It's been a while since I updated this story. Just couldn't seem to make it come together.
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43
"What's our next step?" Daniel asks after the Tok'ra are gone.
"Put the word out to our allies," Jack says. "Ask them to listen for anything that might be a clue."
"I shall contact Master Bra'tac and the Free Jaffa," Teal'c says.
"We should send messages to all the friendlies," Jack adds. "Cimmeria, Tollana, Orbania, Argos."
"The Asgard, of course," General Hammond says.
"The Nox," Daniel says. "And Edora."
"Everybody we can think of," Jack says, glancing over at Sam, who is staring down at the table, too obviously trying to contain her emotions. "Who knows where something may turn up. Even that bar we visited a couple months ago on P8Q-111, Danny—where you 'tested' the local brew so thoroughly!" he adds with a smirk.
Daniel shoots him a dirty look, but Jack sees a small grin crack Carter's face, and is satisfied.
44
Jacob wakes in pain. His first instinct is to call on Selmak to ease the agony in his body, but an instant later he remembers his symbiote's condition, and worry is added to the discomfort. Carefully he tries moving, but that only brings more pain.
Opening his eyes, he sees that Leara is sitting with her back against the cell wall, watching him. His expression lightens a little. "Hey," he says, trying to keep the strain out of his voice. "How you doing?"
"I am...enduring," she replies, her gaze running over the massive bruising and cuts on his face. At the moment she feels better than he looks.
"Kerlin?" he asks.
"Nothing." She shakes her head. "Selmak, also?"
He sighs. "Nope. Still out." He tries again to shift position, and subsides with a yelp of pain. "Think they broke a rib or three..."
Leara leans forward a bit. "Is there something I can do to help?"
"Don't think so..." He breathes carefully for a few moments as the pain eases somewhat. "How long do you think we've been here?"
"I estimate a day and a half," she replies. "I could be off by many hours, however. I have tried to count the guards' shift changes."
"Hmm. Not long enough yet," he murmurs. "It'll take at another day or so."
"I do not understand..."
"Until they figure out where we are and come to get us."
She gives him a look that is extremely familiar to Jacob. He calls it 'that Tok'ra look'—superior, aloof, faintly pitying, certain that he does not know what he is talking about. Jacob is no longer bothered by the look, in fact he finds it amusing, because when it comes to the Tau'ri, the Tok'ra are often wrong in their assessment.
"There will be no rescue attempt, Jacob." Her tone is rather gentle, which surprises him. "My life monitor was destroyed. They believe we are dead."
"That's what the Tok'ra will think," Jacob agrees. "But not my people. Not my daughter," he assures her. "Sam will figure it out; she and SG1 will come for us. We just have to hold on and not tell them anything."
45
It is the first time in two years that Jacob has been alone in his own head. He finds that it is a rather strange sensation. At times since his blending with Selmak, he has wondered if he's forgotten what it's like to be one person. Now he knows that he has not. It's like riding a bicycle, he supposes, chuckling to himself wryly at the hackneyed aphorism. Your body doesn't forget—no, something deeper than the body—the being, the self. He is extremely worried for Selmak, but at the same time too honest with himself not to admit that in a way he appreciates these hours of true privacy.
He remembers clearly how disturbing it was in the first weeks after his blending—to have thoughts, knowledge, memories even, which were not his, and yet felt so much like they belonged to him. Worse, to know that his own thoughts were open to another being. Gradually, he has become accustomed to Selmak's presence—it is now his 'second nature' indeed.
Humans are solitary creatures in their thoughts, after all; Jacob was always one of the most solitary; wary, and careful never to reveal too much of himself to anyone—not even to his own children, sadly. His wife was the only person who was ever permitted to know him completely, and she had to fight for it! While Debra was alive, he had an opening into the world—she was both doorway and buffer. After her death, he slammed the door shut against everyone, became the quintessential military man.
Blending with Selmak was a revolution—and a revelation. Jacob is thankful for her great age and wisdom; he isn't sure he would have been able to tolerate one of the (even slightly) younger and more rigid Tok'ra—and vice versa; he admits he was a difficult host. Surprisingly, he has learned a great deal from Selmak about relating to his fellow humans. Especially Sam. Selmak developed a deep fondness for Sam in a very short time, and refuses to allow Jacob to continue to shut himself off from her. At first Jacob was uncomfortable with this, but now he is very grateful. His relationship with his daughter has been closer and more fulfilling in these past two years than in all her life before. And he knows that she and Jack will not give up on them.
46
"You shouldn't be here," Sam protests as Jack steps into her quarters and closes the door behind him. He says nothing, just tilts his head slightly and reaches out to take her gently by the shoulders. She comes into his arms with no resistance.
"...but I'm glad you are," she adds, the words muffled against his shoulder. Her arms slide around his waist and hold on tight. She turns her head so that her face is against his neck.
One of his arms is firm across her back, and his other hand cradles the side of her head and her cheek. He lowers his face into her hair and kisses the top of her head.
"How ya doin'?" he asks softly.
"I don't know... I'm scared."
He feels tears on his hand and strokes her cheek with his thumb. "We'll do everything we can to find him, Sam. You know that. We won't give up." He tips her chin up. "Look at me," he says, and when she does, he goes on, "I promise you—I won't stop until we know what happened."
"I know..." She buries her face deeper against him. "I know."
He holds her close and she cries against his chest. After a few minutes she tries to say something with her face mashed against him, but he can't understand her. "Sam..." he whispers. Gathering her close, he moves them over to the bed where he lays them both down and wraps his arms around her.
Her tears slow after a few minutes. "I should have listened to him," she says.
"To... Jacob?" he asks.
She nods. "Yeah. After we got back from the mission he was talking about the operative on Apophis' ship. Leara. He was worried." She rubs her hand across her eyes. "I wasn't paying attention. He may have said something about what he was going to do. Something that would help us now. But I didn't hear it..."
Jack feels her start to tremble again. "Turn over and let me rub you back," he says gently.
After a moment's hesitation, she turns onto her stomach. He rolls up on his knees and sits astride her thighs, and begins at her lower back kneading the tense muscles there, slowly working his way up either side of her spine to her shoulders. "Mmmm... That feels so good..." she mumbles into the bedclothes. He works on her shoulders and neck for several minutes, then gradually retraces the path down the length of her back to her buttocks. Under his hands he can feel her relax, and can tell when her breathing evens out. When he reaches her shoulders again, he bends over her and puts his lips close to her ear.
"You awake, Carter?" The question is barely more than a breath.
"Mmmm..." she replies after a moment. She starts to roll onto her back and he stretches out beside her to give her room. "Thank you... That felt really good." Her eyes are closed.
"You're welcome." Jack props himself up on his elbow, and looks down at her. Even with her face puffy from crying she's beautiful. He leans down and kisses her cheek. She is so relaxed she nearly doesn't respond, but then she turns her head toward him and his next kiss lands on her mouth.
A small sound escapes her throat and her lips soften against his. Moving in closer, he teases with his tongue, inviting her to open to him. She does, and the kiss rapidly becomes urgent as he rolls his body partway onto hers and nudges a knee between her thighs. Unbuttoning her shirt, he slides his hand inside to caress her breast. The nipple rises to his touch and he feels an answering tightness in his groin. He plants kisses down the curve of her throat, lingering a moment on her collarbone, then takes his time finding his way up the swell of her breast until his tongue replaces his fingers on the rigid peak. She's so soft, and her skin smells so good...
"Jack... should we be doing this here," Sam whispers breathlessly. "What if somebody comes..."
"That's why I locked the door," Jack murmurs without removing his mouth from her breast.
"Oh." She closes her eyes and allows the sensations he is causing to wash over her.
47
It is Teal'c who finds the first clue. He has been in touch with Bra'tac, and has unearthed a rumor. "A new recruit to the Free Jaffa has recently arrived on Chulak, from the service of Mar'lek—a minor Goa'uld pledged to Apophis. It is said that there are Tok'ra prisoners on one of Apophis' ships, who are being tortured for information regarding the Tok'ra's current home base, as well as passcodes, battle plans and tactics. This recruit did not observe the prisoners himself, but the rumor is they are being held on the ha'tak commanded by the system lord, Farah—an ally of Apophis."
"So where do we find this Fairy?" Jack wants to know.
Daniel rolls his eyes and glances over at Sam, who merely shakes her head.
"The recruit did not know, O'Neill. Only that Farah's ship was one of those in the fleet which attacked Heru'ur."
"Most of those ships were damaged by the mines," Sam says.
"Which means they probably have a base where they can make repairs," Daniel adds. "Can we find out where they might go to do that?"
"Maybe the Tok'ra have that information," Sam suggests. "We should let them know about this anyway. This could be dangerous for them. If the Goa'uld can get information from the captives, it could compromise the Tok'ra base."
"I'll speak to the General about getting in touch with them again," Jack says.
48
Tellnon, of the Tok'ra High Council appears on the communication channel to the SGC with Fradeen and Ha'mara at his side. All three are deeply disturbed by the information conveyed to them by the Tau'ri.
"Any Tok'ra operative captured by the Goa'uld should have committed mak'lahr," Tellnon insists.
"And this is only a rumor," O'Neill says. "However, the possibility that it's true..."
"Cannot be ignored," Fradeen agrees.
Jack frowns. He hopes Freddy does not plan to make a habit of finishing his sentences! "Are you familiar with this system lord... Fairy?" he asks.
"Farah," Ha'mara corrects mildly. "I am. She has recently allied herself with Apophis, having held out until it became apparent that he would be able to amass the forces necessary to quell most resistance. Unfortunately, we have no operatives aboard her ships, and therefore cannot add any information to that which you have acquired."
"However," Tellnon says. "If there is a possibility of our people being held captive, we must take steps to move our headquarters quickly."
"Do you know of any planet which Apophis may be using as a base for repairs on his damaged ships?" Sam asks.
"There are three possibilities," Ha'mara says. "We are sending coordinates and gate addresses now."
"Thank you," Jack says. "If we need to contact you again...?"
"We will inform you when we have relocated our base," Tellnon says briefly. "Until then, I fear we will be out of reach." He glances at Ha'mara.
"I will contact you every two days until we have reestablished ourselves," Ha'mara tells them. "Good luck. Major Carter, I hope you find your father."
"Thank you," Sam says. "And good luck to you also."
The communication ends.
Within a very short time the computer has matched two of the gate addresses to planets previously visited by SG teams. One of them had been occupied by Heru'ur's forces at the time of the visit over a year ago, its native population enslaved. SG4 had made a hasty retreat once they realized the situation. The second had shown no sign of Goa'uld occupation, but scans had indicated modest deposits of naquadah; that planet is on the SGC's schedule for a revisit. The third address is not in the SGC computer. Its location is plotted as being on the edge of territory claimed by Apophis, and in the same general vicinity (galactically speaking) as the other two worlds.
"We should start with P5Y-884, the planet formerly belonging to Heru'ur, sir," Sam suggests. "The slave society was already in place. All Apophis had to do was substitute one overlord for another. There may already be infrastructure for docking and repairing."
"I agree, sir," Jack says to General Hammond. "But we need teams sent to the other addresses just in case."
The leaders of several SG teams are seated around the briefing room table, with team members standing nearby. They have been briefed on the situation, and what their objective is going to be.
"Very well," Hammond agrees. "We'll check out 884 first. SG1 and SG5 will be ready to go through the gate if it's clear. The report of our team last year indicated that the stargate is some distance from any settlements, but it may be guarded." He nods toward O'Neill, and SG5's leader, Lt. Colonel Victor Sharp. "Colonel Reynolds, you'll take SG3 and 12 to the unknown address. Colonel Dixon, SG3 and 8 will investigate the planet with the naquadah. Col. O'Neill, Col. Sharp, have your teams ready in thirty minutes. The rest of you be geared up in one hour. Dismissed."
There is a brief period of restrained chaos as all of the teams exit the briefing room. The other teams stand aside to allow SG1 and SG5 first access to the equipment room and armory. In exactly thirty minutes both teams are in the gate room as the MALP is sent through to P5Y-884.
49
Jacob falls back, exhausted, from the latrine corner of their cell. He is as sick as he ever felt when he took chemo for his cancer—and he is doing it deliberately. He only hopes he has rid his body of enough of the sedative which he was forced to drink a few minutes ago by the guards.
"Jacob?" Leara is sitting against the far wall. "What...?"
"If I can get enough of that poison out..." He pauses to breathe. "...maybe Selmak can overcome it..."
Leara watches him, seeing his breath come in gasps. She does not understand the stubbornness of the Tau'ri. He still fights when there is no chance of winning. Still insists that his people will come for them. If he manages to revive Selmak, what will that accomplish? They will know—they will see his renewed strength and find a way to force the sedative on him again.
Leara has resigned herself to her death. She only hopes it comes before the Goa'uld can torture any vital information out of her. If she had the means, she would end it now. It is not that she does not wish to live. But it is the best way to protect the Tok'ra race. It is what experience has taught them, what training demands of them—sacrifice of oneself to save the group. Do not waste resources on rescue, there are too few of us as is.
But Jacob still fights.