
A bright light flashed and Teal'c was once again on the jumper. Joining the rest of his team in the front compartment his normally calm exterior was slightly agitated – evidenced by the stance he took.
"Why have you not beamed Jacquelyn Nielson back?"
"I can't." Sam said, trying desperately to find out why the device wasn't working. "There must be a dampening field around the room where Jackie is being held."
"And to whom do I owe thanks for sending me such a fine specimen."
All of SG1 grimaced at hearing Ba'al's sneering tone.
"General Jack O'Neill."
Jackie hadn't thought it was possible, but the grin on Ba'al's face widened. But she wasn't real concerned with that. She had heard SG1 talking – they had forgotten to mute the transmission. Jackie took the time to glance around the room; there was nothing that would suggest a dampening field. Slowly her eyes rested on the console she had first thought looked like a desk. She knew what she had to do.
"I was wondering if anyone would figure it out. I have to say I am quite surprised that SG1 isn't here to do this. But I guess I'll have to settle for you. But first, you'll need your strength." Reaching behind him Ba'al lowered the chains causing Jackie to slump to the floor. He was about to leave the room, when a soft voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Ba'al." Jackie watched as he turned around, curious as to what else she might say. "There is something you should know before you leave."
Ba'al moved back across the room to the limp body before him.
"Come closer." Jackie croaked.
Ba'al knelt down beside her and leaned his head towards her. Jackie whispered towards him. The look on his face changed from a smug smile to pure anger, but before he could move away, everything went to hell – at least for him.
Jackie had known that if she had any chance of getting off that ship she was going to have to show her last card. She watched in satisfaction as the grin was wiped from Ba'al's face and replaced with fury. In that instant Jackie saw her chance. Moving faster than either of them thought was possible, Jackie swung her chains around Ba'al's neck and pulled tight. Holding the chains in place with one hand, she reached down with her other and pulled the zat off his belt. She quickly aimed it at the console and pulled the trigger. Once…twice…three times. Finally the console reacted to the energy surge and started to short.
"SAM NOW!"
For the fourth time in a matter of hours, the small jumper was filled with a blinding white light. As the light faded SG1 saw Jackie slump to the floor. Teal'c – being the closest of the three – hurried to her side.
"Are you alright Jacquelyn Nielson?"
"I've been better…but I've also been worse." Jackie groaned as she tried to move.
"Do not move Jacquelyn Nielson."
Jackie looked up at the big jaffa who knelt next to her and smiled. He might be the best warrior that she had ever known, but deep down he was just a big softy.
"I would love nothing more than to just lie here, but I have a ship to drive." She tried to get up, but found that she didn't have the strength. She looked up into Teal'c's tender eyes and grunted, "A little help?"
Teal'c smiled one of his rare half smiles, bent down, scooped Jackie up, and carried her to the front of the jumper. Placing her gently in the pilot's seat he stood next to her, ready to help at a moments notice.
"Alright, let's get out of here. Teal'c you have the trigger?" The jaffa nodded. "Well, let her rip."
Teal'c pulled the trigger out of his vest pocket and pressed the button. Before Jackie turned the jumper back towards the planet they saw, and heard, the first of many blasts go off.
All of SG1 noticed that their decent to the planet was a little harsher than it should have been. Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c knew what Jackie was probably feeling at the moment seeing as how each of them had gone through Goa'uld torture at one point or another. They were all surprised to see how well she reigned in the pain and focused on getting them all home. However, they also knew that her strength wasn't going to last long; they just hoped it would last long enough.
"Unscheduled off-world activation!"
Landry came tearing down the stairs into the control room.
"SG1's IDC sir." The sergeant told Landry as he came to a stop.
"Open the iris."
As the iris opened, the jumper tore through the event horizon and into the gate room. Landry stiffened as he saw the jumper heading straight for the control room window. Suddenly the jumper stopped just centimeters from the window.
"What the hell…?" Landry exploded; he really had had enough of Dr. Nielson's troublemaking ways. He never finished the sentiment however as his eyes focused on the group inside the jumper. All of SG1 looked fine, but Jackie was leaning against Teal'c looking rather battered and bruised. Her hands were barely hanging on to the controls. "Clear the gate room" Landry barked, realizing that at any moment the jumper could crash to the gate room floor as Jackie lost the battle to hang on. "Medical emergency in the gate room!"
Jackie could feel herself loosing control as the jumper headed straight for the event horizon, she glanced at the console. The device that she had integrated with the Ancient's ship was blinking, but there wasn't enough time to turn to autopilot, she was going to have to do this alone.
As the jumper stopped just shy of the control room window, Jackie could see the fury on Landry's face, but at this point she really didn't care. Fighting unconsciousness, Jackie found herself leaning against Teal'c who was still standing next to her. As she heard Landry barking orders over the intercom, she slowly reached over with one hand and hit the button on the console that was still blinking. Instantly autopilot kicked in and the ship landed by itself. As it did so, Jackie finally gave in to the comforting black of unconsciousness.
Dr. Lam looked out her office window. She smiled as she took in the sight of the SGC's formidable jaffa standing guard next to the bed of her one patient. In the six hours since SG1 had returned from blowing up Ba'al's ship, Teal'c had left Jackie's side only for 30 minutes, for the debriefing – and that was with reluctance. All of SG1 had spent the better part of the last six hours in the infirmary with Jackie, but they had eventually wandered off to get some sleep, but not Teal'c.
Dr. Lam smiled to herself. You couldn't ask for a better warrior, guard, or friend.
Teal'c looked down at the sleeping form before him. She looked better since Dr. Lam had attended to her needs, yet she still looked frail and tired lying there unconscious.
While Jackie slept, Teal'c thought over the last several hours. He had been surprised when Daniel had come looking for him to tell him that General Landry had approved Jacquelyn Nielson's mission. As the mission had progressed he began to see the wisdom in the General's decision – Jacquelyn Nielson knew what she was doing. He had known instinctively what she wanted of him when she had told Colonel Carter to beam him over to Ba'al's ship. But he had not liked having to point his staff weapon at her. He could have easily taken out the handful of jaffa that had come upon him, but he realized what she was doing. The two of them could not single handedly take out all the jaffa on the ship and place the charges, but if Ba'al's attention was elsewhere, one of them could have the time to place the charges.
Teal'c had listened angrily as Ba'al had tortured Jacquelyn Nielson, but not once had she cried out. He was proud of her. He had been surprised when they came back to the SGC and she had leaned her head on his hip – but he was more surprised that it had taken so long for her to succumb to the pain and just let go. She was strong and she reminded him greatly of O'Neill. He supposed that was because she had grown up around O'Neill. Teal'c was certain that O'Neill would have been proud if he could have seen what she had done that day.
A soft groan from the bed pulled Teal'c back to reality.
"Jacquelyn Nielson?" Teal'c saw her eyes flutter at the sound of his voice. "Doctor Lam, she is waking."
Jackie had been awake for two hours and she was getting restless. It was the middle of the night, but she couldn't sleep. Teal'c had finally escorted the rest of SG1 out of the infirmary about half an hour ago so that she could sleep. Instinctively she knew that he now stood guard outside the infirmary so that no one would bother her. A small smile crept up her face at the big man. Slowly the effects of Dr. Lam's drugs began to take effect and Jackie felt herself drifting back into peaceful oblivion.
"Ready to bust out of here?"
Jackie looked up from the book she'd been reading to see Daniel standing in the doorway.
"Boy am I ever!" Jackie exclaimed excitedly.
"Well, than let's go before Dr. Lam changes her mind."
Daniel smiled at the huge grin that had spread across Jackie's face when she had seen him. Despite what had happened in the last 24 hours, he couldn't help feeling protective for the young woman. She had tested his trust in her, yet he felt a special kinship with her.
Leading her out of the infirmary and down the hall to the elevator, he placed a protective arm around her.
"So what is this about needing a cab? There are more than enough cars here on base. If you need a ride I could…"
Jackie smiled. Daniel noticed that it almost had a sad aspect to it.
"There's something I have to take care of."
"Hey!" Daniel stopped in the middle of the hall. "The last time you said that you disappeared for a week!"
"I'm heading home tomorrow Daniel." Noticing the surprise on Daniel's face, Jackie wrapped her arm around him and squeezed gently. "There is a small matter of business that I need to take care of before I leave." She paused. "Can you bring Sam and Teal'c and meet me at Garden of the Gods tomorrow at 1000?"
Daniel simply looked at Jackie. Somehow he had begun to think that she would make Colorado Springs her new home, it had never really crossed his mind that she would leave. Seeing that she was waiting for a response he nodded numbly.
"Garden of the Gods. 1000. Sam and Teal'c."
Jackie smiled and gave him a quick hug. Then she turned and entered the elevator.
Daniel quietly took in the beauty before him. It had been quite some time since he had been to Garden of the Gods. He smiled to himself at the name. This beautiful park in Colorado Springs was aptly named, but the irony was still there – irony that only those working at the SGC would understand. He glanced down at his watch 0955…five more minutes.
"Any idea why Jackie wanted to meet us out here?" Sam asked casually, also glancing at her watch.
"Probably wanted to say goodbye." Daniel responded.
"Could Jacquelyn Nielson not have said goodbye to us at Cheyenne Mountain?" Teal'c inquired.
"Yeah I could have, but I haven't been here in ages and wanted to see it before heading home."
All three turned as they heard Jackie behind them.
"I know you guys are all about to burst from the curiosity, so I'll get straight to the point. Daniel…three days ago I promised that I would explain once the mission was over." Daniel nodded, Sam looked confused, and Teal'c – well, Teal'c's expression didn't change. "However…" Daniel's face fell, thinking that she was going to fudge out of having to tell him. "However…it's not really my place to tell you…"
"If you can't tell us, than who can?" Daniel interrupted.
Jackie smiled mischievously.
"It's not my place Daniel, because he should be the one to tell you." With that Jackie pointed behind her three friends.
Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c all turned around to follow her gesture. They scanned the area for a second before all their eyes landed on the same person. Sam gasped audibly, Daniel's jaw dropped, and Teal'c let loose one of his rare smiles – a full faced smile.
"O'Neill!"