SG-1 fic - Captivity (part two)
Header in part one.
Title: Captivity
Author: serafine
Rated: Teen
Summary: Carter falls behind on a mission.
Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of these canon characters. No copyright infringement intended. No foul, no profit, no sue.
* * * * * * *
Day Two - evening
Cheyenne Mountain
Jack spent the day spinning his wheels, trying not to think about where Sam might be - what she could be going through. Not like he didn't already have a pretty good idea. He checked his watch. It's already been almost 24 hours. He felt the tension crawling up his spine. Morrigan could be anywhere…
Closing a folder with slap, Jack decided he had stared at his desk long enough. It was possible Daniel would have some ideas now that he’d had a chance to shake off the anesthesia. Be a change of scenery at least.
Jack walked through the curtains separating Daniel from the rest of the medical unit.
Daniel opened his eyes. “Hey, Jack.”
Jack nodded in response and smiled at Daniel. “How ya holding up?”
“Okay. Any word on Sam?”
Jack sighed. “None as of yet. The group on ‘722 should be checking in soon. Balinsky should have an estimate as to how much they’ve got left to do there.”
Daniel scratched his hands through his hair. “Okay. I had wanted to ask you… Would it be all right if I had a look at what he brings back? I just... I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get more of it translated before…”
Jack cut him off in mid stream. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Are you sure you’re okay?” Something seemed off about Daniel, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
“Yeah. I’m tired, I guess.” Daniel wasn’t really paying attention to Jack. It was almost like he was seeing something over Jack’s shoulder somewhere. Focus, Daniel.
“Why don’t you try and get some rest - things will seem better in the morning. I’ll even bring you some of the good coffee out of your office.”
Daniel nodded and bedded down without any argument or explanation. It was possible he was just that tired. Jack was feeling kinda twitchy himself. Shaking his head, Jack headed back to his office.
* * * * * * *
**Day Three**
Early morning
Morrigan’s ship
Carter regained consciousness in the same chamber, exactly where she had lost it - lying on the cold metal table in the middle of the room. Her head still ached from the aftereffects of the ribbon device. There was one Jaffa guard near the door standing at loose attention. When he saw her move, he turned through the open doorway and shouted something.
Footsteps echoed out in the hall. A few minutes later, Morrigan came in, flanked by several burly guards.
“I will ask you once more, Carter, to tell me how the Ancient weapon on your planet is activated.”
Sam chose silence as her answer.
Morrigan shrugged. Turning to the Jaffa in the room, she simply waved a hand and walked away. Rough hands unlocked Sam’s shackles and pulled her off the table. Sam did not even have time to take a breath before the first blow landed hard across her face. She heard the door hiss shut as the men closed in around her. There were seven of them, swatting and grabbing at her.
Sam returned a few blows, but strong hands took hold of her arms and held her in place. Blood dripped from her nose and the corner of her mouth. One of the men leaned slightly forward and Sam did her best to break his nose with her forehead. The man holding her right arm punched her solidly in the kidneys. Thick fingers grabbed her left breast in a bruising grip. One of them roughly explored the muscles of her thighs while someone else backhanded her across the face. This was like something out of a nightmare - trapped in a circle of angry men who had been given leave to do with her whatever they wanted.
Their hands were everywhere - hitting, groping, and swinging at Sam from all sides. It slowly escalated. They seemed to be more excited at getting to take their vengeance out on a female form than actually molesting her. Sam was struck repeatedly in the face and blows fell across her chest and abdomen. They taunted her and incited each other. Hands fondled her intimately only to return immediately after with a hard slap or punch. Her legs grew weak and she began to sag in her captors’ arms.
Eventually they let her fall to the ground and most everything became kicks. Sam felt the bone in her left shin crack as one of them landed a particularly vicious blow. She retaliated and managed to catch him off guard. As his foot came close again, she grabbed it and twisted with all her might. The man fell to the ground to be laughed at by his cohorts. Sam tried to crawl away, but was snagged by her belt and drug back into the circle. Someone grabbed her hips and flipped her onto her back.
Then they just stopped. The Jaffa stared at her coldly, leering down at her, almost as if they were considering their options. Sam took an uneasy breath and felt the sting of tears at the corner of her eyes. She was absolutely terrified and everything hurt. One of them chuckled and reached down. His hand searched for the edge of her shirt, trying to get beneath it. This she understood. Sam grabbed the hand and broke the thumb. The man snarled and punched her in the ribs. The blows began raining down again almost immediately.
Sam pulled her arms up and knees in and tried to keep their feet away from her head. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath. One large boot landed squarely on her rib cage and she felt the sharpest pinch in her side. It only took a few moments for the wheezing to start. The world dimmed just a bit as the oxygen levels in her blood started to fall.
Again, she tried to capture a boot and yank. She wasn’t successful this time. In response, the boot stomped heavily on her forearm and then kicked her solidly in the ribs. Sam heard the bones crack this time. She coughed and felt the blood spray against her teeth. Breathing was becoming difficult and Sam’s vision was getting black around the edges. Her world was dwindling down to the taste of her own blood and the smell of sweat. Her muscles weren’t really listening anymore. She knew she had numerous broken bones and her right arm had gone completely numb.
Sam stopped reacting and it seemed to encourage the Jaffa. Blows were falling more quickly. Sam started to drift away. She could feel a bubbling sensation in her lungs. A hand gripped her hair and pulled her head back. A boot was placed squarely across her throat. The pain was receding as the darkness grew. Sam knew she was drowning in her own blood. The blows had stopped and the pawing had resumed in full force. She felt her shirt hem being pulled up. Their hands pinched and prodded at her now still and apparently acquiescent body.
The door hissed open and Sam could hear the sharp click clack of the Goa’uld’s footsteps. A loud voice filled the air. The hands mercifully fell away as the Jaffa stepped back immediately. Her last memory as her vision went black was the stern Goa’uld voice.
* * * * * * *
Day Three
Early morning
Cheyenne Mountain
Jack was downstairs in the gate room when SG teams 5 and 13 came through the wormhole, followed by SG-3. All of them looked exhausted. “Any good news for me?”
Balinsky walked slowly forward, grime smeared across his cheeks. “General O’Neill, I think I know why they were there, but as to where they might go next, I’ll need a little bit of time.”
“Okay - let’s talk.” Turning to the rest of the soldiers, he said, “Full debrief in one hour, gentlemen.”
Balinsky handed his weapons off to an airman, shouldered his pack and followed Jack upstairs into the conference room.
“Okay, what’s going on - what are they looking for?”
“The ruins used to belong to Anubis - it was one of his strongholds. The glyphs also talk about another place, a fort of some kind. It mentions a place of power. I’ll need some help with the translations.”
Jack looked carefully at Balinsky. There were dark circles under each eye. “Right now, you need a shower, a hot meal, and some sleep.”
“But, sir -”
“I know you want to help, and you have. Go get cleaned up and get some food. After the debriefing, you will get some sleep - at least four hours. Once you wake up you can get started. Daniel should be able to help you if you get stuck. He’s probably going stir crazy and could use something to do.” Maybe getting to work on the translations would snap him out of this funk.
Balinsky gave a hearty sigh and said, “Yes, sir.”
* * * *
Cheyenne Mountain
Mid-afternoon
There was a hesitant knock at the door and a voice said, “General O’Neill - may I have a word with you?”
Jack looked up - it was Dr. Balinsky.
“Come in - have a seat.” The man walked forward and sat stiffly. His hands clenched and unclenched on the arms of the chair. Jack did not need his years of experience to see Dr. Balinsky's uneasiness.
“What is it - did you finish the translations?” Jack’s paranoia began to flare up.
“No, actually. I did as you asked and went to see Dr. Jackson for confirmation on some of the more obscure glyphs. Well, sir, um…” He swallowed nervously. “He wouldn’t help me. He wouldn’t look at the photos. He kept saying that I had missed something - that he needed to go back to ‘722 himself.”
“Wait - what? Daniel refused to translate something?” Jack sat back heavily in his chair.
“Yes, sir. I just thought it was odd.”
What the hell? Did Daniel crack his skull on the ramp? Jack hoped not - he needed him to help with these translations. “Thank you for letting me know - I’ll go check. Find Teal’c. He may be able to help.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll go right know - I’ll get it finished as soon as I can.”
* * *
Jack walked into the infirmary. Daniel was lying staring at the ceiling, his face as somber as Jack had ever seen it.
“Hey.”
“Hi, Jack.”
“How ya' feeling?”
“A little bit better. Though I’m sure you’ve already spoken with the doctors.” Daniel said with a smirk.
Jack shrugged, his hands still in his pockets.
“I just wanted to stop by and check on you. See if you needed anything.”
“Thanks. I'm alright.”
O’Neill sat down and waited. He knew there was something extremely odd going on in Daniel’s mind - he could see it on his face clear as day.
“Jack…”
“Daniel?”
“…I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for leaving Sam behind.” He carefully studied the far wall, his eyes full of sorrow.
“Daniel - there was nothing you could have done. Carter’s your commanding officer, she ordered you through the ‘gate. Then you got shot. What exactly could you have done differently?”
“I… um…”
“In your shoes, I don’t know what I could have done.”
“But, Jack, I…” Daniel started again.
“Look - I wasn’t there - I didn't see exactly what happened. But I know you, I know Teal’c, and I know Carter and if things happened the way you say they did, then everyone made the right call. It just didn’t come out the way anybody wanted. You know that can happen in the field.”
Jack leaned forward slightly, his mind racing. “As it is, things could’ve worked out differently… worst possible outcome, all three of you wound up in enemy hands or dead. Did you think about that?”
Daniel sighed deeply in response.
“This is not your fault. Don’t start thinking that. It doesn’t do you or Carter any good. Understand?” Daniel nodded, his eyes still downcast, though he did not look convinced.
“Where exactly is this coming from, anyway? You’re no green recruit. You’ve seen more field time than most SG team members.” Jack’s brows bunched together. “What’s going on here?”
“I don't know… I just keep thinking I could have done something differently and she would have had the time to get to the ‘gate.”
Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose and turned to Jack. “It's sitting here, doing nothing. It's making me nuts - knowing she’s out there and I can't help. Has the team returned from ‘722 with the rest of the rubbings? Or maybe I’ve got something in my notes that I took when I was there. C'mon - can’t you convince them I need to get back to work? Please, I've got to do something.”
Jack finally looked at Daniel carefully - the normally active blue eyes were slightly dilated and had a confused look in them, almost like he couldn’t focus properly. Sorrow and regret lined his face. Jack got to his feet and said, “Yeah, I understand. I’ll see what I can do. You just try and get a little more rest, okay?” He patted Daniel on the arm.
Over the years Jack had watched Daniel’s gradual metamorphosis from the young, eager scholar into the seasoned professional he was now. The simpering, confused man lying in that bed was not Daniel. Not by a long shot.
Pulling the curtain closed, Jack looked around until he found one of the doctors. “Dr. Varen, may I have a word with you?”
“Yes, sir, what can I do for you?” Jack did not know this man well - he had not interacted much with the new doctors now that he had stopped going off-world.
“What sort of medication is Dr. Jackson on?” Jack tried to keep the heat out of his voice.
The man cocked his head and looked surprised, but quickly responded, “I’m not sure, I’ll need to check.”
Moving quickly, Dr. Varen pulled the chart open and asked Jack, “Is there a problem? There have been no adverse affects noted in his chart.”
“Just - is it something different than he normally gets?”
“Actually, yes.” The man smiled at Jack. “There have been a few new options available for pain management that seem to have less troublesome side…”
Jack cut him off, “Whatever he is on, switch it to something he has taken before.”
Dr. Varen cleared his throat and said, “General, Dr. Jackson has an… unusual medical history. I understand your concerns about your personnel, but I assure you this new medication performed excellently in the clinical trials and I thought it best to give it a try in Dr. Jackson’s case.” The doctor gave Jack a reassuring, slightly condescending smile.
Jack responded, feeling his color start to shift. “I don’t care what new options you might have, but Daniel is not acting like himself. I expect him to be upset, but this is not his normal attitude. Have the nurses mentioned anything to you about his behavior?”
“Well, yes, but I thought with one of his teammates MIA that he would naturally b-b-be…” The man began to stammer, as he seemed to realize how upset the Brigadier General standing in front of him actually was.
“Think again,” Jack snapped. “Our nurses are bright and perceptive and know most of our people very well. If they have an observation about a patient, not only are you to make a note of it in that patient’s chart, you are to follow through with an actual inquiry.” Jack took a step forward. “Am I understood, Major?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” came out of the man’s mouth, completely unbidden.
Jack turned sharply and stalked away. A brief, sharp pang of grief struck through him as he walked out of the infirmary. God, he missed Janet.
* * * *
Later that afternoon, Teal’c tapped on Jack’s office door. Jack looked up and motioned for him to come inside. “Yes, sir. I understand.” Teal’c frowned slightly at the base of the phone, his trepidation clear.
“Thank you. Goodbye, Mr. President.” He hung up the phone. Jack looked up at Teal’c who was standing in front of the desk. “What’s up?”
“We have finally contacted the Tok’ra - their representative Mikar is waiting to speak with you, O’Neill.”
About damn time they answered us. Jack headed quickly into the control room. “Mikar - this is General Jack O’Neill.”
A low voice rumbled over the speakers, “Greetings, General O’Neill.”
“We have a bit of a situation and I’m hoping you might be able to help us out.”
“What would you ask of us?”
Jack fidgeted for a moment, and finally said, “Colonel Carter has been captured by a Goa’ould named Morrigan. We’re hoping you have some idea about where she is, maybe give us a hand in getting her out.”
“I am familiar with this Goa’uld,” Mikar replied.
“What can you tell us?”
“I can offer you some information on what we know of her forces and where she was last seen, but this was some time ago - at least several months. I will send it through.”
“Okay, that would be more than we have now.” Jack looked at Walter. “Well?”
“Receiving data stream now, General.”
“Thank you. What about a little assistance if we can pinpoint her current location?”
“I am sorry. At the moment, our numbers are already stretched too thin to give you any aid in rescuing Colonel Carter.”
“What about contacting Selmak?” Jack was pretty sure Jacob would like to know his daughter was missing!
“I am sorry, General, but Selmak is currently occupied on a mission, and cannot be reached at this time.” Why was he not surprised?
Jack swore softly under his breath and did his best to keep his tone diplomatic. “Thank you for your assistance, Mikar. Please have Selmak contact us as soon as he gets back.”
“I will, General.” The connection abruptly closed.
Jack watched the light die away in the Gateroom. He felt some of his hope go with it. Despite his reluctance to ask them, he had been counting on the Tok’ra to have something they could use. Jack felt anger percolating just under the surface of his skin. Taking a couple of deep breaths helped slightly and enabled him to speak instead of shout. “Go through what they sent us. I want a timetable of her recent movements and numbers of her troops.”
* * * * * * *
Carter opened her eyes and realized she was breathing without pain. But she was also cold - very cold. She was lying on the floor, back in her dark cell. Sam took a couple of good breaths and tried to stand. The world spun and Sam gasped. She realized she had not fully recovered from her second visit to the sarcophagus.
Sam closed her eyes and could see the Jaffa standing above her, their smirking faces, their feet stomping and kicking her again and again. She opened her eyes and tried to concentrate on now. No one was hurting her right now. Though she was sure that would change shortly. Sam struggled to get to the cot, moaning in relief once she was lying down.
It was so cold in here, she was surprised she could not see her own breath. The front of her shirt was stiff with dried blood. She tried not to think about that too hard, her hand seeking out her dogtags. If she was dead, one of them would be gone.
Sam had read the short version of Jack’s suffering under the hands of Ba’al. The interrogations, the torture, the endless trips to the sarcophagus. She knew it was going to get worse. It would probably never get better. She pulled the thin blanket over her and tried to get comfortable on the hard cot.
* * * * * * *
**Day Four**
Early afternoon
Cheyenne Mountain
As he walked away from the mess hall after pretending to eat lunch again, Jack noticed people watching him surreptitiously as he passed by. Now that he thought about it, he realized people had started treating him with kid gloves sometime yesterday. Hell - they probably had a point. With Carter gone and Daniel out of his mind, maybe he had been a little more on edge than normal. Not more than an hour ago, Jack had found himself yelling Walter for no apparent reason. He had to get her back. With everyone he’d lost over the years, he didn’t think he could survive losing her too…
Jack felt a black pit starting to pull him in. His stomach was churning, and he could feel his hands turning into fists as his mind wandered. He remembered when Carter was lost with the Prometheus, he couldn’t think straight. Gone MIA during the fight with the Kull warriors. And those terrible moments when he thought she died on the Replicator ship. She wasn’t Daniel, who could apparently survive anything.
Jack stopped still in the hallway and turned towards the gym. He was sure nothing had magically appeared in his inbox in the last twenty minutes, but if he didn’t get rid of some of this anger, he was going to strangle someone.
* * * * * * *
Carter tossed and turned on the narrow cot, trying to shake the last vestiges of the nightmare from her mind. The Jaffa had been leering over her again, and this time Morrigan had not stopped them from going further. Her empty stomach twisted with remembered fear. Sam stretched her legs out, trying to relieve the aching in her knees.
Sam could hear heavy footsteps coming down the hall. Feigning sleep, she listened intently, trying to decide how many there were. “Up, Tau’ri. The Queen commands your presence.” She laid there, waiting for them to come to her. The door opened and one of them - no, two - entered the cell.
The cot shook with the force of a kick. “Rise, woman.” She responded with a kick out towards his knees, grabbing for the zat gun on his hip. Sam felt the crack of bone beneath her heel as she kept moving. Another Jaffa moved towards her, swinging a staff weapon in the confined space. She ducked under the swing and looked up just in time to see a zat blast shooting towards her.
Sam awoke to blackness. She was once again lying on her stomach with what felt like shackles on her wrists and ankles, stretching her out completely. She blinked and moved her head, trying to clear her vision and then she realized there was a blindfold across her eyes. A male voice said something and then there were footsteps approaching. It was the languid stride she had come to associate with Morrigan.
No one spoke to her. The metal table felt warm beneath her cheek. Sam sensed movement behind her and then a long, sharp pain blossomed across her back accompanied with the crack of a whip. It was immediately followed by another strike. Morrigan said, “You have no reason to assault my guards. You will not escape by attacking them.”
Another crack. Sam ground her teeth, wanting to cry out in pain.
“They do my bidding and are therefore under my protection.”
The whip struck a fourth time. “Do you understand?” When Sam did not respond, another strong blow fell. “Answer me, Tau’ri!”
“Yes! Yes, I understand!”
“Good.” Sam felt movement at the other ends of the chains as unseen hands quickly turned her over. She hissed as she was laid on her back, the weight of her body pressing onto the open wounds. The room was too warm. Sam was starting to sweat. The shackles pulled at her joints as her limbs were stretched even further out.
“Now, tell me of the weapon your people used to defeat Anubis’s fleet. Where did you find it?” The whip cracked but the blow did not fall. Sam felt herself flinch involuntarily. “Tell me, Tau’ri.”
After a moment, the whip struck along her thigh. The blow did not feel as harsh as those on her back. “How is it powered? I know your people are not capable of producing such a device on their own.” Another two blows across her legs in quick succession, harder than the last. She bit her lip against the pain and tried not to whimper.
“I don’t know anything about that.” The whip struck again, this time the blow fell across her abdomen and ribcage. She couldn’t even flex away from the blows. The chains had her completely exposed.
“Do not lie to me.” Another crack of the whip fell, this time across her chest and face. Sam felt blood running down her cheek. “Do not play dumb. I know who you are, Samantha Carter.”
Sam felt adrift in the dark. It all seemed so unreal. No sight. No sound but her own thumping heart and the Goa’uld’s angry voice. The smell of sweat mixing with the coppery tang of blood.
The end of the whip snapped the air inches above her face. She flinched against the table. “I know what sort of knowledge you possess. I know how valuable you are to the Tau’ri.” Another strike hit, this time across the bottom of her feet. “You will not escape from here. You will live, or die, at my pleasure, at my choosing. If I choose to I can give you to my Jaffa as their plaything for a few days. It doesn’t matter how often they kill you - I will bring you back again,” the lash fell across Sam’s chest and upper arm, “and again,” the whip struck her throat, “and again!”
Instead of the expected crack of the whip, the white hot pain of the ribbon device enveloped her. Sam screamed at the pain and writhed against her bonds. It went on for several moments. It stopped abruptly and Sam fought to fill her lungs.
“Tell me, Tau’ri. Tell me what you know!” A hand stroked soothingly up the front of her leg. “Your stay here does not have to be like this. I do not enjoy treating you this way.”
Sam took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain of the sweat seeping into her wounds. “No,” Sam said. Focus - another breath. “My name is Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter of Stargate Command.” Breathe. “My name is Lieu...” The ribbon device was turned on her again and she fought in vain to keep from crying out.
* * * * * * *
to be continued (soon!)