Author Notes: Once again, I must thank you all for your lovely reviews :)
Chapter 6
Getting out of the palace had been by far a simpler task than Jack had anticipated. It was such a bizarre thought to know these six humans – Jonas included – could instil so much fear that a whole army of Jaffa would let them pass unhindered. Not only that, but the masked group had yet to speak word; the Jaffa just took it on faith that they were moving the prisoners for a reason. They had even been able to retrieve a GDO.
Jack couldn't help but continuously sneak glances at Jonas, and he knew the others were doing the same. As soon as they were back under the cover of the forest, Jack noted how Jonas leant more and more on the man by his side. A glance at Carter confirmed his fears; there was something else there than just your average concussion. One of the women – Jack had now determined there were two in the group – was also having trouble, bleeding badly from a bullet wound in her arm.
It did not escape Jack's notice that the six of them, minus Jonas, were still the only ones to carry a weapon, leaving O'Neill and his team at a severe disadvantage.
By the time they reached the Stargate, Jack knew he could not dial Earth. Without a radio to confirm, he knew he couldn't just take six armed people through that wormhole, regardless of the situation. General Hammond was expecting one unconscious soldier, not a whole fully aware strike team, "Jacob?"
It was the first time any of them had spoken a word since leaving the palace. The Tok'ra eyed the tense leader standing so close to Jack, "Yes?"
"We need a planet. A safe one so we can let Hammond know what's going on."
Jacob nodded, moving forward to the DHD, drawing on Selmak's extensive knowledge to dial an address. It would lead to an uninhabited world, perfect as a midway site. As the Stargate plumed into life, Jack gave Reynolds a nod, which the Marine acknowledged with a booming voice, "Alright, men, move out!" SG-3 strode purposefully forward, taking with them the body of their fallen comrade.
Jack gestured theatrically towards the masked leader, "After you."
Daniel tensed. If he led them through the Chappa'ai, then there would be no going back. He had no idea what would be waiting on the other side, and in truth, he had nothing more than Neith's betrayal to even suggest these people did not mean them harm. And there was still the very unsettling way they kept looking at Jonas.
Beren stepped silently to his side, and he knew now that they had to go. There was no going back; Vala and Jonas needed help that they could no longer receive from the palace. He gave a barely perceptible nod, and they all moved forwards in unison. The grey-haired man looked unnerved, although he clearly thought he was hiding it well. Good. It meant they were not completely defenceless.
A rush brought them standing in a clearing much like the one they had just left. The hard faced man had followed the lead of the Tok'ra, setting up a camp of sorts just within the trees, laying the body of Kera's victim down. Renn led Jonas a good distance away, helping him sit down so he could to lean against a tree, before rising to watch the rest of the strangers come through the Chappa'ai. Kera crouched down next to Jonas, her eyes glinting worriedly from behind her mask, while Vala batted away Beren's attempt to redress her wound in annoyance.
They were all thinking the same thing. Something was very wrong with Jonas, made all the more dangerous by him being without a mask. The grey-haired man was giving orders to the others, "SG-3, I want you to report back, tell Hammond of the changes in the situation." Daniel could hear the other man trying to raise a protest, but he was cut off, "I don't want to hear it, Reynolds. We need to get to the bottom of this, and that's final."
The man gave a sharp nod, but he didn't look happy about it. The four men began dialling out to a different address, taking the body with them, leaving behind the leader, the woman, the Jaffa and the Tok'ra.
The grey-haired man gave the Jaffa a nod, and he left, presumably to secure the perimeter. The Tok'ra had settled to start a fire before the rapidly encroaching night set in, while the leader brought the woman over to them. "This is Major Carter. If you let her look over Jonas and your other friend-"
Vala would have leapt at the man for using Jonas' name if Beren had not stopped her. Daniel held up a hand to her, and she stilled. The man looked unnerved once more, "Okay. Right. Well, I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, commander of SG-1. Both of them need a doctor, but until that time, Carter can handle it. We're not going to hurt you. Maybe you could show a little faith by putting your weapons down? We're unarmed, and I've sent those men back to negotiate help for you. Please."
O'Neill's eyes kept flicking down to where Jonas sat, and Daniel could see the honest worry and concern in them. There was something more going on, that was certain, but perhaps, if they were lucky, it was not malevolent. He nodded slowly, placing his sword down next to Jonas. The others reluctantly followed suit, although, not surprisingly, Vala refused, keeping hold of her zat and folding her arms, despite the pain it must have caused her.
The Colonel shrugged, obviously knowing it was probably the best he was going to get. He moved off to help the Tok'ra while the woman – Carter – began to check Jonas over.
The camp had split in two, with Renn and Teal'c at either end, guarding their respective charges. Jack turned to Carter and Jacob. Darkness had fallen not too long ago, and he knew the SGC would soon be contacting them with news, "What do you think?"
Jacob sighed, "Honestly? I have no idea. Aside from the ridiculous scenario of that being Jonas, those people are highly trained, and were clearly loyal to Neith before we came along, which begs why the change of heart?"
Sam watched the little masked huddle, her eyes never leaving Jonas, "Because she asked them to kill him. Look at them. They move like they're one person."
"Yeah, it's creepy." Her father conceded.
Jack shifted, "How bad is he?"
Sam sighed in frustration, "It would help if they would talk for a start, but it's not good. The concussion has, if anything, gotten worse. He threw up an hour ago, and his eyes are becoming more and more unfocused. We need to get him to the infirmary."
"Even if we do, there's no chance they'll let anyone near him." Jacob stated. "And he obviously doesn't remember us, or he wouldn't have been going at Teal'c like he had been back there."
There was a flurry of movement at the other camp, and Jack looked up to see the smallest of the group – one of the women – frantically shaking Jonas by the shoulders, "Shit!" Jack scrambled to his feet, running over to the group, closely followed by the others.
Jonas' eyes were rolled back into his head, and his nose was bleeding in a picture horribly similar to a scenario a long time previous, when he had been in SG-1. Sam bent down, only to freeze as the other woman's zat gun hissed into life. She held her hands up in a placating gesture, and backed up to stand by Teal'c, "He needs medical attention, sir, now! He could die."
Jack bit his lip, knowing Carter wouldn't over exaggerate, but at the same time knowing he couldn't in good conscience bring these people to the SGC. If he could, he would just take Jonas, but he knew that would never be an option. He shook his head, "We can't risk it." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, you're too much of a security risk." He almost choked on the words. This was going to feature in his nightmares, of that he was certain.
The smallest one was still trying to rouse Jonas. No one seemed to know what to do, and Jack wished that damn 'Gate would come to life with news, but it had only been an hour.
And then the leader ripped back his hood and wrenched his mask up to sit on the top of his head. If Jonas had been a shock, then ice blue glare that now bore into Jack unhindered almost gave him a stroke, "You said you would help us! Or are you just as much of a liar and murderer as Neith? You say Jonas will die, and yet you do nothing but talk. Please, all I ask is that you keep your word. Help us, help our brother. If you are truly good people, then we will not harm you, but I won't let you stand there and pretend you are helpless, Jack O'Neill!"
Sam was as pale as a ghost, "Daniel?"
He seemed not to hear, only glaring at Jack. Her utterance had been so quiet in fact that only the small masked woman by Jonas had whipped her head round in shock.
Jack swallowed, unable to take his eyes off the man before him. How the hell did Daniel have this many lives? At least there had always been the possibility of Jonas still being alive...but Daniel? It had taken Jack so long to accept it as a hated truth, and yet, accept it they all had, thinking Daniel had finally run out of luck that fateful day in the forest.
And yet he was no fool. He saw in the eyes nothing more than a plea for help, a worried terror. No recognition, no indication of any memory that might link them together. The speech had sure as hell been Daniel, but everything else?
He wouldn't. He couldn't. Screw the rules – he had enough times before. "Carter, dial us out."
Daniel's eyes never left his, "Thank you."
"Unscheduled offworld activation." Harriman's voice rang through the control room as Hammond strode in, having come directly from the briefing room, Reynolds at his side.
"Report."
"It's SG-3's IDC, sir."
Reynolds nodded, "We left it with Colonel O'Neill."
General Hammond had to bite back a groan. Trust Jack to be unable to wait. SG-3's report had been strange enough, he just wished he had been allowed time to process it, especially the news about Jonas Quinn. That was apparently not to be, "Open the Iris."
The metal disc scraped open, and Jack came through almost immediately with Teal'c by his side. The Jaffa was carrying an unmoving body, and Hammond knew it was Jonas, even before Jack had opened his mouth to call urgently for a medical team. He strode down into the Gateroom to see Jacob Carter come through, shortly followed by five masked figures. The final person to come through was Major Carter, and she kept giving the one with the golden marked mask disbelieving looks.
The most worrying thing was that all of the masked people were armed, "Colonel?" He let his voice show the anger he felt. What the hell was his 2IC playing at?
"Trust me General." Jack's eyes met his, and he had a feeling there was something more to this.
As Teal'c placed Jonas' body on a gurney, the smallest of the five jerked forwards, only to be gently held back by the one with the half-mask. Leaving her with the group, he strode purposefully down, placing a firm hand on Jack's arm, asking an unspoken question. The Colonel nodded, "You all need to come to the Infirmary anyway to get checked over."
"Under armed escort." Hammond interjected, "And you will relinquish your weapons,"
Jack shrugged at the leader, "You want our help. Trust us."
Doctor Fraiser watched the exchange, tense, desperate to get her patient into her domain. The man hesitated, before releasing his hold, watching warily as Jonas was whisked out of sight.
There was a pause, when nobody moved or spoke, but then the small one who had moved earlier took her knife from her belt and unstrapped her crossbow, laying both on the metal ramp. Her masked face watched Jack and the other man unwaveringly, as if she knew something no one else did. The others soon followed her lead, except for one, who continued to keep a tight hold of her zat. It was not until the half-masked leader actually went up and removed it from her grasp that she moved, clearly the least happy with the situation.
Hammond glowered, nodding to one of the soldiers nearby, "Escort our guests to the Infirmary and have Dr Warner take a look at them. And will someone get these weapons out of my sight? Colonel, you and your team will make your way up there as well." His tone left no room for argument, and Jack had the decency to wince. Turning to the newcomers, he nodded sharply, "My name is General Hammond, and I am the commander of this base. Welcome to the SGC, and Earth."
With the badly veiled sharp dismissal, the Gateroom steadily emptied. Jack lingered behind, "For what it's worth? There's a helluva good reason for this."
Hammond shook his head in disbelief, "It will have to be a really good one this time, Colonel."
Jack seemed to take that statement in, pausing as he assessed it with whatever it was he had just seen. He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on a point on the floor before they refocused on his commanding officer, "Oh yeah. I'd say this one makes the top three."
George watched Jack go, frowning at Reynolds, who simply shrugged.
Hammond shook his head, strolling smartly from the room, intent on pursuit. After a reaction like that one, he wasn't just going to wait for them to come to him.
To Be Continued...
Author Notes: So they're back home :) The reasons behind Jonas' condition will be unravelled in due course...as will everyone else's revelations over Daniel! On to another note, as you've probably worked out, I tend to update on Fridays or Saturdays. Because all my exams are next week, followed by me being away for the weekend, I'm delaying the next update until the Monday. If you still haven't seen an update by the Tuesday, assume I've forgotten, and let me know so I can get it to you! Alternatively, I might be able to get it up on the Thursday, but no promises...Anyway, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you thought if you can spare a moment!
