Sticks and Stones - Chapter 43 - by Emma Nisbet (grnfield)
Mickey Davies watched apprehensively as Sam and Lou were led towards the doorway. The Jaffa standing beside him motioned toward Lieutenant Sands and, crouching down, Mickey arranged the limbs of the body in such a way as to make it easier to lift. Sands had been a bulkier man than the more slightly built Mickey Davies but the young man was determined to take his friend home with as much dignity as possible. As carefully as he could he lifted the body of his fallen comrade onto his shoulders, and swayed for a moment as he became used to his new centre of gravity. He was aware of the tears streaming down his face but wasn't prepared to release his tight hold on Jimmy Sands to do anything about them.
Standing up straighter Mickey caught Sam's gaze. If it hadn't been for Sam's plea to Osiris then Mickey was certain he would have met a similar fate to that of the man currently lying across his shoulders. He shuddered at this thought and made a silent vow that he'd return with a rescue party as soon as he possibly could.
He risked a glance at his guardian, a massive warrior bearing the mark of Imhotep, and was taken aback when the warrior's eyes met his own. The Jaffa held the gaze for a moment and Mickey was certain he saw a look of pity in the eyes of the large warrior. When the moment passed the Jaffa gave him a nod and a gentle shove in the direction of the door. Mickey slowly started moving across the room, just as Lou and Sam disappeared from view.
#
Struggling with the weight across his shoulders, Mickey's progress down the corridors was slow. His single Jaffa guard gave the impression that he was in no hurry to escort the young man to the ring transporter and seemed content to let Mickey set the pace.
Mickey himself would have preferred to travel at a faster speed than that which he found possible though. He wanted off the ship in as swift a time as he could possibly manage. Every moment that he was aboard the vessel was another moment that Sam or Lou were at risk of being tortured, maimed or even killed.
#
As they progressed further down the deserted corridors, Mickey noticed that the Jaffa began to look more than a little disturbed. Every time they came across an intersection the warrior would take furtive glances down each of the connecting passageways. Mickey was unsure as to whether his guard was worried about the lack of life on the ship or relieved about the very same thing. It worried Mickey that maybe the warrior was simply going to dispose of both himself and Jimmy Sands instead of sending them back to the planet as he had been ordered. It would simply take three blasts from the Zat that the warrior carried on his arm and his job would be done.
Steeling himself for a possible sudden death situation, Mickey continued to mechanically place one foot in front of another as he paced slowly down the corridor. Only one spark of hope now remained within him - the memory of the look of pity that the Jaffa had given him right before they left the pel'tak of the ship.
#
As it became obvious that they were approaching the ring transporter area the Jaffa stopped Mickey with a gentle hand on his arm. Mickey instinctively flinched away from the touch and the Jaffa had to grip him hard to stop both Mickey and Jimmy crashing to the floor.
Taking another careful look around, the Jaffa stepped in front of Mickey and whispered urgently to him. "Please, do not be afraid. My name is Dal'nar, and I will not harm you but I must ask for information from you."
"Oh, erm…you don't intend to kill me?" Mickey asked cautiously.
"Never, do not concern yourself, you are safe in my presence," Dal'nar stated quietly. "Please, I need to know - is it true that you travel with Teal'c of Chulak? The Shol'va, as he is known to the Gods."
"Teal'c of Chulak?" Mickey questioned, clearly confused by the Jaffa's sudden willingness to talk. "Er, Teal'c…Teal'c's on SG-2. He's part of the same team as Major Carter and Colonel Ferretti. Wh…why?"
"He is on the same team?" queries Dal'nar. "But then why is he not here with his brothers in arms? And what of his symbiote? Is it also true that he no longer carries the larval form of our Gods?"
Crinkling his forehead Mickey tried to work out if Dal'nar was genuine or was simply fishing for information that he could feed back to Osiris. Dal'nar could see the wrinkle of doubt forming on the young man's face and gripped him firmly but gently by both arms before bringing his eyes level with the young man's. "You must tell me. Teal'c of Chulak may be our hope for freedom. For many years I served the great Lord Imhotep. Many moons ago he enlisted the help of Teal'c of Chulak but something went wrong and Teal'c returned to challenge our God in the ritual of jomo'sequ. When the bout was ended this Teal'c of Chulak was victorious and our God was dead. If this Jaffa was capable of killing Imhotep then clearly our God was not in truth the powerful leader of warriors that he was supposed to be, and this started a great deal of discussions about the true power of the Gods."
"Once Imhotep was gone many of our people returned to their homes and families but Lord Ba'al soon learned about his demise and had his Jaffa search us out. We were driven out of our homes and herded like cattle onto many great ships. Once we were separated from our loved ones our main aim in life became to escape from Ba'al's regime even though we did not know whether it would ever be safe to return to our homes again. Many of us perished during several failed escape attempts and the remainder were eventually 'presented'…" Dal'nar spat out the word with great distaste. "…to Lord Osiris along with a great number of other Jaffa from many different Gods who have been overthrown by Lord Ba'al. Lord Osiris is a bad leader with a foul temper and many of my brothers have perished under the fire in his hand."
"As more Jaffa have been deposited within our ranks we have heard many rumours of the great deeds being done by Teal'c of Chulak and his Tau'ri comrades. It is even said that Teal'c and the Tau'ri were responsible for the destruction of Lord's Apophis and Sokar. The prison moon of Netu had been destroyed once and for all?"
Bolstered by the fact that this Jaffa so-far hadn't hurt or killed him, Mickey decided to trust the him and answered as best he could. "Teal'c's on the planet below. He's protecting the Chamakan people and will hopefully be able to lead them to safety. As…as far as I know…yes…SG-1 killed Sokar, and they blew up Netu. A…Apophis…well we've thought him dead before so I really don't know."
"Teal'c of Chulak is here. That is admirable news. You must go now and take your brother home. If you can, get Teal'c of Chulak and the one they call O'Neill and bring them here. While you are gone I will rally my brothers and inform them that the Tau'ri are coming. You may still encounter some resistance on your return as I cannot risk speaking to the Jaffa of Ba'al or Osiris himself, however the resistance will be much reduced than had I not spoken to my kin. Your friends will have been taken to the Jaffa quarters near the uppermost point of the ship, I will not be able to release them but I will ensure they are supplied with sufficient fluids and nourishment while they are there. Lord An is also in the quarters there but this will not affect any rescue mission that your people may wish to carry out."
Davies absorbed the information as best he could, and repeated it back to Dal'nar as he was told it. "Top of the ship, OK. Got it. Who is Lord An? Is he another Goa'uld? Why is he not a threat?"
Dal'nar let out a frustrated growl. "It is true, you Tau'ri are a most questioning race. Lord An is the child who was chosen to be the next host for the Lord Ba'al. He was apparently given to Ba'al by one of Nirrti's handmaidens in payment for safe passage off the deserted planet where she had been posted. As per her training she had created the child and started his training but ended up with no use for him once she discovered that Nirrti had perished. Ba'al was delighted with his new 'pet' for a short while until it was discovered that he was defective. Ba'al flew into a rage when news of the defect became known and ordered him disposed of. Several of the female Jaffa who had been in charge of his care smuggled him onto the ship when they discovered that it would be leaving the area but unfortunately no females were included among the Jaffa presented to Osiris. It has therefore been left to the sympathetic ones among us to ensure he has been nourished but this has proved extremely problematic as the child seems to be terrified of any of us who attempt to approach him. Sending him down to the planet would have meant certain death due to his defect but I am afraid that he may in fact have little time left before he perishes nonetheless. I hope it may be possible that your people could take him, as you may have more success in supplying him with the care he needs."
With that, Dal'nar straightened to full height and ensured Mickey was standing steadily before letting go of his arms. Slipping into the correct position behind his prisoner Dal'nar escorted him the last few turns until the circular pattern of the ring came into view.
Positioning the young man safely in the centre of the rings the Jaffa gave him a firm pat on the arm before stepping back towards the control panel.
Mickey nodded to confirm he was ready and clung tighter to the body on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes tightly against the incoming rush of light that the rings would produce as they dropped around him. With a whoosh of noise and a rush of air the rings dropped taking Mickey and Jimmy almost instantaneously down to the planets surface.
#
The two Marines guarding the gate weren't really expecting any activity before the sun rose. Teal'c and the Chamakan population had travelled through the gate a couple of hours previously and the sun was now only barely starting over the horizon.
Both men looked upwards as they heard the crackle of the Ha'tak vessel re-entering the atmosphere and realised something was clearly about to happen. They immediately assumed they were about to be struck down by the Ha'tak's weapons and dived for cover in the trees radioing their sleeping comrades to warn them as they ran.
When the Ha'tak came no nearer and fired no ammunition into the clearing the four men crept closer to the edge of the trees where they ensured they had a clear view of the gate. After a fraught couple of minutes the distinctive sound of a ring transporter rang across the quiet landscape. Moments later five huge rings dropped from the sky, just in front of the gate, and the figures of two olive-clad men came into view. One was supporting the other across his shoulders but as the rings travelled back towards the ship the standing man's knees gave way and both men fell to the ground with an audible thud.
After a stunned couple of seconds the four Marines sprung into action. Moving as one they hurtled out of the trees and towards the jumbled pair of people in the centre of the clearing. Sliding to a halt in front of the two men, the commander of the Marines, James Benson, an older generation soldier in his last rotation before retirement, could see that one of the men was dead and by the awful pallor of his skin it was clear he had been dead for some time. Carefully Benson rolled the body of Jimmy Sands off of the now sobbing Mickey Davies and, realising who the young airman was, and seeing the distress he was in, the father of four, leaned the young man into his chest and offered him the only comfort he could at that moment. Between sobs Benson managed to establish that both Major Carter and Colonel Ferretti had been captured and were being held prisoner in the Jaffa quarters. The message then got a little garbled as Mickey's distress grew but the message that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were requested got through loud and clear.
The lower ranking Marines, seeing that their commanding officer was otherwise engaged, moved the body away a little distance and carefully laid it on the ground. They then moved off into the wood and located a couple of sturdy branches and began to fashion a litter with which to carry the body home in a presentable manner.
Removing their jackets they threaded the branches through the arms and created the makeshift stretcher. Gently they lifted the body of Lieutenant Sands and placed him onto it, respectfully covering him from head-to-toe with a space blanket and then stood and patiently waited for their commander.
Benson gently encouraged Mickey to compose himself and gave the young man's neck a gentle squeeze as he scrubbed his face dry. The old Marine then stood up, stepped forwards and examined the litter and ordered his second-in-command to dial them home.