Oops! I think I forgot to mention that Stargate and SG1 are not mine. Sorry! Some of you were wondering about time frames for this story. I can't say exactly - because it is AU - but it's sometime Season 7. Janet is alive (always!) but Daniel is back and Jack is still a Colonel. I'm not paying too much attention to episodes/time frames because it's only roughly based on canon - so it's really my time.
Daniel reached out to dial the gate when he suddenly stopped.
"What is it Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c was standing beside him, impatient to get back to the SGC.
"I just thought of something Teal'c. Remember Hathor?"
He turned to Daniel, surprise on his face. "Of course. She was a System Lord. O'Neill killed her in the cryogenic chamber."
'Yeah – but that's not what I'm talking about. Do you remember when she was brought to the SGC – how she doped all the men with the Nishta?"
"Yes, that was the time she seduc-"
"Hey, let's not go there either right now Teal'c. What I'm getting at is she drugged all the men so none of us realized she was really bad. I'm thinking maybe that's what's happened here."
"You think that the men have been drugged with Nishta? But did not Dr. Frasier say that we were now immune?"
"Well, I don't mean we were actually drugged with Nishta – but something like it. What I'm trying to say is I don't think General Hammond or any of the men at the SGC are going to believe us when we tell them about Sam and the women. I think they'll just think it's us."
"Hmmm. I believe you may be right. What do you think we should do?"
"I think we should not say anything about what Sam's done – or that the other women are in on it. I think we should pretend that everything is normal. We can help with trying to rescue Jack – and Sam – and at the same time keep an eye on the women. I think we'd better watch Janet especially. I expect she's one of the main ones in on it."
"That would be logical as she has the most access to the men. She may even have been the one to administer the drug."
"I bet you're right Teal'c! I wonder how come we're no longer affected?" puzzled Daniel.
"I believe it may have been the ceremony and whatever was in the urns. It must have counteracted the drugs and now we can think straight."
"Okay – so let's head back and remember, don't let on a thing. Once we've captured" he turned and grinned, "or should I say, saved, Sam we can try and figure out how to fix the men. Maybe we'll have to bring a few here to go through the ceremony."
"It is going to be difficult Daniel. I do not want Janet Frasier or the women nurses looking at me when I return."
"I know – neither do I. Look at it this way, the men here on this planet actually have to live with the women. At least we don't have to do that."
Nodding in agreement, Teal'c waited while this time Daniel completed dialing. As soon as the event horizon appeared, the two men walked through and returned to earth.
Dr. Jackson, Teal'c – welcome back." General Hammond was in his usual spot in the Control Room. "Where are O'Neill and Major Carter?"
"Uh – they've been taken Sir", Daniel called to the General. "Some Goa'uld turned up on the planet and took them along with most of the women and children."
"What!" Hammond left his spot and hurried down into the Gate Room.
"What happened for God's sake? Who was the Goa'uld?"
"We don't know General. We were participating in a cultural ceremony with the men. When we returned the next day they were gone. One of the women that was left told us they'd been taken. We're assuming they must have had a ship – either on the planet or in orbit."
"And you weren't able to discover who the Goa'uld was? What about the markings on the Jaffa?"
Daniel simply stared at the General and then looked over at Teal'c. He couldn't believe they hadn't asked. His only thought, when they'd found out that Jack was missing was that Sam must have had a hand in it, that she was a traitor.
"Uh, we don't know Sir." Daniel looked extremely sheepish.
"Did you ask?" Hammond asked sharply. He knew that Jackson could sometimes be absentminded but this was beyond belief. And he certainly would have expected more from Teal'c.
"No General Hammond", the Jaffa answered. "We did not ask. Daniel Jackson and I participated in a lengthy ceremony and when we returned in the morning we were … we were not rationale, completely ….."
"What he's trying to say General is that we were a bit hung over. We didn't think about the markings, only about getting back quickly."
"You were DRUNK!" he was furious. What the hell did these two think they were doing and why did O'Neill let them take part in a drunken party?
"Ah Sir – it wasn't intentional. We were just observing, we even said we wouldn't take part. They used some kind of incense for the ceremony and we had no idea it would affect us like that. We tried to leave as soon as we realized but it was too late. We passed out almost immediately and didn't wake up until the next morning."
Somewhat appeased, Hammond was still upset. "Why didn't O'Neill and Major Carter accompany you to this ceremony?"
"Well, women aren't allowed. You see, they're evil - I mean the people on the planet think they're evil so they can't attend. Jack was worried about leaving Carter alone so he stayed with her. He thought it would be best for Teal'c and I to go."
"I see. Well, someone's going to have to go back to the planet and find out some more information. It'd probably better be you two since they already know you. Unless they blame you for what happened to their women?"
"Uh, I don't know Sir. We got back to the village before the rest of the men and didn't wait for them. We came back here right away."
The General threw up his hands. "It's a good thing you were drunk Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, otherwise I'd have your hides for the stupidity of this mission and how you've handled things. Get to the Infirmary and get checked over. Tell Dr. Frasier about this 'drug', she's going to need to check you for that. After you're done hot foot it to the Briefing Room. We'll do a quick debrief and then I want you back there. Take SG3 with you just in case you run into trouble." Shaking his head, the General returned up the stairs to the Control room and on to his office.
"That did not go well Daniel Jackson."
"No, we kinda blew it didn't we. Oh well, at least we didn't let on about Sam. I gotta say it's hard though. I want to tell him that she's a traitor. And now we have to deal with Janet."
Both of the men looked sick at this prospect but knew they had to get it over and done with quickly.
"Where are Colonel O'Neill and Sam?" asked Janet as she walked in, carrying her clipboard.
"They have been captured by a Goa'uld" answered Teal'c simply.
"What! You're kidding, right?" She looked at the two men perched on examining tables. She thought she caught a quick look of anger from Daniel but Teal'c was his usual inscrutable self. Obviously, if Daniel was this angry they must be telling the truth!
"But how – and who? What Goa'uld was it? I didn't think that there was any evidence of Goa'uld on that planet. What happened."
"I'm sure you know." Daniel sneered.
"Pardon me? What does that mean?"
Teal'c coughed and Daniel looked up and caught his eye. Yeah, he had to do better.
"Sorry Janet – I'm just upset. Ah, we don't know who it was. We're going to head back to the planet and see if we can find out more information. We wanted to come back here first and check in."
"And we were to tell you that we were exposed to some kind of alien drug. Both of us are feeling fine now but the General wants us to be examined."
"Really? What kind of drug?"
"I don't know Doctor – that's what you are for!" Janet glanced up again at Daniel. Something was really off.
"Okay, we'll get started on some tests. If you check out okay I'll clear you to go back. God, I hope they're all right."
"I'm sure Sam's fine." Daniel commented, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Teal'c quickly jumped in with,
"We know O'Neill was injured but we do not know how badly."
"Oh, damn. That's typical. Okay guys, sleeves up. I've gotta take some blood."
"Uh Janet, why don't you get Schwarz to do it? Isn't that what your nurses are for? It'll leave you to do more important things – like test the blood, etc." Schwarz was one of the male nurses who worked at the SGC.
Janet again looked puzzled but nodded. Actually, what Daniel said was truth. She could better spend her time elsewhere. It's just that she'd gotten into the habit of always doing the post mission checks for SG1 personally – probably because she considered them all friends, as well as colleagues. Added to that was the fact that they always seemed to be the ones who brought back the strangest medical conditions.
"All right." She pulled off her gloves. I'll send Airman Schwarz in to do your tests. I'll check them over as soon as they're done.
Neither man said anything, simply watched her as she left. It gave her a really creepy feeling which was odd. Daniel and Teal'c were two of her favorite people in the SGC and she'd never felt anything but friendship from both of them. Maybe it was the worry about Sam and O'Neill that had them acting so strangely. Shaking her head, she walked out of the Infirmary to her office.
By the time the Jaffa finally came back both Sam and Jack were feeling pretty miserable. Jack's fever had gotten steadily worse and he felt like crap. Sam was in pain from her shoulder, tired and hungry. They had tried to rest but it was almost impossible.
"How long do you think it's been?" asked Sam, still leaning back against Jack.
"I don't know, probably a day or so. I wish they'd at least left us our watches. It's not like they're special, super duper spy watches or anything."
"Hey, I wonder why they never give us anything like that? You know, some of the stuff like James Bond always got. With the work we do it would come in handy."
"Yeah it can."
"What?" She twisted her head around to look at him. "Are you telling me you've used some nifty 'spy' toys?"
"Well, in my Black Op days we sometimes had some things – you know, miniature cameras and things like that. I would have loved to have a car with rockets or that could turn into a boat but unfortunately the government wouldn't spring for that."
"Wow – that's cool. Did you have your own decoder ring?"
He laughed, "No, but I did beg one of my commanders for one. He told me to send away my bubble gum wrappers."
Settling back, Sam grinned. She really was glad it was Jack who was with her. He was the only one she knew who could find humor in the worst situation and, as a result, help her take her mind off things. She could just imagine Jack having neat little toys to play with – he would have loved that. When they got back she'd have to invent some little thing for him to take along on missions. Maybe she would make him his own decoder ring. The thought amused her for a moment until she realized that giving Jack a ring – any kind of ring – probably wasn't a good thing. Damn, why did their relationship have to be so complicated.
"You're thinkin' Sam!" he whispered.
"Of course I'm thinking. What else is there to do?"
"No, I mean you're thinking about bad stuff. No point in doing that. Let's just wait and see what happens okay?"
He thought she was worried about the Goa'uld! She wondered what he'd say if she told him that she was spending more time thinking about him than about their predicament. That thought amused her slightly. She just knew he'd get a 'deer in the headlights' look if she told him that.
"Colonel, how are you doing?" She figured she'd better change the subject."
"I-"
"If you say 'fine' again Sir, I'll .. I'll – "
"Yes?" he smiled, "what will you do?"
"Well – nothing I guess. But you have to tell me how you're really do feel Sir. Please?"
He sighed, "Okay Major – the staff burn is infected but I don't think it's too bad yet. It hurt's like hell but that's probably a good thing – probably means it's not as deep. I have a slight fever but I don't think that would be too bad if I had some more water. There – how's that? Feel better?"
Now it was her turn to sigh, but this time in exasperation. Typical man! She slid forward, away from him. This meant he had to withdraw his arms from around her. She was surprised at how empty that made her feel.
Turning around she looked at the Colonel. Yes, it was obvious he had a fever – and a much higher one than he claimed. His eyes were also beginning to look a little glassy.
"Okay Sir – you're turn."
"My turn for what Carter?" he looked at her suspiciously.
In answer she scooted over to the wall and gingerly leaned back. She then patted her lap.
"My turn for pillow duty. Come on, I've been using you for hours. You need to rest or you're not going to get better. And before you say anything, yes, my shoulder hurts, but all I have to do is to keep it still – I don't have to worry about infection. So, respectfully Sir, get your butt over here!"
Wanting to argue some more, but in reality feeling much too tired and sick, he did what Sam wanted. It did feel heavenly to lie out, his head in her lap.
Unfortunately, he didn't have long to enjoy it. Twenty or so minutes later the doors opened and the Minion twins walked in.
"You will come. My Lord wishes to see you."
Jack pushed himself to a sitting position, a little worried by how weak and woozy he felt. He actually wasn't sure if he could get up.
Sam stood and then reached down with her good arm. Gratefully, he took her preferred hand and, with her help, was able to go verticle. Once there, however, he felt so weak he knew walking was going to be an issue. He so didn't want to get carried by one of these guys. It was humiliating.
"The Colonel needs help", Sam stood beside him, pretty much holding him up. "Lord Matsya said to keep us alive – well, he's not going to be alive unless he gets help."
Jack kind of glanced at Carter in surprise. He sure hoped she was saying that for effect and not becausee it was true. Okay, he felt awful, but he really didn't think he was going to die!
He opened his mouth to inform her of that when she squeezed his arm – hard! Ow! That hurt, he glared at her. She raised an eyebrow slightly. Okay, okay, I'll be quiet! Geesh!
Sam realized that the fever, and probably the pain, were starting to affect the Colonel. He was loosing focus and was having trouble concentrating. She'd been afraid he'd almost blown it then.
"We will speak to our Lord. He will know what to do." The bigger of the two Jaffa, and clearly the head guy, answered. He then pointed with his staff weapon for them to head out.
Holding Jack up pretty much the whole way they finally arrived in the throne room. Good old Matzo Ball (so sue her – she'd been working with the Colonel for 7 years now), looked his Goa'uldy best, decked out in blues and golds. She didn't like to acknowledge it, but his host was an extraordinarily handsome man.
"My business has been accomplished - very satisfactorily", he smiled. "Lord Ba'al was very pleased as were some of the other Goa'ulds I served. My reputation grows – and you will help me."
"Sorry Matzo – I'm not allowed to help any Goa'ulds – it's in my contract." Jack was leaning against her and she was afraid, at any minute, he'd fall down.
"It does not matter what you say to me Tauri. You will have no choice and neither will the woman. You exist only to serve me now." He walked closer to the two humans, looking them over carefully.
"You do not look well." He muttered.
"Well, what do you expect? First your guys shoot me, then they starve us and only give us a little bit to drink. And can I tell you about the rooms? Definitely bad." Jack coughed, the struggle of keeping up his insouciant façade was exhausting.
Matsya motioned to one of his Jaffa. Oh hell, thought Sam, they're going to manhandle the Colonel some more. He really doesn't need this!
She was right. Jaffa one grabbed the Colonel and pulled him away from her. O'Neill immediately sank to the floor, held only by the grasp on his arm which kept him from falling totally flat.
"Leave him!" Matsya commanded. The Jaffa simply dropped his arm which caused the Colonel to go 'thunk' on the floor.
"Ow! You didn't have to drop me!" He lay there, on his back, watching in some trepidation as the Goa'uld walked over to him and looked down. The snakehead drew something out of his pocket and put it on his hand which he then turned toward Jack.
Screwing his eyes shut, Jack thought to himself, 'oh no, not the hand device! That thing made you feel like your brains were being sucked through your ears!'
Instantly, Jack felt a wave of ….. warmth? Hey, what the hell? He opened his eyes and realized that Matsya didn't have a hand device, he had a healing device! Hallelujah.
On second thought, Jack realized as he lay there, this was probably a bad thing. What did this guy want them for if he was willing to heal him?
Okay – now that hurts! He knew that sometimes the healing device could become painful as nerves and tissue were repaired. It was certainly better than the alternative but it wasn't particularly pleasant.
Matsya lowered his hand, finished with his healing. Jack carefully felt his side. Yeah, definitely better, but no completely healed. Too bad.
The Goa'uld then turned towards Sam and raised the healing device again. He held it on her just long enough to knit some of the torn ligaments although the joint still felt pretty sore. He stopped just short of healing her completely too.
"How come you didn't finish?' asked Jack.
"Because, I do not want you strong enough to cause trouble. My Lord Ba'al informs me that the Tauri are sneaky and must be watched."
"You told him you had us?" Uh oh, thought Jack, just what he – they needed what to have Ba'al in this.
"I simply asked him what he thought of the Tauri. He clearly does not like them. I can hardly wait to present him with my present! He will be so grateful to me and I will have Ba'al as my ally!" He actually rubbed his hands in glee.
Sam looked over at Jack, knowing that he harbored horrific memories of his time with Ba'al. She could tell he was uncomfortable with the idea. She wondered, too, what Matsya had meant about a 'present'. Surely he wasn't going to give them to Ba'al? If that was the case, why hadn't he already done so?
"We will arrive tomorrow and you will start your service. You are well enough. When we are on the planet we will make sure you do not escape." Turning to his First Prime he commanded that they be sent back to their cell.
"What about the others?" Jack asked quickly. He was worried about the women and children.
Matsya smiled. "I will look at them when we arrive. The suitable ones will be put to service, the rest will become slaves." With that he swept out of the room and Jack and Sam went back to their bare cell.
Daniel and Teal'c, along with SG3 – thankfully a fully male team – had made their way back to the planet. The blood tests had come back showing a small trace of an unknown substance but it was so minute that Janet didn't think it would be a problem. It would probably clear itself out in a day or so. She instructed them to drink lots of water and, of course, to report to her if there were any further problems.
"Like hell I'll talk to her", Daniel said to Teal'c as they walked towards the Gate Room. "I'll tell Warner if there's a problem. Him I trust."
"I too would rather deal with Dr. Warner." Teal'c nodded in agreement.
Once on the planet it was relatively easy to find what they were looking for. They spoke to Amdahl, who looked like he was in a state of extreme stress, but he gave them permission to speak with some of the women.
Interestingly enough, the men all appeared confused. They felt like they should be rejoicing – most of the women, the evil ones, were gone. Why then did they all feel so lost? It was probably the loss of their sons, they rationalized. Of course, this meant having to find replacement women. It would cost the village much.
After getting the information SG3 and the remaining half of SG1 returned to the mountain. Waiting for them was Hammond but, alongside him and to their surprise, was Jacob Carter.
They knew that the General had put out a call to the Tokra as soon as he'd found out about Jack and Sam. They were the best hope for finding their teammates. Daniel was shocked, however, at the quick response. Usually the Tokra took their sweet time. Jacob must have been present when the message was received to have made it here so quickly.
"Did you find what you were looking for Dr. Jackson, Teal'c?" Hammond asked.
"Yes Sir, we did."
"All right then. I suggest we all make our way to the Briefing Room and we can discuss it. As you see Jacob is here on behalf of the Tokra. Hopefully he can give us some information as well."
The The men all made their way up to the Briefing room and sat down. Everyone turned and looked expectantly at Daniel and Teal'c.
"So, what did you find out Doctor?" Hammond go right to the poin.
"Well, it's strange, but the first woman we spoke to said the Jaffa – or warriors as she called them – all had a fish on their foreheads."
"A fish?" Daniel could here a snort of laughter from Griff.
"Yes Sir, a fish. I was skeptical at first myself, but we interviewed a number of women separately and they all agree. A few of them drew a picture." He reached into his pocket and drew out a piece of paper with a number of very similar pictures on it.
""There could be a number of possibilities as to who this represents. There's the God Rem, an Egyptian fish god who fertilized the soil, or Hat-mehit. She was a fish-goddess. I know lots of other cultures have fish deities. My first guess would be one of the Egyptian gods but I could be wrong."
"Matsya", Selmak's voice suddenly broke into the silence left after Daniel was finished.
"What?" asked Daniel.
"Matsya, the Hindu God. He's represented by a fish. He's kind of a Noah figure in the Hindu religion. He was responsible for saving life and repopulating the world after a great flood. He is also someone the Tokra have tried to get rid of for many years"
Suddenly, without warning, Jacobs voice replaced that of Selmak. "Tried and failed. That doesn't sound good at all."
"Are we sure this tattoo belongs to this Goa'uld?"
Selmak again spoke, "That is the last news we had. Matsya has always been a minor Goa'uld, pretty much ignored by the System Lords but in the last couple of years we have heard his name mentioned numerous times."
"What does he do?" asked Daniel with excitement.
"That is the problem. We don't know. We know that he is increasing in importance but not what he is doing. We know he rendezvous' with various Systems Lords, every few months. We'll have to see what we can find."
"Do you have any idea where he might have his base of operations?" Teal'c asked seriously.
"No", groaned Jacob. "We don't even know that. But now that we have some incentive I'm going to work hard to find out." He stood up and looked at the men around the table.
"We'll find them, don't worry. I'll let you know what I come up with and I'd appreciate the same."
"Of course Jacob", answered Hammond. "You we can trust!" Shaking the man's hand, Hammond said goodbye and watched as Jacob returned through the gate. The General couldn't imagine how hard it must be to keep going when your child has been kidnapped.
After the iris had closed, he looked to his side and saw that Daniel and Teal'c were both standing there, deep concentration etched in their faces. If he hadn't been sure he was wrong, he would have thought that Jackson was in a foul mood. His expression looked like someone who'd just swallowed a bit drink of rotten milk!
"You two had best go and get some rest. You'll feel fresher in the morning." He turned and walked back into his office.
"You wanna come stay at my place Teal'c? There aren't any women there."
"I do indeed Daniel. Thank you. I will retrieve my things."
"I'll be waiting."