Authors Note: I apologize for not updating sooner. There have been some personal things going on in my life that have prevented me from writing. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. There's at least two more chapters, maybe three, to come. I tried to make this chapter as long as I could, but I can never really tell how long it is until I post it. Please be patient with me, I have a lot of other fics currently in progress and I will try to update as soon as I can. Reviews help speed the creative juices, so don't forget to hit that little button at the bottom. Happy reading :-)
They were sorely outnumbered and the Jaffa were closing in on them. SG-11 had been caught right away. Sam, Daniel, & Teal'c had gone to the village to try and talk to the locals, convince them that they were worshiping a false god. Sam had ordered SG-11 to stay behind at the gate, to watch their backs just in case anything went wrong.
Everything happened so fast. Before anyone knew what was happening chaos had erupted. Daniel was talking to Jareen, the leader of the Fensia people, when Sergent Bale stumbled into the village bleeding and badly wounded. He fell to the ground at Sam's feet, blood gurgling out of his mouth. Sam quickly knelt beside him, checking the extent of the damage. "What happened?"
"There were too many," Bale choked. "The rest of my team are ... dead," he said, every word becoming more labored. His eyes started to roll back inside his head but with visible effort he brought his attention back to Sam. "They're coming ... get ... out now ... not far ... behind," he muttered beginning to lose consciousness. "Who's coming?" Sam asked. "Ja ... ffa ...," he whispered before his eyes rolled back and his head lolled to one side. Sam quickly checked his pulse, not finding one, she stood quickly. "Let's move," she ordered.
Jaffa spilled into the city seconds after SG-1 left. A Jaffa came to stop in front of Jareen. "Where are they?" He asked, his voice deep and harsh. Jareen lifted a shaky hand and pointed. "They just left," he said with a quivering voice. "That way," he pointed in the direction SG1 had taken.
They had been evading patrols of Jaffa for nearly two hours. Teal'c had taken the lead automatically, his instinct to protect kicking in. Teal'c led them through the dense forest, his eyes constantly searching the tree line, alert for any signs of activity. Their group was small, which made it easier to hide. But the Jaffa had been searching in grids, quickly boxing them in. It was only a matter of time before they were found. Sam knew that as soon as they were overdue Jack would've tried to make contact. By now he had to be aware of the situation. He would send reinforcements, Sam knew that. But would they come in time?
Teal'c stopped, holding up one hand, signaling the group to stop. Sam held her P-90 ready, her eyes scanning the terrain for any signs of the enemy. Teal'c motioned for her to join him. Quickly & as quietly as possible Sam made her way to where Teal'c stood, his head cocked to one side. "What is it Teal'c?" Sam asked, glancing around before her gaze settled on Tealc's.
"I believe they had called off the search for now. It would be extremely difficult to search in the darkness," Teal'c said, looking up at the quickly darkening sky. "We should seek shelter for the night."
Jack slammed the phone down in it's cradle. "Bunch of hypocritical tight-ass bureaucratic ..." He fumed. A knock sounded on the door, cutting off his tirade. "WHAT?!?" He yelled. The door swung open to reveal a very nervous looking Sergent Walter Harriman. Normally Jack would've apologized, but he was in no mood to placate anyone. The pentagon wouldn't authorize a rescue mission, and Jack was beyond pissed off. They wanted to send someone down to assess the situation before they would even consider doing anything. And Jack knew he couldn't wait.
"You're needed in the gate room sir," Sergent Harriman said backing slowly out the door.
They had set up camp in the center of a group of tight-knit trees. Teal'c had offered to take the first watch. Sam lay on the hard ground, her pack under her head wide awake, unable to stop the flow of thoughts filling her head.
"I can't go on pretending." Sam heard the words she had spoken echo through her head. "We've spent so long pretending, dancing around each other. I don't want to pretend anymore Jack." Sam squeezed her eyes shut as the memories of that night claimed her again.
Sam waited in silence, hearing his breathing, knowing he didn't have a clue what to say. Her heart felt like it would burst from the suspense. "Please say something. Anything," she pleaded. When he spoke his voice sounded strained. "What about Pete?" He asked. Sam closed her eyes, a tear escaping at the thought of hurting Pete. Pete was a good man, and he didn't deserve this. But she had spent far too many nights thinking about Jack, wishing she was with him instead. She couldn't keep pretending. "He's not you Jack," she whispered. "He could never be you." She leaned back on the couch, her head resting on the wall behind it. She wiped the tear from her face and cradled the phone closer to her ear. " Sam, I ..."
Sam woke with a start, Teal'c gently shaking her shoulder. "Colonel Carter," he said shaking her. She turned over and faced Teal'c. "Is it my watch already?" She asked with a groan, moving her body into a sitting position. "I feel like I've only been asleep for ten minutes." Teal'c looked at her, his face covered with concern. "Are you well Colonel Carter?" He asked softly. Sam brought her eyes up to meet his. "Yeah Teal'c, I'm fine," she said giving him a strange look. "Why?" Teal'c cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow. "You were crying in your sleep."
Jack walked into the gate room expecting to see some ambassador from another planet he was supposed to greet, or something equally as annoying that he didn't have time for. Instead he saw all the SG teams that weren't currently deployed had formed, standing at attention. Colonel Murphy, a man Jack had served with for several years stepped forward. "We heard about the situation, Sir. We'd like to volunteer to help SG-1." Jack looked at the men and women standing before him, ready to fight hundreds of Jaffa and maybe lose, to try and save his team. "Thank you all." Jack said, his chest swelling with pride.
He knew allowing these soldiers to go through the gate was in direct violation of the orders he'd received only ten minutes before. But he also knew that if they weren't already, his team would be in serious trouble soon. Judging by the amount of Jaffa he'd seen he knew it was only a matter of time before they were captured. And he knew first hand what kind of torture the Goauld would inflict if they were caught. There was no way he was going to let that happen to them, not without a fight. He glanced at the teams that were assembled in the gate room. "SG units 9, 4, 7, and 14, gear up." Jack ordered.
He looked back at Colonel Murphy, who was still standing in front of him. "Colonel, this is not an authorized mission. In fact the pentagon has ordered me not to attempt a rescue. But there is no way in hell I am going to leave SG-1 out there to die." The colonel nodded. "I'm with you sir. My team will be geared up and ready in ten minutes." Jack shook his head. "I need you to assume command of this facility Murphy. I need someone that I can trust to look out for things while I'm gone." Murphy paled, he looked like he was ready to lose his lunch. "Gone, sir? Where are you going?" He asked, his voice coming out a higher pitch than he would have liked. "To get my team."