Part 85
The first time Jack woke up all he could register was pain. Burning. Intense. He felt it most in his right leg, just above his knee. He closed his eyes and all went silent once more.
*
"There has to be some kind of signature that we can trace?" Hammond demanded gruffly as he stared through the wide glass window at the gate that sat solemn and silent in the next room.
The scene of the abduction was now cleared of bodies; they were in the Morgue, being investigated, while a few floors away Doctor Fraiser worked furiously to save the one lone survivor of the vicious attack. The stench of burnt flesh had permeated the air ducts and wafted throughout the lower floors, making all that could smell it sick.
Emotions were strained but the personnel had returned to their duties, new soldiers replaced dead comrades in the gate room, while technicians worked steadily to ensure any future incoming wormhole were indicated more quickly than this one had been. Everyone was wired, every nerve and cell of every personnel member was charged, and tempers were frayed. All were on full alert should the Alien make a return visit.
Sam Carter also worked furiously, trying to see if there was any way of finding a trace of the wormhole but even she kept pulling up blank in every avenue she tried. Graham stood behind her, his arms wrapped across his body and his face in a scowl of concern as he watched her work. He'd give anything for her to be able to produce the old 'Carter Magic' that often pulled rabbits out of hats. Unfortunately, it seemed like no bunny was home this time!
With an exasperated growl she slammed her hand against the screen and said, through gritted teeth, "There's just nothing there!" After she caught her breath she looked over her shoulder to the General behind her and said, "I'm sorry, Sir. I've got no idea how he masked it."
Hammond nodded and looked out through the glass window. "Won't be the first time we couldn't trace a wormhole, Major."
"Maybe they'll come back on their own," Harriman suggested from where he sat beside Carter.
She looked at him then sighed as she said, "It's been over an hour. If they could get back, they'd have done it by now." As she looked away she caught the reflection of Graham in the window before her. She turned to look at him and saw the worry in his eyes, bottled up and unable to be expressed. She really felt for him at that moment.
Graham stepped up to the back of her chair as he responded to Harriman's suggestion in a grave voice, "Daniel was unarmed and the Colonel only had Harper's M-16. Harper would have fired off a lot of rounds into the beast before he was.." He paused then pressed on, "So there's no saying how much protection they have out there."
*
The second time Jack woke up it was cold. He was shivering and the pain was dulled. He tried to lift his head off the hard surface he lay facedown on, but he didn't have the strength. As he shivered and his breath shook from his body his eyes closed again and lost consciousness.
*
Sam walked over to where Graham stood in the back of the Control room, cradling a cup of hot coffee between his palms.
"How're you holding up?"
Graham sighed and shook his head as he put the cup against his lips. He couldn't talk, not right now, and not to her. What could he say? We had an argument? The last things we said to each other were hard and angry? He gulped back on the boiling liquid, the pain as it seared the roof of his mouth couldn't still the thoughts whirling in his mind. They had to get Daniel back. He had to be safe. It couldn't be like this!
"I'm going to get something to eat," she told him. "I missed lunch and as strange as it is to think about food at a time like this...."
"You have to keep up your strength," he finished for her, his voice barely louder than a hoarse whisper.
She nodded then jutted her thumb over her shoulder as she asked, "Want me to bring you back something?"
He shook his head numbly then said, "I had lunch."
His words caught in his throat as they made him think of Daniel again – and how he’d been too busy to stop to eat. How, when they’d kissed, he’d tasted of the ham and cheese sandwich he’d given him - and coffee. Daniel always tasted like coffee. Graham quickly gulped back another mouthful of the hot liquid in the need to stem those thoughts edging into his mind.
She watched him for another moment then said, "Well, if you're sure." She started to turn then looked back at him. "Did you say something?"
He met her gaze. He didn't realize he'd said anything out loud. With a dismissive shake of his head, he muttered, “I was just thinking.."
She tilted her head. "About?"
"The Tok'Ra."
She frowned. "Pardon?"
Graham wasn't sure of his suggestion so tentatively broached it with her. "Why don't we ask the Tok'Ra to help? Maybe they've encountered these aliens before!"
Sam nodded then said, in an explosion of enthusiasm, "It might be worth a try! Why didn't I think of that?"
She grabbed the lieutenant's wrist and ran up the stairs to the room above with him. Hammond, Major Davis and Teal'c were seated around the table, trying to work on a plan themselves.
"Sir!" Sam announced as she raced to the table. "Lieutenant Simmons' has a suggestion."
"What is it?" Hammond asked quickly, swept up by her enthusiasm.
"The Tok'Ra," Simmons said then looked at the other two men at the table before he started to lose his nerve. He looked over at Sam and she gave him an encouraging nod. He inhaled deeply then said, his voice now confident, "I was trying to think about what Dr. Jackson would do in a situation like this.."
"And he'd enlist the help of our Allies," Major Davis said, with a nod.
"Exactly," Graham agreed and chanced a smile at the Major's seeming agreement.
"I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier," Sam started to say.
"Teal'c, did you ever come across this race of alien in your role as First Prime for Apophis?" Major Davis finished a question he'd started before they were interrupted.
The Jaffa's eyes shifted to stare at Graham, even though he was answering Major Davis' question. "I have not. Nor do I recall legend of them. If we had encountered these aliens before, there would be Jaffa Legends about them."
Graham sighed in irritation then said, "But they have to have been around a while. I'm sure you didn't encounter *every* race there was out there!" He held Teal'c's unwavering gaze then said, "Maybe someone *else* has encountered them!"
Hammond addressed Carter. "Try contacting the Tok'Ra. We'll see if they have any idea about these Aliens."
Sam nodded sharply and turned on her heels to leave. Graham grabbed her arm lightly as she passed him. "Or at least, a home address," he muttered to her as she past him. She stopped briefly and squeezed his arm in a show of silent support before she trotted down the stairs to the Control Room.
"I'll go with her," Graham said before he cast a glance at Teal'c, who had not taken his eyes off the younger man. Without another word he left the room and followed Sam downstairs.
*
"Jack!"
The voice was far away and he knew he'd heard it somewhere before.
"Jack, wake up!"
With a start the sable-brown eyes shot open and Jack gathered his bearings for a second. It was cold! Freezing cold! His breath turned into vapor the second it hit the surrounding air. The sky was growing dark. Night? If it was getting dark that had to mean he'd been there, face down, on the dais of the gate for.. hours! Suddenly he wasn't sure if he was happy that there had been no rescue attempt- or he'd have been 'gone'.. But.. that also meant that there was no rescue attempt because.. there was no rescue..
With a groan he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky. Orange streaks over darkening blue. On an evening back at home, on earth, in Philip's arms, that might be a good look - but here, on an alien world, growing colder than words, his leg damaged by some kind of alien attack, he could be forgiven for not seeing the beauty in the situation.
He struggled onto his side and tried to sit up. Again his whole body shook with the effort. Disorientated, he looked around at the empty landscape and tried to remember what had happened. He'd cleared the gate after chasing the alien up the ramp. Stupid idea, O'Neill! He berated himself under his breath then winced when he moved and a sharp pain stung up his thigh and into his groin.
"Holy shit!" He groaned, gripped his leg and flopped to the slate in agony. As he lay panting he continued to work on piecing the events together. He'd grabbed the gun from Harper and wanted to get a clear shot of the alien-hairy-monster-thing that had Daniel by the neck, but he couldn't get a shot and he wouldn't risk Daniel. When the beast disappeared through the horizon the last thing Jack saw was Daniel's eyes, staring straight at him - silently pleading with him to save him. There was no choice. Jack knew there were no coordinates to use to chase after them so he did the only thing he could think to do. He threw himself at the gate and hoped to god it didn't close on him!
He vaguely remembered coming out the other side, and then shots. The same sound as in the gate room. He didn't even get the chance to open his eyes from the ride before he felt the hit in the knee and he went down - hard! He could recall a sickening crack as his cheek hit the stone. Touching his hand to his face now, he wasn't surprised to pull away blood-tipped fingers. Luckily it wasn't that bad a gash. Even luckier was the fact that he hadn't broken his cheek or neck when he crashed down.
He shuffled across the stones on his side. He needed to look around before it got too much darker. The gate was behind him to the left, the DHD was down at the base of the steps to his right and Daniel was by his feet, lying lifeless on his side, his face from Jack's view.
DANIEL!
It had been Daniel that had called to him; Jack knew he knew that voice!
"Daniel!" His voice tore harshly from his dried throat and he winced. He tried to swallow but he had no spit. "Danny!" It came out as nothing more than a raspy whisper. The body beside him didn't move.
Jack pressed his hands against the stones and scraped himself across the uneven surface. Sharp, excruciating pain jabbed him in his right thigh, just above the knee and he immediately flinched and touched his hand to the throbbing site. Bad move! His hand sunk into the mess of flesh and tore jeans. Jack lifted his hands and saw globules of blood on his fingertips. He looked down at his leg and swallowed his scream. His knee was torn open; blood pooled around his leg and stuck his pants to the stones. A tug freed him but he didn't like the amount of blood he'd lost. That would definitely slow him down.
Without the strength to lift off the stone hearth any further he dragged himself on his elbows across to Daniel's body and gripped up the back of the black t-shirt in his fist. He shook him hard.
"Daniel. Wake up!"
If Daniel was asleep, how could he have heard his voice calling to him?"
Jack shook him again. "Dammit, Daniel! Wake up!"
The body lay lifeless. Jack wanted to see his face, to see if he looked alive but unconscious - or something else. He dug his fingers into the stone and clawed his way around to the other side of the body.
Jack screwed his face up at the sight he saw. It was hard to tell if his friend was alive or not. Daniel's face was a mess of blood, his glasses were smashed and glass was embedded into his cheek. From the position of his face Jack figured that he'd been dropped out of the alien's arm as they came through. Dropped, Jack surmised, straight onto his face. Best thing he could hope for was that all that the blood was from a broken nose. Worse case scenario was it was an internal hemorrhage that had leaked out.
"JACKSON!" He hissed and started to kick at him with his good leg. The body shook then Daniel suddenly sucked back a breath and started choking. He rolled over and spewed up blood onto the stone.
Jack was still grimacing as he watched him settle back onto his side and wipe his hand over his mouth. He gave a loud cry as he brushed his very swollen nose. Broken nose, Jack thought to himself.
"Holy Jesus Christ!" Daniel screamed and flapped his hands as the intense pain overcame him.
"Shh!" Jack kicked him again to get him to shut up.
Daniel peered at him through swollen slits. "Jack?" He looked at him then at the gate. "What 'appened?"
"Talk later. Right now, get us the hell out of here!"
Daniel pressed himself up onto a hip and looked around. It was almost dark now and the world looked void of civilization, at least around the gate. He noticed Jack's civilian clothing, and then he noticed the torn and bloodied jeans. He cringed as he peered closer at it.
"Just dial the damn DHD," Jack said faintly as he swayed slightly then settled his gun onto his thigh and yanked out the cartridge. He estimated that he had about twelve shots left. He jammed the magazine back into place and set the gun on single-shot. He couldn’t afford to waste the ammo.
Daniel eyed him as he got to his feet unsteadily.
"Danny!" Jack whispered loudly. The younger man looked down at him. "B'careful!"
Daniel nodded and watched the horizon as he descended the steps towards the DHD. Just as he reached the front of the device a shot rang out over his head. The Anthropologist ducked then shielded himself from the shower of shots that whizzed overhead. The sound was nothing like the guns he'd ever used, nor did it have the zing of a zat-gun, nor the zap of a staff weapon. He heard Jack return two shots. The hostiles stopped shooting.
Daniel looked at the man, sprawled awkwardly on his side on the dais - open and vulnerable to enemy fire. He swallowed blood then edged his way around the DHD again. As soon as his face appeared at the front of the unit another shower of shots rained over his head. He ducked again and caught his breath as he squatted against the back of the unit.
He looked over at Jack. The colonel had returned another two shots but the firing ceased as soon as Daniel disappeared from view.
"Dial us home!" Jack hissed at him.
"I can't! They shoot at me when I try!" Daniel said
Jack glared at him and that spurred Daniel into action. With gritted teeth he rounded the unit and managed a glimpse of the symbols before he felt and heard a shot whiz past his left ear.
“Shit!” He winced and pressed the first symbol, frantically searching the unfamiliar surface for the next symbol while at the same time trying to work out which was the symbol for this world. It wasn’t easy without his glasses and in the dimming light, but he was sure of the second and third symbol and pressed them confidently. Another shot whizzed past him, this time it moved his hair it was so close. The anthropologist dropped to the ground and covered his head.
“Danny!” Jack screamed out when he could no longer see his friend.
“I’m okay!” Daniel called back from where he remained curled into a ball in front of the DHD. “Give me a minute!”
“I’ll give you cover!” Jack said as he knocked the gun to the three-shot setting. “On three! One.. Two… Three..” Jack started shooting towards the bushes and Daniel jumped to his feet and frantically tried to press the remaining symbols while a volley of gunfire whirred beside him.
As he reached across for the fifth symbol an explosion blew him backwards. He landed hard on his back then he quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to keep his head low and out of the range of the gunfire as he went back to the unit. He stopped and stared at what he saw now – he was unable to believe his eyes. The red center was blown away, completely gone. The DHD was destroyed.
Daniel raced around the device and leapt onto the platform and slid behind Jack who was still firing at the hostiles. Just as he tucked himself in behind his friend he heard the gut-wrenching sound of metal clicking in an empty chamber. The gun was out of ammo.
“Shit. Shit. Shit!” Jack hissed in anger. Daniel knew they had to get out of there so he grabbed Jack around the waist and started to drag him away from the gate. The exertion made his nose bleed again and it sent shooting pains up the backs of his eyes, but he didn’t care. He had to get Jack out of the line of fire.
"Danny! Danny! Stop!" Jack cried out after they’d struggled only a few inches together. “Listen!”
Daniel stopped, listened and then they both looked around. The shooting had ceased. Jack looked over his shoulder at the man who still had hold of him.
"Did you get them?" Daniel asked as his swollen eyes darted around the out-of-focus surrounding shrubs.
"Impossible. I counted at least four hostiles. Ten O'clock. Twelve O'clock. Two O'clock and Four O'clock."
Daniel looked in those directions. Jack might have hit the ones at the front but it was unlikely that he hit the one to the side of them. "Why did they stop shooting then?" he whispered. A cold wind whipped around them and he shivered.
"Let me go," Jack said and Daniel, who had forgotten he was holding him, released him and they both collapsed to the stone again. Gingerly Daniel tried to wipe the blood from his nose and upper lip then he turned his head and spat in the effort to rid his mouth of the metallic taste of blood.
Jack looked at the splodge of blood that landed right next to his hand then he tilted his head and asked, "You okay?"
"All I can taste is blood," Daniel muttered and wiped his tongue with the back of his hand. Jack arched his brow. It was unlikely that would taste any better than the blood. Daniel's reaction confirmed that as the young man screwed his face up and then tried to wipe his mouth on his sleeve. Jack looked down at his leg. When Daniel was moving him the pain was excruciating. Now that he was immobile it was just barely tolerable - and Jack had a high threshold for pain. He had nowhere to go on this though. If they stayed there, they were sitting ducks, and whatever game the hostiles were playing might not allow them much more time before they came out of the shrubs and after them.
“If you go to the DHD again, I won’t be able to protect you,” Jack said as he kicked the gun aside in disgust and didn’t care that it slid down the first two steps.
“It doesn’t matter, Jack,” Daniel said, cringing internally at the news he had to deliver. “The DHD has been blown up.”
Jack’s mouth dropped open then he screwed his eyes shut tightly and growled as he flopped onto his back. “Je-Hesus!” He cried out through gritted teeth. “This is impossible.”
“No, not impossible,” Daniel said as he got to his knees then gripped Jack under the arms again.
“You can’t lift me, Daniel. I weigh more than you do!”
“So?” The younger man almost strained himself in his effort to drag Jack off the dais. The blood from his nose dripped onto Jack’s ear.
“Put me down!” Jack growled then grunted as Daniel did as he was told before he collapsed to his butt next to him and dropped his face into his hands.
“Is this the part where we bend over and kiss our ass goodbye?” The desolate man mumbled.
“As tempting as that offer might be,” Jack grimaced as he moved. “This is not a good day to die! Help me up!”
Daniel got to his feet quickly then bent over to help Jack up. He pulled his friend’s arm across his shoulder and held him firmly as he slipped his other arm around his waist and hitched him onto his hip.
"You sure about this Jack?" His voice was strained with concern as he glanced down at the leg Jack was favoring as he braced his body against Daniel's.
"We have got to find shelter!" Jack grunted when he put a little weight onto his foot. Daniel tightened his hold and lifted Jack a little higher as they struggled to the edge of the dais, then into the dense trees beside it.
*
Sam hurried up to the General, who was now in his office talking with Major Davis as they checked over a medical report together. He'd just received news that the officer that survived the attack would live. That news was his only glimmer of hope in the destruction and desolation.
"General," Sam said as she passed through his door.
"Any news, Major?"
"They're on their way."
Davis looked at Hammond then focused on Sam. "The Tok'ra?"
She nodded then directed her report to the Commanding Officer. "They think they might know who the aliens are."
Hammond breathed a small sigh of relief. Whatever help they could get on this was a reward.
“Let’s go down and greet them,” the General said as he swept out of the room.
*
After they'd gone a short distance Jack gave a howl then hissed, "Stop!"
Daniel eased him down onto a rock and then looked around, trying to see if they were safe there. He felt nervous. "Jack, we need to keep moving," he said then turned his head and spat out another clot of blood that had leaked down from the back of his nose into his mouth. He coughed then wiped his sleeve across his bottom lip.
Jack eyed him tiredly. "We need shelter. At the moment we're aimless and we're still target practice."
Daniel nodded and looked around. He could see what might have been a cave a few yards away. "Wait here!" He said then slinked off into the undergrowth.
"DANIEL!" Jack called quietly after him but it was to no avail. The anthropologist disappeared into the thick foliage and Jack was left to wait alone.
*
Carter, Hammond and Davis stood at the base of the ramp as Martouf and Jake entered through the gate. Sam smiled at her father. He greeted her with a warm hug then pulled back and looked at Hammond.
"I'm sorry to always be calling on you for help," Hammond said.
"What are friends for?" Jake said, and then he smiled at his daughter.
She returned a grave smile as she explained, "At about fifteen-thirty today our iris was compromised by an alien we've never seen before. From the reports, there was no warning. We knew there was an open wormhole on the other side of the shield, but- She shrugged. Her father nodded.
"You thought you were impenetrable."
"In a word," Hammond said. The older Carter looked at him.
"No one's impenetrable, George," he said grimly.
"So we've discovered," Hammond nodded. "And now we've lost Dr Jackson and Colonel O'Neill. They're out there somewhere and we have no idea where."
Jake's eyes lifted to the window on the third floor. "Let's go and talk upstairs."
*
It wasn't long before Daniel was back though and a look of renewed optimism lit his blood-streaked face.
"I've found a cave." He waved his hand in the general direction from whence he came. He looked down at Jack's leg and noticed the material glistened in the moonlight. That meant the leg was still bleeding, and Jack would need to rest soon, and he'd have to tourniquet it before Jack passed out from lack of blood. It was also getting unbearably cold. The Colonel was slightly bent forward, his hand on the rock to support himself as he breathed deeply.
"Far?"
"I'll help you get there," Daniel said then squatted and helped Jack to his feet again. "Guess you're going to be kissing those jeans goodbye." He said as he eased Jack against the side of his body again and held on tight to the arm across his shoulders.
Jack gave a grunt of a reply then mumbled, "They're Phil's favorite pair, too!"
*
"From the description you have given us, we believe the race you encountered was the Pihanas," Selmak explained.
"They are hunters," Martouf joined in. "It is most likely that Dr Jackson was taken for that purpose."
"They're going to hunt him?"
"It is their way," Martouf said matter-of-factly. "They invade worlds, steal the inhabitants and take them back to their world - for hunting."
"For Sport?" Teal'c asked.
Martouf turned to look at the man beside him. "No, they are hunters."
"They will eat him, when they catch him," Selmak said without emotion. Sam looked at the General with renewed desperation in her eyes.
He nodded and addressed the elder Tok'Ra. "You've encountered them before?"
"They took three of our operatives in the field when they raided a world we'd infiltrated."
"Do you know of the location of this world?" Teal'c asked, his voice stoical.
"No-" Selmak told them and the room became crest-fallen.
"But we do know how to get there by ship," Martouf said.
Sam frowned. "How can that be?"
"We have tried many variations of the co ordinations however nothing will lock into their gate. We tried for many weeks."
"If you gave us what you had we could run the co ordinations through our computers," the astrophysicist suggested. Martouf's eyes lifted to the Tok’ra who was standing behind Sam's chair. Selmak gave a slight nod. Martouf lowered his eyes to Sam's blue gaze. "As you wish. However, may I suggest we also leave immediately in a ship, just in case you are not successful."
"Sure!" She said quickly.
"It will take at least a day and a half to travel to their world," Jake informed them. Hammond looked at his friend.
"Take whoever you need."
"I will need some of your best soldiers. Teal'c, would you accompany us?"
The Jaffa bowed his head. Jake said, "I'd like to take Sam, but I think you'd be needed here."
The Major was in quandary. She wanted to be there for Daniel and Jack, but she wasn't sure the best way to achieve that. By staying and working, perhaps fruitlessly, on the co ordinates, or to go and lend military support to what might be a blood bath.
"I agree," Hammond settled the decision for her. "You would serve them more if you remained here. No one knows this system like you do, Major. If anyone can make the co ordinations work, it will be you."
Sam gave a faint, but proud, smile at that praise then turned to her father.
"I'll continue to try to open the gate and if we can reach them first we'll go through and bring them home."
"We'll be out of contact within hours of leaving here," Jake reminded her. She nodded.
"I'll tie a ribbon around the gate to tell you we've got them," she said with a weak smile and a wink. He smiled and touched her face.
"You do that, kiddo."
Hammond pushed himself up to his feet. "If everyone knows their tasks, you have a go."
<End of part 85>
Stories on this page are the property of Nessessitee and Slida. Please do not copy these without the written permission of the Author. All Rights are acknowledged for MGM, Gekko and Stargate Productions as to the Copyrights of the characters within this story and no infringement on the copyrights are intended. For the Bombshells Series the character of Philip Simmons is entirely the creation and intellectual property of Nessessitee and Slida.
While the performances given by RDA and MS help to fuel the author's desire to write for their characters in a niche that she feels is present on the actual show, the portrayal of their characters in loving relationships in no way reflects the Author's opinion of the men's private life, nor should it be construed in that manner.