Part 7 (1/2)
He studied her pinched expression. ”I don't suppose you know what's been bugging Colonel Jacka.s.s recently?”
Sam smiled at the moniker, but it soon faded. ”I think it has something to do with Edora,” she said, glancing at Jack and lowering her voice. ”I overheard him telling -” She stopped dead, her hand suddenly gripping Daniel's arm.
Up ahead Teal'c had signaled a halt and both he and Jack were dropping into a crouch. Sam did the same, helping Daniel down too. He tried not to hiss in pain as the wound in his side compressed.
After a long few minutes of him trying to be silent while in fairly excruciating agony, Teal'c and Jack rose to their feet again and walked on. Daniel shared a look with Sam, who just shrugged and helped him up.
But they walked in silence now, and through the trees Daniel could see that the ground ahead was starting to fall away. Teal'c and Jack stopped just at the point where the ground plunged downward, dropped to their stomachs and crawled forward until they could peer over the edge. Slowly, Daniel and Sam caught up.
Keeping below the ridgeline, Sam stopped him while they were still out of sight of whatever lay below. He was breathless, his wound was throbbing, and he didn't object when Sam maneuvered him toward a fallen tree so that he could rest. Not that sitting hurt any less - in fact it was worse - but his legs were feeling decidedly gelatinous and his head was starting to spin. Sam pressed half a power bar into his hand. He smiled and hoped it would help.
Teal'c and Jack lay still, watching. Then, on some unspoken signal, they squirmed back down the slope and stood up, trotting downhill to where Daniel and Sam were waiting.
”Looks like there are some caves down there,” Jack said, as he got close enough to talk. ”We saw Teal'c's guys head inside.”
”How steep's the descent?” Sam asked, her tone excruciatingly cool.
Jack matched it exactly. ”Not bad if we go around the side.” He'd found his sungla.s.ses, despite the dour weather, and Daniel couldn't see much more than his straight, uncompromising mouth.
”I will a.s.sist Daniel Jackson,” Teal'c offered. ”It is not far to the cave entrance. With luck, you will be able to rest there.”
Jack frowned behind his sungla.s.ses and said, ”I'll take point. Carter, cover our six.”
”Yes sir.”
With Teal'c helping him walk, Daniel moved faster. Which was good, because Jack looked like he was in a hurry. He loped downhill with his loose-limbed stride, weapon held casually in both hands - if you could ever hold a semiautomatic machine gun casually.
Behind him Daniel could hear Sam's careful footsteps, but whatever she was thinking she kept her thoughts to herself.
Ahead, the trees started to thin as they descended into a shallow valley. The air was dank and misty, but despite that he could still make out the caves, a natural formation of blocky rocks that rose out of the scrubby gra.s.s in a low, elliptical lump.
Jack slowed as he drew near, casting a glance over his shoulder and waiting for the rest of them to catch up. ”Okay Daniel,” he said, ”let's take this nice and easy. We don't want to surprise anyone.”
”Yeah just... give me a moment...” He was feeling decidedly woozy, a slow and steady thumping building inside his skull. Not that he was going to admit it, but he was starting to feel a lot worse.
”Daniel?” Sam touched his forehead. ”You're hot.”
”I'm fine.”
Jack just said, ”Let's do this.”
With O'Neill up front and the others ranged behind him, they cautiously approached the shadowed entrance to the cave. Daniel had been in enough dark, damp caves in his life to be expecting a familiar fusty aroma, but there was none beyond the muddy, gra.s.sy scent of the ground. He peered into the gloom, past Jack's head, and realized at once that they were looking at - ”A door,” Jack said, stopping dead. ”It's a G.o.dd.a.m.n door.” Moving closer, he pressed his hand against it. ”Iron.”
”That's... interesting,” Daniel said. ”So now what?”
For a moment they all looked at each other. Then Jack said, ”I guess we knock?”
It felt a bit silly, them standing there in front of the door and knocking like trick-or-treaters in search of candy - or a way home. With a 'what-the-h.e.l.l?' shrug, Jack lifted his hand and rapped on the door. It rang like a bell.
But as the echo faded Sam said, ”Colonel?” Her weapon was raised, trained on the top of the rocks. A man stood there, a silhouette against the white sky.
”Oh... h.e.l.lo...” Daniel began.
But then another man joined the first, and then a second. Jack lifted his gun, taking a step back, covering his team as Teal'c's staff sprang open.
”O'Neill,” he said, turning slowly. ”We are surrounded.”
”Yup,” Jack said.
From all sides, men and women emerged from the misty valley. Dressed in a mishmash of clothing - animal skins and heavy woolen fabrics - they regarded SG-1 with wary curiosity. But the most remarkable thing about these people, as far as Daniel was concerned, wasn't their clothing or their long, braided hair. It was the smattering of sophisticated weapons they were holding, all of which were aimed firmly at him and his team.
”Teal'c?” Jack said, not lowering his weapon. ”I distinctly remember you saying 'bows and arrows'...”
CHAPTER NINE.
Standing on the ramp, Dr. Fraiser at his side, Hammond could see the open wormhole behind him reflected in the window of the control room. It stayed there, s.h.i.+mmering and beautiful, for a second or two more before it dissipated and left the gate room a darker, more somber place.
”I don't know about you, sir,” Fraiser said, ”but I'm glad to be home.”
”You're not alone, doctor.”
”I've been in warmer morgues than that place,” she said as they started to walk down the ramp. ”Metaphorically speaking.”
”The Tollan have never been known for their warmth and hospitality,” he said, although in truth it was the Asgard's att.i.tude that really troubled him. But this was neither the time nor the place for that discussion.
However, it seemed that Dr. Fraiser's thoughts were running along the same line. ”I'd like to go and check in with the infirmary, sir, but if you'd like me to stop by your office later... ?”
They'd reached the bottom of the ramp and behind the doctor he could see the blast doors open. Harriman headed straight toward him like a man on a mission.
”I appreciate that, doctor,” Hammond said. ”Give me a call when you're done in the infirmary.”
”Yes sir.” And with that, and a smile for Harriman, she was gone.
”Sir,” the sergeant said, turning to walk with Hammond as he headed out of the gate room. All around them the SF's were standing down and the air had that static fizz he would forever a.s.sociate with the Stargate. ”You have a visitor waiting, General.”
He stopped. ”What kind of visitor?” If it was Kinsey - ”It's General Carter, sir. He arrived about an hour ago.”
Of course. He'd contacted the Tok'ra a couple of days back and wasn't surprised Jacob had come - the question was, did he come officially or unofficially? And would the Tok'ra offer any help locating SG-1? ”Did he come alone?” Hammond said, heading through the blast doors and out into the corridor.
”Yes sir. He's waiting in the briefing room.”
Hammond nodded and headed up the narrow stairs and into the control room. If Jacob had come alone, then he'd probably come unofficially, which, in turn, probably meant that the Tok'ra couldn't, or wouldn't, help - just as Colonel Makepeace had predicted. However, Hammond wasn't about to rule them out just yet. Jacob Carter had a powerful motive to find SG-1, and help was help, whether or not it was officially sanctioned by the Tok'ra High Council.
”Sergeant?” he said, as he crossed the control room to the stairs. ”Bring me everything Dr. Rothman has on the Jaffa symbol Colonel Makepeace retrieved from P5X-104.”
”Yes sir.”