Chapter four

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General Hammond had watched in shock as Daniel and Teal'c had come bursting from the wormhole, running down the gate ramp at full speed, as arrows and spears came hurtling through the event horizon. The projectiles crashed against the walls, nearly striking the two men, while the General looked on from the control room above.

"Close the iris!" Daniel yelled, looking up. Then he dropped to the floor and covered his head with his hands. In an unprecedented move, Teal'c did the same. He may have been a Jaffa warrior, but he was no fool. He'd also been hit by one of those arrows, and he had not intention of suffering the same fate again!

"Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, where are Col. O'Neill and Captain Carter?" Hammond asked as he looked down at the two men.

"I am uncertain! But I do not believe they are coming!" Teal'c shouted. Daniel just stayed where he was.

A few more spears flew into the room, followed by a man dressed in crude animal hide clothing. He was holding a spear above his head as he came to a halt on the gate ramp. His eyes opened wide in shock and he looked up at General Hammond, just as the General gave the order to close the iris.

At the same moment six marines came running into the room, surrounding the shocked alien, who stood still, seemingly frozen to the spot. The marines approached the man, pointing their rifles at him, while Daniel stood up and stepped forward, speaking to the man in his native tongue. Daniel told the alien that if he put down his weapon, he would not be harmed.

"Go with these men," Daniel told him. He did as asked, and the marines escorted the man out of the room.

"Dr. Jackson, I want your report immediately!" Hammond bellowed. Daniel could find no argument with that, but he looked up and told the General that Teal'c had been shot with an arrow and really should get immediate medical treatment. Hammond agreed and sent Teal'c off to the infirmary, while Daniel ran up the stairs to the control room. Hammond met him at the top of the stairs, eager to hear what had happened to the other half of his premier off-world team.

"Dr. Jackson, what happened?"

"It's sort of a long story, Sir. But the short version is that I think Sam and Jack are still alive, and we've got to send help!"

"I'll consider doing that, son. But first I have to know what happened!"

"We were running for our lives, and I guess they fell behind when Jack stopped to shoot at the villagers. I think they were probably captured without a fight, because I didn't hear any sounds of a struggle. Or they may have taken cover and could be hiding somewhere. Please, General, we've got to send a rescue team! I'll go! I'm the only one who can talk to these people," Daniel rattled off in his usual fast way of speaking.

"Dr. Jackson, I will take what you've said into consideration. But I'm not sending anyone through to that planet, until I know exactly what went on there! Now come to my office and sit down. We'll get you a cup of coffee and you can tell me everything from the beginning."

An hour and two cups of coffee later, Hammond had heard the whole story. He had to chuckle when Daniel told him the part about Jack refusing to marry the chief's daughter. Thinking that maybe they could use the alien in their custody as a sort of liaison, Hammond and Daniel went to seek the prisoner's assistance. However, the prisoner had decided not to talk to Daniel or anyone but his gods. All he did was repeat what Daniel explained was a prayer...over and over and over again. It was a prayer that his people would be free of the demons among them. Daniel explained that to these primitive people, killing and consuming the bodies of their enemy was the only way to get rid of the so-called demons. That fact made both men very worried about the two missing members of the SGC.

And so it was decided that, rather than risk the lives of anymore SGC personnel, they would attempt to contact Col. O'Neill and Captain Carter by radio, in order to ascertain their condition. To Daniel and Hammond's shock, the final chevron locked into place, but the wormhole did not establish. The technicians in the gate room diagnosed the problem as being on the other end. Something had happened to the gate on the planet, and there was nothing they could do from this end to help their missing comrades.

The next morning on the planet, Jack awoke to find a very warm and soft Captain Samantha Carter curled up in his arms, her head tucked under his chin. When they had fallen asleep she had been facing away from him, but now she was snuggled up to him chest to chest, hip to hip, and she had one of her legs in between his. In this position he could feel his morning woody pressing against her mons. It they were naked, he could have very easily slipped inside her. 'Damn it!' he thought with frustration. 'You had your chance, and you turned it down. Don't go second guessing your decision now!'

Jack hated to ruin this very cozy situation, but he really had to pee!

Sam awoke to something...or someone...in bed next to her, which seemed very nice but at the same time odd. Gradually her befuddled brain remembered that the bed under her was not a bed after all, but the hard ground inside an animal den, and the body that she was crushed up against was none of than that of her CO!

"Holy Hannah!" Sam shouted as she pushed against Jack's chest and wiggled backward and away from him as fast as she could.

"Yes, well... Sorry to wake you, Carter, but I've really gotta get outside and take a leak," Jack said in his usual earthy manner.

Without another word between them Sam and Jack tugged on their boots. Then she got on her knees and bent low, facing the entrance of the den, which was now almost entirely buried in snow. Using her bare hands to push the white stuff out of the way, she finally managed to open a space large enough to crawl through. Jack followed her, his much larger shoulders gouging a wider path out of the hole. He stood up, happy to find that the snow had stopped, even though the sky was still dark and cloudy. He told her he'd be right back, and then he headed off to the left where some large shrubs would provide him some privacy.

That she hadn't said a word to him so far weighed heavily on his heart. Jack was sure that Sam was still very upset about what had happened behind O'Malley's, and he knew they should talk about it. But right now he figured it was more important to get the two of them back to the SGC. With that in mind he returned to his 2iC, who was just getting back from her own little trip to the facilities.

"Let's go dial the gate and get the hell outa here," Jack said. Sam glanced quickly at him and then dropped her eyes to the ground as she nodded her head in agreement. And so they gathered up their sleeping bags and started up the steep hill. Jack led the way with his 2iC following along behind him. Seven minutes later when they got to the stargate, they saw that one of the chevrons had fallen onto the ground. Obviously it had been hit by one of those idiots as they threw spears and rocks at Daniel and Teal'c!

"Normally I would say this was a lucky hit, but in this case it doesn't appear to be good luck for us, Captain," Jack said quietly as he nudged the large piece of metal with the toe of his boot. "I don't suppose you can fix it?"

"Only with a blow torch and a very tall ladder, Sir," Sam said shortly. But the tone of her voice said even more. They were screwed, and they both knew it.

Back at the SGC, George Hammond had already notified the Tok'ra via their last known gate address. They hadn't yet responded, and Hammond wasn't even certain if they would. But he felt obligated, as an old friend of Jacob Carter, to let him know what was happening to his daughter. George prayed that the Tok'ra High Council would agree to notify their newest member. Jacob Carter had only been with the Tok'ra for a few weeks, so exactly how much help the SGC could expect from his symbiote Selmac, or their new Tok'ra allies in general, was as yet unknown.

And since their interaction with the Asgard had only been due to accidents...one involving Col. O'Neill and an ancient device that had filled his brain with more knowledge than it could handle...Hammond had no idea how to contact the little gray aliens.

So for now it looked like his hands were tied. All he could do was pray that, if Sam and Jack were still alive, they would somehow be able to get themselves back home.

TBC