A/N - The first part of the chapter was really difficult to write, so I hope it makes sense. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 5
Sam must have lost consciousness yet again because when she woke up, she was no longer chained by her ankles and wrists in the golden room. Her momentarily elation at having complete freedom of movement was quickly quashed, however, when she shifted to take in her surroundings, only to find that even the smallest change in positioning caused almost unbearable pain.
Almost instantly, she knew that, as in any situation in which she was captured, the first order of business was to assess her physical situation.
Where had she learned that? It must have been something they had taught her in the mines. But that didn't make sense. No, it was her military training. That's right; she was in the military. She was a Major in the United States Air Force, and she had never worked in the mines. Or had she? Maybe she had worked there before she joined SG-1. God, she couldn't think clearly. Regardless, it had been ingrained in her that she should start her assessment with her immediate surroundings.
Reluctant to move, she swept the space with her eyes. She was lying on a stone floor in a small, dark room that also seemed to be made of rough hewn stone. Though there were no windows or other sources of illumination in the cell, ambient light from what was most likely a torch filtered through the cracks in the door. The walls glistened in the flickering light, and she was fairly sure they were damp. Underground, she thought. She must be underground.
Of course she was underground. Her planet was experiencing an ice age. She'd been underground her whole life. But then, why did she remember the sun, and the sky, and the Stargate? She was so confused.
Focus, Thera, she told herself. She needed to focus. The next step was to assess her captors. Well, there was only one, at least that she knew of. That was good. What wasn't good was that she was fairly sure that her captor was bat shit crazy. She had used that device on her, the pain stick she'd called it, over and over again. In fact, the last time she'd picked it up, she was fairly certain she wouldn't survive the experience. But something had distracted her captor; something had disturbed her, so much so that she had decided to forgo their little torture session, and she'd drug her here instead.
Okay, the final step was to assess herself. She knew that she was seriously injured, but she didn't know how. Carefully, she began moving her limbs. Nothing appeared to be broken. Though her head was pounding, she raised it to look at her naked body. She was covered with burns. Had they come from the steam? She could remember an explosion and broken pipes. Jonah had been injured, but his injuries were different.
No, no, that was a different time, she admonished herself. Her injuries had come from her captor, Osiris. Osiris had used the pain stick on her.
She let out a huff of air and rolled onto her back. She kept getting everything confused, and slipping in and out of consciousness was not helping matters. When was the last time she'd eaten? When was the last time she drank? She couldn't remember. Suddenly, her thirst was overwhelming.
Damn it, Thera! she thought. She could not let the mental affects of her captivity be her undoing. That was the second order of business: to maintain a survival attitude and stay positive. And it was perhaps just as important as attending to her physical needs.
She knew that in order to survive this ordeal, she needed to stay mentally and physically active. Physical activity was going to be a challenge, at least in the short term. She was battered and burned, and she could barely move. But at least she had her mind. It was her greatest asset. After all, she was smart; she was a scientist, an engineer. She was good with numbers. She would start reciting the prime numbers. Yes, that would keep her mind occupied.
Now, all she needed to do was stay positive. She knew that she'd been in worse situations, but then she'd always had her team; she'd always had him. She shook her head. Even though Jonah wasn't with her now, she knew he'd come for her. He'd always come for her. He'd keep her safe. Wrapped in his arms, in their secret spot behind the braziers, he hold her and make sure the crazy woman never hurt her again.
She was just drifting off, when suddenly she felt a chill, a presence in the cell. Her senses went on high alert, and she knew then that something was watching her; something was coming for her, and it wasn't Jonah. She cried out for him, but he didn't answer. He wasn't there. He couldn't save her.
Slowly, she crawled across the floor of the cell, her body screaming with every move. She had to get away! Finally reaching her destination, she pulled her legs up to her chest as an utter despair wash over her.
Cowering in the corner, she waited for the inevitable.
oOoOoOo
The scout ship dropped out of hyperspace next to an evergreen world. Jacob cloaked the craft immediately and positioned it in orbit over the planet.
"So where are they?" Jack asked, walking to the front of the ship with Daniel and Teal'c.
"I don't see anything on the surface yet, but I'm picking up a concentrated energy reading...here." Jacob pointed to a red area on the 3-D map on the view screen. "That must be it."
He piloted the craft toward the area indicated on the screen, but when he flew low over the surface, all they could see were trees packed tightly together in every direction. "Damn it! I can't land," he said. "We're going to have to keep the ship in orbit and ring down."
Once back in orbit, both Jack and Jacob headed toward the ring platform.
When he realized that they were walking in the same direction, Jacob stopped abruptly and put his hands on his hips. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked Jack.
Jack didn't stop until he got to the ring platform. He spun on his heel to face Jacob, holding both index fingers in the air. "I'm going to get Carter."
"Someone needs to stay with the ship," Jacob replied matter-of-factly.
"I thought that'd be you."
Jacob frowned. "She's my daughter!"
"Yeah, well, she's my-" Jack stopped short, unsure exactly how to finish that sentence.
Unfortunately, Jacob picked up on his hesitation immediately. He cocked his head
and furrowed his brow. "She's your what? Exactly what is she to you, Jack?" But Jack had no idea what to say, and Jacob gave a curt nod. "That's what I thought."
Jack recovered quickly, his next words laced with anger. "Look, you said yourself that I've been derelict in my duty, that I should have been there when she got abducted. So I'm sure as hell not going to sit on this ship and let you go down there alone."
"I won't be alone," Jacob replied smartly. "I'll have Daniel and Teal'c with me."
Jack and Jacob continued to glare at each other, until Teal'c finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "I will wait with the ship."
Jack's head whipped around to look at the Jaffa. "T?" When Teal'c simply stared at him, he turned toward Daniel.
The archeologist held up both hands. "Don't look at me. I'm going. I need to be there for Sarah."
"Fine, then," Jack capitulated. "Let's get this over with."
The three of them stepped onto the ring platform, and Teal'c activated the transporter. Within moments, they were standing on the surface of the planet, such that it was. Ankle deep water covered their feet, and everywhere they looked were huge trees covered in moss.
Jack groaned and pulled his foot out of the muck to watch it dripping with a bright green sludge. "Teal'c put us down in the middle of a swamp!"
"Man, he's going to be sorry he didn't come," said Daniel. "This planet looks like Degobah."
"What?" snapped Jack.
"You know. Yoda's planet...in The Empire Strikes Back."
Jack reluctantly put his foot back down. "Well, whatever it is, it's disgusting. And correct me if I'm wrong, Daniel, but shouldn't there be some kind of structure around here?"
"The energy readings are strongest over here," Jacob called from several feet away.
Jack and Daniel joined the Tok'ra, and all three turned around in circles, looking in vain for a pyramid or some other type of building.
"Okay, what now?" asked Jack.
Jacob was insistent. "Keep looking. It's got to be around here somewhere."
"Wait a minute...of course!" Daniel snapped his fingers. "Osiris was lord of the Duat, the underworld. The structure must be underground."
Jack was losing what little patience he had. "So how do we get down there?"
"There's got to be a way," said Jacob. "Look around."
"That's what I've been doing," muttered Jack.
"Found it!" Daniel was pointing to what appeared at first glance to be small rock sticking up out of the muck. "Looks like another ring transporter."
The three of them gathered around the rock. It was clearly a punch pad, containing two long rows filled with Goa'uld symbols.
Jack blew out a large breath. "Alright, what's the combination?"
Daniel grasped his chin and studied the display. "Well, the good news is it looks like we only have to choose two symbols. The bad news is that there are thousands of possible combinations."
"We don't have that kind of time." Jack brought up his gun.
"Wait, wait!" yelled Daniel. "What, are you going to do, Jack? Blast your way down?"
"Maybe."
"There has to be a logical solution." Daniel rubbed his forehead. "Let's see, Osiris was always shown holding a crook and flail."
He depressed the corresponding symbols, but nothing happened.
Daniel thought for a moment. "Okay...the hieroglyphic symbols for Osiris were the throne and the eye."
He tried those, but still nothing happened.
Jack's tone indicated just how frustrated he was becoming. "You know I can think of another way to send you to the underworld, Daniel..."
"Of course! That's it!" Daniel grasped Jack excitedly by both shoulders.
"What's it?"
The archeologist was talking quickly now. "In order to gain entrance to the underworld, Osiris weighed the deceased's heart against a feather..."
With that, Daniel hit those symbols, and the unmistakeable sound of the ring platform activating rent the otherwise still swamp. Quickly, the three men gathered inside the circle they could now see glowing beneath the water.
"Nice," Jack said, as the rings surrounded them.
In a flash, they were gone.
oOoOoOo
Back on the scout ship, Teal'c was sitting at the control panel when an alarm began to sound. He calmly switched the display from the planet's surface to the surrounding space. What he saw caused the normally staid Jaffa to jump to his feet. Immediately, he tried to contact the group on the planet's surface, but he received no response to his urgent hail.
TBC...
