THE WAY… SERIES
BOOK ONE
Part II:
Disclaimer: Stargate: SG-1 is not mine. This was written in pure fun.
Summary: Teal’c ground his teeth together in
frustration and impotent rage. He would
not lose her now, here, after everything they had been through.
---
“Baal,” as Teal’c said the name he raised his weapon out of long habit. But Baal seemed as shocked to see Teal’c as he was to see a Goa’uld leading a resistance. Perhaps even more.
Baal waved his arm and Teal’c realized Rene had taken exception and readied her weapon as well, “Please, leave us, Rene. We have much to discuss.”
Rene hesitated, finally saying, “I’ll be right outside.”
When she left, Teal’c did not lower his weapon, but Baal did not seem to mind. In fact, the former System Lord was gazing at Teal’c with a penetrating, appraising look that seemed unusual on his face. “What is your purpose here?” Teal’c finally asked the question foremost on his mind.
“I could ask you much the same thing, Teal’c,” Baal said as he approached the table that stood between them and gestured at the maps laid out, “I am leading a resistance against the Vantari,” Baal said. Teal’c knew he had not kept his face from reacting when Baal’s goateed lips quirked. “You’ve heard of them, I see.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c said as he finally lowered his gun. He could not deny that there was something different about Baal. He still exuded confidence, charisma, and a certain kind of arrogance, but there was just something…different.
He was dressed the same as all the others Teal’c had seen, in common materials that were functional and practical. The Resistance headquarters had none of the pretentious feel or appearance of grandeur that was the stock and trade of all Goa’uld. And although it had been clear to Teal’c that these people respected their mysterious leader, Teal’c had not gotten the impression that they in any way worshiped him.
Another thing occurred to Teal’c and he blurted out, “What of Earth? And SG-1?”
Baal appeared stymied by the non-sequitur and simply stared at Teal’c in wide-eyed amazement. “We…I…what do you mean?”
“The Taur’i? Does it still stand?”
Baal shook his head and raised his hands, “Teal’c, I do not know what you’re talking about. Start from the beginning. How are you even here?”
Teal’c shook his head and re-gripped his gun, fearing Baal would drop his friendly charade any second, “That is unimportant. You must help me to retrieve Colonel Carter from the Vantari.”
Baal had another moment of shock as he slowly shook his head, “Colonel Carter?”
“Indeed.”
“Please start from the beginning. You should be dead. You and Colonel Carter.”
Teal’c firmed his jaw pugnaciously and the duo stared in stubborn silence, each wondering if the other was speaking in some kind of code, or if they had simply been hit one too many times on the head.
Baal finally took a few steps closer and started to speak, “The last I heard, Earth was fine. But the Taur’i have not been a force in this galaxy for a long time. As for SG-1, barring alien interference, I imagine they all died quite some time ago. As you should have.”
“I do not understand,” Teal’c said.
“The last direct contact I had with the Taur’i was when Colonel O’Neill accused the System Lords of kidnapping you and Major Carter. It seems you had disappeared right out of their base.”
Teal’c was more confused than ever. O’Neill was a Colonel? And Colonel Carter was a Major? This made less sense the more Baal tried to explain it. “When was this?”
“Over four hundred years ago,” Baal said.
Teal’c rocked on his feet as that sunk in and he thought furiously. They were in the future. It was the only explanation. But, what of all the other changes? The timeline should only have been restructured from a year before when the Vantari first invaded. O’Neill should have still been a General and Colonel Carter a Colonel.
Something had gone wrong, obviously. But he could not imagine what it had been to cause changes to actually be projected backwards through the timeline as well as forwards. It was a question for Colonel Carter, but she was not here.
Teal’c eyed Baal and considered that the Goa’uld had shown an impressive command of technology and other theories that had interested Colonel Carter as well. Perhaps he could shed some light on it all. But Teal’c chafed at the thought of trusting this man. He’d had his uses before, but they had all known he would stab them in the back the first chance he got. Teal’c was not prepared to trust him until he had proven himself. But…there was always a but. He was the best ally Teal’c could hope to have in regaining Colonel Carter.
He released his weapon fully, letting it hang from his vest, his decision made, “Two months ago, the Vantari attacked and destroyed Earth. Colonel Carter and myself were the only ones on the planet to survive.
“Yesterday, Colonel Carter completed construction of a time travel device and we went back to one year before the Vantari were due to leave and begin their attacks. We utilized a wormhole weapon Colonel Carter had constructed to destroy their entire armada and three planets. Upon our return to our time, something went wrong and we arrived here.
“No less than two hours ago, Colonel Carter was captured by the Vantari and you will help me retrieve her.”
Baal did not react for a long time. “I see,” he finally said in that slow voice people used when still mulling something over. “How far into your Stargate program were you?”
“Eleven years.”
“Ah,” Baal said as he nodded, “whatever has changed restructured your timeline so the first divergence came in the program’s third year, not long after the treaty was negotiated with the Asgard. That is why their Major Carter and Teal’c disappeared. You were here,” Baal pointed at the floor, “and couldn’t be reintegrated there,” he waved his hand vaguely in the air.
Teal’c huffed a breath out of his nose. He did not need to know any more than that. The whys and hows could wait for later, all that mattered now was Colonel Carter. “You must-“
“Help you get Colonel Carter. Yes, Teal’c, I heard you the first time,” Baal said as he started to rummage around on another table. He finally pulled out what he was looking for and spread it out on the main table, gesturing for Teal’c to come closer, “This is the problem. The Vantari main operations centre is here,” he indicated a heavily fortified position that was geographically excellently positioned, “which is where they hold prisoners of war. We have never directly attacked it, and any such manoeuvre is still a ways off.”
“Colonel Carter is not a prisoner of war,” Teal’c said firmly.
Baal shook his head, “She is now. She is not Vantari. She was carrying weapons but not wearing a uniform. They’ll assume she is Resistance and proceed accordingly.”
Teal’c did not like the ominous tone that declaration had, “Which means?”
Baal straightened and sighed, “The Vantari do not kill their prisoners if they are still deemed to be valuable. They are meticulous about keeping them alive. But that does not mean they do not suffer. And no one has ever been rescued; many do not believe it is possible,” Baal finished softly, sounding almost genuinely sorrowful about it.
Teal’c clenched his fists and tensed his shoulders, “And if Colonel Carter is not deemed valuable?”
“She will be executed.”
Teal’c ground his teeth together in frustration and impotent rage. He would not lose her now, here, after everything they had been through. “Colonel Carter is strong. She will survive. And we will do the impossible.”
---
As cells went, Carter had seen a lot worse. This one did not stink. There were no leaks, vermin, or insects. But it was dark, dank, and cold. The floor was made of large, crookedly laid stone with wide grooves between them. The walls were of similar construction. There were no windows, save a tiny slot in the solid metal door.
It meant that sound was dampened, and although Carter had heard a fair amount of moaning and screaming while being dragged through the halls, none of that came to her ears now. It set her on edge, because she knew a cell designed for torture when she saw one.
But she had more immediate concerns right now. While before her arm had been comfortably if disconcertingly numb, it was now sending stabs of pain up her neck and down her spine. It had apparently not survived the rough handling of the soldiers very well.
She had just settled herself into one corner of the cell when the door opened and her friend who had ordered her capture walked in. She knew it was him because he had unusually coloured eyes. While all of the Vantari she had seen had either green or blue eyes, this man’s were near black.
He stopped and loomed over her, and Carter almost felt like laughing. If she was supposed to be intimidated, he didn’t even come close to what she’d grown accustomed to. He had nothing on the Goa’uld, who despite their pomp and arrogance could inflict more pain with a negligent wave of their hand than Carter had ever thought possible. And he paled in comparison to the fanatical devotion of the Ori Priors. And really, after she’d seen the Vantari destroy Earth and decimate her life, this single man couldn’t hope to compare.
He held out the remote time travel device, “What is this?”
Carter weighed the pros and cons of answering, then decided to test the waters, “It’s a remote control,” she said, answering him in perfect Vantari dialect.
If he seemed surprised by her command of the language he didn’t show it. He simply asked again, “What is a ‘remote control’?”
“For the TV,” Carter sounded the syllables out carefully, “You know, for the idiot box? Boob tube?” That last one didn’t really translate so she blurted it out in English and was shocked by his reaction.
The Vantari surged forward, dropping the remote and grabbing her jacket, then lifted and slammed her bodily back against the wall. He leaned as close to her face as he could get, “You are Resistance. You know the code,” he punctuated his words by slamming her against the wall again, making her head bounce off the stone.
He dropped her and was gone before Carter managed to pull herself into a sitting position. She licked her lips and spat blood out onto the floor from where she’d bit her cheek.
As Carter leaned back against the wall, she idly wondered how long it would be before her head ached so much she wouldn’t be able to even look at him, never mind pretend to know what the hell he was talking about. She patted her pockets, confirming once again that they’d taken her Percocet.
Carter closed her eyes and considered the irony of all ironies. She’d survived the apocalypse, invented time travel, and blown up the entire Vantari armada plus three planets just to be sure. And now here she was, back at the beginning, at the mercy of the same sons of bitches all over again.
---
“You’re not hearing me,” Baal said for what seemed like the hundredth time, “Assaulting the Vantari stronghold now would be suicide. We are nowhere near ready!”
“When will we be?”
“We?” Baal had to repeat it to be sure he’d heard correctly.
“Indeed. I am no friend to the Vantari, and I will need help to retrieve Colonel Carter,” Teal’c said as he gazed at Baal.
Baal nodded, “I realize that, Teal’c, I just didn’t…” He trailed off and waved his hands as he resumed the pacing he’d started soon after their argument began.
“You did not expect me to trust you. I do not. Not yet. But that does not mean I never will,” Teal’c said firmly.
“I suppose that’s fair,” Baal said, “But you have to understand that we’ve been fighting for six years. We know what we are and are not capable of. And believe me when I tell you that going after Colonel Carter now is premature and reckless, and will more than likely result in all our deaths.”
“The stronghold must be taken down for victory to be assured,” Teal’c said.
“Yes,” Baal said, “I know that.”
Teal’c regarded him and remembered that this Goa’uld had always prided himself on his strategic abilities. Teal’c took a moment to calm himself and let the emotion of the situation drain away, leaving behind only rational tactics and strategy. “What is your proposed timetable for attack?”
Baal stopped pacing and stood with his back to Teal’c, clearly hesitant about answering. “Three years,” he finally said softly.
“Three years!” Teal’c’s voice rose and he slammed his fist on the table, “That is unacceptable!”
Baal finally turned, “It’s as soon as is feasible.”
“Colonel Carter should not have to wait three years!”
Baal approached
Teal’c slowly, his voice still low as he spoke, “Teal’c, Colonel Carter has an
exemplary track record for escaping imprisonment. It would not surprise me if she found us before we found
her. And it is not as if this is her
first experience. She will survive, as
you said.”
Teal’c swung away
from Baal and shook his head. Colonel
Carter was strong, yes, but she was not the same person anymore. He had no doubt she could and would manage
imprisonment and torture for weeks, even months. But three years? He was
not certain the tenuous mental barriers and hard-won but still minimal
self-control she’d scraped together over the last month and a half would
survive that long.
And that was saying
nothing of her physical condition. Her
headaches were still persistent and could be highly debilitating. How long before her painkillers ran
out? How long until she wouldn’t be
able to pretend to answer their questions and string them along? How long until she ceased to be valuable?
“No,” Teal’c shook
his head again and headed for the door.
He only got three steps before Baal pulled him around with an ironclad
grip on his shoulder.
“Teal’c, you must listen to me. We do have a
plan, and I will do everything I can to accelerate our timetable, but your
going after them on your own will only set us back. I believe Colonel Carter has enough experience to know how to
keep herself alive, and I do not believe she would want you to die in a foolish
effort to liberate her.
“Work with us,
Teal’c. You said we were together in
this. With your help and experience, it
should be possible to accelerate the plan.
You must think like a strategist, not a friend.” Baal released Teal’c when he finished
speaking and the two stared at each other in silence.
Teal’c turned
without a word and exited the room, but with far less fury in his stride than before.
---
Rene watched as
Teal’c stormed out of the room. She had
heard much of the conversation though she had understood less. She entered and saw that Baal was not overly
agitated, “Will he join us?”
Baal sighed and
turned from the window, “I believe so.”
“He was very
angry,” she said as she leaned against the table.
“He cares deeply
for his friend.”
Rene nodded and
pulled at her lips as she thought over her next question, “A Colonel
Carter. Are they in the military?” She paused again until Baal nodded in
confirmation, then asked the only question still bothering her, “You know him?”
Baal nodded again,
“Yes. Both of them. They are old…acquaintances.” He walked across the room and opened a side
door, pulled out a sack and threw it at Rene, “I would appreciate it if you
would speak with him. Orient him with
the place. Introduce him to the
others. Answer his questions.”
Rene fingered the
sack of standard supplies and clothes, “You’re not doing that?”
“We have not always
had the best affiliation. I am
available, of course, but Teal’c may wish to hear things from you,” Baal said
as he gestured towards the door.
Rene exited the
strategy room and considered how best to hunt down her charge. It didn’t take long since he was a new and
fairly distinctive face. She located
him in a back room that housed their bathing area, staring morosely into a
basin of water. “Teal’c, these are for
you,” she handed him the bundle which he accepted absently.
They stood together
in silence for a long time until Rene grew uncomfortable and started shifting
her feet, “So, can I show you around?”
Teal’c remained
stationary for a long series of heartbeats then finally turned and appraised
her. “Why do you fight this war?”
Rene blinked,
“Uh…me? Or, us?”
Teal’c cocked his
head, “Yes. Both.”
“Ah, well,” Rene’s
hands dropped unconsciously to her stomach, a motion Teal’c followed.
“You are pregnant,”
he said.
“Yes,” Rene said,
“six months. My husband was killed a
few months ago. He…we, it just
happened, the kid I mean. We’d always
wanted children but it never happened.
And then when it did,” Rene smiled and shook her head in a wondering
manner, “it didn’t matter as much that it was the middle of a war. It was just a miracle.
“Before, we were
all just fighting for survival.
Fighting because the Vantari didn’t have the right to take over the
planet. But now we all have
reasons. I’m fighting for revenge and a
better life for my child.” Rene eyed
Teal’c, seeing clearly that he was a warrior long used to the ins and outs of
warfare.
There was something
about Teal’c that reminded her of Baal.
A sense that he had done this all before, and was comfortable with
it. It made Rene feel better to know he
was on their side. Her people had been
woefully unprepared when the Vantari invaded.
Their military had been virtually nonexistent, their weapons inferior
compared to the Vantari.
But then Baal had
started organizing the Resistance, teaching them tactics and strategies, even
two entire new languages foreign to the Vantari that they could use for coded
messages. Things had started to turn
around for them, but the opening salvos of the invasion had severely depleted
them in people and supplies.
Now, though, the
possibility of another person like Baal with experience that far outstripped
their own renewed Rene’s hope that this would all be over before her child was
old enough to remember it.
As Rene looked at
Teal’c, she decided to ask the one question that Baal would never answer for
any of them, “What are you fighting for?”
Teal’c’s eyes met
hers for an intense moment of scrutiny.
“The past.”
---
Teal’c arranged his
meagre belongings in his newly assigned sleeping area. Baal had given him a private room, rare and
highly sought, explaining Teal’c would be a curiosity because he had literally
fallen out of the sky and deserved not to be pestered non-stop, which a
roommate would ensure.
He appreciated it,
because it gave him a space he felt comfortable enough in to meditate. He could not fully dismiss his concern for
Colonel Carter, but that was not unusual.
It had been there since the world had ended, it had simply been muted
for the last month and a half.
It was back in full
force now. Despite what Baal had said
about accelerating the plan, the tactician in Teal’c knew that something that
would take three years could only be sped up so much. The fastest he could realistically hope for was two years, and
even that might be pushing it.
Teal’c very much
wanted to be optimistic, but he could not deny his knowledge of Colonel
Carter. She had been hanging on with
the most tenuous of grips, and she was not invincible.
But he would not
give up on her. And he hoped that no
matter how bad things got, Colonel Carter would at least not give up on him.
What was he
fighting for? The past that they’d had,
yes. Revenge for what had been done to
the Taur’i, yes. But mostly, he was
fighting for Colonel Carter. Her life,
her sanity, her future. Because she was
all of those things to him.
---
When the Vantari
returned he jolted Carter out of an uneasy doze. She eyed him warily as another person entered behind him, this
one smaller in stature to the point Carter was pretty sure it was a woman.
As the female
Vantari approached, Carter scrambled to her feet and backed as far away as she
could. When a new player entered the
picture it was rarely a good sign, “What are you doing?”
The woman stopped,
obviously surprised at being spoken to, but then determinedly resumed her
task. As the Vantari reached for
Carter, she swatted at the offending hands and sidestepped out of the way.
The other Vantari
grabbed her under her right arm, wrapped his hand behind her neck and forced
her down onto her knees. He held her as
the woman approached and prodded at Carter’s left arm.
“Hey!” Carter pulled and twisted, but her mobility
was severely limited and since she was on her knees she couldn’t kick at either
of them. As she focused on what the
female was doing Carter realized she was some kind of medic or doctor. That realization came moments before
Carter’s arm was jerked and twisted back into position.
Carter hissed and
leaned forward as pain surged up and down the limb from the realigned
joint. She watched in morbid
fascination as the medic pulled at her fingers and bent them. It only translated into the tiniest tickling
feeling and lightest of touches, but Carter couldn’t quite scrape up the energy
to care about permanent damage right then.
As the medic moved
toward Carter with some kind of syringe she decided that was enough of
that. She pushed off with her knees,
sending her would-be torturer back into the wall. He released his grip out of pure surprise and Carter stood, but
the door was closed and there wasn’t anywhere to go. “Thanks, but I draw the line at alien drugs,” Carter said as she
looked between them warily.
The medic seemed
disappointed at Carter’s refusal and perhaps even a bit concerned for her. The male was clearly angry at being caught
off-guard, his face dark as he stood. “Out!” He gestured to the medic who scurried to the
door at his tone.
Carter circled
around to one side as he advanced on her, “You know, the least you could do is
tell me your name. Since we’re going to
be spending so much time together, and all.”
The Vantari paused
and pointed his finger at her, “You will not refuse medical attention next
time.”
“Really? Is that a rule? Because I don’t remember agreeing to anything, and if it’s required for this place, you’d better just let me get back to what I was doing
before,” Carter said, disappointed to discover she’d run out of room and was
essentially cornered.
He advanced on her
some more, a smile twisting his lips, “You will not refuse it again, because
next time you will have more than a dislocated arm.”
Carter leaned into
him, figuring she wasn’t going to come out of this encounter on top so she
might as well get the most out of it, “Is that a promise? Because I have had this twinge in my lower
back, maybe you could take a look at it.”
Carter suddenly
found herself pressed up against the wall again and decided that this was
getting old. Determined not to just
give in, and well aware that they seemed interested in not killing people
outright, Carter took the opportunity to vent some frustration.
She slammed her
feet into his chest, using the wall as a bracing point that made up for the
lack of room she had to work with. He
fell back a rather impressive distance and Carter caught her balance before she
landed on the floor.
If he’d been angry
before he was furious now. The Vantari
ran at her, but anger made people sloppy and Carter was ready for just this
situation. She ducked her him, his
bigger stature making it easier to get under his arms, and kicked him in the
back. He hit the wall but bounced back
far too quickly for her tastes.
He ran at her again
and managed to tackle her to the floor.
Carter lost all the air in her lungs when his weight slammed down onto
her. She blocked and avoided a few
blows, but ultimately his far greater size won out over Carter’s physical
exhaustion and he started landing his blows.
He stopped before
he did too much damage and stood. “You
will translate the code,” he said, delivering one more kick before leaving.
Carter groaned and
rolled onto her side to spit more blood and a tooth out of her mouth. “Ugh,” she stared at the bloody molar and
probed the left side of her mouth with her tongue. Many more hits like that and she’d be toothless within a week. He hit like he was wearing brass knuckles.
She flopped onto
her back and stared at the ceiling.
She’d put off any questions for awhile by pissing him off, but it was a
strategy that wouldn’t work very often because he’d catch on soon enough. And it was dangerous. He could easily go too far if she hit the
right buttons, and she seemed pretty adept at it so far.
But she didn’t know
anything to tell him, even though he seemed to think otherwise. Carter knew the fastest way to be killed was
to lose all value as a prisoner.
Perhaps by some miracle this code would be something she recognized and
would be able to string them along with.
Then again, she had enough stuff in her head she could probably make
something up if he’d just give her a starting point.
Teal’c was her big
hope. He had to be out there somewhere,
and he’d be looking for her. She knew
he’d do whatever it took to get her back.
Carter just hoped it would be soon.
She didn’t know how much of this she could get through and that thought
scared her most of all. She’d never
before doubted her ability to withstand imprisonment.
---
Teal’c looked up
from the gun he was cleaning when a bunch of people nearly ran down the
hall. He’d been here just shy of two
days and this was the most activity he’d seen.
He set the gun aside and followed, determined to be involved in whatever
was happening.
So far, he’d been
moderately impressed with the Resistance.
They had good underground supply lines, a fairly impressive store of
weapons – most of which were stolen from the Vantari – and had demonstrated a
good grasp of what the Taur’i had called “guerrilla tactics.”
What had surprised
Teal’c the most was their radio room.
Rene had been giving him a tour of the compound when he’d been attracted
by the familiar tones of Goa’uld.
Thinking at first that Baal was not the only one here, Teal’c had
charged into the room, expecting to uncover some kind of duplicity.
Instead, he’d been
met by startled Resistance members who’d paused in their activities to goggle
at him for a moment before ignoring him and resuming their transmissions. They spoke in both Goa’uld and English,
their voices at times hesitant but their command of the languages was clear.
“Baal taught some
of us,” Rene said in her own halting English, “he said we could not transmit
messages in our native tongue because the Vantari could intercept them. He seemed sure they would not know these
languages.”
Teal’c had nodded,
and his grudging respect for Baal and what he was doing here increased a few
notches.
Rene had turned to
him and continued, “You should learn my language. It will help you fit in.
I will teach you,” she had continued blithely on, not giving him a
choice in the matter.
Teal’c’s
instruction had commenced the next day.
He was finding the instruction to be a suitable distraction from his
worry about Colonel Carter when he was not helping the others tend to the
compound.
As Teal’c closed in
on the room the Resistance members had scurried to he saw them gathering
weapons and supplies. He was just about
to stop someone to ask what was happening when he heard his name. He turned to be met by Rene.
“Teal’c! You’ll come with us,” Rene said as she
handed him a cloak and pulled on her own, “A Vantari supply caravan ran into a
mudslide. We’re going to hit them,” she
grabbed a weapon for herself and gestured for him to choose.
Teal’c deliberated
briefly before picking up a gun. He and
Baal had mutually decided that Teal’c’s own weapons were too different for him
to use. They would attract attention,
and furthermore, they would tie him with Colonel Carter once an observant
Vantari got a good look at the gear.
They did not want
that. Two people out of an entire
resistance who were clearly different would raise suspicions that they were
not, in fact, Resistance. Just Colonel
Carter would make the Vantari think the Resistance had come into some new
technology, and that was a psychological advantage they couldn’t ignore.
As they gathered
around their vehicles, Teal’c eyed the woman beside him, “Should you be
participating in such an operation given your condition?”
“Pfft,” Rene made
an annoyed sound with her lips, “not you, too.
It’s bad enough I hear that from the people here. I’m not going to let this child change who I
am and what I do. I’m fighting for its
world.”
Teal’c still gazed
at her with concern, his eyebrow raised in doubt.
Rene waved her hand
at him, “Fine. I’ll stay in the
background. But I’m going. And if it makes you feel better, you can
keep an eye on me.” She said it in such a way Teal’c got the impression that he
was supposed to feel like he’d been the one given a concession.
He could not help
the smirk from quirking his lips as they started moving out. She reminded him irresistibly of Colonel
Carter when she had been Captain Carter, eager to show her usefulness and not
be seen as a burden by anyone.
---
The weather was
miserable. It was raining in a constant
deluge, turning the ground into a sticky quagmire, and a stiff wind blew right
through them. But Teal’c supposed they had
the weather to thank for stopping the caravan, so he could live with it.
They disembarked
from their vehicles at the last hill before the mudslide. A Resistance scout scurried down the slope
upon seeing them and conferred with the leader of the group, a wiry man named
Gavin.
“All right,” Gavin
turned to them, “you guys go that way,” he picked out three people and pointed
in a direction, “and you four circle around back. The rest of us will come over the hill and hit them high. Remember, we’re here for the supplies. Shoot to disable at the very least, but if
some get away don’t go chasing them down.”
As they split off to their assigned positions, Gavin turned to Teal’c,
“Teal’c-“
“I will remain with
Rene,” Teal’c interrupted.
Gavin gave it only
a moment’s consideration before he nodded, obviously seeing how resolute
Teal’c’s expression was.
Teal’c and Rene
ascended the hill side-by-side and hunkered in the muck as they reached the
crest. They peered over, readying their
weapons, and popped up just as they saw the rest of their people edge into view
of the Vantari.
The three groups
opened fire simultaneously, taking the Vantari completely by surprise. Four of the five fell immediately, and as
the fifth started scrambling to get away Teal’c took careful aim and nailed him
in the back of the head. The Vantari
crumpled.
As Teal’c moved to
stand, Gavin grabbed his arm, “What was that!”
Teal’c pulled free
and started down the hill, “That was not reckless. It is advantageous that no one survives to report on us.”
Gavin turned to
Rene as she moved to follow Teal’c, “Tell me who he is again? Why are we listening to him?”
Rene raised her
eyebrows at him in surprise, “I didn’t know we were listening to him,
Gavin. Teal’c’s not in charge. He’s helping us. Baal says he’s very experienced and we could learn from him.”
Gavin snorted,
“Helping us, right. He’s here for what we
can do for him.”
Rene shrugged,
“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from him. He’s here fighting for his friend. We’re all fighting for someone. Get over it,” Rene said as she resumed her
slide down the hill.
There were quite a
few crates of supplies, mostly foodstuffs and medical gear, but a few
weapons. They needed it all so they
brought down their all-terrain vehicles and loaded it all up. They were on their way within an hour, the
dead Vantari silent blemishes on the landscape.
---
Carter pressed
herself as close to the floor as possible, stretching her right arm out as far
as it would go and wishing she could do the same with her left. The fever had started several hours ago,
followed by a slick sheen of sweat.
She’d thought at
first that it had something to do with her shoulder. But then she’d gotten nauseous, her nose and eyes had started
running, and her unsettled feeling had inexplicably shot through the roof. She’d spent a miserable hour or more huddled
in the corner, expecting her Vantari friend to barge through the door any
second, until she’d forced herself to think about it rationally.
Carter knew what
withdrawal looked like. She’d known
what it was when Daniel had gone through it after the sarcophagus. And now she recognized it in herself. By her estimation, it had been somewhere
around two days since her last Percocet, and thinking back on it, she’d started
feeling weird before now but attributed it to her shoulder and the blows the
Vantari had landed.
Her friend hadn’t
been back, either. Carter figured he
was leaving her to stew before coming back for Round Two. If he came back now, he’d be highly
disappointed. She felt worse than
something you’d scrape off the bottom of your shoe.
Carter inched along
the floor to another spot where she hadn’t leeched all the cold out of the
stone and sighed in relief when she found it.
She didn’t know how high her fever was, but had the uncomfortable
realization the Vantari had been right.
If that medic walked through the door right now, Carter wouldn’t think
twice about accepting whatever help she offered.
Her stomach rolled
again. Carter clenched her jaw shut,
determined not to throw up simply because it would require her moving and it
had taken a lot of effort and no small amount of pain to get into this
position.
The mobility of her
left arm was severely limited. She’d
had dislocated shoulders before, but those had always been seen to relatively
quickly. This one had gone untreated
for half a day, at least, and was abused during that time. She was starting to expect nerve
damage. But that was as far as she’d
gotten, because she didn’t have the fortitude to deal with more than one crisis
at a time.
The most pertinent
thought Carter had managed to scrape together was that a bum arm would
seriously endanger any escape attempt.
But she had to get
through the next sixty seconds first, and the next minute, and the next.
---
The door opened
without warning, and Carter didn’t so much as lift her head. She didn’t have the energy to move from her
sprawl in the centre of the room and she really couldn’t care less.
She heard the
Vantari put something on the floor then his footsteps approached, “Get
up.” Carter didn’t even twitch. “Up!” He followed that command with a kick
in the ribs that was sufficient to roll Carter over.
Carter stared at
him through gummy eyes and blurry vision.
He loomed over her for a moment before disappearing but was back before
she could really register his absence.
He set something next to her head that was vaguely rectangular and let
out a static hiss.
After he flipped
the switch a blare of voices assaulted her ears. Carter flinched back at the sound but then forced herself to listen. They were speaking English and…Goa’uld? Whoever “they” were.
A sudden grip on
her chin forced Carter’s head around.
She stared up at him as he leaned close, peering at her, “You seem
surprised. Why?” He stood and started a short pace in front
of her.
Carter felt the
tiniest surge of panic. Whoever these
people were, she was supposed to be one of them. He’d assumed that from the outset, and when she’d spoken in
English it had only confirmed it. As
Carter scrambled for some reason to explain her surprise at hearing “her”
transmission, he handed one to her.
“Perhaps you
thought your new system was better?
That we could not receive the signal?”
The Vantari pulled something out from inside his jacket, turning it over
in his hands. “This is very
interesting. But I do not care about
your new technology. Nothing the
Resistance gets now will change the outcome.
We will win. And you will help,”
he pointed the object at her, and as Carter squinted at it she realized it was
her sidearm.
She flinched
reflexively. Staff weapons, zats,
numerous kinds of alien weapons didn’t faze her. But she had never totally gotten over the basic instinctual
reaction of having a human gun stuck in her face. It rarely happened. And
when it was someone like this Vantari, who had no idea how much damage a 9mm
pistol could do or how it worked, Carter couldn’t help getting nervous.
The Vantari saw her
reaction and grinned. “You have shown
more reaction to this than anything else,” he said.
Carter wanted to
say he hadn’t done much beyond idle posturing up until now but didn’t bother
trying to gather the saliva to speak.
She got the impression he thought she was supposed to be cowering in
fear because of his mere presence. And
perhaps the locals – this Resistance – did just that. But the people Carter were used to were leagues ahead of this
common bully.
“Perhaps we should
test that theory,” he said, examining the gun more closely.
Carter adjusted her
body slightly. She’d be damned if she
was just going to lie here passively and let him shoot her. Seconds after she heard the hammer cock,
Carter rocked backwards, putting her weight on her upper back as she lifted
both legs and slammed them forward.
It caught him by
surprise. He took the hit squarely in
the gut and dropped the gun as he fell backwards. Carter moved on instinct.
This was the best chance she’d had.
She planted her feet back on the floor and lunged up and forwards,
straight towards the gun.
Carter snagged it
with her fingers just as the Vantari started to reclaim his feet. She scrambled backwards and brought the gun
around, but wasn’t prepared for him flinging himself at her. His superior weight took them down, and this
was a position Carter was familiar with.
Except she’d been ruminating on what to do if it happened again since
she’d had little else to occupy her time.
She raised her
knees, driving them both into his sides repeatedly, feeling the air rush out of
his lungs. Carter twisted him off her
and located the gun above and behind her, closest to her left arm. She reached for it, any pain the action
might cause acceptable if it meant her escape.
Her arm only got
six inches before blinding agony surged from her joint down to her
fingertips. A second later, the
Vantari’s hand landed on her and threw her across the cell. Carter heard something crack as she hit and
thumped to the floor. She raised her
head just in time to see him pick up the gun and point it at her.
The Vantari shot,
the sound echoing in the confines of the cell.
Carter yelled, curling forward as much as possible towards her leg. She clamped her hands over the wound that
was just above her right knee.
The Vantari
chuckled as he crouched in front of her, pulling her head up and jamming the
gun against her neck. He looked over
the wound and laughed again, “A marvellous weapon!” He met her eyes, his lips
twisted in a snarl, “Despite appearances, we have exceedingly good
medicine. I could shoot you every day
and not kill you,” he said.
Carter stared into
his black eyes and licked her once again bleeding lip. He was a bully. But just because people were bullies didn’t mean they never got
what they wanted. One thing she knew
for sure, bullies worked off of fear, power, and control.
She couldn’t do
anything about the last two. He
controlled her life. She could
undermine his power to a degree by fighting, but it had yet to end well for
her.
She could do something about the first.
She wouldn’t grow to fear him.
He was small time, hardly worth the emotion. And Carter could make sure he knew it. She ran her tongue around her mouth, gathering the scant moisture
and blood and opened her mouth.
And spat in his
face.
He stayed frozen
for a second in shock as a little rivulet of red-tinged saliva ran down his cheek. Then he pulled his arm back and
pistol-whipped her.
Carter was
unconscious before she hit the floor.
---
Gavin barged
through the door, not sparing a single thought to knocking, and slammed his
fist on the table, “Am I still in charge around here?”
Baal turned at the
irate question and claimed a chair, crossing his legs at the knees, “You’ll
have to be more specific,” he said.
Gavin gestured with
his hand, “The strike teams.”
“Of course you
are.”
“Then explain to me
what exactly your friend’s purpose is here?”
“Teal’c?” Baal
smiled at the term friend, knowing Teal’c wouldn’t see it that way, but then
things had a habit of changing.
“Yes, Teal’c!” Gavin waved his arms again in agitation.
“Teal’c is helping
us to help him. You can all benefit from
his experience,” Baal smiled, “even you, Gavin. But he’s not in command of anyone.” Not yet, Baal added silently. But if the conflict dragged on, and it did
indeed take years to secure Colonel Carter, then Baal could see Teal’c taking
on a leadership role very quickly.
“Well maybe you
should tell him that!”
“He knows, Gavin.”
Baal considered the man before him for a second before continuing, “What’s he
doing that you don’t like?”
“He’s holding a
class,” Gavin spat it out like it was the worst thing imaginable.
“What kind of
class?” Baal asked, just barely keeping the smile off his face.
“Combat. Tactics.
Hand-to-hand.”
Baal stood and
started ushering Gavin to the door, “What’s wrong with that? Teal’c has been a warrior for longer than
you’ve been alive. You were a farmer
before the Vantari invaded. He’s not
here to usurp your position, Gavin. He
doesn’t want to. All Teal’c cares about
is Colonel Carter,” Baal said as he pushed the man out and smiled, “So go nurse
your bruised ego somewhere else.”
Gavin huffed and
turned on his heel. His feet took him
to the training area with little thought and as he watched, he had to admit
that Teal’c knew a lot that they’d never conceived of doing.
Baal had taught
them much, but he himself freely admitted that tactics had always been his
strong suit, not out and out fighting.
Baal was very much the brains, the rest of them the muscle who learned
through experience and trial and error.
It had served them well so far, but many were starting to think that it
was their lack of practical experience that had stalled the Resistance.
Now here was a man
who had the potential to change all that, with the motivation to do whatever it
took to win. Because Gavin had grown
accustomed to what people looked like when they’d lost someone to the
Vantari. And Teal’c had enough of that
look he could share with the rest of the Resistance and still not be rid of it.
---
Teal’c was aware of
Gavin’s silent presence at the side of the training room but it didn’t bother
him. He knew the Resistance leader
resented him, fearing he was here to replace him, but there was little he could
do about it.
People like Gavin
did not respond to talk. They had to
see for themselves whether someone was a threat. Teal’c didn’t know how to demonstrate that. He had resolved to turn the Resistance into
the best force it could be so they could expediate their plans.
And truthfully, he
had room to consider little else beyond the training, his continuing language
lessons from Rene, and his worry for Colonel Carter. He was not here to make friends, or keep from “making waves” as
O’Neill might have said.
Teal’c finished the
last lesson and headed for the exit. He
paused next to Gavin, briefly considering if he should make the effort anyway, then
settled on a nod. Gavin nodded back
after a moment.
Teal’c smiled. Friendship might be beyond their reach, but
respect could be just around the corner.
---
Carter woke up to
the feel of hands on her skin. She
jerked at the feel and opened her eyes, immediately gasping at the agony that
shot through her body and relaxing at the sight of the medic.
Carter squinted at
the woman who was crouched over her leg and croaked out, “What’s your name?”
The medic paused
for a brief moment then returned to her work.
Carter was starting to think she wasn’t going to answer when she spoke,
“Delia.”
“Delia,” Carter
repeated to commit it to memory, “I’m C-” She swallowed the name before it
could escape, covering it up by pretending to cough, and quickly considered her
answer. Her rank was out of the
question. From what she’d gleaned from
the radio transmissions, these Resistance people weren’t military. “I’m Carter,” she said, settling on her
surname.
“Carter,” Delia
moved up to Carter’s face and smiled the tiniest bit, “You have a fever. You sweat.” She shook her head, “This is not
from what Ryland did.”
“No,” Carter closed
her eyes, rubbing her forehead while silently revelling in learning her
captor’s name.
“Then what? I can not help you if I do not know,” Delia
said.
Carter kept her
eyes closed as she thought. As kind as
Delia might seem, she was Vantari and working for Ryland. He may have simply instructed her to be nice
to get at Carter a different way. But
what harm could Delia knowing it was withdrawal do?
“There’s nothing
you can do,” Carter finally settled on, even though asking for her Percocet had
been on the tip of her tongue. She
wouldn’t do that. It was something
Ryland could deny her if he knew she wanted it badly enough to ask, and she’d
have to face the withdrawal eventually anyway.
That had been her last bottle, and Carter hardly thought they made it on
this planet.
Delia placed her
hand on Carter’s head, making her jump, “I can give you fever medication. I have cleaned your leg and head. There is nothing I can do for your shoulder
and rib while you’re still here.”
Carter’s eyes
popped open. Head?
Rib? She shifted gingerly and felt the telltale
twinge of a fractured rib and realized it must have happened when Ryland threw
her against the wall. Carter located
the cut at her hairline and figured it was a result of being pistol-whipped.
Delia injected the
fever medication in Carter’s arm then gathered her supplies and smiled. “I hope I don’t see you again soon,” she
said as she stood.
“What are you doing
here?” Her mouth blurted out the question quite without her permission.
Delia paused, her
back to the prone Colonel, and seemed to take an inordinate amount of time to
decide her next action. Finally she
heaved a sigh and walked to the door, “We all do things we regret in order to
survive, Carter.” She slammed her hand
on the door three times and it opened, a cautious guard on the other side.
Carter heard the
barest snatches of conversation, a wail, and a loud crashing before the heavy
metal portal slammed closed again. They
weren’t the best sounds, but they were all she’d heard besides Ryland, Delia,
and those damn transmissions in days, so she cherished them.
She turned her eyes
to the ceiling and wondered how many times she could count the stones before
Ryland came back for another round.
---
Day 28
Teal’c kicked over
his cot as he entered his sleeping area then swept his arm across his small
table, spilling the small accumulation of things he’d acquired. He tilted his head back and let out a
frustrated yell, then punched the wall for good measure.
“Teal’c,” Baal said
from the doorway where he leaned.
The Jaffa cut off
his vocalization and turned to glare at the other man, “What?”
“I realize you’re
frustrated, but destroying our accommodations won’t help,” Baal said as he
entered the room further.
“It will prevent me
from striking someone,” Teal’c said lowly as he kicked at some of his spilled
belongings.
Baal nodded in
understanding and sat on the only chair in the room, “It’s going to take time.”
“It has been a
month,” Teal’c said.
“Yes, a month that
has seen vast improvement,” Baal said, his voice earnest, “more than I had
expected.”
“But they are not
ready, and they will not be for some time,” Teal’c said as he finally quit his
restless pacing and righted his cot to sit.
“Gavin said the
strike teams have not suffered a loss in the last two weeks. He credits you for that,” Baal said, trying
to find an upside that would placate Teal’c.
“I do not care
about the strike teams!”
“No, but you care
that the Resistance is the best force it can be so that when we do
go after Colonel Carter, we will succeed.”
Teal’c blew out a
long breath and scrubbed his hand over his hair. He knew Baal was right, but the last month had taxed Teal’c’s
supply of patience to its limits. It
was the absolute dearth of information that goaded him the most. He had spent slightly more than two
consecutive months exclusively at Colonel Carter’s side, and now he did not
even know for sure if she was still alive.
It had crossed
Teal’c’s mind to try and gather some intelligence about Vantari prisoners, but
they had no one qualified for such a task.
And even if they did, anyone who was not Vantari would not get very far
without detection.
But he had to admit
the Resistance was improving. They had
continued with their raids of supply trains and word was that they were gearing
up for a major offensive against a small installation in one of the closest cities.
Baal had yet to say
anything about it, but Teal’c was looking forward to it. He would be able to work out his
frustration, and there was always the possibility of prisoners, which was their
main source of information. The Vantari
communications were highly encrypted, and although Baal had the ability to
break it, he was short on equipment and the encryption changed so often it was
hardly worth the effort.
“How have your
language lessons been progressing?” Baal broke into Teal’c’s thoughts with his
question.
“Very well,” Teal’c
said in Wasi, the native tongue, “Rene has been an exceptional teacher.”
Baal smiled,
“Good. Then you can be the one to tell
her she can’t go into the field anymore.” With that Baal stood and was halfway
to the door before Teal’c processed the Goa’uld’s words.
“Why must I tell
her?”
Baal turned, his
smile still in place, “You’re friends.
She’ll listen to you.”
Teal’c stood, “You
are her leader. She will listen to you.”
Baal waved his
hand, “No, if I tell her, she’ll think it’s strictly a tactical decision. If you tell her, she’ll
believe it comes from your concern.”
Teal’c studied the
man opposite him with an appraising eye, “I believe you are ‘chickening out,’”
Teal’c said, finally settling on the Taur’i phrase.
Baal was silent for
a moment as he thought it over and then nodded, “I am. And I’m delegating,” he said as he finally
exited the room.
Teal’c followed,
“Perhaps it is possible to delay this decision further?”
“She’s seven months
pregnant, Teal’c. She’s so big she can
barely move,” Baal made an expansive gesture around his stomach as he spoke,
mimicking Rene’s appearance.
Teal’c pursed his
lips and nodded, “I believe you are correct.
It is best I tell her. You do
not possess the necessary tact.”
Baal smiled and
clapped Teal’c on the shoulder as he broke away from the other man, “I never
said I did.”
---
Rivers, lakes, and
streams of blood. The grooves between
the stones made the perfect conduits for the red liquid that was running in
various paths to a certain stone that seemed just a tiny bit lower than the
others. The blood was pooling and
congealing there, her own little Red Sea in the most literal sense.
Except Carter was
no Moses, a prophet with her own personal deity looking out for her. She wasn’t even a martyr or a hero. If she died in this hellhole, none of the
people who would be witness to it would even care.
She was no one; she
was nothing, except her smouldering hatred for the people who had put her
here. Carter dreamed of breaking
Ryland’s neck. Of gouging out his eyes. Of shooting him a couple dozen times. In her dreams, she killed him a thousand
different ways but always woke to the cold realization she was capable of none
of them.
Carter had no
weapons, not even a broken stone from her cell. She had neither the dexterity in her arms nor the strength
required to snap his neck. And any
damage she might inflict with her legs was limited because infection had set
into her wound.
Delia had cleaned
and bandaged it as often as she was allowed, but had never been given permission
to close it. Ryland did not let the
medic in unless he thought Carter might actually be in danger of dying or
getting seriously ill. So the wound
remained open, festering, gathering every particle of dirt it could find until
a low-grade infection had set in.
Now it burned as
well as ached. Something shifted and
ground together every time Carter moved the limb, which meant she avoided that
at all costs. Which also meant she
hadn’t been on her feet in…
Carter didn’t know
how long. She had no idea how long
she’d been here. There was no rising or
setting sun. The single light of her
cell stayed on at all times, never once flickering to give her an indication of
sleep cycles. It felt like years, but
she was pretty sure it had only been weeks.
So she laid on her
back or her side, staring at the droll walls and thinking. It was the only thing that kept her from
going completely crazy. She knew by
heart that the ceiling had three hundred seventy-two stones. Based on the walls she could see, she’d
calculated the entire room had two thousand one hundred eighty-two, assuming
the door was the equivalent of fifty stones.
That had occupied
her attention for little more than an hour.
She’d moved on to other things.
Carter felt fairly confident she knew exactly where three explosive
charges could be set within her cell to bring down at least half the building,
leaving her room intact, assuming of course they were all load bearing walls
and there were no more than four floors above her.
But eventually, math
and blowing shit up had stopped being alluring. She had turned her eyes to the blood-flow, trying to predict
which path the newest spillage would take.
Ryland liked using
his knife. Today he had entered with
that gleam in his dark eyes that Carter had started to hate long ago. He’d spent a moment looking her over, as if
he didn’t see her on a near daily basis, then placed the tip of his blade on
the scar beside her eye.
“How’d you get
this?”
“Running from you
bastards,” Carter said.
Ryland’s lips had
twisted as he ran the knife along the white line, “How about I make it bigger
for you?”
He’d taken a great
amount of time – and pleasure – in extending the scar, but Carter hadn’t given
him the satisfaction of a reaction. The
amount of blood didn’t alarm her.
Anything on the scalp or face bled a lot, so she wasn’t expecting to see
Delia any time soon.
She did wonder if
he’d carved his name into her skin or something. It had seemed like hours
before he’d finished, and he’d looked like he was putting an inordinate amount
of thought into it. But then Carter
considered everything he could have done if he’d been feeling creative and
decided she’d rather not know.
And when predicting
the unpredictable blood-flow got boring, Carter would turn her mind back to
killing Ryland. And when that lost its
allure, she’d move on to the entire Vantari race.
---
Day 40
“Everyone ready,”
Gavin whispered as his eyes flicked between a dozen faces. He got a series of nods, “Good. Remember, we take the garrison. Try to limit damage to the city. Those are our people in there, we don’t want
to make their lives any more miserable.”
He checked his watch then gave the signal.
The Resistance
members spread out, taking their positions in the sparse trees that grew outside
the city limits. The garrison was at
the edge of the city, on the side closest to the river. They had come up with an intricate plan that
all hinged on timing. If they nailed
it, their victory would be assured. If
it was off, they were in for a tough fight.
Gavin shifted his
weapon as he checked his watch once more and peered through the darkness. He glanced at Teal’c, sprawled beside him
with an intent look on his face, and felt compelled to say, “Remember what Baal
said.”
Teal’c nodded, “I
will not endanger this mission.”
Gavin simply nodded
and checked his watch one last time. He
rose to a crouch and raised his arm, giving the signal to those under his
command. As one they crept forward, low
and slow using rocks and trees to obscure their presence. He kept a silent count in his head and made
the hold signal as they reached the outlying buildings.
They were the
slightest bit ahead of schedule. He
kept counting, then waved them forward once more. Now they were actually in the city, surrounded by darkened
buildings that held sleeping occupants who’d been under the Vantari thumb for
years. This town was a major control
point for traffic both on the roads and river, and if the Resistance captured
it that would be a major coup.
Gavin made the hold
signal once more and strained his eyes through the darkness, looking for that
one sign of confirmation. He got it in
the barest flicker of movement upriver and gave the signal to advance.
The Resistance
burst out from behind their cover in unison, opening fire on the garrison
building that sat directly in front of them.
The three guards at the front fell immediately. Just as more Vantari started to poke their
heads and weapons out of the door and windows, the second strike team charged
up from both sides, lobbing what Teal’c called Molotov cocktails through the
windows.
The Vantari
soldiers started screaming as flames erupted around them, some of their clothes
catching on fire. Gavin’s team advanced
relentlessly, mowing down the now distracted and easily visible soldiers. In no time they were breaching the front
door and the Vantari fled to the back exit, the only route open to them.
As the soldiers
spilled out onto the riverbank immediately at the garrison’s rear they were met
with gunfire and more Molotov cocktails, blinded by the flames. The half-dozen Resistance who manned the
raft that had come down the river were a solid blockade to Vantari retreat.
The Vantari were
now surrounded and in a panic, and as Gavin and the others started to close in
they went from firing their weapons to clubbing people over the head. They tried to take prisoners whenever it
wouldn’t put the Resistance in any undue danger, and this was a prime
opportunity.
Gavin whirled at a
blur of movement to his left, raising his weapon as he identified a
Vantari. He only got it halfway up
before the man fell with a gurgle, revealing Teal’c’s form behind him. They exchanged a scant nod before Teal’c was
off again, moving like a whirlwind through the soldiers.
The entire battle
was over in less than an hour. As Gavin
coordinated the securing and transport of their three prisoners, Teal’c led a
search of the bunker for any vital intelligence.
“Gavin!” Nadine, leader of the second strike team,
called as rounded the bunker.
Gavin turned,
“What?”
Nadine gestured
behind her towards the main part of the city, “Everyone’s out on the
streets. They’re asking if the
garrison’s really gone and what happens now.
They want to know if we’re going to protect them. I think you should talk to them,” she said.
Gavin thought it
over for a minute and nodded, “Fine.
Can you finish here?” He gestured to the flame-licked clearing, strewn
with the dead.
Nadine nodded, “Of
course,” she said, “and if you need any help…”
“I’ll call Teal’c!”
Gavin yelled over his shoulder.
Nadine grinned then
turned her attention to the grim task of disposing of the dead. At least it did not include any of their own
this time.
---
Teal’c scoured the
garrison from top to bottom, finding little of interest. It was mostly bunkrooms and wash facilities
since the Vantari had utilized the city’s resources for food. There was one small room towards the back
that looked very much like an office.
He identified the
Vantari equivalent of a computer immediately but it was encrypted. He ordered it to be taken back anyway, since
he was sure Baal would be able to get in.
The potential information that computer held raised Teal’c’s hopes
exponentially. Any information would be
useful to them since the Resistance actually worked off very little.
Teal’c was
currently pawing through the various files, finding nothing that meant anything
to him since it was all written in Vantari.
He had them boxed up too, just to be sure, then surveyed the room one
last time.
He eyed the large
desk and bare walls, feeling that somehow this room should not look so normal. Teal’c toppled the desk and
threw the chair against the wall, the wooden piece of furniture splintering
quite impressively. He kicked it a few
times for good measure and then stood in the centre of the room, his chest
heaving not from exertion but pure emotion.
This assault had
not quelled his swirling anger and impatience to the degree he had hoped. Teal’c could not push away the thought that
he was wasting time, and that the longer he spent here the more Colonel Carter
slipped through his fingers. He feared
she was dead. Perhaps worse, he feared
she would survive but there would be nothing of the woman he’d known left.
All Teal’c knew was
if that happened, the Vantari would pay with their existence.
---
Delia loaded up her
bag with everything she was allowed to bring into the cell with her and set out
for Carter’s. It had been more than
thirteen days since she had last been admitted, and the medic feared what the
woman’s condition would be.
Ryland had seemed
more adamant than usual that Delia go immediately and utilize everything in her
repertoire. She had also heard rumours
– because what else did guards who stood around all day simply guarding do to
occupy their time but gossip? – that the newest prisoner had not moved under
her own power for more than three weeks.
As Delia approached
the cell the guard moved to open the door automatically. Carter was at the end of an otherwise empty
hallway, so there was no question about who Delia was here to see.
The minute she
stepped through the door Delia was assaulted by the smell. The coopery tang of blood, the musk of
sweat, and other far less pleasant aromas.
And, most disconcertingly, the smell of death. It was something most people would never be able to detect, that
most would deny existed, but Delia had been a medic for long enough to know
that after people gave up and started to decline, a certain kind of smell would
settle around them as if heralding death’s arrival.
“Carter?” Delia
spoke softly and gingerly entered the room but quickly gave up as she realized
there was little floor space not covered in dried blood. As she crouched by the pitiful lump in the
centre of the room, Delia felt her gut clench.
Carter had yet to so much as twitch.
Delia gently placed
her hand on Carter’s shoulder and pulled her onto her back, fearing Ryland had
gone too far and waited too long and this would fall on her shoulders. But Carter let out an incoherent groan and uncurled
her body slightly, almost making Delia pass out from sheer relief.
Carter’s eyes
cracked open the tiniest bit, the left essentially sealed shut from dried
blood, and she stared disbelievingly at the medic, “G’way.”
Delia shook her
head, “I can’t do that.” She said as she started pulling materials from her bag
and assessing the woman before her.
Carter appeared to be dangerously underweight, her pallor was grey and
sickly, and she looked on the whole as if she wouldn’t even be capable of
raising her head.
“You haven’t been
eating,” Delia said, partly in accusation and partly to get the woman to simply
engage.
“So?”
“So, you need to
eat. Your body can’t heal itself if you
don’t give it fuel.”
“That stuff tastes
like crap,” Carter croaked out in a sandpaper voice.
Delia rummaged for
her water contained and lifted it to Carter’s lips, going through the slow and
tedious process of providing a little at a time. Carter made no effort to help with the task, but she didn’t
refuse it either. When that was done
she set to cleaning and bandaging every cut and scrape she could find,
irrigating and draining the still infected leg wound, and cursing Ryland the
entire time.
As she prepared a
syringe she noticed Carter eyeing it suspiciously so Delia smiled, trying to be
reassuring, “It’s antibiotics and fever medication. I’m also going to give you some vitamin boosters and start a
round of internal nutrition.”
Carter blinked at
that last bit, her confusion clear, so Delia explained the process that ended
up being very similar to an IV, only the Vantari had more substantial stuff to
dump into your bloodstream.
Delia at last
turned her attention to the mess that was Carter’s face, carefully cleaning off
all the crusted blood and uncovering the extensive cuts Ryland had
inflicted. They were showing signs of
infection as well, and many of them reopened to ooze blood as Delia tended to
them. “I’m going to have to put
stitches in here,” she said.
Carter closed her
eyes and sighed, “Whatever.”
Delia rearranged
herself at Carter’s head when something caught her eye. The floor in front of where Carter had been
facing was covered in swirls and symbols Delia had never seen before. “What’s all that?”
“What?”
“On the floor,”
Delia said.
Carter’s eyes
popped open and she stared at the ceiling, “Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look
like nothing,” Delia said, happy to continue any line of conversation that kept
Carter talking.
“It’s nothing of
use.”
“I see,” Delia said
as she started her stitches, “well, why don’t you tell me why you’ve given up,
then?”
Carter was silent,
and Delia interpreted it as simple stubbornness and a lack of desire to discuss
it. But she kept prodding, until Carter
finally spat out, “Why the hell do you care?”
Delia paused and
then continued softly, “I don’t like to see people give up.”
“Funny, I would
have thought you wouldn’t like to see people tortured!”
“I thought that
went without saying,” Delia said.
“Not in my world!”
Carter said, her ire rising quickly, “You don’t get to comment on it until
you’ve been in this room. Until that
door doesn’t open for you, no matter how long you bang on it! So just shut up already!”
Delia was silent
until she finished her stitches and pulled away. “You must believe your friends are looking for you. Do you have nothing to live for?”
Carter squinted her
eyes closed, the action pulling on the stitches, “If you care so fucking much,
why don’t you do something about it!”
When Delia was silent, Carter waved her good arm viciously in the air,
“No? Then get the fuck out of my cell!”
Delia gathered her
things rapidly and left, knowing her presence would do little else but irritate
and further enrage Carter, which was the opposite of what the medic
wanted. As the guard closed the door
behind her, Delia couldn’t help but hear Carter’s words in her head over and
over again.
Why didn’t she do
something about it?
---
Day 42
Teal’c pushed off
from the wall the second Baal stepped into the hallway. “Have you learned anything?”
Baal shook his
head, “Not yet,” he said, speaking of their Vantari prisoners, “they are quite
resistant to talking.”
“You must make them
talk,” Teal’c said.
Baal stopped
walking and turned to the Jaffa, “That’s what I’ve been doing.”
“You obviously have
not been trying hard enough,” Teal’c’s anger was obvious as he took a step
closer to Baal, staring him in the face.
“If you think you
can do a better job, then by all means,” Baal said, surprised when Teal’c
immediately turned on his heel and headed for the holding room. As he neared the door, Baal felt compelled
to yell out, “Just try not to kill them!”
Teal’c gave a vague
nod as the reached out for the handle, only to be stopped by hand on his
wrist. He turned to be met by Rene’s
earnest expression, “What are you doing, Teal’c?”
“Securing
information.”
“But like this?”
Teal’c turned to
face her fully, his eyebrow rising, “They are responsible for your husband’s
death. The massacre of hundreds of your
people. Do not tell me you do not hate
them.”
Rene shook her
head, “I do, Teal’c. But…are you really
advocating torture?”
“No,” Teal’c said,
“I am utilizing torture.”
Rene tugged on his
arm as he moved towards the door once again, “But that makes you no better than
them! Don’t you see that?”
“I do not
care! My only concern is that they
assist me in locating Colonel Carter.
Do you think she has escaped Vantari torture?”
“You’re talking
like rescuing your friend is going to make everything okay! You’ll still have to live with your
decisions after. Don’t do something now
that you’ll regret.”
Teal’c shook off
her restraining arm and reached for the door again, “I can accept anything if
it means Colonel Carter is returned to me.”
He pulled open the first door to the holding rooms and stepped through.
“And if she isn’t?”
Rene said, freezing him in his tracks, “You’re sacrificing your soul for
someone who might already be dead.”
Teal’c remained
frozen in the doorway for a long time before he lurched into motion again,
slamming the portal closed in Rene’s face without dignifying her question with
a response.
As he went through
the last door to the Vantari prisoners, Teal’c pushed everything else from his
mind. There wasn’t space for anyone or
anything else in this room except the questions he needed answered and the parts
of him that had been First Prime to Apophis.
Teal’c closed in on
the first of the Vantari prisoners who was scrambling backwards, making feeble
efforts to plead for his life. Despite
Teal’c’s best efforts to focus on nothing but his goal, he couldn’t help seeing
an image of a battered Colonel Carter doing much the same and being offered no
quarter.
---
Ryland stepped
through the door and set the radio on the floor before studying his
prisoner. She was in much the same
position he had last seen her in, and he felt like today was the day.
She had been
unusually defiant and unafraid of him, so unlike the others who tended to start
babbling in incoherent Wasi within a few days.
Ryland would freely admit that he’d enjoyed the challenge she presented
and had been invigorated by it.
But she had also
angered him like no other prisoner, and his temper had often gotten away from
him. Now he wanted to break her not
only for the victory it would assure, but also for the simple pleasure of
having won.
Ryland pulled Carter
up and leaned her against the wall, getting an irritated groan and a flicker of
eyelids. He crouched before her,
grabbed her chin and shook, “Come on now, time to wake up. You have work to do,” he said, retrieving
the radio and setting it beside him. He
fiddled with the dials, soon tuning into the band that picked up the
Resistance’s transmissions.
“What are they
saying?” Ryland prodded as she stared at him through squinted eyes, “If you
tell me I’ll leave you alone. You’ll
never see me again.” He waited in
silence as she continued to look at him with a blank stare. He was just starting to wonder if maybe he’d
rattled her brain one too many times when her eyes tracked to the radio.
Ryland kept himself
from reacting, but couldn’t help the surge of accomplishment that welled within
him. This was the first time she’d
acknowledged the radio. Every time
before she had only stared at him or some point on the wall or ceiling, giving
no indication that she even heard the transmissions.
As he watched,
Ryland noticed her suddenly leaning forward the tiniest bit as her eyes opened
fully for the first time in weeks. It
seemed to him that her breathing hitched once or twice and then it was all
over. She was turning her head to stare
him in the face, her eyes wide open and clear.
He was momentarily
stunned by the contrast of her blue eyes against her pale, grey, and dirty
face, and then by the fire in her regard.
She hadn’t looked at him like that in a long time. Except this seemed like more to him. She’d been defiant, angry, and almost cocky
before, but now her eyes burned with a pure fury and hatred that unsettled him.
Carter leaned
towards him a bit more, and Ryland found himself leaning back just the
slightest bit. She licked her cracked
lips, and then said so quietly he thought it might be his imagination, “Kiss my
ass, Ryland.”
That was it. Carter leaned back against the wall, still
staring at him with that intent look, and all Ryland could do was stare in
confused shock – at her declaration itself and hearing his name on her
lips. He’d never told her, and it
seemed to him like he’d just lost a particular battle because he still didn’t
know her name.
Then his anger
rose. This wasn’t supposed to
happen. She’d been on the brink. He knew she’d been at the
edge, mere seconds away from plunging over the other side.
Something had
changed. Something she’d heard had
caused a shift, and now he was back at the beginning only worse, because her
resolve seemed stronger than ever. And
Ryland was totally in the dark.
He had to battle
back the impulse to hit her. It was so
strong his arm twitched with the beginnings of the action. But he held back. He had to rethink his strategy, change his plan of attack. His traditional methods obviously hadn’t
worked, and Ryland knew the benefit of a good strategy.
So he did something
he rarely ever did. Ryland gathered his
radio and retreated from the cell, having lost the battle but still in control
of the war. He would win because now it
was more than simply tactical. It was a
matter of pride and reputation. Some
backwater Resistance hick wouldn’t defeat him.
Ryland would be
back.
---
Carter barely heard
Ryland enter the cell. She hardly
noticed as he pulled her upright, only taking passing interest in the
shockwaves of pain it sent through her protesting body. She didn’t hear him through the fireworks in
her head when he spoke, and only vaguely saw his lips move through her blurred
and fuzzy vision.
Then he flicked on
the radio, and Carter let the familiar tones of English and Goa’uld seep into
her hearing. They were the only
friendly voices she heard besides Delia’s, and it didn’t matter that they
weren’t speaking to her. They were
something that wasn’t Ryland, and pain, and death, and misery.
She let her eyes
drift to the radio and found herself contemplating opening her mouth and
repeating it all. It would be worth it
just so she’d be left in peace to sleep.
As she started thinking about how many people might die if she gave in
and weighed the pros and cons, a new voice broke into the chatter that rocked
Carter to her core.
“Team Beta Four,
relocate eight point two penrii east.
Scout for possible indications of Interests and Package.”
The message itself
meant very little to her, with its jargon and cryptic code words. It was the voice that mattered.
It was Teal’c. Carter would recognize it anywhere.
She’d missed him
the most, felt his absence the most keenly over her imprisonment. They had been joined at the hip after the
end of the world. He had been her rock
and her tether, and suddenly being without that had left her bereft.
Carter had long ago
started to think he must be dead. He’d
been her hope from the first day, but as time passed and the days all bled into
another until Carter didn’t know if it had been months or years, she’d feared
the worst. She knew he would do
anything to get her, but when it didn’t happen she’d lost her last kernel of
hope.
But now here it
was, offered up on a silver platter by the very man who’d stripped her of her
hope in the first place. And Ryland had
no idea. She turned to look at him,
letting the emotion that had been roiling in her gut and gaining ferocity since
Earth had been obliterated come to the surface, gratified when he pulled back.
“Kiss my ass,
Ryland,” she said, knowing it sounded weak and pathetic. But she dropped his name in the mix, feeling
like it demonstrated she still had some control and that she’d won this round.
He fled the room
and Carter leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. Teal’c was still out there. He was still her last hope and Carter would
be damned if she’d die on him now.
She couldn’t find
any reason to fight for survival for herself, so she’d fight for Teal’c. It was all she could do, but it was enough. It had to be.
---
Day 43
“I can’t believe
you did that,” Gavin said for what Teal’c was sure the thousandth time in the
last day, “don’t you think it was a little premature?”
“No,” Teal’c said,
just as he had every other time Gavin had asked.
“But-“
Teal’c hit the
table they were seated at and turned to glare at Gavin, “I will make my own
decisions in all things concerning Colonel Carter!”
Gavin seemed to
sink in his chair at bit at the harsh glare and icy edge to Teal’c’s
voice. He stayed that way until Baal,
Nadine, and Rene entered the room and took seats at the table.
Baal unrolled a map
and spread it before them, putting little metal markers atop it at various
points, “The scouts have returned. They
say it looks like a viable route here,” he indicated a narrow path through the
mountains that they’d had to add to the map by hand, “leading up to here,” Baal
pointed to another section, a plateau about a hundred feet above the Vantari
compound.
“They reported
minimal guards and gun placements,” Baal continued, adding a few more markers,
“but the ones that do exist are going to be tricky. And there’s the issue of communications,” Baal paused to check
that they were all still following him.
Nadine leaned over
the map to get a better look then glanced at Baal, “Communications?”
“Any attack we make
on these positions,” Teal’c said as he pointed to the two turrets, one in the
mountains above the path’s entrance and the other perpendicular to the first
get anyone approaching, “will require some time to complete, enough for the
Vantari to signal our approach to the compound.”
“And if that
happens,” Baal broke in, “it won’t work.
The whole attack hinges on surprising them. We need to catch them unprepared and not give them any
opportunity to relocate their prisoners.”
Rene nibbled on her
lip as she gazed at it all, aware she wouldn’t be involved but wanting to
contribute something, “Isn’t there someway to take out their
communications? A signal tower we could
destroy or…some way to disrupt their radio band?”
Everyone looked at
Rene and fell into silence as they thought it over. It wasn’t long before eyes shifted to Baal who was deep in
thought, rubbing his goatee as he mulled it over. Finally, he nodded.
“There might be a way,” he said, “but I’ll need some time to set it up.
“Meanwhile,” he
looked to Gavin, “pick out who you want to run this mission with. And Teal’c, make sure everyone Gavin chooses
is proficient in rappelling. We don’t
want to lose half the team before we even breach the compound. That’s it.”
Baal watched as everyone filed out, not surprised when Teal’c remained
seated.
“How long do you
require?” Teal’c asked.
“As long as it
takes,” Baal said as he gathered up the map and markers, “I understand your
frustration, Teal’c, but we’ve waited this long. I really don’t think another few days are going to make a
difference.”
“Colonel Carter
could die in another few days,” Teal’c stood and resisted the urge to start
pacing.
“Or she could
already be dead,” Baal turned and raised his hands, stopping Teal’c from
launching into an indignant tirade, “Hear me out, please. I appreciate your position, I understand it,
and I admire your dedication. I really
do. But you must consider the possibility that Colonel Carter has not survived.
If you do, and the worst comes to pass, you’ll be better prepared for
it.”
Teal’c didn’t want
to hear what Baal was saying and consider the possibility. Just the possibility was enough to destroy
him and the reality would be enough for him to give up completely. “I do not think you understand.”
“The Goa’uld were
always fascinated with the Taur’i’s loyalty to each other, their willingness to
sacrifice many to save just one person.
It was so unusual for us,” Baal shook his head and smiled a bit, “But
I’ve gained an appreciation for that kind of dedication.”
There was something
in Baal’s voice that Teal’c had heard a few times before when they had just
spent time talking. It was a habit
they’d fallen into since Baal was the only way who knew Colonel Carter, what
they meant to each other, and their history.
But Baal had always managed to steer the conversation mostly clear of
himself.
“You care for these
people,” Teal’c said as realization hit him.
Baal nodded after a
long pause, “I do.”
“Why are you doing
this?” Teal’c finally asked the question he’d never touched on before, the one
Rene said Baal had yet to answer for any of them.
Baal pursed his
lips, hesitated a moment, then retook his seat while motioning Teal’c to his,
“I found that helping people had its own kind of validation, and its own kind
of power. Different from what you get
by making people fear you. It’s more…”
He faltered as he ran out of words to describe it.
“Meaningful,”
Teal’c said, taking up the sentence, well aware of who he was talking to and
that despite how different he was, Baal would still fear sounding silly. “It is meaningful and gratifying.”
Baal nodded in
agreement, “I just fell into it at first.
There was a cave-in on the planet I was living on. Some people were trapped and I was just
there. I helped without thinking about
it and it felt good. So the next time I
saw a situation I could make better I did so consciously.
“When the Vantari
attacked, I knew these people wouldn’t have a chance by themselves. And you can’t do much better than the leader
of an underground resistance when you’re one of the good guys,” Baal grinned at
Teal’c and stood.
“Now get out of
here. I have work to do if you want to
go after Colonel Carter in the next week.
Go!” He pushed Teal’c out of the
room and returned to the table, contemplating the intricacies of an
electromagnetic pulse generator.
---
Carter gathered
herself, balancing her weight carefully between her right arm and left leg as
she considered the logistics of standing.
It was something she hadn’t done in ages, and if she was going to start
fighting Ryland again – and maybe getting out of this pit – she’d need to
actually be able to stand.
Finally deciding it
wasn’t something she could do all under her own power, Carter shuffled herself
to the nearest corner with her good arm on the wall side. She planted her left boot on the floor,
testing to make sure it wasn’t going to slip in a pool of blood, and then
anchored her right hand against the wall.
Using those two
points to push off from, Carter slowly raised herself up. She didn’t get very far before she had to
put weight on her right leg. Carter
gently pressed down with that foot, slowly increasing the pressure and feeling
cautiously optimistic. It wasn’t until
she went to actually bend her knee that she had a problem.
A blinding spear of
pain shot up from her knee all the way to her hip, sending her crashing back to
the floor with a yell. Carter hunched
over the wound, gasping for breath while trying to breathe through the
pain.
When it passed she
pulled open the gap in her pant leg to get a look at the gunshot wound. She hadn’t seen it in forever and suddenly
it seemed vitally important that she know how bad it was.
The bullet hole was
smaller than it had been originally but it was still there, oozing just the
tiniest bit of blood and pus. The area
around it was swollen and red, and the whole area looked like something just
wasn’t right on the inside.
Carter probed it
for awhile, nearly bringing herself to tears on a few occasions, and then
decided she’d simply have to find a way to deal with it. She turned her attention to her already
shredded pant leg and ripped the rest off, binding her knee up to give it some
support. It hurt like a son of a bitch,
but eventually the pounding faded and levelled off.
Carter tested the
leg first so if it gave out again she wouldn’t fall over and, with her luck,
knock something else loose. It seemed
to hold better so she arranged herself the same way and tried again.
It took four more
tries before she’d gained her feet, huffing and red faced, every inch aching
and twinging, but she was upright. Her
head spun and Carter leaned against the wall, feeling like she’d just
double-timed it for ten miles. That was
when she realized how bad of shape she was really in.
But Carter had
never been a quitter. She’d resolved to
do this, so she was doing it. Carter
gave herself some time to catch her breath and then started taking small,
limping steps around the cell.
Her progress was
slow and at times she was dragging her leg more than lifting it, but Carter
couldn’t help but feel just a little bit invigorated by the whole thing. She still had some power over herself, some
control in this place. And the more she
worked, the more she’d get.
Ryland was going to
be in for a surprise when he got back.
---
Day 50
It had been ages
since Carter had seen anyone. No one
had entered her cell since Ryland had left the last time. At first, she’d been happy because it gave
her time to work on her mobility, scarf down every particle of food given to
her, and sleep. But as the time dragged
on she’d started wondering what exactly Ryland was planning for their next
encounter. Not to mention she was going
a little nuts without any contact with anyone else.
She’d started
hearing things awhile ago, but she wasn’t sure how much of it had to do with
her anticipation that the door would open, and how much was an indication she
was finally off her rocker.
For all Carter’s
anxiety and vigilance, she was asleep the next time Ryland opened the
door. She was shocked awake by a flood
of ice cold water. Carter jolted
upwards, sputtering and choking and gasping.
Two guards were on
her instantly, not giving her any time to react. They had her hands cuffed together and pulled her to her feet
before Carter could really register what was happening. As they dragged her from the cell, past a
smirking Ryland, Carter was filled with dread.
Ryland had never
taken her from the cell before. She
hadn’t stepped foot outside the door or seen anything but the barest glimpse of
the hallway since she was thrown in on that first day.
They entered
another room a few disorienting turns later and hauled Carter to the centre
where a chain hung from the ceiling.
The guards attached the chain to Carter’s cuffs and then disappeared
behind her, leaving Ryland circling like a shark.
Carter kept her
eyes on him as much as possible but didn’t give him the satisfaction of
straining her neck to see him behind her.
She relied on her hearing and peripheral vision to track him.
Ryland finally
stopped in front of her, carefully positioned out of range of her legs, and
smiled. “I’ve been thinking,” he said
as he raked his eyes over her dripping face, “that I’ve been too kind to you.” He nodded to someone behind Carter and took
another step back, an anticipatory look on his face.
Carter barely had
time to wonder who he was nodding at and what they were going to do before her
back was hammered with an all-consuming burning agony. Her knees buckled and a choked, gurgling
scream tore from her throat as her visions swam. The world went quiet, so Carter only saw Ryland’s face as he
started chuckling.
The first wave of
pain passed and Carter scrambled to regain her feet. Hanging from the chain was pulling on her shoulder so much it
felt like it was on the verge of popping out of the socket again. Just as she got to her feet Carter heard a
scraping and clanking sound just before her upper back was given the same
treatment.
Carter collapsed
into herself, her legs unable to support even the smallest amount of her
weight. She hung from the chain,
swaying slightly, her vision tunnelling and darkening to a small point that
encompassed Ryland’s face.
Ryland made a
motion and the person behind Carter came around to her front. That’s when Carter knew what had
happened. In his hand, the guard
carried what looked like a branding iron, its end still visibly hot. That’s when the smell of burnt flesh
registered in Carter’s brain.
Ryland was still
smiling as he grabbed her chin, forcing her shell-shocked eyes to meet his own,
“I’ll be back,” he said.
Carter heard the
door slam and closed her eyes, shaking her head to try and reclaim her
senses. Just as the world started to
come back into focus her shoulder gave up the fight and popped loose.
As she stood,
Carter finally let herself scream. For
Earth, for everything Ryland had done, and for herself.
---
“Teal’c,” Rene said
as she rounded the corner. When he
didn’t acknowledge her, Rene touched his arm, “Teal’c, come with me. Please.”
“I am waiting for
Baal,” Teal’c said, his eyes not once leaving their intent regard of the door.
“Baal is working as
fast as he can. You are making him
crazy by lurking out here.”
“It is his
motivation.”
“You’re slowing him
down,” Rene countered as she pulled on his arm, “He sent me to occupy you. Please.”
Teal’c reluctantly
allowed himself to be pulled away and led to the communal dining area. Rene pushed him into a seat and gathered
drinks for them both. Teal’c
mechanically picked his up and set it down, all without taking a drink. They stared at each other in total silence
for several minutes.
Finally, Rene
leaned forward as much as her stomach permitted, and smiled, “Relax.”
“This is taking too
long,” Teal’c said.
“It’s only been
seven days. What’s seven days when
you’d already waited forty-three?”
“Too many.”
Rene smiled gently
and patted his hand, “You know Baal’s doing it right and you need this for it
to work.” She paused for a moment and then
barged forward into a subject she’d never broached with him, “Tell me about
her.”
“Colonel Carter?”
“Of course Colonel
Carter,” Rene’s smile grew as Teal’c’s confusion became obvious.
“Why?”
“She’s obviously
very important to you. I’d like to understand
why.”
“You have never
asked before,” Teal’c said as he shifted and finally took a drink from his cup.
Rene shrugged, “I
thought maybe it was too raw before.
But now I’ll be meeting her in a few days and I’d like to be prepared.”
Teal’c fiddled with
his cup and then nodded, “What do you wish to know?”
Rene shrugged once
more and leaned back, placing her hands on her stomach, “Start at the
beginning. We’ll go from there.”
---
Day 51
Baal crouched in
the trees and set the EM pulse generator.
He confirmed its setting and signalled to Gavin, who waved back after a
second’s consultation with someone beside him.
With that
confirmation, Baal stood and heaved the generator through the trees into the
clearing. The throw held up and the
generator landed almost exactly in the centre, discharging the second it hit
the ground.
Moments later Gavin
charged up towards the gun placement that watched for people approaching the
path. His team found their boulders for
cover immediately and starting firing at the turret.
At the same time,
Teal’c and Nadine rappelled down the mountain to the turret that was above the
path, dropping grenades once they were within range. Teal’c landed mere seconds after the last exploded, mowing down the
single Vantari who had survived the blast.
Gavin’s people were
providing cover fire for Teal’c and Nadine with their constant shooting. Nadine had time to man the turret they’d
just taken, turning it on the other one with devastating results.
The moment she
began firing half of Gavin’s team broke off and charged for the turret,
throwing their own grenades. They
arrived uncontested under a hail of fire from Nadine and shot blindly into the
gun placement.
One of them poked
his head over the edge to get a look and waved a cease fire. Nadine stopped immediately, making the
clearing fall into eerie silence.
Baal emerged from
the trees and nodded at them all, “They didn’t send any communications back to
the compound. We’re clear.”
Gavin sent a signal
down and four people crested the hill shortly on two of the Resistance’s
vehicles. They split themselves between
the turrets to watch the rest of the team’s back.
Teal’c led the way
up the path. It was time to get Colonel
Carter.
---
Carter gasped, an
odd hiccupping sound issuing from her throat as Delia pulled at the remains of
Carter’s shirt, bits of which were burnt into the brands.
“Sorry, I’m sorry,
Carter,” Delia said, her voice choked with tears as they brimmed in her
eyes. She had entered the cell not
knowing what to expect since the room was hardly used. She’d found Carter hanging limply from the
chains, semi-conscious and in obvious agony.
Carter hiccupped
again and rolled slightly away from Delia’s hands, “I need…I need out of here,
Delia,” Carter gasped out and groaned as she pushed herself upright,
“Please. Help me.” Carter caught the medic’s hand and forced
eye-contact, “You too.”
Delia shook her
head, her tears spilling over, “No, I can’t.
I have-” She shook her head as she started digging in her bag, “I can’t
leave. But you can. Here,” Delia thrust one of the small Vantari
handguns into Carter’s lap and pulled out a needle, “Take that, and I’ll give
you this. It’s a stimulant. It should be enough to get you out of
here.” She rapidly detailed the way out
and injected the drug.
As Carter climbed
to her feet she studied Delia, “They’ll know, if I don’t…” Carter let the medic
finish the thought.
Delia sniffled and
wiped at her eyes, then nodded, “I know.”
Carter nodded and
smiled slightly, “Thank you.”
“You’re wel-” She
never finished her sentence. Carter
slammed a double-fisted blow into the side of the medic’s head and she dropped
like a stone. It felt good. It felt really good, even though Delia had
never been anything but kind to Carter.
Carter slammed on
the door three times and stood back.
The second it opened she charged forward, the stimulant racing through
her veins making the inactivity, her weight loss and weakness, her atrophied
muscles and the sheer agony consuming her body irrelevant. She fired as she moved, dropping the guard
immediately. Carter stopped only long
enough to grab his gun as well, holding it awkwardly with her left arm.
That path out was
relatively simple. Three turns, up two
flights of stairs, another turn, and then a straight shot to a door and
outside. Carter moved at a steady jog,
wanting to move fast before the drug quit but not so fast she attracted undue
attention.
She gunned down
everyone she ran into on sight, regardless of whether they wore a military uniform
or more civilian type clothes. Carter
didn’t care. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting out of this
pit once and for all, even if that meant killing people as innocent as Carter
was.
There were actually
very few people standing in her way but Carter didn’t give it much thought
until she approached the door outside and realized why. The sound of gunfire was obvious. Yells, screams, and orders filtered through
the door, in strident Vantari tones, Goa’uld, and another unfamiliar language.
The Vantari were
under attack. As Carter picked up her
pace she wondered if she could really be that lucky. Was Teal’c out there, his plan in motion at the same time she was
saving herself? It would be
serendipitous to the extreme. But
Carter was due for something to go her way.
She picked up her
pace, sure her salvation was just through those doors.
---
Teal’c snapped the
neck of the last Vantari sentry and gazed out over the courtyard that was the
compound’s entrance. It was filled with
vehicles and crates of supplies, but only a few patrolling guards.
Gavin motioned for
their sharpshooters to spread out, taking positions to cover the entirety of
the courtyard.
Nadine led her
people off in the other direction, setting their explosives in key structural
locations and around ventilation shafts.
Teal’c readied his
weapons, fingering their grips in a nervous motion uncharacteristic of
him. They were so close he could almost
taste it.
Baal was
coordinating it all, and when he gave the signal Teal’c was the first to stand
and leap over the edge of the roof, using his rappel line to slow his
descent. He landed among the crack of
the sharpshooters as the guards fell in heaps.
The others joined him before he’d taken a single step.
Teal’c and Baal
headed directly for the main doors ahead of them as the rest spread out to set
up crossfire. The duo dove behind a
stack of crates as the doors burst open, letting out a stream of confused
Vantari troops who were firing wildly.
The Resistance had
the advantage of set-up, surprise, and knowing who was where. Many of the Vantari fell soon upon exiting
the compound, but a few of the more seasoned soldiers got farther into the
courtyard. Then they ran into Teal’c
and Baal, a ferocious pair who took down anyone who got within their reach.
It wasn’t long
before the smart ones found cover and started taking pot shots at the
Resistance. But it was enough of a lull
in the fighting for Teal’c to decide a charge for the door was viable. He was just gearing up to move when the door
burst open again, making Teal’c hunker down in fear of more Vantari troops.
Except it was
Colonel Carter, covered head to foot in grime and blood, her clothes tattered
and almost nonexistent, but her face resolute as she shot down every Vantari in
sight.
Teal’c headed
towards her but a blur of movement knocked her down before he could yell out a
warning. A renewed spate of gunfire
pinned him down anew, having only made a few feet of progress. He was forced to watch.
---
Carter slammed through
the doors but almost stopped in her tracks.
The sun blinded her. She’d been
sensitive to light ever since she’d downloaded the repository. And she hadn’t seen the sun in…an
eternity. It felt glorious. But it stabbed at her eyes, making her squint
them shut.
But she’d caught a
glimpse of most of the courtyard and fired based on the mental image she held
in her head. She was scratching them
out in her mental map and advancing cautiously forward when she was suddenly
dragged to the ground, her weapon lost.
Carter saw him only
as a dark outline but that didn’t stop her from attacking. Her hands shot to his face, seeking out his
eyes and gouging at them with all her strength. She kicked with her legs, slamming her knees into his ribs just
as she had with Ryland, feeling something crack under the onslaught. The Vantari grunted and howled as her thumbs
found their mark and pressed.
As he writhed above
her Carter twisted and threw him off, scrambling up. But now she was disoriented, with no idea of her position in
relation to the bad guys. She didn’t
have time to figure it out before an arm was around her throat, pulling back
and cutting off her air.
Carter grabbed his
arm and pulled, kicking backwards at her assailant until he lifted her off her
feet and swung her around. Carter
released his arm and started groping for something else, found his sidearm the
moment her eyes landed on him.
Teal’c. He was crouched behind cover, his anxious
eyes glued to Carter, unable to help.
“TEAL’C!” Carter yelled his name, half in joy and half
in a desperate plea for him to get over to her immediately. She kept her eyes on him as she finally
pulled the Vantari’s gun from his leg.
Carter jammed the
weapon backwards into the Vantari’s gut and squeezed the trigger. She fell forward onto her hands and knees
but pushed up immediately, launching forwards towards Teal’c, the only thing
she could see, the only thing that mattered.
She thought maybe
she shot a few more people, maybe knocked a few over, but Carter couldn’t be
sure. She could feel herself waning,
the stimulant having almost run its course, but Carter knew if she could get to
him everything would be okay.
---
Teal’c watched as
Colonel Carter fought off her first attacker.
His concern shot through the roof as she regained her feet and seemed
unsure about what to do next. He almost
swallowed his tongue when she was grabbed again, and only Baal’s timely arrival
from Teal’c’s rear and quick grab to pull the Jaffa back into cover kept him
from getting shot.
He almost bolted
again when she yelled his name, but he waited for his moment. The second the Vantari fell he was moving,
running pell-mell towards a stumbling Colonel Carter. They met in the middle, him catching her as she literally
collapsed in his arms.
Teal’c swept her up
and turned, running for a wildly waving Gavin who was standing next to a
Vantari transport. The rest of the
Resistance collapsed around Teal’c and Baal, providing cover and holding back
the Vantari.
Gavin jumped into
the driver’s seat as Teal’c climbed into the rear with a half-dozen other
Resistance and Baal. The rest were
leaving the way they’d come.
As Gavin floored
the transport out of the courtyard Nadine triggered the explosives, causing
chaos in the courtyard and making the Vantari choose between one escaped
prisoner and their collapsing upper two floors.
The Resistance kept
up a steady stream of fire, discouraging those few Vantari who decided to chase
down the transport. They kept a
vigilant watch as Gavin steered the transport down the bumpy road.
The entire way,
Teal’c never once took his eyes off the unconscious Colonel Carter.
---
Gavin parked the
truck and Teal’c eased his way out of the back with Baal’s steadying hand. They headed inside immediately, pushing
their way through the curious throngs of people who wanted to know what had
happened and see this woman they’d launched a major effort to rescue.
Rene met them at
the entrance to the main room and guided them down a series of hallways to a
small cleared out storage room that was now filled with a double-mattressed
cot, numerous blankets, water, and everything else she’d been able to scrounge.
Teal’c eased
Colonel Carter gently onto the cot, taking great care to arrange her
limbs. He smoothed her hair back out of
her eyes and took his first good look at her.
He hadn’t noticed her condition on the way back, too enraptured with the
reality of her living body in his arms.
But now he had the
luxury of time and he felt his anger building anew. Colonel Carter was seriously underweight; she looked as thin and
frail as Teal’c had ever seen her. Her
clothing – what remained of it – hung off her frame, the odour wafting from
them making him crinkle his nose.
Perhaps most
distressing were her wounds. The cut
along her left eye that had been a healed scar the last time Teal’c had seen it
had been reopened and extended, the line now slashing diagonally through her
eyebrow and up to her forehead, coming dangerously close to bisecting her
eyelid, and extending towards her temple.
The whole thing now looked like a cockeyed X.
He moved his eyes
down her body, stopping at her shoulder as he remembered the odd way the limb
had hung and the awkward way she’d used it.
He probed the area, pulling back the remains of her T-shirt, but didn’t
see anything out of place.
Next was the
seeping wound above her right knee, obviously infected and far more serious
than it looked. Colonel Carter had been
limping severely, and Teal’c had seen enough battle field injuries to know
Colonel Carter’s was both very old and in a bad place.
“I’ve sent for our
doctor,” Baal said softly, breaking into Teal’c’s stewing thoughts. “She doesn’t look very good.”
“Colonel Carter
will recover,” Teal’c said, his voice resolute, leaving no room for Baal to
contradict him.
Anything that might
have been said next was halted by a shift and a groan from Carter.
---
Carter was vastly
familiar with waking up out of unconsciousness. She didn’t want to even consider how many times she’d done it
while in Ryland’s company. But this
time was different, except Carter’s sluggish brain wasn’t quite up to putting
together why that difference was significant.
All she knew was
that she was laying on something so soft, it felt like a feather bed compared
to the cold hard floor of her cell. And
she wasn’t cold, but she still hurt like hell.
And there was a strong tingling, itching feeling taking over her skin
that she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d seen Teal’c.
Teal’c!
Carter’s eyes
popped open and she sat bolt upright as it came back to her in a fuzzy
blur. She’d escaped, she’d seen
Teal’c. Hadn’t she? As her eyes focused they landed on Teal’c’s
haggard face, his gold emblem and single streak of grey hair distinguishing him
from anyone else she knew.
A choked near sob
issued from Carter’s throat as she drank in the sight of him and then threw
herself at him, ignoring the aches it triggered in her body. He wrapped his arms around her, engulfing
Carter totally in a hug so sublime she felt something slide back into place,
relieving an ache that had been there ever since their separation.
She buried her face
in the crook of his neck, inhaling his sent and memorizing the feel of him
under her hands, imprinting it all in her memory. Teal’c had always given the best hugs, and it had bothered Carter
immensely one day when she’d realized that she not only couldn’t remember them,
but Teal’c’s face had become an indistinct blur. With that thought Carter pulled back and cupped the side of his
face, just staring into his eyes.
Carter gradually
became aware of the fact that they weren’t alone in the room. When she pulled her eyes from Teal’c’s she
raised them unerringly to Baal’s, having been aware that there was a Goa’uld in
the room since she’d awoken. She gave
him a quick once over and then moved on the pregnant woman lurking by the
door. She felt an odd surge of
apprehension – she didn’t know this person, who they were, what their motives
were. That made them an unknown
question mark, and unknowns equalled danger in Carter’s mind.
So she forced her
eyes back to Teal’c’s face, smiling tremulously at him, “I…you…” Carter’s
throat closed up and her eyes stung as her emotions welled.
Teal’c
understood. He smiled back, cupping
Carter’s face in a mimic of her previous motion, and nodded. “Indeed,” he said quietly, a one-word
affirmation of all the emotion she’d been unable to express. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to her
forehead for a long moment.
A knock at the door
shattered the scene and had Baal and the pregnant woman moving. The door opened and another man came in, a
bag slung over his shoulder and another in his hand. He set his burdens on the table and puttered around for a moment
pouring water and taking out supplies.
Carter felt that
apprehension growing again. Another
person she didn’t know, and all of them crammed in this tiny room that had only
one way in and out. The walls started
to close in and her breathing increased as her eyes started flicking about,
looking for a way out.
Teal’c noticed
immediately, his hands capturing hers as he softly called her name, “Colonel
Carter, you are safe.”
Baal took notice
too and immediately ushered the pregnant woman outside. He came back a moment later and kneeled
beside Teal’c, capturing Carter’s eyes but carefully not touching her. “Colonel Carter, this is our doctor,” he
said, motioning to the other man, “his name is Marcel. He’s been part of the Resistance from the
beginning. I trust him.”
Carter had to hold
back a hysterical burst of laughter at that.
Baal trusted him. What did that
mean to her? That a Goa’uld trusted
someone? But Baal seemed different and
Teal’c had no issues with the man. She
was still together enough to realize something was going on that she was
missing. So she nodded in
acknowledgment of his words, but still couldn’t stop from feeling like this
Marcel was going to stab a knife in her back at any second.
“Now, do you want
me to stay or go?” Baal posed the question without any inflection in his voice,
making it clear it was totally Colonel Carter’s choice.
Carter eyed him and
tightened her grip on Teal’c’s hands as she switched her focus to him. He was staring at her with a look of total
acceptance and support. Baal had
expressed no preference. Marcel was
hovering in the background, wringing his hands in a gesture that jangled
Carter’s nerves but not influencing the conversation in any way.
The room would
definitely feel bigger without Baal in it, and her skin would stop singing with
his presence. But he was familiar, not
nearly as much as Teal’c but leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else. And if something went wrong, would Teal’c be
enough? She eyed Marcel again, deciding
he looked fairly wimpy, but appearances were no judge.
“Stay,” Carter
finally rasped out. Baal nodded and
took one step back, clearing room for Marcel since Teal’c obviously wasn’t
budging an inch.
Marcel knelt before
Carter, his hand wringing finally stilled, and cleared his throat. “So, we need to…ah, ahem,” he cleared his throat
again, his hands fluttering vaguely in the air as if he didn’t know what to do
with them, “get those clothes off and clean you up.”
Carter stared at
him in blank confusion, the words simply not registering. It was Teal’c who reacted, standing and turning
to face the other two men. “I will
assist Colonel Carter. You will both
leave and not return until I summon you.”
They both exited without a word, the door closing softly, and it was
just them.
Carter sagged on
the cot, feeling like she could breathe again.
She accepted Teal’c’s wordlessly offered hand and stood, leaning against
him for support as he loosened her waistband.
Then she was sitting again as he pulled off her boots and socks, both of
which had such an accumulation of grime and blood Carter was sure they weren’t
fit for anything except being burnt.
Then he moved on to her shirt, cutting it away where it was burnt into
the four brands on her back, his only outward reaction an angry hiss and a few
muffled curses.
She sat quietly and
accepting as he wrung out a cloth and started wiping down her skin. He started with her face, moving down her
neck to her arms and onward. He took
great care, gently moving her limbs and wiping away the grime with an
expression of such intent it seemed lifted directly from Daniel’s face.
Teal’c moved to a
side table and rummaged around, coming back with a set of clothes that looked
very much like what he was wearing. He
helped her into the pants, rolling up the pant leg to expose her wound. The shirt was more tricky, and they settled
for Carter laying face first on the cot so Marcel could tend to her back first.
Both men re-entered
the room, and as Marcel started working on her back while carefully explaining
every move he made, Teal’c remained seated on the floor at Carter’s head,
gripping her hand and murmuring quiet reassurances.
Baal remained
standing behind Teal’c but still in Carter’s field of vision, giving the
impression he was watching over everything Marcel did to ensure nothing was
amiss. She felt better having him
there, a silent sentinel, while Teal’c anchored her in the here and now.
It could just as
easily have been Delia moving around tending Carter as she was laid out in
agony. But Teal’c’s face and Baal’s
presence, and their combined naquadah tingle, made that possibility a total fiction. She had imagined Teal’c’s presence on
occasion – hallucinated him would be more accurate – but not once had the
tactile sensation she associated with him been present. Feeling it now, all the more heightened
because of Baal, told Carter she really was safe.
It was a good
feeling.
---
Teal’c was only
peripherally aware of Marcel’s actions as he tended to Colonel Carter. He would get an update from the doctor
later. Right now all he cared about was
easing her obvious discomfort and anxiety.
He was appalled at
her physical condition, the marks on her back especially. It made him wish he’d killed more Vantari
during the assault. But more than that,
he was enraged about the already apparent mental damage the last fifty-one days
had caused.
Colonel Carter had
always been fiercely independent, almost to the detriment of her own
well-being. She had been fearless and,
under the right circumstances, reckless. Seeing her now accepting Baal’s
presence without any questions or demands about his intentions simply because
he was something she knew unnerved Teal’c.
Seeing her so off put by the mere presence of a single, unknown pregnant
woman further fuelled his unease.
Teal’c well knew
the effects prolonged imprisonment and torture had on people. It was all designed to demoralize people,
break them down, strip them of their power and sense of prerogative. He’d seen formerly functional and stable
people reduced to sobbing, muttering lumps.
He’d seen people consumed by delusions and sensory hallucinations,
struck by panic attacks and raging doubts and paranoia.
He knew Colonel
Carter would not walk away from this encounter unscathed. But he was still shocked at her
condition. He would have to be vigilant
for any problems, and do his best to accommodate her needs. Support and understanding were all he could
offer, and Teal’c hoped it would be enough.
---
Gavin looked down a
hallway and, seeing no one, continued down the main corridor. He knew the room Rene had found was back
here somewhere, he just had to-
Ah! Gavin turned sharply and nodded at Rene as
she turned to see who was coming. He
stood beside her, leaning back against the wall and staring at the door, “They
still in there?”
“Yeah,” Rene said.
“Marcel, too?”
Rene nodded.
Gavin licked his
lips and stuck his hands in his pockets, “She didn’t look too good. I didn’t see much, but…”
Rene nodded again,
“I think it’s pretty bad.”
Gavin turned his
head to stare at her profile, hearing something in her voice, “And?”
Rene shrugged, “I
don’t know. The way Teal’c spoke, I
guess I was just expecting…I don’t know.”
Gavin smiled
slightly and nudged her shoulder, “The woman just escaped two months of
captivity, give her a chance to be impressive.”
“Yeah,” Rene said
and the paused a moment, “One thing’s for sure, they care about each other a
lot. When she woke up it was like the
rest of the world just fell away. I
felt like a voyeur.”
“Hm,” Gavin
murmured as he thought back to the courtyard battle. He’d been fighting to secure a transport. Since it had always been in their plan to
commandeer a Vantari vehicle, not getting one would put a serious kink in
things.
He hadn’t known
Colonel Carter had burst onto the scene until he’d heard her wild yell. Gavin had spun around, the combination of
desperation, resolve, and frailty in that single word commanding his
attention. He’d never heard Teal’c’s
name inflected with so many layers of meaning and emotion. And then he’d watched her headlong, determined
rush towards Teal’c who’d been equally ferocious, and been stunned. Here was a woman who by all accounts looked
to be half-dead, but she’d bowled over or killed the six Vantari who’d gotten
in her way like they weren’t even there.
“I know what you
mean,” Gavin finally said as he shook off his reminiscence, “I’d hate to stand
between those two. It’s asking for
trouble.”
The door opened
then, Marcel leading the way out, followed by Baal and, after a moment,
Teal’c. The five of them gathered in a
small circle and all eyes turned to Marcel who was wringing his hands again.
“What is Colonel
Carter’s condition?” Teal’c finally prompted when it seemed the doctor wasn’t
going to open the conversation.
“Ah, yes,” Marcel
cleared his throat and shifted his feet nervously, “her leg is infected. I’ve started her on something to clear that
up. She’s severely underweight and
dehydrated, so we need to keep an eye on that.
We’re going to have to clean and redress her back regularly to keep it
from getting infected,” Marcel paused and flicked his eyes between Baal and
Teal’c.
“I will see to
that,” Teal’c said firmly, “you will leave the necessary supplies.”
“Ah,” Marcel
stammered and looked at Baal, getting a nod in return, “Alll…alright.”
“What of Colonel
Carter’s mobility in her leg and shoulder?” Teal’c pressed the doctor, wanting
to get the big questions out of the way first so he could return to Colonel
Carter. She was sleeping now, barely
able to keep her eyes open, but he did not want her to awaken alone.
“Well, I can’t
really say without having seen her walking and using her arm. But the wound looks old and like something
healed incorrectly inside. As for her
arm, if you could find out what happened that would…be really helpful,” Marcel
finished quietly, his voice almost fading away at the end in the face of
Teal’c’s stone cold expression.
Baal patted the
doctor’s shoulder, “Thank you, Marcel.
You may go now.”
The doctor nodded
and scurried away as fast as possible.
Teal’c watched, the sour look still on his face, and turned back to
Baal, “I do not like him.”
“He’s the best we
have, believe me. He had a rough time
when the Vantari first arrived, but he’s a good doctor.”
Teal’c huffed an
annoyed breath, “Colonel Carter does not like him.”
Baal sighed, “I
don’t imagine Colonel Carter will like many people right now,” he said,
ignoring the look Teal’c shot him and ploughing ahead, “We’ll talk later. For now, go back and be with her. I’ll have someone bring some food by in a
few hours.”
Baal turned to
Gavin and Rene as Teal’c re-entered the room, “As for you two, spread the
word. No one is to enter that room
without the express permission of Teal’c, Colonel Carter, or myself. Now, are the others back?”
Gavin nodded, “Just
a little while ago. We did well. We only lost two, and four others were
injured, but it wasn’t anything serious.
According to our scouts, the compound is looking pretty bad. There was a major Vantari movement out of it
about an hour after we left. We have
someone shadowing them to get a bead on their new base camp.”
“Good,” Baal nodded
and started herding them down the hall, “I think a celebration is in order.”
---
Teal’c re-entered
the room and folded his body down at Colonel Carter’s side, gently clasping her
hand. She was laying on her stomach
since putting pressure on her back irritated the brands.
His eyes drifted to
the bulk of bandages visible under her shirt and he felt his anger start to
rise again. He couldn’t get past
that. He couldn’t imagine how it had
felt and he couldn’t stop thinking about it because they were obviously her
most recent injuries. And to add
further insult to injury, they weren’t just simple burns but what he recognized
as the Vantari crest, now branded into Colonel Carter’s skin.
Each one was about
three fingers wide and four tall. It
featured some kind of bird flying straight at whoever was looking at the crest,
flying above a shield that had a Vantari word arching across the middle, all overtop
the twisting and curling braches of some kind of tree. Teal’c had seen it in colour, stamped on the
boxes of supplies they frequently stole, and he’d decided once that, for
homicidal world-destroyers, it was a nice looking crest.
But not
anymore. Now it represented violence
and violation, a symbol of the last two months. All Teal’c could be happy for was that they weren’t in any place
Colonel Carter would regularly see them.
He pulled his eyes
and his thoughts away from that, focusing instead on Colonel Carter’s peaceful
face, simply absorbing her presence. He
had missed her, more than he thought possible.
Teal’c knew that he would have a hard time leaving her side now, and he
hoped she would understand and tolerate him.
As the minutes
slipped by, Teal’c found himself fixating on a particular bruise at her right
temple. It was the only place he could
look at and not be reminded of the horror of her imprisonment. A bruise was fairly innocuous. It didn’t reveal the violence visited upon
her like the angry cut on her face, and it wasn’t in a spot that made her
weight loss noticeable.
So he stared at
that bruise, mentally going through everything he wanted to tell her. Colonel Carter had always thrived on facts
and information, things she could quantify and categorize. He would tell her everything, not sparing a
single detail, because it would make her feel better.
When she finally
stirred and opened her eyes to stare groggily at him, Teal’c smiled. Carter blinked and pushed herself up,
leaning against the wall, never once breaking her stare.
Teal’c wordlessly
reached behind him to the tray of food that had been dropped off sometime
before and handed it to her. Carter
stared at it like it was going to bite her and then looked back at him.
“Colonel Carter,”
he finally broke their silence, almost choking on her name and seeing a similar
reaction on her face, “you must eat.
Please. It is better than it
looks.”
Carter turned back
to the food and picked up her fork, taking a tentative bite. The second the food hit her tongue her stomach
rumbled and growled, and the tray was empty within minutes.
Carter stared at
the blanket on her legs, fingering a loose thread, and asked the question she’d
been dreading, “How long?”
Teal’c had to lean
forward to hear her but responded immediately, “Fifty-one days.”
Carter made a
choking gasp as she reached out for him.
Teal’c moved to the cot, sitting beside her as she almost crawled into
his lap, and held her as her body shook.
He found himself rubbing her back lightly, automatically adjusting for
the burns, falling back on the pattern they’d developed long ago.
She was gripping
his shirt in clenches fists, her head burrowed into his shoulder, but
eventually her body relaxed, the awful tension bleeding away. But when he looked down at her face her eyes
still had that dark shadow lurking in their depths, her face a haunted look he
feared would never disappear.
“Talk to me,”
Carter whispered, shifting her arms into a loose hug instead of a desperate
grip.
So Teal’c
spoke. Everything he’d arranged in his
head came spilling out. He started with
Baal, sharing the anecdotes and history he’d learned from the Goa’uld, wanting
to alleviate any fears she may have about duplicity on his part, even though
she seemed completely unconcerned. Then
he moved on to everything he’d done, from his meeting with Rene to the moment
they’d seen each other in the courtyard.
As the narrative
went on Teal’c felt something fundamental straighten itself out as his world
righted itself. Everything might not be
perfect, and they still had a ways to go before they got back to where they’d
been, but they were together now. And
that counted for a lot.
---
Day 53
It was dark. Cold.
Small. And there was something
lurking in the shadows, just beyond her field of vision.
So she turned and
ran. Except there was nowhere to
go. The walls started moving together,
closing in, grinding stone against stone.
She whirled,
frantic for a way out. Pushed against
the walls, pounded on them until her knuckles bled.
Then it just
stopped. All-consuming silence
fell. It slithered into her ears,
pounded against her hearing. Silence
could be deafening.
And then, a
chuckle. Slight, distant at first. But it grew, louder and closer until it was
a roaring, mocking laugh. It filled her
head, blotted out all thought and reason.
And then there was just fear, and hatred, and fury.
The walls were
gone. She took a step, then
another. And met blinding agony from an
unseen source. She turned, tried
another way. But it was the same, no
matter where she turned, there was no way out.
Except she needed
out. She had to get out. She was going to die here. So she steeled herself and struck out,
running blindly and unheedingly into the dark.
It was sheer
torture. Every nerve throbbed and sung
with fire. But she ran. And just as a glimmer of light appeared
ahead of her, it became too much and she collapsed. Folded into herself, a ball of misery, with only that mocking
laugh to keep her company and herald death’s arrival.
Carter jolted awake
and up, almost out of the cot if not for Teal’c’s steadying hands on her
shoulders. She stared at him, gasping
to catch her breath, beads of sweat rolling down her face.
It had been like
this every time she’d managed to sleep for more than a few hours. She would wake, shaking and terrified, sure
she was still in that cell and Ryland was just around the corner. And every time, Teal’c had been there, his
gentle hands and calm face assuring her that this was reality.
“Teal’c,” she
choked his name out between breaths and squeezed his arms, needing to see,
feel, and hear him.
“I am here,” he
said, moving to sit beside her while reaching for the bowl and cloth he kept on
the bedside table. He wiped her brow
and smoothed back her sweat-soaked hair.
Carter closed her
eyes and leaned into his solid presence, never as grateful for him as she was
after one of her nightmares. She had
woken once and Teal’c hadn’t been there at her bedside but across the room in
another chair. All she’d seen was this tiny
room and the partially open door, bolting for it before anything else could
register. She’d ran straight into Baal
who’d been dropping off food, sending the tray clattering to the floor. He’d grabbed her on instinct and the surge
of tingling itching had been enough to shatter Carter’s panic and let her
actually see him. Teal’s had always
been there, on the floor, directly in her line of sight every time after that.
“What time is it?”
Carter asked.
“It is mid-morning
of your second day here,” Teal’c said and shifted to stand, “If you are
prepared, I will retrieve your morning meal.” Carter hesitated, eyeing the room
nervously, “Or if you wish, you may accompany me.”
Carter gulped, the
thought of going out there with all those people, none of whom she knew, who
would be staring and asking questions…Carter shook her head. The mere thought was worse than the reality
of staying here.
“Very well,” Teal’c
said, handing a bundle from a table at the back of the room, “if you wish to
change.”
Carter nodded and
accepted the clothes, fingering them as he left. Carter sat unmoving, the silence growing and pressing on
her. She finally pulled at her shirt,
deciding despite the pain it would cause changing was preferable to doing
nothing.
---
Teal’c scowled as
he moved through the food line to retrieve Colonel Carter’s meal. She had spent most of her time here sleeping
and eating. She would awaken, he would
foist food upon her, they would talk, and she would sleep again. Marcel had said sleeping was good, that
Colonel Carter’s body had a lot of catching up to do, and food and rest were
the best things to foster healing.
But Teal’c
worried. In truth, he had done most of
the talking while Colonel Carter listened.
And when words failed him, and they often did because he had never
favoured them like Daniel Jackson, they would sit in silence. And while Colonel Carter was certainly no
Daniel Jackson either, she had never been as comfortable with prolonged
silences as she now appeared to be. It
was a marked change in character that Teal’c couldn’t help but notice.
And while he had
asked vague, non-pressuring questions about her captivity and her frequent
nightmares, she had said little. Teal’c
had never understood the Taur’i need to always talk about things, but he
recognized that it was a coping method and tactic to decompress.
Teal’c turned from
the line, his tray full, and found himself facing Baal. “Teal’c, how is she?”
“The same,” Teal’c
said.
Baal inclined his
head as they started walking out of the room, “Another nightmare?” They had talked about Colonel Carter’s
condition, because who else among them could understand about torture than a
former System Lord?
“Yes.”
“And I take it she
still isn’t talking about it?”
“That is correct,”
Teal’c said, his displeasure evident.
“You need to be
patient. She needs to do things on her
own terms, feel like she’s in control of her life again. And she may never wish to discuss it,” Baal
said.
“I am aware,”
Teal’c said as they paused at the exit to the dining area.
“You’re just
frustrated with her lack of progress.”
Teal’c eyed Baal,
considering the question he’d been mulling over for awhile, “It is indeed
frustrating. Colonel Carter’s physical
and mental condition combined make her recovery daunting.” He thought the best
thing for her mental and emotional health was to get involved with the
Resistance, meet a few people, and start living again. But that was hampered by her injuries and
the infection that had only just cleared itself up.
Baal nodded, detecting
a motive behind Teal’c’s words, “That’s right.”
“Are you in
possession of a healing device?”
Baal blinked,
“No. Believe me, if I was, I would have
gotten it out the first day. I’ve never
had one. Never had a reason to need
one.”
“That is unfortunate.”
“Teal’c!” A yell
from the dining area captured their attention.
They turned to see Rento, one of the people Teal’c had taught to make
landmines, waving at Teal’c.
Baal took the tray
from the Jaffa’s hands and nodded towards Rento, “You deal with that. I’ll take care of this. Maybe a different approach will get her
talking.” Teal’c hesitated for a long
moment. “Go on,” Baal said, “I’m not going to make it worse, I promise. Go!” He pushed Teal’c’s shoulder and then
turned, leaving the Jaffa no choice with his exit.
---
Carter looked up
when the door opened, surprised to see Baal with her tray and Teal’c nowhere in
sight.
Baal smiled and set
the tray on her lap, “Teal’c got waylaid.
I think someone had a problem with something he taught them. Eat up!”
Carter looked at
the tray, groaning at its contents. It
wasn’t her favourite, but the Resistance didn’t have a huge variety of food so
it was all there was.
“Come on now,” Baal
cajoled, seeing her look, “you need to eat.”
Carter grumbled under
her breath as she started eating, “You sound like Teal’c.”
Baal smiled, “There
are worse things.” He settled himself in his chair, crossing his legs and
watching her. It wasn’t long before she
took notice of his regard and returned his stare.
“What?”
“You may find this
hard to believe, but I’m happy you’re here,” he said.
“Really?” Carter
could hear the disbelief dripping off her question.
“Really. I’ve always…” he paused, considering his
word choice. Liked? Appreciated? “Had an appreciation for you.”
Carter finished
eating and pushed the tray aside, turning her full attention to Baal. “Are you and Teal’c…friends?”
“Well,” Baal
stalled as he thought about what to say, “we certainly aren’t enemies. We talk.”
“What exactly did
he tell you?” Carter asked.
“The basics. World destroyed, back in time,” Baal waved
his hand, as if dismissing the magnitude of his words. “What did he tell you?”
Carter straightened
at the tone and turned a measuring look on him, “Why? What do you think he left out?”
Baal pursed his
lips and leaned forward, acknowledging to himself that this might end up being
a miscalculation. But he very much
doubted Teal’c had dropped the four-hundred year bomb, and he was counting on
her curiosity still being in there somewhere.
“How about we swap?”
Carter swept the
room with her eyes, returning to him and leaning forward as well, “On one
condition.”
Baal smiled, “Of
course.”
“You take me on a
walk. Outside.”
Baal leaned
back. “I’m not sure that’s the best
idea.”
“Why? I’m not going to break. It’s just a walk. I need to get out of here.
See the sky, the sun. Breathe
fresh air. Touch some dirt. Anything except more stone buildings.”
Baal could hear the
earnestness in her voice and see it in her eyes. She was determined, and he had a suspicion she’d take it upon
herself soon if no one acquiesced.
She’d been a prisoner for two months, locked in a room probably no
bigger than this one. And wasn’t he
just saying she needed her sense of power back?
So he did the only
thing he could. “You have a deal.”
---
Carter felt her
heart pounding as Baal stepped forward to open the door, leaving her leaning
against the wall. She hadn’t been
outside in two months. It felt like
longer. An eternity. She didn’t count that brief moment during
her escape since she barely remembered it, between the stimulant, the pain, and
her single-minded focus on simply getting
out.
Baal came back from
propping the door open and held out his hand.
They’d already argued about this, Baal winning by saying if he brought
her back with extra bruises Teal’c would be livid. So Carter let him grasp her arm, supporting half her weight as
she hobbled out the door.
They only got three
steps outside before Carter stopped as the light breeze hit her face. She closed her eyes, just revelling in it,
and sucked down a deep breath that wasn’t laden with coppery blood or rock
dust.
She squinted open
her eyes against the sun, peering around her.
They were standing on dirt, some grass and trees a little ways off. Carter looked up, at a partially overcast
but blue sky, the sun gamely breaking through the clouds.
Carter looked back
at the ground and then went to kneel.
She almost fell over as her leg protested, but Baal steadied her without
a word. Carter ran her fingers through
the dirt, making small mounds and fingering a few pebbles. She kept them clasped in her hand as she
used Baal’s arm to pull herself up and headed towards the trees.
It wasn’t far, but
by the time Carter was leaning against the closest trunk she was breathing
heavily while her body protested keenly.
“Sit,” Baal said,
guiding her down to lean against the tree.
He collapsed opposite her, his head blocking the sun and allowing Carter
to open her eyes fully.
And then she was
struck by the ridiculousness of the situation, sitting in the grass on some
alien planet across from a Goa’uld, who hadn’t been anything but kind and
solicitous. Carter was laughing before
she realized it was her making that sound.
She saw the surprise and mild concern cross Baal’s face, which grew as
her laughter changed in tone so much even she could hear it.
It became almost
desperate, edged with hysteria, and strangled.
But she couldn’t stop it, because if she cut it off now Carter was sure
she’d shatter completely. So she
laughed and gasped until the pressure inside abated, and she didn’t feel like
she’d go crazy if she didn’t scream.
Carter leaned back
against the tree as she wound down and closed her eyes. Baal hadn’t said a word, and his face was as
normal as ever. And somehow, Carter
didn’t mind that he’d seen. She had
nothing to prove to him, no image to maintain, and he had no expectations of
her.
It was a freedom
she’d only ever had with Teal’c, and while that was still the case, sometimes
she felt like he’d become so wrapped up in her well-being that she worried a
display like that would make him think she’d totally lost her mind. And maybe she had, a little bit. It’d certainly been the general consensus on
Atlantis.
Carter opened her
eyes as she shifted and started pulling up tufts of grass, rolling them around
in her hand with her pebbles. “You
wanted to swap?”
Baal jolted himself
out of his thoughts and met her eyes, “Yes.”
“What is it you
think Teal’c hasn’t told me?”
Baal started toying
with his own stalks of grass while he mulled over how to start, “Do you know
where you are? Specifically? Or perhaps I should say, when?”
Carter turned that
over in her head. She hadn’t given it a
moment’s consideration once captured.
The where, when, why, or how hadn’t mattered much when she’d been
fighting for her life. But now that he
brought it up, her thoughts started whipping lightning fast through her head,
bringing together observations and overheard snippets of conversation of the last
two months, things she hadn’t even consciously noticed.
The Vantari had not
invaded Earth, that much she knew.
Their weapons and dress were also markedly different. Perhaps most intriguing was that they were
no longer as physically imposing. Carter’s
thoughts paused there. If what she and
Teal’c had done changed things enough to impact their physicality it would take
a significant amount of time to manifest in the population. It wouldn’t happen overnight.
She flicked her
eyes to Baal’s as she pieced together a rough guess, “How many centuries? Five?”
Baal was only
slightly surprised, both at her accuracy and the rapidity with which she’d come
to her conclusion, “Not quite. About
four hundred and sixty years.”
Carter chewed on
her lip for a moment then shrugged, “Huh.”
“You do not seem
bothered,” Baal said.
“What’s to get
bothered about? We’re here. The last two months happened. And we have a lot to do before we have to
worry about getting back,” Carter said as she shifted her position, little
bolts of pain making their way up her leg.
“Meaning?” Baal had
to ask, even though he was sure he knew the answer. If he could get her to say it out loud, it might help motivate
her to get involved.
A dark expression
dropped over Carter’s face, “Meaning I want to wipe these bastards out.”
“Hm,” Baal smiled
slightly and nodded, “I seem to recall you have an affinity for
electronics. How’s your Vantari?”
Carter eyed him,
hearing a tone in his voice, “Excellent.
Why?”
Baal allowed his
smile to blossom fully, “Because I have what you would call a Vantari laptop
that needs decrypting. It could be the
end of all this.”
Carter shifted her
leg again and leaned towards him a bit, her face eager, “Where?”
“Inside,” Baal said
as he stood and brushed himself off, “And it’s time we returned.” He hadn’t
missed her uncomfortable shifting and he wouldn’t be responsible for her leg
getting worse due to over-exertion.
Baal pulled Carter
up, catching her as her leg gave out, and wrapped his arm around her. “Come on, then. Back we go.”
Carter studied his
profile as they walked, trusting he wasn’t going to direct her into a tree, and
finally spoke, “You’ll have to tell me someday.”
“Tell you what?” He
glanced at her face for a moment then jerked his eyes back to their path.
“What turned you
into a Tok’ra,” Carter said, a smile breaking free.
Baal stopped short,
as she had expected, and whipped his head around to stare at her, “A Tok’ra! What makes you say that?” His
voice was low and deep, but Carter knew his indignation wasn’t entirely
genuine.
“If you’re not a
domineering, tyrannical, megalomaniac Goa’uld anymore, you’re a Tok’ra.”
“I see. And what’s driving that connection?”
Carter motioned for
them to resume walking as she answered, “Some of us always said the only
difference between the Goa’uld and the Tok’ra was politics. I guess you’re proof. You’ve crossed the floor, Baal, and now
you’re playing for the other team.”
He shot her another
squinty-eyed look as they paused so he could pull open the door, “I’m not sure
I buy that comparison.”
Carter shrugged,
“The first Tok’ra probably didn’t see it that way either. But they switched teams,” Carter said as she
pulled away, the wall now sufficient support, and smacked his shoulder in a
companionable way, “You’ll get used to it.”
Baal grumbled under
his breath as he watched Carter hobble away.
I’m not a Tok’ra! But
it sounded empty even in his head. He
could accept being called a Tok’ra if it meant he’d been successful; and as he
watched Carter round the corner, he smiled.
Mission
accomplished.
---
Day 54
“Are you finished?”
Carter snapped as she pulled her arm away from Marcel, her frustration
mounting.
“No,” Marcel said
simply as he reached for her limb again.
Carter moved away
from him and glared, “Well, I say you are!”
Teal’c shifted from
his post by the door, “Colonel Carter…”
“No! I’m done being poked at.”
“You need to let
him do his job,” Baal said from where he stood at the other end of the room,
arms crossed and face cast in shadow.
Carter stood and
adjusted her shirt, “Why? Just so he
can say there’s nothing he can do?” She turned to fix him with a stare,
“There’s nothing you can do, right?”
Marcel shifted and
stood, wringing his hands again, “Yes, that’s right.”
“See?” Carter gestured
at the doctor and took a step towards Teal’c, who was blocking the door.
“Your shoulder and
knee may be beyond his aid, but you other injuries-“
“He saw. They’re healing,” Carter interrupted Teal’c
and took another step, “End of story.
Now move, I want a bath,” Carter declared as she closed in fully on
Teal’c.
She’d seen the
bathing area yesterday evening when Teal’c had finally coaxed her out for a
tour around the base. Immediately the
idea of being submerged in water seemed the most important thing. Discounting Teal’c’s sponge bath, she didn’t
even want to think about how long it’d been since her last real shower.
Teal’c spared a
moment to glance at the others and then moved out of the way, taking up the
rear as Carter headed out. But he couldn’t
hold back a small smile. Colonel Carter
was showing marked improvement, simply be virtue of her interest in the
going-ons of the Resistance, and he had Baal to thank.
As he walked at
what was becoming his customary position just behind Colonel Carter’s left
shoulder – both because of the decreased mobility of that arm and his
observation of her impaired peripheral vision on that side – he couldn’t help
but notice her near hyper-vigilance.
She had always been observant and alert on missions, but relaxed on
Earth and at the SGC – unless of course there was a crisis. Now, though, this expectation that every
corner held a threat and every unknown face equalled danger, even in what
should be friendly territory, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
They rounded the
corner into the bathing area that emptied quickly under the force of Teal’c’s
glare. Colonel Carter should have her
privacy. The only one who remained was
Rene, reclined in a deep pool of water, her movement hampered by her pregnancy.
Colonel Carter
glanced at Rene but didn’t seem disturbed by her presence. They had eaten together the previous night
because Rene had dropped off their food and, after Teal’c was drawn into
conversation, Colonel Carter had invited her to stay. Teal’c had been extremely pleased, even though she had said no
more than a half-dozen words in the course of an hour.
Teal’c watched as
Colonel Carter moved to open the cistern that would fill her chosen tub and
then turned, her attention captured by the full-length mirror in front of
her. As she took a few steps closer,
Teal’c found himself holding his breath.
---
Carter couldn’t
contain a small smile as the occupants of the bathing room filed past them,
knowing Teal’c was responsible. She had
been surprised at the amount of respect these people had developed for Teal’c
in a relatively short amount of time.
But then she’d thought about it and decided it wasn’t so
surprising. He’d always been a natural
leader, and his talents were undeniable, commanding respect all on their own.
She moved into the
room and glanced briefly at Rene, giving the smallest of head nods. Rene immediately stopped her efforts to
vacate her tub and leaned back again.
Carter had decided she wasn’t so bad.
The friendship between her and Teal’c was obviously genuine and had been
the main factor in Carter moving Rene from “unknown” to “safe.”
Carter turned from
starting the water and stopped dead in her tracks, thinking for a moment
someone else was in the room that she hadn’t seen. It took a moment of frozen staring before she realized she was
looking at herself.
If she’d thought
the end of the world had turned her into a stranger, the last two months had
done so tenfold. It was her eyes that
caught her attention the most. They
seemed darker in colour, and even though Carter knew that wasn’t possible she
couldn’t stop thinking it was true.
Maybe it was a reflection of the fact that she felt like she’d been aged
a decade by Ryland’s ministrations. Or
maybe it was the suspicion and anxiety she couldn’t shake that she saw
reflected.
Or maybe it was
because ever since her conversation with Baal she’d been thinking about ways to
utterly destroy the Vantari race. She,
Colonel Sam Carter, was consciously, purposefully – and gleefully – planning genocide. And it didn’t bother her. So maybe what had been true from the
apocalypse was finally manifesting on the outside: she was dead inside, all
that she cared for was herself and Teal’c, and damn everything else. So maybe it was the shrivelled remains of
her soul that was darkening what was supposed to be its windows.
Carter pulled
herself from those thoughts and forced her eyes elsewhere, taking in the face
she hadn’t seen in months. She was rail
thin. Her cheekbones were sharply
defined, giving her profile an edge that hadn’t been there before. The scar along her eye now crossed her
forehead and was the dominant feature of her face, the puckered skin it caused
pulling her eye partially closed and casting her expression as a permanent
sneer.
As Carter pulled
open her shirt she idly noted how much her collarbone and ribs protruded
underneath a roadmap of new crisscrossing scars, courtesy of Ryland and his
knife. Then she remembered her back.
She turned,
twisting her head to get a better view, and very nearly bit her tongue. She hadn’t known where they were placed or
how many it ended up being, but now she could see four brands, two side by side
on her lower back and two more just above each shoulder blade.
Carter squinted at
them and then stared in shocked horror.
“Teal’c,” his name came out barely audible, but he was at her side in an
instant. “Tell me that’s not what I
think it is.”
Teal’c gently
grasped Carter’s chin and turned her face so they weren’t looking at each other
through the mirror. “I wish I could,
Colonel Carter. It is the Vantari
crest.”
Carter felt her
teeth grinding together and tried to return to her scrutiny but Teal’c wouldn’t
allow it. “That bastard,” she nearly hissed it out and started shaking in anger. “That fucking rat bastard!” Carter yelled
and twisted around, seconds away from taking a swing at the mirror before
Teal’c stopped her.
His hands were
gentle but insistent as he placed himself in front of her and bent slightly to
get a better look at her face, “This does not make you less, Colonel
Carter. It does not mean that he
won. It is a testament to your strength
of character, spirit, and mind, to your fortitude. It is a badge of survival.”
Carter stared at
him as his words trickled into her understanding. She wished she could see it that way. It was a nice perspective, but Carter couldn’t get past the fact
that she’d been branded like cattle or property. Maybe in time she would see it Teal’c’s way.
But for now, no one
owned her. And she was sure as hell
going to make sure Ryland understood that.
---
Day 57
Ryland stalked a
path through his office, muttering to himself.
He’d lost a prisoner. That was
unheard of and unacceptable. Serious damage
had been done to their main compound under his watch. That was unforgivable.
A new commander was
arriving within the week to take over his post, and Ryland would face, at
worst, execution for his failure. The
best he could hope for was lifelong imprisonment. He wouldn’t stand for either of those.
Which meant he had
seven days to prove he was still capable.
Routing the Resistance would do, as would any major strategic gain. At the very least, he wanted revenge. If he was going to be removed from the
campaign, he planned to take as many Resistance with him as he could.
The door opened and
one of his soldiers entered dragging someone behind him. He dumped her in the middle of the room and
stepped outside again. Ryland circled
the delivery, his face twisted into a sneer.
“Delia,” Ryland
started, his voice low, “I want to know everything that woman told you.”
Delia shook her
head, desperately fighting to keep her tears from breaking free, “Nothing. She told me nothing. I swear.”
Ryland backhanded
the medic. “Every word you two
shared! Now!”
“N-n-nothing,”
Delia cried, wiping at her bleeding nose, “she didn’t talk much. Mostly it was just m-me.”
Ryland crouched in
front of her and grabbed her face, “What about a name? You must have called her something.” He saw the briefest hesitation, the flicker
of thought in her eyes, and knew. So
when she denied it again, he delivered a full-fisted blow that sent her
sprawling to the floor. “Don’t lie to
me!” He straightened and started kicking, his demands never ceasing.
Delia gasped and
curled into a ball, trying to protect her head. When he stomped on her hand, shattering the bones, she gave
in. “Carter! I called her Carter!” She yelled it into his face.
Ryland stopped
immediately and turned away from the medic, circling back to the items they’d
taken from this Carter. They were
mostly weapons, and everything else he had little use for. A band with a circular display they’d
removed from her wrist, a metal chain with tags she’d worn around her
neck. Except…Ryland picked up the one
device he had yet to figure out. Carter
had called it a “remote control.” And
while he had no idea what it controlled, he figured she’d want it back
eventually.
He turned back to
Delia and crouched beside her, appraising her bloodied face idly, “Did she ever
discuss her belongings?” He held the device before her eyes. “Or where she’s
from?”
Delia shook her
head to the first question, and he detected genuine puzzlement at the
second. He had started to suspect that
Carter was more than she initially seemed awhile ago, but it hadn’t been as
important as cracking the Resistance code.
Ryland couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been remiss in not pursuing
other avenues of questioning.
As he stood and
moved to the door, he decided it wouldn’t have mattered. She hadn’t broken, and different questions
wouldn’t have changed that. He pulled
open the door and motioned the soldier back inside.
Ryland waved
negligently at Delia’s huddled form, “Have her removed to the camps, please.”
Delia’s eyes
widened as the soldier pulled her up, “Wha- No! I answered your questions!”
Ryland set the
remote back on the table and started sifting through everything one more time,
“Oh, and make sure you take that brat of her’s, too.”
“You can’t do
this!” Delia struggled against the guard’s grip to little effect. “I didn’t do anything!”
Ryland rounded on
her suddenly, his eyes fierce, “You helped a prisoner escape! That’s a capital
offence. You’re lucky I don’t have you
and that kid of yours executed! But you
could yet prove useful. Be grateful,”
Ryland spat his last remark out and motioned at the solider once more, clearly
indicating he was done with the whole situation.
He returned his
attention to the gear before him and considered how best to bait his trap.
---
Rene paused in the
doorway to study the woman in the room, bent over the Vantari “laptop,” as they
were calling it. Rene had always been a
fairly perceptive person, so she’d noticed Colonel Carter’s unease around her –
well, all of them except Teal’c and Baal.
It had started to change
the evening she’d dined with Teal’c and the Colonel. Although the woman had said little, Rene had again been witness
to the deep affection between her and Teal’c.
And she had decided that Colonel Carter was simply a cautious,
standoffish person, who trusted slowly and carefully. And Rene hadn’t been able to fault her for that, considering
everything she knew the Colonel had been through, and other things Rene only
suspected.
It had been the
emotional distance that had really rubbed Rene the wrong way. Distance wasn’t even the best word. It was more like an emotional wall. There were layers and untold depths of
feeling and meaning in Colonel Carter’s eyes and face every time she so much as
glanced at Teal’c. But every time Rene
had been the subject of that cold regard, she’d felt as if she was being looked
through. There simply didn’t seem to
be a person under all that armour.
But that had
changed in the bathing room. Rene had
been witness to a reaction of pure emotion.
Colonel Carter had been rife with so much anguish, and fury, and pain
and a hundred other things Rene had never needed to put a name to – and hoped
she never would – that it’d hit her as an almost palpable wave. And then she realized that the Colonel held
herself so apart from everyone because she was so raw with open wounds that
were just beginning to scab. She hadn’t
built defences yet, and so it all simmered just under the surface waiting for
some unsuspecting fool to set it off.
So now, Rene
appreciated that wall. It kept her from
having to deal with something so profound she was certain she would drown in it
if Colonel Carter unleashed it. And her
respect for Teal’c and Baal had skyrocketed because of their ability to not
only survive that swirling maelstrom, but to actually manage and direct
it.
Rene cleared her
throat, even though she was certain the Colonel was aware of her presence. It seemed that a person couldn’t get within
twenty feet of her without being noticed.
Despite that, Colonel Carter jumped as if she’d been startled.
Rene set her tray
on the table and smiled, “Teal’c sent me.
He got caught up in a strategy meeting.”
Carter shifted from
her work and took a bowl of oatmeal-esque food as she nodded, “Thanks.”
Rene picked up her
own bowl and began eating. Someone
always ate with the Colonel because it was the only way to ensure she actually
stopped long enough to chew her food, instead of simply inhaling it.
She nodded towards
the laptop when the silence became too oppressive and asked, “How’s it going?”
Carter flicked her
eyes to the device and nodded in a distracted manner, “Well.”
“That’s…that’s
good,” Rene mumbled and shifted once more, realizing she’d lost Colonel Carter
to some internal thought process. It
was something that seemed to be happening more and more, and while it unsettled
her in the extreme Teal’c seemed unconcerned, saying it was normal.
Carter visibly came
back to herself with a shudder and immediately turned to Rene, her eyes
settling on Rene’s stomach. “How’s that
going?” Carter asked as if the lull in the conversation hadn’t happened.
Maybe for her, it
didn’t, Rene mused as she dropped
her hands onto her belly and smiled.
“Good, thank you. He’s been
really active lately, doing acrobats.”
“Do you know it’s a
boy?”
“No,” Rene smiled
and rubbed her stomach, “it’s just a feeling, you know?”
“No,” Carter shook
her head, “I don’t.”
“Ohh,” Rene felt a
kick and grinned, reaching unthinkingly for Carter’s hand. “Here, feel.” The second Rene made contact
she felt the Colonel tense. Her eyes
shot up and her face froze as she remembered just who she was grabbing at.
Carter made a
visible effort to relax. Her eyes
slipped shut for a microsecond and she took in a few deep breaths. Slowly, Rene felt the muscles under her hand
relax, and then Carter was moving her hand forward. Rene kept her grasp light as she guided Colonel Carter’s hand to
the right spot. It took a second but
then a strong, healthy kick impacted their palms.
Rene watched as an
indescribable look overtook Colonel Carter’s face. It seemed to be part surprise and wonderment, some fear, and a
healthy dose of bewilderment. And Rene
realized not for the first time that her child meant something to a lot of
people other than her. And just maybe,
it would mean something to this broken woman as well.
---
Day 58
“Are you sure about
this?” Baal asked, his face grave as they sat around the strategy room table.
Carter gave one
decisive nod.
“What are we
waiting for, then?” Gavin leaned forward, face eager and eyes wide. “Let’s do it.”
“We’ll need to
scout the area first. There’s no
telling how recent the information on the laptop is.”
“It’s recent,”
Carter said, “and even if it wasn’t it wouldn’t matter.”
“What do you mean?”
Nadine asked from her seat next to Baal.
“Something like
this can’t be moved around, logistically speaking. Too many uncooperative people in the mix,” Carter leaned back and
clasped her hands over her knee to stop a muscle spasm. Teal’c noticed from his seat at her left and
shot her a look, clearly indicating they were going to be having a conversation
soon.
“So let’s send some
people out, get the lay of the land.
Confirm what’s on the…laptop,” Gavin hesitated briefly over the word,
“and then do it.”
Baal raised his
hand to calm the excitement, “Is this the best focus for our efforts?” He
suddenly found himself the focus of three Resistance members’ shocked
expressions.
“How can you even
ask that?” Rene finally whispered.
“There are better
targets,” Baal said, “I only think we should weigh the potential costs against
our gains.”
“Forget that!”
Gavin hit the table and leaned forward to stare at Baal, “If you ask them,
every person out there will tell you to go through with this,” he pointed to
the door, his expression tense.
Baal shifted to
glance at Carter and Teal’c as if seeking their opinion. Teal’s spoke first, “Strategically, this
endeavour has little value. But it will
be invaluable for morale.”
“Colonel,” Rene
said softly, making Carter’s eyes shoot to her in surprise. Rene’s face did the rest, imploring Carter
for an opinion.
Carter shifted
uncomfortably, rubbing at her leg distractedly as she mulled over what to
say. “I brought this to Baal because I
thought you…” Carter paused, realizing she was about to use the same words
she’d said about the people on Atlantis a hundred times, “I thought you’d think
it was important. This won’t end the
war. Teal’c and Baal are right, it has
little strategic value.
“But we’re talking
about getting back maybe hundreds of your people,” Carter’s eyes flicked
between them, seeing so much of what she saw every time she looked in the
mirror in their eyes and not liking it.
She returned her gaze to Baal, knowing it was ultimately his call, “And
that…is priceless.” Carter paused again and cleared her throat, unaccustomed to
even this much speaking, “The new people will help the Resistance. And it will be a psychological blow to the
Vantari.”
She could see that
Baal still wasn’t entirely convinced it was worth the potential cost. So she pulled out her last argument. “And you justified an operation to get me,
when you weren’t even sure I was alive.
You can’t, in good conscience, not attack the concentration camp.”
Carter held Baal’s gaze until he nodded.
Baal kept his eyes
on Carter as he addressed Gavin, “Send some people. Give them a copy of the information Colonel Carter has, tell them
to confirm all defences and troop complement.
Layout isn’t as important. But
don’t let them put themselves at risk.
This is good intelligence on its own.”
Everyone save
Teal’c, Carter, and Baal left the room.
The remaining three remained seated in silence for several long
minutes. Finally, Baal chuckled, “That
was fighting dirty.”
Carter shrugged as
she started a more vigorous kneading of her protesting muscle, “It’s the
truth.”
Baal nodded and
stood, “I have something I’ve been meaning to give you. Give me a minute,” he said as he walked to a
side closest and started rummaging around.
Teal’c seized his
moment and turned to Colonel Carter, placing his hands above hers to capture
her attention, “Colonel Carter-“
“I’m fine,” she cut
him off, “it’s just a muscle spasm. It
happens. It’ll clear up.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c
said, “but Marcel-“
“Is a crackpot, I
don’t care what Baal says,” Carter interrupted again, oblivious to Teal’c’s
expression.
“Colonel Carter, listen,” Teal’c intoned deeply and firmly, finally rewarded with eye
contact. “He is our only doctor, and
there is no reason for you to suffer if he can help.”
Carter sighed
slowly and closed her eyes, feeling her headache increase as it often did when
she was frustrated or stressed, “I don’t like him, Teal’c. He puts me on edge.”
Teal’c nodded, well
aware of that fact.
“I almost hit him
the other day when he was testing my mobility,” Carter inclined her head to
indicate her shoulder, “he didn’t even really do anything.”
Teal’c leaned
forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared into her eyes, “You are
not going to snap, Colonel Carter.”
Carter smiled
wanly, clasping one of his hands as she replied, “You sure? Because sometimes I feel like I’m moments
from going on a rampage. If I could
just…” Carter trailed off and closed her eyes again.
Teal’c leaned a bit
closer and squeezed her hand. It was
not an insignificant statement on Colonel Carter’s part. She had never been big on overstatement or
exaggeration. That had been O’Neill’s
territory. When Colonel Carter said
something, she meant it. And if she had
a mind, she could do serious damage here, even without a weapon. They had all been the recipients of fairly
specialized and extensive training over the last decade, and the Resistance
could not hope to compare. Teal’c was
loathe to push her, but this was as open a conversation they’d had since her
return. “If you could just what?”
Carter shrugged
slightly, “I don’t know. Scream.” Break
Ryland’s neck. Nuke the whole Vantari
solar system.
“There is nothing
stopping you,” Teal’c said, in that very calm and reasonable manner he had.
Carter released a
small, bitter chortle, her eyes still closed, “If I start now, I don’t think
I’d stop.”
“You must find a
method of release, Colonel Carter. You
can only hold so much within you before it begins to poison you.”
“I have this war,
Teal’c. I have revenge. And I have you,” Carter said quietly. She was silent a moment and then her eyes
popped open to lock onto his, “Which is why I’m going on this op. You can’t stop me.”
Teal’c smiled
slightly as she closed in on his other major concern before he even broached
it. Sometimes, there were disadvantages
to knowing someone so well. He could
see the determination in her eyes, but more importantly, he could see the need in them. Colonel Carter needed
this and so Teal’c nodded, “Very well.”
Baal cleared his
throat then as he approached the table from the closet, where he’d been making
himself as unobtrusive as possible. He
dropped a pair of boots on the table followed by a bundle of clothes and then
retook his seat.
Carter eyed it all
and then looked at Baal, raising one questioning eyebrow.
Baal shrugged, “You
lost your gear, and I’m sure you’ll want something more substantial than
those,” he nodded to the light, loose garments the Resistance favoured when at
the base, “as well as something more like what you’re used to.”
Carter pulled the
boots over, seeing they were of sturdy construction with good ankle
support. They were made of a black
leather-like material with a series of shiny buckles and thick laces. She slipped one on, surprised to note it fit
very well.
Of everything,
she’d mourned the loss of her boots the most.
The Air Force knew how to make good boots, and nothing the Resistance
had to offer even came close. The only
other thing she really missed was her dog tags. They had been an integral part of her person ever since she’d
graduated the Academy. They were, in a
sense, her identity.
Carter scooped the
rest into her arms to look at later and smiled at Baal. “Thanks.”
He nodded in reply as she and Teal’c departed. They had a mission to prepare for.
---
Delia did her coat
up all the way to her chin against the harsh wind and pulled her daughter
closer to her side. The transport had
just dropped them off at the camp and already she could detect hostile,
predatory looks. Everyone knew she was
Vantari. Everyone hated her for it.
“Come on,” she
whispered, pulling her daughter through the streets in search of somewhere safe
and warm.
Cyan’s face was wet
with tears, her wide and terrified eyes staring around her. She didn’t understand what had happened, why
her mother had come back with blood on her face and told her not to let go of
her hand.
Delia hadn’t had
time to explain it. She’d barely had
enough to grab some extra clothes and blankets before the solider had whisked
them away. Delia was just grateful that
her seven-year-old daughter wasn’t wailing with terror, as that would only draw
more attention to them.
As Delia settled
them into a tiny alcove under some stairs that had walls on three sides and
only a small opening, she dug a stick and rock from the sandy ground. After she wrapped Cyan up in all the
blankets they had, keeping only one for herself, Delia started scraping the
rock along the stick, holding it awkwardly between her knees because of
her broken hand.
They were prime
targets. And even though killing went
against her grain, Delia wasn’t going to let them be slaughtered at the altar
of hatred. She would be ready when they
came.
---
Day 60
Carter snapped the
last buckle on her boot closed and straightened, gazing sardonically in the mirror. Rene had insisted on trimming her unruly
hair the other day, saying Carter couldn’t very well go off into a firefight
with it hanging in her eyes. Rene had
been so insistent and imploring that Carter had finally given in, even though
the thought of someone wielding sharp scissors around her face unsettled
her. But she’d been proud of herself,
managing to sit relatively still and only flinching a few times. She had to admit it looked better, even if
it did reveal more of the still angry red scar across her face.
As she twitched her
jacket straight, Carter gave a moment’s thanks to Baal again. The clothes he’d given her were sturdy and
comfortable, with extra padding around the knees that Carter was pretty sure
had been added extra. She’d become convinced
when she’d noticed the extra protection on the left shoulder of the jacket but
not the right. Not that Baal would
admit to doing such a thing.
The jacket was
three-quarter length, falling just to mid-thigh and right above the dual
holsters she’d strapped to her legs.
She had a borrowed knife strapped to the small of her back and extra
energy packs for the Resistance weapons on her belt. And even though the entire ensemble was black and of a smooth
feeling but leathery material, making Carter feel like some kind of space
pirate or mercenary, she felt like it fit her state of mind.
She felt like her
world had become one black, swirling mass of misery for a long time. Teal’c was the singular bright spot. And while all the other Resistance members
were going on this mission with the hope of liberating loved ones, Carter was
going so she could put some Vantari in the ground.
“Colonel Carter,”
Teal’c said from the doorway, “it is time to depart.”
Carter nodded and
slid home her guns with a quiet snick.
She followed him out to the vehicle bay where they jumped onto the troop
transports. It was about a two-hour
drive to the camps. It was still dark
out. If all went well, they would
arrive just as dawn was breaking.
---
Delia let out an
incoherent scream as she kicked at her attacker, raking her nails across his
face and drawing blood. He stumbled
back with an oof, the air forced from his lungs, and Delia
scrambled backwards to block the entrance to their alcove where Cyan was curled
up, crying.
She had an edge
because she’d only just arrived, and the lack of food and shelter had yet to
take its toll. But even that advantage
couldn’t overcome the fact that there were hundreds of them, and only one of
her. She’d fought off six other attacks
in the last two days, and already she could feel her resolve waning.
Delia hadn’t killed
anyone yet, at least not to her knowledge, but she’d seriously wounded at least
one when she’d sunk her sharpened stick between his ribs. All she had to do was last until the sun
rose and she would be granted a reprieve.
The inmates weren’t
as obvious during the day because the Vantari guards saw everything, and
officially weren’t supposed to condone fighting. But in the dead of night, when they could only see as far as their
lights and didn’t dare stray from their posts for fear of being jumped
themselves, anything went.
Delia scrambled
back into their alcove and pushed the large rocks she’d gathered the other day
into the opening. It slowed them down a
lot, giving her advance warning of an attack.
And if they didn’t feel like moving the rocks, it repelled them
altogether.
Cyan stirred,
poking her head out from under her blankets, “Mama?”
“Shhh, honey,”
Delia said as she placed herself between the entrance and her daughter,
“Everything’s alright. Try and go back
to sleep.”
“I’m scared,” Cyan
whimpered as she squirmed partially onto her mother’s lap.
Delia stroked back
Cyan’s hair and started humming softly, “I know, honey. I know.
But it’s all going to be fine. I
promise.”
As Cyan settled in
her nest of blankets in search of sleep, Delia picked up another of her
sharpened sticks from her ample supply, reflecting that sometimes, lying to
your children was the only thing you could do.
---
Carter peered out
the window of the transport, more than pleased to see terrain she recognized
from the surveillance photos the scouts had brought back. It had been a long ride in the cramped
quarters of the truck, even though almost everyone had slept.
She hadn’t been
able to. It wasn’t because of
nerves. In fact, Carter had noticed
that a calm had settled over her as the assault got closer. She figured it was because the outcome of
this mission couldn’t be anything worse than she’d already faced so there was
nothing to fear.
No, what kept her
awake was the sheer number of people in so small a space; it was making the
near claustrophobia she’d seemingly developed flare up. And then there was the noise. Carter had gotten used to
being alone with her own thoughts, without even the creaking of the building to
keep her company. At the time, it had
driven her mad. But now, the smallest
sound shattered her concentration to the point that, in order to get any work
on the laptop done, she’d had to seek out a room as far from everyone else as
possible.
The transport
rumbled to a halt and she only just kept her sigh of relief to herself. Teal’c shared a knowing look with her as
they disembarked and spread out. They
were in Gavin’s team and were attacking the main gate. Nadine was leading her people to a small
entrance that allowed the coming and goings of the Vantari personnel. Baal was heading up the final team, whose
main purpose was to attack a section of the perimeter wall mainly as a
diversion.
In total, there
were nearly fifty Resistance members committed to the mission, the largest
single operation they’d ever undertaken.
The three team leaders as well as Carter and Teal’c had planned it out
in excruciating detail, but they all knew how quickly the best-laid plans could
come crashing down.
As they took their
positions the sky was just beginning to brighten to light pink as the sun
peeked over the horizon.
---
Delia jabbed
through the opening between her rocks one last time and heard an enraged
yell. She pulled her stick back and
noted the blood on the end. She started
yelling at them in Vantari, every curse word she knew and some she made up on
the spot, hoping the fury in her voice translated and would scare them off.
As she heard the
last set of footsteps fade into the distance, Delia nearly wept. They’d survived another night, but how long
could she keep this up? She’d barely
slept since their arrival and food was scare.
Whatever she did acquire went straight to Cyan.
Delia peered out at
the breaking dawn and prayed for a miracle.
She felt she could survive another day, maybe two, but no more. She didn’t even want to consider what would
happen to Cyan if she were left to fend for herself.
It was a cruel
world that punished someone for helping a person in need. And yet, Delia didn’t regret helping
Carter. Watching someone die by inches
had gone against her morals almost as much as killing. Delia took comfort in the knowledge that
Carter was out there, somewhere, hopefully living her. She only wished she’d had the opportunity
for at least one real conversation with a woman whose strength she couldn’t
help but admire.
---
Carter hunkered in
the long grasses, making herself as invisible as impossible, and peered through
the small spyglass that was the Resistance’s binoculars. The main gate was a series of triple fences,
topped with razor wire between which sat four automatic turrets. Two turrets pointed inwards while two
pointed out, all of them mowing down anyone who got close enough to set off the
motion detectors.
Further
complicating matters were the two watchtowers set at either side of the gate
that held snipers and a significant number of the off-duty Vantari
soldiers. Once the alarm was sounded,
Vantari would pour out of them like ants out of a hill.
It made Gavin’s
team the one most in danger, as they would be the attackers the Vantari saw as
soon as they stepped outside. It was
also what made Baal’s diversion so important.
If he could convince the Vantari that their wall was in danger of being
breached, it would draw a significant number of the soldiers away from Gavin’s
people.
Gavin motioned at
Rento who was operating what amounted to a rocket launcher. They figured they would get one good shot to
take out at least one of the turrets, making their job infinitely easier.
Rento aimed
carefully and fired, the kickback almost knocking him over. Teal’c steadied him without thought.
Carter watched as
the missile flew true, hitting dead centre on the leftmost turret, erupting in
a ball of flames.
Immediately shouts
went up and gunfire tore through the air as the alarm was raised.
---
Baal kept himself
concealed in the bushes, his eyes glued to the front of the compound. The instant he saw the eruption of flame and
smoke he knew their attack had started.
He let out a yell
and burst from the trees, his team right behind him, as they charged to the
wall unchallenged because the sentries were distracted.
They planted
explosive charges along a ten-foot section of wall while a few people shot
constantly at the walkway above them, discouraging the Vantari soldiers from
popping their heads up.
“Scatter!” He
yelled as he got the signal that the charges were set.
Everyone ran full
tilt along the wall in either direction away from the blast site. Baal reached the twenty-foot safety mark
first and spun to check on those who’d gone the other way.
As the last
straggler stumbled into the safety zone Baal triggered the explosives. They erupted with an ear-shattering
boom. The Resistance members covered
their ears on instinct, cringing as their eardrums rattled.
The wall was
scorched, a few pieces crumbling off, but it was in no danger of being
breached. Baal cursed roundly at the
unimpressive damage.
He didn’t have time
to think of a solution before an energy bolt whizzed through the air, missing
him by inches. They all dove for cover
and started returning fire.
---
Carter hit the dirt
and hissed as a flying piece of jagged stone stung her hand. She counted to five and popped back up. The windows of the watchtowers were filled
with Vantari taking pot-shots. The gap
between the first and second gates was lined with them and more were spilling
out, taking the fight to the Resistance.
She pulled a
grenade out and threw it blindly over the small rise they were on. As soon as it exploded she popped up again,
laying down a screen of fire. She saw
three fall and smiled in satisfaction but three more took their place.
Carter hunkered
down on her stomach and wormed her way over to Teal’c. “This isn’t working!”
“Indeed,” Teal’c
said as he kept firing blind.
“Where the hell’s
that rocket launcher?”
Teal’c gestured
down the rise at the weapon that had tumbled loose as the fighting started and
everyone forgot about it. Carter
determinedly started slithering her way down the hill, aware she was making
herself more visible to the watchtowers.
She grabbed the
weapon and pulled it close, rolling back towards the hill as quickly as
possible. Carter stopped and gazed up
the rise, quickly calculating angles and velocity. She adjusted her position and yelled at Teal’c, “Move!”
He spared her a
second’s glance and immediately rolled to his right, taking everyone in his way
with him.
Carter sighted her
shot, cursing as her hands kept up their slight shaking, throwing her off. She took a breath and forced her hands to
steady themselves. There was no margin
for error. If she missed, she’d hit the
top of the rise and take out half the team.
Carter squeezed the
trigger.
---
Nadine motioned her
team forward, raising her arm and waiting.
The second she heard the alarm she dropped her hand and the Resistance
flung their Molotov cocktails forward.
They shattered on
the side of the Vantari service entrance, a construction of wood and stone,
filling the door with thick, black smoke.
Nadine signalled to
her second group who opened fire on the two second floor windows where the
barest flicker of movement attested to someone’s presence.
The first group
advanced on the door, throwing grenades through the smoke and down the
hall. As the fire moved rapidly
upwards, having consumed all the fuel around the door, they started firing into
the hall.
Nadine fired at the
windows and heard cries of pain and the thumps of falling bodies. She watched the fire climb the building, and
soon it was cries of alarm as those inside realized what was happening.
She advanced
forward with her first team, through the door and down the now smoke-cleared
hallway. Everyone they encountered was
too distracted by the fire consuming the upper floors where the fully occupied
bedrooms were to pose any threat.
They advanced
through the building rapidly.
---
Baal growled softly
as he tugged as his jacket to get a look at his wound. It wasn’t serious.
He turned his gaze
back to the wall and made a decision.
Baal reached for the pouch on his belt and pulled out his hand device,
one of the only pieces of Goa’uld technology he’d kept. He slipped it on and stood, advancing
blithely into the fray.
Baal raised his
hand and let loose a blast powerful enough to knock the half-dozen Vantari on
top of the wall off. He turned his
attention to the wall itself, unleashing blast after blast.
It wasn’t long
before a top section teetered and fell inwards, decreasing the wall’s height by
a quarter. Baal smiled grimly and kept
at it, hearing the startled yells from within.
It wouldn’t take
much more before his team was the focus of the Vantari’s effort.
---
Carter squeezed the
trigger, grunting as the kickback pressed her shoulder into the ground. It was worth it when the missile hit the
right watchtower in a fiery explosion.
The tower groaned
and seemed to sway for a minute, then a resounding crack heralded its
collapse. Vantari soldiers scattered in
every direction.
Teal’c took
advantage of the chaos, standing and charging down the rise to a small hollow
in the ground with a few rocks for cover.
He crouched behind the stones, firing constantly to add to the
confusion.
Gavin caught on and
signalled those around him, still at the top of the rise and to the left of
Teal’c’s position, to shift their attention.
They all started firing at the Vantari around Teal’c, dropping most of
them with one shot.
Carter was shifting
her position, heading left to take out the other watchtower. When a bullet ripped through the ground just
ahead of her position Carter stopped.
They were obviously watching for her to do the same thing again.
Carter abandoned
the rocket launcher and started up the rise, hunkering down next to Rento. She grabbed a longer-range rifle from a
fallen Resistance member as she went and started sighting the Vantari who were
inside the gates and doing the most damage.
They weren’t in the middle of pandemonium and could take the time to aim
carefully.
She lined her shots
up precisely, taking headshots wherever she could so they wouldn’t have to deal
with the same people twice.
---
Nadine threw a
grenade up the stairs and hugged the wall.
They could hear curses and the stamping of feet as the Vantari jumped
away from the grenade.
It wasn’t long
before energy bolts started flying down the stairs in retaliation. Nadine signalled and they started firing
back blindly, sticking the muzzles of their weapons around the corner and
laying on the trigger.
More thumping and
swears reached them, as well as screams of pain. Nadine still had a team outside firing through the windows,
taking down any Vantari dumb enough to forget about the dual threat.
Nadine’s eyes
widened as a Vantari grenade rolled down the steps to stop at her feet. “Cover!” She screamed and lunged backwards,
desperate to get out of the blast radius.
---
Baal ducked behind
a rock and pulled down the Resistance member beside him, narrowly avoiding a
barrage of gunfire.
There were more
than thirty Vantari along the wall.
Baal thought maybe he’d done too good a job.
He peered out at
the rest of his team, making his decision when he saw someone fall. “Phase two!” He yelled, his resonating
Goa’uld tones making his voice carry and leaving no doubt about who was giving
the order.
The Resistance
obeyed immediately, falling back to the tree line. They fell on the small packs they’d left carefully tucked away,
pulling out what Colonel Carter had called “grenade launchers.”
The Resistance
turned their launchers on the wall, faces grim, and opened fire.
---
Carter flinched
when Rento’s body slammed sideways into her.
They rolled partially down the rise.
Carter’s curse died on her lips when she flipped him over to see the
seeping wound in his forehead.
She swore softly
and headed towards Gavin. Teal’c was
too far. She crawled up beside him,
idly tossing a grenade into the mix, and yelled into his ear, “We need to take
out that tower!”
Gavin slid down the
rise partially to reload his gun and glanced at her, “Any suggestions?”
Carter glanced at
the large windows, now more open because the Vantari had been thinning out –
thank you Baal – and grinned.
“Yeah. Got anyone with a good
arm?”
Gavin took only a
second to find the person he wanted and pointed. Carter nodded and started crawling again. “Hey!”
The woman turned
with a jerk. Carter gestured back the
way she’d come, “I need you.”
Carter explained
what she wanted and handed the woman a grenade. “Ready? One, two,
three!” She popped up, firing with both
her guns, laying down cover for the other woman who stood a second later, took
a moment to aim, and then threw.
They dropped as
soon as the grenade was away. Carter
wiggled up to watch and yelled in triumph as the grenade sailed through the
window, exploding a second later and taking out the front wall. She thumped the other woman on the back and
then started down for Teal’c.
It was time to
advance.
---
Nadine swallowed
convulsively as she tried to clear the smoke from her mouth. Her ears were ringing and her back ached but
she was alive.
She pushed herself
up, seeing most of her team on their feet and firing at the stairwell that was
across from the room they’d taken refuge in.
Three people seemed to be down for the count.
Nadine stood and
activated her radio. She said only one
word, “Go.” Then she started firing
along with the others.
It wasn’t long
before the Vantari gunfire petered out and then stopped altogether. Soon footsteps coming down the stairs
reached them, and they let out a sigh of relief as the second team rounded the
corner.
“Didn’t know what
hit ‘em, coming through the window like that,” Westin, leader of the second
team, said.
“It’s clear?”
Nadine asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” she nodded
and gestured to the hall, “move out!”
They filed out of
the service quarters into the main camp and angled their steps to the closest
sound of fighting.
---
Teal’c threw a
rapid succession of grenades at the last turret that stood, stopping their
advance. Carter covered him as the rest
advanced on the gate in a pincer movement, sweeping up all the Vantari still
outside the wall.
Finally the turret
blew and they started forward, laying down a constant stream of fire at the
Vantari left holding the gate. There
were perhaps only a dozen left, but they were positioned well with cover.
They paused between
the second and third gates. If they
stepped through the inward facing turrets would tear them to pieces. Carter glanced at one and put her hand on
Teal’c’s arm as he moved to plant explosives on it.
She glanced over the
interface and made a few adjustments, disengaging the automatic fire system and
setting it to manual. Carter gestured
to Teal’c who manned the turret without a word while she moved to the second
one.
It was a matter of
seconds to make the same adjustments.
Carter gripped the turret and opened fire, her and Teal’c tearing the
entrance apart with the high-calibre bullets.
Before long the
last Vantari had fallen. Carter and
Teal’c stopped firing. The air settled
with an eerie quiet, broken only by sporadic explosions from the direction they
knew Baal’s team was.
Gavin stepped into
the camp and surveyed his people. They
were doing well. “Stay here,” he said,
picking out seven people. “Everyone else
with me,” Gavin turned as he spoke, heading towards the sounds of fighting and
the last Vantari resistance.
---
Baal fired off his
last two grenade rounds, watching in satisfaction as they hit the top of the
wall, knocking a chunk off to fall on some Vantari. He leaned against his rock to reload.
They were holding
the Vantari off and no one had been wounded since Phase Two had started, but
they weren’t making any progress, either.
Baal knew there
were too many for his worn down team to handle, and he hoped the other teams
were making progress, since his team’s survival had always depended on the
others.
As he leaned out to
open fire again, Baal grinned. Through
the hole in the wall, he could see Nadine’s distinctive form.
---
Nadine motioned
everyone into cover as they came up behind a large force of Vantari positioned
around a sizable hole in the wall. She
could just make out the forms of other Resistance members through the gap.
“Go!” She yelled,
stepping out from the corner of a building and firing at the closest
Vantari. Her team did the same, and
they dropped perhaps half of the thirty Vantari soldiers before they realized
they were being flanked.
Some of the
soldiers broke off to their right but Nadine’s people were pinned and unable to
pursue. Just as she started fearing
being outflanked, weapons fire started zinging into her field of vision from
that direction, followed by fleeing Vantari and, finally, Gavin’s team.
It was only moments
later that the Vantari realized they were completely surrounded and dropped
their weapons, thrusting their hands into the air in the universal sign of
surrender.
---
When the alarms had
started, Delia hadn’t cared. When the
sound of gunfire and explosions had reached their alcove and everyone else had
started running back and forth, trying to figure out what was happening, she’d
hugged Cyan close and huddled in their alcove.
She hadn’t poked
her head out once and now, as the sounds of fighting stopped, she had to fight
her curiosity. She tensed as footsteps
approached, but didn’t have time to do anything as suddenly hands were on her,
pulling her and Cyan out into the open.
Delia found herself
staring up into a circle of angry faces, and soon felt their anger in the form
of blows. She kicked and screamed,
thrashing to get free, all too aware of the fact that Cyan was out of the
alcove and watching.
She covered her
head, wondering where the Vantari were and why they weren’t intervening. It was broad daylight, only a few hours past
daybreak.
As Delia twisted
and the sea of legs cleared for just an instant, she saw. The gate stood open and smoking, the towers
toppled. The entrance was guarded by
decidedly non-Vantari figures.
Delia felt the
despair well up inside her. The camp
had been captured, and this would be her end.
She was now the only target of their hatred and she had no friends in
the Resistance.
Cyan’s wail
captured her attention, shaking Delia from her morose thoughts. It wasn’t over until she was good and dead,
and she wouldn’t stop fighting if only for her daughter’s sake.
Delia renewed her
frenzied kicking, yelling out in Vantari and the little Wasi she knew, telling
them so was no threat and begging them to stop. If only they had ears to hear, but they were deafened by hatred.
---
Carter eyed the
prisoners kneeling in the main courtyard, hands tied behind their backs,
itching to pull her gun and shoot them.
She had to force herself to turn away lest she succumb to the desire,
knowing full well the Resistance liked to take prisoners for intelligence.
She wiped at a
seeping cut on her cheek and surveyed the damage. Very little had been done to the inside of the camp, which seemed
miraculous itself. Carter started
walking through the Resistance who were securing points of entry and trying to
deal with the growing throngs of prisoners who were gathering.
As she headed to
the edge of the courtyard, the crowd pressing on her uncomfortably, angry
yelling caught her attention. Carter
turned to see a mob of people down the street, yelling and kicking at
something.
Carter headed
towards it more out of curiosity than anything. She noticed a few Resistance people down a side street who were
also watching with mild interest on their faces.
It was when she got
within ten feet that she noticed the young child off to one side, her face
streaked with tears as she screamed incoherently. And then Carter realized the child was screaming in Vantari.
She picked up her
pace, an odd feeling growing in her stomach.
As she got closer, Carter dropped her hand to her gun. When another voice reached her ears,
feminine, enraged, and speaking Vantari, and one Carter found decidedly
familiar, she pulled her gun and started running.
Carter was yelling
in Wasi before she reached them. Some
of them scattered, turning in surprise at this new voice, but backing off when
they noticed her drawn weapon and her angry, bloodstained face.
She could see what
they were kicking at, and Carter knew it was Delia. “I said back the fuck off!” Carter yelled one more time at the
remaining six attackers who still didn’t move.
She raised her gun and squeezed off three precise shots, belatedly
adjusting for disabling hits.
Three bodies hit
the ground, one of them dead, another in danger of bleeding out, and the third
simply disabled. The remaining three
scurried off to the side of the street.
Carter fell to her
knees next to the bloody, curled body, hesitantly touching the medic’s
face. “Delia?” Carter questioned
quietly as she rolled the woman onto her back.
---
Delia resigned
herself to dying, but sent up a prayer that her daughter would somehow survive
and have a good life. Just as she was
finishing her plea, some of the legs disappeared. Then she heard a gun followed by three thumps and finally,
blessedly, the kicking stopped.
She curled into
herself, desperate to relieve the pain, and fearful that whoever had rescued
her would be worse. “Delia?” She heard
her name but didn’t respond until she was rolled onto her back.
Delia cracked her
eyes open and blinked, sure she was seeing things. She raised a shaky hand when the vision before her didn’t
waver. Carter caught her hand and
smiled the tiniest bit, affirming her presence and delivering Delia into the
light.
“Are you okay?”
Carter leaned closer and peered at her face, assessing her injuries.
A sob escaped her throat
as Cyan appeared over Carter’s shoulder, her eyes wide and red. “Thank you.
Oh, thank you, Carter,” Delia wept as she pulled her saviour’s hand
closer and clutched it to her chest.
Carter shifted and
cleared her throat, seemingly uncomfortable, and looked over her shoulder. “Teal’c!” Carter yelled and then turned back
to the medic. “You’re going to be fine,
Delia. Relax.”
Delia closed her
eyes, squeezing Carter’s hand in thanks, and believed.
---
“I want justice!”
“Retribution!”
“You want revenge!”
Gavin yelled back into the angry chorus of voices.
“What’s wrong with
that?” The first man spoke again, the veins on his neck bulging with his anger.
“You were beating a
woman to death! In front of her daughter.”
“She’s Vantari!”
“So? All Vantari deserve to die? Without knowing anything about them?”
“What’s to know?”
“She was here, wasn’t she? What does that
tell you?”
“That doesn’t
change the fact that woman gunned them down in cold blood!”
“Defence of
another! It’s law, Bevin. Or at least it used to be!”
“Enough!” The yell was loud and penetrating, Baal’s
voice unmistakable as he glared at them all from the doorway. “Everyone, except you,” he pointed at Gavin
and the two most vocal protestors, “out!”
Everyone in the
room remained stubbornly frozen for a long, silent minute but then grudgingly
started moving, acknowledging Baal’s authority. As the last person exited, Baal slammed the door behind them and
turned to glare at the others.
He raked them all
with his gaze, letting his displeasure be known, and then started pacing while
rubbing his forehead. He’d gotten the
story from Colonel Carter, a few bystanders, and what little Teal’c knew. And he’d decided this was the last thing he
wanted to deal with.
Baal stopped pacing
and faced Bevin and the other protestor, “There will be no repercussions in
response to Colonel Carter’s actions.”
“Two people are
dead,” Bevin said.
“You will let me
speak!” Baal yelled, his eyes flashing in his supreme irritation.
Bevin backed up in
surprise, his anger cooled somewhat by the realization this man was a far
bigger menace than he could ever hope to be.
“There will be no
retribution, or justice, because Colonel Carter did nothing wrong.”
“How can yo-“ The
second man started, but cut himself off at Baal’s severe glare.
“And if I hear about anything to the contrary, I will be taking retribution on you. Do I make myself clear?” Baal held their eyes, making sure they had his full meaning.