Lost and Found - by Pho
part - 01
"We're lost." There was no criticism in Daniel's voice; it was merely a statement of fact.
"We are not lost, Daniel. Just temporarily disoriented."
"Ah ha."
"The Colonel's right, Daniel..."
"Thank you, Captain."
"It's dark, cloudy, no moon. If this planet even has a moon. And it wouldn't really help us if the stars were out. We don't have star maps for PX7-384. Once one of the suns rises, we'll be able to find our way back."
Jack moaned silently. 'Overkill, Sam, overkill.'
"Indeed Daniel Jackson. Once I am able to see the trail, it will be no problem locating the Stargate again."
"Then you agree, we're lost."
Jack threw another log on the fire as shadows played on the trees of the small clearing that served as their temporary quarters. "Daniel, like Carter says, it's dark. We can't see more than a few feet even with the flashlights. I'm quite certain that the Stargate is just over that rise."
Even in the gloom, the colonel could see Daniel's eyes. "What rise?"
"The one just over there." Jack watched as three heads turned to follow the direction of his hand.
"Jack, how do you know there's a rise over there?"
"Because I saw it just before we made camp."
"Ah ha."
"I do not recall a small hill near the Stargate, O'Neill."
"I said rise, not hill, Teal'c."
"I do not understand the difference."
"Yeah, Jack, I want to hear this."
The older man sighed. "A small hill is uh, well, hilly. A rise is kinda like a ramp. You know, like what they use for Pinewood Derbies in cub scouts."
"Just what is a 'Pinewood Derby'?" The question, surprisingly, came from Daniel.
Simultaneously, Sam broke in. "Oh, I don't think that's a good analogy, sir. The ramp they use is over twenty-five feet long, and it's about five feet high at the starting line. That's ... not quite ... the... same as ... a rise...." Her voice trailed off weakly as she felt, rather than saw, all eyes turn to her. "What?"
"Captain, just how do you know that?"
"I have a brother, sir. We built Pinewood Derby cars together for years."
The colonel just shook his head. "Never mind. I'm sorry I asked. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Rise. Well, a rise is much smaller than a hill and isn't nearly as steep."
"I see." Teal'c paused for a moment. "There was no rise near the Stargate."
"Oh for crying out loud. The 'gate will be there in the morning. Carter, you've got second watch, Daniel, you take third. Teal'c, you take last. I'll take first watch. Now get some sleep."
******
Teal'c sat quietly, surveying his surroundings as the first of two suns peeked its head over the horizon, its smaller companion showing its face shortly thereafter. The colonel was the first to awaken, cursing under his breath as he removed a stone from his spine. He rose quickly, stretched, then joined Teal'c at the edge of the clearing. It was then, under the intense gaze of the Jaffa, that the stupidity of the day before hit home. Between the trees, and the mist, and the river, and the trees, they'd gotten lost. And quite uncharacteristically, Daniel had been the only one willing to acknowledge it.
There was no mist now, and the scene before him was astounding to say the least. Astounding, and terrifying. They'd come quite close to walking off the edge of a cliff. The small clearing, though encircled by trees, was no more than ten feet from the edge of a fall that would most certainly have been fatal. Only sheer dumb luck, and an abundance of firewood in the other direction, had saved one or more of them from death.
"Wow!" Jack spoke quietly, in awe of the scene before him. The canyon rivaled the Grand Canyon for depth, and stretched parallel to their campsite as far as the eye could see. As for width, the Grand Canyon was merely a line in the sand in comparison.
"Indeed, this canyon is quite impressive. We were extremely fortunate not to find this edge in the dark."
"Ya think?" Sounds behind him caught his attention and Jack turned back towards the duo still in their sleeping bags. "Rise, and shine, kids. We're lost."
"Now he admits it." Daniel grumbled sleepily from inside his bag.
Jack yanked the zipper of his young friend's sleeping bag down, ignoring Daniel's yelp as the chill of the air caressed his scantily clad body. "You were saying, Jackson?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all. Jeez, Jack. It's freezing!" Daniel quickly reached for his pants and struggled to work his way into them without getting out of the bag.
A stifled laugh came from the other side of the fire, and Jack shot a stern look in that direction. "Morning Captain."
"Morning, sir." Sam's voice held the hint of a giggle as she slid into her clothes and climbed out of her sleeping bag. "Need some help, Daniel?"
"NO! Thank you very much, I'm ... umph ... fine. Just ... fine. Oh to heck with it!" Daniel threw back the covers, and jerked his pants to his waist, shivering in the chill morning air as he did so. Sliding into his sweatshirt, he stood up, arms wrapped around his body in an effort to get warm. "What, no coffee?"
Jack stared, confused, at the non-existent fire, then looked at Teal'c. "Uh... fire?"
"It seemed circumspect for the fire to die, O'Neill."
"Uh... why?" Jack sighed, as his communication skills seemed to have deteriorated to monosyllabic words, and very short sentences.
The imperturbable Jaffa nodded toward the rising sun. "We are not alone."
His three companions turned to look. As one, they gasped, as they saw the Goa'uld pyramid-ship, hovering just above the horizon.
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part - 02 ↑
"Holy Hannah!"
"Oh for crying out loud." Jack silently counted to ten. "Teal'c, why didn't you call us when you first saw the ship?"
"It did not seem necessary, O'Neill."
"And, why not?"
"It was still dark when the ship arrived. I immediately doused the fire so that we would not be observed. Since we were in no immediate danger, and since we were unable to travel in the darkness, I saw no need to disturb your slumber."
"Oh." Jack studied the serious expression on the Jaffa's face. "I see. But, Teal'c," his voice held a hint of mild rebuke, "*I* need to know this sort of thing sooner, rather than later. You don't need to wake anyone but me."
Teal'c digested this thought for a moment. "I am sorry, O'Neill. I will remember in future."
"Thank you." Jack turned to glare at the large craft. "Which Goa'uld?"
"I do not know, O'Neill. There are no obvious markings on the visible portions of the ship."
"You recognized Nurti's ship and I don't remember any markings on it."
Teal'c tilted his head in agreement. "True, O'Neill, but Nurti's craft is unique in design. There are at least six System Lords who use the plain pyramid shape for their crafts."
"Well, Ra's dead, and Apophis is the only other one I know of. Who else, Teal'c?" Daniel was mentally reviewing his store of Egyptian Gods as he helped Sam break camp.
"Cherti, Dedun, Isdes, Neith, and Amun."
"Isdes? Lord of the West? I wouldn't have thought..."
"Later, Daniel. Teal'c, that's seven." O'Neill frowned at the Jaffa.
"Ra is no more, I saw no need to include him in the count."
"Oh, for crying out loud." Jack threw his pack over his shoulder. "Ready to travel, kids?"
"I am ready, O'Neill."
"Yes, sir, ready to go."
"Ah ha, but Jack, where are we going? We're lost, remember?"
Trust Daniel to point out the obvious. "Away from that." Jack tilted his head in the direction of the pyramid, floating lazily above the ground.
Daniel's second attempt to protest traveling with no destination was met by a typical Jack O'Neill, aka Mr. Air Force, hand signal. Jack's hand slashed across his throat while irritated brown eyes snapped at the archaeologist. Still not up on his military signals, Daniel assumed this meant he should be quiet. That or Jack was fixing to slit his throat, and seeing the ice in the colonel's eyes, the younger man wasn't really sure which. His mouth shut with an audible snap, and he fell into line behind Sam, Teal'c leading, with Jack bringing up the rear.
Thirty minutes passed in silence as the group moved away from the location of the pyramid ship. Jack watched with growing concern as Teal'c occasionally slipped away from the group, searching for their original trail. So far, he'd found nothing to indicate they'd ever come in this direction. This time, however, the Jaffa's face was more tense than usual. Not good. Frowning Jack called a halt. "Teal'c?"
"I find no evidence that the Stargate is located in this direction, O'Neill."
Jack noticed a slight hesitation in his voice. "But?"
"There is a trail, approximately 20 meters through the woods, that has been traveled recently. By Jaffa."
"Sweet." Jack lowered his voice. "How recently?"
"Within the hour."
"Holy Hannah! They're a long way from the ship."
Jack's outwardly calm demeanor concealed a silent scream that he was an absolute idiot! He'd allowed his team to get lost, nearly walk off a cliff, and take up temporary residence almost under a Goa'uld mother ship. Okay, not under actually, but too damn close. Had it been a mistake to backtrack the trail that had brought them to the cliff?
"Jack?"
"Yes, Daniel?"
"Why are the Goa'uld here?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Every indication is that this planet has never been populated. And the minerals we've found so far show nothing that should interest the Goa'uld. So why are they here?"
"Not now, Daniel, we've got to find the 'gate."
"And that's another thing, Jack, why not come through the 'gate? Why bring the ship?"
"I can answer that one, Daniel. The glyphs for this gate are not from the Abydos cartouche. We lucked across this one; there may be others out there."
"You're telling me they don't know about the 'gate?" The young archaeologist looked doubtfully at the Captain.
"Well, the Stargate and the DHD were both well hidden under a copse of what appeared to be giant evergreens. They wouldn't be visible from the air and there was so much underbrush that I doubt anyone would find them if they didn't know they were there. Also, if the 'gate and the DHD aren't used, their EM emissions would be so low, it could be mistaken for a natural phenomenon."
"But, but we came through the 'gate!" Daniel's eyes widened as he realized the implications.
"And if they were monitoring, then they would have picked up the signal."
"Sweet. Heads up, kids. Teal'c, which way were the Jaffa headed?"
"Toward the ship."
"Fine. We'd walked for approximately six hours before we made camp, correct?"
"That is correct, O'Neill."
"Then we'll continue on this trail for a while. It's likely we went in circles last night without realizing it. Either way, we've got a long way to go. Teal'c, with Jaffa on this side of the canyon, I'll take the lead. I need you to conceal our trail." Jack inwardly fumed, knowing he should probably have taken that step to begin with, and praying it was not going to be a fatal mistake.
******
A large cat, related somewhere along the evolutionary chain to the lion, purred in delight as an overlarge hand scratched its chin. The cat nuzzled the hand with affection as it slid up to scratch a particularly itchy section of fur behind its ear. The hand paused in its ministrations, causing a rumble of displeasure to escape the animal's jaws, when a deep, frightened voice made its presence known. "My Lord!"
"What is it, Deldrak? Titia is not pleased with this interruption." Chocolate colored eyes glowed irritably in a handsome face framed by a mane of shaggy blond hair.
The Jaffa eyed the large cat with no small amount of fear. He'd been witness to entirely too many feeding rituals involving his god's cats, and certain unlucky prisoners. Gulping, he responded, "We have not yet discovered the source of the disturbance yesterday. The energy output was of too short a duration to isolate more than a general location, but analysis has shown it was not a natural event."
"I am aware of that Deldrak. Please do not tell me the rest of your news will be also be old."
"I apologize, my lord. My men are, of course, still searching. However, one has returned just now with news that an encampment has been found on the edge of the canyon."
The Goa'uld removed his hand from his pet's fur, ignoring another rumbled protest. "There is no intelligent life on this planet."
"The footprints at the site indicate four humanoids. They made no attempt to hide their trail as they left their site."
"Were there any signs of a ship ... a Teltac, for example?
"No, my lord. But those ships have been known to have cloaking devices on them."
"And their crews have been known to be pirates. Increase the guards at the vaults, and, Deldrak?"
"Yes, my lord?"
"Find them quickly. I would know what they know. I would know why they are here! *Find them!*"
The First Prime of Dedun bowed repeatedly as he backed away from his lord, knowing full well that failure would end his life.
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part - 03 ↑
"O'Neill!"
Jack turned quickly toward the Jaffa's voice, running into Daniel as he did so. "Move dammit, Daniel. What is it, Teal'c?"
"I believe I have erred."
"I'll bite. What did ya do?"
"There is the possibility of one other Goa'uld who may be using pyramid ships."
"Okay?" Jack really hated dragging information out of the reticent Jaffa.
"Before I left the service of Apophis, there were rumors that several ships had been commissioned for Ra."
"Ra's dead."
"Yes, that is where I made my error."
"Just spit it out, Teal'c!" The colonel's patience was at an end.
The Jaffa's eyebrow rose inquiringly. "It is possible that Heru'ur gained control of the new ships."
"Sweet. Heru'ur, eh? Thanks." Jack took note of the Jaffa's solemn face. "Uh, anything else you want to tell me?"
"There is also this..." Teal'c motioned to the broken branches on what *might* have been called a trail. The mossy ground cover under their feet was moist and spongy, bouncing back into its original shape within moments of their passage. "...we have crossed here before."
The colonel knelt to examine the twigs. "Which way was first, the way we're going or that way?" He nodded up the so-called trail.
"The trail I have just found, O'Neill."
"Okay. I do remember walking down something very narrow for a while last night. Take the point, Teal'c. Carter next. I'll bring up the rear."
"What about covering our trail, Jack?"
A long-suffering sigh escaped Jack's lips, but it was his second in command who answered the question. "Covering only worked on the dirt, Daniel. This mossy surface conceals itself, and, unless they're very good, no one should notice the broken twigs."
"So don't go breaking a branch, Daniel." Jack gave a curt nod of approval to his second's explanation.
"Right. Okay. So this is why we got lost yesterday." Daniel stomped hard on the ground cover.
"What?"
"The ground cover bounced back, so we couldn't find our way back, right? And the night was too dark to see broken twigs?"
"You are correct on both assumptions, Daniel Jackson."
"Ya think? Teal'c, are all Jaffa as good at tracking as you are?"
"Yes, O'Neill."
"Sweet, then we'll just have to be careful. Okay, kids, up the new trail. And Daniel..."
"Yes, Jack?"
"Try not to break anything."
******
"Master Deldrak?"
The First Prime turned to face the younger Jaffa, glaring silently at the trembling form.
"My..My apologies for disturbing you, sir, but Master Chelkad reports he has found a fresh trail."
"Remind him that the prisoners are *not* to be harmed. He has ... forgotten ... in the past. It will not be tolerated this time."
"Yes, Master!"
Deldrak watched as the young Jaffa scurried away. The First Prime truly enjoyed the impact his words had on ... almost everyone. He relished the fear in their eyes when he was angry even more than he did the pleasure in their eyes when he was pleased. By his god's command, he held sway over all of his lord's retinue. His orders could not be challenged, only obeyed, unless, of course, Lord Dedun himself revoked them. A fact which happened very, very seldom to Deldrak. Too many reproaches by his master, and his status as First Prime, as well as his life would be forfeit.
******
Something was wrong. Okay, something other than being lost on a planet with a Goa'uld mother ship on the horizon. Senses born of many years in the Black Ops could not be denied, and Jack could tell from Teal'c's more-stiff-than-usual posture that he felt it as well. Even Carter was beginning to get a little jittery, her weapon shifting ever so slightly in her grasp. Only Daniel was unaffected. Well, maybe not. The young archaeologist was completely silent, an accomplishment Jack had only dreamed of occurring. 'Must be a blue moon. Either that or hell's completely frozen over.'
Teal'c's cry of warning came too late as the flames from a staff weapon kicked up sand directly in front of Daniel, spraying moss, dirt and sticks over both Daniel and Carter. Daniel's startled yelp coincided with Carter's "Holy Hannah!" as she fell to the ground gripping her calf.
"Carter!" Jack rushed forward only to be stopped by another staff blast.
"Kree!"
"Do not move, O'Neill!"
"*I'm* not the one you should be talking to. ... Dan-iel." Jack's warning went unheeded as the young scholar moved to help Carter. Brown eyes narrowed with worry as six Jaffa in full gear closed in on their position.
As Daniel reached out to give Sam a hand up, a staff weapon slammed into the back of his knees, then upwards, flipping the young man over backwards. His cry of pain was drowned out by a very angry command of "KREE!"
"Everyone stay right where they are. Carter, do .. not .. move." Obedience to command froze the captain in place just as she started involuntarily toward Daniel.
Daniel lay gasping for breath; his wind knocked out of him by the fall. Jack held his own, and prayed, as a stone-faced Jaffa thrust the business end of a staff weapon into Daniel's chest. All color drained from the younger man's face as the weapon suddenly primed.
"JAFFA KREE!" The command came fast and furious, much to SG-1's relief. The young Jaffa who had Daniel pinned snarled and reluctantly stepped backwards, relaxing the charge on his weapon as he moved.
A Jaffa in a lion helmet moved to the front, his headdress suddenly folding into his armor, revealing a harsh face framed by salt and pepper hair. He glared at the two downed members of SG-1 before issuing a demanding, "Krateck!"
Teal'c spoke softly, all too aware of the danger. "Daniel Jackson, Captain Carter, he is telling you to rise, quickly."
Sam and Daniel, his breath still coming in short gasps, rose carefully, watching the Jaffa warily as they did so. Sam winced slightly as she straightened her leg. Jack frowned as he saw bloodstains on the back of her pants. "Carter?"
"Scratches, sir."
Jack struggled to maintain his composure as a nod from the lead Jaffa caused another one to seize Carter's arm and twist her around. The leader frowned as a third knelt to survey the damage. Carter's protest died in her throat when the younger Jaffa threatened to backhand her. The other Jaffa slid her pants leg upwards to reveal bruised and scratched skin. Nothing more. Nodding with satisfaction, he allowed the material to fall of its own accord, and rose. Backing a little away, he looked to his leader for instructions.
Ignoring his men, the lead Jaffa studied his prisoners. His frown deepened as he examined Teal'c's tattoo. "You are in the service of Apophis?"
"I am not."
"You bear his mark."
"I have left his service. Permanently."
Nodding thoughtfully, the Jaffa glanced casually at the remainder of SG-1, then back at Teal'c. "With your personal slaves?"
"They are not slaves, they are my comrades." Teal'c carefully avoided mentioning the Tau'ri.
"You are the leader."
"I am not."
Surprise was born and died on the Jaffa's face in a matter of seconds. "Indeed. Then who commands your group?"
"I do." Jack kept his face carefully neutral as two Jaffa dragged him forward.
"Indeed. You do not look like much."
Only Teal'c's lifted eyebrow kept Jack from indulging in his normal sarcasm. "Nevertheless, I am in command."
The Jaffa shrugged. "Not that it is of importance, since, as the former servant of Apophis already knows, you are now the property of the God Dedun."
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part - 04 ↑
Glare from the twin suns blinded Jack as he tried to get a better look at the little craft hovering above them. A non-too-gentle shove from behind sent him stumbling forward. A booted foot moved swiftly into his path, sending Jack sprawling onto his face. Spitting dirt to one side, he pushed himself to his knees in time to see the rest of SG-1 being positioned near him. Sam was limping slightly, leading him to believe she'd received more than just a scrape while Daniel appeared to be deep in thought. 'So what else is new?' Teal'c on the other hand was even more expressionless than normal, if that was possible. Jack managed to scramble to his feet, wondering why they had not been bound, as transport rings settled around them. 'Oh. That's why.'
The guards on board the little ship quickly ushered their prisoners to the back of the ship where they were shoved into a very small holding cell. The door slammed loudly, leaving Jack very glad that he, for one, was not claustrophobic. "Carter? How's the leg?"
"Fine, sir."
"You were limping."
"The debris bruised my calf. I've had worse."
He nodded his acceptance of her statement. "So, Teal'c, what do you know of this Dunce god?"
"Dedun is a minor system lord. I am uncertain if he even holds that title among the more powerful Goa'ulds such as Apophis. I know very little of him. Apophis considered him to be no more threat than a solitary insect. A minor annoyance, nothing more.
"Sweet. Daniel, care to add anything?"
The younger man looked thoughtful. "Dedun was the Egyptian and Nubian god of wealth and incense. The images of him in the temples have been predominately human in appearance, unlike Anubis who is always shown with the head of a hound."
"What's Anubis got to do with Dedumb?"
"Oh. Sorry. Nothing. Just that sometimes Dedun is shown as a lion."
"Oh." Jack waited for Daniel to continue. When he did not, Jack looked at him anxiously. "Well?"
"Well what, Jack?"
"Where's the rest of it?"
Daniel cocked his head, and asked. "What 'rest'?"
"The ten page dissertation we get every time you see anything relating to one of the 'gods'."
"Oh. Well, except that he's usually associated with the southern lands of ancient Egypt, that's about it. He's pretty minor in the scheme of things."
"Okay, he's major enough to have a pyramid ship. I don't claim to know anything about Goa'uld economics, but those suckers can't be cheap."
"Daniel Jackson is correct. Dedun is very unimportant as far as the ruling class is concerned. But he is also rumored among the Goa'uld to be very wealthy. There are tales of vast wealth, gold, jewels, and other things unknown to your people, O'Neill, but valuable none-the-less."
"But Teal'c," Carter objected, "if he's so unimportant, how does he get the wealth?"
"It is said he is part of an alliance, a very loose alliance, of pirates who pay tribute to him for his aid."
"What does he give them?"
"The rumors are that he betrays merchant ships belonging to other wealthy Goa'uld. He does, however, take care not to antagonize the powerful lords. He is, therefore, almost an outcast among his kind."
Jack's eyes widened with surprise. "A Goa'uld that other Goa'uld don't like? That's kinda hard to believe."
Carter's eyes lit up suddenly. "That would explain why they asked if Teal'c was the leader."
"What?" Jack's eyes narrowed in frustration. He had *really* hoped that none of his team had picked up on that.
"Sir, he's ostracized from the rank and file Goa'uld. He doesn't know what a Tau'ri is. He may not even know about R---"
"Not now, Carter." Jack quickly interrupted. "Bugs."
Her mouth dropped open, then snapped shut as the reality of the situation hit home. As Tau'ri, SG-1 had value, redeemable in trade to a Goa'uld like, she shuddered slightly, Apophis. It also meant they would be kept alive until Apophis could arrive on PX7 384, giving them a chance to escape. But if Dedun did not know of the Tau'ri, and therefore did not know of SG-1, then this 'god' might view them as nothing more than a fresh supply of slaves. A low growl caught her attention as she realized for the first time that a large lion-like cat was pacing the hall outside the cell. Gulping, she also wondered if they might just have become a fresh supply of ... cat food.
******
Deldrak frowned as he watched the interaction of the prisoners on the monitor in the mother ship. Their behavior was abnormal to say the least. Chelkad had informed him that the Jaffa had abandoned the God Apophis to follow a mortal human. If nothing else, that indicated his master was correct. That these were indeed mercenaries, here to steal what they could from Lord Dedun. It would explain the lack of fear in the humans. The pirates his master dealt with were intimidated by very little. They relied on their swift, small spaceships to escape the wrath of the System Lords. But their behavior in the presence of his master was always subservient, respectful. As it should be. But these ... "Chelkad!"
"Yes, my lord?"
"I do not trust these ..." What was the word the female had used? Oh, yes, Tau'ri. "... these Tau'ri. Add two Jaffa to the escort to our God."
"Four? My Lord Deldrak, the two Jaffa who normally attend---"
"Will not be sufficient, this time. Two additional, Chelkad, no less."
******
The low humming noise Jack had been hearing rose to a high pitch whine as the small craft began to slow. "Heads up, kids. It's party time."
Teal'c frowned at O'Neill's choice of words, started to inquire as to his meaning, then decided the colonel was making another one of his, as Daniel Jackson had explained, infamous jokes.
The cell door opened to reveal six large Jaffa and one large cat. The cat rose lazily from its spot between two of the Jaffa and walked gracefully into the cell. Even Teal'c tensed involuntarily as the large animal sniffed each of the team members curiously. She circled the four prisoners, stopping only to eye Daniel as he sneezed violently.
"Dan...iel..." Jack tilted his head toward the animal.
"C...Achooo..at da...Achooooo...nder, Ja...Achoo...ck."
"Cat Chow, Daniel."
"Uh. 'chooo. ... Right." He choked back another sneeze as the cat walked imperiously from the room to stand, looking incredibly bored, between the two Jaffa again. The nearest of the Jaffa motioned imperiously for the four to position themselves in the transport rings.
Three pairs of eyes looked at Jack, who quietly ordered "Looks like we're playing center stage tonight. Let's go."
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part - 05 ↑
The four SG-1 members found themselves momentarily alone as the transport rings pulled them from a circle of six Jaffa, and one large cat. Jack waved an impulsive bird at his disappearing captors only to be shocked minutes later as the rings deposited them into a circle of six Jaffa, and one large cat. For one brief moment the colonel wondered if they'd actually left the little transport ship. Then he spotted the throne, and its opulently dressed occupant, and grumbled something to himself about megalomaniacs before being shoved to his knees, along with the rest of SG-1. He struggled to restrain himself when he saw Carter wince with pain as she was forced to the floor.
The cat rose lazily to its ... her ... feet, granting SG-1 an impressive view of her teeth as she graced them with a wide yawn. As if on command, she sauntered off the dais containing the throne and circled the prisoners twice, finally stopping beside Sam. The tawny head dropped to sniff the injured leg and Sam let out an involuntary yelp as a clawed foot kneaded her calf.
"Cart...ooooomp!" The pain filled gasp aborted Jack's concerned cry as the butt end of a staff weapon impacted with his stomach.
The Goa'uld's eyes glowed angrily as he rose from his throne. "An injury?"
The First Prime frowned and moved to stand beside the cat. "With your permission, my Lord?"
A brief nod followed by a short command drew the cat away from Sam - much to her relief - and the Jaffa knelt beside the female prisoner. Once again she fumed in silent annoyance as her pants leg was edged upwards. "A deep bruise, my Lord."
Another nod, and Sam was yanked to her feet. "Hey!"
She yelped in pain as he shoved her roughly forward, and not-so-silent growls of protest from her companions brought renewed attention to them.
"JAFFA KREE!"
All weapons jerked backwards with an audible snap as the guards resumed their positions. The Goa'uld rose gracefully from his seat as the First Prime pushed Sam to her knees on the dais. He was tall, very tall. From Jack's position on the floor, he estimated at least six-eight. And muscular. From the size of his muscles, the Goa'uld was obviously a fitness addict. 'Probably give Teal'c a run for his money in a one-on-one fight. Shit!' Surreptitiously watching the Goa'uld's actions, Jack's heart raced wildly, not knowing what the thing wanted with Carter.
With surprising grace, for a man of his size, Dedun knelt beside Sam's injured leg and, to the surprise of the prisoners, proceeded to use the healing device on it. The warm rays eased the ache in her muscles as damaged blood vessels and torn membranes healed. "Than..." Her thanks died on her lips at the look of absolute disdain she saw in the Goa'uld's eyes. As he returned to his throne, followed by the cat, she was dragged back to join her friends.
Dedun's eyes narrowed as he studied his prisoners. "A Jaffa? With Apophis' mark? How come you to be with these ... humans?"
Teal'c's own expression remained carefully neutral. "The benefits package was superior."
Jack choked back a laugh at the Jaffa's words, noting that both Carter and Daniel were having a similar reaction. God, had it only been three days since he'd overheard a personnel officer explaining next year's employment benefits to the alien? It now appeared the Jaffa had understood the concept better than he had. The Goa'uld, however, was not amused; his tightlipped frown coincided with a short nod, bringing instant retribution from his own Jaffa.
CRACK! The blow to Teal'c's back sent the Jaffa sprawling face-down on the stone floor. A sharp "JAFFA KREE" prevented another punishing blow from further injuring Teal'c.
"Where is your ship?" Dedun yawned slightly as he spoke.
"Our ... ship?" Jack's quick query blocked Daniel's surprised exclamation.
"Do not presume to lie to me. The planet is inhabited only by *my* chosen. There is no Chaapa'ai. I ask you again, where is your ship?"
Dedun's feral smile reminded the colonel of the cat at the Goa'uld's feet, but he shrugged anyway, a picture of nonchalance. "Can't really say."
"No matter." Dedun stroked the cat's head. "Titia and her sisters have not had this much opportunity for stimulation in quite some time."
"Girl's night out?" Jack asked impudently, earning himself a spiteful look from the Goa'uld.
"Silence, FOOL! I know you are here to rob my vaults. Others have tried, and like yourselves, been captured. Prepare them."
******
"My Lord?"
"What is it, Deldrak?"
"I am unfamiliar with the devices carried by the thieves and have taken the liberty of bringing them here." At the sight of the Goa'uld's frown, the First Prime added nervously, "... I...I hope I have not displeased you, my Lord?"
Dedun reached out and picked up a MP-5. "This is not the customary weapon of the pirates." Pointing the weapon at a far wall, he pulled the trigger, tilting is head in puzzlement as the bullets engraved abstract patterns on the wall. "This is a primitive projectile device. These mercenaries are poorly equipped indeed." He absently dropped the rifle to the floor and picked up a GDO. "This is more interesting. Electronic but still primitive. Where was this found?"
"All four wore one on their wrists, my Lord, but I do not know what they are for."
Dedun's forehead wrinkled as he replied. "Indeed. On their wrists? Deldrak, these devices gain entry to their ship. Each Riagla handler should wear one."
"I do not understand, my Lord."
Dedun lost interest in the SG-1 booty as he scratched Titia's chin. "The thieves will attempt to return to their ship to make their escape. When the Riagla," His hand moved to stroke the cat's head, commenting affectionately, "probably Titia, catch their scent, the prisoners will lead them to their ship. The handlers will be able to gain admittance using this device."
******
Jack moved restlessly in the small confines of his latest prison. Thick metal bars enclosed a three feet by three feet space, giving him enough room to know he wanted more. And it was barely tall enough to keep him from having to squat or otherwise contort his body. Thank goodness for small favors. Testing the bars once more, he found himself hoping that he was not expected to bunk with his teammates. Clamping down on that thought, he realized he'd be happy to share just to know where his team was. Rubbing absently at the bruise on his shoulder, gained when he'd protested being separated from his friends, he stared unblinkingly at the transport circles as a low familiar hum began.
The hum intensified and soon another cage, also three by three, appeared in the center of the circles and was wheeled to within a few feet of him. The broad shoulders of the Jaffa were a tight fit for the little prison, and the height was not right for him, forcing Teal'c to tilt his head at an awkward angle. Even his normally stoic expression was showing the strain of his confinement. Jack noted that, like himself, the Jaffa's SGC garments had been removed and replaced with much less substantial clothing.
"Teal'c, you okay?"
"I am well, O'Neill."
"What are we dressed for, Halloween?"
"The garments are those of a prisoner, usually a slave destined for execution."
"Sweet." Jack looked back toward the circles. "Carter? Daniel?"
"I have not seen them, O'Neill. It is possible they too will join us soon."
As the transport hum began once more, Jack smiled grimly. "Ya think?"
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part - 06 ↑
The four SG-1 members found themselves momentarily alone as the transport rings pulled them from a circle of six Jaffa, and one large cat. Jack waved an impulsive bird at his disappearing captors only to be shocked minutes later as the rings deposited them into a circle of six Jaffa, and one large cat. For one brief moment the colonel wondered if they'd actually left the little transport ship. Then he spotted the throne, and its opulently dressed occupant, and grumbled something to himself about megalomaniacs before being shoved to his knees, along with the rest of SG-1. He struggled to restrain himself when he saw Carter wince with pain as she was forced to the floor.
The cat rose lazily to its ... her ... feet, granting SG-1 an impressive view of her teeth as she graced them with a wide yawn. As if on command, she sauntered off the dais containing the throne and circled the prisoners twice, finally stopping beside Sam. The tawny head dropped to sniff the injured leg and Sam let out an involuntary yelp as a clawed foot kneaded her calf.
"Cart...ooooomp!" The pain filled gasp aborted Jack's concerned cry as the butt end of a staff weapon impacted with his stomach.
The Goa'uld's eyes glowed angrily as he rose from his throne. "An injury?"
The First Prime frowned and moved to stand beside the cat. "With your permission, my Lord?"
A brief nod followed by a short command drew the cat away from Sam - much to her relief - and the Jaffa knelt beside the female prisoner. Once again she fumed in silent annoyance as her pants leg was edged upwards. "A deep bruise, my Lord."
Another nod, and Sam was yanked to her feet. "Hey!"
She yelped in pain as he shoved her roughly forward, and not-so-silent growls of protest from her companions brought renewed attention to them.
"JAFFA KREE!"
All weapons jerked backwards with an audible snap as the guards resumed their positions. The Goa'uld rose gracefully from his seat as the First Prime pushed Sam to her knees on the dais. He was tall, very tall. From Jack's position on the floor, he estimated at least six-eight. And muscular. From the size of his muscles, the Goa'uld was obviously a fitness addict. 'Probably give Teal'c a run for his money in a one-on-one fight. Shit!' Surreptitiously watching the Goa'uld's actions, Jack's heart raced wildly, not knowing what the thing wanted with Carter.
With surprising grace, for a man of his size, Dedun knelt beside Sam's injured leg and, to the surprise of the prisoners, proceeded to use the healing device on it. The warm rays eased the ache in her muscles as damaged blood vessels and torn membranes healed. "Than..." Her thanks died on her lips at the look of absolute disdain she saw in the Goa'uld's eyes. As he returned to his throne, followed by the cat, she was dragged back to join her friends.
Dedun's eyes narrowed as he studied his prisoners. "A Jaffa? With Apophis' mark? How come you to be with these ... humans?"
Teal'c's own expression remained carefully neutral. "The benefits package was superior."
Jack choked back a laugh at the Jaffa's words, noting that both Carter and Daniel were having a similar reaction. God, had it only been three days since he'd overheard a personnel officer explaining next year's employment benefits to the alien? It now appeared the Jaffa had understood the concept better than he had. The Goa'uld, however, was not amused; his tightlipped frown coincided with a short nod, bringing instant retribution from his own Jaffa.
CRACK! The blow to Teal'c's back sent the Jaffa sprawling face-down on the stone floor. A sharp "JAFFA KREE" prevented another punishing blow from further injuring Teal'c.
"Where is your ship?" Dedun yawned slightly as he spoke.
"Our ... ship?" Jack's quick query blocked Daniel's surprised exclamation.
"Do not presume to lie to me. The planet is inhabited only by *my* chosen. There is no Chaapa'ai. I ask you again, where is your ship?"
Dedun's feral smile reminded the colonel of the cat at the Goa'uld's feet, but he shrugged anyway, a picture of nonchalance. "Can't really say."
"No matter." Dedun stroked the cat's head. "Titia and her sisters have not had this much opportunity for stimulation in quite some time."
"Girl's night out?" Jack asked impudently, earning himself a spiteful look from the Goa'uld.
"Silence, FOOL! I know you are here to rob my vaults. Others have tried, and like yourselves, been captured. Prepare them."
******
"My Lord?"
"What is it, Deldrak?"
"I am unfamiliar with the devices carried by the thieves and have taken the liberty of bringing them here." At the sight of the Goa'uld's frown, the First Prime added nervously, "... I...I hope I have not displeased you, my Lord?"
Dedun reached out and picked up a MP-5. "This is not the customary weapon of the pirates." Pointing the weapon at a far wall, he pulled the trigger, tilting is head in puzzlement as the bullets engraved abstract patterns on the wall. "This is a primitive projectile device. These mercenaries are poorly equipped indeed." He absently dropped the rifle to the floor and picked up a GDO. "This is more interesting. Electronic but still primitive. Where was this found?"
"All four wore one on their wrists, my Lord, but I do not know what they are for."
Dedun's forehead wrinkled as he replied. "Indeed. On their wrists? Deldrak, these devices gain entry to their ship. Each Riagla handler should wear one."
"I do not understand, my Lord."
Dedun lost interest in the SG-1 booty as he scratched Titia's chin. "The thieves will attempt to return to their ship to make their escape. When the Riagla," His hand moved to stroke the cat's head, commenting affectionately, "probably Titia, catch their scent, the prisoners will lead them to their ship. The handlers will be able to gain admittance using this device."
******
Jack moved restlessly in the small confines of his latest prison. Thick metal bars enclosed a three feet by three feet space, giving him enough room to know he wanted more. And it was barely tall enough to keep him from having to squat or otherwise contort his body. Thank goodness for small favors. Testing the bars once more, he found himself hoping that he was not expected to bunk with his teammates. Clamping down on that thought, he realized he'd be happy to share just to know where his team was. Rubbing absently at the bruise on his shoulder, gained when he'd protested being separated from his friends, he stared unblinkingly at the transport circles as a low familiar hum began.
The hum intensified and soon another cage, also three by three, appeared in the center of the circles and was wheeled to within a few feet of him. The broad shoulders of the Jaffa were a tight fit for the little prison, and the height was not right for him, forcing Teal'c to tilt his head at an awkward angle. Even his normally stoic expression was showing the strain of his confinement. Jack noted that, like himself, the Jaffa's SGC garments had been removed and replaced with much less substantial clothing.
"Teal'c, you okay?"
"I am well, O'Neill."
"What are we dressed for, Halloween?"
"The garments are those of a prisoner, usually a slave destined for execution."
"Sweet." Jack looked back toward the circles. "Carter? Daniel?"
"I have not seen them, O'Neill. It is possible they too will join us soon."
As the transport hum began once more, Jack smiled grimly. "Ya think?"
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part - 07 ↑
To Daniel's astonishment, the rings deposited him on the planet's surface ... without the cage. Blinking rapidly as his eyes readjusted to the strong sunlight, he took stock of his surroundings. He was standing on a stone circle, the same size as the rings. Expecting the rings to return at any moment, he jumped off the platform and moved away, looking with interest at the terrain around him. He appeared to have landed in an open meadow with grass about thigh high. Behind him, the meadow gave way to an uninviting, rocky, clay surface. Before him was a dense forest, which itself made a semi-circle around him, ending at the clay. Or whatever it was. The sudden cessation, or so it appeared, of life where the forest and meadow ended, made heading for the clay singularly uninviting.
He looked around miserably, hoping against hope to recognize some landmark, but nothing seemed familiar. "Don't be stupid, Daniel, you could be anywhere on the planet. Not to mention your glasses are gone." He glanced around once more. "Anywhere. Okay, now which way did Sam say the sun, uh, suns moved through the sky?
******
Dedun smiled as one of the symbols left the ship on his map and traveled to the planet's surface. It's blue tones flashed in contrast to the green and brown images. Back on the 'ship' a matching symbol flashed red as it was activated. Which Riagla was on the hunt for the first slave? Oh yes, Marjo. Such a lovely cat, so dark, so ... threatening. There was nothing fragile about her beauty. She would make short work of this ... Dedun checked his records ... this young male. Looking back at his notes, he frowned. Why had Deldrak chosen Opscocia for the female? The white cat was not as large as Marjo, nor as swift. The female might manage to escape. But perhaps that was preferable to her death. She was very lovely, and would make a good companion for a time. He laughed as he realized that, once again, Deldrak had known his mind before he did. He would have to be certain to communicate his desires to Marjo's handler. No, wait, Deldrak would have handled that as well.
Looking back at his records, he smiled with pleasure as he saw Vexica was to pursue the former servant of Apophis. Blood-red in color, the animal was twice the size of Marjo. She would need the extra size and stamina to match wits with the Jaffa. That left, Titia, his own personal favorite. She was to track the so-called leader of the group. What had he named himself? Oh, yes, Colonel Jack O'Neill. Odd the names these slaves came up with.
Unlike the other felines, who would make a meal of their victims as quickly as possible, Titia had retained some of the playfulness of her early days. This insolent slave would be her play thing, to capture and release, only to capture him again. She would play with him until he was exhausted and could run no more. Then she would kill him. Probably more swiftly at that point than his arrogance deserved, but that was beside the point. He would still be dead. And his beloved Titia would have had a marvelous outing, and a satisfying meal as well.
******
Daniel remained standing by the platform for a short time, waiting for the rest of the team to join him. As the minutes ticked by, his ever curious mind began to look for some distraction from the boredom of standing still. Circling the platform he noticed what appeared to be dried bloodstains on its sides. Kneeling he examined the marks more closely. Definitely dried blood. It extended slightly onto the platform, cutting off where the rings would land. He knew the energy from the transport rings would dissolve anything solid underneath them and supposed blood would vanish as well, but Sam would know for sure. Obviously some poor soul had become trapped at the ring location. Shuddering slightly, Daniel moved further around the platform, stopping again as he spotted some scratches along the lower portion, which his archaeologist's training told him was handwriting. Or in this case, it appeared to be a frantic scrawl by someone who was out of time. Possibly the same someone whose blood was not too far away. The language looked familiar, a hybrid of Ancient Greek and ... Hebrew? Yes, definitely Hebrew. Wondering if the reading direction was right or left, he studied the scrawl. The writing was so poor it was difficult to make any sense of the lettering but a few key letters soon told him the read pattern. As he sank unknowingly to the ground, his mind was busy with the translation, wondering why the first word appeared to be 'warning'.
******
"O'Neill. We are in motion."
"What!" Jack dragged his thoughts away from Daniel and concentrated on the sounds around him. The low hum that indicated movement was back. Grabbing the bars in front of him, he called out. "Hey ASSHOLE!"
"O'Neill, I do not believe this is a wise course of action."
"Teal'c's right, sir. Deldrak--"
"I know what I'm doing. Deldrak, eh?" Jack took a deep breath. "HEY STUPID! I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE JAFFA IN CHARGE!"
An angry Jaffa of unknown name and temperament rounded the corner and glared at the prisoners. "SILENCE!"
"I don't think so. Where's your boss?"
"Lord Deldrak has com--"
"That's the one. I wanta talk to..." Before Jack could finish the demand, Deldrak shoved his subordinate aside, and smiled at the prisoners. 'Not good, I do not like that expression.'
"It will do you no good to plead for your life." The First Prime's arrogant smirk infuriated Jack.
"I thought we were gonna participate in the hunt."
"You are."
"Then why haven't we been sent down to join our friend?" Jack snarled at the Jaffa.
The First Prime started to laugh. "Fools, did you really believe you would be released ... together?"
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part - 08 ↑
Carter and Teal'c were gone now. Transported to the surface to some unknown location, and followed shortly afterwards by a very large cat and her handler. Carter first, shortly after Daniel, then Teal'c soon after that. And as promised by Deldrak, the ship had changed location prior to each drop. Jack's fingers drummed an impatient tune on the bars in lieu of pacing, which was his preferred course of action. Actually, he would have preferred throttling one egotistical First Prime, showing him how truly insignificant he really was, but that was not possible. Yet.
Approaching footsteps pulled his thoughts from the fate of his team, and he looked up to glare at the First Asshole himself.
******
"Well, this really stinks." Sam muttered under her breath as she looked around. Upon hitting the transport pad, she'd lost no time in leaving the area, heading for the highest ground possible. If she had to defend herself from what for all intents and purposes looked like a lioness, she wanted to be well above her, not below. She'd thought briefly of climbing a very sturdy tree, then remembered the cats had handlers. No doubt there to prevent such an easy escape. For that matter she wasn't really sure what constituted an escape. Even if she got lucky and killed the cat, what about the handler? A lose-lose scenario as far as she was concerned. Then, of course, there was her current situation. The view in front of her was spectacular, but gave her no clue as to the whereabouts of the others. Nor did she have a frame of reference to find the Stargate. First things first, though. Getting rid of the cat and its keeper were the first orders of the day.
******
Teal'c also moved away from the platform as quickly as possible, but, unlike Sam, his position was much less tenable. The plateau was flat and barren as far as the eye could see. No trees, no place to throw a pursuer off his trail. The Jaffa studied his lack of choices for a moment, then decided to follow the larger sun. The increasing separation between it and its mate would at least give him something to mark distance and time against. And it was possible that the hard, dry surface would be a benefit. It would hold no easy trail for the handler to see, and the scent trail would also be limited since there was nothing close by to retain his scent. Perhaps they believed he would still be in sight when they arrived. If so, they had sorely miscalculated exactly how quickly he could run, a mistake he could use to his advantage.
******
"Warning, first doomed cat come..." Daniel tried to make sense out of the words. Maybe Teal'c would have some ide... first? Uh oh. Could that possibly mean that the others weren't coming? That the next thing off the platform would have a fur coat and lotsa teeth? He absently brushed the dirt off his clothes as he pushed himself to his feet. Which way? Which way? Okay. Fine. No clue. What was the first rule when lost? Oh, yeah. To stay put. Not a good idea here. Wasn't there a second rule? Maybe follow running water. That was better, but there was no running water in sight. Wait! Follow the path of the sun. Daniel squinted at the two suns above his head. Did that particular line of thinking still apply with two suns? Noting that the smaller sun was lower in the sky, Daniel opted to focus on the large one, reasoning it would be overhead longer. As he started to run for the forest's edge, he couldn't help wondering what idiot had come up with those stupid rules anyway.
******
"Colonel Jack O'Neill."
"What?" Jack was in no mood to mince words.
"It is almost time for you to be released."
"Terrific. Well, just wheel the old cage over there and let's get this show on the road."
"I do not understand your meaning."
"Get on with the hunt."
The First Prime frowned, then smiled his irritating little smirk as he motioned the Jaffa to position the cage. "I see. You do not wish to die. You truly believe escape is possible."
"My people have a saying - where there's life, there's hope."
"Interesting." Deldrak held up a small device which looked remotely like the DHD. "This is a Heln'rc. Strap it on your wrist."
"So you can track me? Thanks but no thanks."
"You misunderstand. We can already track you. A beacon is concealed within the clothing that you wear." Smiling more broadly as Jack looked askance at his slave's garments, Deldrak continued. "You will not be able to find it. The Heln'rc will show you where you are in relation to the other prey. It will also show you the locations of the Riagla which track your companions."
Jack stared in shock at the little device. "Why?"
"My Lord Dedun has decided that as the leader, it is your right to know the status of your companions. Since you will be unable to save them, at least you will know when they die, and can offer up appropriate prayers for their miserable souls."
"How ... How do you work it?"
Deldrak maneuvered a switch. "Like this. The red symbols are the Riagla." He added as three red symbols, and three blue ones appeared on the screen. Noting the obvious surprise on the face of the First Prime, Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief as it became clear that not only was Daniel not dead, he was well ahead of the cat in pursuit.
"Which symbol is which?"
"It does not matter."
Silently fuming, Jack chose to control his temper. "Just how do we 'win' this little exercise, anyway?"
Deldrak shrugged, a definite lack of interest obvious in his features. "I do not know."
"You ... do ... not ... *know*!"
"The rules of each hunt are never quite the same. My Lord Dedun is the only one who knows the rules. I believe he modifies them to match his vision of the prey. Therefore, I do not know how you can win. But I would not tell you, in any event. Good bye, Colonel Jack O'Neill."
Jack's last view of the Jaffa was a self-satisfied grin which the colonel definitely planned on removing at his first opportunity.
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part - 09 ↑
Jack blinked rapidly as the sunlight reflected back into his eyes from the water in front of the platform. Water? Whirling, he was not too surprised to see water in all directions, extending as far as the eye could see. Well, that wasn't quite true. He could see a narrow strip of land extending into the lake or whatever the hell it was. Terrific. There was only one way he could go. A quick glance at the Heln'rc brought him minimal relief as he saw that his team was still alive and running. It also told him that the pursuing cats were not close to his people. Yet.
Realizing he couldn't stay on the platform too much longer, he looked skeptically at the water. The murky substance refused to reveal its depth, nor did it give up the secret of any underwater denizens that might be lurking there. Then he remembered the cat ... and her handler. While the Goa'uld might risk the health of the Jaffa, the cat, Titia, was obviously cherished. No way would her safety be compromised, which meant the water couldn't be *that* deep.
Jack briefly thought about rolling his pants legs up past his knees, but negated that has impractical. Not to mention stupid looking. The material of the slave garments was some sort of linen-like weave. Wet it should weigh little more than it did dry and should not impede his progress. Raising his arm above his head ... just to be on the safe side, didn't want the Heln'rc thingie to get wet ... he plopped down on the platform and gingerly slid off the side.
It was cold. Very, very cold. Mountain spring temperatures. Jack shivered as the chill permeated his pants up to his hips. The sludge from the bottom slid between his toes, turning the less-than-comfortable sandals he'd been forced to wear, into a repository for the slimy goo. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, he regretted not removing the footwear while they were still clean. But, he consoled himself, the bottom could have been jagged rocks not sludge. Better to have silt between the toes, than slit toes, he reminded himself.
Pushing forward through the water, he glanced at the Heln'rc strapped to his wrist and was surprised to see four blue symbols. Somehow, he hadn't thought the device would show his location. As for the three red symbols, he really hoped that a fourth would appear when Titia arrived for the hunt.
He was less than twenty feet from dry land and still up to his hips in water, when he saw the disturbance in the water nearby. A small splash, followed by a larger one, followed by ... ripples. He paused in his forward motion for a moment, startled into inaction by the sheer size of the ripples. Belatedly, he realized that there was a suspicious looking fin-like thing in the center of the ripples, heading straight for him. Visions of 'JAWS' raced through his head and he briefly wondered how close the creature would be able to get to him. Knowing that running in water was next to impossible, and that very large sharks could attack in two feet of water, Jack opted to swim. Praying that the Goa'uld device was waterproof, he pushed forward with long, strong strokes that quickly brought him to the shoreline. To his surprise the water remained the same depth even at the shore. Pushing quickly upwards on his hands, Jack threw himself onto dry land, even as a nightmare vision of large, pointed teeth, lunged out of the water.
Gasping, Jack scrambled on all fours away from the water's edge, turning to see the creature leap after him onto the dirt. For one brief, horrifying instant, he was terrified that the thing was amphibious, then it slid backwards into the water. A few more unsuccessful lunges toward his position, and it gave up, submerging and gliding, disappointed, back out toward the platform.
He rose shakily to his feet, eyes wide at the thought that he'd been sharing the water with at least one of those things. Taking a deep breath, he glanced down at the Heln'rc, praying the device still worked. To his relief, four blue symbols and three red ones blinked on its face. His team was still alive, even Daniel. Jack frowned as he realized the young civilian's status worried him the most. From her records, Carter had graduated third in her survival school class. No small feat. As for Teal'c, well, he was more at home in the wilderness than most wildlife. Daniel, on the other hand, Daniel was a concern. Sure the young man had spent years working at excavations under primitive conditions, but Jack doubted Daniel had ever experienced a true survival situation. At least not alone, he amended, as he recalled the wide variety of environments SG-1 had experienced. Jack had insisted on rudimentary classes in just about everything, but the archaeologist was without a doubt, the most vulnerable. Glaring at the blue flashes on the 'dial', he really wished he knew where, or at least how far away, his people were, forgetting briefly the cat scheduled to arrive at any moment.
******
She was hot, tired, irritable, and more than a little nervous. Shit. Who was she kidding. She was scared to death. Sam glanced warily back down what passed for a mountain path, surveying the area she'd already passed. No sign of the cat or the handler. Of course, there was no guarantee that the handler did anything more than turn the cat loose, and pick up the pieces at the end of the hunt. Sagging beside the mountain stream, she eyed its offering suspiciously. It looked clean, but experience told her that it could be brimming with all sorts of alien bacteria, waiting to bring her to her knees with nausea, cramps, and possibly death. With no chemicals to test it for safety, there was simply no way to tell.
Wiping a hand across her sweaty forehead, Sam knew she had little choice. Drink or dehydrate. The latter was a certainty without fluids, the effects of the water only a possibility. She hated a choice which was no choice. Reaching forward, she allowed the cold liquid to run freely over her hand. It *felt* okay, as if that would mean anything. 'Shit. Now or never. Get it over with, Samantha.' Cupping her hands, she filled them with the water and drank deeply.
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part - 10 ↑
The water felt so cool and refreshing as it eased the discomfort in her parched throat and mouth. Still over warm, Sam dunked her head in the cold liquid, remaining under until her breath was gone. Gasping, she emerged, dripping, from the water and sat back on her haunches, straining to hear anything which might indicate her pursuers were close. While the local flora was plentiful, the local fauna appeared to be practically non-existent, at least in this area, virtually eliminating the possibility of a warning from that direction. Slapping at an overlarge bug attacking her neck, Sam grimaced. 'Pity the insect life isn't non-existent.'
Rising to her feet, Sam started to head further up the trail. Her mind couldn't quite wrap itself around the concept of being hunted, at least not by an animal. God knows, SG-1 had been pursued in the past. Goa'uld's, Jaffa, unfriendly natives, hell, even friendly natives. Seemed like every place they went someone eventually wanted a piece of SG-1. But usually it was because they *were* SG-1. This Dedun character apparently didn't even know what a Tau'ri was, much less what SG-1 represented. The defeat of Ra. And even though she hadn't been part of that original mission, she still found the idea vaguely insulting.
Stumbling over a rock, she cursed softly to herself, realizing that by losing herself in her thoughts she had wasted valuable time, and traveled very little distance. "Holy Hannah!" Sam's hand cracked against her forehead in disgust. "The stream. God, Sam, you are soooo stupid. Take the stream. Let the water throw the cat off the trail. I hope." She caught herself just before turning around. Twisting so that she could see behind her, she saw her tracks plainly in the ground behind her. Sighing heavily, she carefully moved her right foot over the nearest right footprint and stepped backwards. Doing the same for the left, then right again, she gained speed with practice as she once again approached the stream. In reverse. She supposed an experienced tracker like Teal'c would be able to tell she'd back-trailed, but with any luck, the cat's handler wouldn't know the difference. Right. Like they'd had luck so far. But, dammit to hell, their luck had to change sometime.
Knowing she'd wasted far too much time, she stepped into the water, shoes and all, shivering as the cold sent chills up her spine.
******
Opscocia sniffed the ground, growling softly at the Jaffa at her side. Obediently, the handler moved over as the animal paced from side to side across the 'trail'. The white cat was small in comparison to others of her species, but her sense of smell was much better than most. Even so, she appeared to be having difficulty. Circling a small rock, she cast in all directions for the trail. The handler followed her every move, puzzled and concerned that she seemed so confused. Finally, she dropped to her haunches, and yowled loudly, announcing her distress to anyone who might be listening.
******
Sam plunged through the water, heedless of the noise, knowing if the cat was within hearing distance, she was probably as good as dead anyway. The stream was heading up hill, but fortunately, her training enabled her to push forward without breathing hard. As she shoved her way through the underbrush, she wondered how her teammates were fairing or even if they were still alive. Teal'c, well, the former First Prime of Apophis, was probably more than suited to the complexities of this adventure. And Daniel had spent a year on Abydos, completely lacking in even the basic comforts of home. He was tougher than he looked. The colonel, she mused, didn't give him nearly enough credit. If by some miracle, he'd survived the arrival of the cat at the ring platform, Sam was sure he'd give the beast a run for its money. Try as she would though, she couldn't help a modicum of concern about the colonel. They hadn't been a team long, but it didn't take a rocket scientist, or in her case, a theoretical astrophysicist, to figure out that O'Neill was getting some age on him. Granted, his record indicated Black Ops experience, but by all accounts that was years ago. Would he be able to outrun the cat? She didn't know, but sincerely hoped so. She truly liked the man, sarcasm and all, but beyond that, it was really bad form to let your CO die.
******
Teal'c was barely over the rise in the distance when the faint hum of the transport rings reached his ears. He had been exceedingly fortunate that the ground eased its way upwards, then sloped suddenly down. From the platform, this phenomenon had not been readily apparent, giving an illusion of a straight path extending for miles. This would no doubt have disillusioned most, if not all, of the slaves released here in the past. Teal'c wondered if any of his predecessors had even made it this far, and considered himself truly fortunate that he had chosen this path.
Trees were now evident in the distance, and it would be a true test of his abilities to see if he could make the relative safety of the tree line before the cat found him. An angry roar in the background only served to increase his speed, as something akin to fear took root in his mind. Even the symbiont in his abdomen seemed to sense their plight, swimming in his pouch in rhythm with the Jaffa's footsteps.
An involuntary sigh of relief passed through Teal'c's lips as he slipped into the forest. Pausing to catch his breath, the Jaffa studied the gloom surrounding him. The forest was still, and heavy with underbrush. There was a trail of sorts leading in the direction of the larger sun. Convenient, almost too convenient, but he knew he had little choice but to follow it. Almost without thinking of it, Teal'c spied white blotches everywhere, and wondered, briefly, where they'd come from. A plop from above caused him to look upwards for the source. To his absolute shock, the trees were filled with birds, large birds. Large yellow birds.
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part - 11 ↑
A not-so-distant roar spurred Teal'c into motion. Uncertain of the temperament, as well as the diet, of the creatures overhead, the Jaffa took care to avoid making any more noise than absolutely necessary. The fact that the path itself was apparently well traveled did nothing to alleviate his feelings of unease. And just what exactly traveled the path was on his mind as well.
A pair of irritated squawks almost drowned out the much closer roar of the cat. Teal'c glanced upwards to find two large yellow birds ...discussing... a roosting location. The creatures were slightly larger than the eagles he had seen at the Colorado zoo. The arguing pair spread their wings wide, allowing him a good view of their eight foot wingspan. The twisting, turning heads contained beady little eyes, and sharp, pointed beaks ... obviously designed by nature for tearing meat, but whether the diet was carrion or fresh kill, he could not tell. The heads themselves were crowned with extremely small white feathers, making the creatures appear almost bald.
Suddenly one of the antagonists screamed loudly as it plunged a sharply pointed beak into the chest of its adversary. The latter bird, taken stupidly by surprise, over-balanced on the tree limb and flapped its wings frantically as sharply pointed talons sought purchase in the wood. A red stain appeared on its chest, making a sharp contrast, even in the dim light, to the yellow of its body. The bird's scream of pain echoed in the wood as Teal'c realized, to his chagrin, that all other sounds had suddenly ceased.
******
Dedun frowned as he studied the Heln'rc. This was not possible, the Jaffa had reached the forest. None of Vexica's prey had ever made it this far. Either the cat was ill or the Jaffa was better than he'd supposed. For a brief moment, the Goa'uld considered recalling the cat and her handler, but decided against it. Vexica would sulk for days if she were not allowed to finish the game. And her handler would prevent her from coming to harm in the forest. The Eipyt'wt were cruel hunters themselves, often ripping their prey to shreds with their talons. If Vexica was injured ... the handler would die. It was that simple, therefore, the handler would defend her with his life. The cat was too valuable to the Goa'uld to lose to the birds. Glancing back at the Heln'rc, Dedun realized the decision was out of his hands, Vexica had entered the forest.
******
Cursing his stupidity, Teal'c listened closely to the silence, then decided it was a false alarm. The non-combatant birds had not taken flight, as he suspected they would if the cat were nearby. Forcing himself to ignore the fighting birds, the Jaffa cautiously walked on down the path, increasing his speed as he put distance between himself and the birds. Sensing the cat was also well to his rear, Teal'c allowed himself to consider the plight of his companions. O'Neill would have no difficulty with either the terrain or the flight, and he might even survive an encounter with the animal. Daniel Jackson would have considerable more difficulty with the terrain, but O'Neill had forced him to improve his physical condition so the flight itself should be no problem. Teal'c firmly believed that the 6 am forced runs imposed on the young archaeologist could possibly serve to save his life.
Pausing briefly to listen for pursuit, Teal'c turned his thoughts to Captain Carter. The concept of a female warrior was unknown in Jaffa society, and he had had much difficulty in reconciling himself to it. Although she had proven herself to be a competent fighter on more than one occasion, Teal'c did not hold out much hope for her survival against the large cat. On Chulak, she would have been singled out at an early age and trained to become a priestess of the god Apophis. It was even possible that at a younger age, he silently conceded, she would have been chosen as one of the children of the gods. Somehow, he did not believe Captain Carter would find either of the prospects at all flattering. Nor would she be pleased to find that he felt she should be protected. So far, he had managed to conceal his concern, but alone in his meditation, he often questioned the wisdom of the Tau'ri in putting their females at such risk.
The forest path he was traversing suddenly branched into three, and he paused to review the possibilities. Two of the three appeared to be well traveled, the third was heavily overgrown and barely recognizable as a trail, and still there was no indication of just what actually used the paths. Teal'c briefly studied the two clear trails. One appeared to remain flat as far as the eye could see, while the other began a slow rise approximately one hundred feet from where the Jaffa stood. The sun appeared to follow the latter, making the decision easy.
He'd gone no more than three paces when a branch cracked in the underbrush. More alert now than he'd ever been, Teal'c moved away from that edge of the path. The cat had remained suspiciously silent for some time now, but he doubted something the size of these animals could make it through the dense undergrowth undetected. A blur of movement caught him unawares as he whirled in time to see a huge red cat leap for his chest. As her claws met their mark, Teal'c saw the handler rise, grinning, from the edge of the underbrush.
******
Daniel reached the edge of the woods and slid under cover just as the sound of the transport rings deposited a large black cat, and her handler, onto the platform. Silently congratulating himself for making the correct decision, he mentally shushed his stomach as it grumbled loudly. Regretting that he'd passed on the standard granola-bars-on-the-run for breakfast, he wished he'd at least eaten the Kit Kat chocolate bar he'd stashed in his bag. Grinning despite the situation at the irony of the candy bar's name, he quickly sobered as he realized, even without his glasses, that the cat's dark eyes were staring directly at him. Almost as if she could see him. Not good. Not good at all. Bother.
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Did cats hunt by sight or by scent? Daniel *really* wished he'd paid more attention in the biology class he'd been forced to take in college. Or was that zoology? Might as well have been quantum physics for all he remembered. Whatever. Probably didn't count here. After all, this *was* an alien environment, meaning earth rules didn't necessarily apply. Either way, he was grateful for the trees.
While he'd never shared Jack's annoyance at the appearance of trees, and the accompanying underbrush, he had to admit that the more barren worlds were easier to traverse. He hoped fervently that the thick underbrush was causing the cat, and her handler, at least as much difficulty as it was causing him. Combined with the rocky ground, the area was virtually impassible. "Ouch!" Jerking his hand up to his mouth, he froze as he realized where he was. His mindless flight had allowed him to run into what appeared to be a dead end. Yanking an overlarge thorn out of his hand with his teeth, Daniel started to turn around and retrace his steps, well aware that he'd just lost valuable time.
He'd taken three steps when he glanced back and realized that the thorny growth could be turned to his advantage. Tales of Br'er Rabbit, spun by a very old woman that his mind's eye could see, but could not recognize, came unbidden to his thoughts. A large, thorny thicket had been the means of escape for the captured rabbit. Perhaps he could do the same, provided the large cat hunted by sight, and he could make an escape from the brambles in time. Kneeling, he searched for and found a rock the size of his hand. Daniel quickly stripped off his top, well aware that he would probably burn badly, but deciding it was preferable to being lunch. Placing the rock inside his top, he tied the shirt around it. Praying this would work Daniel swung the rock as hard as he could toward the thickest part of the thorny underbrush. To his relief, and delight, his top snagged securely on a thicket, giving the appearance of a person in hiding. Smiling in satisfaction, he raced back the way he'd come, praying he'd miss those that pursued him.
******
Jack froze in his tracks and stared in horror at the Heln'rc. A second blue symbol had disappeared from the display. Two of his teammates, his responsibilities, were down, and he could do nothing. He didn't even know where they were. Or, for that matter, who they were, although he had his suspicions. The first blue mark had been obliterated by a red one. That one he presumed was Daniel. God, Daniel. The young civilian had little chance of escape since he'd been released first and was unaware that the cat, not his teammates, would soon follow.
The second could be either Teal'c or Carter. This time the blue mark vanished without being overtaken by a red one, leaving Jack confused. It was possible, he supposed, that someone had removed the portion of clothing that contained the 'bug'. That would mean Carter. If anyone found a tracking device, it should be the astrophysicist. But why had it gone silent? Jack hoped that the hidden tracking devices had to be within close proximity of the human skin to register. He suspected from Dedun's earlier comments that the bug was almost impossible to remove, perhaps even woven into the material itself. If that was the case, then Carter had probably stripped off the offending article of clothing, giving new meaning to the phrase 'out of uniform'. Shaking his head in frustration, Jack studied the Heln'rc. He knew where his position was on the device, and he'd pretty well reasoned out which blue mark was which team member, but could he reach Daniel in time? The decision as to which blue mark to head for first was never in doubt. The civilian was first, and foremost, the priority.
******
Daniel slid down a small embankment and dropped to his knees by a spring. Cupping his hands, he brought the icy water to his lips and drank, keeping an ear and an eye open for any sign of the cat. So far so good. No cat. He was safe for now, but what of the others? Jack, well, Daniel had no doubt that the colonel could survive anything, and Sam had proven her mettle in hand-to-hand combat on P-something. Why couldn't he think of the identification for that planet? He puzzled over his seeming lapse in memory for a moment, before guiltily remembering Teal'c. To his way of thinking, the Jaffa was in real trouble. Of all of them, the Goa'uld lord, Dedun, should loathe, and fear, the former servant of Apophis. Didn't matter that the Goa'uld lord didn't know Teal'c was a traitor. Dedun would see him as the real threat in their little group. That meant that the largest and most powerful cat would track Teal'c. Probably accompanied by an equally large and powerful Jaffa. And Teal'c would probably underestimate his danger, believing his own strength to be a match for just about anything. But, realistically, there was nothing he could do ... for any of his friends.
His thirst satisfied Daniel rose, and began following the sinking suns through the forest. Eyes looking upwards, straining to see the path the suns were taking, Daniel failed to notice that he'd run out of 'trail'. Losing his balance, he fell. Reaching out to catch himself, he was horrified to find nothing to catch onto. A choked off cry accompanied his impressive descent as he rolled, head over heels, down a steep slope.
******
Dedun gave an angry cry, bringing four nervous Jaffa into his rooms.
"My Lord?" The elder Jaffa's voice trembled as he spoke.
"One of them has disabled the tracking device! I will not know when Marjo has found him. This will not do!" The Goa'uld slapped the nearest tabletop hard with the palm of his hand. "Contact the handler. I will know when Marjo takes her prey. The handler is to contact you, Zleda, and only you. He will keep you apprised of the hunt. When Marjo is ready to feed, you will tell me."
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Jack watched the Heln'rc closely as he moved, praying he could gauge direction as he did so. 'Too bad I can't use it to judge distance, but maybe ... YES!' The little device plainly showed him to be moving toward Daniel's position. Thank God. He had little hope of finding the younger man alive, but he had to be sure. Glancing up, he realized that 'up' was the word of the moment. The ground followed a lightly sloping grade that grew increasingly steep as it disappeared into the trees. Trees. Shit. 'Deal with it O'Neill!'
Glancing back at the Heln'rc he was startled to see a fourth red symbol. Uh oh. He'd forgotten about *his* cat. Well this was a fine mess, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He hoped he had enough of a lead to escape pursuit, but the way their luck was running, he doubted it. Maybe running was a good idea. Time to put those early morning jogs to use. Taking a deep breath, Jack headed up the side of the mountain, setting a brisk pace, and hoping his pursuers were *really* far away.
******
The red cat was much larger than the one he'd seen on board the Goa'uld's ship. Teal'c was absurdly pleased that the cat was red; he really preferred that color to any other, with the possible exception of black. The observation was cut off abruptly as the animal lunged for his throat, sending him crashing into the underbrush. Stifling a cry of pain as sharp claws shredded his shirt, and the skin underneath, Teal'c locked an arm between the soft tissues of his throat, and the cat's overlarge bicuspids. The cat used her advantage to sink her teeth deeply into the muscles of his arm. This time the Jaffa could not suppress a scream. Using his free hand, he pounded the head of the cat, stunning her momentarily into releasing his arm. Using his moment of freedom, he scrambled, crablike, away from the animal, the tatters of his shirt falling from his chest as he moved.
The cat recovered too quickly and leaped once more for her prey. But Teal'c was ready, throwing himself down onto his massive shoulders, he kicked upwards with both legs. Hard. He allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction as the animal screamed in rage, and pain as she was catapulted away from Teal'c. She collapsed to the ground, and remained motionless. An almost inhuman scream of horror assaulted Teal'c's ears as the handler burst from the underbrush and blindly charged the wounded man. Teal'c rolled to one side and came up on a knee as the handler hurtled toward him. The movement caught the other, less-experienced Jaffa by surprise, and a giant fist to the face was his reward for his efforts.
"Jaffa shrig'la!" The disgust in Teal'c's voice as he retrieved the Jaffa's zat gun was evident. "Stupid. Very stupid. But I will not kill you. Yet." Taking careful aim, he zatted the downed Jaffa one time. Turning to look at the cat, he frowned, oddly reluctant to kill the still-breathing animal. She was beautiful, ... and dangerous, but unlike the Jaffa, she had only been following her instincts. There was no malice in her intent. Smiling he zatted her once as well, then turned his attention toward binding his wounds.
******
Years of training with a rigorous exercise regimen allowed Jack to make it to the top of the not-quite-mountain only slightly out-of-breath. Resting his hands on his knees, he breathed deeply as he examined the trail. The trees and heavy underbrush continued, but the Heln'rc indicated he was headed the right way. And oddly, it was in the same direction as the locations of his remaining teammates. And those two seemed to be getting closer together. Or at least that's how it appeared. Were Teal'c and Carter really moving toward each other or was it an illusion caused by a three dimensional representation on a two dimensional plane? God. Where had *that* come from? He'd definitely been hanging around Carter too long. He grinned wryly before shaking his head.
Stalling was not getting him anywhere. As much as he dreaded the thought of finding Daniel's torn and lifeless body, he had to know for certain that the civilian was dead. Then he could go after Teal'c and Carter with a clear conscious. Yeah. Right. Gonna buy that bridge in Brooklyn when he got home, too.
First things first. There was a slight slope downwards, not nearly as steep as coming up but there none-the-less. Sighing with relief that this phase of the journey was downhill, Jack began to maneuver his way down the hill.
******
Teal'c barely restrained a wince as he rose from the ground. He'd bound his larger wounds with the remnants of his shirt. The smaller ones would be healed shortly by his symbiote. Or Junior, as O'Neill preferred to call the Goa'uld larva within him. Taking a moment to reorient himself in the darkening sky, the Jaffa glanced once more with contempt at his downed enemies. This Goa'uld, this Dedun, was obviously incredibly stupid to surround himself with such weaklings. The unconscious Jaffa would not have survived even a day under the control of Apophis. Teal'c started violently as he realized the pride he took in having been strong enough to survive in the violent, cruel world of Apophis. But that was, what had O'Neill called it, water over the bridge? That did not sound correct. Suddenly annoyed that he was wasting time, the Jaffa resumed his original course, secure in the knowledge that neither beast nor handler would bother him for quite some time. A noise behind him caused him to whirl, firing the zat as he did so.
******
This was getting old. Very old. Okay, so the thought wasn't new. Didn't make it any less true. The only redeeming feature so far was that his cat was nowhere in sight. Good thing. He was completely out of kitty litter and cat chow. He grinned as he realized what he really needed was catnip - the large economy size carried at those grocery warehouses. Would this damn path never end? Glancing down at the Heln'rc, he tried to get a mental image of where he was in relation to the closest red and blue dots. He was close - he was sure of it, but how close was a different question. So intent was he on the Goa'uld device, Jack failed to see the source for the red dot lying silently on the ground, just off the path. An unseen tree limb snapped under his foot, pulling his attention back to the trail in front of him. Just in time to feel, rather than see, the effects of a zat. As he lost consciousness, the surprised form of Teal'c appeared in his line of sight, leaving Jack's final conscious thought, 'Bad day.'
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Sam had finally given up her battle with the underbrush that almost completely concealed the stream. She'd managed maybe a quarter mile before the local flora became impassible. Praying it was enough, she climbed a tree and leaped as far away from the water as possible. Landing in a surprisingly clear area, she allowed herself a moment to look around. Trees, trees, and more trees. The colonel would love it here. Not! As for sounds, there were none. At all. Unless one counted the soft whoosh of the water as it eased its way down the mountain.
Sighing heavily, she pushed aside the underbrush directly in front of her. "Ouch!" Thrusting her injured thumb into her mouth, she glared at the thorns hiding under the large leaves of the nearest bush. Noting the size and texture of the leaves, she turned rapidly in a circle, looking at the shrubs. They were all the same. Frustration colored her tones as she muttered, "Great. Just great. Thorns everywhere, except the damn wat... Oh, wait." Walking quickly to her immediate left, she was relieved to find a plant that didn't appear to have thorns. For that matter, it didn't have foliage either. At least not a kind she recognized. The ebony colored bush sported a fuzzy covering along the branches. Matter-of-fact, it didn't look as if it ever had leaves.
Well, it wasn't quite the direction she wanted to go, but maybe she could turn uphill soon. Favoring the thorn-bushes with one last glare, she pushed the black bush aside, cringing as the fuzz tickled her arm.
******
The world spun crazily as Daniel attempted to tuck his body into a position that wouldn't be too easily damaged. It had been painfully obvious in his first desperate attempts to stop his descent that he wouldn't be able to get off this ride until it ended. At least his glasses were already gone; no need to worry about breaking glass. 'No, stupid, just breaking bones.'
The thought had barely ended when his rapid tumble came to a sudden stop. In a bed of soft sand. Carefully unfolding himself, Daniel took stock of his injuries, and found them minimal. Cuts and bruises told him he'd be very sore, very soon, but absolutely nothing seemed to be broken. Squinting as he looked back up the slope, he realized just what a miracle it'd been for him to land in this spot. The whole area was very, very rocky.
Rotating his neck to get the kinks out, Daniel stretched out his legs, and yelped in pain as he tried to straighten his right knee.
******
Pushing through yet another EF, or Ebony Fuzzy as she'd come to call them, Sam was delighted to find the way before her was comparatively clear. She'd noticed the trees were getting scarcer, but that hadn't impacted the shrubby plants that seemed to get larger as the trees gradually disappeared. Some of the shrubs were actually over her head in height, but they, too, were getting progressively smaller. The last tall EF had given way to a plateau that stretched on for miles, with foliage whose size diminished the further she looked. She stood for a moment and stared in awe at the mountains surrounding her little plateau. In another set of circumstances, she would consider this to be a true Kodak moment. The snow-capped peaks that rose into the sky reminded her of the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, while the treeless plain was reminiscent of the Alaskan tundra.
"Stupid Sam, really stupid. There's a very large cat with a very large appetite somewhere behind you, and you're admiring the scenery." Shaking her head in disgust, she started to jog, grateful to at last be able to pick up a decent pace. The air was thinner up here, causing her some difficulty in breathing and she really hoped she didn't have to go any higher. She absently scratched her arm, barely breaking stride as she did so, and failing to notice the bright scarlet cast that now dominated her skin tone.
******
Jack realized something was not quite right even before he opened his eyes. For one thing, he was bouncing, and it felt as if he were upside down. Frowning in confusion, he opened his eyes and saw black ... and white. 'What, no stars?' Even disoriented his sarcastic tendencies surfaced. Blinking frantically in an attempt to stop the world from spinning, it took him a few moments to realize that *he* was the one moving. 'Oh. Fireman's carry. Teal'c. Bad Teal'c. Put CO down.' He tried to speak but his voice didn't seem to want to work. Every nerve ending he had was humming, and the noise was drowning out his ability to speak. 'Damn! Hate it when that happens.' He cleared his throat, and tried again. "Teal'c?"
Almost instantaneously the bouncing stopped, and Jack found himself flying dizzily through the air as he was flipped upright and placed on his feet by the Jaffa. "O'Neill, you are awake."
"Ya think?" The hoarse croak didn't sound quite right. Jack cleared his throat again, and asked cautiously, "Zat?"
"Yes. I must apologize, O'Neill, my injuries prev..."
"You're hurt?" Jack was suddenly focused on the other man. "How bad? Where?"
"Do not concern yourself, O'Neill. My symbiote is doing an adequate job of healing me. Do you feel able to walk?"
"I'm fine, and I've got this wonderful little gizmo that..." Jack frowned as he looked at his wrist. "Where the ..."
"I am now wearing the Heln'rc. I suspected the ... Goa'uld would plant tracking devices on us. I did not, however, think he would do the same with the cats. How did you come by this?"
"He gave it to me."
Teal'c's dark eyes widened in disbelief. "He is indeed more stupid than I had at first believed."
"I think he thought he was torturing me by allowing me to watch all of you die. Hasn't worked out that way, though. Thank God. Now all we have to do is find the others. I don't know how to figure out distance, but..."
"Distance is determined by adjusting this control, thus." Teal'c manipulated a tiny button, which honed in on the nearest red mark. "I presume the red are the cats? This one is approximately one of your Earth miles behind us. The next is nearly three miles behind us. The other two are two miles and ten miles away. There are only three blue marks. Two are ours. The third is six miles away. "
Jack glared irritably at the little screen. "Yeah, one blue mark was overrun by a red one. I headed for that one first. I was kinda surprised when the blue mark came back. But since your tunic is now serving as bandages, I assume you lost the tunic?"
"For a short time, yes."
"Okay, one mystery solved."
Teal'c looked expectantly at the colonel. Jack smiled grimly. "I suspect the transmitter is in the tunic material and that it is activated by body heat. When you wrapped it around yourself, the signal returned."
"That is very astute of you, O'Neill."
"Yeah, well, don't tell Daniel and Carter. Wouldn't want them to think I actually know anything."
"I see." Teal'c glanced at the Heln'rc. "The cat ahead of us does not appear to be moving. Neither is the animal one mile behind us. I disabled both that cat and her handler when I obtained the zat gun. We must hurry, O'Neill, before they both wake. Are you able to walk?"
Jack looked indignant. "You already asked that. I'm fine."
"Then we should resume our journey."
"Fine by me. One conscious cat behind us, one directly in front. Two to two, I can do even odds. Ooops, handlers. Uh, let me do the math. That's four to two. Okay, not too bad."
"If we make haste, O'Neill, we should be in time to prevent injury to Captain Carter."
"What!" Jack pulled up short and stared at the Jaffa.
Teal'c nodded toward the ground. "Captain Carter has been this way. As has one of the large cats."
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part - 15 ↑
The sun had disappeared behind the mountains off to her right as Sam finally hit level ground. The brilliant reds, pinks, purples and blues spanned out over the peaks like a gigantic fan, providing what little light remained on the tundra. She allowed herself a five second mental break to admire the beauty of the sunset, but didn't slow her pace at all. Knowing she needed to be as far away from the cat as possible by nightfall, she pushed on. The mountains, sporting the spectacular sunset, showed no obvious way across their heights without using climbing gear she did not have.
This not knowing exactly where she was on this abominable planet majorly sucked. All she was sure of was that following the setting sun was at least the right direction, and she, dammit to hell, couldn't go that way ... yet. And what was with this accursed itching? Glancing down as her fingernails dug a small trench in her arm, she slid to a stop. Her left arm was a vivid red, and her right was an equally flamboyant shade of pink ... well on its way to being a match for her other arm. What the hell? An allergic reaction, but to what? She hadn't eaten anything ... her stomach was loudly reminding her of that ... and she didn't really think drinking the water would have caused this. So what? This rash looked a lot like poison ivy, but she hadn't touched anything with leaves of three.
"God, Sam. Alien planet. Alien plants, but I didn't touch... Oh, crap, the EF. The fuzz on the stupid plants, not the leaves, the fuzz." She jumped slightly as a cat's distant roar echoed between the surrounding hills. Faint as it was, the sound was still unnerving. "NO, NO, NO. Dammit, NO! I do *not* have time for this!"
******
"Crap, crap, crap!" Daniel cursed loudly as he examined his right knee. He cringed slightly as he found the kneecap had shifted from its normal position and was now decorating the side of his knee. As long as he didn't move it, he'd be fine. Right, he could stay right here and starve to death. Yep, *that* was a plan. Taking a deep breath, he held it, quickly jerking the misplaced kneecap back into its rightful position. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Ouch!" He fell backwards; gasping with relief as the pain slowly ebbed. After a few moments, he sighed. "Okay, I can lie here all night, admiring the sky, or I can get as far as I can before the light is gone."
Pushing tentatively to his feet, he balanced on his left leg and only gradually put his full weight on his right. So far so good. It was sore, and would probably go black and blue, but he could walk. Suddenly remembering the cat that should be on his trail, he amended his thought. He could run. Glancing warily over his shoulder, he realized he'd dallied long enough. The sky behind him was growing darker, and he could see the faint twinkling of stars in the sky. Taking off at an easy jog, he now found himself chasing the colors of the sunset.
******
"Noooooooooo!" Dedun hurled a heavy vase across the room, watching with undisguised anger as it shattered into small pieces against the wall. "Do *not* come in. I will see *no* one!"
A servant's head ducked back out the door as another piece of pottery impacted just inches away. Nervous chatter could be heard in the hallway, then a smooth voice warily called out. "My Lord Dedun, I have returned. Titia and her handler are in pursuit of the O'Neill. What are your instructions?"
"Enter Deldrak." Dedun glared at his First Prime as the Jaffa cautiously entered his lord's chamber, bowing continuously as he did so. "Oh stop groveling, it looks silly. We have a problem."
Deldrak moved closer to the Goa'uld and his tracking device. "My Lord?"
"The O'Neill and the Jaffa are together. However, Vexica is not moving, but is not dead. This leaves only Titia to deal with both of my prisoners. What do you suggest?"
Deldrak frowned. "Where is the other male?"
Dedun shrugged. "I do not know. Your assistant will tell me when Marjo's handler reports in."
"It appears the female has reached the plateau and will soon arrive at the rock quarry, just as you planned." Deldrak watched the movement on the Heln'rc for a moment longer, then turned to face the Goa'uld. "My Lord, I would recommend that Opscocia and her handler be diverted to assist Titia with the two males. If the female continues on her present course, there is no way she will miss the river. Once there, unless she is incredibly stupid, she will recognize her location. It will, however, take much time for her to cross the river."
"My thoughts exactly, Deldrak. The handlers will be able to assist in eliminating the males, and be able to reach the female before she can escape in the pirate's ship."
"You do not think she will wait on the others, my Lord? The group seemed ... close somehow."
The Goa'uld burst into laughter. "Mercenaries? Wait? Have you been drinking the sacred wine? No. The female will lead us to the ship, and we will know which of our enemies is threatening our domain. Do not damage her too badly, Deldrak, when you extract the information about the ship. She will make a most ... unique addition to my personal staff."
******
"Okay, nothing makes sense." Jack kicked a rock out of his way and turned to glare at his companion.
"The trail is comparatively easy to read, O'Neill, we should be able to overtake---"
"I know that." Jack snapped impatiently at the Jaffa, then shrugged contritely. "Sorry, Teal'c. No, what I meant is that three out of four of us have been dumped so close together that we actually find each other. Doesn't make sense."
"Indeed. That is puzzling."
"No ideas, eh?"
"Perhaps the planet has little inhabitable area?"
Jack shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Carter could probably give us the odds, but I wouldn't take 'em in Vegas."
"I do not understand."
"Never mind. It just ... Lord DumbDumb thinks we're mercenaries out to steal something, right?"
"That is correct, O'Neill."
"Shit. He's put us close to his ship, Teal'c."
"I do not understand."
"He wants one of us to lead him to our mercenary ship."
"We have no ship, O'Neill."
"The Goa'uld doesn't know that. That means we're close to the 'gate."
"Major Carter is probably closer to the 'gate as she is ahead of us."
"Good thought, but where the hell is Daniel?"
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part - 16 ↑
The rocks around him were amazing. Huge asymmetrical outcroppings with colors as vibrant as the sky at sunset lay scattered as if they had been tossed aside by the gods. For once in his life, Daniel really wished he'd added geology to his list of doctorates. He'd taken the requisite number of courses, enough to identify the various geological layers enveloping his digs. He'd learned early on that the individual strata could tell him a great deal about living conditions of the people he was studying. But he'd never been interested in just plain rocks. Contrary to what Jack believed.
Jack. Oh, God. Sam. Teal'c. He had no idea where they were, or worse yet, *how* they were. If they were alive, or ... not. If he could find them, or not. Or more realistically, if they could find him. Before the cat did. The thought of the huge black feline with dark yellow eyes sent shivers down his spine. He could only hope that his delaying tactic had bought him some time. Enough to make his sunburn worth the effort. As fair as he was, it hadn't taken long for his bare chest to turn red. He was quite sure his back was the same color. And his legs ached horribly. Not to mention his knee, which he was trying to ignore. Deciding he'd take a short break after passing the next outcropping of rocks, he redoubled his efforts, pretending the large rocks were his ticket home.
Daniel raced around the largest rock, and slid to a halt, blue eyes opening impossibly wide. Gasping out a startled "OH SHIT!" he ducked back around the rock, and peered cautiously from his hiding place. He only hoped he was hidden enough. Ahead of him, was a huge canyon extending for miles and hovering over it was a large pyramid ship.
******
Deldrak slipped unnoticed from his master's rooms, summoned by a frightened page who'd barely managed to escape the Goa'uld's notice. "What is it, Eldwan?"
"M...my lord, Zleda asks that you come to him quickly. Marjo's handler reports that she has lost her prey."
Deldrak paled dramatically and his stomach churned as he followed the child down the hall. The last time one of the cats had failed in her assignment, the First Prime had been executed. Deldrak himself had benefited by that occurrence, becoming First Prime immediately thereafter. Granted, Marjo was not the most experienced cat in the collection, but she showed much promise. The young male who'd been paired with the cat was obviously much more dangerous than he'd originally believed. The slave had looked so ... innocuous in his cell. More so than even the female. If he had made it to the river ... Deldrak's color worsened as he realized they had no way to track the male, his tunic, at least, was gone.
Zleda was waiting for him when he arrived at the handler's station. "My Lord, Marjo is most distressed, Laun may not be able to control her much longer. I fear for his safety."
"Never mind the handler, Zleda. I need a patrol on either side of the river at once. The young male must not get across the river."
"I will order them to the transpo---"
"No! Lord Dedun will know if the rings go down to the surface." Deldrak thought for a moment. "Have two patrols leave the vaults and head for the river. One will cross the river---"
"My Lord, the rapids close to the vaults will not allow crossing at that point."
"Then put the raft above the rapids, just get the patrol to the other side of the river."
******
Opscocia was hissing and rolling on the ground, trying to avoid being harnessed by her handler. A pain filled cry proved her claws had struck home, as the handler cradled his injured hand to his chest. Irritated and in pain, the Jaffa pulled out a little device which caused the large cat to cringe visibly. The Fx'ta was a rarely used correction device which was seldom, if ever, used on a trained hunting cat. Opscocia immediately crouched, with a growl lumbering in her throat, but she allowed her handler to attach the harness without further incident.
Issuing one last loud protest as she was pulled away from her prey's trail, she followed her handler back the way they'd come.
******
Sam felt her face heat up as the scream of the cat faded away. She knew, better than most, exactly how far an echo could carry in the right conditions, and the mountains on either side of her plateau definitely counted as the right conditions. The cat could be miles away. At least it didn't seem to be on top of her. Good damn thing, because right now, she had more immediate problems. The itching was growing worse, and the rash appeared to be spreading. To make matters worse, the light was fading fast, and she was nowhere near the other end of the plateau. And right now she'd *kill* for a bottle of calamine lotion, or an oatmeal bath. Preferably both. Her mental pitch rose to a crescendo with the last thought and she started to laugh.
Now that her silent tantrum was over, she felt really good enough to make it a ways further before it got pitch black. Of course, her luck could turn. It had been cloudy the night before and no moon had been visible. This evening's sky was clear, and maybe, just maybe, there'd be a moon. Then she could see to make her way across the tundra. If her luck turned. Yeah. Right. Fat chance.
******
Daniel studied the Goa'uld ship's position closely, looking for familiar landmarks that would tell him the ship hadn't moved. Of course, based on the sun's position in the sky, he'd been on the other side of the canyon when the ship had originally been spotted so the odds of finding a recognizable landmark were slim to none. At any rate, the river in the canyon below didn't exactly look hospitable. He could see rapids in the distance, and the area below ... What the hell? A raft? Straining his eyes in the fading light, Daniel gasped with delight. There were Jaffa on this side of the river, disembarking a raft. He watched, amazed, as the four Jaffa carefully concealed the raft, then started patrolling down river.
Sitting back on his haunches, he realized that things had just taken a turn for the better. If he'd been released close enough to the ship to find it, then the others probably had as well. Or at least he hoped so. He had the unpleasant feeling that there was some sort of logic equation he should be doing now, but for the life of him couldn't figure out what. Sighing with relief, he almost missed the low snarl, and the large black cat that had issued it.
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part - 17 ↑
Teal'c stopped suddenly, flinging his hand upwards in the universal gesture of 'halt', or 'give me your attention', neither of which Jack did.
"Ouch!" Stepping backwards slightly, Jack rubbed his nose. "Warn me next time, Teal'c."
The Jaffa frowned at the other man. "I will endeavor to do so, O'Neill, however, I seem to have misplaced Captain Carter's trail."
Jack's jaw dropped. "Misplaced? Oh. You mean lost. You lost Captain Carter's trail. ... What do you mean you've lost Carter's trail?"
Teal'c's puzzlement deepened. "Was I not clear?"
"Oh, for crying out loud. Well, yes, but I thought you said it was an easy trail to follow."
"Captain Carter has much intelligence." Teal'c knelt in the dirt near the stream. "Her trail ends there." He pointed to a spot three feet from the water.
"So we've lost her." Jack's frustration was obvious.
"We have not."
Taking a deep breath, Jack counted to ten, twice. "Okay, you said we lost her trail, so explain it to me."
"The deep impressions show that Captain Carter leaped from this point to the water. I believe she was attempting to confuse her pursuers." He pointed to a large paw print next to the human tracks.
"Did she succeed?" The colonel's voice was barely above a whisper.
"She did."
"Of course she did. So ... what's the problem?"
"It is not immediately apparent which way she went once in the water."
"Upstream."
Teal'c's eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.
Jack allowed himself a ghost of a smile. "Okay, it's a guess at best, but it's the way I'd go. Take the higher ground. Get above your enemy."
"I see. Then we will go upstream." With that Teal'c stepped into the water, turning to stare at Jack when he did not immediately follow.
"Is it cold?"
"Extremely."
"Sweet. It'll get colder when it gets darker" Jack glanced briefly at the setting sun, then sighed heavily as he followed Teal'c upstream.
******
Sam had never been so miserable. Not since a horrid bout with chicken pox had kept her out of school for almost three weeks. Nightmare memories made bearable only by her mother's gentle voice and soft touch. The itching had been horrendous, and even mittens had failed to prevent her scratching. It had taken a direct order by her father, in his best major's voice, combined with the promise of a telescope if she was good, to keep little fingers away from the blisters.
Sinking down on the ground, she sighed. What she wouldn't give for those mittens right now. Glancing up at the clear sky, she amended her thought to include the telescope. A plethora of stars were beginning to show themselves, twinkling brightly in the afterglow of the double sunset. Even without full darkness she could see red, blue, yellow and white. There were even a few which didn't sparkle, confirming the existence of additional planets in this system. If only she had a telescope. Crap, if only she had a coat.
Shivering slightly, she realized the light breeze that had kicked up when she reached the plateau was gaining momentum, and her lightweight clothing did little to dispel the chill. The open ground provided no real shelter from the elements. Grumbling under her breath, Sam pushed herself to her feet knowing she should keep moving as long as there was enough light to see, but God, she was tired.
******
"You were correct, O'Neill. The broken branches indicate someone has passed this way. We are probably safe in believing it to be Captain Carter."
"Ya think?" Jack ducked as a branched snapped at his face. "Hey! Careful, Teal'c, I don't have a Junior to heal me if an eye gets poked out."
"We are entering a clearing, O'Neill. You may move without fear of branches. But there is a problem." Teal'c turned toward the colonel, his eyes watching the Heln'rc intently. "The cats draw near."
"Cats? Wait a damn minute. I thought one was unconscious."
"She has begun to move, however, the cat assigned to you has apparently increased her speed. If I am correct, she has already reached the point where we entered the water."
"So what you're saying is that both of the cats behind us will catch up with us soon." Jack instinctively looked around for items that could be used as weapons.
"Indeed, but there is a third, the nearest cat in front of us has changed direction. Be aware, O'Neill, the Heln'rc does not give accurate readings within one hundred feet."
"Shit. Three cats, two, maybe three handlers, assuming the one you zatted is still out. Whoa." Jack paused by a thick vine. "Hold up a minute, Teal'c." Jack knelt and began feeling stones in the water. Finding a sharp edged piece of what looked like slate, he rose and used it like a knife against the vine. Successfully cutting off a section, he split it longways, opened it wide and scooped out the gelatinous material inside.
Teal'c watched in silence, once again fascinated by the antics of the Tau'ri. He cocked his head and found himself frowning in confusion. "O'Neill, what are you doing?"
Jack glanced up. "I need a weapon, Teal'c." He dipped the open vine into the water, rinsing it clean.
The Jaffa hesitated for a moment. "O'Neill, we have a zat'nikatel."
"Correction. *You* have a zat. I have nothing."
"This is true, but a zat'nikatel can eliminate our opponents quickly."
"And quietly?"
"No." Teal'c stared at the colonel for a moment, then nodded. "I understand. Unless all enemies approach at the same moment, we will have no element of surprise."
"Right. Don't want to get zatted in the back cause we don't know to look that way."
Teal'c watched for a few moments longer as Jack picked up small, smooth stones from the stream. "O'Neill, what manner of weapon are you constructing?"
"A slingshot. It's--"
"Ah. David and Goliath."
"What?" Jack dropped back on his haunches in surprise.
"Daniel Jackson recommended your Bible to me as enlightening. Did not David use the weapon to slay an evil entity, probably Goa'uld, known as Goliath?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure that Goliath was a Goa'uld, but it's an interesting theory, and yes, David killed him with a slingshot. But he also used it to kill wild beasts. I used to be very good with one of these." Rising, Jack placed a small round stone in the center of the smoothed out vine. Stepping into the center of the stream, he whirled the folded vine over his head and skillfully released an end. The stone impacted against a nearby tree with a resounding thud.
Teal'c nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent, O'Neill. May I safely assume you were aiming at that tree?"
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Daniel's jaw dropped as he whirled to find a large black cat standing on a small ledge just behind him. His panicked thought of 'where the hell did she come from?' was accompanied by an almost uncontrollable desire to run away from the beast. Fighting down his terror, he struggled to remember everything he could about cats. Big teeth, claws, a natural instinct to chase anything that moved. Okay, so moving was *not* a good idea. Forcing himself to look at the cat, he was startled to see that the animal almost looked as if she were grinning. His subconscious sternly lectured, 'Don't anthropormorphize, Jackson!' But damned if she didn't look ... pleased to see him. 'Of course she's pleased, stupid, you're lunch.'
Big teeth, claws. No, wait, he'd covered those. What else? A rancid odor caused him to flinch backwards, adding bad breath to his list. Very bad breath, and he wasn't even that close. Although, from the way she was crouching, he'd be much closer very soon. Morbidly wondering what it felt like to be eaten alive, Daniel braced himself for her attack.
******
Sam looked with astonishment as a ringed moon appeared over the horizon. Appearing to be nearly as large as Earth's, its equator was delineated by a narrow band of brightly colored rings. Three, no four of them. Once more wishing in vain for a telescope, she moved across the plateau, eyes focused upwards at the vivid colors circling the moon. Without warning the ground rushed up to meet her as she tripped over a rock in the dim light. "Ouch!" Pushing herself to her knees, she cursed under her breath as she attempted to brush the grit off of her elbows and palms. "Stupid. Oh, that was stupid. And why won't this damn dirt..." Her eyes narrowed as she finally looked at her arms. The vivid red color had now been joined by narrow ridges with crusting white caps. But the itching had diminished to an almost bearable level. Rising slowly, she braced to continue her journey, wondering tiredly why she was pushing herself so hard. The gravel crunched behind her, and she spun, to find herself facing a leering Jaffa complete with primed zat. Too exhausted to think straight, she fleetingly wondered where the cat was as she fell victim to the energy of a zat blast.
******
Laun stared at the motionless form of the female. Kneeling beside her, he felt roughly for a pulse and was pleased to find it strong and steady. Shining his lamp over her body, he grinned. Opscocia and Jerdain might not have been able to damage her, but the grindle plant certainly had. Admiration for her stamina was foremost in his thoughts. The skin irritation the plant provoked was quite severe, basically incapacitating the victim in short order. That this female had traveled for many miles while infected was impressive. There was no doubt in his mind that she would make excellent breeding stock, producing many strong Jaffa before succumbing to the rigors of the birthing process.
A distant roar told him Marjo had found her prey. Good. Let the male suffer her wrath, he'd had enough. The jagged marks on his arms were beginning to heal thanks to his symbiote, but releasing her had been a good idea at the time. He only hoped Deldrak agreed. The cat was young, and not yet valued highly by their lord. Perhaps the First Prime would forgive his transgression. If he got the cat back ... but that would mean abandoning the female.
Pushing her unusually fair hair out of her eyes, he took note of the smoothness of her skin, the rosy color of her lips, the blueness of her eyes. The what?
******
"Asshole. My hand better not be broken!" Sam massaged her aching fist as she glared with undisguised fury at her unconscious assailant. Flexing her fingers, she quickly determined that the damage was minimal. She'd gotten lucky. She knew that. The punch to his jaw had been meant to stun. Being familiar with Teal'c's tough shell, she'd never thought it might disable. Who would've thought a Jaffa could have a glass jaw? Frowning, she wondered how long he'd be out. Kneeling she picked up the fallen zat, aimed carefully and hit the downed man once with an energy blast. Hopefully, *that* should ensure that he would be unable to pursue her for a while. Her frown deepened as she realized how quickly she'd regained consciousness. The moon had barely changed position in the sky. Her decision made, she yanked hard on the thin leather strap serving as the Jaffa's belt. It jerked free easily enough, and she proceeded to use it to hog-tie the man, grateful that there was enough strap to tie his hands and feet together. He wouldn't be freeing himself any time soon. Still, it would be wise to put as much distance as possible between them. Sighing with fatigue, but pleased with her new found weapon, she gave her prisoner one last disgusted look, then set back out, slightly astonished to find that she'd almost reached the edge of the plateau.
******
"Nice kitty." Daniel spoke softly, wondering if there was any truth to the saying about soothing the savage beast. Crooning "you're a pretty girl," he was surprised to see her head cock to one side as her posture relaxed, obviously confused by what he was doing. 'Keep her off balance, Daniel. Don't startle her, Daniel.' He gulped, and continued his sing-song tone as he started to edge backwards slowly. Her low snarl froze him in place until he realized she wasn't looking at him. She was looking back up the path he'd just come down, as if anticipating company. 'Great, either the handler, or another animal ... or maybe SG-1?' Perking up at the thought that Jack, or Teal'c or Sam might be close, he forgot to speak to the cat. Another low snarl riveted his attention to the beast, and he realized that once again she was crouching. Her back legs turned into springs as she launched off of the small ledge where she'd been standing. Simultaneously, Daniel, in a last ditch effort for survival, threw himself backwards as hard as he could. His gasp of terror became a groan of "Not again", as the ground disappeared from under him.
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part - 19 ↑
Sam slipped and slid and generally cursed her way down the rocky embankment. The only redeeming feature the place seemed to have was an indication that someone, hopefully one of SG-1, had preceded her down the hill. It was also apparent that same someone had not gone gracefully. Arriving at the bottom, she was relieved to find that the moonlight showed clear tracks, the size of which indicated ... Daniel. Of the male members of SG-1, he had the smallest feet, not much longer than her own, albeit wider than her extra narrow size. Her relief was short-lived, however, when a cat's tracks came into view, in some places obliterating her teammate's.
Suddenly the cat's trail diverged from Daniel's. Confused, Sam checked the two paths for a ways, before finding that the cat had taken the high ground, and was stalking Daniel from above. The higher path, however, had been completely concealed by thick shrubs. Only the animal's tracks disappearing into the greenery had told Sam the trail existed. She frowned as she realized that the cat's behavior indicated an all-too-frightening familiarity with the territory. Just how many poor souls had fallen victim to her claws?
Her frown deepened as she saw that what little light there was did not illuminate the tracks enough to know if they were minutes or hours old. Opting to follow Daniel, Sam prayed that the cat, not she, would get lost.
******
"At last! One's almost here." Jack spoke softly, as if fearing to be overheard.
Teal'c frowned as he glanced at the Helnr'c. The colonel was correct. The closest cat would disappear ... now ... from the view screen, placing her much too close to their location