CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was a long forty-five seconds before a limping man stumbled through the gate, carrying an unconscious Siler like a sack of potatoes.
As soon as the two men cleared the event horizon, four voices, belonging to Jack, Reynolds, Carter, and Teal'c, yelled in unison from four places around the room.
"CLOSE THE IRIS!"
As the metal shield spiraled into place, sealing the opening to hell, everyone in the room gave a sigh of relief. Shoulders slumped universally, and those who had just come through the gate dropped to the floor or allowed medical teams to position them on gurneys, with one notable exception. Jack O'Neill stood straighter and marched right to the control room, leaving behind a space that looked like it'd been hit by a tornado. Spent ammunition, discarded weapons, wrappers from used sterile medical supplies, and bloody footprints covered every visible surface, but Jack didn't see any of it.
He walked, calmly and coldly, straight to General Landry. He addressed the General directly, eyes not moving and face stony.
"General Landry, sir, I turn myself over to your custody and accept full responsibility for any actions taken against orders that resulted in the unauthorized rescue mission to P5X-462. All other personnel that were involved participated at my request and were acting on my direct orders. They should not be held accountable in any disciplinary proceedings."
Landry actually laughed out loud, and his response surprised the younger General. "Shut up, Jack. Don't try to take the fall for this. We both know what needed to be done here. Go visit your team, and get yourself checked out. We'll debrief when all this gets sorted out. Just stick around, ok?" The last part was delivered with a smirk, and Jack completely understood that as long as he promised not to leave the mountain, he was free to do what he pleased.
Jack smiled back, relief evident on his features.
"Thank you, sir. I understand."
"Good. Now get the hell out of here. You're making a mess of my control room."
Only then did Jack notice his appearance. He was filthy, and covered in blood. Some of it was Daniel's and some of it was his own, slowly seeping from bruised knuckles and a long, deep gash across his left calf. His right eye was puffy and blackening by the minute, and his left cheek looked like it'd been shaved with sandpaper. As always, once he noticed his injuries and the adrenaline that spiked during missions wore off, the pain hit him. Jack's head exploded, and his leg seemed to burst into flame. He suddenly felt weak. He stumbled backward a half step, catching himself on an empty chair.
Landry looked concerned, and addressed the balding man behind O'Neill at the computer. "Chief, take General O'Neill to the infirmary, and see that he gets checked out and treated."
Walter nodded curtly and stood to leave. "Yes, sir."
As the trusty sergeant helped the General out the door, Landry stared for a moment at the retreating men. He had no idea if O'Neill's legendary luck would hold. He was concerned what actions the Air Force and the IOA would take against the man, but he was also proud. Proud to know a man like Jack O'Neill, and proud of what he had done. Landry knew that this mission had been right, sanctioned or not. His eyes radiated respect, and he vowed to help all the men involved in any way he could.
XXX
The infirmary was overflowing when O'Neill arrived. Walter quickly excused himself, murmuring something about being under the same orders as Jack. There was no sign of the new CMO, Dr. Lam, as Jack looked around, but other doctors, nurses, orderlies and technicians seemed to be everywhere. They ran this way and that, checking vital signs, administering drugs, and prioritizing patients according to the severity of their injuries. Seven wounded at once was something they could easily handle, but it did require a bit of triage.
Jack sat, not even bothering with an initial screening, and joined two other men in one corner of the main treatment area. He could wait for treatment. Familiar voices greeted him.
"Sir." That one was Reynolds. The younger officer was nursing an obvious shoulder wound, but it didn't appear serious, and he'd been relegated to the non-critical group.
"O'Neill." There was Teal'c.
Jack grimaced what he hoped passed for a smile back and looked around, trying to figure out where the rest of his friends were.
His eyes found Carter soon enough. She was lying very still on a gurney, and several youngish doctors were hovering over her, cleaning, scrubbing, trimming and suturing a dozen wounds. A bag of clear fluid was slowly dripping into her veins, keeping her asleep and feeling no pain. She looked peaceful, and Jack couldn't help but be envious.
As he watched the medics work, a slow smile spread across Jack's face. It was a smile that revealed a thousand things. The General's face glowed with relief, admiration, and open affection all at once. Teal'c saw the expression and smiled warmly himself, well aware of O'Neill's thoughts. He called out to the man he considered a brother.
"O'Neill."
Jack started and looked at Teal'c, then switched back into command mode. He had allowed himself a brief moment of emotional overload, but he needed answers now. "Teal'c. Where's Daniel? Burke? The others?" Jack's head swiveled as he spoke, searching the infirmary.
Teal'c smiled patiently and answered as best he could.
"Daniel Jackson was briefly treated here, then transferred to a surgical room. Dr. Lam and several other senior clinicians are attending to him. From what I have been able to ascertain, they plan to stabilize a fractured arm and address several skull fractures at this time, then care for his other wounds later, when the trauma has had some time to subside."
Jack nodded dumbly and urged Teal'c to continue with his eyes.
He did. "Your friend Burke is also in surgery at this time. He has lost a substantial amount of blood from his leg wound, but is expected to make a full recovery."
Jack nodded again, digesting this new information. After a second, he asked another one word question.
"Siler?"
Colonel Reynolds responded this time, with a laugh. "You won't believe this. Siler got hit with a zat in our fight to dial the gate. No biggie, right? We were on that planet long enough afterwards for him to recover, right? Not Siler. Get this-he hit his head on the DHD as he fell, slicing his head open and knocking himself clean out. He briefly recovered consciousness here before passing out again. He's been patched up and moved to observation."
Jack laughed back at Reynolds. "I swear, that guy has the worst luck."
"No doubt," said Reynolds mirthlessly. He thought for a moment, then added something respectfully. "Tell you what, though-he's our lucky charm. Not only did he finish dialing the gate before he was hit, he did a great job setting up our perimeter in that hellhole. With the number of enemy men we saw, I don't think we would have made it out of there without his help. He knows how to set booby traps, that's for sure."
Teal'c rose an eyebrow and deadpanned in response.
"Remind me to never get on Sergeant Siler's bad side."
Jack and Reynolds looked at the Jaffa for a split second before bursting into raucous laughter. Teal'c's humor was dry, but perfect for the moment.
The laughter got the attention of the medical staff, some of whom were no longer busy. An orderly headed over to the trio.
Reynolds noticed the man first. "Uh, oh, Jack. Looks like it's time for us to do our duty. I don't think these guys think laugher is the best medicine."
General O'Neill laughed harder for a moment, then his face fell as his usual infirmary sarcasm took over. "Oh, goody."
The orderly spoke to Reynolds first in mock seriousness. "Alright, gents, that's enough roughhousing in the infirmary. Better be careful or we'll break out the big needles. Which one of you guys wants to go first?"
Jack looked at Reynolds, and Reynolds looked back. Both men were injured and needed care, but neither man moved a muscle.
The orderly waited moment, looking amused, before taking matters into his own hands.
"General O'Neill, that leg wound looks nasty, and was likely made by something less than clean. You also appear a little worse for wear than Colonel Reynolds in the fistfight department. You're first."
Jack looked a little put out, but rose to limp after the orderly, while Reynolds stifled a grin. The orderly noticed the smirk, and grinned back at the younger officer. "Oh, don't worry, Colonel. We'll get a look at that shoulder shortly. We won't forget about you."
The orderly left, and Reynolds just glared at his back, while Teal'c, the healthiest of the group, smirked in silence.