SEVEN
After carefully checking the perimeter of the building, Jack led his team and Jacob stealthily toward their goal without being noticed. He was curious as to why there didn't appear to be any guards around or anything, but once they'd more closely examined the outside of the complex, the team discovered it seemed to have been abandoned. Atleast mostly anyways. There were a few traces that some possible vagrants had been taking shelter in the dilapidated old place, leaving SG-1 to wonder if there was a chance of any manimal rebels that were against the Goa'uld.
"Keep your eyes open kids, we're going in," Jack warned lowly, ducking beneath a poorly boarded-up doorway and entering into a dusky corridor. The place showed nothing of the advanced technology that was in the area they were previously being held captive in.
Scanning the dusky atmosphere and squinting against the lack of lighting, Jacob, Daniel, and Teal'c reached for their flashlights while Sam and Jack simply flicked on the lights mounted to their P90s. They carefully ventured further within the complex, traveling down stairs and along corridors with dirt-littered floors. The musty smell and dust caused Daniel to sneeze loudly several times, each time receiving a reproachful glare from Jack and Jacob while Sam grimaced in sympathy, silently pleading for him to be quiet.
They cautiously entered a large empty room with a high ceiling, then everything else in the next few minutes went by as a blur.
The attack came out of nowhere. Before anyone knew it, they had all dropped to their knees as a strange, tingling wave of energy passed over them. Suddenly weak and disoriented, Daniel, Jack, and Sam soon fell to their sides in unconscious heaps, Jacob and Teal'c following a bit more slowly from the efforts of Selmak and Teal'c's symbiote. Eventually, their bodies succumbed to the motions of the others as well. Helpless and prone to a more violent attack, SG-1 were unable to do anything as five shadowed strangers approached their downed forms and began the task of dragging them away.
-
Jack jerked awake with a start at the feel of a hand pressed firmly against his shoulder. The slight gasp and reassuring whisper let him know that it was Sam. He almost smiled at the thought, then remembered what happened. Sitting up quickly, he squinted while his eyes adjusted to the low lighting, and Jack was surprised to find all of his team (Jacob included) around and appearing relatively safe and calm. He rose a suspicious eyebrow when he noticed there were others huddled around them, and they were human looking. Not beast/human hybrids, just humans. "What's goin' on?" He murmured cautiously while everyone continued to stare at him without saying anything.
Gesturing toward the others that Jack didn't recognize, Sam smiled disarmingly before answering him. "It's okay, these people are rebels. They're against what the other natives do; trading and working for the Goa'uld."
Still confused, Jack opened his mouth to ask another question when Jacob interrupted.
"These people's families are all from the generation of humans living on this planet before the Goa'uld messed with their DNA. Their relatives managed to hide underground in facilities like this when the Goa'uld started abducting everyone." Jacob explained while one of the strangers stepped forward.
A lean, older man with a scraggly grey beard and thinning hair shuffled along the dirtly floor and knelt down in front of Jack. He smiled kindly and introduced himself with a grubby, outstretched hand. "Hello. I'm Rendar, the leader among our small group of underdwellers."
Although he was still a bit edgy and disoriented, Jack shook the man's hand and nodded. He shifted from his position on the floor and slid back to lean up against the nearest wall. "Colonel Jack O'Neill," he introduced automatically, voice low and quiet. Brows furrowing now, he eyed Rendar a bit sternly. "Why'd you attack us?" Jack demanded, increasing the volume in his voice slightly. He noticed they'd all been disarmed, but the rest of his team didn't seem concerned, so he didn't bother making an issue of it. For now.
The man's dull grey eyes widened before he nodded slowly and sat back down. "I am truly sorry about that. As I explained to your companions, this complex was adjusted to serve as protection for us. Our few capable scientists and technicians have created defense mechanisms to protect us from the Goa'uld, and...the others, using stolen technology from them. The room you ventured in was protected by our security and I regret you were harmed by it."
"It's okay, we understand," Daniel spoke up, although he had assured Rendar that they didn't blame him when the man explained earlier, moments before Jack had woken.
Teal'c cocked his head to the side slightly with interest. "How did you manage to procure such technology?" he inquired seriously.
Rendar smiled briefly. "One of the others is on our side."
"Hmph," Jack snorted with disbelief and frowned.
"It is true." This time it wasn't Rendar who spoke, but a small woman no older than thirty, with dark reddish-brown hair, tanned and dirtied skin, and bright, trusting green eyes. "My husband, Ruksha. He brings us technology and supplies."
"Ruksha?" Daniel repeated, adjusting his glasses and blinking with sudden recognition. "Wait, wait, wait, that sounds familiar," he mumbled hurriedly as thoughts quickly occured to him. Waving a hand in the air, he took a step toward the small woman excitedly. The archaeologist remembered that name being uttered by the Jaguar-man when he was brought into that room to see him. "Your husband wouldn't happen to look like...well...a sabretooth tiger, would he?"
The woman appeared confused. She didn't understand that term. "I'm sorry," she apologized softly in a meek voice. "I do not understand,"
Biting his bottom lip, Daniel realized that they probably wouldn't know what a sabretooth tiger was. He tried to explain, by describing the manimal he guessed to be this woman's husband. "Uh, golden brown fur, slightly rounded ears, slitted eyes..." he gestured along his jaw with his hands, "Long, sharp teeth?"
Smiling softly, the woman nodded. "Yes, that sounds like my husband." Lowering her head, she seemed to sadden briefly and sighed. "He was not always that way. For a long time the Goa'uld stopped seeking out our people that they knew to be hiding on the planet. The only beasts that remained were those born from the ones that came before, that is why most do not know our language. They have created one of their own.
"But a few years ago the Goa'uld returned to seek out more of us for their experiments." The woman chewed her lower lip, appearing as though she were forcing back tears. "My husband was captured, and...changed." She took a deep breath. "They tried to force him into their ways, but he merely pretended to go along with it, for our sakes. That is why he helps us, but he cannot leave the others because they will know."
SG-1 all nodded in understanding. They couldn't imagine what it was like for these people, having to hide underground, relying on one person for everything they needed. The poor young woman couldn't even see her husband on a regular basis. It must have been difficult. They all realized that and sympathized.
Daniel seemed pensive for a moment. It now made sense to him why the sabretooth manimal seemed to understand him.
"Rendar," cut in a young man of around thirty, with thick and shaggy black hair, dirt-covered tanned skin, and pale green eyes. "It grows late. Should we not offer these strangers a place to rest?"
The elder man smiled over at the young man with a thankful nod, appreciative he'd been reminded of the hour. "Aye Leynus, of course." Rendar scratched at his scraggly grey beard before turning to look at Jack with kind eyes. He stood slowly and waved a hand for SG-1 to do the same. "Follow me. I shall show you to your quarters where you may rest and refresh yourselves." Rendar then addressed the woman. "Ibsha, go tend to your ailing mother and get some rest dear,"
Smiling sadly, the woman nodded, ducking her head and leaving quickly.
"Thank you," Jacob nodded toward the man who was about his own age, if not a bit older. He noticed Jack slowly taking everything in, gathering up every fine detail of their current surroundings and not paying much attention to anything else.
Sam walked alongside Jack as they all followed Rendar past the others and down the long, dimly lit corridors. She silently watched him as they strode on, wondering what was going through his head. It was obvious that he was distracted, but she wasn't entirely sure why.
Daniel and Teal'c stood side by side, following just after Jack and Sam. The archaeologist seemed to notice that Teal'c appeared to be a bit wary as well, already sensing how tense Jack was with these people.
Rendar led the teammates along several narrow, sloping halls and multiple flights of stairs before they'd reached their destination. The elder man stood out in the slighty dank hallway and gestured into the room. It was more like two rooms actually, separated by one middle wall with an open doorway connecting them. Each small, musty-smelling room had two sets of bunks against the walls. One of the right, the other on the left. In the back of each room was a grungy sink with twisted and rusty piping that snaked into the cement behind it.
Jack gratefully noticed, with a bit of relief, that their weapons had been piled on the floor near the back wall. Eyeing the rest of his team, he noticed they didn't appear surprised by the sight of the weapons and figured they must have been informed earlier when he'd still been unconscious.
Turning to look at the strangers, Rendar sent a weak, embarrassed smile and slighty shrugged. "Sorry it isn't much, but it's all we can offer."
Jacob gave the scrawny elder man a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We're just grateful for your hospitality." He half smiled while the rest of SG-1 sent Rendar their thanks before entering the conjoined rooms.
Rendar nodded faintly with a brief smile. "The facilities are at the end of the hall if you need to make use of them. I will leave you all to your rest now. We keep guards on lookout above ground throughout the night, so you need not worry about intruders. If they should breach the surface an alarm will sound, notifying all of us below."
"Thank you," Jacob smiled kindly to show his appreciation, watching silently as Rendar turned down the dank hallway and shuffled away in the dark. He then entered the rooms, seeing that Daniel and Jack had already claimed their bunks toward the right wall of the first room. Jack appeared to already be fast asleep on the lower bunk, curled on his side and facing the wall, while Daniel lay on his back on the top bunk with his head pillowed on folded arms behind him.
Glancing over at her father and smiling, Sam shrugged and gestured toward the connecting room to the left when Teal'c sat heavily on the other bunk across from where Jack and Daniel were. "I guess we're sharing Dad,"
Jacob shrugged, his face serious as he gestured toward the top bunk above where Teal'c sat. "I can sleep in here if you prefer to have your own room," then he smirked wryly. "I remember quite well how much you valued your privacy in your teen years,"
"Har, har," Sam rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. It was a bit chilly in these lower rooms. "Dad, I've spent plenty of time sharing my sleeping space while off-world. It isn't a good idea to be bunking alone in unknown territory."
"I know, I know," Jacob smiled lazily. "I was just teasing, Sam." Then she smirked, and he knew that she was teasing as well. Hanging his head in defeat, Jacob muttered something about daughters under his breath and shuffled off into the next room.
Sam smiled and watched him go, but didn't leave yet. She hung around by the open doorway between the connecting rooms and watched Jack for a moment, staring at his back since he was facing away from her. Brows furrowed slightly, she gazed at him with a bit of concern. He was being unusually quiet, and she hadn't at all expected him to drop off to sleep so fast like that.
"Hey Daniel?" Sam called out softly, knowing the archaeologist wasn't yet asleep.
"Yeah?" he murmured from his bunk, turning his head and shifting his arms slightly so he could see her.
"Would you keep an eye on the Colonel? I mean, get some sleep and all, but.." she trailed off, suddenly a bit embarrassed by her request.
"Don't worry Sam," Daniel sent her a reassuring smile. "I'll look after him. I know he's acting a little...off..but I bet he's just tired, that's all." More like severe post-healing device lag..or something, he thought to himself.
She nodded, then covered her mouth as she yawned and headed into the conjoined room where her dad had gone. Seeing him sitting on the bottom bunk toward the left wall, Sam crawled onto the bunk against the right wall that seperated the two rooms. She wanted to be close to the open door where she could easily check on Jack, just in case. Remembering how she'd fallen asleep at the end of his bunk at the SGC the other night, Sam almost wished she'd be able to do that here, only wanting to be closer to him. Although it was a bit awkward (more for her than him) in the morning, they each got over it fairly quickly without really saying much on the subject.
Noticing his daughter's distraction, Jacob raised an eyebrow over at her as he laid down. "Sam? You okay?"
Smiling briefly over at him, she nodded. "Yep, I'm fine. G'night Dad." Zipping up her jacket against the chill of the cool room, Sam snuggled down on the thin-mattressed bunk and pulled the wool-like blanket over her. She had a hard time finding sleep, but somehow she managed, drifting off unawares.
-
SG-1's sleep was disturbed hours later by the shrill sound of an ear-piercing alarm. Sam shot out of bed, her eyes wide, instantly alert. She hurried to the open doorway that connected the small room with the one where Daniel, Jack, and Teal'c were, finding the archaeologist scrambling off the top bunk while Teal'c stood next to his bed with an ever-stoic expression. "What is that?" She yelled over the sound of the alarm, the annoying noise still continuing to blare loudly.
"What's going on here?" Jacob appeared behind Sam, having jumped out of bed a second after his daughter. "Is that the intruder alarm?"
Sam scanned the cramped little room, her eyes settling on the bunk below Daniel's and not finding who she was looking for. "Where's Colonel O'Neill?" Her gaze shot over to the archaeologist, demanding an answer to that particular question before anything else.
Briefly glancing at his watch, Daniel rubbed his eyes before adjusting his glasses. "Uh, Jack got up about half an hour ago. He said he couldn't sleep and stepped out into the hall," He gestured outside the rooms with a wave of his hand. Grimacing as Sam shot him a look, Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face, expression suddenly sheepish. "Agh, damn. I was gonna stay up until he came back... I didn't mean to fall asleep." He winced, but knew that Sam wouldn't say anything in front of her father and Teal'c. "I'll go look for Jack," he began to leave the much-too-small room and head into the dim corridor, hurriedly putting on his vest and grabbing his zat just in case.
Jacob placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and glanced over at Teal'c. "We'll go find out what's going on." He grimaced from the shrill sound of the still-wailing alarm, getting a nod from Daniel before they all left the room.
As the team neared the surface level, still with no sign of Jack, they found themselves caught in a tide of people scrambling to go in the opposite direction.
Seeing a familiar face among the wave of raggedly dressed people, Jacob reached out to grasp the shoulder of the old man. "Rendar," he addressed him loudly over the alarm.
Turning with a wild-eyed look, Rendar took Jacob in before speaking frantically. "We must get everyone to the safe rooms far below! The others have come! Our defenses aren't holding!"
Sam, Jacob, and Daniel all were bright-eyed with shock. Teal'c stood stoic as usual, a hint of concern with the situation showing in his eyes.
"Some of our warriors are fighting them off, but it will merely stall them. They've gotten around our defenses and will come for sure!" Rendar attempted to push the team back. "Go! We must hurry!"
Daniel caught a pleading look of apprehension from Sam. He knew what she silently asked of him, and he wouldn't deny her. "Go down with them to the safe room. I'll find Jack if he hasn't already headed down there." Shoving past the swarm of frantic people, Daniel tapped his chest, gesturing toward the radio tucked away in his vest pocket. "I'll keep in touch!" came the shout above the noise before he disappeared. Although he hadn't voiced it aloud, Daniel had that twisting gut feeling that if there was a battle going on at the surface, Jack would be right in the middle of the fray, whether he intended to be or not.
As he neared the surface levels of the big underground bunker, Daniel's eyes widened upon the chaotic scene. There were no more people scrambling to get to safety. Those left were there because they wanted to be. They were defending their people against the Goa'uld-allied beast/human hybrids. The archaeologist had to push back his interest in the complexity of how the creatures came to be in their ways of battle and focus on the task at hand. He had to find Jack.
Pressing his back up against the wall and ducking into a small alcove shrouded in dark shadows that hid from the dawning light of the morning sun, Daniel held his breath as a huge, rhino-like beast tossed aside one of the defending humans effortlessly. Exhaling as the manimal stomped past his hiding place to invade the hallways leading deeper into the complex, Daniel crept from the shadows and rested a hand just above the zat gun on his leg holster.
What kind of archaeologist carries a weapon?!
Daniel remembered the words spewed from Jack's mouth toward the off-world archaeologist counterpart, Malachi, a man whose fault it was that they had gone through their first time-loop adventure. Atleast, to their knowledge it was the first. Jack and Teal'c were the only ones to be aware of the looping, though there was no way of knowing if other loops had happened due to interference from some other alien race at any point.
After Jack had questioned Malachi about his strange little gun, Daniel clearly recalled pointing out that he himself, as an archaeologist, indeed carried a weapon.
Returning to the present, Daniel focused on the mass of bodies just down the length of the wide corridor. Dead and wounded, most of them younger men and elder ones fit enough to fight, lay sprawled along the floor. Grimacing, Daniel noted that most, if not all of them were humans, not manimals. He watched the backs of retreating figures, seeming to head toward the light from outside, dressed in scraps of armor and dragging along a few unfortunate prisoners. Daniel felt a sudden knot in his stomach. Have they got Jack? He wondered, but not for long. Before he had a clue what he was about to do, Daniel felt the sudden impact of a blow from a blunt object smashing into the back of his skull, then the archaeologist knew no more.
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Note: Some action in this chapter, and a bit of a cliff hanger. XD Please review!