Hmmm? I need about a hundred ways to apologize to my readers for leaving you so long without an update. I actually had most of this chapter written a long time ago but just didn't get to finishing it. I'm afraid my Stargate mojo has rather left me! I will finish this one – I promise. I just can't guarantee super quick updates (I'll try and be better though).

I find that there is so little new Sg1 fic that I enjoy that it's hard to get caught up in this universe (most new stories seem to be about Vala/Daniel, etc – not my cup of tea I'm afraid). If some people would write some good old-fashioned original team or S/J fic I'd be thrilled!

"Colonel O'Neill!" General Hammond made his way quickly down into the gate room. "Where in the world have you been?"

"Uh – we took a little trip Sir", O'Neill said. "To see Thor."

"I'm glad to see you're back Colonel O'Neill, and your team with you." Another man, also a Colonel, had followed Hammond into the gate room.

"Uh, who are you?" the Colonel asked, his eyes narrowing. He had a suspicion he already knew, but needed to have it confirmed.

"My name is Colonel Mark Hubbard."

"The Colonel is with the NID", Hammond said heavily, his face expressionless, but his eyes flashing angrily. O'Neill was grateful to see the anger wasn't directed at him or his team, but at Hubbard.

"I am indeed", Hubbard smiled. "And I'm here to take you back with me Colonel. I've had quite a wait. I understand you left without permission?"

"Thor asked for my help and you know him – terribly impatient. And of course my team simply followed my orders. They didn't know the trip was unauthorized." He could feel his teammates shift at this and was sure Daniel was about to open his mouth so he gave him a quick look. Fortunately they knew each other well enough by now that the others immediately settled down, not saying anything. He was fully aware, however, that he would hear about it later.

"Yes, well - " the Colonel smirked but let that pass. "It's a good thing I'm a patient man Colonel". He gestured with his arm towards the door. "Shall we?"

Jack simply raised his brows and looked over towards Hammond. "Sir?"

George sighed. "I'm afraid I have no say in this Colonel", he told O'Neill. "Orders came from the top. You are to go with Colonel Hubbard. However", and here he looked sternly at the man from the NID, "Colonel O'Neill and the others will go to the Infirmary first to be checked out."

"Oh no General", Hubbard started to object but stopped when the General held up his hand.

"That is protocol Colonel – and it is a procedure which will not be broken, for you or anyone, including the President. No man or woman comes through the gate without receiving a medical check. You can have the Colonel once that is done."

Hubbard nodded sharply, obviously not liking it but knowing he had little choice. "Fine, but my men will stand outside of the Infirmary to ensure Colonel O'Neill doesn't try another little stunt and run off again."

O'Neill looked as if he wanted to hit his fellow Colonel, but instead turned and stomped off towards the Infirmary. His team started to follow, but were stopped by Hubbard,

"The rest of you are under arrest and will be detained following your medical check.

"Under arrest?" Daniel asked. "What for?"

"For disobeying orders, for unauthorized use of the Stargate, for theft of government property – need I go on?"

"You little shit!" O'Neill ground out. "They did none of those things! I told you – they were simply obeying my orders."

"Well, we'll see about that at their trial, won't we Colonel? Come on – we don't' have all day. Go and get checked out and then we're leaving."

"General?" Jack glanced over at his CO – who was standing there with a furious look on his face.

"I'll do what I can Jack but I don't know how much I can help. They're doing this to blackmail you."

Jack looked at Hubbard and sneered. "And here we worry about the snakes out in space and we're surrounded by them right here on Earth." He looked over at his team. "Don't worry folks, I'll fix this." With that he turned on his heal and headed towards the Infirmary.

Janet was fuming. If the idiot from the NID ever needed any care in her Infirmary she knew exactly what she'd do to him. She'd take the biggest damn needle and –

"Ow! Watch that Janet." Jack rubbed his arm and glared at the tiny doctor. "Geesh! What did I do?"

"I'm sorry Colonel", she said, rubbing her eyes. "I'm just so damned angry at those asses at the NID. I didn't mean to get rough with you."

"Hey, it's okay. They're enough to drive anyone to uh – poke people! Hey, don't worry. I'll be okay."

"But Sir", she said softly. "Who knows what they're going to do to you. They'll try and force you to reveal all sorts of things."

"Like what?" he grinned. "The recipe for my famous Guinness pancakes? I assure you I'll never tell them about the time I kissed Sophie Miller in the custodian's closet."

"Sir – Jack! This isn't a joke – it's bad."

Jack grew serious at that. "I know Janet", he said softly. "I just – don't know what to do right now."

"Is it true they're arresting your team?"

Jack snorted. "Yeah – the bastards. I'm sure they're using it to blackmail me – Hammond is too. He'll get working on it."

She shook her head as she pulled off her rubber gloves and threw them into the garbage. "What about Thor?"

Jack shrugged. "He has to be careful", Jack said calmly. "The Asgard are pretty sensitive about interfering with a planet's sovereign government and I expect this whole thing has been sanctioned by the President."

"Bastard!" Janet hissed.

"Careful Janet", Jack looked around. "You could get in trouble for that."

"I don't care. This is – it's a violation of your rights. We've got to do something."

He reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Janet, I appreciate it but the best thing you can do for me is look after my team. Make sure they don't do anything stupid", he grinned slightly, "and if they do, fix them up. I'll be fine, I promise."

"You can't promise that Sir", she said softly, but she pressed his hand. "And of course I'll look after your team – I always do."

"Yes", he smiled, "you do Janet." He hopped off the table. "So, am I fit to go with dear Colonel Hubbard?"

"Yes", she said, looking disgusted. "Take care of yourself Colonel."

He gave her a smile and then headed out of the Infirmary, looking far more confident then he felt.

The guards at the door immediately took him into custody and he was hustled out of the mountain and into an armored vehicle before he had a chance to speak with anyone. He demanded to talk to General Hammond, but was ignored. Once in the vehicle they brought out chains and manacled his wrists and ankles. A long chain ran through them and was attached to the floor. He definitely wasn't going anywhere.

"Sorry Colonel", Hubbard said as he pulled himself into the back of the vehicle. "We can't take any chances."

O'Neill leaned back and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to say anything until he knew more of what was going on. Instead he sat quietly, worrying about his team.

His teammates were all being held in the brig and were furious. Sam and Daniel both demanded to see a lawyer and were ignored. Teal'c sat quietly, his eyes closed, looking as if he was once again doing Kel'noreem.

"Hey you – I want to speak with General Hammond", Daniel shouted. Again he was ignored and could feel panic start to build. What the hell was going on?

Jack was transferred to a plane and again bolted in. He still refused to speak, even though Hubbard tried to talk to him numerous times. Eventually the man quit, although Jack was pretty sure things would get much rougher soon. This time, as he lay back in the seat, he spent his time contemplating ways in which he was going to seriously hurt Colonel Mark Hubbard. He wondered if Ba'al would like a new toy?

By the time they arrived – Jack had no idea where – it was dark. He was hustled into a car, between two burly soldiers – and they drove for almost an hour before arriving at what looked to be a simple farmhouse. Somehow Jack knew that was nothing but a façade.

"Here we are Colonel", Hubbard said cheerfully, "your home away from home for the foreseeable future. Bring him", he said to the two guards.

He was pushed and shoved into the house and down a short hallway. One of the guards opened a door and he was made to walk through – and down a long set of stairs. Arriving at the bottom he nodded. He had been right. This was no farmhouse. In the basement there was a long corridor, made of concrete, with metal doors. They were in some kind of military facility.

He was practically thrown into a room – nothing more than a cell – with a cot and a toilet. They didn't remove the manacles but slammed the door behind him. He made his way to the cot and sat down, knowing that he was in a very bad situation. Lying back he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, knowing that whatever happened next wasn't going to be pleasant.

Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were held in the cells under the mountain for a week with no contact with anyone except the guards who brought them regular meals. No one would answer any questions or tell them what was happening. Sam was sure she was going to go crazy, although not as crazy as Daniel. Teal'c had said very little, but she was pretty sure she wouldn't want to be any of the people who had done this – not when Teal'c was released.

Finally they received a visitor – someone they didn't know. He introduced himself as Gerald Bragg. He told them he was their lawyer and he was here to talk to them about the charges against them.

It was clear, almost immediately, that he was working for – or at least in cooperation with – the NID. After that none of them would speak with him at all. Eventually he sighed and picked up his briefcase. "You're just harming yourselves", he said finally.

"T'rochik drak goa'uld t'e mitka." Teal'c said to him as he left. Daniel laughed.

"Okay – what was that?" Sam asked, curious at what Teal'c had said.

"Uh – he basically told the lawyer he hoped a Goa'uld would find its way up his – rear end."

Sam laughed, she couldn't help herself. "I'll have to learn that one." She sighed. "What are we going to do? And where's General Hammond?"

"I have no idea Sam. I have a really bad feeling about this."

"It is O'Neill that I am worried about", Teal'c said. "I fear things may be very bad."

For the first couple of days Jack was left pretty much on his own. Food was passed through a slot near the floor but other than that he didn't see or hear anyone. He figured they were using regular interrogation techniques, like leaving people alone to grow fearful. It tended to soften people up before being interviewed. He snorted. He was pretty sure they'd graduate to other methods pretty soon because they had to have read his file. This sort of thing wouldn't faze him.

"Colonel", Hubbard was standing there and spoke as soon as the door to his cell was open. "Bring him." He spoke to the guards who were with him. They entered the cell and soon had Jack on his feet and moving out to the hallway.

They knew how to pick them, thought Jack. These guards reminded him of the ones Ba'al had had when he'd been captured. They were huge and intimidating. The thought gave him a strange and horrible sense of deja-vu as he was being practically dragged down the hallway. He really wasn't looking forward to what was coming.

He was taken into a room that was either an operating room or a torture chamber – neither one very appealing. There was what looked like an operating table with straps and all sorts of medical equipment surrounding it. Over to one side was a nurse and someone he assumed was a doctor.

He was forced onto the table – although this time he fought. He knew it wasn't going to do any good, not while he was manacled and not with the goons, but he felt he had to at least try and put up a fight.

Soon he was strapped to the table – and he could feel the cold sweat break out all over his body. His breathing sped up, even though he tried hard to stay calm.

No one spoke – which made things even more frightening. The nurse came over and without looking at him took a pair of scissors and began to cut off his shirt. He sighed in relief when she put the scissors down. It looked like he'd be spared at least a smidgeon of dignity.

"I'm sorry for this Colonel", Hubbard finally spoke, a pleasant expression on his face. "But it is for national security."

"No it's not you bastard", O'Neill spit at him. "This is so you can try and exploit whatever you think I have."

"Now Colonel, don't you feel you have a duty to your country?"

"This isn't about duty. This is about torture and greed. Don't try and dress it up as anything else because we all know that's not the case.'

"Tsk tsk", the NID man shook his head. "So bitter Colonel." He nodded at the nurse who proceeded to hook up an IV in Jack's arm. "Just think of all the things we're going to learn that will help us in our fight against the Goa'uld."

Jack closed his eyes, knowing that there was no purpose in trying to argue – or curse – Hubbard or anyone in the room. The doctor and nurse – well, they could have come straight from Nazi Germany, by the look of them. The guards – they were either from Nazi Germany or on loan from some sadistic Goa'uld. There was no hope for him there.

In fact he was pretty sure there wasn't much hope for him anywhere. He suddenly wished he'd gone off with Thor. He'd known the NID would want to get hold of him, but he had no idea they'd go this far – or that Hammond or the Air Force wouldn't at least try and protect him. Suddenly he felt angry and betrayed. Where were his people? Why were they leaving him like this?

He heard the doctor murmuring something, although he tried to not pay attention. The next moment he felt something cool in his hand and knew that they'd started giving him something. A moment later he was out.

"Colonel? Colonel O'Neill?" He heard someone calling him, but the sound was fuzzy and distant. He was so tired. He felt himself drifting back to sleep.

"COLONEL!"

This time things were more distinct and he forced his eyes open. Someone wanted him. He needed to get up.

"There you guy Colonel."

He blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what was going on and where he was. "Hubbard?" he croaked, as everything came flooding back. "Damn! I hoped you'd been eaten by some disgusting alien bug!"

"Now, now Colonel, there's no need to be like that!"

O'Neill glared at him, but then felt his eyes begin to close. He was so sleepy he could barely stay awake.

"Can we give him something?" he could hear Hubbard ask.

"I can, but this should wear off on its own in just a minute. It takes a while for the drug to clear his system.

As much as he wanted to sleep, and hopefully wake up to a different reality, he knew there was no point. He was here and Hubbard wanted to speak with him. He sighed and forced his eyes back open.

"That's it Colonel", Hubbard nodded. "I need to talk with you."

Jack blinked at him but didn't say anything. He wouldn't tell this guy what day of the week it was – if, of course, he knew, which he didn't.

"You're not cooperating with us Colonel", the NID man complained. "We need to find out what happened to you."

Jack lifted an eyebrow but remained silent.

"Don't you understand – you'll never leave here if you don't cooperate."

"When? Now?" he finally asked. He glanced down at where he could see his wrists, manacled to the bars on either side of the mattress. He tried lifting his feet but they too were chained. "What is it you'd like me to do?"

"I told you – I want you to cooperate! We got nothing from you – nothing but nonsense and mumbles. This won't do Colonel. You have to tell us what happened to you."

O'Neill narrowed his eyes and looked at the man incredulously. "Are you telling me I have to cooperate when I'm unconscious?"

Hubbard huffed and crossed his arms. "Listen, I know you're consciously avoiding telling the truth. The drugs are to make you talk – not tell stupid jokes."

He could feel his face split into a grin. "I told jokes? Were they any good?"

"Take him back to his cell!" Hubbard hissed. "Maybe a few days alone will convince you that it's in your best interest to cooperate with us."

"Hmm – nah, don't think so. But I am looking forward to some peace and quiet. Did anyone ever tell you you talk to much Hubbard?"

He was sure he heard someone in the room snort, but his range of vision was limited so he didn't know who it was. From Hubbard's glare he'd noticed too. Some poor guy was going to get disciplined.

The manacles were unlocked from the bed frame and he was forced to his feet. It was a good thing that the goons were there, because he would have fallen right over. He was incredibly dizzy and disoriented. He was immediately shuffled back down the hallway towards his shell, the two guards holding on to him tightly. He wished that he had the strength to fight, but as it was he could barely walk.

He was thrown into his cell and landed hard on the cement floor. He cursed the guards as the door was slammed and forced himself up and onto the bed. He was cold as he was not wearing a shirt, so he grabbed the single blanket and wrapped it around himself.

He sighed and rubbed his neck and - "what the hell!" He put his hand on his scalp and only then realized.

The bastards had shaved his head!