The Stargate flickered. The team, too occupied with their packing of their gear, didn't see the chevrons light up for a moment and then fade.
"Daniel. Dial us home." Jack said curtly as he packed up the last of the weapons. "Hurry up before the natives decide that we are not innocent travelers after all and really are demons. The prospect of being skewered for crimes we didn't commit don't really appeal to me." Jack's eyes darkened, but didn't say what memories his words had dredged up.
"It was a convincing argument, sir." Carter defended Daniel as the anthropologist veered around the packs on the floor of the stone temple. Outside, the winds were beginning to pick up again. "Daniel was able to argue the case that we weren't evil like the Go'ualds who first came here so long ago."
"By volunteering to walk through the fire trial?" Jack said, remembering his fury as he realized where the natives were taking Daniel. "For crying out loud, if it wasn't a bluff, he would have been roasted. I didn't come here for a team barbecue."
"They were convinced though, Jack." Daniel said as he reached the DHD. "Otherwise they would have done the trials after all." Daniel looked up with a grin. "I didn't have anything to worry about. They liked me. It's you they were offended with. That's what got us started on this mess about us being demons."
"Say one remark about their damn short huts and what I get?"
"Extra crispy Colonel fritters." Daniel quipped as he began punching the symbols for home.
"Ha ha, Daniel."
"What is a fritter?" Teal'c wanted to know.
"Never mind, Teal'c." Jack glared at Daniel.
"You said I needed a sense of humor-" Daniel frowned as two of the symbols faded. "That's weird. They lighted out, Jack."
"Maybe not enough power." Carter suggested. "The temple is crumbling. It could be that. The caves underneath the temple appear to be very old."
Daniel nodded, agreeing. He looked at Jack, silently asking "What now?"
"Great. Anyone got a battery?" Jack bellowed. The team looked at him blankly. He shook his head. "Look, Daniel, try again. A little quicker before they fade and we headtail it out of here before the electricity bill comes."
"Okay, Jack. You're the leader." Daniel quickly punched the symbols again.
"That's what it says on my jacket." Jack quipped as they got the equipment ready. He looked around the temple and muttered "Good riddance."
"Got it!" Daniel announced as the last symbol was punched in.
"Told you." Jack said as he waited for the last chevron to light up on the Stargate and for the telltale hum of an activating Stargate.
There was no light for the seventh chevron.
There was no telltale hum.
What there was...was an abrupt flash of light, followed by a huge boom.
Jack felt his feet lifted up before the boom was heard. Then he was flying.
Actually, he was flung. Across the temple.
As he struggled to throw the blanket of darkness away from his eyes and consciousness, Jack heard the cries of his team members as they were flung back. Then he heard a rumble and a horrible shaking that shook him right down to his teeth. After that, Jack lost the fight and faded into the darkness.
When Jack clawed his way back to awareness, he saw two things.
One, the shattered columns of the temple.
Two, the blood on the DHD.
The explosion had come from near the DHD.
"Daniel-" Jack croaked out. He reached out his hand, trying to grab on to something, ANYTHING that would give him enough leverage to reach over there. "Daniel! Carter! Teal'c!"
"Here, sir."
"Over here, O'Neill. Are you well?"
Daniel. Daniel didn't answer.
"Daniel." Jack croaked, his throat felt dry from the unsettled dust and bruising that Jack couldn't see but definitely felt. "Get to Daniel."
Carter paused. "I-I can't sir. I'm pinned." She sounded calm about her situation. "Can't feel one of my legs. Teal'c, can you reach Daniel?"
"I am also pinned." Teal'c announced after a few grunts, showing that the Jaafa was trying anyway to escape.
"Hang on." Jack groaned as he pulled himself out of the rumble.
"To what?" Teal'c asked, but he didn't wait for a reply as he tried once more to remove the rubble on his chest.
"Daniel!" Jack called out. The colonel stood on unsteady feet. He had to stop until the temple stopped its spinning. When it slowed to a reasonable crawl, Jack staggered over to the DHD. "Daniel? Danny?" Jack coughed at the dust flying around him. It was worst closest to the DHD. Jack extended his arms out to feel for the DHD as the dust began to swirl around even worst from the increasing winds.
Something bumped into Jack's foot. Ignoring the pain it that caused to shoot up, Jack bent down and felt around until he felt the familiar fabric of the uniform.
"Sir? You found Daniel?" Carter asked faintly.
"Hold on." Jack muttered more to Daniel than to Carter. "Danny? Hey, you okay?"
The dust finally settled and Jack's blood ran cold as he got a clear look at Daniel.
"S-sir?" Carter called out again, not hearing the catch in Jack's breath.
"I ...found him, Carter." Jack said, trying to keep his voice steady. He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself. Now was not a time to start panicking. He was the group leader for god's sake, he can't...
"Is...is he...alright?" Carter called out faintly, her voice tinged with pain from her pinned legs.
Jack didn't answer as he kneeled down besides Daniel and slipped a hand underneath Daniel's jawbone for a pulse. He winced as the blood from Daniel's wounds slicked Jack's fingers until they were red.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c called out. A thud indicated that the Jaafa managed to get some of the rubble off. "Is Daniel Jackson alright?"
The fingers shook so much from the shock and increasing fear that Jack almost lost his position under the jawbone. He waited for a moment; his eyes closed as he listened so that there would be no mistake. Jack opened his eyes and pulled away his fingers slowly.
"Sir?" Carter's voice was high pitched with worry now.
It had felt like Jack had lost all control of his body, the arms suddenly heavy as he sagged. His mouth opened in its own accord to speak.
"He's alive, Carter."
Carter sighed in relief, but that faded as she realized that Jack's voice didn't sound so relieved. It was terse with worry. "Sir?"
"In a minute, Carter. Teal'c, are you freed yet?"
"Almost, O'Neill. Captain Carter, I will assist you shortly."
"Take your time." Carter joked weakly.
Teal'c paused. "That would not be recommended...ah! I understand. It was a...joke."
Carter grinned wanly. She could hear the eyebrow going up. "You're making progress, Teal'c."
"Indeed." was Teal'c's dry reply.
Carter soon realized that Jack hadn't commented on the exchange at all. He was silent the whole time. Carter wished she could see what the colonel was doing or even hear. She barely heard Teal'c over the increasing howl of the winds. The flashes of lightning reminded her of P3X972, Tantalus, where they had found Ernest Littlefeld. Lightning flashed violently there, too, coupled with the pounding of rain and hail. Of all places for it to look like, THIS place had to be a twin of that one.
"Teal'c," Jack's voice was startling loud all of the sudden. "You freed yet?"
"Almost, O'Neill." Teal'c grunted as he tried to remove the last of the rubble.
"Hurry it up, will ya?" Jack said calmly. "Help Carter and then help me out over here."
"Of course, O'Neill."
Carter grew worried. Jack was trying to ask casually, but she knew it must have been bad if he was asking Teal'c to hurry up. "Sir? Is Daniel alright?"
"Don't ask me that yet, Carter." was Jack's short reply.
Oh god.
"Sir?"
"Damn it, Carter. Will you hold on?" Jack nearly shouted before he calmed down. "Sorry. Just wait okay? Wait for Teal'c."
"Okay, sir." Carter said. Inside, she told Teal'c to hurry.
Teal'c tried to shift the last of the stone blocks off his legs but it only made the others slid into the space. He raised an eyebrow towards the pile as he would when he encountered yet another confusing phrase from his human comrades.
Speaking of which...
What Carter couldn't hear, the Jaafa could. His heightened sense of hearing was about to pinpoint where Jack was exactly. He could hear grunts and the hushed counting from the colonel.
Counting?
Teal'c wondered for a moment what the colonel was counting for and then he decided that freedom from the precarious pile of rubble was necessary if he wanted to find out. The Jaafa could hear the steady breathing of Captain Carter a few feet away as the captain waited patiently for rescue. Teal'c could also hear the winds picking up its mad pace. They reminded him of the stories of the jackals screaming at the doors of the homes where bad children lived. The jackals would howl until the fragile doors break and they rush in to devour those children who refuse to pray to the gods.
The winds sounded like they wanted to come in right now.
A hushed curse from Jack caught Teal'c's attention once more. The Jaafa listened for a moment but that was all Jack said. Teal'c frowned, wondering what was Daniel Jackson's situation that would get the colonel so upset. He looked up at the pile and grunted as he tried to shift again. Once more, the pile settled into a tighter pack. Teal'c scanned the nearby area for his staff weapon. Perhaps he could use it as leverage. As he looked about the slowly settling dust, Teal'c got a first look at the Stargate.
"O'Neill!" Teal'c called out. "The Stargate!"
A long pause before Jack responded. He sounded a little breathless. "What?"
"The gate is flickering."
"I can't see from here, Teal'c." Carter called out. "What do you see?"
"I see the symbols are scarred from the explosion. The ring appears cracked."
"Damn." Carter whispered. She spoke up in a louder voice. "What about the DHD? Is it intact?"
That was when Jack responded. "No." he said, volunteering no further explanation.
Oh god, what is happening over there? Carter knew Jack wasn't going to answer her questions so she didn't ask. She wished Jack said something more though. Her imagination was going rampant with the horrific possibilities. It had only been four ...perhaps five minutes at best since the explosion, but it felt like forever. Carter felt like yelling at Teal'c to take his damn staff weapon and just blast all the rubble to hell. Logically speaking, and Carter was always logical of course. The blast would only shake the remaining pieces down on them. If Daniel's situation weren't bad enough, it would be if it began to rain debris on top of them.
"O'Neill! I do not know if the Stargate will work anymore!"
"We could make an alternate power source." Carter shouted back. "We've done it before, sir."
"We'll...figure it out...when we...get to that...point. Damn it!" Jack shouted back, his voice sounded ragged. "Don't talk to me right now!"
Shit. That was all Carter could think of as she promptly shut up.
The temple shook slightly in chorus with the flash of lightning. Carter winced at the sudden burst of light that cut through the haze of dust. She was tempted to call out to the colonel, but decided from the way Jack had abruptly spoke before, that it wouldn't have been a good idea to distract him.
Especially if the situation over there was as bad as she thought it was.
What to do?
You're the astrophysicist, Carter told herself, you figure it out.
The Stargate. She needed to get the Stargate working again. Then they could return home and give Daniel the help he needed. If it wasn't too late at that point.
Now Carter REALLY wanted to hear Jack's voice. Mostly definitely Daniel's too. The vocal reassurances from it would ease the sudden lump in her throat.
A grunt from Teal'c's direction told her that the Jaafa was trying to free himself and she grew envious of his strength. It never bothered her before. Carter knew she could hold her own, but at situations like this one, Carter wished she could just toss the obstacles aside and rush over to see for herself what was going on.
It would be a lot better than waiting for the rare outbursts from the colonel right now.
It struck to Carter that Jack didn't even say if HE was alright. The concern for Daniel overrode his own pain. That meant the situation was bad. Very bad.
Of course, the colonel always put his team members first before himself. That's what made him a good leader.
So the situation might not be so bad then, Carter thought to herself. Of course, all questions would be answered once she get...out...of...here.
Back to the Stargate, Carter thought to herself. Better than thinking about how heavy the stones were on top of her legs. The Stargate was cracked from what Teal'c was telling her. Perhaps it still worked. As long as it remained generally intact, she could charge it up with an alternate power source.
Lightning?
Carter smiled wanly. It's been done before. As always, the try and true methods of trial and error. Carter looked up as far as her position could allow. The lightning flashed again and she noted during the temporary aid of light that the temple had no outside access port so she could link up lightning rods.
"Captain Carter. I will be with you momentary." Teal'c announced, the sounds of rubble being tossed aside punctuated his statement.
"Fine." Carter muttered. She wasn't going anywhere.
Teal'c grunted as he was finally able to push the last of the rubble off. The Jaafa got up, tested his legs and was satisfied that the injuries would not prevent him from going over to Captain Carter to give her assistance. At first Teal'c had wanted to check on O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, but the colonel had told him to help Carter first. Teal'c, despite his worries, was never one to not follow orders. He gave one last look at the Stargate, frowning slightly at the cracks, then stumbled over to where he had heard Captain Carter's voice. He only stopped briefly to pick up his staff weapon.
Carter was pinned under a crumbling slab of stone that had stood as a wall for one of the temple's rooms. He could see the inside of the room, crumbling under the force of the winds. Pretty soon, the entire place would collapse too.
"Captain Carter." Teal'c said as he bend down in one knee to check on her.
The captain smiled weakly at him. "What kept you?"
"My apologies, Captain Carter for being detained." Teal'c went around to the side. "Are you feeling any pain?"
With a smile that mirrored Jack's, Carter replied, "What do you think?"
"You are in great pain." Teal'c told her solemnly.
"Teal'c, you are making progress." Carter quipped, repeating what she said before.
"I can do without this type of progress, Captain Carter." Teal'c informed her as he tried to lift one corner of the slab.
"Why, Teal'c. I believed you made a funny." Carter whispered as she winced. The sharp pain around her hips told her that when she was finally freed, she wasn't going to be running around anytime soon.
"Perhaps O'Neill's humor is contagious." Teal'c said calmly, causing Carter to laugh softly.
"Perhaps." Carter sobered up as she saw Teal'c shook his head. "No good?"
"The stone is too heavy, Captain Carter. I would require assistance." Teal'c informed her gravely.
"Not the colonel." Carter whispered. "Not now. He's trying to help...Daniel."
"Indeed. Perhaps one of the villagers."
"I don't think it is a good idea, Teal'c. We barely got out of there in one piece. They may not like us returning. Especially you." Carter whispered, referring to the golden tattoo on his forehead."
"You, O'Neill and Daniel Jackson required assistance." Teal'c seemed determined. "It is not within my abilities alone to help you."
"Ask the colonel." Carter whispered. She couldn't make that call, with a chance of endangering Teal'c. She knew that the situation was precarious as it was, with possibly no immediate help from SGC. The chance that the natives of this planet angered by the team's remaining here, even if not by choice, could anger them to dangerous actions. But Carter was tempted, driven by the desperation for help for the team and from the worry for the young scientist who was so far away from view right now. "Find out for me...about Daniel."
Teal'c nodded solemnly. He stood up, looking back briefly at the slab of stone and went over to Jack while Carter was saying a silent prayer.
The wind was definitely beginning to piss off Jack. The colonel only looked up briefly from what he was doing, to curse at it. Then he concentrated again on coaxing life back into his friend's body.
"Come on, Danny. Don't be stubborn here with me. Stay with me, buddy." Jack muttered as he started up compressions again. He had thought he had succeeded before when Daniel's breathing faltered once more. Whoever it was doing this, was not going to beat Jack.
No way in hell.
As he muttered the count once more, his mind was playing accuser. Over and over again, Jack's mental self was reminding the colonel how he had told Daniel to dial again.
"Look, Daniel, try again. A little quicker before they fade and we headtail it out of here before the electricity bill comes."
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Jack gritted his teeth as he forced his aching hands to continue the compressions. "Since when you were an expert on Stargates, O'Neill?"
The colonel stopped to check Daniel's pulse again. He bowed his head as he listened for a heartbeat. Then Jack placed his head on Daniel's chest to hear for it, ignoring the bloody uniform that was staining his short hair to spikes of red. Jack slowly lifted his head and took a deep breath. Despite his steel hold on emotions, Jack felt a tear trying to break out anyway.
"Thank god." Jack whispered, breaking out into a relieved grin. He brushed back Daniel's hair from the forehead. "Good job, Danny. Just keep on hanging in there. Uncle Jack's gonna get you out." He wiped the tear out with a thumb, mentally chiding himself for being foolish. "You're one tough geek, right Danny boy?"
Daniel didn't answer, but Jack was just relieved to hear him breathe at this point.
Jack had to stifle the scream of rage when he had saw all that blood the first time. Daniel was a mess. Jack couldn't even begin counting the numerous lacerations and cuts that riddled the man's body, mostly from the shrapnel of blasted stone and crystal from the DHD. By some miracle that Jack hadn't believed possible until now, the DHD device had shielded Daniel from the worst of the blast.
The blast itself as Jack had discovered as he was frantically searching for the medical supplies before, was between the Stargate and the DHD. The ground between the two strange devices was ripped opened revealing the conduits of crystals that ran between the two devices.
Jack probed the area around Daniel's eyes wincing as he felt the tender bruising and cuts imbedded with shards. Jack didn't dare pull them out yet, but he feared the damage that the shrapnel might have caused. Jack gently pulled Daniel's glasses, what was left of them, off the younger man's face. Judging by the harsh scratches on Daniel's forearms, the younger man must have flung his arms up when he heard the initial boom, thus protecting his eyes from what could have been disaster.
"Still not quite getting the hang of ducking yet, Danny." Jack murmured as he moved his hands down to check the man's limbs.
"O'Neill." Teal'c's deep voice spoke over Jack's head. "How is Daniel Jackson?"
"He's going to be okay." Jack said, wishing he could truly believe that. "Where's Carter?"
"Captain Carter is pinned quite effectively. I can not lift it up by myself." Teal'c paused. "I require assistance."
Jack looked up, concern for Carter and reluctance to leave Daniel right now was evident in his face.
Teal'c saved him the decision. "I wish to return to the villages and ask for assistance, O'Neill."
Stunned, Jack stopped his checking on Daniel's arms. "Are you cra-" Jack shook his head. "Not a good idea, Teal'c. They were very glad to see us go. I don't think they'll be welcoming us back with open arms."
"I believe they will help us." Teal'c nodded his head towards Carter and then to Daniel. "There is no other choice, O'Neill."
Had it been another soldier telling Jack that his decision was wrong, Jack would have slapped him with an insubordination charge, but he respected Teal'c's code of honor and knew Teal'c meant no insult by disagreeing.
That didn't mean that Jack liked Teal'c's idea, though.
Jack looked at Daniel and then across to where Carter was. Guiltily, Jack remembered snapping at Carter as he was frantically trying to revive Daniel. Carter was stuck over there, without any idea on what was going on. Carter was in need of help, too.
Suddenly, Daniel moaned and Jack was reminded how bad the wounds were and a decision, no matter how risky, had to be made here.
"Go." Jack said quietly. "Be careful. At the first sign of trouble, you get the hell out of there. Do you understand this?" Jack looked at Teal'c steadily.
The Jaafa kneed down to touch Daniel briefly on the hair, not grimacing at the blood on his fingertips as he pulled away. "I understand, O'Neill. I will return shortly."
Jack nodded and watched Teal'c as the Jaafa made his way over to the entrance. Jack silently wished Teal'c good luck as he felt the temple began to tremble.
"Sir?" Carter called out faintly when the silence became unbearable again. She had heard Jack's response to Teal'c's query but she hadn't felt reassured. When Jack called out to her, telling her of Teal'c's plan, she was glad to hear his voice. Then he paused and it was silent again. Occasionally, she heard the colonel mutter something, but that could have been her imagination or the wind.
"Hang on a second, Captain." Jack called out.
"To what?" Carter joked. She was relieved to hear Jack chuckle. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. She wished she could see him. The view of the broken stones and rubble piles around her was getting depressing.
"I would volunteer myself, but then you'll have to come over here." Jack called out. Tearing sounds filtered through the wind's rage. "Just wait a second, Carter."
"Alright, but it's not nice to keep a lady waiting, colonel." Carter answered.
"I don't see one around, do you?" Jack said wryly. More tearing sounds.
Carter laughed, then winced as the laughter shook her body, in turn moving her legs. The pain reminded her of her position. Literally.
More tearing sounds.
Bandages. Carter suddenly realized. The colonel must be tearing up something to make bandages. "Sir?" Carter was reluctantly to interrupt his important task. The tearing stopped for a moment. "Our backpacks have medical kits. We're all equipped with them as standard issued. There should be some sterile gauze-"
"I know." Jack abruptly broke in, "Used them all already, Carter."
"Oh." Carter felt her eyes tear as she realized what that meant in concerns with Daniel.
Teal'c would have ran all the way down the rocky slope, through the valley into the village. He refrained himself, however, when he realized that gaining another broken bone would not aid in the rescue of his comrades. The image of Daniel with Jack hovered over protectively, did quicken his pace despite his precautions.
The lightning flashed and Teal'c could see the village at the bottom of the slope. His pace quickened, his mind filled with the images of possible disaster if he were to delay. Teal'c had to get help for his comrades.
He just did not know if that is what he would find there.
Jack automatically flinched when the lightning flashed again and the temple trembled in chorus this time. He paused from his bandaging to look at the ceiling. Particles of dust fell on his head and shoulders.
"Not good." Jack muttered. "Doesn't this remind you too much of another place, Danny?"
Daniel didn't response, but of course, Jack knew that.
Jack sat back, wincing as all the kneeling down he was doing, finally caught up to his own injuries. Jack massaged his aching shoulder. It felt like a muscle was pulled there. He grimaced as he realized that his hands that were stained in Daniel's blood had wiped clean onto his uniform. He pretended that the blood didn't bother him and checked back on Daniel's bandages.
Jack had to splint Daniel's leg. Shards of crystal were pulled out, their tips red with blood. He didn't like the way Daniel's right knee swelled. He figured it twisted and immobilized it with two rods he had found from the blast area. The gauze pads and strips of tent material Jack used to bandaged most of the chest and abdomen wounds were beginning to soak through. He bandaged the arms, bounding the left one to Daniel's side when he had saw the swelling at the shoulder joint. Jack had considered trying to take some of the larger shrapnel out from around his face, but he didn't dare try. They were too close to the eye area.
"Bad enough I got you in this shit the first time, right Danny?" Jack whispered. "Don't want to play doctor and screw you up a second time around."
Jack had grabbed the canteens and used one to rinse out Daniel's eyes to flush out any possible pieces. Then he had loosely bandaged the gash on the left side of Daniel's head. He now eyed Daniel, wondering if this would be enough until he could get him to help.
If you can get him to help.
Jack jerked awake with a grunt. He hadn't even realized he was dozing off. Checking his watch, this by some miracle had not shattered and noted that it was only for a few seconds.
"Sir? Are you okay?" Carter yelled. Her voice sounded hoarse.
The colonel winced as he realized she must have been calling him.
"I'm okay, Carter. I'm fine."
"I was calling you before and you didn't answer." Carter's voice faltered with the mix of relief and doubt. "I thought maybe you...or Da-Daniel."
"We're both fine." Jack called back. "Isn't that right, Danny?" Jack murmured the last past to his unconscious friend.
Daniel didn't respond. Instead, the temple rumbled back to Jack.
"Sir?"
"Just the house settling in, Carter." Jack quipped as he gazed at the ceilings worriedly. Jack looked across to Carter, a bit guilty that she was left back there by herself. Jack eyed Daniel, wondering if it would be safe to move him. Jack needed to keep an eye on both of them until Teal'c returned.
Until Teal'c returned with help, Jack corrected himself. "Stay put, Carter. Me and Danny are coming over." Jack called out, trying to make it sound like they were going for a stroll.
"Not going anywhere, sir." Carter joked weakly. "I like this view too much." She paused. "Are you sure you want to do that, sir? If Dan-"
"It'll be fine." Jack reassured her. He looked around the ground and found the tent material he had left. Double folding into a body length pad, Jack dragged it over parallel to Daniel. After checking to make sure that the bindings were tight and kept Daniel immobilized, Jack dragged Daniel sideways onto the tent material. He took his time, careful to not to jar Daniel, but the younger man still moaned at the gentlest of movement.
"Sir?" Carter had heard the moan. It was low, but it had reached her as clear as if it were a shout.
It made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
"What are you doing here, Jaafa?" Nasuz exclaimed. The village elder dropped his weave leaves and stood there in the brewing storm with his eyes flashing as furiously as the lightning did. "You assured us that you all would leave! Why do you still stand before us now?"
Teal'c, stood there, heaving from his run down the slope. Vaguely, he felt surprised at his own exhaustion and surmised that his injuries were probably far worst than he had originally calculated.
"My friends-" Teal'c started.
"No!" one of the villagers interrupted. "This is a trick, elder. The golden haired one was their speaker. He had told us that they were friends, not slaves of this Jaafa. Now only he stands before us. He has killed them."
"It was a trick after all!" another cried out fearfully.
"No!" Teal'c tried once more. "I need...assistance."
Nasuz stared at the Jaafa in amazement. He stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "A Jaafa asking for us former slaves for help? This is truly a great day for us."
The surrounding villagers snickered as their bravery grew with the numbers.
"There was a explosion in the old temple. My friends were injured."
"Ah! Yes, the star...gate? Our screams of light must have attacked the door like it did before."
Before? Teal'c realized that Nasuz was referring to the lightning. It struck the Stargate before? Was that what had happened?
"My friends are injured. I wished to help them but I can not free one of them from the temple's ruins."
"You wish to help your friends? A Jaafa with non-slaves." Nasuz said dubiously.
"I am no longer Jaafa." Teal'c repeated what Daniel had said before. "I had turned against Apophis and now fight along besides them to free my people."
"A freedom fighter."
"Yes." Teal'c looked steadily at Nasuz. "Will you help my friends?'
Nasuz looked around at the villagers. Then he studied Teal'c, wondering once again if this was some sort of trick. Then he replied.
"No."
"No?" Teal'c repeated.
"We will not help you, Jaafa." Nasuz sounded regretful as his eyes swept across his people. "We will not endanger ourselves into becoming slaves again."
"You will not become slaves again." Teal'c said to Nasuz. "You are free as am I."
"He lies. He bears the tattoo of evil."
"How can you believe one who bears the gift of the evil gods?"
"He cannot convince us that he is sincere."
The protests of the villagers were loud and overpowering even the loudest clashes of lightning by far. The light flashed, illuminating the villagers' faces into angry, distorted glares of hate and fear.
It reminded Teal'c very much the blind hate Apophis showed his slaves as he watches them behind glowing eyes.
"What can I do to convince you of my allegiances?" Teal'c asked quietly, a startling contrast to their high voices.
The voices stilled at the unexpected question posed by the Jaafa. They looked at Teal'c warily and then to their elder Nasuz.
The village elder closed his eyes briefly, whispering a prayer as he came to a decision. With a last look to Teal'c, he motioned a young man to come forward. With the smallest of whispers, the elder told the man his request. The man's eyes widened and he gaped at the elder for a moment. Then, as if still unsure, the man nodded. He gave Teal'c a look that was almost sympathetic, but surely Teal'c must had been mistaken, and left running for the other side of the village.
"Do you truly wish to prove your allegiances to us, Jaafa? You may leave now. It is not too late."
"If proving it will allow you to help my friends." Teal'c responded without hesitation, "I would gladly go through the trial of fire."
"Ah, but to prove yourself, there would be no trial of fire, Jaafa." Nasuz replied sadly.
Jack had to stop for a moment. It took forever. Jack had to stop every so often to move debris out of the way so it wouldn't jar Daniel as he slid the makeshift stretcher across. He barely got around the broken DHD. Jack was only a few feet away from the Stargate itself and that meant still more than halfway more to where Carter was.
"Sir? You okay?"
"Can't you think of something else to say instead, Carter?" Jack called back tiredly as he rubbed a particular sore spot on his ribs.
"Not really, sir."
"Great. No jokes?"
"That's your department, colonel."
Jack smiled wanly. "Yeah, my department. Not Stargates." He looked at the Stargate, seeing the faint cracks Teal'c was telling him about before. "Damn."
"Sir?"
"Nothing, Carter. Just catching my breath here."
"Very loud catching, sir."
"Yeah, yeah." Jack closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again and sighed. "No, still there. Not a dream. Pretty real. Pretty much sucks." Jack rubbed his leg, telling it to don't quit now and continued to drag the makeshift stretcher across. "Almost there, Danny. We're almost there. Sorry about the accommodations."
As Jack approached the front of the Stargate, Daniel moaned. The younger man shifted painfully and muttered something. Jack stopped to resettle Daniel back in and check on his bandages. As he leaned over, Jack heard Daniel muttered something about the Stargate. The colonel's hands froze over the man. The Stargate. Daniel was dreaming about the Stargate. Jack bowed his head slightly, still remembering how he told Daniel to redial again, not paying attention to Daniel's comments on how the chevron symbols appeared to be malfunctioning.
"Damn, Danny. I'm sorry." Jack murmured as he tightened the binds that were immobilizing Daniel's arm. He got up and continued on.
Carter tried to visualize where the colonel was at right now. Occasionally, she would hear the mutterings of the colonel, followed by the soft sounds of fabric being dragged across the temple. Judging from the lack of response from Daniel, Carter guessed that he was still unconscious. She winced as she thought of the prospect of being dragged across broken stones. Carter thought it was probably better that Daniel WAS unconscious.
A soft moan and the soft dragging sounds stopped. She strained to lift her head a bit higher to see where they are. Over the rubble, she could see the top half of the Stargate. Another moan helped her locate the two men as near the Stargate.
"Damn Danny, I'm so sorry."
Sorry? Carter wondered if she heard correctly. Was the colonel apologizing to Daniel? Maybe her ears were still ringing from the boom. Why would the colonel be apologizing to Daniel? Did he blame himself for some reason?
"Don't think about it right now, Carter." she told herself. "Think science right now. Think of a way home."
The temple rumbled again. Carter gasped as the slab on her legs, shifted. The movement sent a new wave of pain from her toes to her shoulders.
"Shit!" Carter grinds out as she waited for the trembling to cease. At least she knew her legs still had feeling in them. She just wished it would stop feeling pain. She arched her back, what was not under the stone, as the pain rocked her mental hold to consciousness. As she threw her head back, she saw the top of the Stargate upside down.
The temple stilled but the Stargate did not.
Carter screamed, but it wasn't because of her agony.
"Colonel! The Stargate!"
Jack threw himself over Daniel when the temple shook once more. He clenched his fists as small pieces of the temple bounced off his back. Daniel moaned, just underneath Jack as the vibrations alerted Daniel to his own pain.
"Hang in there, Danny. Hang in there...damn!" Jack cursed as a larger piece hit him. He could feel warm moisture on his back. Whatever it was, it had cut him. When the shaking stopped, he sat up and felt his back with a hand stretched behind him. He looked at his fingers with a grunt. It wasn't a lot of blood. It just felt like it should have been. He looked at Daniel and felt his pulse. Jack sighed when he found it again. "Good boy. Just stick around."
"Colonel!" Carter screamed suddenly. "The Stargate!"
Jack whipped his head up and saw the Stargate, shaken unsteady by the temple's vibrations, beginning to fall forward towards them. There was no time to dodge it. The heavy stone ring was diving right for him. Jack looked at Daniel for just a second, then without a moment of hesitation, covered Daniel with his own body, and waited for the crushing blow.
© 1998 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa’uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.