• SPOILERS: None really
• CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, Language, Adult Themes
• SG1 search for a missing team, with tragic results
• PG13 [D] [Hc] [V]

Sam looked around the encampment to her quiet companions. Daniel slept peacefully, while the colonel’s soft snores indicated that he, too, was asleep. Sighing, she raised her head to locate Teal’c as he silently watched over the dark woods.

P3S 279 was turning out to be a refreshingly boring planet. Sam eyed the two nearly full moons thoughtfully, wondering how on Earth anyone could sleep while it was so bright. Teal’c noticed her movement and strode over to her stealthily. It was her turn for watch, thank goodness. An excuse for not being asleep. Sam made her way to the fire, longing for creature comforts of home - a good book, hot cocoa…a normal life? Nah.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sounds of her teammates’ early morning stirrings jerked Sam out of her reverie. Time flies when you’re having fun, and even sometimes when you are not. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam watched the colonel tiptoe in Daniel’s direction. She couldn’t keep the small smile from spreading across her face. Those two - when they weren’t disagreeing about everything under the sun, they were acting like schoolchildren.

A wave of cold suddenly flooded through her, accompanied by a very unsettling feeling she was being watched. Sam rapidly scanned the encroaching wilderness before her eyes came to rest on her third comrade. Teal’c, silent as ever, watched her with an impassive expression. Relief flooded through her and she gave him a good morning smile.

"Rahhh!" the colonel suddenly bellowed, breaking the silence.

"Ahhh!" Daniel’s yelp was not far behind as he flew into the air, full consciousness returning rather abruptly.

Sam turned her head to see Daniel’s descent back to the ground, his face flashing from shock to irritation in a heartbeat. Sam braced herself for the impending argument and shared a knowing look with Teal’c. As she predicted, Daniel reacted strongly to the colonel’s morning mischief

"Jack! I don’t know why you insist on being such a child! Usually I can handle it, but God, I haven’t even had my coffee yet! I…" Daniel spluttered angrily.

"Oh, Daniel, lighten up!" the colonel cut in. "We’re on a routine mission on a boring planet and I was just having a little fun. You should try it some time. Really, you gotta learn to relax! I consider it my duty as C.O. to teach you how to have fun."

"Fun? You think scaring someone half to death is fun? And, technically, since I am not military you are not my C.O., are you? Here’s another thing…" Daniel paused for a breath and pointed a finger emphatically at the colonel in preparation for a long-winded rebuttal.

Sam saw her opportunity and grabbed it. "Uh, I hate to break up your little conversation, Sir. Daniel. But we should get going. We only have a couple of days here and I still have a lot of samples to gather. And," she looked pointedly at Daniel, "We have that temple the UAV picked up to explore."

"Indeed." Teal’c joined her. "The days here do appear to be shorter than on most planets we visit. We should use the daylight hours efficiently."

"Teal’c’s right. It’s not winter, and yet the days are as short as if it was the middle of December. I wonder if it may have something to do with the presence of dual moons…" Sam mused. She looked up for a second to a bevy of blank stares. "Okay. I’m going to go to the stream to get water for the coffee. Can I trust you guys to behave?"

Daniel smiled brilliantly at her. The prospect of coffee could do wonders for the team morale. Sam left the men at the camp and made her way to the water, hearing the colonel and Daniel resume their disagreement, somewhat more light-heartedly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you didn’t hear anything last night either, Daniel?" the colonel queried.

"No. My watch was extremely uneventful for a change. I even had a difficult time staying awake, actually," Daniel replied.

The colonel turned to Teal’c. "Any thoughts?"

"I am not certain the lack of nocturnal activity is atypical, O’Neill. It would seem, however, that a planet with long nights would have significantly more species functioning during those hours," Teal’c intoned.

"Huh?" the colonel muttered. "Never mind. I just think it’s odd we haven’t come across any creatures going bump in the night."

"That’s what he said, Jack." Daniel grinned. "Well, we haven’t seen any evidence this is currently a Goa’uld planet, but it could have been at one time. Is it possible they somehow ‘modified’ the life forms to suit some strange Goa’uld master pla…ah." He trailed off as he saw the colonel’s and Teal’c’s identically raised eyebrows. "Too far out there? Yeah."

A startled cry from the direction of the stream made all three jump to their feet and begin running without conscious thought. Teal’c easily outdistanced his human friends, halting at the edge of the stream, staff weapon armed and ready to fire at potential danger. Not far behind, Colonel O’Neill stopped easily and began to ask Sam what was going on when Daniel made his grand entrance, bowling into the older man with monster truck force. Arms and legs pretzeled as they tumbled down the embankment and plopped into the muddy bank.

The colonel spat out a large amount of mud before exclaiming, "For crying out loud, Daniel! Do we need to put you through basic training again? Damnit! I think I twisted my knee…"

"Uh, Jack?" the younger man tugged his sleeve and pointed warily at the cluster of seven decidedly unfriendly women aiming spears and bows directly at them. The women scowled at them ferociously beneath helmets of animal skulls, bones and feathers. Highly toned muscles glistened under the scant covering of animal skin serving as clothing. Teeth bared in aggressive snarls told SG1 these were warriors not to be trifled with.

"Oh, crap!" the older man sighed. "Not a boring, uninhabited planet after all." He pushed himself up on his elbows and wiped the mud from his eyes.

"Nice, guys. I appreciate the assist." Sam couldn’t resist, turning to glare at both her team and the women.

"I like your clowns," one of the women said, "but they really should not be allowed to carry weapons. They will put them down before we put them down."

Jack and Daniel untangled themselves and rose. Taking the not so subtle hint, both eased their guns to the ground and raised their hands passively. Teal’c also lowered his weapon. His eyes did not leave the women or their weapons as he gently laid his staff down.

Sam gaped in shock as the women examined the three male members of SG1 as though they were objects. She could practically see seven pairs of eyes undressing them mentally. Irate, Sam looked back to the rest of her team and noted the colonel’s wince and Daniel’s glasses had gone AWOL during the tumble down the slope. They were in no position to put up any resistance.

The visual examination of the men ended suddenly and the women closed in around them.

"Hey, princess, get your hands offa me!" the colonel belted immediately, batting at the inquisitive hands poking and prodding him. "I’m not a piece of meat!"

Meanwhile, Daniel attempted to converse with a young, dark haired woman who seemed surprised he could speak at all and appalled that he did. His attempts faltered when he caught the women’s reactions to the colonel’s tirade. Sam saw their faces collectively scowl more and more deeply at the colonel’s words.

"Jack, I, uh, don’t think you should…"

"Quiet! Men do not speak but to ask of our needs!" a booming female voice interrupted, addressing Sam.

"Truly, your men are unruly. You should keep tighter rein on them. And this one," she indicated Teal’c with a disgusted sneer, "Is far too physically fit for our liking."

"Too physically fit? Geez, I’ll never figure out what women want. I’m insulted you didn’t notice my buff physique…" the colonel muttered, promptly receiving a heavy blow for his insolence. He plummeted once again into the mud. Daniel grabbed his arm and hauled him back up, eyeing the already red mark on the colonel’s jaw and the equally red look in his eyes.

"I said silence, slave!" the leader continued. "I am Themina, Queen of the Amazons. Artemis must be pleased with us to send us new…stock. Our current slaves are becoming weak." She towered over six feet tall, impressively sculpted biceps flexing as she twirled her battle-axe threateningly. Fierce, deeply set brown eyes blazed with anger at the men.

Sam heard Daniel’s sharp intake of breath. This wasn’t good. From what little she knew of the Amazon legend on Earth, Sam knew men never received ‘most favored nation’ status in their realm. She had to make them know her friends were not her slaves.

"Whoa! Fresh stock? I don’t think you understand…" Sam began, the gasps of the six remaining Amazons quieting her. Themina glowered over her, a good half a foot taller than Sam’s own significant height. She had overstepped her bounds. She wished for one manic moment Daniel were a woman so he could talk them out of this. "Okay. I’m sorry. Let me start over. My name is Major Samantha Carter. These men are…"

"Samantha Carter. You must be a warrior of great strength. Your men are fine specimens; even the young, skinny one has redeemable attributes. Because of this, I will allow you to speak to me as an equal," Themina proclaimed as if she had bestowed a great honor.

"Great, but you aren’t listening! They are not my slaves. We are a te…" Sam attempted again. She saw Themina was still not focusing on her words, she and her warriors continuing their appraisal of the colonel, Daniel and Teal’c.

"Not your slaves? Then you will not mind if we add them to our stock. The mating season begins tomorrow. Artemis’ timing is fortuitous indeed!" Themina postulated. "We will feast in Her honor once again and determine what we shall trade you in return."

"Sam, maybe you should just go along with them," Daniel whispered, apparently having learned nothing by the colonel’s example. "Artemis is…"

"Silence, whelp! How dare you address a woman in such a familiar manner!" Themina shouted as she backhanded him powerfully. He flew back a couple of feet from the force of the blow, landing with a thud. The colonel and Teal’c rushed to his side to provide what silent aid they could. Sam hesitated to help, not knowing whether or not it would be beneficial.

"Aww, look how the bigger ones look out for the little one. It’s very endearing," The dark haired girl Daniel had previously spoken with snidely commented. Laughter rippled through the air at the plight of the men.

Daniel groaned quietly and rubbed his cheekbone, which was already displaying spectacular discoloration. He and the colonel would have matching trophies from this mission. Sam just hoped the minor bruises would be the extent of the damage done. Daniel glared at the women, but wisely held his tongue, communicating to Sam with his eyes instead. Sam received his warning signals and returned them with an understanding nod and blink. She knew nothing about Artemis, but the Amazon’s current antagonistic and hostile behavior was information enough for her to momentarily set aside her anger at the treatment of the rest of her team.

Sam watched as the Amazons pulled Jack and Daniel away from Teal’c, pinning their arms roughly behind them and securing them snugly with rope. Daniel tried not to wince as the young Amazon took the opportunity to spit in his face, presumably for daring to speak to her earlier. With both men now posing little threat, the women moved toward Teal’c. They appeared slightly apprehensive, an attitude Sam attributed to the Jaffa’s large build and confident air.

Disregarding the ‘men don’t speak’ rule, he announced, "I will come freely."

Haughty glares met his statement, as though there was never any doubt. No hands were raised, however.

"This way." The dark haired girl guided them. "To our village."

Themina indicated Sam should join her at point, wrapping her arm around Sam’s shoulders as if they were old friends. Sam swallowed her misgivings as she was led into the dense underbrush, the grunts of her teammates ringing in her ears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Argh!" the colonel grumbled as he, Teal’c and Daniel were tossed unceremoniously into a poorly constructed shack on the outskirts of the hidden Amazon village. They had been dragged through the woods for hours, given no water or rest.

"You’d think ‘fresh stock’ would receive better treatment!"

Raucous laughter was heard in response as the door was slammed, fading away as the women moved further into their village.

"Daniel," the colonel said with a questioning lilt, taking in their accommodations. While tossed together with no great skill, the shack was relatively sound. The hard clay floor would prevent escape via tunnel. The colonel sighed with consternation and rubbed his sore arms.

"Jack?" Daniel returned.

"Have you any information to relay concerning our predicament?" the colonel questioned, knowing full well Daniel would have figured out a good deal from Themina and her gang, both during the initial conversation and the subsequent journey. He estimated they had traveled at least ten kilometers, roughly in the direction of the temple Daniel was excited to explore.

"Well, Themina mentioned they were Amazons, which I am sure you are familiar with." Daniel sighed and massaged his neck wearily.

Jack nodded. He couldn’t help but think of Amazons a la Xena with a grin. TV special effects had to be responsible for her skills. Surely, no real person could possess…

"Teal’c?"

"I recall several legends told among the Jaffa of a race of powerful woman warriors, whose battle skills challenged that of the Jaffa. They were said to be followers of Artemis, a lesser Goa’uld in Cronus’ system. Artemis herself was aligned with the moon, hunting and agriculture," Teal’c related.

"Yes, that sounds about right. What I am concerned with, though, is Artemis was also considered a virgin goddess. Chastity was an esteemed quality and any man attempting to violate that virginity would be punished severely," Daniel summed up.

"That was also true of the Goa’uld Artemis," Teal’c confirmed.

"Wonder what could be construed as a violation?" Jack pondered. "Although I don’t think I’d really want to push any Amazon buttons. If virginity is so cool, how the heck to baby Amazons make it into the world?" He looked at Daniel expectantly. Despite the grimness of the situation, Jack couldn’t keep his sarcastic wit under rein.

"Obviously, a society made up entirely of women would eventually cease to exist. For a short period, the Amazons would mate with men from neighboring villages to ensure this would not occur. Male babies from such couplings were either killed outright or sent back to their fathers. Themina mentioned that period begins tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to stick around for a hands on demonstration." Daniel’s eyebrows quirked, accentuating the meaning of his words.

"Tell me about it," the colonel said as he searched their prison for a means of escape. "I’m guessing they don’t play nice. Did you see some of the other men? They look like they’ve had their arms and legs broken multiple times. Doesn’t appear these particular ladies want to take the time to raid villages-they just keep their pets easily accessible."

"Oh, yeah. There has always been speculation the Amazons mutilated their male servants to keep them subservient and to exert their control and power over them. I’d say if these men are any example, that theory is confirmed."

"I so did not want to hear that, Daniel," Jack groaned. "I wonder how Carter is doing?"

"I am confident Major Carter will be successful in negotiating our freedom," Teal’c said.

All three looked at each other uneasily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No disrespect is meant, Themina, but nothing you have will be enough to trade my…slaves to you!" Sam argued for the umpteenth time. She was beginning to think she’d be better off banging her head against the wall. She already capitulated and allowed herself to refer to the colonel, Teal’c and Daniel as slaves, hoping this would help sway the Amazon Queen to be more favorable. If anything, her arguments seemed to hinder the ‘negotiation’.

"Samantha. Really, I do not understand the difficulty you are having. Are you not willing to share the wealth Artemis has bestowed upon you with your sisters?" Themina chided. "We will wait until Selene arrives to discuss this further. She is more adept at the politics of domestic affairs. Come, drink with us until she arrives."

Sam sighed with frustration and glared at her surroundings. The Amazons had brought her to the center of the village, to a large meeting hall. Inside, tables abounding with food were lined up at the front, smaller tables for seating filled the remainder of the hall. The walls were decorated with animal skins, stag heads and various weapons. Homey.

"Try our mead. Lydia has perfected the fermentation process. You will like it so much, it may play a big factor in our upcoming trade," Themina gloated, indicating the young dark haired Amazon who had led them on their trek to the village. "You will sit with us at the head during the festivities."

Sam’s ire increased. She was never going to convince the Amazons her friends were not her property. Or convince them they were, but she didn’t want to trade them. She caught the gleam in Themina’s eyes as she argued their value to her. A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, realization forming a basketball sized lump there. Had she made things worse for the guys? Themina looked downright hungry at the thought of getting her hands on such highly prized possessions.

Before she could dwell too long on that unpleasant thought, Sam heard a new voice enter the conversation. "Themina! What have you brought for us?"

Sam turned toward the entrance to see a fair-haired woman enter the meeting hall. She was slighter than Themina in build, but still quite impressive. Blue eyes glittered with anticipation as she scanned Sam quickly, making a rough and instant judgment. Sam squirmed under the inspection, discomfort with this entire situation notching up yet another level.

"Selene. Come join us! This is Samantha Carter, a warrior of great skill. She brings to us three new slaves of high quality. You will be impressed, no doubt," Themina answered her peer.

Selene’s eyes narrowed as she took in Sam’s appearance, pausing at great length at her blonde head.

"I see you are also blessed by Artemis with red hair," she managed, uttering the words lowly. She appeared unreasonably disturbed by the simple fact.

"Red?" Sam mumbled. Hadn’t Daniel said the Greeks and Romans called all lighter shades of hair ‘red’? She decided to play along. "Uh, I guess…with a little help from L’Oreal. Because I’m worth it…"

Her joke went unappreciated, and Selene managed to regain some semblance of self-control. She tilted her head graciously and spoke, "I would like to hear how you acquired such fine stock; you do not seem to be overly… physical. Then I will determine for myself their worth."

Sam ground her teeth and picked up a mug of mead to disguise her displeasure. She was surprisingly offended by Selene’s implication she wasn’t woman enough to have three slaves. She swallowed the nasty concoction and braced herself for another round of arguments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel sat on the end of his rough cot, rubbing at his bruised arms anxiously. Jack seemed to ceaselessly move around the cramped quarters. Between the motion and the anticipation of what their fates would be, Daniel’s nerves were worn threadbare.

"Can’t you stand still for one minute?" Daniel complained quietly.

Jack stopped pacing momentarily to look pointedly at Daniel, head cocked. "Nope."

Teal’c’s brow rose slightly, observing his companions from a darkened corner appearing slightly disturbed. Daniel shot him a quick look and opened his mouth again to retort, but the door swung open roughly before he had the chance. Lydia stalked into the room, followed closely by Sam.

"Rise, slave! Why do you not stand in the presence of your betters?" Lydia made to strike Daniel with her spear. Daniel shrank back slightly and Teal’c broke from the shadows, without seemingly moving.

Jack growled lowly in his throat and Daniel knew he wanted to strike back, or at least lash out with his tongue. Thankfully, the older man remained silent. Sam pushed past the girl and Jack relaxed noticeably. Daniel felt his hopes raise at her appearance.

"You may leave," Sam said sharply to the younger woman.

Lydia backed out slowly, bowing her head slightly. She remained just outside the door, Daniel noted, as he heard no footsteps and her shadow cast a telltale sign. He was distracted slightly by his improved tracking skills, and wasn’t aware Sam was speaking to them.

"Daniel, Daniel! Did you hear a word of what I just said?" Sam exasperated, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him like a small child.

"Um, sorry Sam. I was…"

"No time. She’ll be back in a minute, they don’t really trust me," she interrupted brusquely.

"What’s the plan?" Jack asked, apparently as eager as Daniel to get this holiday-from-hell over and done with.

"Well, tomorrow night, there is going to be a big feast in Artemis’ honor, something to do with the phases of the twin moons and an annual festival of some sort…"

Daniel winced, both moons full at the same time? Why hadn’t he noticed that? That would make the festival doubly important. And dangerous. He opened his mouth to inform the others, but Sam glared ferociously at him and his jaw snapped shut reflexively.

"I’ve been made guest of honor and apparently the Queen of all the tribes will soon be here. Themina holds the greatest power in this village, but this Leyda controls all the villages to some extent. She’s Artemis’ right hand woman - probably a Jaffa or maybe even a Goa’uld. She comes peacefully for trade only at this feast. The rest of the year all the tribes are in a state of semi-war, and are very territorial. Selene said Themina is angling for ‘most favored ally’ of Leyda so she has a chance to succeed her and she’ll want to offer her a tribute…"

"No. That is not what I wanted to hear! Can’t you do anything?!" Jack was practically scream-whispering.

"I’m sorry, Sir! She won’t listen! I’m trying my best…" Sam sputtered.

"Then I suggest you go back and bring the SG-3 Marines! I am not staying here!"

"Didn’t you tell her you don’t want to trade?" Daniel hissed.

"Yes! Do you think I’m enjoying this? I’m not the diplomat here!"

"Oh man, of all the screwed up planets to visit…" Jack growled, turning his back to them.

"Jack…" Daniel was getting hoarse from the forced hushed tones.

"And what are you implying, Sir?" Sam’s voice was dangerously low. "This is no worse than certain, male-oriented worlds we’ve seen. The only difference is you get to be dragged around by your hair. At least they haven’t made you put on some awful native clothing and parade around!"

"I am leaving. I will be back in the morning, but for now, I am sleeping," she turned on her heel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam left the shack, slamming the door with such strength the entire building shook. Jack, Teal’c and Daniel once again looked at each other uneasily.

"Jack, did Sam seem a bit out of character just then?" Daniel hesitantly asked. "I mean, I realize it’s probably been hard for her to deal with this whole situation, but it’s not like her to…"

"Daniel, what are you trying to say? She’s not putting forth her best effort?" Jack demanded hotly.

"No, that’s not what I’m saying at all!! And it’s not like you instilled her with confidence. Let’s see if I can remember correctly… ‘Then I suggest you go back and bring the SG-3 marines!’." Daniel did his finest Colonel Jack O’Neill impression.

"Oh, for crying out loud! I wasn’t trying to say she couldn’t handle it by herself," Jack groaned.

"It would appear that is the impression Major Carter received, O’Neill," Teal’c voiced, not liking the animosity between his two companions. "I believe Daniel Jackson is saying normally your comments would not prompt Major Carter to react as strongly as she did."

"Exactly! Sam usually tolerates your remarks without so much as a flinch. It’s almost as though simply being around the Amazons has somehow, I don’t know, rubbed off on her."

"Great! So you’re saying Carter might have been compromised in some way? If that turns out to be the case, I have a feeling we are in big trouble," Jack surmised. "Remember what she said about the Queen needing a tribute? If Carter’s not going to be able to help us, then we’ll have to come up with something."

"What do you suggest we do, O’Neill? I do not believe we will be released from this building unless sufficiently guarded. I estimate I could fight three, perhaps four at a time, but you and Daniel Jackson would have difficulty with even one," Teal’c stated matter of factly.

"Thanks for that. Nothing builds up the ego like being beaten by a girl," Jack sarcastically commented.

"Jack, he’s right and you know it!" Daniel said, exasperated. "We need to find a way for at least one of us to make it back to the Stargate."

The three men stopped talking, silently agreeing on this tactic and set about trying to come up with a viable plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She sat up half the night drinking that vile mead for the sake of appearances - to avoid alienating herself from the Amazons. She was tired. Her head throbbed. And yet she had put aside her own personal needs to see to her friends. What did she get in return? Question as to her abilities. Complete disrespect.

Sam fumed all the way to the hut Themina had provided for her. Her head throbbed mercilessly with each step she took, adding to her irritation. She thought she had gained the respect she deserved from the colonel a long time ago, but he was acting like he didn’t trust her any further than he could throw her. And Daniel! His blatant lack of faith stung her acutely. He was always the one to lend support when she needed it, but now he doubted her ability as much as the colonel did. Only Teal’c hadn’t demonstrated contempt for her skills.

By the time she reached her abode, Sam had worked herself into an excited and energized state. She crept onto her cot, but tossed and turned fitfully until she gave up. She needed to work off this energy if she had a prayer of any sleep.

Normally, she’d head to the gym for a couple of rounds at a punching bag. She stumbled into her boots and out the door, a little surprised to see how much activity was going on in the village. She headed to the meeting hall to ask Themina where she could go to work out.

Sam stepped through the door of the meeting hall to find Selene and Themina still drinking mead and laughing jovially. She couldn’t help but wonder at the length of the actual festival would last, if the pre-celebration lasted this long!

"Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude," Sam began quietly at first, "but I’m feeling the need for some physical activity…"

"Ah, Samantha!" Themina crooned. "Are you seeking new flesh? Your slaves have become tiresome to you? Lydia! Bring Marcus." Themina drunkenly grinned at Sam.

"Oh, God! No!" Sam immediately corrected. "I just feel like a bit of exercise. By myself."

A small, but shocking part of her responded enthusiastically to Themina’s suggestion, however. Especially when Marcus was brought before her. The slave was young and had once been attractive, his strong features now marred by numerous scars, his dark eyes dull and lifeless. Sam could certainly assert her strength upon him.

As the thoughts swirled around in her head, Sam was sickened by them. What was happening to her? Had she really been considering raping this poor man? She needed that punching bag. Now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack resumed his hobbling, as he, Daniel and Teal’c all attempted to find a good way out of their situation. Daniel lay sprawled on a cot, his left arm flung over his eyes to block out any distraction and Teal’c had placed himself in Kel no’reem .

The situation could safely be called desperate. Jack had a gut feeling the ‘tribute’ for this Leyda either didn’t survive the length of the day - or did and wished he hadn’t. He paused his pacing to study his two companions. He wasn’t concerned for Teal’c. No matter whom they designated as the runner, Teal’c would be okay.

Daniel though - it could get ugly for him. And for himself, he admitted. He already knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere. The team leader does not leave anyone behind. Besides, his knee really did hurt.

"Jack."

The voice made him start. "Geez, Daniel! Give a guy a heart attack, why don’t ya?!"

"Sorry." Daniel grinned, not sorry a bit. "I’ve been thinking and the only thing I can come up with is not good."

"Spit it out, Daniel."

"Okay. Well, you know how I said before that chastity is a highly esteemed virtue? Might a good distraction be if one or two of us threatened one of them…"

"You’re kidding, right? Can’t you think of anything that would not result in physical abuse?"

"I told you it wasn’t good! But I can’t think of anything else that would attract as much attention to the offender, can you?" Daniel challenged. "Hey, it’s not like I want to get beaten up!"

"I also do not like the idea, O’Neill, but cannot think of an alternative." Teal’c’s deep voice startled both of them.

"Ack! Teal’c don’t do that!!"

"I am sorry, O’Neill," Teal’c apologized. "I have also determined I have the greatest likelihood of success in such an escape attempt. The individual selected to go will have to travel to our former campsite to obtain a GDO, and it was several hours from the Stargate."

"Oh, damn. I forgot about that. Do we know if the Amazons just left it there? They could have gone back and grabbed our stuff for all we know!" This was getting worse and worse.

"Well, Sam would know. She should be back to check up on us soon." Daniel looked at his watch. "In the meantime, we can try to work out the details of this…plan."

"Right," Jack sighed. He wished fervently this planet had remained boring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Themina showed Sam the Amazon training area, which was equipped with an assortment of endurance…machines? Sam’s eyes wandered around before settling on a familiar object - the punching bag, universal tool for any real gym. Not needing anything else, Sam thanked Themina and began a vigorous boxing session.

With each punch, Sam’s headache seemed to dissipate. The more aggressively she attacked the bag, the better she felt! The scientific Sam wondered about this phenomenon, but soon that portion of her brain was disregarded and she saw only the bag. Her punches became brutal as she began imagining it was the colonel’s face she was pummeling. Then Daniel’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damnit, I thought she was going to come back sooner than this. She knows we need to get out of here before the big hoo-haa starts!" Jack ranted, lack of sleep and food influencing his mood. The Amazons hadn’t even hinted they’d be fed before the festival began. Why give them strength?

They had spent the better part of the night devising their great escape. Which sadly consisted of he and Daniel groping a couple of the Amazons. They were hoping the punishment would be lessened if the focus were on two rather than one. Their plan sucked. But it was all they had, provided Sam could confirm the location of the GDOs.

"I’m sure she’s coming, Jack. Getting upset about it really won’t help."

"Thank you, Zen master." Jack retorted, rolling his eyes.

Daniel’s reply was cut off when Carter abruptly barged into the hut. She looked awful - hair unkempt, huge dark circles under her eyes, clothes sweaty and soiled. Her eyes flashed angrily at her three teammates, and it was apparent to them she had not slept at all. Behind her trailed five warriors.

"Sam! Finally! We’ve been hoping you’d get here!" Daniel exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

To everyone’s utter shock, Carter responded by backhanding him on his already bruised cheek. Unprepared for the assault, Daniel stumbled back. Teal’c reached out and caught him before he could fall.

"Carter, what the hell are you doing?!" Jack yelled. He grabbed her arm before she could deliver another blow.

She turned on him quickly. "You! You arrogant, half-witted jackass! Get your hands off me!"

Before Jack knew it, Carter hauled back her right fist and swung back with an adrenaline infused arm. Jack’s head snapped back, blood spurting from his mouth.

Stunned, he simply looked at her, swiping the back of his right hand across his mouth. He cringed as he saw the crimson stain. Instinct screamed kick or get kicked, but reason shouted equally loudly that this was Carter, his second in command. Damnit, his friend. The internal battle held him long 0enough for a young lackey to smack him between the shoulder blades with her staff and deliver a swift kick to his wounded knee.

Sinking to the ground, he saw Daniel stumble forward hesitantly before his old friend darkness told him how nice it was to see him again so soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel's mouth unhinged as he saw Sam hit Jack violently, and he automatically made to go forward to assist him. His mind forced him to stop, warning of painful retribution and a realization one of them should appear co-operative to keep their chances of survival stable. If he didn’t fight them, maybe they wouldn’t be killed outright. He was forced to helplessly watch Jack slump to the hard clay floor.

Teal'c pushed past the blockade of enraged warriors, knocking several flying as he did, alerting Daniel this seemed as good an opportunity they would get for executing their plan. Daniel just hoped it would work. They could really use some luck right about now. And Teal’c looked like he could use some assistance. Tapping into his waning energy reserves, Daniel shouted out, waving his arms to distract the women, "Hey! Over here!"

Startled by his lame outburst, the women glanced up from their battle with the large Jaffa long enough for him to break fully from them and escape through the door. Daniel watched with anticipation, praying silently Teal’c would not be stopped.

The makeshift plan fell apart when Daniel realized he had no plan past the distraction and options for dealing with five, very angry, very armed women were few and far between. He gulped, raised his hands and backed up until he hit the wall, glancing quickly at the unconscious colonel before the women closed in around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal'c ran through the dark woods, listening for signs of pursuit. He couldn't hear any now, but knew the Amazons would be expert trackers and they would be coming soon. Using the bright glow of the twin moons to guide him, Teal'c slowed to a steady, sustainable pace.

The night was drawing in, but at least there were no indigenous life forms to contend with. Teal'c hated to leave his comrades in such a terrible situation, but he knew he would be of greater assistance to them if he could get word to the SGC. He greatly feared for Major Carter's safety as well. Daniel Jackson’s observations of her behavior did indeed appear accurate and Teal’c hoped the Amazons had not done permanent harm to her. Best to leave such speculation to those who knew more about such things. He would bring assistance through and his friends would receive the medical attention they needed. Teal'c hoped they wouldn't need much, but judging from the men already residing in the village they would if he was not successful...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was dark. Dark and... not quiet. There were noises, muffled and distant. Jack knew he should wake up, shake off the blanket. The nice warm blanket he could hide underneath, hide from all the troubles, all the responsibilities...

No. He couldn't hide; there were things that needed to be done, people who needed him...

"Daniel!"

Jack immediately regretted getting up quite so quickly. His head felt like he'd met a freight train straight on, and the room spun crazily. Cradling his aching head, he looked around. He’d been moved into yet another crude hut. It was slightly smaller than their previous accommodations. Fabulous! He’d been booked into a private suite, complete with one plush, cozy cot and…that’s it.

There was no indication Daniel or Teal’c had ever been with him. Maybe both of them got away? Right.

He stumbled about the small room drunkenly, pain in his right knee shooting all the way into his lower back. Not good at all. He was barely mobile, alone, and surrounded by women. Every man’s fantasy, except he wanted out.

Jack collapsed on the hard cot and pondered his options. It didn’t take long, as he couldn’t think of any.

"Hey! Sheba! She-Ra! Wonder Woman! Anyone?" he called futilely. Not surprisingly, there was no response.

These women preferred the silence. Women... Carter... Jack groaned, recalling their last ‘conversation’. He hadn't hit her. Instead, he'd stood staring dumbly at her. That moment of indecision, of weakness, had probably cost him any ground he'd had. He should've restrained her, should've taken control of the situation better. If he had, his team would still be together. He could've taken Carter back and gotten her seen to, could've kept Daniel safe...

But he hadn't. Instead, he had held back. Was it because they were close? Would he have hit Daniel, if the positions had been different? He would’ve had no trouble hitting any other man under his command, or even a superior, come to think of it. Damnit! Jack kicked himself as he realized half the problem was that his Major was a woman.

He tried to treat her the same as he would any other member of his team. Most of the time, he didn't even think of her like that, not while they were working. Hadn't she done enough to earn his respect? Didn't she deserve to be treated the same when she wasn't herself?

Jack groaned again. Waiting it out now seemed to be his only option.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel looked around the room he'd been 'escorted' into. His guides hadn't been all that friendly and he had no idea where here was. Or where Jack was. Or if Teal’c was still out there somewhere. Or if Sam was okay.

He winced and lightly probed his swollen cheekbone, telling himself never to get in a fistfight with Sam again. She packed quite a punch.

"Hmm, Themina was right."

Daniel struggled not to stare at the woman entering the room. Something about the way she was slinking in set off every alarm in Daniel’s head.

"She also said you were talkative, 'impudent and undisciplined', were the words I think she used." She closed in, circling him to look from all angles. "What's the matter? Bit through your tongue?"

Daniel took a deep breath and tried to make his cheeks pale through sheer effort of will, they burned hotly and proclaimed his discomfort more readily than a flashing sign. "No, I learned others would do that for me. Where are my friends?"

Selene ignored his question. She reached up to his face and studied the impressive bruise that was closing his eye. "Ah, so I can see. Sister Samantha has been letting you run loose. You can be assured I will not make the same mistake."

Daniel might have taken a few blows, but it didn't take his years of linguistic training to spot the pure venom dripping from her voice as she uttered Sam’s name. His eyes narrowed as he wondered what Sam had done to anger this woman so much. He eyed her, confused. Selene was a rather slim woman and not the sort of person who earned respect amongst such bloodthirsty cultures, she stood out somehow and yet...

"In case you were wondering, my name is Selene. But you will refrain from addressing me as such," Selene explained. "Samantha told me you would be the one most likely to talk, she said you were the one most prepared to answer my questions and to ask some of your own. Obviously, she was wrong."

"Oh, so you think you can turn the volume on and off when you like?" He blurted irritably before he could stop himself. Selene looked surprised and delighted.

"I understand my sisters have been less than willing to listen. Come, eat with me," she purred.

Daniel stared after her. This was obviously some trick, or some new tactic. Despite her friendly words, he could sense the underlying selfish nature. She reminded him of somebody... some politician? Had she developed her weird tact in self-preservation?

Daniel followed her, not having much choice in the matter. He could see it now. Jack would explode with a 'What? You get knocked about a bit and get dragged into the castle again?'

Maybe he could negotiate something, gain her trust, do something... Even if he totally failed on that count, he needed to eat, the last meal had been his favorite. MREs cooked over an open fire. Somehow, Daniel felt he would need all the strength he could get.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal’c quietly observed the abandoned campsite, searching for any sign of the Amazons. He feared they had gone back during his captivity and retrieved the team’s supplies. It appeared to be untouched, but Teal’c knew appearances could be deceiving. He circled the campsite to view it from all directions. Not satisfied with a purely visual assessment, he broke off a large branch and prodded each backpack apprehensively. He was not pleased to have to waste precious time, but could not risk capture. Jaffa legends had portrayed the Amazons as a formidable race and they were not to be underestimated.

Taking a final glance around him, Teal’c dropped the branch and proceeded toward the nearest pack. Fear for the rest of SG1 overrode caution and he grabbed it quickly. Nothing. The Amazons had not returned to the campsite.

He opened the pack, intending to remove only the GDO, leaving the remainder of the contents to quicken his journey back to the Stargate. He grasped the GDO, but before he could move, he felt a surge similar to a Zat blast pulse through him. The electric shock paralyzed him in a macabre convulsion for endless moments before he fell to his side, spasms continuing harshly. As his eyes closed, the last thing Teal’c saw were the angry faces of ten women as they closed in on him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel kneaded the back of his neck, tense knots had formed during the hour he had been conversing with Selene.

The discussion had not progressed very far - Daniel did not want to reveal too much and Selene, it seemed, also wished to keep her motives hidden. Daniel felt like a prized pig, having been fed and watered for what he knew would ultimately lead to a slaughter, metaphorical or actual.

Selene circled him like a shark, watching his every movement, catching every word, every gesture. Daniel rolled his eyes as she stopped behind him and stroked his hair menacingly. He felt impotent and out of control. He noted her voice always remained very low and soothing. Either she was trying to coerce Daniel to co-operate fully or she didn’t want anyone to know she was speaking to him. Daniel suspected it was a combination of the two.

He unconsciously shrugged away from her touch, and her fist gripped his head in response. Daniel stiffened for a moment before forcing himself to relax. Up until this point, Selene had posed no direct physical threat. He didn’t want that to change, but he could not refrain from asking again, "When can I see my friends?"

She laughed at him cruelly and swatted his head almost playfully. "Oh, you are persistent, aren’t you? You should consider yourself very fortunate to be alive right now. Any other man would have been beaten to death long ago for your lack of co-operation."

Her tone became decidedly less cordial. "You will see them when I see fit. It seems your Jaffa friend is more elusive than anticipated. Themina and her warriors are having quite a difficult time retrieving him. They will locate him, and when they do he will pay for his impudence."

Daniel swallowed compulsively as he absorbed her words, hoping even more adamantly for Teal’c’s success. The SGC was not expecting their return for a couple more days. He feared none of them had that long. Frustration overcame common sense and he burst, "Look, threats will not make me open up any quicker. I won’t say another word until you let me see Jack."

Selene jerked his head back to face her direction, gripping his jaw tightly. Her toothy grin became a snarl. "Fine, Daniel. You seem like an intelligent beast. What would you say if I told you I’d give you anything you want, including seeing your friends?"

"I’d say ‘What do I have to do?’."

"Ah! I think the true question is what would you be willing to do to get what you want?" Selene gleamed evilly.

Daniel’s stomach twisted violently, the food he’d been given threatening to make an unpleasant reappearance. He knew he wouldn’t like the answer, but had to ask anyway, "What do you want from me, Selene? Enough with the cloak and dagger stuff…"

"I want you to kill Samantha Carter."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack wondered how long he had been in his wonderful new home away from home. He could hear no movement outside the hut, but had a feeling it was well guarded. His head still throbbed and he could feel other parts of his body ache from the earlier assault. Damn Amazons apparently had no qualms about kicking a man when he was down.

His thoughts turned again to his team. Not knowing their fates was eating away at him. As worried as he was about Carter’s present condition, he was fairly sure she would come to no harm from the Amazons. They seemed to be quite chummy, actually.

He shook his head angrily at the reminder of his hesitation to hit her. Common sense told him it would have done no good, but the weak spot irritated him nonetheless. Thank goodness Teal’c had reacted appropriately, taking advantage of the chaotic moment.

Jack mentally crossed his fingers Teal’c had made it back to the Stargate. This situation was rapidly going from shit to hell to shit again. He wasn’t questioning Teal’c’s ability in any way, but these women were proving to be quite the adversaries. If Teal’c said the Jaffa considered them equals, Jack was sure they’d not let his mission be a simple one. Jack forced himself to believe Teal’c was already in contact with General Hammond. The alternative was too grim to think about - for himself, Teal’c, Carter and…Daniel.

Where was Daniel?? Jack was most concerned for his young friend. If the Amazons had not yet punished him for the fiasco with Carter, might they be punishing Daniel right now? Jack glared at the door as though it were mocking him - laughing at his inability to do anything to fix this. He was sickened to think of what those warriors were doing to Daniel. Images of deformed and scarred men flashed through his head.

No!

Thoughts like that would do no good. He would find a way out of this. Teal’c would bring reinforcements. Carter would come to her senses. And Daniel would be just fine. They’d all be just fine.

Jack’s mini pep talk ended when the door flung open and a body was tossed in. It crumpled lifelessly on the floor, and Jack strained to see if the person was still breathing. He didn’t dare move until the door was once again slammed shut.

He rushed to his new roommate and turned him over gently, fear racing through his veins. The person had still not made a sound, nor had he moved.

Damn, damn! Shit.

It was Teal’c, his features barely recognizable. It looked as though they had beaten him within an inch of his life. Jack made a fast check of his injuries, noting Teal’c’s left arm twisted in an unnatural angle. When his hands felt along his torso, he could feel three, no four, broken ribs. Teal’c’s right knee was swollen to almost double it’s size and along with the collection of bruises on his face, his head had several deep cuts oozing blood across his mangled face.

Jack searched the quarters for anything to aid his friend but found nothing, not even water. He stripped off his T-shirt and began tearing it for bandages.

This mission just kept getting worse and worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam opened her eyes, refreshed after only a few hours of sleep. She sat up and stretched lazily, happy to be among friends at last. The past four years of her life had been wasted in the company of men. She looked forward with excitement to the evening’s festivities, especially the tribute to be offered to Leyda. Sam wondered how the search for Teal’c was coming and decided to lend a hand if he had not yet been found. After all, she had first hand knowledge of the man, as disgusting as that seemed at the moment, and it could prove very valuable.

She peered out of her hut, noticing the hustle and bustle of the village as the women prepared for the festival and headed for the meeting hall. As she approached the building, she could hear quiet murmurs emanating from it. Curiosity made her stop just outside the door to eavesdrop on the occupants.

"I want you to kill Samantha Carter."

Anger coursed through Sam at Selene’s words. She fought the overwhelming urge to break into the hall and attack Selene. She managed to restrain herself and listen for the second person’s response. Sam assumed it was Themina Selene was speaking to, but was shocked and angered further to hear Daniel’s voice.

"Oh, is that all you want me to do?"

Sam heard no more. The blood rushed loudly in her ears and she stormed away from the building. So Daniel had managed to sweet talk his way into Selene’s bed, had he? She raged at the deception the pair of them were planning, Selene obviously seeking power over Themina by killing her. How did Selene think she could get rid of her by using a weakling like Daniel? The humor of the thought interfered with her rage and she began to chuckle maniacally.

She had to find Themina. Sam clutched the arm of a passing Amazon. "Can you tell me if the Jaffa has been found?"

"Yes, he has been. Themina put him in with the old slave, then she went to her home to rest for this evening’s celebration."

"Show me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, is that all you want me to do?" Daniel scoffed at the idea. Nothing would induce him to harm any of SG1, a fact Selene had not yet determined.

"Sarcasm does not become you, slave," Selene snapped. "You will kill her before tonight’s feast is concluded. Themina seeks to buy power, but it is my right to succeed Leyda. Artemis bestowed me with red hair, not Themina. All these years I have spent working with that bitch to gain rank with Leyda. She will not snatch it away from me now. And the last thing I need is another blessed warrior as competition. Samantha Carter must be removed before she becomes a threat."

Daniel listened in shock to Selene’s rampage, thankful she was at last revealing her intentions. Her eyes blazed with passion/anger and, Daniel sensed, something darker. This woman would stop at nothing to reach her goal. He wondered if she intended to assassinate either Leyda or Themina along with Sam. Sam.

Daniel scoured his memory banks to come up with anything regarding red hair. Nothing. He supposed it really didn’t matter if he could remember why it was significant. The fact it was was apparent by Selene’s maddened frenzy. Shuddering slightly, Daniel vowed to refuse participation in anything she intended.

"Are you listening to me, Slavedaniel?"

He winced at her mutation of his name.

"Any overt sign of my plans would end in my own execution and I can’t have that, can I? But if a former slave of Samantha Carter’s decides to seek revenge upon her by murdering her, no one would question it."

"I won’t do it. Sam is not my master, she is my friend," Daniel angrily interrupted, unable to remain silent.

"You really don’t have a choice. Either you kill her, or I kill you."

To reinforce the sincerity of her threat, Selene’s hand clamped around Daniel’s throat and she squeezed fiercely. Daniel struggled to breathe around the vice like grip, but had little success. Déjà vu. His head began to swim, the room spun crazily and shadows played at the edge of his vision. He felt his eyes begin to roll back as his breathing ebbed and gray flowed to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal’c finally was showing signs of life. The Jaffa moaned disturbingly as Jack worked on his wounds, wincing at the pain he was causing his friend. He had suffered sympathy pains while Sarah was going through labor with Charlie, and he felt something akin to that sensation right now.

He wrapped Teal’c’s ribs as best he could, praying there were no internal injuries, or if there were that they weren’t too severe for Junior to fix. Next he moved to Teal’c’s knee. It was difficult to tell exactly what happened, but Jack unconsciously rubbed his own tender knee. They sure made it clear Teal’c would not be participating in any marathons in the near future.

With a small strip of his T-shirt, he gently swabbed the blood off Teal’c’s battered face. He looked as bad as when Nirrti had attacked him and Cronus. The Jaffa flinched reflexively at the touch and moaned once again.

"Sorry, buddy. I’m almost done. I know I don’t have Doc Fraiser’s bedside manner, such that it is, but I’m all you got."

He wound several strips around Teal’c’s head like a turban. The bleeding was slowing a bit, which Jack took as a sign Junior was doing his job. His hand lingered on Teal’c’s bandages and he allowed himself to do absolutely nothing but worry. He sighed heavily in grim anticipation of his next task.

Jack inhaled deeply before grasping Teal’c’s left shoulder with one hand and reaching for his wrist with the other. He’d done this a million times - he could do it again. He had to do it again. One last breath and Jack twisted Teal’c’s arm forcefully back into its natural position. The horrendous sound of it seemed to reverberate throughout the small room. Teal’c arched his back in pain and moaned piteously, remaining thankfully unconscious.

Jack looked around desperately for something to splint the arm, but again came up empty handed. All he could do was hope the women did not return to inflict more abuse on them. It was killing him to see Teal’c in such pain.

"Oh, God, Teal’c. I’m so sorry. I never should have gone along with such a bad plan. Not that I could have done anything to stop you, what with me getting the crap kicked out of me and all, but if I had nixed it from the beginning…" Jack stopped. "What am I doing? What’s done is done. Pissing and moaning will get me nowhere."

Determined not to let his self-reproach outweigh the need to figure out a solution to the current problem, Jack’s left leg jostled nervously. If only he had someone to bounce ideas off of…

He sensed a slight change in Teal’c’s breathing pattern and crouched next to him. He laid his hand on Teal’c’s good shoulder and murmured softly, "Hey."

Teal'c turned his head slowly, but didn't say anything. He figured Teal'c wouldn't appreciate a molly coddling, so he decided to give him the facts. "You've done a couple of ribs in and dislocated your left shoulder. Your knee is shot, at least for the time being. I'm not sure if you've got any internal injuries."

"Indeed, I do not believe I have incurred any serious injuries. I will recover, but I will need time to recuperate as my symboite attempts to heal me. However, I am slightly dehydrated and in need of medical supplies." The voice was hoarse, but steady.

Jack sighed, glad Teal'c was now conscious, but pained to see his friend suffering even more, "Yeah, well that's the problem. We haven't got any of either and I can't see any way of getting them."

He lay back onto the creaking wall, idly entertaining fantasies of it falling down and letting him and Teal'c run away. Run away. That's a joke, they could barely stand, not a good leg between them.

"What happened?"

"I reached the campsite and checked for an ambush, but clearly I did not check well enough." Teal’c smiled slightly, grimly. "Where is Daniel Jackson?"

Jack shrugged. He felt like giving in. Two team members injured beyond self-repair, one compromised and one... missing. Nice little party. "I'm all out. Unless you have a better idea than glaring at the Amazons until they let us go home..." he held his aching head in his hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam stormed into Themina's antechamber, dismissing the nervous servants with an impatient wave. "Themina! I need to talk to you."

Themina looked up from her meal, cocking her head in bemusement. "Ah, Sister Samantha, what urgent catastrophe urges you to drag me away from my meal?"

"Selene," Sam snarled.

Themina's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in distaste. "You are right, this is urgent news. What is she up to now?"

"She is coercing Daniel," the name was reduced to a guttural growl, "to kill me! She promised him his freedom and that of his friends."

"That is not acceptable." Themina’s eyes darkened. "Although assassination is not frowned upon, being discovered surely is. And she should not be fooling with the intended tribute. I have suffered her machinations for long enough, come, we will turn her cleverness against her."

This was more like it. Sam took a seat beside Themina and poured herself a drink. "I like the sound of that. What do I have to do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel could hear the gasps of someone in great distress as he tried to focus on the face floating before him. It wavered dizzyingly, and flip-flopped several times before it snapped into crystal clear resolution along with the understanding he was responsible for the frantic inhalation. Selene leered at him as he slowly returning to his senses.

"You see how easy it would be to break your neck, Slavedaniel? I know you don’t want to die, and the only thing preventing it is your willingness to kill Samantha Carter."

He sat up slowly, rubbing his forehead. Why did this woman keep insisting he kill Sam? Well, he knew why, but why couldn’t she see he wouldn’t do it? Daniel understood his refusal would lead to more torture or death, and he weighed his options.

Time to put on his best scared puppy face and pretend to play along.

"O-of c-course," He faltered. "Whatever you want! Just don’t hurt me anymore!"

Selene laughed, completely buying into the act. She stroked his face gently, tracing his bruises over and over again.

"You men are so predictable. A little pain and you turn into sniveling babies. It disgusts me at times we must debase ourselves with you at all. Thank goodness I do not participate in the ceremonies every year."

Daniel couldn’t school his face quickly enough to remove the curiosity from it.

Selene noticed and clarified, "Well, we couldn’t have the entire population pregnant at the same time, could we?"

Daniel shrugged and tried to look disinterested. It would do him no good if Selene discovered every piece of information she let slip was being stored away in case it could come in handy later.

"All Amazons of child-bearing age participate in the mating festival, but not all at once," she needlessly explained. "We do not want to waste these years, and not every pairing will result in a child, or even a female child for that matter, so the years are alternated. Those not actively participating have the pleasure of watching the proceedings. This can be equally satisfying for some."

Daniel gathered she actually preferred the watching as her eyebrows waggled suggestively. Her hand stopped stroking his cheek and her face became thoughtful. He shivered for effect and looked away from her stare meekly.

"Although…there are exceptions to every rule. You appeal to me Sl…Daniel. Perhaps, once you have completed your task, I will partake in the pleasures you have to offer. Yes." She leaned closer to him, her face inches from his own.

Daniel shivered, this time in earnest, as he helplessly watched Selene’s lips descend onto his. He held his breath while she kissed him, hoping frantically she’d allow him to see Jack before he was scheduled to execute Sam. A groan escaped his lips. He didn’t even know Jack’s condition.

Selene misinterpreted the reaction as acquiescence and her kiss became more enthusiastic. Daniel moved to grab her arms and push her away from him.

She reared back at the motion and slapped him hard across the face, snarling. "How dare you! I did not give you permission to touch me!"

She rose and backed away from him, eyes blazing wildly. Daniel gulped, realizing at last and with certainty how much trouble he was in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack slept fitfully and was roused by rustling noises and voices just outside the door. He fidgeted uncomfortably and turned to greet his visitors. Carter entered the hut, medical supplies in one hand and a jug of water and a bundle in the other. Jack sighed inwardly as relief washed over him. At last, something was going right. He had his second in command back.

Jack sat up, glad to see his friend again and eager to do something... he caught himself short, though as his waking brain screamed incoherently. Just what was Carter doing here, anyway? Was she back to normal?

"Hey, sir. I've brought medical supplies and food. I'm trying to gain their confidence, it seems to be working."

'Oh really? ' Jack nearly said it, but flinched with the memory of their last conversation... "Right, fine, but can ya see to Teal'c? He took quite a beating." Jack couldn't take all of his irritation out of his voice.

"Hmm? Oh, right." Carter looked momentarily distracted. She knelt down and began her ministrations unemotionally.

"Where's Daniel?" Jack asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his tone. Carter was showing no sympathy toward Teal’c’s condition. This was so not right.

"He's fine." She finished cleaning Teal’c’s wounds and sat back.

Teal'c barely stirred throughout the exchange. Jack was glad he was getting some rest.

"Listen, Jack--"

The airman's head snapped round painfully at the use of his first name. Carter was kneeling on the floor in front of him, leaning towards him. Her head tilted up to look at him and Jack noticed her pupils were dilated and her breath had a certain twang.

"Carter, I don't think..."

"That's right, don't think. I've found a way you can get home."

She rocked forward on her haunches and reached her fingers out to brush the split lip. "I'm sorry I had to do that," she crooned, "but I had to keep up appearances."

Jack's breath came ragged, Sam was getting far too close for comfort and obviously she still wasn't herself. Ah, this was very uncomfortable… he uncharacteristically shrank back slightly, hugging the wall.

"All you have to do is one little, tiny thing for me. You can do that, can't you?" she took his chin and nodded his head. "You see, we all need to make sacrifices," she sighed softly. "It seems our precious Daniel has been conspiring against all of us. The entire time you and Teal’c have been in here starving and bleeding, he’s been living it up with Selene. She’s fed him, given him fresh clothes, and even a nice soft bed. He’s got it so good, he’ll do anything to keep it that way. Selene is so threatened by me, she’s even convinced my dear friend to kill me!"

Jack gaped at her numbly, shocked by her words and her hand on his thigh. Daniel would never sell them out. He knew that, and her actions merely confirmed it. No Major in the USAF would ever come on to another officer, especially her commanding officer!

Carter forced his mouth shut before he could speak, keeping her hand under his chin. "I won’t let that happen. No, actually, YOU won’t let that happen."

Jack didn’t know if she was ordering him to kill Selene or Daniel at this point. His head was spinning at how out of control Carter was. He decided to play dumb. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Her lips twisted into a snarl, mutating her perfect white teeth into a predatory grin. "Jack, Jack, Jack. Of course you will eliminate Daniel. We all know how dangerous he is with a weapon. Really, it would be to your benefit as well as Teal’c’s if you neutralized him. He’s a menace."

He opened his mouth to speak again.

"Ah!" Carter halted him with a finger in the air. "I don’t think you heard me." She moved to kneel by Teal’c’s prone form and traced a pattern across the unconscious man’s chest. "Daniel is going to kill me, Jack. If he succeeds, both you and the Jaffa will die, have no doubt about it. But if you kill him, I can protect you. One life or three, Jack?"

Jack's head swam in pain, his leg seemed to be on fire, but he needed to concentrate. His voice came in a thin rasp. "Why? Why are you doing this, Sam?" He used her first name, trying to snap her back to her senses.

She winced at his informality. "How dare you use my name! You have no right!"

Jack was desperately aware he needed to push while she was here, before she had a chance to re-group, to be brainwashed again. A direct physical assault wouldn't work and he was not in good enough shape to deal with an enraged and well-trained Sam. Maybe he could find his Major in there somewhere.

"Sam, you don't want to do this, you don't want to hurt Teal'c. Think, damnit, think! How could you possibly want to kill Daniel? After all he's done? After all this time, does it mean nothing to you?"

Sam's eyes teared at his words and she pulled back slightly. Hysterical, she jumped up screaming, "What is it with you? Why are you always trying to suppress me? Why are you always crushing me?"

Jack dragged himself up, inch by painful inch until he stood over her. "What are you talking about?"

Carter couldn't, or wouldn't hear him. She was shouting again and Jack realized the comments weren't all aimed directly at him. There were some that were probably directed at that creep Jonas, or other men. He heard things that could only be meant for Jacob. Her mother had died when she was still young and obviously, it had stung more than she was prepared to say. He knew that sting, and he knew what it could do to a person.

He stepped forward to pin her wheeling arms, fearing damage to himself and to her. Carter snapped out of her trance at his touch and shrugged back. "Get off me! GET OFF ME!!!"

Recovering slightly, she shivered and shouted, "You WILL kill Daniel, or you will ALL die painfully and I'll make sure you are the last to die so you can watch what we do to your friends!" She turned with force and slammed the door again behind her.

Sometime, Jack figured, the door was going to bounce off its primitive hinges. He'd almost got there, almost gotten her to see sense... Poor Carter. Somebody had screwed with her head real good. That was one of the few things Jack really hated. If they ever got out of this. Correction, when they got out of this, his Major was going to be hurting even more, damnit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Themina toyed with her headdress. The last official meeting before the start of the three-day festival had just ended and she was itching to get back into her fighting gear. She was unusual in being both good in the halls and in the fields, unlike her predecessor who had been purely a war leader. Themina could play hardball with the likes of Selene...

Selene finally plucked up the courage to make a direct strike against her, probably because of the appearance of Samantha and her three... troublemakers. Themina had seen a valuable source of exchange and leverage in the newcomer. Selene's peculiarities had stopped her from holding Themina's vaunted position, though it didn't stop her trying. For Themina to have Sam, another red-head under her control would speak volumes about her strength to Leyda and may tip the balance more equally as there was one other red-head of the right age at the moment, an undistinguished leader...

Selene had to be stopped, but not eliminated. Better to humiliate her and keep her in check via blackmail than lose her, she was useful when 'negotiation' was required.

Themina admired Samantha's ingenuity. The idea to have the young slave killed had been her own idea, of course, but Samantha had decided to make it more interesting and use the elder slave. For similar reasons Selene couldn’t kill Samantha, neither Themina nor Samantha could murder Daniel. It would send a clear signal to Selene her deception had been discovered. Even if Selene figured out their scheme, she would be unable to actively retaliate upon Leyda’s arrival.

This was turning out perfectly. The old slave could even be made into the hunting tribute. Sure, he was injured, but he could be patched together and Samantha had said he was skilled in evading capture. If he were anything like the larger one, it would be highly entertaining indeed. And once her slaves were all gone, Samantha would have no power. She would still have to be removed, of course. Themina couldn’t have someone with such intelligence and cunning around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"O'Neill," the voice cracked painfully.

"Yeah?" the reply was equally weary, but the older man looked up sharply.

"Is there anything to drink? I require..." Teal'c coughed.

Shit! Goddamn idiot, only thinking of yourself... Jack groaned at his selfishness as he crawled over to the meager supplies afforded them. He picked up the large jug and held it to the Jaffa's lips, reaching under the big man's shoulders and tilting his head up. When Teal'c had drunk his fill, Jack wet some of the cleaner strips he had torn off earlier and dabbed at his forehead, cleaning the (now gladly healing) wounds.

"D'ya feel up to eating?" he asked, eyeing the hunk of stale bread that was meant to sustain them.

Teal'c simply shook his head and lay down again, exhausted. He was running a slight temperature as Junior worked overtime, so Jack promised himself he'd keep an eye on it. He'd meant to give Teal'c a drink, but had been so lost in thought he had completely lost track of everything.

He stalked over to the narrow crack of the doorway to check the horizon. It was fast approaching nightfall and Jack aired his fears to Teal'c. "Not long before the big party. For once, I wouldn't mind if I wasn't invited."

"Indeed, it is one gathering I would like to miss also."

Jack gave up looking for inspiration outside and turned to his friend. "Carter came in before. She said one of the others had forced Daniel into agreeing to assassinate her."

Teal'c said nothing, letting the airman take his time.

A deep sigh heralded the second half of the news flash. "She wants me to kill Daniel for her."

"What are you planning?"

"That's just it, Teal'c," Jack half laughed. "If we stay here and do nothing, they will kill us. I don't know if it will be fast or slow, but they will do it eventually. If I go along with it maybe I could get to Danny and make a break for it? I could come back and get you and Carter. If worse comes to worst, we could send a team back through."

"This would seem to be our only option," he agreed.

"You know what it could mean? I might not get away. Hell, I'm not likely to get away. I'd have to leave you for a while and I might not get back in time..."

Jack knew Teal'c understood what he meant. He knew what could happen. "I understand. I am of no use like this and I can ascertain no other course of action."

"I'll take that as two thumbs up, buddy." Jack rocked on his feet, the whole kit and caboodle would be funny if it weren't so goddamned dangerous. Honestly, with executions left, right and center, the whole thing read like the script from some black comedy. "Welcome to the worst day of the rest of my life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel slid down the wall to the floor, knees drawn up to his chest. He rested his aching head upon them and rubbed his bruised throat tenderly. He didn’t think he could find a spot on his body that didn’t hurt. Selene had flown into another fit of rage and thrown him into yet another cold and damp shack. Geez, how many of these things did they have? Did the male population of this world exist only to construct their own prisons and reproduce?

Daniel chuckled at his inane thoughts. His stomach roiled as he thought about his predicament. Six of one, half dozen of the other. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. How many other clichés could be applied? Jack would have a field day.

Jack. He had to somehow find Jack. Before the damn festival began and he’d have to kill Sam. Not that he would kill Sam, but right now he couldn’t think of a way to not kill Sam. Selene made it perfectly clear either he would kill her and become Selene’s consort, or she’d find someone else to do it and kill Daniel for his defiance. The lesser of two evils. A thief and alive or honest and dead…

Stretching his long legs in front of him, Daniel sighed with consternation. He didn’t even know for sure if Jack was alive. He scrubbed his hands through his hair, dispelled a sharp breath and forced himself to rise. He paced around the room, all concentration on finding a way out of this shack. And off this planet.

Daniel rubbed his lips absently, the action forcing the memory of Selene’s not-so-welcome advances. What was it about him that made every psychopathic woman in the universe hot for him? Okay, well Hathor was just looking for sperm donor. Kira didn’t know she was a sociopath, so she really couldn’t be blamed. Shyla had been under the influence of…

Under the influence of??

Daniel halted and his head automatically shot up, even though there was no one to run his theory across. That had to be it! When Selene kissed him, he could smell and taste alcohol. The tables had been filled with the stuff-everywhere he turned he found it. Must be some sort of special drink, perhaps for the festival? What if there was something in the drink that was altering these women?

Sam included. Her behavior noticeably changed after spending only one night with the Amazons. It made sense. Daniel had to get Sam to stop drinking that stuff. He’d have a difficult time finding Jack, but Sam should be much easier to see. Surely she’d want to know how one of her slaves was doing?

"Um, hello?" Daniel called tentatively. "Could someone come in here please?"

The only hitch in this idea was if…Selene walked through the door.

Oh, of course she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam fled from the building as though it was on fire, heart pounding and confusion filling her entire body. She ignored the stares of the women as she raced into her hut. The door slammed violently, she slumped down it and wrapped her arms around her knees.

She thought the colonel…no, Jack…would succumb to her method of persuasion. Men only thought about sex - it should have been her greatest weapon. And she knew for a fact he had feelings for her. It should have worked.

But it didn’t work and she panicked. His arms grasping her shoulders and his soft, condescending words pushed her over the edge. How dare he think he could manipulate her? How dare he question her order?

The jug of mead on her bedside table drew her attention. She needed to calm down, that’s all. Not bothering to pour herself a cup, Sam lifted the mead to her lips and took several long swallows. Almost instantaneously, she began to feel better. Thoughts and words previously a jumbled haze came into focus.

She had gone about it all wrong. Colonel Jack O’Neill should not be underestimated. She knew that. The situation was salvageable, though. The look on his face when she threatened Teal’c was priceless. That’s what she needed to exert her energy on.

Yes, she had been foolish. The way to Jack was always through his friends. What happened to him was of little consequence as long as they remained safe. Hmm, the more she thought about it, the more satisfied she became her minor breakdown actually aided her plans.

O’Neill would pity her. He’d be concerned for her. Afraid if he upset her, she’d go nuts. As disgusting as his pity was, Sam had to grin at her good fortune.

She lifted the jug to her lips again and let the smooth alcohol slide down her throat.

Daniel would pay for his betrayal. Oh, yes, would. And she would have the satisfaction of putting Jack O’Neill in his proper place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal’c brought himself out of Kel no’reem and glanced at his sleeping companion. His wounds had healed considerably and he felt he could make his first attempt to rise since being contained in this building. Slowly, he brought himself to a sitting position and the room swayed only a small amount.

He stood and tested his injured leg, putting his full weight upon it. The pain was intense, but the limb did not buckle. Teal’c allowed himself a quick and subtle smile. He was no longer completely useless to his friends. His abilities were severely limited, it was true, but he was mobile once again.

"Hey, Teal’c! You can stand!" O’Neill’s tired, but jovial voice sang out.

"Indeed."

"Way to go, Junior!"

Teal’c’s smile broadened. The nickname still amused him.

"I am yet unable to be of much assistance, O’Neill, but there is not time for additional Kel no’reem."

"Yeah, well. I won’t worry about it if you won’t. Have I been out long? Did I miss anything? Any sign of Carter? What about Daniel?"

O’Neill’s questions bombarded him, and Teal’c took it as a good sign his commander and friend was showing a glimmer of hope. He regretted not having any further information on the remaining members of his team.

"I have just come to awareness myself. I do not know if we have had visitors, although I believe it to be unlikely."

"God, I hate this. Seems like all we’ve been doing is wait. In between beatings, of course."

"Of course. I believe the hour of the festival has arrived, and yet Major Carter has not come to reveal more of her intention to kill Daniel Jackson." Teal’c’s voice betrayed none of the fear he felt creeping into his senses.

"That’s okay. I wasn’t really looking forward to that, anyway!" O’Neill joked weakly.

"O’Neill, do you…"

Before he could finish, the door flew open and a body was deposited into the cramped quarters. It lay face down, unmoving, but Teal’c knew immediately who it was.

"Damnit," O’Neill breathed. "Daniel."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Selene glided into the small enclosure, gently closing the door behind her. Daniel could have kicked himself for his stupidity. Selene had no doubt waited outside his prison, certain her threat would be considered and decided upon. He played right into her hands. He attempted to tone his expression from shock and fear to one of complete blankness.

Hers told him he failed miserably.

"So, you have made your decision? What will it be? I think I know…" Selene whispered seductively as she encroached into his personal space. Her slender fingers splayed across his chest and she leaned in for his response.

Nausea abruptly filled him and he swallowed repeatedly. Daniel once again cursed his body for betraying him. Think, he had to think. Mind racing, Daniel fought the revulsion and managed to speak with a surprisingly steady voice.

"Did I really have a choice? I’ll do it. I’ll kill Sam, but only if you promise to find a way for me to see Jack," Daniel said, hoping fervently she would believe his lie. "And that you allow me to see him before I kill Sam."

Selene laughed, the obscene voice filling every corner of the room and seeming to reverberate unceasingly. She appeared wholeheartedly amused by his request, and she inexplicably drew Daniel into a warm, almost friendly embrace.

"Oh, that is too precious! A slave making an ultimatum. You will surely provide me much diversion for many years!" Selene managed to spurt between chuckles.

Daniel’s heart dropped to his feet, dismayed at his failure. Still, he had to stand his ground. He gritted his teeth and held his breath as he endured her increasingly aggressive caresses.

"I won’t if you don’t agree," he said flatly.

At his statement, Selene’s hands stopped and she drew away from him quickly. Studying him with narrowed eyes, she struggled to understand his meaning. Comprehension opened her eyes, and her gaze became harsh.

"You would choose death?" Selene muttered angrily. "What power does Samantha possess that would make you forfeit your life for hers?"

"She is my friend. I would rather die than be responsible for her death," Daniel stated simply.

Selene searched his eyes to seek the truth. He knew they contained only icy will. She must have sensed his determination. She raged, "Friends with a woman? Unlikely. More aptly, Samantha has catered to you and you fear any other master would not treat you so favorably. You are correct. What, then, shall become of your companions?"

Daniel’s eyes flashed unconsciously. Companions? Then Teal’c…

"Yes, Daniel. Your Jaffa friend has been apprehended," Selene snarled. "Both he and the older slave will be active participants in this evenings festivities. Most likely, they will have the distinct displeasure of being the tribute. That is, if they live long enough. Their fate rests in your hands."

"What difference does it make what I do?" Daniel exclaimed in frustration. "We’re all dead anyway, isn’t that right?"

"Silence! Your impertinence no longer amuses me," Selene roared, followed shortly by a powerful punch to Daniel’s injured cheek.

Daniel plunged to the floor with a groan, head smacking the ground with a resounding thud. Brilliant red blotches exploded before his eyes and he struggled to regain focus. His hand automatically traveled to his cheek, attempting to protect it.

Selene fumed above him, resentment at their stalemate written in her every action. Daniel helplessly watched as her movement became more erratic and culminated into terrifying insanity.

"She must die. She must die. She must die." Selene chanted. She turned to him, "If you won’t do it, you will die!"

Selene kicked out at the hapless man sprawled before her, catching his ribs brutally. Daniel moaned as this new pain took predominance over his prior aches. Red turned to black and he felt himself passing out. Selene poised for another well-placed kick, and Daniel tried to scoot away from the blow, wincing in preparation for more pain.

Selene’s foot suddenly vanished from his hazy view and Daniel wondered briefly where it went.

"Selene! Not the tribute!" Daniel heard an unidentified voice shout and then he heard nothing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pounding on her door startled Sam from her slumber. She raised herself up quickly, momentarily confused about her whereabouts. Where was the rest of her team?

"Samantha! The time of the festival has arrived. Open your door!" a female voice called.

Puzzled, Sam stumbled to the door. On the other side stood a gigantic, dark woman. The woman smiled amiably at her, holding a bundle under one of her arms.

"Can I help you?" Sam queried and watched a perplexed expression take root on her visitor’s face. And the confusion as it changed to mirth.

"Oh, Samantha, you do have a strange sense of humor. Here, I brought you suitably attire for the evening’s activities." The woman brushed by Sam into the small abode. She observed the empty jug by the bedside and her eyes glistened knowingly. "Ah, I see what is the problem. Drinking too much of the mead in too short a time can sometimes lead to a period of memory loss. It will return soon."

"I’m sorry. What? Who are you? Where are my friends? Are they OK?" Sam’s head throbbed, and her confusion was not dissipating.

"I am Themina. Your friends, as you call them, are also being prepared for the festival. Do not worry," Themina appeased. "Lydia! Lydia, please bring more mead."

Sam looked warily around her and at the woman standing next to the bed. Everything seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She jumped as another woman entered and handed her a mug of something. She hesitatingly put it to her lips and took a sip.

Warmth crept through Sam’s veins and her agitation toned down a notch. She began to remember bits and pieces of the past days. She still couldn’t determine specifics. Somehow, she knew she should not drink any more of the mug’s contents and she set it down with a jerk.

Themina’s eyes followed her closely, and the woman began to chatter soothingly, "We have brought you ceremonial garb. Please, try it on."

Sam eyed the clothing suspiciously. It didn’t look like it would cover her.

"I would really rather prefer to keep my own clothes," she said calmly, reaching a hand up to squeeze the bridge of her nose. "Please. If you’ll just take me to see my friends, I’d appreciate it."

"I cannot do that, Samantha. You do not remember this of course, but one of them intends to kill you tonight. It would be unwise of you to seek them out."

Sam gasped at the revelation, mouth flying open in disbelief. What was this woman implying? A gentle hand guided her to the bed and she sank down on it, knees weak. The mug of mead found its way back into her hands and she unconsciously took a swallow.

Who would do that? The colonel? Sam didn’t think so. Teal’c? Never. Daniel? No, Daniel would never…

//‘You will kill Samantha Carter.’//

//‘Oh, is that all you want me to do?’//

The memory came back vividly, the words replaying over and over hauntingly. Daniel?! Sam brought the mug to her lips and drained it rapidly, not noticing the mead had a strange aftertaste. Was her memory true? Was Daniel going to kill her?

Fear, anger and confusion filled Sam’s being. She couldn’t believe it, but she couldn’t deny what she heard. Her muddled mind sought clarity and she strained to recall the previous day in its entirety.

Images assailed her relentlessly as it all came rushing back to her. Conflict between irrefutable evidence of Daniel’s treachery and her own gut instinct railed at her insides. Discombobulated by dual emotions, Sam fought to stem the nausea and uncertainty.

Which was right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack waited until the Amazons backed out of the shack and shut the door before he raced to his young teammate’s side. His hand grasped a wrist, searching for and finding a pulse. Strong and steady.

He shot a relieved look to Teal’c, who relaxed visibly and made his way to Daniel’s other side. Jack scanned Daniel’s body with his hands and eyes for injuries before nodding at Teal’c to help him roll the archaeologist onto his back.

The involuntary movement caused the younger man to groan and stir. Daniel’s head moved almost imperceptibly from side to side and Jack noted his battered features. He reached out a hand to touch the swollen cheekbone, determining there was no break. At the touch, Daniel jerked awake with a startled yelp and sat up.

"No…" he uttered, eyes filled with fear. Daniel slid back on his rump to get away from the perceived threat. His face grimaced with pain from the action. He doubled over, clutching his right side in a protective curl, breathing ragged.

Jack and Teal’c reached out to the young man simultaneously, the dual grip finally bringing Daniel to his senses.

"Hey, hey, easy Daniel. It’s just us. Glad you could join the party," Jack smiled an empty smile.

"Jack?" Daniel groaned, his eyes surveying the older man like he was an apparition. Eyes transferred to Teal’c and darkened. "Teal’c! Are you OK? So she wasn’t lying…"

Jack watched the younger man closely, concerned by his mutterings. Had he been alone with this Selene lady the entire time? Daniel’s instant reaction to their touch worried Jack considerably, his mind flashing to Daniel’s not so stellar track record with women.

"What happened?" Jack asked gently, his face turning into a scowl as he caught the bruises on Daniel’s throat.

"Oh, you know. The usual. Crazy woman. Unrealistic demands," Daniel muttered with a wave of his hand, clearly not ready to replay the events, his voice raspy. "I’m fine."

Jack eyed his young friend thoughtfully. Daniel appeared to be all right, physically. The way he was hugging his ribs revealed to Jack he had at least bruising under his shirt and he eased Daniel back to the ground.

"Yeah, right. OK, just let me check you out, huh?"

Daniel sighed his acceptance. Jack cautiously lifted up his shirt and winced at the discoloration decorating the younger man’s torso. He expertly felt the ribs, thankful when they didn’t give. Daniel muffled a moan at the invasion, and arm flung across his eyes.

"Sorry, Danny," Jack apologized. "It looks like nothing is broken, though. Can you sit up again?"

Daniel nodded and moved to do so, grateful for Jack’s assistance.

"I’m fine, Jack," Daniel reiterated.

"So you said. Teal’c, can you manage the water?"

"Of course. Daniel Jackson, it is good to see you. We were uncertain what had become of you," Teal’c commented as he handed Daniel a mug of water. The young man gulped it greedily.

"God, I’m glad you guys are all right! She wouldn’t tell me where you were, Jack, or if you’d got away, Teal’c. She’s really lost it." Daniel shuddered breathlessly.

"Who has lost it? Carter? We figured that out. She’s been by a couple of times…" Jack wryly stated, fingering his split lip.

"Sam! Is she OK? We’ve got to get her out of here, Jack. Selene…"

"Yeah, Selene wants her dead, right? We’ve heard a bit about that," Jack interrupted.

"No, Jack. It’s more than that. I think I know what’s going on here. The longer Sam stays, the more danger she will be in!" Daniel cried, panic seeping into his words.

Jack rubbed Daniel’s shoulder to calm him. "Easy, Daniel. Why don’t you fill us in on what you know and we’ll do the same. We don’t have much time."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam dragged a hand through her matted hair, wondering how she'd got into such a terrible state. Themina, (that was her name, right?) had left her alone to change a few minutes ago, but Sam hadn't brought herself to put on the, the skins, yet.

She glanced over to the crude jug and mug that Lydia had brought. Strangely, she could remember most of yesterday, but it all seemed distant. The memories were slightly jumbled and she could feel, well, something of the intensity of emotion, but it was wrong, somehow. Washed out. She knew you could remember feeling emotions, and not actually feel them, but this was ridiculous. Sort of an intellectual, detached link to the past. Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Early morning was not the time to be thinking about things like that. Not with a head pounding and swimming like an all-night rave. Her stomach, while empty, churned. Had she eaten at all? She couldn't recall, but she certainly didn't feel like eating now.

Sam groaned as she realized she was just putting off the important issue here: Daniel and her team. But how did you deal with a thing like that? Just when had the USAF held a lesson entitled 'What to do when you wake up to the memory that one of your teammates is plotting to kill you.' ? Obviously, she had missed that lesson. Alongside the ones about living water and scraggy haired little tree huggers.

Should she go over and see them? Themina had said they were all together, ready for the 'festival'. If her instinct was right and Daniel wasn't trying to kill her he would deny it, right? Or tell her the perfectly reasonable explanation she had quite obviously just overlooked. But if the girls were right and he was just a cowering, lying wretch, wouldn't he do exactly the same thing?

Would it be best to go and see for herself, check if he was lying? Or would she merely be taken in like a poor, dumb sap who couldn't think for herself?

She winced, that didn't seem quite right. It didn't scan. Was it the drink talking? When she'd taken a swig, it had felt so good, so... right. But things that were good for you never felt good, did they?

She struggled to think straight. Her mind was currently spiraling further and further inwards. Down into a dark, cold abyss of soul devouring nothingness. But the drink would help, wouldn't it? Surely, if the ends were so great, the means could not matter? She was strong enough to overcome it, to use it as it intended to use her?

Sam could not resolve the conflict rushing through her head. Blood thumped viciously at her temples as she ran through the possibilities; apparent fact clashing with feeling. Hissing in pain, she resolved to play this one by ear, at least till she could figure things out. This... situation was so delicate and the one commodity she did need more than anything else was in short supply. Time was, as they say, running out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's the wine! They're all drinking it. It must be something in the wine! I..." Daniel took a deep breath.

"The wine?" Jack asked. "It's OK, Danny, take your time."

Daniel breathed heavily and looked up, thankful for the pause. "There were bottles everywhere and Selene reeked of the stuff. Do you think they put something in it that makes them... edgy?" He gestured with his free hand, the other still unconsciously guarding his ribs.

Jack snorted at the understatement. "You might be right. I think Carter was on something. Teal'c, do you know anything about this?"

"I do not know of any specific instance or tale which relates to this, but perhaps the drink is of ceremonial significance?"

Daniel leaned forward again. "Yes! That must be it! Think about it Jack, they only mate once a year and even then only half of them do! If they relied on nature, there wouldn't be very many of the 'Baby Amazons' running around, would there?"

"What? Do you mean they've put stuff in the wine?"

"Yes, fertility drugs or something! It must be! All the hormone imbalances would make anyone irritable and imagine all the other side effects Artemis might have built into them!" Daniel stopped short, wincing at sudden pain in his chest. He wilted against the wall, energy depleted.

Jack moved toward him, concerned. When Daniel stopped gasping, he put a hand out and helped him sit up again.

"Look, I'm gonna have to see to those ribs."

Daniel nodded and pulled up his shirt again, averting his head at the disgust and anger registering on Jack's face. He tried to focus on the far wall to distract himself from the fresh agony bursting in his chest and the suffocating pressure on his throat.

"We need to get Sam out of here!" Daniel's eye closed. "These women are probably used to this stuff, I mean I'm no medical doctor, but that kind of stress can't be- ah!"

Jack tied the loose ends of the bandage up, being careful not to jar the younger man further with his cold hands. He tucked away the strands and gently pulled Daniel’s shirt back down, covering the dressing.

"Yeah, well, even if the hormones are harmless, a permanently PMSing Major Carter is anything but." Jack’s attempted levity fell short of the mark as he lowered the linguist against the walls of the shack. "Look, it’s been almost two days. We’re supposed to check in with Hammond at 1300 hours tomorrow. That doesn’t give us much time. We definitely don’t have brawn on our side. What do you say? Should we use brains or beauty?"

Daniel rolled his eyes.

"OK, then. Daniel, did you happen to notice anything else that may help us?"

Daniel nodded, the brief surge of adrenaline that had powered him had failed and he sat back feeling drained. He blinked to clear his blurred vision, an unfortunate result of the combination of exhaustion and his missing glasses.

"I’m, uh, I’m not sure," Daniel hedged.

"We must use their weaknesses against them, Daniel Jackson. Physically, we were no match before out injuries. The situation is now dire," Teal’c prompted, fingering the new attire provided by the Amazons. "The festival will begin shortly. It is to last three days. If we are able to remain alive for that long."

Daniel cast his weary eyes over Teal'c, seeing for the first time how badly the Jaffa must have been injured. God, what had they done to him? His face was a network of cuts, none of them serious anymore. What did cause concern was the way Teal'c was limping and holding his arm awkwardly. He was selfishly glad he hadn't seen Teal'c earlier. Junior must have been to work, as he did not seem to be in any obvious pain.

"Well, when Selene was…talking…with me, she was so focused on the discussion, I doubt she would have noticed a marching band had one paraded by. And her emotions changed so often, I would swear she’s bipolar. If they’re all so volatile, it could be used to our advantage, couldn’t it?" Daniel theorized.

"Yeah, any we’ve had the pleasure of seeing have been highly emotional and all that alcohol must be slowing their reactions, right?"

Daniel turned to the older man. Jack wasn't one hundred percent either. He was favoring one knee and had it strapped up. Daniel wondered where Jack had got all the bandages. It looked as though someone had just grabbed a handful of supplies and thrown them in. With his bound ribs, Jack's knee and Teal'c's head- they looked like a mummy army. Daniel laughed quietly. A group of mummies who moved like they were straight out of the early Dynasties were the only ones to stand up against the followers of an ancient Greek goddess? Jack for one would appreciate the cosmic irony of it.

"So we're going to outsmart them?" Daniel asked, calming down.

Jack smiled grimly, "Oh, you betcha. They won’t know what hit them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam dragged on a rough tunic to cover the not-so-modest 'ceremonial' garment she'd been given. She took a quick glance down at herself; the local fashion did not suit her in the least and for her money- she looked like death warmed over.

Voices echoed throughout the village. Loud, hollow, raucous voices clamored in her head, jostling for prominence with the rumbling in her stomach. Sam leaned against the door for a second, girding herself for the fresh onslaught of noises and smells. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and entered the main hall.

"Sister Samantha!" Themina's deep voice boomed.

Selene was seated next to Themina, sulking slightly. When she saw Sam's wince, she spoke up, "Ah, you decided to join us at last!"

The hall was still filled with tables bowing under the weight of numerous piles of food. Sam sat on the other side of Themina, who was grinning in delight at Selene's unbridled hatred and jealousy.

"We were waiting for you, Samantha. You seem to have taken quite a shining to Lydia's brew..."

Laughter broke out around the table and Sam shuddered as she was slapped approvingly on the back.

Themina stood up, towering over the assembly with her impressive bulk. "Ladies, as we are all now here, the festival can truly begin! Come, let us drive the tribute to Leyda for the honor of our tribe! Praise be to Artemis!"

"Praise be to Artemis!"

"Praise be to Artemis," Sam mumbled. This was not going as planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The voices could be heard long before the footfalls stopped in front of the building. Jack groaned at their continuing run of bad luck and timing. Damnit all to hell, would they ever get a break? He glanced quickly at Teal’c and Daniel. Neither looked ready to fight their way out of this.

"Jack." Daniel’s whisper barely reached his ears. He sounded panicked. Jack moved to the younger man.

"Calm down Daniel. It ain’t over yet," Jack soothed.

"No, Jack. I have an idea. Selene might respond favorably if I let her think I’ve had a sudden change of heart. I can tell her Sam attacked me or something and I am now willing to kill her. That way, maybe I can get Sam away long enough for her to listen to me. We can grab our weapons and GDOs and come back for you and Teal’c," Daniel rushed.

"Daniel, no. That’s not going to happen. I don’t think you should go offering yourself up to some lunatic woman. You know that never turns out well." Jack vetoed the idea.

Daniel glared at him. Well, the kid could glare all he wanted. No common sense at all. This Selene lady was bad news. Her earlier ‘discussion’ with the archaeologist had left him jumpy, and the bruises on his throat clearly stated she had tried to strangle him. And here Daniel was, ready to jump right on back into that. Nope. Not if he had anything to say about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Selene, Samantha. I believe it would be best if you both collected our latest specimens for the tribute," Themina deviously suggested. "After all, Samantha, they were yours and I heard rumors Selene has taken a fancy to one of them, though I can’t imagine why. He’s quite a runt."

Sam’s eyes widened. What had she gotten herself into? Any doubts she had about Daniel’s intentions to kill her were banished. She had been played very well. Why hadn’t she seen it before? God, why wouldn’t her stomach just leave her alone? It threatened to turn inside out at every movement, and this latest revelation caused bile to once again come up her throat.

Appearing collected, Selene responded to Themina’s challenge. "Very well, Themina. It is no secret I choose my slaves to be aesthetically pleasing, unlike others who will have anything crossing their path."

A collective gasp sounded throughout the large hall. Sam surveyed the room. The women all looked shocked at the open ambivalence between their two leaders. Sam knew this could be very fortuitous, if she could just think of how to use it. But her head! It took all her strength not to massage her temples constantly. She couldn’t let the Amazons know she was weakened.

"Come, Samantha. Let us go. Themina, I gather you will go with the rest of the women to herd the other slaves?" Selene hissed.

"But of course. We’ll be at the temple."

With that, Themina swept from the room, followed by half the contingent of women. The remaining half looked at Sam and Selene expectantly. Sam stood up shakily, legs threatening to give way underneath her. She could do this.

The entourage left the hall and quickly amassed on the tiny shack that apparently served as prison to her three friends. It looked big enough for one person. Sam’s stomach twisted yet again, this time the cramps succeeded in making her twinge.

"What is the matter, Samantha? Not feeling well?" Selene’s saccharine-laden voice chanted.

Oh, God. Selene had already done something to her. How? When? Determined not to reveal she knew, Sam straightened.

"No, I feel fine. I think I may have gone at the punching bag a little to rigorously and pulled a muscle," Sam lied.

"I see. You’re apparently not as strong as Themina thinks you are," Selene said spitefully. She didn’t wait for a reply, instead moving to open the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack had to admit he was growing extremely bored with all this door watching. Speaking of.

The door opened slowly and a blonde head peered into the small space. The woman’s nose wrinkled with distaste at the smells that greeted her. Jack tried not to take it personally, and couldn’t help the nonchalant shrug that came automatically.

"So these are the highly treasured slaves. I have only had the pleasure of meeting one," the woman murmured and made a beeline for Daniel.

Daniel instinctively pressed himself even closer against the wall and Jack’s lips formed an unhappy, tight line of anger at the reaction. This must be the infamous Selene. Quite a looker, actually. She predatorily scanned his young friend and leaned towards him, running her hand along his chest. The hand paused over the bruised ribs and rested there as she whispered something in Daniel’s ear.

Jack saw Daniel’s eyes saucer at whoever just walked through the door. Carter. She looked terrible - whiter than a sheet, a sheen of perspiration lined her forehead and lip and she was slightly hunched over. A harsh cry from the opposite corner dragged Jack’s attention away from the major.

Damnit!

Selene’s hand was pressed brutally on Daniel’s bruised torso, and the young man looked ready to pass out.

"Hey! Get your hands off him, you bitch!" Jack shouted.

At the same moment, Teal’c took one step toward Selene. Three spears suddenly invading his personal space stopped him.

Jack wondered crazily how all these people were cramming into this dump. The ridiculous thought vanished at Selene’s next words.

"I will overlook your impudence on this occasion, only because you are needed for the tribute. But I will have you know I will put my hands anywhere on this little one and I will do so at anytime. He has offered himself to me in exchange for a favor, and he now belongs to me!" Selene victoriously grinned.

"Daniel, no!" Carter wailed. "You can’t! Don’t--"

Her words choked off as her eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the floor. Jack and Teal’c ran to her side to check her out, all the while trying to keep an eye on Daniel. The major’s heartbeat was rapid and her breathing thready.

Oh, this was so not good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Leave her," Selene said callously to the three women. "Take the old one and the Jaffa to the temple. We will join you shortly."

Through a red haze of pain, Daniel watched as Jack and Teal’c were strong-armed away. Jack shouted insults as loudly as he could. Daniel struggled to regain his breath. It felt as though Selene was slowly squeezing it out him, but Daniel knew that wasn’t the worst she was going to do. His heart was in his throat at what he knew was coming. He hadn’t anticipated Sam passing out and having to deal with Selene.

Shaking his head as if to clear the pain, Daniel looked down at Sam’s unconscious form. She was so still it frightened him and her face was as pale as it was right after Jolinar died, her lips colorless. When she entered the hut Sam had looked at them fiercely, but Daniel thought he saw fear behind her eyes. He brushed it off, knowing she couldn’t be in control of herself. But she had sounded like the old Sam, hadn’t she? God, had he just made a huge mistake?

As if answering his silent inquiry, Selene’s attentions once again focused upon him. She ran her hand across his chest and straddled his legs, pupils so dilated the blue of her eyes was barely visible. Daniel tried not to flinch, finding instead a corner to concentrate on.

"Shall we continue where we left off, slave?" she cooed. "I’m so glad you came to your senses. Too bad it is already too late for dear Samantha. She’s not looking so well, is she?"

"What did you do to her?" Daniel asked with trepidation. Once again, he fell right into her trap. God, he was an idiot.

"I told you I’d find another way to rid the world of her presence. She’s taken quite a liking to our mead - who would notice if there was a little something extra in it for her? As far as anyone will be able to tell, she simply had an adverse reaction to it."

"Poison."

"You are sharp, aren’t you? I will have to work extra hard to discipline you," Selene threatened.

It didn’t matter what he did, Daniel knew he was in deep trouble. He’d not willingly submit to her.

Borrowing a phrase from Jack, Daniel retorted, "Bite me."

"It would be so much easier if you would just cooperate," Selene signed in feigned resignation, "but it matters little to me. I like to play rough."

Her left hand dug into his side, the pain so intense Daniel couldn’t prevent a gasp. He barely got in a breath before her lips covered his own, smothering him. Frantic for air, he bit down hard on her invading tongue and tried to shove her away. She released him with a scream, grabbing his hair and yanking his head back. Daniel could feel something sharp pressing against his bared throat. A swallow stuck in his constricted throat.

"I warned you, little one. I was going to go easy, but I can see that will not work with you," the furious woman scowled.

Selene followed up on the threat by knocking Daniel off the cot roughly. He landed with a grunt on his stomach, his head colliding into Sam’s still body. Thank God she was out of it. Daniel didn’t think he could take it if anyone were to witness this. What the hell was he going to do? Selene obviously had the upper hand here.

Selene flipped him over onto his back with her foot and followed up with another kick to his tender ribs. God, he didn’t think anything could hurt this much! Daniel felt the bile rise, he quickly curled to his side and promptly emptied what little was in his rebelling stomach right onto Selene’s boots.

The Amazon roared with fury, grasped Daniel by his left forearm and flung him away from her. As he landed roughly, Daniel actually found himself glad for the respite the act would allow him, no matter how slight. Selene took several long, deep breaths before advancing toward him. For the first time, Daniel feared she might actually kill him the knife in her hands in a white knuckled grip.

Daniel slid his eyes shut tightly and waited for fate to catch up with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teal’c was extremely displeased with the situation. Moments after stepping out of the shack, the Amazon women had surrounded them, tugged their arms behind them, placed manacles over their wrists and chained their ankles together. They then proceeded to prod him and O’Neill with their spears, guiding them through the village. Perhaps a kilometer past the village, they came upon a colossal temple.

Teal’c recognized the structure immediately as an exact replica of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus he had read about in Daniel Jackson’s reference books. The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, made of marble, with a decorated façade overlooking a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to a high terrace. Teal’c raised his eyebrow at the extravagant temple, noting it had well over 100 columns, the capitols of each gilded in gold and silver. It seemed out of place on the rustic planet.

Hordes of women gathered in the courtyard, the electricity of their drug-enhanced mood sizzled through the air. Things truly did not bode well for O’Neill and him. Despite their own unpleasant circumstances, Teal’c could not help but think of his other two companions.

When they had been forced apart, neither Major Carter nor Daniel Jackson looked well. Teal’c clenched his jaw at the idea both his young teammates were already dead. Selene’s intentions were no doubt suspect and based on Daniel’s state after their first ‘discussion’ , if they were not dead they were certainly in danger of it.

A glance at the silent man beside him told that O’Neill’s thoughts mirrored his own. The colonel’s strict countenance revealed nothing to a stranger, but Teal’c noted the slightly twitching muscle on his jaw and answered it with one of his own.

The crowd howled as they and the rest of Arial; color:windowtext'>the men from the surrounding villages were led into an oversized corral on the high terrace. Teal’c growled as wandering hands made a quick perusal of his back, arms and…his head snapped around at the unexpected touch. The largest woman he had ever seen assessed him, her eyes nearly straight on with his. Her tongue brushed quickly across her thin lips and she nodded slightly.

Teal’c felt abnormally uncomfortable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel held his breath. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes.

Selene's eyes glinted in the thin shaft of light, mirroring the thin blade of metal resting in her hand. Daniel stared, transfixed.

"Stand up, Slavedaniel." She tilted her head to stare at the knife. "I will stop this nonsense for once and for all."

Daniel couldn't help the pathetic whimper from escaping. He could barely lift his head from the cool, hard floor.

"No."

Selene's eyes narrowed further. "Very well. No man resists me and lives to tell the tale."

Daniel closed his eyes in resignation, hoping maybe Jack and Teal'c could at least get away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack choked back a cry as he was shoved hard. He landed viciously, all his weight firmly on his swollen knee. When his vision cleared, he unfolded from his more stable slouch, stretching his arms backward to balance himself better. His neck cramped painfully and his bound wrists chafed at the old-fashioned manacles, preventing him from massaging his tired muscles.

In the middle of his hasty ministrations, an oppressive silence hit him like a heavy wave. Jack turned slowly, dreading what he would see now. He was not disappointed. A monster of a woman stood in the center of the corral and the large ring of people gathered around her marked her presence.

The men were backing away from her, pressing into a thin band without touching the edges. The few that went too close to the perimeter suffered jabs, pinches and slaps and soon scrabbled back into the safety of the herd. The Amazon women not participating in the year’s festivities were apparently finding other means to entertain themselves.

Only he and Teal'c were not hugging into a safe ring.

The woman stalked around Teal'c, then surveyed the rest. Her impassive eyes flickered slightly as she saw Jack, but continued until she had taken in the whole of the tribute. This must be the inf