Chapter 15
Inside the ship, Teal'c, Ferretti, and Daniel made sure that both Goa'ulds were correctly tied to avoid any issues. And while Jack talked with the Jaffa's, Sam set their course to their next destination. Soon they were moving through the wormhole, and then they blinked several times when the previous darkness of the cargo bay was replaced by the bright sun of a sandy planet.
"Great! A sandy planet," Sam whispered to herself. Jack looked at her, and she smiled. "Bring up the sensors and see if they can pick something underground."
"As you order, Major," Jack shook his head and did as she asked. "I'm picking up a transporter ring, just over the dune."
"I guess that's a good place to start. Can you change it to heat signatures?" They looked as the screen went darker and heat signatures appeared.
"Jackpot!" Sam grinned when several human-like signatures were seen.
"I think you should land just past the rings."
"Why?" Jack frowned looking at her.
"Look at the dunes, those must be guards," she said pointing at the screen. Jack nodded and soon they were landing.
"Now what?"
"I'll go out," Sam affirmed as it was the most common thing to do on an unknown planet with guards posted somewhere.
"Why you, Sam?"
"A letter," she sighed, taking the envelope out of her jacket pocket.
"It says I have to get to someone called Martouf. You remember the warning letter about Kinsey, right?" He rubbed his face.
"Ok," he sighed.
"Just… Be careful, will you? We don't know who they are."
"I will," she nodded kissing him quickly before walking out of the ship. The team looked at her going down and then back at Jack trying to understand what was going on.
"I'll be back in a jiffy." She said and stepped out onto the sand. She walked a couple of steps before the sand raised showing guards pointing at her.
"I'm unarmed," Sam said raising her hands in what she hoped was a universal sign of surrender.
"Who are you? And What are you doing here?" One of them asked.
"I'm Major Samantha Carter from Earth." She said seriously, and they exchanged glances.
"I never heard of such world," another one, elderly looking said to her.
"I'm maybe you heard about the Tau'ri? Or the first world?" She asked, and the shocked look on their faces was all she needed to know they had heard of them before.
"You are a Tau'ri," the same man affirmed.
"Indeed I am. Also, I'm not alone." She said pointing to her back.
"Hi there," Jack said, waving from the entrance of the ship.
"Before you start asking questions on how we got to you, I have a letter for Martouf." She said taking the envelope from her pocket.
"I'm Martouf," one of them said, and she looked at him trying to see if he was deceiving them just to get the letter. But then she nodded and gave him the letter.
"Well, I do hope it will explain most of your questions." She shrugged as Martouf took the envelope and stared at it seemingly not knowing what to do of it.
"Ah, please allow me," she smiled.
"It needs to be opened, like this." She said opening it. He frowned as he spotted the piece of paper inside. Pulling it out, he read what it said with a concentrated look. Then, he looked up at Sam and smiled.
"Lower your weapons, they are friends," he said to the others.
"Ah, we got word of your technology, and we brought with us Apophis and Klorel. Can you have the symbionts removed from the hosts?"
"You brought Apophis and Klorel here?" The oldish one asked with widened eyes.
"Yes, but don't worry they are still unconscious. We grabbed them as they were going to destroy our planet."
"Then bring them, we will remove the symbionts from them." Sam turned towards Jack and gave him a nod.
"Thank you, Martouf," she said looking at the alien again.
"How did you get here on that ship?" he asked with a frown.
"Through the gate. So far, only Jack can make it work," she shrugged.
"You can't?"
"No, not that I didn't attempt it." She grinned as Jack and Teal'c walked out with the Gods over their shoulders.
"This way," they turned around and walked towards the ring and entered the underground cavern. Inside, they were moved to a room where they placed Apophis and Klorel in some beds. Martouf explained to them that it was where they would free the symbionts.
"What's he doing?" Jack asked as they saw a man passing something shiny over the hosts.
"Now, they need to heal the hosts. That's a healing device."
"Cool, by the way, who are you, people?" Jack asked
"We are the Tok'ra."
"Teal'c? Have you heard of them?"
"Indeed. There is an old legend among the Jaffa which speaks of a group of Goa'uld who opposed the ways of the System Lords. This group was called the Tok'ra."
"You mean they are like good Goa'uld?"
"Indeed."
Once they processes were finished, they were asked to wait to meet the council.
"Martouf," Sam called once the meeting was over.
"Is something the matter?" He asked in concern.
"I'm not sure," she trailed before she inhaled deeply. "What did the letter say?"
"It spoke of my mate and how she's not going to make it." He added saddened.
"Does it say where she is?" Sam asked.
"Yes. I know the planet, why?" She turned to Jack with hopeful eyes, and he sighed.
"You are thinking what I think you are thinking, right?" he asked.
"Well, you heard them. There's only one way to build an alliance, and with this, we can help them."
"Ok," he sighed.
"I will need that address of you," Jack said to Martouf., who frowned not following them.
"We are going to go and get your mate back."
"Thank you, even if we can't save her I'll appreciate the help." He said.
Soon they were on the ship, Jack brought up a screen with the gate symbols, and Martouf pointed the address to him.
"Can you see her?" he asked once they were on the surface of another planet and floating over a village.
"No."
"Jack, check the tree line for heat signatures," Sam pointed from behind them. Jack changed the screen.
"I get two signatures on the run, heading towards the river," he said as they moved towards the area.
"That's Rosha!" Martouf pointed to the person that was further down and closer to the river.
Jack flew in front of her and lowered the back door as Martouf walked to the back, she continued running paying more attention to the back that she didn't notice she was on the ship until she was in the arms of her mate. And kicking and hitting him believing she was captured.
"Rosha! Stop, it's me," Martouf whispered to her, and she stopped fighting when she saw him.
"Martouf?" She asked not quite believing her eyes. She looked around noticing the closed ship.
"Yes. You are safe, what happened?" She sighed.
"My cover was compromised. There's a spy on the Tok'ra base, and I know who it is."
"Was that an Ashrak?" Martouf asked placing a strand of hair behind her ears.
"Yes."
Overhearing their conversation, Sam pointed something to Ferretti who nodded and grabbed a zat. While Daniel went to get the duck tape he had picked before.
"What's an Ashrak?" Sam asked at the same time.
"A hunter."
"That was I thought. Why do you say guys, if we get our first Ashrak?" She grinned, and all the humans nodded.
The back door was lowered and Ferretti zatted the running man, who collapsed on the floor. With Ferretti covering her back, Sam walked to the guy and removed the device from his hands. Daniel threw her the duct tape, and she taped his hands together.
Daniel and Ferretti got down off the ship, Lou threw the zat to Sam, and soon they were carrying the unconscious Ashrak inside the ship.
"Isn't this nice, now there's one hunter less in the galaxy," Jack grinned looking at the back where his passengers were now seated with a man on the floor between them as Jack flew the ship back to the stargate.
However, the moment Sam stepped out of the ship back on the Tok'ra planet, they were received with staff weapons pointed at her.
"What's going on?" she asked confused.
"Where's Martouf?"
"I'm here," Martouf said, extending his hand to the back and taking Rosha's hand as they walked out. "Jolinar?"
"Indeed. I have returned thanks to them; they saved my life from the Ashrak you see on the ground."
Frerretti grabbed the man who regain conciseness and took him out of the ship to allow the rest to move. With the corridor cleaned, Jack walked towards the back and smiled as Lou threw the man to ground at the tok'ra feet.
"There's nothing like having one Ashrak less to worry about," he commented closing the ship behind them.
"The council will be pleased with your return."
Two tok'ra pick the Askrack up and they walk to a spot with SG1, Martouf and Jolinar behind them. They stop then they were ring down to the under ground.
Jolinar and Martouf were escorted to the council while SG-1 and Sam were sent to the removing room to deliver the Ashrak to free the host from the symbiont. Teal'c joined them later.
"T, buddy… are you alright?"
"I am, O'Neill. However now I know how they treat their prisoners." Teal'c said, and the couple blushed.
Once all the former Goa'uld were clean of their symbionts, they returned to the ship and traveled to another planet before delivering the three of them to Abydos. Once there, they dialed Earth.
"Stargate command. This is Sarah Gold Niner do you copy? Over"
"Major Carter?"
"Yes. General. SG1 is with me, sir."
"Come on through."
Once they were back on Earth, Jack parked the ship away from the splash zone and opened the door. All the personnel in the area walked closer to greet them.
"Welcome back SG1, Major Carter," General Hammond greeted them.
"It's good to be back, sir," Sam commented, and Jack nodded.
"And we got a lot to talk about, sir" Jack added.
"I suppose you had something to do with the two mother ships leaving Earth orbit?" Hammond asked, and they nodded.
"I supposed we are going to have a very interesting debriefing."
"Yes, sir." They all grinned.
Two hours later after going through an extensive medical exam, SG-1 plus Sam found themselves waiting for General Hammond at the briefing room. They looked at each other and the almost empty SGC around them.
"Alright, what happened?" General Hammond asked once he joined them on the table.
They spent several hours telling him what had transpired during the days they were missed. Including how they had managed to find new allies who were eager to defeat the Goa'uld. "Can these Tok'ra be trusted?"
"I think so, they only have one rule so far, they help us, and we help them," Jack said.
"They helped us by taking the symbionts away from Apophis and Klorel hosts, and we helped them to return one of their own plus we gave them an Ashrak." Hammond pinched the bridge of his nose; there was too much information to process.
"Thank you for what you did." He said proudly. "Also, you all got three days of down time." They looked at each other still not knowing what would've happened to them and the SGC.
"Sir, if may I be blunt," Jack trailed, and Hammond nodded.
"When we left, we were about to be shut down, what's going to happen to the SGC? I mean, now the menace is real and not only from here," he trailed, and the rest of them nodded.
"Well… I must tell you all, that after what happened… The president overrode the Senator decision, we are still operational, although, most of the personnel were given off days due to the previous situation." He explained, but they all grinned.
"Off days for all aside, those are very good news, sir."
"Yeah, I feel the same. Now, you are dismissed." He finished watching them walk away.
It was in their last days of leave when Jack and Sam had finally managed to get some adult time, and he was decided to make the most of it, so they were in bed, and he was kissing her senseless when his cell phone interrupted them. Jack groaned.
"Let it ring," He said breathlessly. And then she pushed him out off her and sat up.
"Better pick that, something could be happening." She said nervously. Jack rolled his eyes before rolling himself to get to the phone.
"O'Neill."
"Colonel, I hope I didn't wake you," Hammond's voice came from the other side.
"No, sir. Is everything alright on base?" He asked worriedly.
"Oh! Yes, everything is fine, Colonel. The reason behind my call is not a crisis for once." Hammond chuckled.
"The President wants to see us tomorrow morning; we leave at zero seven hundred from Peterson. Be there."
"Yes, sir. Oh, do you know what is about?" Jack frowned.
"For what I heard, there are going to be some changes at the SGC, Colonel."
"Sir," Jack trailed.
"Tomorrow, Colonel. Good night."
"Night, sir," Jack said before the call was finished. He remained still for a few seconds before returning the phone to the place it was before.
"Jack? What was that about?" Sam whispered on the other side, and he rolled over to watch her.
"Apparently, there are going to be some changes at the SGC after all," he grimaced.
"I hope nothing bad happens."
"Yeah, but there's nothing much we can do until tomorrow. So…" he trailed with a mischievous smile, "where were we?" He asked leaning over to kiss her.
"Right about here," She moaned.