TITLE: Interesting
AUTHOR: Papaya
CATEGORY: Whump, Hurt/comfort, a hint at S/J romance
SPOILERS: None that I can think of
SEASON: Sam's a Major and Daniel's around
WARNINGS: Major Character Death, Violence, Blood, Torture
SUMMARY: Someone is laying bait for our good Colonel. He comes to the rescue, suffers for it, and finds some new friends in the process.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry, I keep killing people, I gotta get over that - don't worry, they always get better.
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Interesting – Chapter 2
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Previously -
A tall, extremely pale woman with long black hair emerged from a dark room. "I am Khek," she spoke in the telltale Goa'uld accented voice. "I serve our Lord Dagon." She nodded at the Jaffa who immediately forced the team to their knees.
"You could've at least asked!" Jack complained loudly.
"You would have refused." Khek responded matter-of-factly, "Lord Dagon has learned much of you and your team, Colonel O'Neill."
"Ahh Crap!" Jack growled. Nothing he hated more than being on the short end. 'Know your enemy' was good.' 'Know more about your enemy than he does about you' was much better. Knowing less just sucked.
oO0Oo
"Bring them." Khek commanded.
"Then why'd ya make us kneel?" O'Neill asked sarcastically.
As he seemed to struggle to his feet, he threw a look at Teal'c and the two of them attacked the closest guards. Now that there were only six, they had a chance of making a break.
Carter reacted instantly and took out the Jaffa nearest her.
With Daniel's help the four of them had soon recovered their weapons and were blasting their way out of the building.
In the noise and confusion, the Colonel ordered everyone to rendezvous outside in case they got separated.
Minutes later O'Neill hit the ground next to Teal'c and Daniel who were providing cover fire. He knew he should be the last of them to arrive, so when he came up one short, he was not happy. "Where's Carter?!"
Daniel stared at him.
"She did not follow." Was Teal'c's response, shouting to be heard above the weapons fire.
"Get back to the gate. Secure and hold it for as long as you can, but if we're not there in ten minutes, get home and get us some backup!" The staff blasts were closer now and so numerous, further discussion was impossible. Daniel wanted to argue, but Jack was already gone.
oO0Oo
For Daniel and Teal'c, there really wasn't much choice. Now that there was no reason to keep up the façade that this was not a Goa'uld world, the Jaffa pursued them all the way to the gate. They were barely able to dial and dive through before the area was swarmed.
The good news was that their retreat provided just the distraction Jack needed. Stealth took care of the rest and he was soon deep inside the fortress. Silently he moved from room to room, level to level, systematically searching until he found the detention area.
He knew Carter was probably still being questioned. Hopefully the questioning would be fairly benign at this point, so he hid and waited, peeking into cells at random just to see who else might be down there.
The only beings he saw were the Janitors, and while they stared at him even more pointedly than they had before, they made no move to stop him or set off any kind of alarm.
These guys just had to be on their side.
As he came around a corner, one of the Janitors was waiting for him. He stopped short, weapon ready but not pointed, to see what the alien would do.
"May I touch you?" He spoke in a gravelly voice with such a thick accent Jack could barely make out the words.
"Yeah, um, okay, go ahead." Jack spoke warily and braced himself.
The Janitor reached out a gnarled hand and barely brushed his fingertips against O'Neill's cheek but the effects were immediate.
The Janitors were telepathic. Immediately Jack's mind was filled with images. Images that assured him the Janitors were there to help, and explained what their help could entail.
The communication between them took only moments but accomplished what many hours of discussion probably wouldn't. Jack knew the Janitors were indeed their allies and he knew what they were capable of. Should he need them, they would be there with their own version of a rescue.
He didn't like their version. No, he didn't like it at all, but he reluctantly agreed it would be their best chance if they couldn't get out on their own. And apparently, it had worked before, many times, with other prisoners.
When Ak, as Jack now knew he was called, removed his hand, he immediately turned and left silently, as if nothing had happened.
Jack paused, staring after the alien, "Ohh-kay…" He then continued searching cells. They were all empty until, in one cell, he recognized an SGC uniform.
"Alberts?!" He whispered as loudly as he dared. The form on the floor did not stir, but Jack doubted the Jaffa would have bothered to throw a dead body into a cell, so he kept trying as he worked at the lock. Finally he was rewarded as Alberts slowly and painfully turned to look at him through hazy, bloodshot eyes. He redoubled his efforts to open the door and finally it gave with such a loud creak Jack was sure the noise would bring a battalion down on them.
He quickly moved to where Alberts lay, taking out his canteen as he went.
"No…" Alberts moaned, "You shouldn't have come."
"Hey, is that anyway to greet the cavalry?"
"No, - Colonel, - you don't - understand. - I'm sorry. - I'm bait." He spoke as if he barely had strength to form words. "Bait to catch you." There was a long pause, "I'm sorry" He began to lose consciousness.
"Nah!" Jack replied. "Help is on the way. I'm just the first wave."
Alberts just shook his head and passed out.
Jack heard noise in the hall and all but faded into the wall beside the door. In a moment, the door opened and Carter was thrust into the room.
The Jaffa slammed the door and left. Jack dropped to the floor next to her, resting a hand gently on her shoulder. "Carter?"
She shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm fine sir." She paused and glanced up at him, "Sorry."
Jack wouldn't be there if she hadn't been captured, but he shook it off and waited for her to continue. "They weren't that interested in me." She looked at him as she pulled herself into a sitting position, "They want you, Sir."
"It's such a burden to be so popular." Jack sighed, obviously not taking it too seriously as he pulled C4 from his pack and moved to place it on the door. "Alberts, you gonna be able to walk?"
"No. – They want you, sir. – won't stop…."
O'Neill winced in sympathy for the man's obvious pain and suffering. "Carter, give him a hand." They moved to the back of the cell, covering Alberts with their bodies.
Jack hit the detonator and the room was filled with light and sound, flying debris and choking dust. Before the pieces had all hit the floor, Jack was already at the threshold, trying to scan for the Jaffa he knew would soon arrive if they weren't already there.
Then he heard an all too familiar sound. "Shock Grenade!" he warned Carter and dove for cover, but it was too late.
oO0Oo
When he regained consciousness, he let it return slowly as he had been trained. There was a lot you could learn about your situation while your captors believed you to be unconscious. And besides, because of the Jaffa grenade, he didn't expect his sight to return for a few minutes yet anyway.
The first thing he became aware of was a dull pain in his temples. Then there were the restraints on his wrists, ankles and chest, holding him in a chair, slightly reclined. He was also aware of a strap around his forehead.
Suddenly, some of the images he had seen in Ak's mind started to make sense. Several imaginative curses made their way through his mind as he returned to his task.
As for sounds, there were very few. Just some electronic beeping, and soft cloth sounds as someone moved quietly and calmly about the room.
He turned an ear toward the further reaches of the room and guessed that there were at least two guards near what would logically be the door. He could hear them shifting weight from one foot to the other.
One thing he was sure of, there was no sign of Carter or Alberts. He could always tell when Carter was in a room. It was sometimes the scent of her, sometimes just awareness, but he always knew. He hoped that they had just been locked up again, or better yet, they had somehow managed to escape.
Suddenly he sensed someone else. Someone was staring at him. At least he had an overwhelming feeling that he was being watched.
That presence spoke in a deep Goa'uld voice, "He is awake. Begin."
He heard the other person behind him flipping switches and pressing buttons.
Then Jack knew nothing but pain for a very long time.
TBC