By
TITLE:
Friend Or Foe
AUTHOR: Jaclyn
EMAIL: Jaclyn@thefifthrace.net
CATEGORY: Action, Drama
SPOILERS: Set in Season 3, After Fair Game.
SEASON / SEQUEL: Season 3.
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: As SG1 make their way quickly back to the Stargate, Jack O'Neill is
cut down by a staff weapon blast. Daniel Jackson goes back to attempt to help
his colleague, with dire results.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: The Fifth Race, Rabelais,
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Film Corp and
Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for
entertainment purposes and no money exchanged hands. No copyright or trademark
infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Without the constant support, critique, and honesty of my
beta reader, Rach, this Fanfic would never have been written. Meus amicus, my
eternal gratitude.
FEEDBACK: Most definitely!
Colonel Jack
O'Neill raced towards the Stargate as staff weapon blasts flashed past his
ears, striking the ground around him, sending the earth it struck into the air,
spraying him with sod.
"Go!"
he yelled to Daniel Jackson, the only other person he could see still visible
on that side of the event horizon. He turned and fired his MP5 at the pursuing
Horus guards.
"Daniel,"
he vociferated, through gritted teeth. "For crying out loud, go!"
"You should
have gone," he told the archaeologist.
"Sorry,
Jack," Daniel replied, looking up now into the burning gaze of the Horus guard,
and at the muzzle of the staff weapon that was precariously close to his face.
"Stupid,"
he sighed, heavily. "I couldn't just leave you here."
O'Neill felt sick
suddenly, the pain from the wound on his left thigh increased, his head felt
light, and then there was darkness.
*********************
Daniel was
marched towards the waiting Heru'ur, noting with distaste the look of
satisfaction on the Goa'uld's face. He checked over his shoulder several times
to see that the
"Human,"
Heru'ur announced triumphantly. "You will be my slaves."
"Both of you
will learn to serve your god, Heru'ur," he announced.
"So, uh,
where to now?" he asked, pushing his glasses against his face.
Heru'ur did not
reply. Turning abruptly, engulfed by the transport rings, he disappeared.
*********************
The 'cell'
"Daniel,"
he said, walking towards his colleague. "Do you ever do anything
right?"
"You're
welcome,"
O'Neill was
pushed into the cell. The door closed behind him and he threw his arms into the
air.
"I'm
welcome?" he asked. "Daniel, for crying out loud, did it ever enter
into your mind to just leave?"
Daniel was angry
now; Jack's attitude always had this affect on him, but never was it as obvious
to him as it was now. His hand shot up to silence O'Neill. "What, what?”
he exclaimed in exasperation. “Was I supposed to leave you, Jack? Save
myself?"
O'Neill sighed
heavily. "Yeah, alright. You're right, I'm wrong," he apologised.
Daniel, about to
launch into another defensive attack, looked suddenly confused. "Excuse
me?"
Jack shrugged.
"I'm not saying it twice."
The two men
exchanged a smile. "You're healed," Daniel observed.
"Yeah,"
O'Neill agreed. "I'm healed, had a little time in the dead bed chamber. Go
figure."
Daniel nodded,
understanding that to be O'Neill's terminology for the sarcophagus. "And,
um, of course, having had this time, you've figured a way for us to get
out?"
O'Neill's grimace
was involuntary, a habit when he wasn't exactly sure about something, and here
it was. "Well no," he admitted. "Not exactly. Who are we dealing
with here, anyway?"
"Heru'ur! He
has a plan!" Daniel told him, eyes fixed on his colleague's face,
contorting with that familiar, 'you're not gonna like this' that Jackson had
made all his own.
"A
plan?" O'Neill prompted. "Which is?"
"We're going
to be his slaves," Daniel told O'Neill, pouting at the thought.
O'Neill screwed
his face up in distaste. "Well, that's a bad plan."
"Hmm."
Daniel's eyebrows danced upwards as he uttered it.
"Okay, new
plan," O'Neill announced, walking around the archaeologist. "I figure
he's gonna try and either give us our very own snake, or use something like
Nishta on us. Frankly, I'm hoping for the latter."
O'Neill raised
his eyebrows and smiled. "I knew that."
"Right, so
we make out that we're influenced, and then take the first chance to
escape," Daniel said.
"So,"
O'Neill began, obviously not listening to Daniel. "We take our first
chance and make a run for it."
Daniel looked
down at his feet. "Good plan, Jack," he agreed. "Why didn't I
think of that?" He moved to stand beside O'Neill now, leaning up against
the cell door, his hand going thoughtfully to his face. "Supposing it’s
the former?" he asked.
O'Neill looked at
him. "Daniel, for crying out loud! Would you just try to be a little
positive?"
Daniel nodded,
his eyebrows shooting up once more. "Okay," he agreed.
*********************
General Hammond
checked his watch. "Okay, people," he asked of the remaining SG1
members, and the Marines of SG-3 that assembled round the briefing
table. "We send the MALP through. If there is no sign of hostiles,
SG-3 will lead, and try to get some intelligence on our people."
"It was the
Goa'uld, Heru'ur," Teal'c said.
"How can you
be so sure?" Major Carter asked.
Teal'c looked
directly at Sam Carter now. "Because as I entered the Stargate, I turned
and saw the Horus guards that protect only the family of Ra."
"What can you
tell us about him, Teal'c?"
"Only that
he is a much feared system lord, and possesses a formidable army."
"Nothing we
can't handle," Major Matt Mitchell piped up.
Teal'c said
nothing more. He sat silently and listened to
*********************
"Jack,"
Daniel Jackson said. "Someone's coming."
O'Neill had
positioned himself in the furthest corner of the cell, listening as intently as
his colleague. "Yeah, I know," he concurred.
The door opened
and two Horus guards, their helmets retracted, stood before Jackson, who had
made no attempt to retreat.
"Out!"
one of them snapped.
"Think we
better do what he says," Daniel told Jack.
"Uh, ya
think?" O'Neill's reply was terse. He got to his feet slowly.
The Horus guards
led them to the throne room, where Heru'ur sat.
"Come in,
O'Neill," the Goa'uld demanded.
O'Neill looked
dubiously at Daniel, indicating that they should do as ordered. The two men
stood before the Goa'uld system lord, waiting.
"You have
challenged us once too often," Heru'ur snapped. "Finally, I will do
what Apophis and Hathor could not."
Jack regarded the
Goa'uld with a fixed stare of disdain. "And that would be?"
"Silence!"
Heru'ur roared.
The Horus guard
to O'Neill's right slammed his staff weapon into O'Neill's knees, knocking the
colonel to the floor. Daniel sensed that this was a requirement and not a
punishment and dropped to his voluntarily. "Don't provoke them,
Jack," he warned.
O'Neill groaned.
"Damn it."
Another Horus
guard appeared, carrying a canopic jar.
O'Neill felt a
sense of foreboding suddenly. "Ah, Christ, I think it's snakehead
time," he muttered.
Daniel's eyes
were fixed on the jar, listening to the familiar sounds that a mature Goa'uld
symbiote made; the hiss was unmistakable. "Er, Jack, now what?" he
whispered.
Jack's eyes rose
heavenwards. "I don't know?"
Heru'ur ignored
their exchanges, wrapped up in his own achievement.
He took the first
Goa'uld from its jar. "You, O'Neill, will become a host to my son,
Menes."
O'Neill flinched.
"Daniel," he whispered. "Are you up to taking on a Horus
guard?"
Daniel looked
around at him quickly. "Jesus, Jack, we're surrounded, we’ll get ourselves
killed."
"No other
option. I'm not having that thing in me," Jack snapped back.
"Okay... whatever."
At that moment, a
blast thundered through the ship.
Heru'ur turned
quickly in the direction it came from. "
He put the
Goa'uld back in the jar and strode from the room.
"What was
that?"
O'Neill, who was
being prodded by the Horus guard’s staff weapon, climbed to his feet. He
shrugged, as surprised and relieved as
*********************
Jack stood, his
six-foot frame almost moulded to the door. "Well, something's up," he
muttered.
Daniel, who now
paced up and down the length of the cell, looked at his colleague with an air
of disdain. Then he stopped. "Maybe the SGC is attempting a rescue?"
he shared.
O'Neill shook his
head. "Nope. They couldn't get aboard this, and nothing we have would have
made that kind of impact on a ship this size."
Then both men
realised, with horror, exactly what could attack a Goa'uld Cheops vessel.
They said in
unison. "Sokar?"
O'Neill's face
contorted into that familiar expression. "Well, that's bad," he
suggested.
Daniel nodded
slowly. "Martouf did say they were at war," he agreed.
"Great. Just
great," O'Neill vociferated, moving towards the centre of the cell.
"The devil or the deep blue sea. Sweet."
Daniel shuddered
at the thought. "Sokar isn't exactly going to be very happy to see
us."
"Ya think.
We blew up his own private hell, might kind of grate on the guy," O'Neill
stated, standing directly in front of Daniel now. "Still glad you stayed
for the party?" he asked.
"No, not
exactly."
At the sound of
footsteps, both men turned to look at the door.
O'Neill
positioned himself ready to strike. Daniel gestured two with his right
hand.
"I know, I
can count," O'Neill protested.
The door opened.
A Horus guard stood there, not entering.
O'Neill watched
"Both of
you, out here," the guard demanded.
"Here we go
again," Daniel complained.
*********************
Sam Carter led
the team through the Stargate; the MALP had indicated that the immediate area
was clear of hostiles. Major Matt Mitchell was close by, Teal'c bringing up the
rear. The sounds of the ongoing battle, between two sets of Death Gliders,
roared into their ears.
"Cover
up," Mitchell ordered, running for the cover of the nearby trees.
Teal'c made no attempt
to conceal himself, aware of the battle tactics better than any of his
colleagues.
"What's he
doing?" Mitchell asked
Sam Carter shook
her head. "I don't know, but he knows this better than any of us."
She began to make her way towards the
"It is the
forces of Sokar," Teal'c, laconic to the last, reported.
"Sokar?"
Carter exclaimed.
"Jesus, I
hope our boys aren't in the middle of that," Mitchell remarked, awestruck
by what he saw.
Two Cheops
vessels were in direct opposition, Death Gliders weaved between them, battling
and attempting counter strikes.
"I think
we'd better get the hell out of here," Mitchell informed them.
"There's nothing we can do here, except maybe get ourselves captured or
killed!"
Sam Carter
reluctantly agreed. "Teal'c," she said, "we can't do anything.”
She made the point to the
Teal'c took a
deep breath. "I am staying," he said firmly. He was already beginning
to walk towards one of the fallen Horus guards, laying his staff weapon on the
ground. Carter looked back at Mitchell, before following after him.
"Teal'c,
we’ll be captured or killed, Colonel O'Neill wouldn't want that to
happen," she remonstrated.
"I am not
leaving without my friends Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill. I will attempt
to board Heru'ur's vessel in the guise of one of his Horus guards," Teal'c
assured her. "Please return, Major Carter."
Sam Carter looked
anxiously at the
"No, you
would not pass for a Horus Guard, Major Carter. You must return, perhaps
contact the Tok'ra. They may have a spy within Heru'ur's ranks."
Carter backed
away slowly, joining Mitchell at the DHD. "Get us out of here, Sam,"
Mitchell instructed.
*********************
Jack and Daniel
followed the Horus guards through the labyrinth of the vessel.
"Where are
we going?" Daniel wondered aloud.
"I don't
know," Jack replied sharply.
"It, it
wasn't a question actually, I was just wondering," Daniel retorted.
"Yes it
was," O'Neill argued.
"No, it
really wasn't," Daniel insisted. "Why would I ask you?"
Jack, beginning
to become confused with exactly why he was arguing, shot Daniel a look over his
shoulder. "Relax, Daniel, we'll get out of this."
Daniel chuckled
to himself, causing another O'Neill look in his direction.
The Horus guard
stopped suddenly, opening a door to their right. Inside, the sarcophagus was
central to the small room.
"I know
where we're going," O'Neill said. "I’ve been here already."
Daniel shot him a
'that's not very helpful' look.
The guards pushed
them inside, retreated and shut the door behind them.
"Er,
Jack?" Daniel's tone made O'Neill look at him; his eyes followed
Daniel's.
The canopic jar sat
on a small pedestal at the far corner of the room.
O'Neill, spooked
suddenly by a sound, turned quickly. "Ah, crap!" he exclaimed.
"Do you think they're loose in here somewhere?"
Daniel, as wary
as his companion, backed closer to the colonel. "Well, if they are, I
can't see them."
The two men
huddled closer together, their eyes darting one way and the other, looking for
the Goa'uld that both thought must be in the room.
"This is a
like a scene out of Aliens," O'Neill mentioned.
"What?"
Daniel asked surprised.
"You really
don't get out much, do you?" O'Neill responded dryly.
"So is that
a helpful reference, Jack?" Daniel enquired.
O'Neill, now more
preoccupied with where exactly he should concentrate, didn’t reply.
"Er,
Jack," Daniel's tone was lower now.
"What?"
"Over
there," he said, pointing toward the sarcophagus.
O'Neill's gaze
fell upon the Goa'uld.
"How far do
you think they can jump?" he asked.
"Well, I
don't know," Daniel responded, edging back towards the door.
Jack, feeling the
movement, followed.
"Ok-aay,"
he said, at length. "How do we kill them? Wring their necks?"
"I don't
know," Daniel replied honestly. "How do you kill a snake?"
O'Neill
considered that for a second. "By wringing its neck," he shared.
"If you can get it," he added, as an afterthought.
"So do we
wait for it to come to us?" Daniel asked.
"Well I'm
not moving. There has to be two of those things in here," O'Neill
retorted.
"Not
necessarily," Daniel said. "Maybe Heru'ur is hoping that one of us
gets infested and kills the other one."
"Well,
that's not gonna happen," O'Neill commented.
"It's
moving," Daniel told him.
"I can see
that, get behind me," O'Neill instructed.
"Why?"
"Daniel, for
crying out loud! Just do it."
Daniel moved
behind O'Neill, keeping his back turned firmly to the wall. He looked up
nervously; there nothing above them. "Do you think you get can it?"
he asked.
"I don't
know, Daniel, shut up and let me concentrate, will you."
Daniel raised his
eyes heavenwards. "You know, Jack, even in a crisis you can find a way to
annoy me."
"Likewise,"
O'Neill retorted.
The Goa'uld made
its way along the sarcophagus; O'Neill focused his senses on the creature.
"Ah, I hate
those things," he grimaced.
Daniel maintained
attention to the surrounding area, waiting nervously for the Goa'uld to make
its move.
"Er,
Jack," he stuttered.
"What,
Daniel."
"Yeah,"
O'Neill replied patiently.
"Don't move,
will you?"
O'Neill smiled to
himself. "Don't worry, Danny boy, I won't let it get ya."
"It's just
that, that's a natural reaction, that's all I meant."
"For you,
maybe," O'Neill responded. "Hate spiders, do we?" he teased.
"At this
point, no," Daniel responded.
The Goa'uld
reached the end of the sarcophagus.
O'Neill's muscles
tensed, anticipating the assault.
Daniel was hardly
breathing, aware that he couldn't move lest he distract O'Neill, equally from
the tension he felt within himself.
The Goa'uld made
its attack. O’Neill, his reflexes sharpened from years of black ops training,
sidestepped. To Daniel's horror he was now directly in front of the Goa'uld.
Almost as it struck him, O’Neill’s right hand shot out and grasped its neck.
"Jesus,
Jack!" exclaimed Daniel, relieved and angry all at once.
O'Neill, having
twisted the neck of the creature, held it for a moment, ensuring it was in fact
dead. "Relax, Danny," he said, with a huge grin. "The wicked
witch is dead."
Daniel grinned
back. "You did that on purpose," he noted.
Jack, looking
smugly back at him, tilted his head to the side, raising his eyebrows.
"Did not," he goaded.
Daniel realising
that finally O'Neill was adding levity, more than ignorance, to the
proceedings, offered a smile as a token gesture. "How do we get out of
here?" he asked then.
O'Neill's heavy
sigh offered no response.
Daniel had a
sudden brainwave; it dawned on him slowly. "Weren't the transport rings on
Klo’rel’s ship in the same room as the sarcophagus?" he asked.
Jack looked at
him, the recognition of Daniel's statement crossing his furrowed eyebrows.
"Slight
problem there," he replied.
"Yeah, I
know, no device. Well,"
Jack gave him his
best 'Ya think!' look.
"Hmm,"
Daniel pondered. "Don't suppose asking for a device would go down too
well."
O'Neill finally
had to say it. "Ya think?"
Daniel looked at
him, helplessly. "Ok-ay, Mister Sarcastic has all the answers. How do we
get out then?"
Jack shrugged.
"I don't know." He moved towards the force field. "We're not in
orbit."
"We're
not?" Daniel joined him.
"Nope.
That's terra firma down there, Danny boy," Jack pointed out the obvious.
"Oh
darn," Daniel said, sarcasm leaping in before his companion had the
chance. "No windows, can't jump."
O'Neill sighed
heavily. "Alright, I'll give up the sarcasm." He paused. "Until
we get out of here."
"Okay by me,
but probably impossible for you," Daniel concluded.
Jack looked at
him sharply. "Hey! I'm not that bad," he snapped.
"We're still
here," Daniel pointed out.
Jack made
subservient gestures towards his companion. "Okay," he said, with a
heavy sigh. "How do we get out of here?"
Daniel, enjoying
this brief moment of triumph, chipped in. "A door would be good."
O'Neill resisted
the urge, heading in that direction. "I assume all of these doors work
from the same kind of device?” he asked.
Daniel took a
deep breath. "Well, I don't know, Jack. Do you really think there's a
Cheops Inc somewhere out here?"
"Daniel,
just… shut up!" Jack protested.
It was Daniel's
turn to acquiesce. "Okay, sorry, sorry."
O'Neill located
the serpent and attempted to turn it. "Well that doesn't work,” he
pointed out.
"Try the
Horus image." Daniel indicated it to his colleague.
The door opened
and O’Neill gingerly checked outside.
A Horus guard
approached. "Whoops," he said, ducking back inside. Daniel turned the
Falcon's head, closing the door. Almost as he did so, it opened again.
O'Neill, thinking
quickly, did the best impression of a Goa'uld he could muster. "
The Horus guard
did not respond; his head tilted sideways, almost quizzically.
"Kree!"
O'Neill demanded.
Daniel's
expression was a picture. "Er, Jack," he whispered. "You're
supposed to follow that either with an order, or an instruction."
"Suggestions?"
O'Neill asked.
The Horus guard
moved forward, turning and closing the door behind him.
"Your
impression is a poor one, O'Neill," said Teal'c's distinctive voice.
"Teal'c!"
O'Neill exclaimed. "Goddamn it." He lunged forward, punching the man
in the chest, happy to see, or at least hear him. He instantly regretted his
choice of greeting. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, as his fist struck the
reinforced breastplate.
The Horus head
retracted; Teal’c looked at O'Neill. "Are you alright, O'Neill? Daniel
Jackson?"
"How did you
get in here?" Daniel enquired.
Teal'c looked at
him without speaking.
"How do we
get out?" O'Neill asked.
Teal'c lifted his
hand up.
Daniel smiled
gratefully. "The ring device." he said.
"I knew
that," O'Neill responded. "Well, okay, let’s get out of here. Nice
one, Teal'c."
The rings
activated and the three found themselves on the planet once more.
O'Neill looked
suitably satisfied. "Sweet," he announced.
"Er, not so
sweet," Daniel commented, noting the Death Gliders approaching.
"Oh, for
crying out loud, is nothing ever simple?" O'Neill complained, taking off
at the sprint, closely followed by Daniel and Teal'c.
The heat blasts
from the gliders struck the ground around them.
"Déjà
vu," Daniel shouted.
“Déjà vu,"
O'Neill replied. They reached the DHD.
"Dial us up,
Danny, get us out of here," O'Neill shouted.
"One small
problem," Daniel told him.
"What
now?"
"We don't
have a GDO," Daniel told him. "They stripped us of all our stuff. No
GDO."
"Yeah, yeah.
Splat. Teal'c?"
"I have the
device, Daniel Jackson, activate the Stargate."
As the three men
emerged from the event horizon, General Hammond and Samantha Carter stood at
the bottom of the ramp.
Dr. Fraiser had
just entered with her team.
Daniel stopped,
taking in the sight. "There's no place like home!" he said.
O'Neill looked at
him, a smile sweeping across his face. "Hey!" he exclaimed.
"That's my line."
The End.
© Jaclyn 2000
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