I just want to say thanks to everyone who's been reading, and especially those that have taken the time to review. Here's some more for you to enjoy.
Daniel hunched unsteadily over a pile of ragged clothes and bones, discreetly searching the fallen miner's pockets. He was admiring a pair of deep blue stones when he heard a pulsing rumble in the distance. At first he thought it was thunder, but there were hardly any clouds in the sky. Hundreds of birds screeching at full volume flew overhead a moment later, their wings beating for all they were worth.
The noise must have frightened them… he thought, craning his neck back to see the panicked flock. He waited for the rumble to come again, but it never did. I wonder if the others heard it? Jack probably would have on the radio demanding to know what I touched if they had…
"Daniel Jackson."
The archeologist turned to find Teal'c up ahead, standing waist deep in the reeds. He walked over to join him. "Did you just hear something - sort of a low rumble off in the distance?"
"I did."
"Any idea what it was?"
"I do not. A disturbance on one of the mountains perhaps."
"Maybe. Whatever it was certainly scared a whole bunch of…what did you find?" he asked, spotting the gold shapes in the large man's hand.
Teal'c held his palm out for Daniel to see. In it was a thin piece of golden metal crudely shaped to look like an M.
"A First Prime tattoo. I don't recognize the symbol."
"Menoetius."
"Menoetius." Daniel thought for a moment. "He was a Titian. He symbolized anger, impulse, and mortality."
"Indeed. He served as an under lord to Cronus for many years. It was his impatience and reckless decision making that kept him from achieving status among the Systems Lords."
"Wait a second - I thought only System Lords were granted First Primes?"
"That is correct."
Daniel took the gold tattoo from his friend's hand and studied it. The design was inconsistent and rough, not at all like the ones he'd seen on other First Primes. He looked down at the body Teal'c had taken the emblem from, noting the shoddy clothing and miss-matched armor.
"There's something strange going on here," he muttered. "If Menoetius was an under lord, how did he end up with his own Jaffa and human slaves?"
"It is rumored that Menoetius stole from Cronus out of spite. He managed to raise a small army of loyal Jaffa and raid one the of slave colonies before confiscating a ship and fleeing. Cronus' troops gave chase, but Menoetius escaped. He was never heard from again."
"He was too impatient to earn his own empire, so he chose to steal one instead. Sounds like a Goa'uld." Daniel looked at the flawed emblem in his hand. "It looks like he even branded his own First Prime. It would explain the poor workmanship of this tattoo anyway." He searched around in his vest pocket for a small envelope to put the delicate item in. "I guess the question now is whether or not Menoetius is still alive. The legends say no, but…"
"Perhaps we will locate more clues when we arrive at the structure we seek to find," Teal'c suggested.
"Yeah, you're right. It shouldn't be much further ahead." Daniel tucked the envelope containing the gold emblem into his vest and picked up his camera. After taking a few photos of the remains, he motioned for his teammate to lead on, hopeful for more discoveries ahead.
Janet's return to consciousness was fraught with confusion and pain. She squinted up at the sky as her eyes slowly came into focus, trying to remember what happened. At first she couldn't even recall where she was, but the foreign chattering of an unseen creature reminded her she was off world.
Off world with SG-1…a recon…low risk…to field test some new gear…skeletons everywhere…bones…
Her thoughts came in a tangled mess as her mind tried to piece together her situation.
Were we attacked? I don't remember hearing any shouts or gunfire or…or anything. Sam found something in the grass – a rock? It was stuck to her hand. The colonel called me over to look…
That was as far as her memory would go. The event that landed her flat on her back in the middle of an alien forest was lost.
The others…
Janet did a quick role call of her limbs, finding them all to be stiff but functional. She slowly sat up and stretched her back and neck, flinching when she rotated her shoulders. Looking down, she was surprised to find her vest was scorched across the top and her radio completely destroyed. Further investigation revealed that her pain was coming from minor burns hidden beneath her shirt.
What the hell…?
Rolling onto her knees, the doctor pushed to her feet. Her head swarmed dizzily and she clung to a tree for support. She looked around hoping to see the others up and about, but she was alone. When the dizziness passed, she took a few tentative steps, grimacing at the ache in her lower back and butt.
Guess I know what hit the ground first…
She hobbled stiffly, searching the bushes for her friends. "Sam! Colonel!" she called and paused to listen. When nothing but animal sounds came back to her, Janet frowned and continued to search. "Come on, guys, where are you?" A pair of familiar boots sticking out of the tall grass caught her eye. "Sam?"
Her own aches forgotten, Janet rushed to her friend's side. "Sam? Can you hear me?" She pressed her fingertips to the other woman's neck, feeling her pulse throb steadily against them. "Sam?"
Sam lay motionless on her back, cradled by a swathe of broad-leaved shrubs. She lacked the scorch marks across her shoulders that Janet had, but the doctor soon realized her injuries were far worse. Her right arm was out to the side, the wrist crooked at an unnatural angle. A vicious burn covered much of her palm and fingers, blood seeping from the already broken blisters.
"Oh, Sam…" she uttered, knowing how painful the burn would be when she came around. Deciding to save her at least a little suffering, Janet grasped her friend's wrist and forearm and swiftly set the break. She did a brief pat down to look for further injury, but found nothing amiss. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a field dressing and some gauze pads. Wrapping the dressing around Sam's wrist, she pressed the gauze against bleeding burn and used the loose ends of the bandage to secure them in place.
"There. That should hold you until we get back to camp - then I can fix you up good as new." She paused to recheck Sam's pulse and breathing and then left to find the colonel.
Picking her way slowly through the bushes, Janet decided to start her search in the last place they'd all been – the alcove with the Goa'uld remains. At first the recess in the mountainside seemed empty, but a suspicious heap toward the back had her going in for a closer look. She'd only taken a few steps when she identified the rucksack Jack had been carrying. "Colonel?"
By sight alone, the man looked dead. He was curled awkwardly on his right side, his long legs tangled together. His right arm and shoulder were grossly misshapen, a sure sign something was broken beneath. His hat had slipped forward to conceal much of his face, the little that showed stained with blood.
Janet knelt down and touched her fingers to his throat, his pulse coming back faint and sluggish. His skin felt cool and clammy, indicators of impending shock. His labored breathing quickly became her next concern and she turned to the bulky rucksack strapped to his back.
"All right, colonel, let's get this thing off you." Janet pulled the combat knife from her belt and cut through the thick straps holding it in place. When the bag was free she tried to lift it, but it was too heavy to move with her sore back. After a few more failed attempts, she resorted to emptying most of the cargo and dragging it out of the way.
"There. I bet that feels better. I think Sam and I got a little carried away with collecting stuff from the trail." She doubted the unconscious man could hear what she was saying, but speaking aloud at this point was as much for her sake as it was his.
"Okay, sir. This next part is going to hurt, but I'll be as quick as I can." Using her hand to support his neck, she carefully moved him onto his back. She noticed an immediate improvement in Jack's breathing, the change in position opening his airway and easing the pressure on his chest. "Nowhere near a hundred percent, but it's better than before."
Janet felt something sticky on her hands and looked down to see them smeared with blood. A search for the source revealed a deep gash across his temple, the entire right side of his face bloody and bruised. She took a field dressing from her vest and secured it over the seeping wound.
She moved on to his injured arm and shoulder, carefully positioning them as neutrally as she could without risking further harm. The sharp scent of burnt nylon called her attention to another issue, and she discovered the left side of his vest had been reduced to a charred mess. She unclipped his P90 and set it aside, taking note of the scorch marks on the butt of the gun.
"Oh, god…" The doctor cringed sympathetically when she realized the damage had gone through all three layers of the man's clothing and left a nasty burn across his side.
This just doesn't make any sense… She thought, trying to piece together the events that had landed them all unconscious and wounded in varying degrees. Sam and I were launched off our feet and blown out of the alcove, but the colonel is still here. There's no way he could have absorbed the… Janet looked up at the massive piece of mountain that jutted out of the ground only a few feet away. He must have been thrown against the rock. Hitting something that hard at any speed could…
As if reading her mind, Jack groaned and coughed, a thin line of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
She uttered a rare curse. They were god knows how many millions of light years from home and the situation was rapidly going to hell in a hand basket. Some low risk recon this turned out to be…
Janet drew in a deep breath to calm her racing thoughts. She'd had plenty of experience dealing with off world emergencies in the past; it was the fact that she was the only medic present and injured herself that troubled her. Forcing all the 'what ifs' and 'if onlys' to the back of her mind, she slipped on her professional mask. She had two patients to take care of and at least one of them was teetering on critical. She needed her gear and she needed help. Pronto.
The doctor started to reach for her radio and stopped, remembering it had been destroyed. She reached for Jack's unit instead, which had fortunately remained intact. Toggling the comm button, she tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "Daniel, Teal'c, this is Janet. I need help. Please come in."
The lone building that had been so alluring on paper turned out to actually be two separate units with a shared roof and covered walkway in between. They looked reminiscent of Quonset huts in size and shape, but were constructed out of the local lumber instead of steel. Doors with small peepholes were the only means of admittance, and long, narrow slits along the covered side served as windows.
"Well it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be," Daniel said, looking up at the structure with interest.
Teal'c was prowling the building's perimeter with his staff weapon drawn, searching for possible threats. By all accounts the property looked deserted, but he knew the Goa'uld intimately and was familiar with their tricks. He leaned in and peered through one of the narrow windows, the interior silent and dark.
"It would appear this place was abandoned long ago," he remarked, frowning at the unpleasant odor of abandonment that wafted from the opening. He rejoined his teammate around front.
"So what do you think - should we try door number one or door number two?"
The Jaffa weighed his options. "I believe door number one would be an appropriate choice."
"Door number one it is." Daniel reached for the wooden latch and hesitated, Jack O'Neill's scolding voice echoing in mind. "How many times have I told you not to go barging into an un-cleared building? That sort of carelessness is going to get someone killed…" He stepped back. "Maybe you should go first – just in case things aren't as abandoned as they seem."
Teal'c inclined his head and proceeded to make entry. He silently opened the door and stepped inside, sweeping the business end of his staff around every inch of the open interior. When no movement caught his eye, he called out to his waiting friend. "The premises is clear, Daniel Jackson."
The archeologist entered with his flashlight drawn and eyes wide as he tried to take in everything at once. The large single room had little to offer as far as aesthetics were concerned, the four walls barren of decoration and the sparse furniture lacking any original design. A dozen sets of simple bunk beds lined the left wall, and several long tables were set up along the right. The room had few creature comforts; crude mattresses, rough blankets, and a few random pieces of clothing were all that Daniel could see.
"It looks like barracks of some sort." He wrinkled his nose at the dank, stale air. "What's that smell?"
"Death," Teal'c replied bluntly, passing his light over a pile of bones on the floor. "And fear."
Daniel slowly walked through the building, pausing briefly to photograph items of interest. Remains were scattered throughout the room, heaped up on the floor or sprawled across the beds. Mining tools were strewn about, many of them broken or lodged within the heads and backs of the deceased. He came across one skeleton that was in bed and still under the covers, a Jaffa battle knife driven straight through its chest. Feeling sympathy for the long dead miner, he grasped the hilt of the knife and pulled it free.
"This was no ordinary battle," he uttered, looking queasily at the serpentine shaped blade. "These people were attacked."
Teal'c was searching the back of the room when he spotted something shiny by the body of a fallen Jaffa. "Daniel Jackson."
Daniel discarded the dagger on the neighboring bunk and unconsciously wiped his hand across his vest. "What is it?" he asked, forcing himself to look away from the impaled miner.
"I have discovered another First Prime tattoo." He extended his large hand out for his friend to see.
"Cronus," Daniel said, recognizing the broad bullhorn design. "Didn't you say Menoetius stole Jaffa and slaves from him?"
"Yes. It would appear Menoetius took refuge on this planet and began to establish his empire."
"Well he didn't get very far. Cronus must have really wanted revenge if he sent his First Prime. They couldn't have been here for more then a few months before they were found." The younger man shook his head. "I still can't believe they killed everybody."
"Death is a common punishment for turning against one's god. The Goa'uld are not known for giving second chances."
"Or forgive and forget. The bone yard we found must have been where they executed most of them, and then they just picked off any stragglers along the way. The miners obviously fought back – the dead Jaffa we've found couldn't all have been Menoetius'."
"I agree."
Daniel sighed deeply. "I want to take a look at the building next door," he said quietly, feeling a pang of sadness for the innocent miners that had been murdered so long ago.
Picking up on his friend's grief, Teal'c merely nodded and led the way to the exit.
The neighboring building turned out to be much of the same - a stark interior with little furniture or comforts of home. The biggest difference was the lack of beds – the room's only furnishings consisting of long tables and ornate candleholders. A few training staffs were propped up against the far wall, and random pieces of battle-worn armor littered the floor. The one consolation of the dark, dreary room was the lack of bones lying about.
"Dining hall?" Daniel asked.
"Jaffa quarters. It is a place to take meals and perform Kelnorim. Nothing more."
The archeologist frowned in thought. "This just doesn't make sense. There must be another building around here somewhere…or maybe it's been destroyed…"
"What are you considering?"
"The room next door had less than thirty beds, but we've come across the remains of at least a hundred miners. This facility isn't big enough to house them all."
"Many Goa'uld masters would work their slaves around the clock in predetermined shifts. Some would rest while others worked," Teal'c explained. "Where we believe Menoetius was attempting to establish his own empire, it is likely he would have employed this method."
"I wonder what they were mining then? They must have found Naquadah or something else just as…"
His radio crackled to life. "Daniel, Teal'c, this is Janet. I need help. Please come in."
The two men briefly looked at one another, their surprise quickly turning to concern. Daniel picked up his unit to respond. "Janet, this is Daniel. What's wrong?"
"Something happened…I don't know what it was…we found a Goa'uld…there was some sort of energy burst…I really don't know…"
"Wait – did you just say you found a Goa'uld?"
"Just the remains of one. Listen, Sam and the colonel are down. I need help…"
Daniel's eyes widened. "Jack and Sam are hurt?"
"Yes. Sam seems stable enough, but the colonel…Daniel, please. I need your help. I need someone to go back to camp and get my gear bag, some blankets, sleeping bags…"
"Janet, slow down. Where are you?"
"I don't…umm…we're about two miles south of the campsite. Just follow along the base of the mountain and you'll find us."
"Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine, Daniel. Please. I need you guys to hurry."
"We must depart at once," Teal'c said, already half way out the door.
"Janet, we're on our way. Keep in radio contact and we'll be there just as soon as we can. Daniel out." He returned the radio to his vest and hurried to catch up with Teal'c, their discoveries at the abandoned mining camp already forgotten.
Sam slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the sky, trying to remember what happened. She knew she was off world – the silhouette of a gas giant overhead instantly reminded her of that. What she couldn't figure out was why she was lying on her back in the middle of patch of prickly shrubs.
She tried moving her arms and legs. Other than a general stiffness from being on the ground, everything seemed fine until she got to her right hand. She gasped as pain exploded through her wrist and fingers, her skin feeling as if it was on fire. She looked over to find her hand and wrist wrapped in a bandage, the white dressing stained red with blood.
What the hell?
Sam attempted to move her fingers again, only to be rewarded with a fresh bolt of pain.
My wrist is broken… she thought, the deep throb starting to make her feel sick. It's got to be… She shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to keep herself from slipping into shock.
What happened? What caused this? Were we attacked? Where are the others? Thoughts raced dizzily around her head and she found it difficult to focus on just one. Are the others okay? Are they hurt? She knew at least one of them had to be mobile by the bandage on her hand. But where are they? Has anyone called for help? What about Daniel and Teal'c?
Her duty to find and protect her teammates slowly began prevail over the pain. Swallowing back her nauseous stomach, Sam eased herself into a sitting position and looked around. She was alone, the others nowhere in sight. Her surroundings were unfamiliar and she had no idea how far or in what direction their camp was. She considered trying her radio, but decided against it. If they had been attacked the aggressor might still be in the area.
Sam cradled her injured arm against her chest and got to her feet. Gripping her P90 with her left hand, she started off in search of her friends. Her mind gradually began to clear as she quietly made her way through the bushes. She remembered being in an alcove of sorts with Janet and the colonel. She'd been examining the skeleton of a Goa'uld when she found something of interest – some sort of oddly shaped stone. When she'd picked it up, the stone became hot; so hot, in fact, she thought it had burnt right into her skin.
She looked down at her bandaged hand and saw the thick pad of gauze against her palm for the first time. Maybe it did…
She figured she must have blacked out sometime after that because it was where her memories stopped. It bothered her not being able to recall more, but she at least felt a little more confident they hadn't been attacked. The appearance of an aggressor - be it man or beast - was a detail she wouldn't likely forget. She remained vigilant just the same; there was no telling who or what could be lurking in the dense cover of the forest.
"…just hang in there, sir. They're on…"
Sam froze when she heard a voice. Is that Janet?
"...get you and Sam out of this…"
Heading in the direction of her voice, Sam emerged from the bushes and found herself standing at the entrance to alcove. She saw Janet seated on the ground by the back wall, looking down at something hidden by the tall grass.
"Janet?"
The doctor looked up, startled. "Sam?"
"Oh thank goodness you're okay. I woke up and I was…" Sam's relieved words caught in her throat when she finally saw what was in the grass. Her eyes went wide, looking first to her friend and than back to the still form of her CO on the ground. "Oh my god. Is he…?"
"He's alive, but he's in a bad way," Janet replied. It was of no use lying to the woman standing before her. Sam was smart enough to see with her own eyes the gravity of the situation. After calling for help, she'd set about cutting away the upper half of Jack's uniform. The damage she found beneath the layers of fabric had troubled her, both as the man's friend and physician. Although she wouldn't say it aloud, the odds definitely weren't tipped in his favor. "He's got ribs gone on both sides, and his right humerus and collarbone are broken. He has a severe burn on his left side, and extensive bruising to his upper body."
She saw the doctor had rolled up her jacket and tucked against Jack's right side. "He's breathing funny," she said, noting that the left side of his chest rose normally on inhalation, but the right side fell.
"It's a symptom of flail chest. He must have several ribs that are broken in multiple places. If we were back at the infirmary, things might be different, but out here…"
Sam felt the sick feeling she'd woken up with starting to return. Her head swarmed and her stomach began to rise. This just isn't happening…
Janet saw what little color her friend had drain from her face. "Sam?"
"I-I'm…" She'd never seen such bruising before, the large patches of crimson, black, and blue mottling his chest and sides. His right shoulder was badly swollen, the inflammation spreading down his arm and across his neck. His face was mottled with bruising, and a vicious burn cut along his left side, the skin beneath angry, raw, and red.
"Sam? Is it your wrist? I set the break, but it still…"
"I-I'm fine," she uttered uncertainly. "Is he going to make it?"
The doctor hesitated, reluctant to answer. "I can't say. His injuries are bad. It really could go either way."
It wasn't the news she wanted to hear, but it was everything she'd expected. She forcefully dragged her gaze away from Jack. "Have you heard anything from Daniel and Teal'c?"
"I spoke with them briefly a while ago. They're on their way – I asked them to stop and grab a few things back at camp first."
"That's good." Sam tried to find a comfortable position for her P90 that wouldn't bump against her broken hand. "I need to do a quick sweep of the area. You don't remember being attacked by anyone, do you?"
The doctor shook her head.
"Good. I don't either, but I want to make sure we're secure here just the same."
"Are you sure you're up to it?"
Realistically Sam didn't think she was, but her obligation to keep her friends safe had her nodding and heading off toward the trees. A perimeter sweep of any new area was standard procedure for the team, allowing them to get a feel for the lay of the land early on. The denseness of this particular forest wouldn't permit her to venture far from her starting point, and it also cut the likelihood of stealth attack down to almost zero. The lush plant life would provide them with an early warning system – anyone trying to sneak around would undoubtedly make noise.
Unless they got away while Janet and I were unconscious… She thought, her hand reaching for her radio. "Daniel, Teal'c, this is Carter. Come in."
There was a brief pause before his winded voice came over the air. "Sam! It's great to hear your voice! Are you okay?"
"I'm a little banged up, but otherwise all right. Where are you guys?"
"We just left the campsite. How's Jack doing?"
"He…" Sam didn't know how to respond. To her, the man had looked to be on death's door between all the bruising and blood. She felt a sudden urgency to get back to the others. "He's holding his own."
"That's good. We've been worried."
"Listen, you guys. I'm not exactly sure what happened out here just yet. There's still the chance we were attacked and the aggressor has since gotten away. I'm doing a quick check of our perimeter, but there's a chance any aggressors could be headed your way."
"All right. We'll keep our eyes open for anything out of the ordinary."
"Just be careful, okay?"
"We will, Sam." There was another short pause. "Teal'c's found your trail. We should be at your location within the half hour. Tell Jack to hang on."
"I will. Watch yourselves. Carter out." Sam picked up her pace, continuing her sweep as fast as proficiency would allow. She was making good headway when she heard something rustling in the bushes behind her. Without thinking, she wheeled around and grabbed for her weapon using her injured right hand instead of her left. Pain shot through her wrist and fingers, a yelp escaping her before she had a chance quell it. Whatever creature had been moving around in the bushes took off squealing into the forest, frightened by her loud cry.
Dizzy and nauseous, she clung to a nearby tree and waited for it to pass. That was dumb, Sam…really, really dumb.
Gradually the pain in her wrist began lessen, fading from a sickening throb to a more tolerable ache. When her legs felt steady enough to continue, Sam relinquished her grip on the tree and proceeded to finish her search. Remnants of her scare must have remained on her face, as Janet appeared at her side the moment she stepped into the alcove.
"Sam? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I got startled by something in the bushes and tried to raise my weapon with my broken hand. It hurt."
"I can imagine it did. You're still white as a ghost," Janet replied, taking her by the good arm for support. "Come on. I want you to sit down before you fall." She led her over beside Jack and helped her to the ground. "So you saw something out there?"
"I never actually saw it, but it was definitely small. It sounded like a pig." Sam sighed, feeling a little better now that she was sitting down. "It doesn't look like we were attacked, but I warned Daniel and Teal'c to keep an eye out just in case."
"I heard you on the radio. It's good to know they're close."
Sam nodded absently, her attention shifting to the unconscious man beside her. There'd been no change in his condition during her brief absence. "How can I help?" she asked quietly.
Janet knew there was nothing either one of them could really do until Daniel and Teal'c arrived with her supplies, but she saw the want, the need to help in her eyes. "Take his hand. Let him know he's not alone."
Sam reached out and grasped her CO's left hand. His long fingers were cold and lifeless against hers, making it difficult to believe that he wasn't dead. "My god, Janet. What happened to us?"
"I don't know. I've been trying to piece things together, but I'm not having much luck. All I remember is searching through the bushes for Jaffa skeletons and the colonel calling me over. Next thing I knew, I was looking up at the sky with a sore backside and burns across my shoulders."
"I remember finding a red stone on the ground near the Goa'uld skeleton. When I picked it up, it started getting hot." Sam looked at her bandaged hand, aware of the painful heat flaring across her palm. "I think it burnt me."
"It did. Or something did," Janet replied. "Whatever happened, it was powerful enough to throw you and me clear of the alcove and slam the colonel against the mountain side. I thought it might have been a proximity mine at first because of the burns and broken bones, but there wasn't any shrapnel or evidence of an explosion."
"I thought we were under attack, that's why I didn't try my radio when I first woke up. It just doesn't make sense."
Silence fell between the two women as they struggled to understand the difficult situation they'd been dealt. Both felt frustrated and vulnerable, like they'd carelessly let their guard down and were now paying the price. From the grass beside them, Jack drew in a wheezy breath and coughed. Sam's eyes widened when she saw the traces of blood that appeared on his lips.
"This isn't the first time it's happened," Janet told her, cleaning the blood from his mouth. "With injuries like these, it's not a matter of determining if he's bleeding internally or not, but figuring out from where and how bad." She checked his pulse, counting the weak beats as they throbbed against her fingers. He was still with them, but she knew he could start to deteriorate at any moment.
The doctor sighed and looked over at Sam. The other woman sat motionless in the grass, her pale face shadowed with a mask of concern. An involuntary shiver periodically coursed through her body, leading Janet to believe she was suffering from a mild case shock. But, like the colonel, there was little she could do for her until the guys arrived with her gear.
Why didn't I bring it with me? She demanded of herself. That's why you came on this trip in the first place - to test the backpack and the gear inside. So what if your back was a little sore. How does it feel now? You know as well as anyone how much of a difference rapid treatment can make in a trauma situation. What if your selfish decision to leave your gear behind costs the colonel his life? She flinched at the harshness of her own thoughts. She'd always been her own worst critic, and this wasn't the time or place to give herself a mental tongue-lashing. She had two teammates – two friends – counting on her to help them. They were far more important than analyzing a decision she couldn't take back.
She noticed Sam was holding onto Jack's hand like his life depended on it. And maybe it did. She knew the two shared a special bond – the entire team did. They'd been to hell and back together and no matter how bad things got, they always managed to emerge stronger and closer than before. While her medicine helped to support and heal the body, it was their deep camaraderie that supported and healed the soul.
She reached out and put a hand on Sam's shoulder. When the other woman turned to look at her, she offered an encouraging smile. Sam nodded and tried to return the smile, but found it too difficult and looked away. They didn't speak – there was no need for words. Both knew that they wouldn't let Jack go without a fight, and if the unimaginable were to happen, they would make sure he wasn't alone or in pain.
But for now, they could only hope that help would arrive soon, and that it would be enough to keep their friend, leader, and teammate alive.